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Thursday September 6, 2012

Moving Beyond Small Upticks in Achievement

by Alfred W. Tatum
As a participant in this year’s Black Male Summit at the U.S. Department of Education, I was impressed by the wide range of perspectives offered to structure and protect equitable academic and social pathways for African-American males in the United States. I was also impressed by the tone of the conversation. The focus on African-American males moved beyond the ongoing crisis narrative to solutions.

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Tuesday September 4, 2012

Celebrating "Back-to-School"... (or Not)

by Eric Toshalis
Right now, across this country, teachers are prepping their classrooms, uploading and scanning their rosters, revising their unit and lesson plans to meet the needs of their states, their districts, and their many students, and motivating themselves for the challenging and rewarding work of teaching in the 21st century. Like a surfer about to drop into a big wave, this is a time of expectation and excitement.

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Wednesday August 15, 2012

College Readiness: A Moving Target?

by Pamela Burdman
College readiness is becoming the Holy Grail for policymakers, foundations, and education leaders looking to strengthen the nation’s K-12 education system. They are taking their lead from public colleges and universities: High remediation rates there among recent high school graduates are garnering increasing scrutiny, leading more and more states to include remedial placement statistics in feedback reports that go to high schools.

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