What We're Reading: Week of January 2, 2022
Happy 2022, Linked Learning field! I hope everyone enjoyed a restful and relaxing winter break. To kick off the new year, we’re reading stories on proposed changes to California K-12 funding, the growing shift towards performance assessment, the importance of counselors of color, and more. Thanks for reading with us!
Assessment
Senior Capstones are Replacing Bubble Tests at Some High Schools, Future Focused Education
We must anchor the assessment system in students’ authentic experiences, born out of their communities, identities, and passions, writes Future Focused Education's Deborah Good.
Career-Technical Education
Long disparaged, education for the skilled trades is slowly coming into fashion, Hechinger Report
Americans can see firsthand the labor shortages in fields such as construction, transportation and logistics, along with rising pay for those kinds of jobs and the lower debt and the shorter timetables needed to train for them. Higher demand, better pay and new respect are drawing students to these and other trades.
COVID-19
Hit hard by Covid, California high school seniors struggling toward graduation, EdSource
This year, many seniors are either struggling to earn enough credits to graduate or, because of a new state law, are graduating with fewer credits and requirements than classes before them.
Equity
Why we could soon lose even more Black Teachers, Hechinger Report
America has long had a teacher diversity problem, and the strains of the last two years are poised to make it worse, writes Sarah Carr.
Higher Education
Fewer High School Graduates Go Straight to College, Inside Higher Ed
New reports from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center and some states show an “unprecedented” decline in college enrollment among high school graduates—especially the most underserved.
Policy
California lawmakers may stop tying K-12 schools’ funding to daily attendance, Los Angeles Times
After decades of linking K-12 school funding to daily student attendance, California lawmakers are poised to consider abolishing that standard, choosing instead a new method that could provide a significant boost to big districts.
Student Supports
Why School Counselors of Color Matter More Than Ever, EdWeek
Experts emphasize how diversity within the school counseling profession is essential for supporting students at such a critical time and beyond. That’s diversity both in terms of the racial/ethnic demographics of counselors, and in terms of ensuring all counselors intentionally practice cultural sensitivity in their work.