Search

The article explores the Joe Biden administration's lack of a clear K-12 education agenda, contrasting it with previous administrations like Bush's No Child Left Behind and Obama's Race to the Top. Topics include the Biden administration's approach to K-12 education, the impact of the American Rescue Plan, the need for a more focused agenda, and the potential areas where the administration could put more emphasis, such as charter schools, parent engagement, and literacy curricula.

The article reports that the U.S. government has outlined the Improving Student Achievement Agenda for states and school districts which aims to increase student attendance, expand after-school programs and adopt high-dosage tutoring.

The article focuses on the adoption of "portraits of a graduate" by at least 17 states, emphasizing the move beyond traditional academic measures to define student success. Topics include the development of these portraits involving input from diverse stakeholders, the expansion of goals beyond academic achievements, and the need to tie the portraits to student progress for meaningful educational transformation.

The article discusses the issues and challenges facing teachers in the implementation of laws on transgender and nonbinary student pronouns that were enacted by several U.S. states like Alabama, Florida and Indiana. According to teachers, the laws could endanger their trusting relationships with students and hyper-politicize the teaching profession.

The article reports on the move by U.S. states to adopt competency-based education policies in their jurisdiction to replace time-based grades and course credits. The aim is to assess students based on their mastery of a subject. Also cited are the decision of Wyoming to pilot a competency-based learning program, and the alleged benefits of said program like more personalized learning.

The article discusses how educators perceive state-mandated standardized tests and the pressure associated with them. It highlights that a majority of educators do not find these tests useful in the classroom despite feeling pressure to ensure students perform well on them. It discusses a shift in thinking about the value of standardized tests and a desire to measure school success using other factors like graduation rates and school climate surveys.

The article discusses how several states are exploring alternative approaches to standardized testing in education. It mentions that many states are seeking to move away from once-a-year standardized exams in favor of through-year testing models that provide more timely and useful feedback on students' progress in Missouri.

The article discusses how Missouri is developing social-emotional learning (SEL) standards with the aim of addressing teacher turnover, as over half of new teachers in the state leave within five years.It mentions that the SEL standards aim to improve student behavior, mental health, and teacher morale by teaching students skills related to managing emotions, cultivating healthy relationships, and fostering empathy.

The article reports the growing power of the parents' rights movement in education, as seen in examples such as the Isle of Wight County school board passing policies that ban sexually explicit materials and allow parents to opt their children out of certain curriculum. The movement has become a priority for conservative politicians and has led to policies being passed at district and state levels.

An interview with U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, is presented. He talks about his plans to ensure the safety of students as they return to the classroom in the 2022-2023 school year. He presents his strategy to address the shortage of teachers. He urges school district leaders to spend the federal COVID-19 recovery funds immediately to support students.

The article focuses on the impact of anti-Critical Race Theory (CRT) campaigns on public trust in local schools. Topics include the spread of narratives undermining CRT, the influence on book bans and censorship, and the polarization of support for CRT bans based on exposure to certain narratives. Researchers found that exposure to anti-CRT messages reduced trust in teachers' ability to discuss race and impacted support for schools teaching about fairness and equity.