We Thought We Should Mention

Kentucky Helps Support the Transition to Common Core

Ruth Price — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:44:04 +0000

Laura Devaney’s recent article How Secondary School Principals Can Master the Common Core in eSchool News offers suggestions for implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and supporting each site’s classroom teachers. By recognizing the transition to CCSS as a unique and momentous opportunity, principals can more effectively advance the transformation of classroom instruction and [...]

Math Education Made Interesting

Tracey Brown — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:07:45 +0000

As the new Common Core State Standards are being implemented in math classrooms around the U.S., middle school educators are facing two challenges: 1. Keeping middle school students interested in learning 2. Meeting the rigor of the new standards Here’s a little hope for math teachers: A recent survey of middle school students by Raytheon Co., indicates 7 [...]

The Bell Curve and the Virtue of Fidelity

Malbert Smith — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:46:08 +0000

Recently, I have been reflecting upon the work of Atul Gawande. Gawande is a physician by training, but is also the well-known author of The Checklist Manifesto and Complications, both which deal primarily with topics and trends in medicine. In 2004, Gawande published an important article, “The Bell Curve”, in the New Yorker. While educators [...]

An Inspiring Reminder

Jason Turner — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:19:28 +0000

We’ve long-known that, despite socioeconomic differences, all students have the ability to learn and often proceed at the same rate of growth in reading and math during the academic year. Unfortunately, there are a number of factors – language learning differences, summer learning loss, lack of differentiation – that can stall or derail a student’s [...]

Math Education: Start Early, Start Now

Jason Turner — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:07:39 +0000

Because a high number of parents report feeling intimidated by math concepts we can assume that uncertainty and unease translates into a failure to routinely discuss math skills and concepts with their own young children. Even parents not steeped in the technical details of reading comprehension and literacy development often spend time reading with their [...]

More Choice, More Books, More Growth

Jason Turner — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:35:04 +0000

We’ve written before on the remarkable success of myON reader and Capstone Digital’s intent to provide myOn through mobile devices like the Kindle Fire. Well that initiative has taken off and it appears to be paying dividends for students around the country. Students in Cheatham County, Tennessee, in particular, are excited about being able to [...]

In Her Own Words: The Lexile Framework for Reading

Jason Turner — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:21:43 +0000

We love hearing from teachers on the ways they’ve utilized the Lexile Framework for Reading to support reading growth. Of special significance to us is hearing teachers describe their successes and their understanding of the Framework in their own words. That’s why we were thrilled to read this recent piece (subscription required) from educator, Margaret [...]

A Just Right Reading List

Jason Turner — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:36:00 +0000

We’re always happy when we hear about our tools and metrics being put to use by those outside of education. We designed tools, like Find a Book, with more than educators in mind. Our hope is that parents are able to use Find a Book year round to help students select books they [...]

Beyond the Standards:The Core that Matters Most

Ruth Price — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:03:35 +0000

Here’s Anthony Colucci offering educators some useful reminders on their impact in the classroom Classrooms are about more than just curriculum and accountability testing. He argues that while it is necessary to continually revise our state standards there are many bedrock values, core principles that underlie all classroom activity. Here’s Colucci’s list of standards that are [...]

College & Career Readiness for All

Jason Turner — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 03:23:34 +0000

Here’s a useful reminder from Dr. Joseph Wise on why it’s so important that every student graduate prepared college and career: Lexile reading levels of newer technical and military manuals aims at what we used to know as blue-collar jobs now consistently surpass the Lexile reading levels of typical undergraduate liberal arts textbooks. You have a [...]