t of the folks in the traditional school world are convinced that all we need is to spend more money and our education system would deliver better results. Just this week, Principal Kevin Polston wrote a guest op-ed that called for more equity in per-pupil funding. For those of us who aren’t constantly clamoring for MORE MONEY, our priority is to invest the funds we have more equitably. Click here to read GLEP’s proposal to invest $8,250 per student in basic, operational funding and up to $14,250 per student for at-risk students in the state – all without a tax increase!!
endors for the student assessment that will be used in 2016 and beyond, with an announcement coming in early 2015. As we move forward with standardized tests that are aligned with Michigan’s college and career-ready standards, Michigan Public Radio just ran an interesting feature story on the future of testing in the state, while Education Week produced a very good story on cut scores for tests under these high standards. GLEP continues to advocate that Michigan maintain rigorous standards and that we utilize testing assessments that measures individual student growth. Doing so will not only prepare our students for academic success, but it will provide the data necessary for school accountability and teacher evaluation.
A plan for Detroit Schools?
A report released this week by Excellent Schools Detroit suggests that K-12 education in Detroit would benefit from a common enrollment system for all traditional public, charter public, and EAA schools in the city. A comprehensive analysis from Robin Lake at the Center for Reinventing Public Education looks at the specific plight of education in Detroit in the latest issue of Education Next. An article in today’s Detroit News also looks at the Governor’s plan for education in Detroit, giving the pending expiration of Jack Martin’s term as Emergency Manager at Detroit Public Schools. While this will certainly be a very hot issue in the coming months, GLEP believes we need to focus on creating a system of schools to address the needs of students in Detroit, especially as the self-inflicted implosion of the Detroit Public Schools reaches its logical conclusion.
Teacher Quality: The Next Hurdle
We’re making progress (but not yet over the goal line) on some key education reform issues in Michigan, such as supporting “full choice” for all students and families; maintaining rigorous standards; implementing next-generation testing; improving early literacy; and developing a parent-friendly school accountability system. On top of these needed reforms, teacher quality has become one of the key issues facing the state.
Using evidence from more than 500 colleges and universities producing nearly half of the nation’s new teachers annually, a new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality answers two questions that go to the heart of whether the demands of teacher preparation are well matched to the demands of the classroom: Are teacher candidates graded too easily, misleading them about their readiness to teach? Are teacher preparation programs providing sufficiently rigorous training, or does the approach to training drive higher grades?
You might also want to check out the following articles:
Education Reform News Clips
GLEP in the News
Monday, November 24
Tuesday, November 25
Wednesday, November 26
Thursday, November 27
Friday, November 28
Do you support what GLEP is doing to improve education in Michigan? Please consider making a donation to help us continue our efforts, and all contributions are very much appreciated!!
Gary G. Naeyaert