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February 8, 2010

WHAT STATES ARE DOING

HIGHER EDUCATION – The TENNESSEE Complete College Act requires the Tennessee Higher Education Committee to develop a statewide master plan that meets the goal of increasing educational attainment, which includes approving institutional mission statements. It also requires the development of a new funding formula to incentivize outcomes to a greater degree across a range of variables.
http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/106/Bill/SB7006.pdf

CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP – A wide-ranging bill in MASSACHUSETTS recently was signed into law with the aim of closing the achievement gap. One notable section of the law creates innovation schools, which are public schools with increased autonomy and flexibility in one or more of the following areas: (1) curriculum; (2) budget; (3) school schedule and calendar; (4) staffing policies and procedures; (5) school district policies and procedures; and (6) professional development.
http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st02/st02247.htm    

GOOD READS                                               

THE EXCELLENCE GAP – A new report from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy reviews national and state assessment data for the existence of "excellence gaps," differences between subgroups of students performing at the highest levels of achievement in all 50 states.
https://www.iub.edu/~ceep/Gap/excellence/ExcellenceGapBrief.pdf

CHARTER SCHOOLS v. "TRADITIONAL" SCHOOLS? - A brief from the Center for Mental Health in Schools finds that arguing about charters vs. "traditional" schools masks the failure of school improvement policy and practice to enhance equity of opportunity. The brief then examines what type of policy shift is needed to stimulate development of a comprehensive, cohesive and coherent system to replace the prevailing piecemeal and marginalized approach to student and learning supports. 
http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/chartermissing.pdf