Blogs on Achievement Gap

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Audrey WattersJanuary 25, 2011

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Audrey Watters, is a technology journalist specializing in education technology news. She has read all 100+ pages of the National Education Technology Plan released by the U. S. Department of Education last November, and she has summarized it below.

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Ben JohnsonJanuary 11, 2011

Am I sacrilegious by saying we should not spend so much time worrying about what happens in a student's home and should spend more time creating effective learning environments at school?

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Anne OBrienJanuary 5, 2011

Sometimes I write about concerns with education legislation. That it doesn't always take into consideration the expertise of those in the schools -- those who are actually responsible for the implementation of the policy. That evidence doesn't always support it. That it can create perverse incentives.

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Anne OBrienDecember 8, 2010

Over the last few months, it has become painfully clear that state and local budgets are suffering. Given that they provide the vast majority of funding for public education, we can expect that public schools and districts will have to do more with less for the foreseeable future.

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Eric BrunsellNovember 23, 2010

Two months ago, education reform was at the center of discussion. The documentary Waiting for "Superman" was creating a stir. NBC hosted "Education Nation." A spirited debate was on -- perhaps not in the traditional media, but at least in many forums around the web, including here at Edutopia. Many were inspired by the discussions. Others were outraged at the one-sidedness of the discussion.

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Milton ChenNovember 3, 2010

One of my favorite books in high school was John Steinbeck's Travels With Charley, his account of his road trip around the U. S., late in his career, accompanied only by his French poodle Charley. Not having traveled much as a boy beyond my home state of Illinois, into Wisconsin and Indiana, I was mesmerized by his stories of the vastness and diversity of our country.

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Betty RayApril 29, 2010

Many would agree that Americans tend to view education as the pathway to success. In school we're taught rags-to-riches tales about individuals rising to the top as a result of their academic success, regardless of their race, income level, or gender. There's an inherent belief that our education system should create equal access to a quality education for all.

However, those aspirations don't match the reality. Many children, in fact, do not have equal access to quality education. These issues set the stage for this week's #edchat on Twitter.

Many educators argued in the chat that disparities in funding cause this inequality, while others argued that the true cause of inequality lies in the hands of administrators that filter innovative technologies/teaching methods that have the ability to combat funding deficits. Whatever your opinion may be, one has to ask the question: "As educators, should we engage in the politics of education to truly make a difference?"

We asked Tim Furman (@tbfurman), a tech specialist, who shook things up in #edchat to summarize.

--Betty Ray, Community Manager (@EdutopiaBetty) and Elana Leoni, Social Media Marketing Coordinator (@elanaleoni)

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Kathy BaronMarch 31, 2010

When you think about Jaime Escalante, think about this: Passing Advanced Placement exams is an uphill battle for most students, but for African American and Latino high school kids it can feel like pushing a big rock up that hill. Even though more students are taking the exams, the pass rate is declining. Just 16.7 % of African American students and 41.3 % of Hispanic students scored well enough to earn college credit on the two AP calculus tests given last year. Versus more than 69% for white students.

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Betty RayMarch 18, 2010

Mary Beth Hertz (@mbteach on Twitter) emerged as a leader in the afternoon #edchat, where forward-thinking educators from around the world connect and discuss different issues of the day. Her tweets during the chat reflected her knowledge and passion for at-risk youth and further revealed her fluency in the issues and challenges of at-risk students in the classroom. Here's her opinion and summary of this week's edchat.

--Betty Ray, Community Manager (@EdutopiaBetty) and Elana Leoni, Social Media Marketing Coordinator (@elanaleoni)

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Betty RayFebruary 11, 2010

This week's #edchat blogger is Berni Wall (@rliberni), who beautifully captured the vasty and wily topic of equitable access to technology and tech literacy. Feel free to share your comments in the space below this blog.

--Betty Ray, Community Manager (@EdutopiaBetty) and Elana Leoni, Online Membership Coordinator (@elanaleoni)

The topic for edchat on Tuesday 9th February was a subject and a half - How can we guarantee equitable access and use of technology to ensure tech literacy and to support meaningful learning for all students? I quote it in full because this is heady stuff!

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