The Institute of Education Sciences is encouraging applications to study the Common Core State Standards, within the Continuous Improvement Education Research topic of the Partnerships and Collaborations Focused on Problems of Practice or Policy program.
California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson says students, educators, and parents should check out the Smarter Balanced Practice Tests (available here) to acquaint themselves with the computer-based assessments that will be taken by students in the 2014-15 school year.
States have come together around principles to guide state leadership in assessment transition and to address several immediate state-federal issues in regards to assessment implementation. The principles address key issues essential to successful implementation of high-quality assessments aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) or state college and career readiness (CCR) standards including assessments developed by the PARCC and Smarter Balanced consortia. Additionally, the principles address the immediate need for clear guidelines and bottom-line options for issues that implicate state and federal legal requirements.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has said the states have all the power they need to smooth out the transition between No Child Left Behind and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Idaho Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna says, "Our goal is that by 2016 we want 60 percent of our adult population in Idaho to have some form of post high school degree of certification. Today that number is 34 percent."
Data released by the Nebraska Department of Education show that writing test scores for the state's eighth- and 11th-graders improved this year. The department publicly released the writing test scores as part of the Nebraska State Accountability Writing Assessment (NeSA).
New York Education Commissioner John King, Jr., stands behind the state's adoption of the Common Core State Standards as a means of improving academic standards and raising graduation requirements.
The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers are working on alternate, Common Core State Standards (CCSS) assessments for students with cognitive disabilities.
The South Dakota Board of Education met to discuss a range of new reforms that include new curriculum standards, a new standardized test, school accountability models, and new methods for teacher and principal evaluations.
In a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the state education chiefs belonging to Chiefs for Change urged him not to delay accountability measures associated with the Common Core State Standards.
Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn