It’s nearing the end of the school year across America, which means thousands of principals are preparing school improvement plans for the 2013-14 school year. There are two common scenarios that take place, illustrated here by Principal A and Principal B: Principal A sits down and, with little input or involvement from others, dutifully writes an ambitious school improvement plan for the next school year. The plan is submitted to the central office and receives a stamp of approval. At the beginning of the new school year, the plan is shared for the first time with the school staff. Momentum... Continue reading

The art of teaching requires many careful balancing acts, and implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for literacy offers an opportunity for one more. We’ve heard a lot about the CCSS’ focus on complex texts; however, this doesn’t mean texts matched to students’reading levels aren’t still important. It takes both to build competent and fluent readers. Elementary classrooms and libraries across the country are filled with leveled readers, or books categorized into reading levels. During literacy blocks, many teachers carefully and systematically ensure that each student is assigned to a reading group or given a selection of texts for... Continue reading

There are few things more talked about in U.S. education circles right now than how to improve evaluation for teachers. While states and districts are focused on what’s wrong with our current systems and how we can make them better—by changing what we evaluate, how often we evaluate, and even who evaluates—perhaps we should look to how other countries with the top student achievement rates in the world, such as Finland, South Korea, and Singapore, are already getting it right. Only the best get in. Only 15 percent of Finnish prospective teachers are admitted into teacher programs. Once in, their... Continue reading

Classroom observations, or walkthroughs, are quick snapshots that, over time, begin to show trends within a school—trends which can be used to identify staff development needs. Based on feedback from our Power Walkthrough clients, we’ve found that schools and districts use their observation data to set goals, provide specific professional development, increase coaching conversations, and enhance mentoring programs. But in examining our clients’ data, we often see a decrease in the number of walkthroughs during April and May. Walkthroughs should be an integral part of the school culture and part of the normal routine in which teachers and students are... Continue reading

If you walk into a typical teachers’ workroom and ask the question, “What’s the purpose of homework?” you’ll likely find that most teachers have a definite opinion. But ask them what research says about homework, and you’ll get less definitive answers. What does research really say about homework as a strategy to improve student achievement? The effects of homework on student achievement are not entirely clear; a number of factors, such as degree of parental involvement and support, homework quality, students’ learning preferences, and structure and monitoring of assignments can affect the influence of homework on achievement (Hong, Milgram, &... Continue reading

When you think of coaches, an image of a sports figure may come to mind—Tom Landry, Bobby Knight, or Bear Bryant. But in education, coach may be a part of your everyday vernacular as well. As schools are looking for ways help teachers implement the Common Core and reach No Child Left Behind (NCLB) goals, traditional professional development (PD) programs, sometimes referred to as “one-day wonders,” have proven ineffective in sustained growth and improvement for teachers. Researchers Bruce Joyce and Beverly Showers (2002) found that PD that consisted of demonstration, feedback, and practice did not have a noticeable effect size... Continue reading

I was recently working with a group of great educators in Illinois who were learning about McREL’s classroom recommendations on providing feedback, taken from our second edition of Classroom Instruction That Works, when I inadvertently opened a Pandora’s Box regarding the grading of missing or incomplete assignments. Two of the recommendations from the book are: Provide feedback that addresses what is correct and elaborates on what students need to do next. Provide feedback appropriately in time to meet students’ needs. Additionally, in our Handbook for Classroom Instruction That Works (2nd ed.), Bj Stone and I expand those recommendations by suggesting... Continue reading

Math. Love it or hate it, it’s essential for success in schooling and in life. As states, districts, and schools continue to implement the Common Core State Standards, helping students “think like mathematicians”—to explain and justify their thinking and apply their learning to new situations—can be a challenge for teachers. But as I wrote in a recent ASCD Express column, implementing the Common Core State Standards in math doesn’t require a complete rework of your instructional strategies. Rather, using time-tested instructional strategies in conjunction with a focused approach to the Common Core can smooth the path to implementation. Common Core... Continue reading

Re sults from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) show what educators have come to expect about U.S. students: Compared to their counterparts in many Asian and some Western European countries, their test scores lag in math and science—the fields of study often equated with innovation, technology, and healthy, competitive economies. Do these data, as an education task force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations warned in a March 2012 report, put the United States’ “future economic prosperity, global position, and physical safety at risk”? Certainly, many... Continue reading

Here at McREL, we are heartbroken by the tragedy that occurred last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School. To the families in Newtown, Connecticut, and across the country who are grieving the loss of loved ones, please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you. For educators and families anywhere who are in need of some assistance helping children through the continuing effects of this tragedy, please consider the following resources: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Children and Grief This article describes the normal reactions to expect from young children when they lose a loved one as... Continue reading

Leslie Wilson co-chairs the National Steering Committee of One-to-One Directors and facilitates networking and collaboration among one-to-one visionaries. As a founding member and CEO of the One-To-One Institute based in Lansing, Mich., she created and implemented model programs and services based on Michigan’s Freedom to Learn Program. While leading Michigan’s one-to-one teaching and learning initiative, Leslie recruited McREL to facilitate technology training for the state and Leading for Technology staff. We are reposting her blog as a resource for schools, districts, and states that are implementing or considering one-to-one initiatives. You've Got 'Tablets' and Now You're 1:1? Really? By Leslie... Continue reading

In previous blogs, I’ve noted that while standards-based reform efforts appear to have “raised the floor” on student performance, they’ve been less successful in “raising the ceiling” or unleashing the talent of our students at the upper-end of the spectrum. In fact, Harvard education professor Martin West noted that far greater percentages of students in other developed nations perform at the same levels demonstrated by the top six percent of students in the United States. Students also appear to be detached from the system of standards-based assessments and accountability that we’ve so carefully constructed over the past two decades—as evidenced... Continue reading

A recent working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, co-authored by Steven Levitt (of Freakonomics) reports on a series of studies involving some 7,000 students in the Chicago area to see whether incentives—such as cold, hard cash—could entice students to perform better on tests. Researchers told students immediately prior to taking a standardized test (such as those used to evaluate school performance) that if they did well on these tests, they would receive an award. Over the course of the experiments, the researchers tweaked the conditions, for example, changing the dollar amounts (from $10 to $20), changing the... Continue reading

Why is it that a child can spend hours glued to his Xbox, but can’t sit still for ten minutes to complete a single page of math homework? Sure, video games are fun—and math?—well, maybe not as much. But there’s more to it than that, as we note in our September column in Educational Leadership. Research strongly suggests that timely, appropriate feedback can positively impact student achievement. In an updated meta-analysis conducted for the second edition of Classroom Instruction That Works, researchers found an effect size for feedback of .076, or about a 28 percentile point achievement difference. Prensky suggests... Continue reading

Stop and think about the education you amassed to get to the point you are now—the late nights studying for finals; countless hours preparing for entrance exams; the papers written, edited, and revised to convey just the right message? If you’re a Talking Heads fan you probably hear David Burns asking, “How did I get here?” Our paths may be unique, but we all share an important ability that got us to this point, an ability perhaps more important to our academic success but equally challenging to teach than the knowledge we have gained along the way—a well-developed set of... Continue reading

In my last blog, I noted that a recent Harvard study found mixed results for raising state standards on student performance with one notable exception: low-income and minority eighth-graders in low- performing states appeared to benefit from their states adopting better academic standards. This would suggest that standards may have raised the floor on student performance, but what about the ceiling? Have more rigorous standards helped to raise the performance of students at the upper end of the spectrum? At a McREL Network for Innovative Education event, Harvard professor Martin West reported that after he dug deeply into data from... Continue reading

Researchers and educators hear a lot about the importance of experimental research, but experimental studies can seem like expensive efforts just to answer “Did it work?” especially if it the answer is “no.” Fortunately, because of the teachers who participated in one experimental study, we didn’t have to stop at no. We were able to go on and ask “why didn’t it work?” and “what can we study now?” In 2006–2011, we evaluated a textbook-based professional development program in classroom assessment. The study featured an instrument designed to measure teachers’ classroom assessment practices by systematically collecting and rating samples of... Continue reading

So often we hear parents talk about their children digging in the dirt, chasing butterflies during baseball games, and climbing trees. Or that their children are experimenting in the kitchen by mixing salt, water, and corn syrup…just to see what happens. Children are natural scientists, enthusiastic and motivated to discover more about the world around them. Research suggests that the majority of adult scientists developed their interest in the field prior to middle school (Maltese & Tai, 2010) suggesting that early exposure to science at the middle and younger grades is important to attract students into science and engineering (Tai,... Continue reading

In the ‘80s, teachers were excited to incorporate overhead projectors into their classrooms. In the ‘90s, cutting edge classrooms were those equipped with a computer—one that would allow students to take turns accessing CD-ROMs and saving to floppy disks. Today, digital technologies have exploded, and schools might issue tablets to all students, rely exclusively on virtual courses, or even encourage the use of cell phones in class. But does technology in the classroom really improve student achievement? Research tells us that although technology can have a positive impact on student achievement it is no guarantee of success (Pedro, 2012). Some... Continue reading

Raise the bar and raise performance. For 20 years, that principle has guided school reform efforts in the United States and abroad. Since the early 90s, every U.S. state has developed systems standards, student testing on those standards, and accountability for results on those tests. More recently, 46 states have signed on to Common Core standards, which promise to raise the bar even higher. A new report from Harvard University, however, may cast some doubt on whether tougher state standards actually raise student performance. The study analyzed third-party ratings for state standards—and in particular, changes in those ratings—with changes in... Continue reading

Love them or loathe them, the Common Core State Standards are a clear game changer for states, districts, and schools—and, of course, teachers and students. Much attention has focused on the impact of the standards on these populations, with a heavy focus on gaps between current state standards and the new standards and how that’s likely to play out in the classroom. As educators have gotten a more solid handle on the figurative costs of the Common Core, however, attention is turning to the literal costs of implementation. A recently released report from the Fordham Foundation, Putting a Price Tag... Continue reading

Obesity is the health epidemic of our time, and it seems that everyone—from the mayor of New York to the Walt Disney Company—is trying to do something about it. While trying to change the unhealthy habits of adults is often viewed as an infringement on personal freedom, there isn’t much argument against doing so for young children. When Disney decided it would no longer allow junk food advertising during its programming aimed at preschoolers, it was lauded by none other than First Lady Michelle Obama. But it takes more than advertising to prevent obesity—and healthy habits include not only eating... Continue reading

Earlier this summer, I had the pleasure of taking part in the t.i.c.l. (Technology Integration and Instruction for the 21st Century Learner) Conference in Iowa, a lively gathering of educators focused on transforming their classrooms into student-centered learning environments. Co-hosted by the Prairie Lakes and Northwest Area Education Agencies, this conference gathered teachers and leaders in northwest Iowa who are passionate about changing current classroom and school norms to better meet the needs of today’s learners through innovative teaching ideas, 21st century tools, and involving students in their own education. I especially liked the helpful tools available to aid participants... Continue reading

Would you participate in a swim meet if you just learned to dog paddle? Probably not. Yet, many of our new teachers are entering the classroom straight from their college or preparatory program without the training, practice, or knowledge they need to succeed. With the increasing demands on teacher performance, and many teachers leaving the profession after their first year, the “sink or swim” mentality isn’t useful for teachers, their schools, or, most important, their students. Instead, we should be asking: What do preservice teachers need, why aren’t they getting it, and what can we do to ensure they get... Continue reading

There was a time when children went off to school expecting to read in every class, whether it was mathematics, science, or history. It simply was a given that reading in all the content areas had an impact on learning. This truth has resurfaced in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and teachers are realizing these new standards set much higher expectations for student learning than we have held in the recent past. The CCSS aim to move students toward reading more nonfiction by engaging them in increasingly complex texts as they move through school, while at the same time,... Continue reading