June 26, 2013

Local News

The News Journal
Charter school measure heads to governor’s desk
A bill aimed at tightening safe¬guards on charter schools while also giving them more access to state money passed the Senate on Tuesday. Gov. Jack Markell is scheduled to sign the measure today.

WDDE
Mobile home rent control and charter school reform bill await governor’s signature
Senators gave the thumbs up to a bill revamping Delaware’s charter school statute. Most of the changes relate to application and reporting standards. It also creates a fund of up to $5 million for successful charters to use in capital expansions.

DE Department of Education
State announces district, charter grant opportunities for innovative improvement projects
The Delaware Department of Education encourages districts and charter schools to apply for state grants to develop and/or implement promising innovative improvement practices and projects that support increased academic student growth. “This is an opportunity to support the promising ideas of those who work closest with our children. These educators have a unique perspective about what their students need, and this is the chance for us to provide them the funding to make some of those ideas a reality,” Secretary of Education Mark Murphy said. “In turn, we hope to learn from their successes and share those with other schools and districts that could replicate them for their students’ benefit.”

The Dover Post
State BOE approves application for military charter school
Delaware State Board of Education approved an application Thursday for charter school First State Military Academy, which is looking at locations in the Smyrna-Clayton area. Board member Randall Hughes II abstained from the vote. The board approved the application for the charter school following a recommendation of approval by Secretary of Education Mark Murphy.

The Cape Gazette
Cape Henlopen school board to pursue new elementarysc
Cape Henlopen school board members unanimously decided to pursue building a new elementary school and classroom additions at the middle schools as part of its latest plan to address overcrowding. The board unanimously approved a proposal by board member Sandi Minard to forward the plan for a new elementary school and middle school expansion to the state for approval – a necessary step before a school district can present a referendum to the public for vote.

National News

Education Week
Experts urge states to stay course on high-quality assessments
A bevy of assessment experts has identified five factors that make assessments high quality and is urging states to hold out for such tests in the face of political and financial pressures that might weaken their resolve. Their report urges states and districts to demand the criteria when evaluating or building assessment systems.

The Washington Post
Charters not outperforming nation’s traditional public schools, report says
The nation’s public charter schools are growing more effective but most don’t produce better academic results when compared with traditional public schools, according to a report released Tuesday. Researchers at Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes looked at test data from charter schools in 26 states and the District and found that 25 percent of charters outperformed traditional public schools in reading while 29 percent of charters delivered stronger results in math.

The New York Times
Scottish schools focus on more than just tests
Britain’s education minister, Michael Gove, announced yet another measure to make the national exams taken by high school students in England more rigorous, their counterparts in Scotland were taking a curriculum in which national exams for 16-year-olds had been abolished. In recent years, schools in Britain, like those in the United States, have struggled under an increasing burden of testing and assessment designed to improve quality and to enforce some version of national standards.

Related Topics: accountability, Achievement Gap, Andy Lewis, assessment, assessments, Bishopbriggs Academy, C. Scott Kidner, CCSS, Center for Research on Education Outcomes, Charter Accountabilities Committee, Charter School Performance Fund, charter schools, charters, Common Core State Standards, Council of Chief State School Officers, CRESST, Criteria for Higher-Quality Assessment, curriculum, Curriculum for Excellence, D.C. Public Charter School Board, Delaware Military Academy, Dr. Teri Quinn Gray, Educational Institute of Scotland, English learners, formative, G. Patrick Heffernan, G.C.S.E., Governor Jack Markell, Grants, James Pellegrino, Joan Herman, Ken County, Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Linda Darling-Hammond, Michael Gove, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, PARCC, Pat Heffernan, PISA, Program for International Student Assessment, project based learning, Randall Hughes II, Red Clay School District, ROTC, School Boards, school climate, SCOPE, Scott Pearson, SMARTER Balanced, Standards & Student Testing, Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes, student supports, summative, The National Center for Research on Evaluation, U.S. Department of Education f, underachieving students, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Colorado’s National Education Policy Center