Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis:
Will value-added measurement survive the courts?
An ongoing argument raging across the country over whether student test score gains are a fair way to gauge a teacher’s skill has hit the courts. (Hechinger Ed)
A Time for Humility
My correspondent was upset. She was writing because her teaching evaluation had not gone well. She was teaching what was supposed to be a “close reading” lesson and her evaluator thought she had done a terrible job. (Shanahan on Literacy)
Minnesota:
Minnesota House approves education budget, adds $550 million in school spending
The Minnesota House adopted a budget plan Tuesday, April 23, that would add $550 million to K-12 education over the next two years, with the goal of creating the “world’s best workforce” by 2027. (Twin Cities)
Minnesota lawmakers should stand firm on early education support
After years of falling to the bottom of the funding priority list, Minnesota’s littlest learners may finally get a substantial and long-overdue boost from the 2013 Legislature. (Star Tribune)
View Point:
Gaps Persist 30 Years After a Wake-Up Call
Doing math problems gives me goose bumps. I felt that way even as a child. So, it was no surprise that as I sat in church in 1963, I was solving math problems and only casually listening to the speaker discussing civil rights. Suddenly though, he got my attention. (Education Week)
Will the Assessment Consortia Wither Away?
This prediction will puzzle, upset, and maybe infuriate a great many readers—and, of course, it could turn out to be wrong—but enough clues, tips, tidbits, and intuitions have converged in recent weeks that I feel obligated to make it. (Education Next)