The Education Policy Hotlist
Top News in US Education Policy for the Week of November 21st
The 2022 mid-term elections resulted in a “purple puddle” and the potential for local bipartisanship — a necessary ingredient to advance pandemic recovery policies. In this election, divisive partisanship was not popular. Americans voted for democracy, collaboration, and pragmatism. Now, it is up to our elected officials to listen closely to local coalitions defining specific requests for the needed recovery steps.
Nationally, it is unclear whether there is enough new blood and churn among public offices to shake up stale ideology while maintaining integrity to longstanding local needs. Read the state-by-state leadership changes in ECS’ mid-term election round-up [ECS].
THE WEEKS AHEAD
Tuesday, November 22, 2022, at 3:00 PM EST, EdWeek is hosting a virtual event titled How School Districts Can Benefit From Public Housing Partnerships. Register here.
Monday, November 28, 2022, at 2:30 PM EST, FutureEd and CenterPoint Education Solutions are hosting a webinar titled Unfinished Agenda: The Future of Standards-Based School Reform. Register here.
2022 MIDTERM ELECTION
Leading up to the election, gubernatorial candidates outlined education policy as a priority [ECS].
In a tweet thread, Reg Leichty gave a quick run-down on election impacts on education governance [Twitter].
AEI facilitated a post-election panel [AEI].
THE NATION’S REPORT CARD
The Collaborative for Student Success launched a new initiative revisiting the Honesty Gap. This is an essential resource for policymakers and business leaders who need to accurately frame post-pandemic student achievement to design pandemic recovery programs [CSS].
Important recommendations about NAEP outtakes from 50CAN leaders [Fordham].
More commentary on NAEP results [Brookings].
FEDERAL EDUCATION POLICY
The Hunt Institute released a new report: Across the Aisle, that outlines how we have and have not improved our education system as a part of Covid-19 recovery. The report includes a forward-looking plan for the next two years [Hunt].
USED hosted its second series event: Raising the bar: Literacy and math series, to address academic recovery [USED].
The Department of Education launched the Raise the Bar initiative with the Departments of Commerce and Labor to increase and expand access to high-quality training programs [USED].
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Dale Chu details state-by-state summative assessment releases [Assessment HQ].
Oster continues adding data briefs for state-by-state academic achievement; below is Idaho’s data [ID].
Based on spring 2022 MAP data, students’ academic achievement levels are more variable than before the pandemic. In short, teachers will be charged to provide instruction for a growing range of needs [NWEA].
NWEA
TEACHING AND LEARNING
An obvious but oft-ignored variable, adding instructional time can increase student achievement [Brookings].
A new California law requires companies whose online products are likely to be accessed by kids to “consider the best interests of children” [Plurbius].
Families who’d never considered virtual learning options were introduced to them during Covid-19 school closures, and many are staying [The74].
TEACHER WORKFORCE
Teacher residency programs are booming and providing pathways for more diverse educators [The74].
Team teaching in Mesa schools (AZ) is carving a path forward to address common teacher workforce challenges [Hechinger Report].
“The pandemic taught us two things: One is people want flexibility, and the other is people don’t want to be isolated. The education profession is both of those. It is inflexible, and it is isolating.” — Dean Basile, ASU, MLFTC.
ENROLLMENT
A new analysis presents a state-by-state overview of policies on out-of-district enrollment [K12Dive].
The New York City education department chose not to reduce funding mid-year for schools with less-than-projected enrollment [Chalkbeat].
POSTSECONDARY SUCCESS
Nat Malkus interviewed Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina about the continuum of affordable postsecondary options and her recommendations for building this infrastructure. This podcast left me feeling inspired and enlightened because Rep Foxx shared her personal story and the power of affordable postsecondary options [AEI].
Affordable housing for student-parents is a common sense policy in postsecondary institutions [OH].
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
A new report provides a 50-state overview of how ARPA child care discretionary funds support a range of supports for children and families [National Women’s Law Center].
The Center for District Innovation and Leadership in Early Education released its Covid-19 era impact report [DIAL].
EDUCATION FINANCE
North Carolina supreme court orders the state to fund schools in a plan to meet the constitutional duties of the state to “[provide] the opportunity for a sound basic education to all children in North Carolina” [EdNC].
New Mexico voters said yes to more money for schools [NM].
COVID-19 IN SCHOOLS
According to a new study, "Districts that chose to sustain masking requirements longer tended to have school buildings that were older and in worse condition and to have more students per classroom than districts that chose to lift masking requirements earlier," [NEJM].
EQUITY IN SCHOOLS
After hearing public feedback in Colorado, the State Board of Education passes new social studies standards that require lessons must include the experiences and contributions of diverse groups [Chalkbeat]
ICYMI
CRPE hosted a webinar about Black-led pods and micro-schools. If you missed the webinar or want to share it with others, you can access the recording here.
Most Americans want climate education to be taught, and teachers are finding ways to slip it back into the curriculum [NYT].
Chona Kasinger for The New York Times
Dr. Christine M. T. Pitts serves as Director of Impact and Communications at the Center on Reinventing ic Education, overseeing policy leadership and external affairs. A teacher and researcher by training, she previously led research and evaluation for Portland Public Schools and served as Policy Advisor at NWEA, overseeing state and federal policy to advance equity and innovation in educational assessment. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @cmtpitts.