A struggle worth having for studentsAccelerating Educational Excellence

When the Common Core State Standards were rolled out in Colorado in 2010, it was a challenge. At first, my colleagues and I at Doull Elementary in southwest Denver struggled to understand this monumental change. We read the documents, pored over the appendices and wrestled with the terminology. Teachers sat around lunch tables debating the […]

Let me begin with three scenarios from my school that I think exemplify successful implementation of the Common Core State Standards: • A principal walks into a math department meeting to find the whiteboard filled with ideas for courses and performance assessments, and scribbled with words like “problem-solving,” “precision,” and “reasoning.” Four teachers and two […]

In my experience as a math teacher for 15 years at Basalt Middle School, I have taught many different students and can probably tell you 42 different ways that someone might use the Pythagorean theorem. I can also tell you that parents who are involved in their students’ education and have high expectations for learning […]

This week, the Houston Independent School District will host school administrators from across the state, all gathering to discuss the importance of making sure Texas students are globally competitive. It’s no longer enough for our students to simply graduate from high school. They must be ready to compete in a 21st century global society. That […]

I often brag about the school where I work, explaining to people I meet that it’s a great place for kids and teachers. When I mention that the school is Boston, they ask if I teach in a suburb of the city, or whether it’s a private school. I am constantly disheartened by the perception […]

It’s been known for a while that U.S. students trail their counterparts in some other countries on academic performance measures. But some Wisconsin high schools are actually performing above the level of the highest-performing “economy” in the world — Shanghai, China — according to results from an international exam. Last spring, almost 300 high schools, […]

A new report finds that U.S. students’ financial literacy is only average compared to students worldwide. So what can be done to improve the performance of our schools? Education correspondent John Merrow reports on one test that may help American students compete more successfully in an increasingly global economy.

Andreas Schleicher may be the most important name in education that you don’t know. The German statistician has been the lead figure in creation, interpretation, and now worldwide use of several tests that are the basis for comparing how students in different countries are doing. Every time you hear someone say the United States is […]

Why? From all sides, this appears to be the main question surrounding the Common Core State Standards – the set of K-12 math and English standards created by education professionals from all 50 states, which promote higher-order thinking skills aimed at preparing students for college, career and life. My students ask why they are reading […]

We heard a lot last month about global competitiveness, and learned that the United States is not faring as well as one would hope on the Program for International Student Assessment. Though it may be tempting to just focus on the PISA rankings, it is important to look beyond rankings and learn from our global […]