Lessons Learned

Reading Allowed!

Making Sure the First “R” Comes First

What gets tested, gets taught. That’s one of the guiding principles of education reform. And it certainly appears to be working. But is it working the way we want it to with regard to reading?

National Board Certified Teachers are More Effective

Students of NBPTS-accredited teachers make better gains on standardized tests

A recent study tells us that nationally-certified teachers are more effective than their uncertified peers.

Students taught by educators certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards make bigger gains on standardized tests than students taught by other teachers, finds a National Research Council report out Wednesday. It is not clear from the research whether the process of getting certified by the national board makes teachers better or if those who get certified were already top performers, according to the report.—Teacher Magazine

Mandated NCLB Tutoring Shows No Positive Results

Additional help isn’t helpful when it comes to raising test scores

Yet another aspect of NCLB has come under scrutiny for being ineffective:

Free tutoring that federal law prescribes to help students at struggling schools has yielded little or no positive effect on student test scores in Virginia, Maryland and several other states, according to early evaluations.—The Washington Post

Diversity vs Quality: What Makes a Good School?

Seattle's Superintendent says quality schools are more important than diverse schools

Seattle’s Superintendent is committed to quality schools—even at the expense of diversity.

Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson hopes Seattle residents see the value of living and going to school with people from a wide mix of backgrounds. But she says she can't change where people live. And as much as she values racial diversity, she values high-quality schools more. A quality education, she says, "trumps diversity." —The Seattle Times