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http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/05/23ltlf-dupree.h33.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS1

Pushing the Back of the Envelope NYC school reform may have produced real economic benefits, but Sonecon report’s analysis is nothing more than fantasy     URL for this press release:  http://tinyurl.com/ ntg9dmc BOULDER, CO ( March 31, 2014 ) – A recent report, crediting New York City education reforms during the mayoral terms of Michael Bloomberg with boosting the city’s economy by $74 billion, is so seriously flawed as to be useless for policymakers, according to a new review. Sean P. Corcoran, associate professor of educational economics at New York University, reviewed  The Economic Benefits of New York City’s Public School Reforms, 2002-2013  for the Think Twice think tank review project. The review is published today by the National Education Policy Center, housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education. Professor Corcoran, who is on the faculty of NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development and is an affi...

2014 Lessons From District Leaders In discussing leadership, President John Quincy Adams once said: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” His logic aptly explains the motivation behind  Education Week ‘s annual Leaders To Learn From report. With each of these reports, our aim is simply to shine a light on forward-thinking district leaders who seized on good ideas and executed them well in their school systems. The hope is that other educators—and future leaders—in the nation’s 14,000-plus districts will learn from these leaders’ stories and be inspired to “dream more, do more, and become more” in their own districts. At the very least, they might find a useful innovation to try out themselves. Like last year’s inaugural report, this 2014 edition profiles 16 district-level leaders. Hailing from 14 states, these leaders serve communities big and small, from rural Alaska to New York City, the nation’s largest district, wit...

How do you personalize math in the elementary classroom with blended learning? In this white paper updated for 2014, Introduction to Blended Learning for Elementary Schools: Personalizing Math Learning for the K–5 Classroom, discover: Why increasing math understanding has never been more important Blended learning models that work best for K–5 students How to get your blended learning math initiative started with a clear digital curriculum selection criteria checklist wp-cover-pathways to personalized learning.PNG .btn-download It’s estimated that over 10.7 million students in the US will take part in blended learning by 2015. If you are just getting started, this white paper will tell you why blended learning is needed and how it can work for you and your students. Download the white paper to learn more.

Happy National Grammar Day from the APA Style team! For more, see http://nationalgrammarday.com/ (or #GrammarDay on Twitter)!

As part of a potentially explosive lawsuit making its way through federal court, giant online-services provider Google has acknowledged scanning the contents of millions of email messages sent and received by student users of the company’s Apps for Education tool suite for schools. In the suit, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company also faces accusations from plaintiffs that it went further, crossing a “creepy line” by using information gleaned from the scans to build “surreptitious” profiles of Apps for Education users that could be used for such purposes as targeted advertising. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California is currently hearing the complaint, which alleges that the data-mining practices behind Google’s Gmail electronic-messaging service violate federal and state wiretap and privacy laws. Gmail is a key feature of Google Apps for Education, which has 30 million users worldwide and is provided by the company for free to thousands of educational i...

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/12/24sat_ep.h33.html

The Common Core State Standards and accompanying K-12 assessments have recently sparked a fierce national backlash against testing. Sound educational testing and assessment are integral to good teaching and learning in classrooms and necessary for evaluating school performance and assuring quality in education. Rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater, I propose a more considered, "mend, not end" approach to testing, assessment, and accountability in America's schools, with validity at the forefront of the conversation. Mending begins with understanding that most commercial standardized tests are designed to serve particular purposes well, for particular populations, and can support only particular decisions at best. To uphold validity principles in practice, it is worthwhile to ask: Are we using the test for the originally intended purpose, or for another purpose that taxes the tool beyond its technical limits? Multi-purposing a test indiscriminately is not a g...

Bizarro Common Core kindergarten math homework stumps DAD WITH Ph.D. . Bizarro Common Core kindergarten math homework stumps DAD WITH Ph.D. Here is the latest in the never-ending litany of frighteningly stupid Common Core math worksheets. This one comes from the father of a kindergarten student in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. “I have a Ph.D., and I have no idea what is supposed to be done with this homework assignment,” the flummoxed father told The Daily Caller. He sent the bizarre worksheet to TheDC on the condition of anonymity because he didn’t want to risk having his child be the subject of any reprisals from school employees. “I can tell you that my five-year-old brought this home as kindergarten homework Thursday,” he said. “It was a single page worksheet, with the ‘Dear Parent’ section stapled to the top.” The doctoral dad added that he did research some of the terms on the workshee...

Exciting news: Khan Academy is partnering with the College Board so that all students who want to go to college can prepare for the SAT at their own pace, at  no cost . The College Board just announced that they’re redesigning the SAT for 2016, and we’re partnering with them to make free, world-class prep materials. Know anyone preparing for the SAT? Let them know: By spring 2015, you’ll have access to state-of-the-art, interactive learning tools that give you deep practice and help you diagnose your gaps. All of this will be created through a close collaboration with the College Board specifically for the redesigned SAT. Stay tuned. In the meantime, if you are taking the SAT in 2014/15, you can start practicing today with hundreds of previously unreleased Math, Reading, and Writing questions from real SATs and more than 200 videos that show step-by-step solutions to each question

‘New Frontier’ Founded on Old Distortions     New Frontier’ Founded on Old Distortions Expert on rural education finds no value in paper promoting expansion of rural charter schooling   URL for this press release: http://tinyurl.com/m7koncg BOULDER, CO (March 13, 2014)—A recent publication promoting charter school expansion in rural states in order “to strengthen rural education” is little more than a political lobbying document, concludes a new review by one of the nation’s foremost experts in rural education. Craig Howley of Ohio University reviewed A New Frontier: Utilizing Charter Schooling to Strengthen Rural Education for the Think Twice think tank review project. The review is published today by the National Education Policy Center, housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education. New Frontier was issued in January by Bellwether Education Partners, which describes itself as a nonprofit that works with education organ...

Amplify Tablet designed by Intel ® Education features a durable industrial design with bumpers that can withstand the inevitable drops and spills of student life to promote anytime, anywhere learning. Another kid-friendly feature is a stylus with a realistic pen-like grip that won't get lost because it's tethered to the device. The new Amplify Tablet also includes Corning ® Gorilla ® Glass, Intel's 2.0 Ghz dual-core processor, an advanced WiFi radio to solve the unique challenges of connectivity in schools, and all the other features of a high-end tablet. This new device is part of the integrated Amplify Tablet System, which also includes powerful instructional software, high-quality K-12 content, and strong implementation support. This tablet has been purpose-built for K-12 to withstand everyday use by active kids. If we want students to carry mobile devices around with them all day and use them for anytime, anywhere learning, they need to be rugged. Kids wi...

Is it possible to recreate a world class MBA with the internet, a library card, and caffeine? Search A Missing Fear of Prerequisites It would not be totally true to say I am enjoying my newest Coursera.org class -  Social and Economic Networks: Models and Analysis from Stanford.  I started a similar  class last year (Social Network Analysis) which I really enjoyed and have applied at work (at least in theory) and thought this class might be as interesting.  I have a bit more time on my hands now than when I tried Social Network Analysis and was very optimistic I’d finish this class.   It’s feeling unlikely at the moment. I read the following description and decided – though I haven’t taken a math class in 10 years – I would go ahead and sign up : “The course is aimed at people interested in researching social and economic networks, generally masters and PhD students...

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Private Pre-K Feels Heat From Public Providers Pearlie Harris, the director of the Royal Castle Child Development Center, watches over children at the school in New Orleans. In order to stay in business, the center must find ways to retain families who might be drawn to Louisiana's publicly funded preschool program. —Ted Jackson for Education Week Competition from free preschool can siphon off coveted clients By  Christina A. Samuels Printer-Friendly Email Article Reprints Comments Like Every year, Pearlie Harris hustles to keep 4-year-olds enrolled in the child care center she runs in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans. Louisiana regulations require one caregiver for every five children under 12 months old in center-based care, such as Ms. Harris' Royal Castle Child Development Center. For 4-year-olds, regulations allow one teacher for every 16 children. Ms. Harris' center uses a more labor-intensive formula: one ca...