This past month, ten policy analysts published reports about聽what occurred in the following states: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, New Mexico, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Reports were evenly divided between K鈥�12 and higher education.
Higher Education
Erin O鈥橬eill describes and Michael Gos the in Texas. In New Mexico, 鈥渇ive areas of essential skills were identified: Communication, Critical Thinking, Personal and Social Responsibility, Quantitative Skills, and Information Literacy.鈥� In 2014 the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board 鈥減ut into effect a new 42 semester credit hour core curriculum for all undergraduate students.鈥�
cites a research report from the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley, recommending that UC Berkeley 鈥渆liminate the SAT as a factor in admissions decisions.鈥� The report found that the disparate impact on students of color outweighed indications of success. In , Washington鈥檚 Amanda Espinosa-Aguilar suggests students taking notes longhand 鈥渞etain their knowledge longer than those who do not.鈥�
highlights that while funding for corrections in Connecticut increased, the funding for higher education decreased.
K鈥�12 Education
New Jersey and Pennsylvania have chosen opposite approaches to graduation requirements. Whereas (Kristen Turner) for Algebra I and language arts courses, Pennsylvania is exploring alternative assessments: (Aileen Hower).
Donna Wake reports on the and how in 16 districts, Arkansas approved similar to those granted in charter schools. Arkansas is one of a number of states allowing school districts to hire non-licensed teachers.
In Robin Holland reports on a study that found that 鈥渉igher performing students opting to use vouchers to attend private schools performed significantly worse on state exams that lower performing students who, though eligible for vouchers, remained in public school.鈥� Robin does note that the report merits further evaluation. She also describes the controversy surrounding ECOT (Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow) related to the discrepancies between student attendance and the funds requested by ECOT from the Ohio Department of Education.
Kris Cody-Johnson describes the committee formed in . That committee will study how student data are collected and safeguarded.