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Student test scores are not reliable indicators of teacher effectiveness, according to a new Economic Policy Institute report, Problems with the Use of Student Test Scores to Evaluate Teachers. The paper was co-authored by a group of distinguished education scholars and policy makers, including four former presidents of the American Educational Research Association, a former assistant U.S. Secretary of Education, EPI Research Associate Richard Rothstein, and others. The authors find that the accuracy of these analyses of student test scores is highly problematic. They argue that the practice of holding teachers accountable for their student's test score results should be reconsidered.

I'm sorry, but if this is news to anyone, you've been asleep at your desk. I'm sick of people being all professional about this issue, it is well past time to rebel against it. It's bad for the teachers, it's bad for the students, it's bad for society, and it's bad for the economics of education too! Get active, join a group against NCLB & high-stakes testing, and END IT. I would post the group(s) I work with, but I don't want to be dismissed as promoting them - find one(s) that are right for you and get behind them.

See how often US presidents have said certain words in their inaugural addresses. Click on the examples on the right, or type in your own word above. Hover over points in the graph and milestones to see names and dates

Little girl's letter to president Obama

Congress has authorized a new federal research center that will be charged with helping to develop innovative ways to use digital technology at schools and in universities. The National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies was included as part of the latest reauthorization Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader of the Higher Education Act, approved last month. President Bush signed the law on Aug. 14. The center will be charged with supporting research and development of new education technologies, including internet-based technologies. It will also help adapt techniques already widely used in other sectors, such as advertising and the military, to classroom instruction.

Interesting post on Reading First Fate from former IRA president and member of the National Reading Panel

If the message in this video resonates with you feel free to send it to any teachers, principals, professors, university presidents, boards of regents, boards of education, etc. you think should see it.

Cool webinars and expert activities. I just love these -- go to this website and sign up! Dr. Wayne Clough, former president of Georgia Tech (my alma mater) now runs the smithsonian and they are doing some of the coolest things! Here is a list, but go to the website to join in. " Day One: Understanding the American Experience Tuesday, 13 April 2010 11:00 to 11:50 am EDT How do we change a stereotype? 12:00 to 12:50 pm EDT What can science tell us about American history? 2:00 to 2:50 pm EDT What does clothing communicate? Day Two: Valuing World Cultures Wednesday, 14 April 2010 11:00 to 11:50 am EDT Who owns music? 12:00 to 12:50 pm EDT What happens when a people meets its past? 2:00 to 2:50 pm EDT How does design solve everyday problems? Day Three: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe Wednesday, 28 April 2010 11:00 to 11:50 am EDT Are there other worlds out there? 12:00 to 12:50 pm EDT How have we imagined other worlds? 2:00 to 2:50 pm EDT How do we grasp the vastness of the universe? Day Four: Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet Thursday, 29 April 2010 11:00 to 11:50 am EDT What do modern animal bones tell us about biodiversity? 12:00 to 12:50 pm EDT How can we learn about nature's most elusive animals? 2:00 to 2:50 pm EDT How (and why) do we count living things?"

US President Barack Obama lamented Sunday that in the iPad and Xbox era, information had become a diversion that was imposing new strains on democracy, in his latest critique of modern media

President Obama's newly proposed education agency - ARPA-ED.

"The best economic stimulus is a high school diploma," said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia examine the economic value

"Published on Sep 24, 2011 by whitehouse President Obama explains that states will have greater flexibility to find innovative ways of improving the education system, so that we can raise standards in our classrooms and prepare the next generation to succeed in the global economy." With captions and interactive transcript

Executive Office of the President Council of Economic Advisers Unleashing the Potential of Educational Technology September 16, 2011 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Educational technology holds the promise of substantially improving outcomes for K-12 students, but there are significant challenges in bringing new educational technology products for this population to market. It is difficult for producers of these technologies to demonstrate the effectiveness of their products to potential buyers and market fragmentation creates barriers to entry by all but the largest suppliers. The spread of broadband Internet and Common Core State Standards have improved the landscape for educational technologies, but these factors alone are likely insufficient for a "game changing" advance. Working together, stakeholders can form a plan of action to provide local school systems with easy access to good information about the effectiveness of various educational technology products and give prospective developers of these products access to customers on a scale sufficient to make it worthwhile for them to enter the market. The payoff - in the form of more effective and more widely utilized educational technologies, leading to better outcomes for students - could be enormous.

Mary Minow August 01, 2008 Breaking News: Digital Promise legislation passes "Digital Promise Passed by Both Houses of Congress On Thursday, July 31, 2008, the legislation to create the Digital Promise was passed by both the House and Senate as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. It is expected to be signed into law by President Bush within days. The name has been changed to the "National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies." I much preferred "Digital Promise" but the main thing is that the legislation has passed. What it will do: It will create a Congressionally originated 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation within the U.S. Department of Education. It will have a nine-member independent Board of Directors appointed by the Secretary of Education from nominations by members of Congress. Grants and contracts will be awarded on merit, and policies will be developed following the tested procedures of NSF and NIH. The Center will be able to receive grants, contracts, and philanthropic contributions, as well as federal appropriations. See the National Center section of the bill ."

From the Committee on Education and Labor here in the US. Mark your calendars! This is June 16 at 10 am EDT. "WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, June 16 to examine how technology and innovative education tools are transforming and improving education in America. Immediately following the hearing, members of the media are invited to attend an education technology demonstration where they can have hands-on experience using cutting-edge education technology products. WHAT: Hearing on "The Future of Learning: How Technology is Transforming Public Schools" WHO: Jennifer Bergland, chief technology officer, Bryan Independent School District, Bryan, TX Aneesh Chopra, chief technology officer, White House Office for Science and Technology Dr. Wayne Hartschuh, executive director, Delaware Center for Educational Technology, Dover, DE Scott Kinney, vice president, Discovery Education, Silver Spring, MD John McAuliffe, general manager, Educate Online Learning, LLC, Baltimore, MD Lisa Short, science teacher, Gaithersburg Middle School, Montgomery County Public Schools, Gaithersburg, MD Abel Real, student, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC WHEN: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 10:00 a.m., EDT WHERE: House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room 2175 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. **Note: This hearing will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website. You can access the webcast when the hearing begins at 10:00 am EDT from http://edlabor.house.gov**"

If you had $100 billion to fix our schools, what would you do? A surprisingly smart list of suggestions for the education portion of the federal stimulus money is circulating in the education policy world. A group of experts claims authorship. I don't believe committees are capable of good ideas, so I doubt the alleged origins of the list. But let's put that aside for a moment and see what they've got. Better yet, why not come up with our own ideas? My column seeking cheap ways to improve education yielded interesting results. By contrast, think of what we could do if we had enough money to buy the contract of every great quarterback: guarantee the Redskins a Super Bowl victory. Many expensive school-fixing schemes proved just as insane and just as useless. But Barack Obama is president, and we are supposed to be hopeful.