News From the Field
Catch top headlines sharing relevant news and stories about Linked Learning practices, schools, and students.
High school grades are up, but test scores aren’t. Why?
The new analysis, released Wednesday by an arm of the U.S. Department of Education, tracks transcripts of a representative sample of high school graduates in 1990, 2000, 2009, and 2019. The trends it finds are at once striking and puzzling, suggesting that teachers are adopting more lenient grading policies or that students’ improved skills aren’t being well measured by standardized tests.
High school students were making progress in 2 key areas before COVID struck
Despite a steady rise in GPAs, 12th-graders’ math and science scores have declined or stayed flat for a full decade, according to Wednesday’s release of Nation’s Report Card data for the graduating class of 2019. And it remains to be seen if COVID’s extensive disruptions, including the uneven shift to virtual learning, will upend this upward trajectory.
Racial Affinity Groups (Creating Space to Talk about Race, Episode 2)
In this episode of The Young and the Woke, guest host and producer Rose Khor shares the voices of a racially diverse group of students from Heath Madom's class at Oakland Tech. The students participated in racial affinity groups where they first divided into groups based on their racial identity to share their experiences and then, importantly, came back together as a whole group to listen to each of the groups offer their reflections.
The Power of Work-Based Learning
Applied connections between education and work are increasingly a part of undergraduate education in the United States. Among students who have work-based learning experiences, those with paid internships stand out for their increased earning power, confidence in themselves, and recognition of the value of their education.
3 actions K-12 leaders should push for to better fund English learners
Diversity doesn’t simply mean supporting English learners—it also means recognizing the heterogeneity of English learners themselves. English learners are not, after all, a homogeneous group, says Indira Dammu, a researcher and senior analyst with Bellwether Education Partners, a nonprofit that works to improve outcomes for underserved students.
Revised California math proposal: Despite pushback, little change
The revised draft of the state’s proposed math framework, which became embroiled in controversy last year, insists students can reach high-level math classes under its recommendations.
U.S. schools are flush with cash, but struggling to spend it on schedule
Across the country, schools are struggling to spend their COVID relief dollars as quickly as planned. Their efforts are running up against a national labor shortage and supply chain issues, which are making it difficult to do things like hire tutors or renovate buildings.
Chiefs for Change resource aims to strengthen states' student mental health responses
State-specific documents to help educators analyze child well-being metrics such as positive social skills outcomes and school-based indicators for student mental health are included in a tool released by Chiefs for Change, a network of state and local school system leaders.
Principal’s View: To Prepare Students to Enter a Tech-Focused Business World, Create Schools With the Workplace in Mind
Today’s problems can't be solved with yesterday’s solutions. It is essential to provide students with quality teaching and the same high-tech resources they'll be using once they graduate, writes Michael Meechin.