State Releases School-Accountability Reports

School accountability reports for 2012 have been issued by the Arkansas Department of Education, the first under a new system in which student achievement, student growth, and high-school graduation rates are used to gauge performance, and individualized targets apply only to a specific school and its students. Under the old system, schools competed against others in their district and those across the state. more

Teachers Welcome Mission, Incentive

About 28 educators across Delaware received a $10,000 bonus under the state's Talent Cooperative program that identified teachers, assistant principals, and school leaders who helped raise student test scores. The bonuses were offered to teachers who agreed to remain at the same school for at least two years. more

Guam DOE Gets $20.6M Federal Grant to Support Student Achievement

Guam Education Superintendent Jon Fernandez announced that his department was awarded a $20.6 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education from the Title V, Part A Consolidated Grants program. The island plans to use the money to improve student achievement through local reform efforts that support statewide education reforms; implement promising educational reform programs and school improvement programs based on scientific research; provide a continuing source of innovative and educational improvement; implement programs meeting the educational needs of all students, including at-risk youth; and implement education programs to improve school, student, and teacher performance. more

PA Awarded $6.5 Million Grant to Help Students With Disabilities Learn

Pennsylvania educators who provide special education services to students with disabilities will receive professional development through a $6.5 million, five-year federal grant awarded to the State Department of Education. more

Louisiana's Educators Enter a New World With Evaluations and Their Consequences

Beginning this year, Louisiana teachers will be evaluated and ranked on an annual basis, and eventually, teachers considered ineffective for two years in a row will lose their jobs. About 50 percent of the evaluations will hinge on "value-added modeling," using test scores to measure student progress, with the other half based on classroom observations by principals and other administrators. more

Nebraska Schools, Students Show Improvement on State Tests

The Nebraska Education Department has released a report on public schools and student progress, indicating that three of four school districts graduated 90 percent or more of their high school students. More than 50 school districts graduated all of their seniors, with 88 percent of high school seniors graduating across the state, up from 86 percent last year. Most school districts demonstrated improvement and growth under the new accountability system. more