This is a continually updated page with links to great websites, reports, studies and anything else we find interesting in the world of education in Colorado and beyond. Updated April 29, 2011.
Latest links
By the numbers – The National Center for Education Statistics has released the Digest of Education Statistics, 2010 – mini-digest and full digest.
Lessons from abroad – A look at “What the U.S. can learn from the world’s most successful education reform efforts.”
Linking CSAP and remediation – A first-of-its-kind analysis of state test results and college remediation rates shows many of those who needed remedial help as college freshmen could have been identified as early as the sixth-grade. Read the study “Shining a light on college remediation in Colorado.”
Does testing help kids? – Read about a study in the journal Science that appears to show testing is an effective way of helping students learn.
Those international comparisons – What do they really tell us? The Atlantic has an interesting look at a study by Stanford economist Eric Hanushek, who compared American states and foreign countries to see how they’re doing with the best and the brightest students.
Interesting new report – The research group McKinsey & Co. has released a report on 20 school systems around the world, including Singapore, Boston and Long Beach, Calif., that have seen sustained improvement. It’s a unique look at whole-system or districtwide change that lasts.
Another McKinsey & Co. report on a topic that’s little discussed – how to improve teacher quality from the beginning. “The U.S. draws most of its teachers from the bottom two-thirds of college classes,” the report notes, in stark contrast to other high-performing nations such as Finland where, “Only about one in ten applicants is accepted to become a teacher.”
Check this out – The Colorado Department of Education puts 2010 state education facts at your fingertips in this handy guide that includes the state’s performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.
CONTENTS
Websites
- Tracking education stimulus spending
- Help in choosing a school in Colorado
Studies and reports
- Charters
Also on this page
What’s here – That charter school study everybody is talking about? Linked here, so you can read it for yourself.
Ever wonder how Colorado students compare to their peers in other states in reading? Here’s the link to the only national test that can tell you.
Trying to figure out where all that education stimulus money is going? We’ve got links to four websites that should help you figure that out.
Also included are links to the new state law on educator evaluation, the website of the council charged with figuring it out and Colorado’s second Race to the Top bid.
Enjoy, and feel free to send us links at EdNews@ednewscolorado.org.
Websites
Tracking education stimulus spending
EdMoney.org – How are billions of dollars in economic stimulus funding reaching America’s schools? This site, a project of the national Education Writers Association, is tracking stimulus spending in schools across the country.
Schools and the Stimulus – Education Week’s topic site for all things related to the economic stimulus.
U.S. Department of Education stimulus site – The official word on education funding and programs through the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Colorado Department of Education stimulus site – The state on its share of stimulus dollars.
Help in choosing a school in Colorado
See the Colorado School Data Center on our sister site, EdNews Parent.
Colorado School Choice for Kids – A comprehensive site that walks parents through the process of selecting a school for their children. Available in Spanish. Created and funded by various local foundations and businesses.
School Choice for Kids – A user-friendly and bilingual site providing in-depth data on Colorado’s public and private schools. Created by the Independence Institute.
Schoolview.org – The Colorado Department of Education’s site provides a wealth of information on individual schools and districts, and allows you to compare them based on factors such as student academic growth.
National Center on Education Statistics – The national repository for education facts and figures.
The Nation’s Report Card – The only exam allowing for comparison of achievement across states.
CSAP results – The Colorado Department of Education’s page for state, district and school results, past and present.
Colorado Higher Ed reports – The state department’s web page of reports, studies and databases.
Also on the higher ed front – The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued its investigative look at for-profit colleges. The title may say it all: Undercover Testing Finds Colleges Encouraged Fraud and Engaged in Deceptive and Questionable Marketing Practices.
Colorado K-12 data – The Colorado Department of Education’s site for enrollment, average teacher pay and other stats by district and/or school.
What’s up with the new CSAP? – The state’s page explaining revisions to the state testing system and updating the process.
Studies and Reports
No Clear Edge for Charters – June 2010 – This federally commissioned study by Mathematica Policy Research involved more than 2,000 students in 36 charter middle schools in 15 states. The conclusion, as summarized by the national education journal Education Week:
“Students who won lotteries to attend charter middle schools performed, on average, no better in mathematics and reading than their peers who lost out in the random admissions process and enrolled in nearby regular public schools.
But charter middle schools serving the most economically disadvantaged students—especially those in urban areas—were more successful than their counterparts serving higher-achieving, more affluent students in producing gains in mathematics.”
The KIPP report - June 2010 – This study, also by Mathematica Policy Research, looked at results in 22 middle schools operated by the Knowledge Is Power Program and reached similar conclusions as the study above.
The CREDO report – June 2009 – This study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University ignited much debate over its conclusion that most charters were producing similar or worse results than traditional public schools.
What does it all mean? Margaret E. Raymond, the director of CREDO and the lead author of the study released last year, told Education Week that the newer results were “not surprising.”
“This is another layer of evidence that points to the wide variations in the charter school community and highlights, once again, that policy and context really matter. I think what we really have to do now is get under the hood and find out more about how charters differ and why.”
Shortchanged Charters – Colorado League of Charter Schools 2008 report on the facilities challenges facing charter schools across the state.
Outcomes Evaluation – April 2010 – This report by University of Colorado researchers, led by Ed Wiley, examined effects of the alternative teacher pay plan on student achievement and teacher retention. Read the EdNews story here.
Year One Evaluation – Covers 2006-07 school year – First report by CU researchers studying ProComp.
Teacher Performance Management in Denver Public Schools – The February 2010 report by the New Teacher Project, authors of The Widget Effect, honing in on teacher evaluation issues in the city school district. A similar report on Pueblo City Schools is here.
Access to Quality Schools – A 2008 report by the Piton Foundation examining where Denver’s low-income children live in proximity to high-performing schools.
Report on Denver Public Schools pension plan – A 2008 report detailing the challenges posed by traditional pension plans in public school systems. This study clearly lays out how difficult it will be for school systems to recruit the best and brightest young teachers under current pension structures,
School closure lessons – A report commissioned by The Piton Foundation and prepared by the Center for Reinventing Public Education on lessons learned from other cities that have embarked on large-scale school closures.
Colorado’s turnaround application – Here’s how the state won nearly $40 million in federal funding to turn around its lowest-performing schools.
New state law on educator evaluation – Denver Democratic State Sen. Mike Johnston’s bill as approved by Colorado lawmakers.
State Council on Educator Effectiveness – Site of the council appointed by former Gov. Bill Ritter and charged with figuring out how to implement S.B. 10-191, also known as the Johnston bill.
Statewide facilities assessment – March 2010 – The state’s first-ever evaluation of building needs in Colorado schools and how to pay for them.
