Teacher evaluations: A report by the National Council on Teacher Quality finds that most states now require objective measures of student achievement in teacher evaluations, but that almost all teachers are being rated effective or highly effective. The report singles out Florida as a leader in tying teacher evaluations to policies and to pay. THE Journal.
Top U.S. high schools: Ten Florida high schools are on the annual top 100 list compiled by U.S. News & World Report. Miami's International Studies Charter High School is rated the best high school in Florida and the 13th best in the United States. Here are the top schools in Florida, and here are the national rankings. Miami New Times. Gradebook.
Charter school payback: Newpoint Education Partners is repaying $75,000 in federal grant money that went to the East Windsor Middle Academy in St. Petersburg rather than account for how the money was spent. The company, which owns and operates five charter schools in Pinellas County, sent the check to the school district. It said its former accounting firm had not followed the necessary documentation procedures allowing it to be eligible for the grant. Gradebook.
Reading study: A report from Morgridge International Reading Center at the University of Central Florida shows Florida elementary students who received instruction in the Istation reading program had growth in all areas. Istation is an online program that evaluates students and puts them on individualized learning paths. (more…)
The National Council on Teacher Quality released its first Teacher Prep Review today, and the findings show only a handful of colleges and universities adequately train aspiring teachers.
Which means many of the programs are leaving new teachers ill-equipped to keep up with the growing rigor of public instruction – and that’s bad news for a country about to raise the bar on education benchmarks with the adoption of the Common Core State Standards.
“The problem is worse than we thought,’’ said Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News & World Report, which published the study. “The data show that the academic caliber of many incoming students is quite low, and what they are taught often has little relevance to what they need to succeed in the classroom.
“Very few schools meet even a minimum standard of quality when it comes to using the best practices for educating teachers,’’ he said in a prepared statement.
If the goal is to help all teachers succeed, “we not only need to change what happens in the schools where they work, we must also address the preparation of the next generation of educators,’’ said Kate Walsh, president of the national council. “New teachers deserve training that will enable them to walk into their own classroom on their first day ready to teach, but our review shows that we have a long way to go.’’
The study looked at 1,130 institutions, including 32 in Florida. Among the findings:
