First Bell 3-13-13

yes Pamela Tatz / March 13, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

A new Boston school-assignment plan that looks not only at geography but also at quality, proposed by MIT doctoral student Peng Shi, faces a committee vote today. (New York Times)

In Alabama, debates rage over a tax-credit-scholarship program and Common Core implementation. (Education Week)

A new report finds that the racial achievement gap in Montgomery County schools has grown wider in a number of measures of academic achievement. (Washington Post)

California is set to consider offering college students a statewide system of online courses for credit. (Wall Street Journal)

In the District of Columbia, the median charter school academically outperforms the median traditional public school. (Washington Post)

According to a study, the difficulty of Algebra I and Geometry classes vary widely; 32 percent of 2005 high school grads took a “rigorous” Algebra I course, while just 21 percent took a rigorous Geometry course. (Education Week)

» Continued

First Bell 3-13-13

First Bell 3-12-13

yes Pamela Tatz / March 12, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

Last night, a New York City panel rejected a school-closure moratorium—and early this morning, it voted to shut down twenty-two low-performing schools. (New York Times and NBC New York)

The National Science Foundation issued a call for multidisciplinary research on education: “Education is not a monolithic field; it’s many, many areas studying the same phenomenon.” (Inside School Research)

Politics K–12 runs down legislation pertaining to pre-Kindergarten expansion that is currently in play in Congress.

A panel of top education research and policy experts laid out a ten-year plan for states to develop better systems of assessment. (Education Week)

The Hechinger Report’s Digital blog reflects on lessons learned from last week’s South By Southwest Education conference.

» Continued

First Bell 3-12-13

First Bell 3-11-13

yes Pamela Tatz / March 11, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

South Dakota is the first state in the land to enact a law authorizing school employees to carry guns while working. (New York Times and Wall Street Journal)

Lawmakers in Massachusetts are considering removing the charter school cap in the state’s lowest-performing school districts. (Wall Street Journal)

UNO, one of Chicago’s biggest charter networks, will allow its teachers to unionize. (Chicago Tribune)

California plans to require “intern” teachers—who enter the profession via alternative routes—to take more training on instructing English-language learners. (Teacher Beat)

The Smarter Balanced consortium has begun pilot-testing the online software that will be used to deliver Common Core–aligned tests. (Digital Education)

Sarah Carr urges lawmakers to take a more holistic look when deciding whether or not to shutter a school. (Hechinger Report)

» Continued

First Bell 3-11-13

First Bell 3-8-13

yes Pamela Tatz / March 8, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

The School Reform Commission voted to close around twenty-three underperforming Philadelphia public schools, around 10 percent of the city’s schools; nineteen protestors were arrested just before the decision was issued, including AFT president Randi Weingarten. (New York Times andWashington Post)

New York becomes the first state to drop the GED exam, opting instead to commission McGraw-Hill to create a new and cheaper high school equivalency test. (Wall Street Journal)

In his closing keynote address at the South by Southwest education conference in Austin, Texas, Bill Gates discussed technology in the classroom and quality control. (Digital Hechinger Report and Digital Education)

The National Association of Charter Schools releases twelve essential practices for charter authorizers. (Charters & Choice)

“Girl Rising,” a new documentary film released on International Women’s Day, tells the story of nine girls across the globe lifted out of poverty by the power of education. (Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times)

Former Fordham board member Diane Ravitch has founded the Network for Public Education, which opposes

» Continued

First Bell 3-8-13