- Over the last decade poverty levels in American suburbs have increased by more than 50 percent. As two-thirds of this dramatic increase came recently during 2007-2010, suburban communities have had to re-evaluate their community identities including how they fund local schools particularly in areas surrounding Cleveland.
- Recent data on 8th grade achievement in math and reading compares the United States and the states individually to other countries around the world who also participate in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Results show that the United States as a whole lags behind in reading achievement (17th) but much more so in math achievement (32nd). Meanwhile, Ohio is doing better compared to other states, ranking above the U.S. average for both reading and math. However, 25 other nations and 16 states are ranked ahead of Ohio in math while 10 countries and 10 states rank ahead of Ohio in reading.
- While challenging traditional models and expanding student options, public charter schools are changing the national landscape of education. However, charter schools are constantly facing funding and political challenges. In this report, the Center for American Progress identifies methods and solutions as to how the federal government can best support public charter schools.
- In Washington D.C. the new IMPACT program for measuring teacher effectiveness is making great strides in properly rewarding effective teachers while also working to improve struggling teachers. In the last year, 58 percent of teachers that were considered “minimally effective” improved displaying the program’s ability to provide valuable feedback to motivate teacher improvement. IMPACT uses multiple measures to evaluate teacher effectiveness including: student achievement, three administrator observations, two third-party observations, collaboration with other teachers, and community involvement. For more on the success of IMPACT, watch teacher interviews here!
- Teachers and school officials in Cleveland City Schools are beginning to discuss the transition to teacher merit pay in order to help combat budget restraints that have forced over $13 million in cuts this year.
