EduTrendsOnline

States Gaining a Say on School Accountability

Whether a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act makes it over the finish line this year, the federally driven accountability system at the heart of the law seems destined to go the way of the Blockbuster video.

The Obama administration has already opened the door to major flexibility by issuing waivers from the NCLB law, the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Why Ed Tech Is Not Transforming How Teachers Teach

WILMINGTON, Del. — Public schools now provide at least one computer for every five students. They spend more than $3 billion per year on digital content. And nearly three-fourths of high school students now say they regularly use a smartphone or tablet in the classroom.

But a mountain of evidence indicates that teachers have been painfully slow to transform the ways they teach, despite that massive influx of new technology into their classrooms.

Strategies for Successfully Implementing No Child Left Behind

Dr. Joanetta (Jodie) Ellis discusses the challenges she faced as a Texas school principal trying to implement the No Child Left Behind requirements. Listen to this podcast to hear more about the strategies she used as an administrator to improve her school from an “acceptable” rating to an “exemplary” rating in less than two years!

She suggests administrators struggling with this policy:

• Involve all stakeholders in the decision-making process, including teachers, parents and students
• Gather as much data as possible about the student population as well as available resources
• Define expectations.

Sequester Impacts Early Childhood Education

By Conrad Lotze
VP & Dean, School of Education at American Public University

The U.S. federal budget sequestration began on March 1 as part of the austerity fiscal policy enacted by the 2011 Budget Control Act. The sequester has drastically limited across-the-board government programs throughout the country, including early childhood education.

Particularly hard hit is Head Start, the federal program that aids low-income preschool children.

Are Standardized Tests Challenging Academic Rigor?

By Dr. Conrad Lotze
VP & Dean, School of Education at American Public University

This year, millions of school-aged children will spend multiple hours at school taking standardized tests. Stop and think about that for a minute. Now ask yourself some questions:

• What are the tests designed to measure?
• Who decides what content gets tested?
• How much time do students and their teachers spend specifically preparing for those tests?