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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
Historically, the group United Students Against Sweatshops has organized campus demonstrations around everything from the working conditions behind the making of college apparel to the treatment of food-service workers. Frankly, were I in college today, I might have joined some of their demonstrations. But now, with the financial backing of the American Federation of Teachers, these activists have chosen education as their newest cause and placed Teach For America in their cross hairs. By their logic, TFA, an organization that inspires people to fight educational inequity, sits at the heart of it. (Education Week)
Maryland
The Maryland State Education Association is calling on the State Board of Education to suspend its Kindergarten Readiness Assessments, arguing that teachers lose too much instructional time administering the new computer-based tests and are not receiving useful data to improve teaching and learning. (Washington Post)
Minnesota
We’ve long known that third-grade literacy is a key milestone in a child’s academic career and a strong predictor of later success. It’s so strong, in fact, that children who can’t read well by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school. (MinnPost)
New York
Nine out of 10 New York City teachers received one of the top two rankings in the first year of a new evaluation system that was hailed as a better way of assessing how they perform, according to figures released on Tuesday. (New York Times)
A top official in the New York State Comptroller’s Office has urged regulators to require more transparency on charter-school finances. The response has been, well, nonexistent. (ProPublica)
A great pre-kindergarten teacher isn’t born—she’s made. As the pre-k system expanded in New York City, education officials said one-on-one coaching was critical for teachers’ growth and they expanded the program. (WNYC)