instruction

Frome MDE

Math test scores soar if students are given the chance to struggle
by Bernice Yeung

NGA Center, CCSSO Release First Official Public Draft of the College- and Career-Readiness Standards

WASHINGTON—The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) today released the first official public draft of the college- and career-readiness standards in English-language arts and mathematics as part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a process being led by governors and chief state school officers in 51 states and territories. These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing, academic college courses and in workforce training programs.

PHILADELPHIA - The ultimate quality of the country's educational system is in the hands of states and leaders there should use the federal stimulus package to expand the schools and teaching methods that are doing well and track student achievement, Microsoft founder Bill Gates told the summit of the National Conference of State Legislatures on Tuesday.

Mr. Gates began his remarks to the opening of the general session by saying while the United States faces "unordinary" times with more government services needed at a time of declining revenues, "difficult times part to great reforms," and the country can "come out stronger than when we entered" if state officials tap into the power of change.

Story from eSchool News-- By Laura Devaney, Senior Editor

Millions of accomplished Baby Boomers could drag education into the 21st century – if our schools could just manage to accommodate them

An innovative and potentially ground-breaking approach to 21st
century education is placing baby boomer retirees from STEM fields into
"learning teams" with educators in an attempt to give students
knowledge from real-life science and math experts.

Spearheaded by the National Commission on Teaching and America's
Future (NCTAF), these learning teams pair experienced STEM retirees
with classroom teachers to inject compelling real-life lessons into
classroom instruction, while at the same time giving teachers valuable
support.

While students are making some progress on the Michigan Merit Exam in math, social studies and writing, with the same or worse scores in other subject areas, still fewer than half of students are proficient in writing and math and, overall, scores don't reflect college readiness, Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan said on Tuesday.

Writing and math scores each improved by three points this year, with 44 percent of 11th grade students scoring proficient or advanced in 2009 compared to 41 percent in 2008 and 49 percent receiving those marks in math this year compared to 46 percent last year, according to test results released by the Department of Education.

Colleagues:
 
Michigan educators, along with educators from several other states, have been challenged in recent months to implement some of the highest high school graduation requirements in the nation. These standards are tied to credits aligned with a nationally vetted set of content expectations. Although this is a fitting challenge for our times, this transition from course titles and seat time to credit tied to content expectations has introduced a new way of thinking about how to develop, align, and deliver the Michigan Merit Curriculum.
 

Sent on February 12, 2009

Dear Mr. Battaglieri,

By Kevin Mowrer
Principal, Manchester High School