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Edreports.org Aims to Be 'Consumer Reports' for Common Core Materials

Edreports LogoEdReports.org, a new nonprofit funded with $3 million from the Gates Foundation and the Helmsley Charitable Trust, will launch in winter 2014. According to a statement posted Friday on the group’s website, it will provide free, Web-based reviews of instructional materials, with a focus on “alignment to the Common Core and other indicators of high quality as recommended by educators, including usability, teacher support and differentiation.”

EdReports.org will first review K-8 math materials, with plans to cover will secondary math and K-12 English Language Arts. The Consumer Reports-style reviews will highlight materials that are aligned to new standards, with the goal of helping teachers, principals and district and state officials make informed choices.

The inaugural Content Review Team includes 19 experienced educators, including 10 practicing teachers and nine instructional leaders. With an average of more than a decade of teaching experience among them, the reviewers are math content experts with experience teaching at every grade level. More than fifty percent of the reviewers have leadership experience as math trainers, coaches, coordinators, department chairs or team leaders.

EdReports.org’s board chair is Harvey Mudd College President Maria Klawe. Eric Hirsch, former chief officer of external affairs at the New Teacher Center, is the organization’s executive director. Hirsch has surveyed more than 1.5 million educators over the past decade to help assess and improve school environments, and has advocated for systems of support for new teachers and principals.

About the Author

Christopher Piehler is the former editor-in-chief of THE Journal.

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