I LOVE L.A.—AND ATLANTA: Results from NAEP 2009 Trial Urban District Assessment Show Some Large Cities Making Progress, Though Much More Work Is Still Needed Article
June 01, 2010Average eighth-grade reading scores for the nation and large cities with populations greater than 250,000 were higher in 2009 than in 2007, but only two of the eleven districts that participated in 2007—Atlanta and Los Angeles—showed an increase since that year, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA).
Assessments
THE CASE FOR COMMON STANDARDS: New Profiles from the Alliance for Excellent Education Examine Need for (and Potential of) Common Standards and Assessments Article
May 03, 2010In spring 2009, the Common Core State Standards Initiative was launched with forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, and two territories coming together under the auspices of the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to develop a common core of state K-12 English language arts and mathematics standards.
STANDARD RESPONSE: Senate HELP Committee Chairman and Top Republican Agree that Standards Movement Needs to Be Led by States, Not Federal Government Article
May 03, 2010On April 28, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee continued its hearings on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)-currently known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB)-when it heard from witnesses on the role that standards and assessments play in the American education system.
BEATING THE ODDS: New Report Finds that Urban School Districts Are Improving Student Outcomes but Still Trailing State Averages Article
April 05, 2010According to a new report from the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), students in the nation’s biggest cities are improving their performance on state and national tests but are still scoring below state averages.
NATION’S REPORT CARD: Reading Scores Flat for Fourth Graders; Eighth Graders Improve by One Point Article
April 05, 2010Reading scores for eighth-grade students climbed one point while the reading performance of fourth-grade students was unchanged from 2007 according to the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading, also known as The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2009.
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION RELEASES ESEA BLUEPRINT: Proposal to Overhaul NCLB Centers on Raising Standards, Focusing Attention on the Lowest-Performing Schools Article
March 22, 2010On March 15, the Obama administration released its blueprint to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
Principles for a Comprehensive Assessment System Report/Fact Sheet
February 25, 2010Recognizing that no single test can fulfill all the needs for information by all stakeholders, this report suggests the need for a comprehensive system of assessments that needs to be coherent and cohesive and aligned to standards for college and career readiness.
THE TIME IS NOW: New Alliance Brief Outlines Need for Common Standards Article
January 11, 2010The state-led common standards movement, which will raise expectations for all students no matter where they live, represents a "sea change" in American education and one that is sorely needed, according to a new issue brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education.
NEW NCES REPORT MAPS STATE PROFICIENCY ONTO NAEP SCALES: Report Finds Wide Variation Among States in the Rigor of Their Standards Article
November 09, 2009A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) finds that many states set standards for proficiency that fall below the basic standard on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP).
Assessments
TEACHING FOR A NEW WORLD: New Alliance Brief Offers a New Vision for High School Teacher Preparation Article
November 09, 2009Despite pockets of excellence across the country, there are far too few teacher preparation programs that provide high school teachers with the skills they need to educate all students to be college and career ready.