Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Education Research Report: Formative Assessment Initiatives in Two States

Education Research Report: Formative Assessment Initiatives in Two States:

Texas school districts teaching about contraception along with abstinence in sex education classes

Ω


Report Shows Big Increase in Public Schools


A new Texas Freedom Network Education Fund (TFNEF) study shows a big increase over the past three years in the percentage of Texas school districts teaching about contraception along with abstinence in sex education classes.

This encouraging shift away from failed abstinence-only policies is especially important because Texas has one

Formative Assessment Initiatives in Two States

Ω

As schools and districts work to improve student learning outcomes, demand has grown for information on efforts to promote formative assessment and strategies that support its implementation. Formative assessment has been defined by a national group of education leaders and researchers as an ongoing instructional process rather than a discrete event. Using formative assessment, teachers collect feedback daily and systematically with students to inform adjustments to instruction to help students reach learning goals.

This study examines two state-supported initiatives (in New York and Vermont) that seek to promote this

Texas New History Standards Fail on College Readiness

Ω

A new report for the board that manages higher education in Texas confirms that the State Board of Education (SBOE) recklessly put politics ahead of getting students ready for college when adopting new social studies curriculum standards for public schools last year, the president of the Texas Freedom Network said today. This new report follows a scathing review earlier this year in which the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute called the standards a “politicized distortion” of American history filled with “misrepresentations at every turn.”

The new report for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and the Social Studies Faculty Collaborative (which includes college and university faculty and was established by the coordinating board) warns that the public school American history standards adopted last year are “ineffective,” “fail to meet the state’s