High-stakes assessments don't look to be going away anytime soon, but the form they take may be changing. The United States Department of Education Thursday awarded two grants to "move beyond narrowly focused bubble tests" and "develop a new generation of tests" based on standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative and adopted so far by 35 states and the District of Columbia.
The federal government lately has been passing out lots of money through competitive programs by way of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Together, the grants represent a huge investment in education, while providing one more example of the golden rule: He who has the gold makes the rules. What will those rules be going forward?
- By Geoffrey H. Fletcher
- 09/01/10
As more technology has infiltrated America's schools, technology policies from district to district have diverged wildly. Some allow or even require students to bring devices like smart phones and laptops; others limit these technologies or even ban them outright. Is there a way to take the capriciousness out of K-12 technology policy development?
- By Bridget McCrea
- 09/01/10
To minimize the risk of identity theft, school boards in Maine are discouraging parents from providing their children's Social Security numbers (SSNs) to the state's education agency--even though state law says to do otherwise.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 08/31/10
Most Internet users have long been aware that the actual download speeds they get from their Internet connections are somewhat slower than advertised.
Ten recipients have been named in phase 2 of the federal Race to the Top grant program, with five states taking home $400 million or more. In the wake of the announcement, the United States Department of Education said it will convene a series of meetings beginning in November designed to bring states together to discuss "promising" ideas.
Google and Verizon this week issued a statement on United States broadband policy, describing an approach that would permit differentiated services.
Ohio's Board of Regents will be working with Blackboard in developing a program to host distance learning courses in the state. Chancellor Eric Fingerhut chose Blackboard's consulting team to build a new, statewide digital learning clearinghouse that will provide a common platform for online courses.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 08/05/10
Just two days after his administration announced phase 2 Race to the Top finalists, President Obama was on the defensive about the controversial reform program operated out of the United States Department of Education. Speaking Thursday at the National Urban League Centennial Conference in Washington, DC, Obama vowed he would fight to defend the program and would resort to using the veto, if necessary, to maintain its integrity.
In the race for Internet speed, the United States could definitely be called a slacker. According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in the area of average advertised broadband download speed this country falls somewhere between those little heralded hotbeds of high tech, Italy and Greece.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 07/27/10