Raleigh Public school students take too many tests, Gov. Pat McCrory told education leaders Wednesday, and the state needs to figure out how to lighten the load. During a meeting with the State Board of Education, McCrory said he has instructed his new senior education adviser, Eric Guckian, to identify which tests are unnecessary and report back by the end of the summer.
Assessment
6/3/2013
Results of the 2012-2013 national occupational competency exams show that almost 89 percent of seniors at York County School of Technology who were tested scored either "competent" or "advanced," exceeding the national standard of 72 percent and the state average of 82 percent for career and tech ed high schools.
5/31/2013
In terms of the grades Louisiana gives to schools, high schools had a really good year. Unfortunately, some of that was because of a generous new rating scale from the state, not in terms of real performance in the classroom.
5/30/2013
Six board members, excluding Trustee Frances L. Hayes, submitted evaluations and gave superintendent Deborah Hunter-Harvill a combined score of 53.9 percent out of 100. That rating is "minimally effective" based on 12 categories such as relationship with the board, educational leadership and progress toward the school improvement plan.
5/28/2013
Based on interviews and research, the ideas in this white paper build upon lessons learned in analyzing information systems developed by competency education innovators, including best practices of systemic approaches to information management and emerging opportunities.
5/28/2013
An independent report of the Waltham public schools’ technology and library programs revealed both positive and negative findings, and raises eyebrows from school officials about the method in which the report was conducted.
5/24/2013
Fewer than 60 percent of Florida’s third-graders — 57 percent — are reading at or above grade level, according to FCAT results released Friday morning. The figure represents a slight increase from last year’s 56 percent.
5/21/2013
Recognizing that American K12 students have fallen behind foreign students in their grasp of scientific principles, educators have devised a new set of teaching guidelines that will radically change the way science is taught in classrooms across the United States—including recommendations that climate change and evolution be taught as core elements of scientific knowledge.
5/20/2013
In Bullitt County, some B students soon could become A students — not based on improvements in their work, but rather because of a change in the grading scale.
5/16/2013
While data gained via standardized tests like NJASK may be extremely helpful, especially when paired with other data points, the over-emphasis on such testing is a classic example of how state and federal mandates are threatening to completely bypass local control.
5/16/2013
S.C high school students would no longer have to pass an exit exam to graduate if a state House bill becomes law – welcome news for the thousands of students who struggle year after year to pass both the test’s math and English sections.
5/15/2013
An advisory council has been crafting minimum standards in four core subjects that would be required to graduate from Colorado high schools — baselines that could be achieved through a variety of standardized test scores or other means.
5/15/2013
What makes the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) inappropriate as a tool for 4K students? The test takes a minimum of 45 minutes of one-on-one testing per child. It has no applicability to children who are learning English. Centers will “teach to the test.”
5/14/2013
High schools in Seattle won’t have to give the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests starting next fall, the latest development in the testing controversy that has drawn national attention after starting in January at Garfield High School.
5/13/2013
The Common Core State Standards Initiative, which is managing the standards creation and feedback process, offers a wealth of information on its website to help district staff understand the process and get their questions answered.
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District Administration is the most widely received, most regularly read publication for K12 district-level school leaders nationwide.