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Blogs on Achievement Gap

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National Educational Technology Plan: Your Questions Answered

Audrey WattersJanuary 25, 2011

Tags Achievement Gap, Classroom Technology, Digital Divide, Education Reform, Game-Based Learning, Media Literacy, Mobile Learning, Technology Integration, All Grades

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.

The Most Important Need: The Need to Learn

Ben JohnsonJanuary 11, 2011

Tags Achievement Gap, New Teachers, Teacher Development, Urban Schools, Middle (6-8), High (9-12), All Grades

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?

Legislation Done Right Can Drive School Improvement

Anne OBrienJanuary 5, 2011

Tags Accountability, Achievement Gap, Education Reform, Teacher Development, All Grades, California

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.

Extend, Don't Cut, Learning Time

Anne OBrienDecember 8, 2010

Tags Achievement Gap, Education Reform, Teacher Development, All Grades, California, Massachusetts

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.

On Education Reform: Equity

Eric BrunsellNovember 23, 2010

Tags Achievement Gap, Digital Divide, Education Reform, All Grades, Rhode Island, Wisconsin

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.

Snapshots of Innovation: Travels With Chen (After Steinbeck's Travels with Charley)

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.

Should We Engage in the Politics of Education?

Betty RayApril 29, 2010

Tags Achievement Gap, Education Reform

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)

Jaime Escalante, More Inspiring than Ever

Kathy BaronMarch 31, 2010

Tags Achievement Gap, Dropout Prevention, High (9-12), Math

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.

Guest Blog: What's the Best Way to Teach "At-Risk" Students?

Betty RayMarch 18, 2010

Tags Achievement Gap, Student Engagement

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)

Guest Blogger: Equitable access to technology in education – can there ever be guarantees?

Betty RayFebruary 11, 2010

Tags Achievement Gap, Classroom Technology, Digital Divide, Technology Integration

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!