Good news, bad news for public schools
The good news this week is that American students stack up better against their international counterparts, if socio-economic background is taken into account. Edweek has a good roundup of the new...
View ArticleNECAP scores expected Friday
State education officials plan to announce results from the latest round of state-wide standardized testing, unless a blizzard gets in the way. The Department of Education says Governor Lincoln Chafee...
View ArticleRI highest in reading scores for 11th graders in New England
Rhode Island has released test scores that show 73 percent of public school students are proficient in reading and just 57 percent are proficient in Math. The numbers were relatively flat compared to...
View ArticleAs RI Rolls Out Common Core, Are New Science Standards Next?
Rhode Island is one of 26 states that have promised to consider new science guidelines known as the Next Generation Science Standards. The standards were developed by the same organization that created...
View ArticleMeeting the Challenge of Standardized Testing
As Rhode Island grapples with high school diplomas tied to test scores, Massachusetts students have faced a similar requirement for a decade. Rhode Island Public Radio's Elisabeth Harrison visited...
View ArticleStudents to Gist: We’re Sorry
Members of the student advocacy group Providence Student Union have issued an apology to Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist for making comments about her reputation. The students said...
View ArticleACLU to File New Lawsuit over Standardized Testing
The Rhode Island Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union plans to announce yet another lawsuit in its ongoing battle over high-stakes testing.Critics of a state policy tying high school diplomas...
View ArticleThis Week in Education
Standardized testing is underway in Rhode Island public schools, where students take the New England Common Assessment Program or NECAP every October. The tests of math and reading are administered to...
View ArticleDiane Ravitch On Standardized Tests, Charter Schools, And Teacher Evaluations...
It’s October, and that means students across Rhode Island are filling in bubbles on standardized tests.
View ArticleMy Interview With Diane Ravitch
I had a chance to sit down with Diane Ravitch this week prior to her talk at the University of Rhode Island. She told me she thinks Rhode Island should give up the New England Common Assessment Program...
View ArticleDespite Critics, Achievement First Charter School Up And Running
Achievement First is a brand new charter school in Providence that also operates schools in Connecticut and New York. Critics fought hard to keep it from opening in Rhode Island, arguing that among...
View ArticleRI Sees Little Improvement on National Testing
Rhode Island eighth graders inched upwards on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2013. The standardized test of English and Mathematics, often called "the Nation's Report Card,"...
View ArticleUS Students Lag on International Test
New international testing results show American high school students are only about average when compared to their peers in the developed world. The test, known as the Program for International Student...
View ArticleWatering down NECAP diploma requirement
One of the most contentious issues in education remains high-stakes testing. In Rhode Island most of the strum and drang revolves around the New England Common Assessment Program Test.This year, for...
View ArticlePhiladelphia's Testing Scandal
Philadelphia is firing principals in the latest scandal over cheating on standardized tests. As The New York Times reports, a large number of erasure marks in testing booklets raised red flags and led...
View ArticleWith NECAP Testing Linked To Graduation, Thousands Of RI Students Anxiously...
Thousands of high school students across Rhode Island learn this week whether they improved enough on a standardized test to earn a diploma. The state is releasing NECAP scores for all students,...
View ArticleNECAP Scores Show Improvement in High Schools
The latest NECAP scores show more high school students reaching proficiency in both reading and mathematics, although math scores continue to be lower than state officials might like.The Rhode Island...
View ArticleRhode Island is Not Alone in Worrying About Public Education
Concerns about public education in China are fueling an increasing interest in alternative schools like Waldorf education. The trend is profiled in a fascinating New Yorkerarticle now on newsstands.
View ArticleRI Lags on AP Testing
More Rhode Island students are taking Advanced Placement tests, but they are not passing at the same rates as their peers around the country.The College Board has just released its annual report on AP...
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