As public debate over the use of Common Core standards in U.S. schools gathers steam, parents and policymakers need to know more about current proficiency standards and, as Gary Phillips says in this blog post, be prepared for some surprises. With each state defining "proficiency" differently, it is difficult to ...
NAEP results are Rorschach Tests for policy wonks—a golden chance for free-association policy speculation. Small fluctuations in average scores on NAEP give rise to big explanations. Forget the quibbling over tiny differences in test scores; it’s time to rebuild schools on evidence-based, comprehensive policies that have been shown to work ...
The tragic school shooting at an Uvalde, Texas, school initiated discussion over how to prevent future violent events. While there is no magic answer to reducing violence in our schools and communities, AIR’s David Osher and Sandra Williamson discuss evidence-based actions.
Access to in-prison education and work experience are associated with a reduction in the likelihood of recidivism and provide inmates with a critical element on the path to reshape their personal identities. Could offering prisoners more education and work experience inside prison be a key solution to mass incarceration in ...
Given persistent failure rates and mounting student debt, how prepared students are to enter and succeed in college is suddenly everyone’s business. According to Mark Schneider, in this blog post, ACT data shows many students ready to leave for college are not ready academically in at least one area. ...
Career and Technical Education (CTE) advocates are still eagerly awaiting reauthorization of the Perkins Act. While we wait, two important events could change the face of CTE across the country: 1) the passage of ESSA and 2) a new vision for CTE released by Advance CTE. In this blog post, ...
In a rare occurrence, PISA, TIMSS, and NAEP assessments are releasing science and math results in the same year. Chances are the results from the various assessments won’t all tell the same story. So what do you need to know to make sense of this bumper crop of assessments? In ...
NAEP's own data shows different rates among college seniors who are proficient vs. those who are ready for college. Until achievement results for 12th grade students with a good dose of Common-Core-based education under their belts become available, says Fran Stancavage in this blog post, educators who set NAEP standards ...
New research is again highlighting the wide variation in states’ student performance standards and overly optimistic reports of student proficiency. Alicia Garcia argues that, going forward, states must adopt evidence-based methods of standard setting that prepare students to compete in the global marketplace. ...
Parents, teachers, schools, districts, states, and especially students all want schools that prepare graduates to thrive in the 21st century. In this blog post, Anne Mishkind asks what it means to be "college and career ready."