Standards for quality of mind?
Marion Brady describes Eight problems with Common Core Standards (just to start with) on WashPost‘s Answer Sheet. Marc Tucker begs to disagree (he doesn’t really beg) on Ed Week‘s Top Performers....
View ArticleFrom Common Core to College Board
After helping write English Language Arts standards that will be used in 46 Common Core states, David Coleman is going to head College Board, which controls SAT and AP exams. A 42-year-old former...
View ArticleIf states test real readiness, most will fail
Should states replace graduation exams with new tests aligned to Common Core State Standards? States have very different standards and methods of measurement now, writes Checker Finn. About half...
View ArticleCutting to the core on scores
In the era of Common Core State Standards, all high school graduates are supposed to be ready for college or careers. That means the new tests must measure grade-level readiness in every grade, writes...
View ArticleOregon may require college credit in high school
Oregon may require all high school students to pass college-level classes, reports Diverse. A bipartisan group of legislators has introduced a bill that would require college coursework as a condition...
View ArticleTexas may cut tests, graduation reqs
Texas leads the nation in test-based accountability for public schools, but now legislators may ease rigorous graduation requirements, reports the New York Times. Currently, high school students must...
View ArticleFlorida legislators OKs two-track diploma
Florida will create a two-track high school diploma for college-bound and career-minded students under a bill headed to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk, reports the Miami Herald. If the proposal becomes law,...
View ArticleExams aren’t the enemy
Exams Aren’t the Enemy, writes Talmadge Nardi, a high school English teacher, in The Atlantic. We must continue to be passionate and skillful teachers of critical thinking, writing and reading. And we...
View ArticleNCEE: Only 5% need calculus
Only 5 percent of students will use calculus in college or the workplace, concludes a new report on college and career readiness by the National Center on Education and the Economy. Most community...
View ArticleTwo math pathways in high school?
Most community college students don’t need Algebra II, but do need mastery of middle-school math, concludes What Does It Really Mean To Be College and Work Ready?, a recent report by the National...
View ArticleEmployers: Grads aren’t prepared for work
Most employers say college graduates aren’t prepared for work, reports a new survey. College students tend to be overconfident about their readiness. “College for all” — or even job training for all —...
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Career ed gets kind words, few dollars
The Obama administration is promoting career education, reports Joy Resmovits on the Huffington Post. President Obama called for career education funding on a visit to Pathways in Technology Early...
View ArticleNot your father’s shop class
Career Technical Education (CTE) is Not Your Father’s Shop Class, writes Harry J. Holzer in The Washington Monthly. In “old-fashioned voc ed,” low achievers trained for “low-wage or disappearing jobs,...
View ArticleUnready in 12th grade
College and career readiness” is the goal — but not the reality — for high school graduates. States and school districts are developing “transitional” curricula to move 12th graders off the remedial...
View ArticleNot ready
Education Trust documentaries, American Grit and Speak Unto Us, follow high school graduates into the working (or not working) world.
View ArticleWhat about kids who aren’t ‘job material’ either?
Some students aren’t college material and would be better off on a vocational track, Mike Petrilli wrote in Slate. Now, he concedes one of his critics’ points: Kids who aren’t “college material”...
View ArticleSuccess paths for all
How can high schools ensure graduates are college- and career-ready, asks an Education Next forum. Students need multiple pathways, writes Robert Schwartz, a Harvard professor emeritus who coleads the...
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Make it really hard for kids to fail in school
To prepare “difficult” students for the real world, make it “really hard to fail,” argues Dr. Allen Mendler, an education consultant, on Edutopia’s blog. An effective practice is to “appreciate and...
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Career planning starts in 8th grade
Is 8th Grade Too Early to Pick a Career? asks the National Journal. In South Carolina, counselors help middle schoolers set career goals through the Personal Pathways to Success program. (Patricia)...
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Different diplomas for different kids
What does a high school diploma mean? Common Core standards are supposed to guarantee that all graduates are ready for “college and career.” (Which college? Which career?) Absent a miracle, that would...
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