November 29, 2012
Local News
The News Journal
Reasons to invest in early childhood education
An op-ed by Governor Markell
Where you start in life should never limit how far you can go if you work and study hard. But the research is clear: kids with access to quality early childhood education are less likely to be disruptive in school and more likely to graduate. They go on to earn more, contribute more and require far fewer government services.
Hurdling college obstacles
All seniors in Smyrna and Lake Forest high schools, both in Kent County, are being given the opportunity to fill out at least one college application this week during the school day. It’s part of a pilot program to encourage students to continue their education by attending a university or technical school. Some students remain undecided about applying to college until the end of their senior year, and that’s too late, said Jennifer Davis, a Smyrna High School counselor. Giving students time and encouragement to fill out at least one applications in the fall avoids that scramble.
Delaware State News
Lake Forest district residents to vote on referendum
Seeking approval of its first operating budget referendum in more than a decade, Lake Forest School District officials said the continued high quality of education is possibly at stake when citizens vote on Tuesday. “When you look at reading and math scores on standardized testing, our students far exceed students’ proficiency throughout the state,” Lake Forest Superintendent Dr. Daniel Curry said. “We’ve been doing that on a shoestring budget, and the question now is how long can we provide the quality education with mounting financial stress.”
National News
Education Week
Testing consortium crafts college-readiness definition
Twenty-five states that are part of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium have drafted an initial college-readiness definition and the descriptors of achievement on each level of the shared test connected to the Common Core standards. Smarter Balanced is soliciting public feedback on the documents with an eye toward final adoption in March.
New literacy research infuses Common Core
The common-core literacy standards reflect the research world’s changing evidence on expectations of student competence in an increasingly interconnected and digitized world. But critics say the standards also neglect emerging evidence on cognitive and reading strategies that could guide teachers on how to help students develop those literacy skills.
Standardized testing costs states $1.7 billion a year, study says
Standardized-testing regimens cost states some $1.7 billion a year overall, or a quarter of 1 percent of total K-12 spending in the United States, according to a new report on assessment finances. The report released Nov. 29 by the Washington-based Brown Center on Education Policy, at the Brookings Institution, calculates that the test spending by 44 states and the District of Columbia amounted to $65 per student on average in grades 3-9 based on the most recent test-cost data the researchers could gather.
Hechinger Report
U.S. higher education must change to remain globally competitive
Nearly half of all Americans think the U.S. higher education is not only too expensive but also only a fair or poor return on their investment, according to a new survey. Most of those surveyed agree that U.S. higher education must change to remain globally competitive, though not everyone is convinced that increasingly popular online courses are as effective as conventional ones.
Related Topics: Common Core, Governor Markell, Higher Education, Teacher Preparation