‘Affordable Care Act saved my life’

Amy Lynn Smith has posted a new item, ”The Affordable Care Act saved my life’ says mother of three being treated for cancer’, at Eclectablog

You may view the latest post at:

http://www.eclectablog.com/2017/01/the-affordable-care-act-saved-my-life-says-mother-of-three-being-treated-for-cancer.html

We Live Here: A neighborhood school on the brink of closure | From “State of Opportunity” on Michigan Public Radio

Over the last 15 years, cities across the country have faced wave after wave of school closures. Places like Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia

“We Live Here” – a radio broadcast documentary about neighborhood schools in Detroit.

Over the last 15 years, cities across the country have faced wave after wave of school closures. Places like Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia closed down dozens of buildings at a time.

But the district that closed the most schools during that time was Detroit Public Schools.

Since 2000, the city has seen nearly 200 school buildings shuttered.

So, what happens to a neighborhood — and the kids who live there — when a school closes?

Join us as we try to answer that question in We Live Here, a documentary about the history and future of neighborhood schools in Detroit.

Why schools closed

So, why did Detroit Public Schools end up shutting down 195 schools in less than 15 years?

LISTEN TO THE FULL BROADCAST REPORT HERE: We Live Here: A neighborhood school on the brink of closure | state of opportunity

Where to now, liberals, now that the ‘game’ has changed? | Eclectablog

‘Where to now, liberals, now that the ‘game’ has changed?’, at Eclectablog. You may view the latest post at:
http://www.eclectablog.com/2017/01/where-to-now-liberals-now-that-the-game-has-changed.html

Focusing State Accountability Systems More on High Achievers May Backfire | National Education Policy Center

Key Review Takeaway: Problematic assumptions and a lack of research mar two reports advocating for high-achieving students.

Find Documents:

Press Release: http://nepc.info/node/8445
NEPC Review: http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-tracking-high-stakes
Report Reviewed: https://edexcellence.net/publications/high-stakes-for-high-achievers

Contact:

William J. Mathis: (802) 383-0058, wmathis@sover.net
Beth C. Rubin: (848) 932-0677, beth.rubin@gse.rutgers.edu

More NEPC Resources on Tracking and Detracking

BOULDER, CO (January 26, 2017) – Two recent reports from the Fordham Institute address the question of the impact of state accountability systems on “high achievers,” referred to in the reports as “students who have already crossed the proficiency threshold.” Both reports assert that states are not adequately attending to the needs of these students and that state accountability systems under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) should be redesigned in order to incentivize districts to address those needs.

Beth Rubin, associate professor of education at Rutgers University, reviewed High Stakes for High Achievers and High Stakes for High Schoolers for the Think Twice Think Tank Review Project at the National Education Policy Center, housed at CU Boulder’s School of Education.

The education of high-achieving students is an important concern, but the reports uncritically turn to standardized test scores as the lever to create favorable policy and practice. High-achieving students (like all students) need engaging challenges and supports, and there is good reason to fear that more intense test-score accountability focused on these students would divert instruction toward test-prep lessons.

The reports, in calling for leveraging of assessment measures to overcome complex social and economic problems, also deflect attention from the structural economic inequalities that are the major source of educational disparities. In doing so, the reports repeat old, disproven arguments about the lack of impact resources have on educational opportunity.

Professor Rubin concludes with four critiques of the reports: (a) their central assumptions about high-achieving students are not supported by evidence; (b) accountability pressures attached to growth measures are not an effective means for gaining better instruction for high-achieving students; (c) narrow, high-stakes forms of assessment may negatively impact the education provided to these students; and (d) further stratifying educational settings and reallocating resources toward “high-achieving” students has troublesome implications for the democratic goals of education.

Implementation of the reports’ recommendations, she explains, “may in fact result in a furthering of the inequitable educational opportunities that ESSA was designed to reduce.”

Find Professor Rubin’s review at:
http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-tracking-high-stakes

Find High Stakes for High Achievers: State Accountability in the Age of ESSA by Michael J. Petrilli, David Griffith, Brandon L. Wright, & Audrey Kim, and High Stakes for High Schoolers: State Accountability in the Age of ESSA, by Michael J. Petrilli, David Griffith, & Brandon L. Wright, both published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, at:
https://edexcellence.net/publications/high-stakes-for-high-achievers and https://edexcellence.net/publications/high-stakes-for-high-schoolers

The National Education Policy Center (NEPC) Think Twice Think Tank Review Project (http://thinktankreview.org) provides the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: http://www.greatlakescenter.org

The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu