9-12

The Campaign for High School Equity and the Alliance for Excellent Education yesterday presented a Webinar on “Implementing the Common Core State Standards to Achieve Equity.” A distinguished panel of guests urged the equity community to get involved in state discussions about adoption and implementation of the Common Core State Standards. We couldn’t agree more!

The U.S. Department of Education has encouraged alignment across different grant programs, including Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants. The challenge for states will be to move very quickly to refine, or in some cases create, a coherent, aligned, and systemic theory of improvement that puts teaching and learning in the center and aligns with federal, district, and local stakeholder priorities.

Though many of the i3 grants have important implications for high school, this week we are discussing those that are most specifically high school focused.[1] Today we discuss the remainder of high school grants which cover a diverse range of high school topics, including high school improvement, personalization, and curricula. More details about the applications are available in the abstracts linked below.

Though many of the i3 grants have important implications for high school, this week we are discussing those that are most specifically high school focused.[1] Today we summarize the winning projects designed to increase high school graduation and improve college readiness. More details about the applications are available in the abstracts linked below.

Though many of the i3 grants have important implications for high school, this week we are discussing those that are most specifically high school focused.[1] Today we summarize the winning projects designed to increase skills, achievement rates, and participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. More details about the applications are available in the abstracts linked below.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently selected the highest-rated Investing in Innovation (i3) applicants. These 49 school districts, nonprofit education organizations and institutions of higher education were chosen from among nearly 1,700 applicants. To officially become an i3 grantee, the winning applicants have until September 8^th to secure commitment for a 20% private sector match.

This is the final of a four-part series on the Race to the Top (RTTT) Round Two finalists.[1] Below, we highlight examples of high school strategies described in seven of the RTTT finalists’ proposals.[2]

Policymakers and educators at the state, district, and building levels are looking to research and evaluation studies to guide policy and practice decisions. Increasingly, applications for federal and state funding require use of “evidence based” or “research supported” strategies, programs, and reform activities.

With the dearth of vetted high school research and research-based interventions, it is important that high school educators acquire skills in determining the rigor of emerging research and that education media writers do a thorough job of fact-checking before quoting from sources that invoke a new “study” or “research report”. For example, several education and news media outlets recently reported “high schoolers less interested in STEM degrees, study says“[1].

The Institute of Education Sciences’ What Works Clearinghouse has just released a report reviewing evaluations of Reading Apprenticeship® and concluded that the program has potentially positive effects on adolescents’ reading comprehension.