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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News & analysis:
D.C. posts significant gains on national test, outpacing nearly every state
The District’s fourth- and eighth-graders made significant gains on national math and reading tests this year, posting increases that were among the city’s largest in the history of the exam. (Washington Post)
Tennessee and D.C. lead education reform
How often does Tennessee get cited nationally for producing great academic gains for its children? Almost never, about the same number of times Washington, D.C., gets touted for its superior academic results. (USA Today)
Moving Top Teachers to Struggling Schools Has Benefits
The transfer of top elementary teachers to low-achieving schools can help boost students’ performance, but there’s a catch: getting them to agree to move. (Education Week)
Maryland:
Md. students show no significant gains on national tests
Maryland fourth- and eighth-graders scored slightly lower in math on a national test than two years earlier, though the state’s pass rates still remain among the best in the country, according to data released Thursday. (Baltimore Sun)
Minnesota:
Minnesota school achievement gap narrows for some, test shows
Compared with much of the nation, Minnesota students’ have top reading and math scores. And while they’ve made progress, an achievement gap remains between white and minority students. Those are the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, released Thursday. (TwinCities.com)
New Jersey:
N.J. students again rank near top on ‘nation’s report card’
New Jersey remains near the top of performance on the test known as the “nation’s report card,” and ranks No. 2 in eighth-grade math and reading after Massachusetts, according to data released Thursday. (NorthJersey.com)
North Carolina:
New N.C. exams paint bleak picture of skills in state, CMS
Fewer than half the students in North Carolina and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have the reading and math skills they need to be on track for college and skilled jobs, based on results of new state exams released Thursday. (Charlotte Observer)