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Day 6: Attract and Retain High-Quality Math and Science Teachers
/0 Comments/in Blog, News, Related Education Blogs /byMassachusetts’ students have made impressive gains in math and science over the past decade and a half. Consider that in 1992 Massachusetts stood below national averages on the SAT. Fast forward to this past year, when the state ranked among the highest performing nations on the Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS). In fact, on the TIMSS, Massachusetts 4th graders ranked second and third worldwide in science and mathematics, respectively. Our 8th graders tied for first in science and ranked sixth in math. But the 2007 TIMSS identified areas of particular weakness. Over 40 percent of 4th graders in Singapore were advanced in mathematics, compared to only 22 percent in Massachusetts. A similar pattern holds for 4th grade […]
National Standards Still Don’t Make the Grade
/0 Comments/in Common Core, Press Releases, Press Releases: Common Core, Press Releases: Education, Related Education Blogs /byNational Standards Still Don’t Make the Grade Academic Standards in Massachusetts and California Remain Significantly Better Than the Proposed Common Core Standards Contact Jamie Gass at 617-723-2277 ext. 210 or jgass@pioneerinst.wpengine.com National Standards Still Don’t Make the Grade BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO – Adopting the final draft of proposed national education standards in English language arts (ELA) would result in a significant weakening of the intellectual demands placed on Massachusetts and California students in language and literature, according to a review published jointly by the Pacific Research Institute and Pioneer Institute. In Part I of National Standards Still Don’t Make the Grade: Why Massachusetts and California Must Retain Control Over Their Academic Destinies, authors Kathleen Madigan, a senior research scientist for AccountabilityWorks […]
Day 5: Prepare effective teachers
/0 Comments/in Blog, News, Related Education Blogs /byIt may sound like a platitude, but that doesn’t make it any less true: No factor is more important than a student’s relationship with his or her teachers. Nothing can spark an interest or light a fire more deeply inside a student than a teacher. While that relationship is a personal one, a simply friendly rapport has pretty limited educational value. It has much more of a master-apprentice feel—and that means teachers must have subject mastery. Simple mastery of a subject does not a great teacher make, but it sure sets down a great foundation to work from. Here are three steps to ensuring that our teachers are fully prepared for the task: Strengthen new teacher quality through strong course […]
Day 4: Recreate a strong accountability system
/0 Comments/in Blog, News, Related Education Blogs /byWhen you spend $9 billion a year on schools, accountability must go beyond student performance. We must also manage money without fraud or waste, maintain our buildings, and fully implement state policies. The Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA) was an independent district and school audit agency established by the Legislature in 2000 as part of the accountability system required by MERA. From 2002 to 2006, EQA evaluated more than 175 school districts, most of which were urban districts, which spent about half of total education dollars in the state. Opposition from teachers’ unions and urban superintendents led to EQA’s closure in spring 2008. A nascent accountability office designed to replace EQA delivered its first reports in 2009, and […]
On national standards, you get what you pay for
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Common Core, Blog: Education, Jim Stergios, News, Related Education Blogs /byThis week, State House News broke a story on the “cozy relationship” between Health Care for All and the Patrick Administration. HCFA is an effective organization, but when an HCFA official writes to the state’s Insurance Commissioner: “If you expect to do anything ‘newsworthy’ [on insurance premium caps], can we be helpful with our blog or media at all?” well, then you have to take their positions with a brimming cup of salt. Surrogate relationships are very much a fact of life in a state where one party is dominant, like Massachusetts. Next up to bat in this age-old game, Education Commissioner Mitch Chester and Secretary Paul Reville. In anticipation of the important debate over whether to adopt weaker K-12 […]