Article Name: Doing What Works
Org: US Department of Education
Date: 2007
Abstract:
The U.S. Department of Education recently launched a new website to provide teachers, administrators and other educators with recommendations on effective teaching practices and examples of possible ways to implement those practices to help promote excellence in American education and improve student achievement. The new "Doing What Works" site, offers a user-friendly interface to quickly locate teaching practices that have been found effective by the department's research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences, and similar organizations. In addition, it cites examples of possible ways this research may be used to help students reach their academic potential. Content on the site is organized into three areas:
- Learning what works: understanding the research base behind the practices.
- Seeing how it works: accessing examples of schools and classrooms engaged in those practices, including engaging videos.
- Doing what works: enabling users to access examples of tools and templates to implement the practices.
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Article Name: Quality Counts 2008
Org: Education Weekly
Date: January 10, 2007
Abstract:
Education Week recently launched the "Quality Counts 2008" report, grading U.S. states across six areas of education performance and policy. While the U.S. posted a grade of C overall, the average state earned a D-plus on public school achievement, the poorest showing of any graded category. Marks were also low for state efforts to improve teaching, where 10 states earned a grade of D or lower. One of the six areas included in Education Week's report card, the teaching grades cover state efforts to increase accountability, provide incentives for talented people to enter and stay in the profession, monitor and allocate the distribution of talent, and build the capacity of teachers and principals to improve student learning. South Carolina earned the highest grade in the category, an A-minus.
In addition, a new analysis by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, which is used as part of the state report card, finds that the average U.S. public school teacher makes only 88 cents for every dollar earned by individuals in 16 comparable professions, such as accountants, architects, occupational therapists, and registered nurses. States are also graded in the report on a "K-12 Achievement Index" that focuses specifically on student learning in elementary through high school. The achievement index evaluates how well a state’s students perform compared with those in the top-ranked state on 18 separate indicators. The index takes into account current state performance, improvements over time, and poverty-based achievement gaps. Massachusetts again leads the nation, earning 82.5 points and a B. Maryland was the only other state to receive a B, while New Jersey earned a B-minus. The report found severe poverty disparities in many of the top-achieving states.
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