Education Trust News

Gaps in SAT Test Scores Reflect Differences in High School Preparation

In its release of the “2012 Report on College and Career Readiness,” the College Board announced that the SAT was taken by more high school seniors than ever before, including the highest percentage of students of color. Yet only 43 percent of all test takers met the college readiness benchmark (a predictor of college success), evidence that the nation’s high schools are failing to adequately prepare many graduates to succeed in either college or career.

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Examining the Causes of School Funding Inequity

It’s no secret that some schools and some districts have more funding to work with than others. Now a new report from the Center for American Progress examines inequities in state education finance systems. The findings confirm that in some states, high-poverty districts consistently receive fewer state and local resources than low-poverty districts, a practice that consistently shortchanges larger proportions of our most academically fragile students.

Standards Alone Not Enough to Prepare Students for College and Careers

In recent years, states have enthusiastically adopted standards that promote college and career readiness. A new report from Achieve, Closing the Expectations Gap 2012, reminds us once again that simply adopting more rigorous standards is not enough to adequately prepare all students for life after high school. Boosting student preparedness relies squarely on aligning the courses students are expected to take with the new standards, and providing crucial support for districts, teachers, schools — and students, particularly those who are farthest behind.

Promising Teamwork in Oregon Aims to Improve Teacher Preparation

A new program in Oregon offers a hopeful example of how collaboration and teamwork can produce innovative solutions to enhancing teacher effectiveness and student achievement. TeachOregon, launched by the Chalkboard Project in August, was established with grants totaling $180,000 awarded to five partnerships configured among 20 school districts and six universities. The partnerships will work together to design innovative new models for preparing the next generation of Oregon’s K-12 teachers.

Advancing to Completion

WASHINGTON (September 20, 2012) — Nationwide, college graduation rates are far too low, particularly among students of color, a fast-growing demographic in America. But two reports released today by The Education Trust show that it doesn’t have to be that way. “Advancing to Completion: Increasing degree attainment by improving graduation rates and closing gaps for African-American students” and “Advancing to Completion: Increasing degree attainment by improving graduation rates and closing gaps for Hispanic students” spotlight colleges of all types that are producing better results by improving graduation rates and/or narrowing the graduation-rate gaps on their campuses.

ETM Releases New Report on Strengthening Michigan’s Teachers

A new report from EdTrust-Midwest highlights the need for better teacher quality measures and professional development. With Michigan’s teacher evaluation system rating nearly every teacher “effective” or higher while student scores slip, “Strengthening Michigan’s Teacher Force” makes the argument for a stronger evaluation system that supports teachers in order to improve student achievement.

Students Struggle in Writing, Especially on Tasks Relevant to College and Career

Surveys have long shown that college professors, employers, and graduates themselves feel that high schools are graduating students who lack the writing skills necessary to succeed in college and the workplace. Recent results from the 2011 National Assessment of Education Progress corroborate these opinions, showing that far too many American middle and high school students have insufficient writing skills.

Getting Serious about Closing Gaps

A recent brief from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) finds few states are taking steps to improve the chances that individuals entering the teaching profession will be effective. For example: while 41 states require teacher preparation programs to screen candidates at either program entrance or exit, the most commonly used basic skills tests only assess skills up to the middle-school level. Making bad matters worse, 95 percent of the states for which NCTQ could obtain test data set the passing score on elementary teachers’ licensure tests at the 16th percentile of all test takers or lower. 

Students Win as California’s AB 5 Fails

Students in California scored a victory recently with the demise of AB 5, a bill that would have pushed the state backward on both teacher evaluations and accountability for basic education. If enacted, the bill would have weakened California’s requirements for teacher evaluations by not meaningfully including student, parent, and community feedback or factoring in student progress and achievement. Such a change would have left the state unable to meet requirements set by the U.S. Department of Education for states seeking waivers from No Child Left Behind.