Tag: U.S. Department of Education
Data Mine Students to Measure Grit?
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology published a report back in February entitled “Promoting Grit, Tenacity and Perseverance: Critical Factors for Success in the 21st Century.” From the executive summary: How can we best prepare children and adolescents to thrive in the 21st century—an era of achievement gaps that must be closed [...]
A Mental Health Professional’s Perspective on the Common Core
Dear Mrs. Swasey & Mr. Beck: I am writing this note on behalf of your joint request to address issues surrounding the Common Core State Standards Act (CCSS) that is currently in the process of being implemented in the vast majority of our public school systems in the country. By way of background, I’m an [...]
The U.S. Department of Education’s Data Mining Efforts
The U.S. Department of Education is investigating how public schools can collect information on “non-cognitive” student attributes, after granting itself the power to share student data across agencies without parents’ knowledge. The feds want to use schools to catalogue “attributes, dispositions, social skills, attitudes, and intrapersonal resources, independent of intellectual ability,” according to a February [...]
Debunking Misconceptions: “The Common Core is State-Led”
I thought that I would start a series on common misconceptions related to the Common Core State Standards. I don’t know how frequently I’ll come back to this series, but as these misconceptions come up or as I hear them I want to address them. The first is one that I hear quite frequently and [...]
371 Applications Received for District-Level Race to the Top
The U.S. Department of Education received 371 applications from 1189 school districts all racing to the trough to receive a slice of the $383 million pot. Unlike last time the district-level Race to the Top required union officials to agree to the school district’s reform plan. Which pretty much guarantees it’ll be worthless. Jackie Zubrzycki [...]
U.S. Department of Education Still Hasn’t Approved Utah SBAC Withdrawal
The Utah State Board of Education voted to leave the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) back in early August. As a refresher here is the exit process dictated by the SBAC governance document: A state requesting an exit from the Consortium must submit in writing its reasons for the exit request, The written explanation must [...]
Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers
Jane Robbins, a Senior Fellow for American Principles Project provided some facts that you should know about the No Child Left Behind waivers. States apply for these in order, they say, to free themselves from Federal guidelines and standards under NCLB. What they’re really doing is substituting federal control with more federal control. Pretty soon [...]
Pioneer Institute Study Suggests Remedies for Common Core’s Literature Deficit
A new study released by Pioneer Institute shows that states that have adopted the Common Core State Standards should include a literature-based standard.
Almost 900 School Districts Race to the Trough
A lot of competition for the District Level Race to the Top program… almost 900 districts for 15-20 grants. So the Federal government can bypass states altogether in order to influence school districts. Why deal with the middle man when you can just cut him out? Via the American Association of Christian School’s weekly email [...]
District Race to the Trough Is Off and Running
The Department of Education announced last week that it is accepting applications for District Race to the Top funds. They have allocated $400 million for the program with a $25 million award cap. The grading system has changed compared to what was originally proposed. Education Week reports what the new contest rules and grading system [...]
