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Here are today’s news and opinion stories from educators, advocates, and policy wonks and makers:
News and Analysis
We Americans love children. (New York Times)
The Department of Education has branded “tracking”—designating students for separate educational paths based on their academic performance—as a modern day form of segregation. (The Atlantic)
New evidence from a teacher evaluation pilot in Chicago. (Education Next)
With Republican majorities in the House and Senate, Congress may push for change on several big education issues, including a rewrite of the law known as No Child Left Behind. But it’s also clear that, even on classroom issues that seem to have bipartisan support — including Pre-K funding — Democrats and Republicans may have trouble compromising. (NPR)
New Jersey
Newark is a city comprised primarily of financially struggling residents — with over 50 percent receiving public assistance and 71 percent of students eligible for free lunch. The neighborhood surrounding Alexander Street Elementary School is among the poorest in the city. Time and again, research affirms that young people in our poorest neighborhoods are extremely likely to be in failing schools. To be more blunt, in America, in the 21st century, a child’s zip code can reliably predict their ability to attain academic excellence, post-secondary education, and access to the American dream of economic prosperity. If you believe as I do, that every student, in any zip code can succeed at the highest levels, and that it is the obligation of adults to create the conditions for success, then you can understand why I enthusiastically accepted the role as Superintendent of Newark Public Schools almost four years ago. (Huffington Post)
New York
New York State saw a significant drop in the number of candidates who passed teacher certification tests last year as tougher exams were introduced, state officials said on Wednesday, portraying the results as a long-needed move to raise the level of teaching and the performance of teacher preparation schools. (New York Times)