Study considers effect of No Child Left Behind
A study shows that pressuring schools to raise test scores under parts of the No Child Left Behind Act resulted in only modest student achievement gains in math and reading. The study shows that students with disabilities, English-language learners and those who began at the lowest performance levels benefited the most from NCLB.
Full Story: Chalkbeat
Teachers are spending own money at record pace
Teachers are spending an average of $652 of their own money this year to buy supplies and pay for professional development, according to a survey from SheerID and Agile Education Marketing. Researchers estimate that this is 39% more than last year and the highest in the past five years.
Full Story: The Motley Fool
Tips for teachers to feel joy on the job
Teachers can keep a sense of joy in their work by taking a break outside during the day and by doing small acts of kindness for colleagues, writes author and educational coach Shane Safir. In this commentary, she outlines several other “joy hacks,” including writing thank-you cards to those who have been helpful and keeping a joy journal.
Full Story: Edutopia online
Tips to blend PBL and competency-based learning
Schools looking to blend project-based learning with a competency-based approach should rethink how they teach, writes Caroline Messenger, director of curriculum at Naugatuck Public Schools in Connecticut. In this commentary, she writes that schools will have to change the curriculum and grading system.
Full Story: SmartBrief/Education
Report: Calif. schools suspend more black boys
Black boys attending California schools are 3.6 times more likely to be suspended than the all-student average, according to a report. Education researchers from San Diego State University and the University of California at Los Angeles found that suspension rates for black boys are lowest in elementary school, rise in middle school and begin to decline in high school.
Full Story: LA School Report (Los Angeles)
Audrey Altmann is an editorial assistant at SmartBrief.
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