Over the past two-and-a-half years, I’ve spent a lot of time through Mass Insight Education’s State Development Network learning from state education agencies (SEAs) across the country as they work to transform low-performing districts and schools. This work looks different in almost every state. Some focus more on setting district-level conditions that better support school…
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You don’t need me to tell you that college is expensive (and getting more so). To cover the cost, students are taking out staggering amounts of student loans that leave them, in some cases, with a college degree in one hand and a pseudo-mortgage payment in the other. Needless to say, it’s hard for students…
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Over the past several years, we’ve thought a lot about clusters, vertical alignment, and upward trajectories for students. And it seems as though we are identifying strategies, programs, and systems that work – for example, our AP/STEM Program both offers professional development to AP and pre-AP teachers and creates the foundation for increased collaboration between…
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This week, we released an essay written by our Senior Field Consultant, Larry Stanton. The essay, titled “Doing It Your Way: Building a Strong SEA SIG Application,” focuses on the recently released updated School Improvement Grant (SIG) rules. State education agencies (SEAs) have until April 15, 2015, to submit their updated applications to the federal…
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While there’s been a lot of attention paid this week to a just-released OECD report on gender gaps, I found myself captivated by another OECD report, the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS).The results from the 2013 survey were released last year, but I just stumbled upon them thanks to a webinar hosted by the…
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The Center for American Progress (CAP) recently kicked off a “College For All” campaign, a plan to break down barriers to post-secondary enrollment by covering costs for higher education to ensure that students and their families can afford college. In a planned series of reports, CAP will also recommend funding and support models. Ideally, this…
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Congratulations to all of my fellow Boston-area commuters on surviving another week! While I’m hoping against hope that the storm forecast for this weekend gives us a pass, it’s looking likely that I’ll be stuck inside again. If you’re in the same boat, pass the time by checking out some of the most interesting things I…
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As the debate over the Common Core and Common Core-aligned tests rages on, the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education has entered the fray with a new report that compares the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS – the standardized test created by the landmark Massachusetts Education Reform Act – with the PARCC assessment. The report…
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The wait is over. The U.S. Department of Education on Friday released a final version of updated School Improvement Grant (SIG) guidance, bringing to a close months of review and anticipation. The SIG rules were revised in order to improve implementation and use of SIG dollars. After a 2012 report found SIG was only effective…
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With the whole East Coast buried under historic amounts of snow (or possibly buried – I’m writing this Monday, so I suppose the storm could have diverted!), there’s going to be a lot of shoveling going on today. And since the best part of shoveling is warming up afterwards with a mug of hot chocolate…
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Last week, the Center on Education Policy released a report summarizing findings from expanded learning time in low-performing schools in Colorado, Connecticut, Oregon, and Virginia. After reading through the report, I see a few clear themes (see EdWeek’s take for more): There is no single “right way” to do expanded learning time. We’ve written before…
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Happy New Year! To kick off 2015, In the Zone blog writers Charis Anderson and Alison Segal are back with our predictions for the big education topics and trends for the upcoming year! Did we miss anything you predict could hit the front pages of education news? Let us know in the comments section. —– Higher…
read moreOur blog features commentary and insights from our staff and, from time-to-time, special guest bloggers about school improvement practices and policies that are changing student lives and changing schools. Contact jschneider@massinsight.org for more information.