September 27, 2018 Bethany Blankley The Pelican State ranks 46th and received a D- grade by Education Week in its 2018 K-12 Achievement Index. First published in January and recently updated with federal data, the Index provides a comprehensive assessment of student performance including in math and reading proficiency at the fourth and eighth…
Category: Failing Schools
Startling number of city public school students don’t understand basic math, English
By Selim Algar September 26, 2018 (New York) More than half of city public school students still don’t have a basic grasp of math and English, according to the latest round of state test results released Wednesday. Overall, 46.7 percent of kids in grades 3 to 8 were proficient in English and just 42.7 percent in…
America’s public school teachers are far less racially and ethnically diverse than their students
Racial and ethnic minorities accounted for 20% of all public elementary and secondary school teachers in the United States during the 2015-16 school year, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). That makes teachers considerably less racially and ethnically diverse than their students – as well as the nation as a whole….
Plans to improve public education advance in Annapolis
BY MICHAEL B. JEFFERSON AUG 27, 2018 There was good back-to-school news for Baltimore students and families in the work session held last week in Annapolis by the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, better known as the Kirwan Commission. Under the recommendations of the panel’s working group, pre-K would become much more accessible to…
Detroit schools shutting off drinking water because of lead, copper
Lori Higgins, Aug. 29, 2018 The Detroit school district is shutting off drinking water to all of its schools after test results found elevated levels of lead or copper in 16 out of 24 schools that were recently tested. “Although we have no evidence that there are elevated levels of copper or lead in our other…
Charter schools are big business. Who’s making money off public education?
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC REVEALS WHAT CHARTER SCHOOLS DON’T TELL PARENTS. SEE THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION HERE Arizona Republic Aug. 22, 2018 With Arizona public schools struggling to raise students’ standardized test scores, the Legislature in 1994 began a grand experiment: charter schools. They were exempted from state procurement or conflict-of-interest laws and the oversight of elected boards. With less regulation, charters could…
Public Opinion Shifts in Favor of School Choice
In a new survey, a majority of respondents support the expansion of families’ education options. But specific programs such as vouchers remain polarizing. ALIA WONG AUG 21, 2018 The results of a new poll suggest that a majority of Americans now support the expansion of school choice for all families. With 54 percent of respondents saying they…
This effort is Utah’s chance to improve public education
Less than 50 percent of Utah students are currently proficient in key subjects. That’s not good enough to prepare the workforce of the future. Especially at risk are students who don’t have strong family support or are otherwise disadvantaged. By A. Scott Anderson July 25, 2018 I’ve long been convinced that improving public schools is the…
Report slams Texas’ underfunding of public schools
By John Austin Jul 29, 2018 AUSTIN — Texas’ school-age population is the nation’s fastest-growing, with about 850,000 new pupils in the past decade, but over the same period, the state cut public-education spending by $2.5 billion. The cuts are second only to Florida’s, according to a new report from the American Federation of Teachers,…
LeBron James Family Foundation’s I Promise school opens Monday with hopes of changing public education
By TANIA GANGULI JUL 30, 2018 LeBron James does not do anything halfheartedly. So when Michele Campbell, the executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation, suggested to the now-Lakers star that their mission might be easier to accomplish if they opened a school, James reacted as if the answer was obvious. “‘Well, why aren’t you…
Standing Strong for Public Education! 