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Professional society comes out in favor of Direct Instruction

The Engineering Society of Detroit, a body of engineers, scientists, architects and technical professionals, has convened teams of industry professionals to answer the following question: ""If you were envisioning an optimized, statewide STEM initiative for Michigan, what would it look like and how would you get it done?" One of their solutions: improve reading proficiency rates by using research-based methods like Direct Instruction. Go here to read their entire report. 

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Lesson (re)Learned: Kentucky faces challenges with constructed-response questions on Common Core assessments

In the early 1990s, KY attempted to use constructed-response test items as part of its school accountability system; the results were unusable. Despite this, the state pursued the same goal with its new Common Core assessments and, not surprisingly, came to the same conclusion as before. See a press release on the subject from the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, and a chapter on this exact issue from Dr. George Cunningham.

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New Paper from ECF: "Reversing American Decline by Reducing Education's Casualties"

For forty years, ineffective public schools have flooded the population with voters who
are low-information and without economic prospects. In this paper, Dr. J.E. Stone highlights the impact of ineffective schooling; explains its causes; and lays out a practical solution to reversing American decline.

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ECF releases charts showing 3rd grade reading performance in key TN districts

Testing results of the past 20 years show that less than half of Tennessee's school children are mastering reading by the end of the 3rd grade. Click on the links below to see whether children in some of the largest metropolitan areas of the state are reading or just being promoted:

ECF also offers the following district-level charts:

You can also compare schools statewide by visiting our interactive charts of "3rd grade proficiency versus poverty" in reading and math.

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How rigorous are your state's proficiency standards?

Each state defines for itself what "proficient" means; some states have a rigorous definition, while others are less strict in their standards. To see how states compare, ECF has published charts showing the percentage of students deemed proficient in various subjects and grade levels and compared them to percentages reported for each state by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, or "The Nation's Report Card"), considered to be the gold standard.

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A Blue Man 'Dupe': Parent Panic at $32G 'Progressive' School

New York's The Blue School is thought to be the cutting edge of experiments in educational improvement.  The New York Post says it was founded with the strong backing of former NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.  In fact, it is one more variant of type of schooling that has been tried repeatedly and with disastrous results.  England's Summerhill School is a residential version that was founded in the nineteen twenties.  Click here to read a Newsweek essay by Mara Wolynkski, a writer and television personality who attended such a school as a child.

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Are Tennessee's Children Learning to Read? Mayor Tim Burchett Asks the Question in Knoxville

Knoxville mayor Tim Burchett is leading on education, highlighting the importance of early literacy:  "I say, before we raise taxes, let's tackle this core problem."  Other local officials in Tennessee are beginning to recognize the problem in their schools (see charts below).

Reading is the most essential skill that children learn in school. It is taught over a 4-5 year period that begins in preschool or kindergarten and extends to 3rd grade. Beyond 3rd grade, schooling turns from learning to read, to reading to learn. 

Promoting children to the 4th and subsequent grades without sound reading skills not only reduces their chances of success, it misleads their parents about the child's progress, it unloads poorly equipped and discouraged learners on middle and high school teachers, and it violates the spirit if not the letter of Tennessee's 2011 law against socially promoting unqualified students.

Social promotion of students who lack mastery of reading ignores their needs, drags down the progress of all students, and makes schooling vastly more inefficient and expensive. Children who cannot read simply cannot fully benefit from their educational opportunities.  They need more help, more contact hours of teaching, and more specialized treatment - all of which takes more teachers, more specialists, and more time in school.

Testing results of the past 20 years show that less than half of Tennessee's school children are mastering reading by the end of the 3rd grade. 

Click on the links below to see whether children in your local schools are reading or just being promoted:

ECF also offers the following district-level charts:

You can also compare schools statewide by visiting our interactive charts of "3rd grade proficiency versus poverty" in reading and math.

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Needed in Tennessee: An Early Reading Revolution

In a November 2011 position paper, the Education Consumers Foundation highlights the lack of progress in boosting literacy rates in Tennessee schools and introduces Direct Instruction as a proven solution. Click here to access this paper along with a host of support materials, including charts highlighting reading proficiency rates in each Tennessee district; directories of resources, trainers, and contacts experienced with DI in Tennessee; and more.

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Clear Teaching: With Direct Instruction, Siegfried Engelmann Discovered a Better Way of Teaching

Written by veteran journalist Shepard Barbash over a period of 10 years, Clear Teaching is a well-researched, highly readable introduction to Direct Instruction (DI). Click here to download this book in PDF format along with a host of support materials, including directories of resources, a list of trainers, and much more; those wanting print copies can order them from Amazon or can contact ECF for bulk orders.

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Tests, Testing, and Genuine School Reform

In this 2011 book, one of America's foremost scholars on what works in education discusses the proper role of testing in educational improvement, covering well-established principles of testing, current problems, and promising evidence-based solutions.Click here for more on the book or to order a copy.

 

 


Winners of the 2013 Value-Added Achievement Awards announced

In April and May 2013, the Education Consumers Foundation is holding a series of events to recognize the 18 winners of this year's Value-Added Achievement Awards program. These awards acknowledge the great contribution that principals make to the value-added performance of some of the most effective elementary and middle schools in the state.

Awards have been presented at the following schools so far:

West Tennessee

Middle Tennessee

East Tennessee

Check back soon for additional details and photos - additional winners will be announced as their events occur!

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ECF Releases 2011-12 Growth vs. Achievement Interactive Charts for Tennessee Schools

Tennessee schools are measured on two things: achievement, seen in standardized assessment and ACT results; and growth, reported through the state's value-added assessment system. Tennessee parents and others can now plot the performance of their child's school and others across the district or state through the ECF's interactive Growth vs. Achievement Charts. Note that all data comes from the most recent Tennessee Report Card.

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ECF Releases 2012 School Performance Charts for Tennessee Elementary and Middle Schools

Each year, ECF takes the value-added performance data provided by the state of Tennessee and presents it in the form of charts for elementary and middle schools in the state. This format allows parents and others to easily compare the performance of schools in their district or region; just follow the links below to explore ECF's interactive and intuitive charts.

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Are the schools in your area teaching children to read?

Some say that children with social and economic disadvantages can't learn. However, the Education Consumers Foundation's analysis of data in various US markets contradicts that conclusion: there are schools in every market that greatly outperform those with virtually identical student populations. See here to review school performance charts in a sampling of markets across the US.

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"How Does Your Child's School Rank Against the Rest of the World?"

That question was asked by The Atlantic magazine; the answers they found, using data provided by The Bush Institute, will surprise many parents. As noted in the article, "It's not just urban kids who are struggling. Even wealthy suburbs are lagging behind countries like Singapore and Finland." See the article to access the interactive chart with comparisons.

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Are Tennessee's Local Schools Teaching Children to Read and Do Basic Math?

Reading and basic math are foundational skills: without a solid grounding in these two core areas by the 3rd grade, students have little hope of succeeding academically in 4th grade and beyond. ECF has published two charts - one for reading, one for math - showing the percentages of students in Tennessee schools who are "proficient" and "advanced" in these two subjects.

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Tennessee releases 2012 district-level TCAP data

The Tennessee Department of Education has released 2012 TCAP results at the district level; ECF has posted that data in the form of an interactive chart comparing poverty versus reading proficiency in grades 3-8, as well as in PDF charts for East, Middle, and West Tennessee. The state will soon be releasing school-level performance data; stay tuned for ECF charts once that information is available.

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KIPP in charter tug-of-war

The Tennessean reports on the challenges KIPP Academy Nashville has had in getting additional charters approved within MNPS, based in part on the assertion that KIPP is not performing as well as others in the district. ECF's own analysis shows very high value-added performance on the part of the school, contrary to the article.

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Author Shepard Barbash speaks at ECF event on Direct Instruction

Shepard Barbash, noted investigative journalist and author of Clear Teaching, spoke on May 14 to a gathering in Nashville. He read from his recent book (published by ECF) and highlighted the importance of using effective teaching approaches like Direct Instruction. See his complete remarks here.

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Wall Street Journal: Education Is the Key to a Healthy Economy

In this April 30 opinion piece, George Schultz and Eric Hanushek make the case for real reform by outlining the clear link between economic and education outcomes.

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ECF Charts District-Level Spending versus Achievement Gains

Does more spending equate to more learning among students? The Education Consumers Foundation has charted district-level spending against district-level value-added achievement gains, and found virtually no relationship between the two. To see where your district falls on these issues, click here to visit this interactive tool.

 

Recent Updates

Those wishing to review past news announcements and recommended reading/viewing information, please visit the following:

 
 

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