posted on
Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
The number of students at U.S. colleges and universities fell nearly 2% between May 2014 and this month, continuing a four-year slide, according to a report to be released Thursday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (The Wall Street Journal)
The nation’s top consumer watchdog is stepping up its oversight of student-loan servicers, the agency announced on Thursday. (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
On Tuesday, President Obama participated in the Catholic-Evangelical Leadership Summit on Overcoming Poverty at Georgetown University in Washington. While many topics were discussed, including the media, the president addressed the impact children attending private schools have on the “opportunity” for other children. (Real Clear Politics)
After Washington state lost its waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law last year, Seattle applied for its own, arguing that its teacher evaluation system matched what the U.S. Department of Education wanted. (The Seattle Times)
The nation’s students are graduating from high school at record rates and the reasons can be attributed to school-reform efforts, not improving economic trends, argues a new report released by several organizations, including an advocacy group backed by the former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. (The Atlantic)
Right now, it often seems like the national education debate is dominated by a single topic: Tests. Should parents opt-out their kids? Should teachers be evaluated on student test scores? Will the new Common Core exams be better than those in the past? (US News)
A deal worked out by several lawmakers in the Louisiana legislature would leave the Common Core State Standards in place, give the state school board the authority to develop new standards, and give state lawmakers and the governor the prerogative to reject standards proposed by the state board. (Education Week)