THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS
The Senate Education Committee Wednesday unanimously approved a bill reauthorizing the Institute for Education Sciences. Edweek calls the bill “largely noncontroversial,” but Checker Finn has pointed out that it fails to safeguard the autonomy of critical education data.
AND IN THESE DETAILS
An Annenberg Institute report calls for states to “revisit and tune-up state charter laws and authorizer practices” to “eliminate student inequities” and “achieve complete transparency and accountability.” The AFT issued a statement trumpeting the report. ‘Nuff said.
TWEET LOVE, OR NOT
“Hey Karen Lewis, I can still read your tweets,” writes Natasha Korecki of the Chicago-Sun Times after being blocked by the CTU union president and possibly mayoral candidate. For Lewis’ part, she says she didn’t know that she’d blocked the reporter.
RETHINKING SCHOOL EVALUATIONS
Jeb Bush has inaugurated the Foundation for Excellence in Education’s school report card design competition, offering monetary prizes for the designs that best “reimagine the transparency, presentation and usability of school information.” ExcelinEd’s emphasis on clarity underscores the widespread concern that existing evaluations poorly convey important information to parents and community members.
NO EXIT EXAM
California officials are reassessing the state's high school exit exam in light of the new, more rigorous standards set forth by Common Core, EdSource reports. Educators are considering replacing the exam with alternative tests, such as the CC- aligned Smarter Balanced exam.
POLYGLOT REFORM
The Washington-based Council of Great City Schools, a consortium of nearly 70 major urban school districts, has developed a framework for teaching English Language Learners while adhering to more challenging Common Core standards.
