Mass EdForum

Another survey has confirmed teacher enthusiasm for the Common Core State Standards.  Yes, it is a project of Scholastic and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which the standards’ detractors characterize as the all-powerful Oz, but the data is indisputable. […]

The convergence of education and the economy is evident in two separate reports issued this week.  The findings make it clear that we need to pay attention to the competencies our children acquire in school if we expect them to […]

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”                           […]

Despite a steady stream of misinformation in recent weeks, the new Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks that include the Common Core State Standards will better prepare students for higher education and the workplace.  For the record:   When nearly 40% of MA […]

With Race to the Top and other federal funding initiatives winding down this academic year, state policy makers and school leaders are grappling with the challenge of sustaining this work with declining resources.  So, we were interested to see how […]

The 1993 Education Reform Act (that has been credited with raising student achievement in Massachusetts to the top of the nation) had as two of its core principles high standards and an accountability system for measuring whether these standards were […]

A lot of ink has been spilled recently about the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) results released earlier this month.  Massachusetts, Connecticut and Florida took the 2012 test as if these states were countries, so we have comparisons of […]

Massachusetts has made dramatic gains in student achievement over the past twenty years through the systematic implementation of cutting edge reforms.  Today, our students lead the nation on national and international assessments. Although the state’s performance is impressive and envied […]

Three years ago, MBAE and the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) issued a report on Boston Public School policies that have an impact on teacher quality. Our conclusion was that while the district had many smart, strategic policies already […]

According to the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Massachusetts’ current state science standards are “clearly superior” to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) which were issued earlier this year.  The Fordham report spurred a counter-statement by the National Science Teachers Association […]

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education is a critical component to developing a globally competitive workforce.  Business leaders across industries agree:  Investing to ensure a pipeline of workers skilled in STEM competencies is a workforce issue, an economic development […]

This month New York City became the first district in the nation to release reports on how teacher preparation programs relate to performance in the classroom. The Teacher Preparation Program Reports, released by the NYC Department of Education, evaluated the […]

Participation in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs has increased significantly over the past decade, but participation data indicates that not all qualified students are benefiting from AP programs.  Students can earn college credit if they score strongly […]

Educational technology is a growing force across the country: investment nationally is at an all-time high, with $427 million in funding going to 74 early-stage K-12-focused companies in 2012 alone (according to the NewSchools Venture Fund). Massachusetts is exploring these […]

The Education Trust issued a report this week that analyzes NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) data to examine how state performance on this measure compared to the nation as a whole over the past decade.  Uneven at the Start: […]

There will be 55 million job openings nationwide through 2020 as the country recovers from the 2007 recession, according to the most recent report by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, “Recovery: Job growth and education requirements through […]

June 18th marked the 20th anniversary of the Education Reform Act of 1993.  MBAE’s role in that landmark legislation is detailed in a report by Achieve about “Massachusetts’ Lessons for Sustaining the College and Career Ready Agenda”.   Our organization is […]

The Legislature’s Technology Caucus, led by Senator Karen Spilka and Representative Kathi-Ann Reinstein, met earlier this month to hear from representatives of Google, Intel, Microsoft and Oracle about the need for more computer science education to better train students for […]

Today, on the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, the National Council on Teacher Quality(NCTQ) released a report that has the same game-changing potential to bring about education reforms that will propel our […]

Although MBAE has expressed skepticism about the cumbersome new model system that Massachusetts has developed to implement new teacher evaluation regulations, recent news from the state’s two largest districts – Boston and Springfield – give us reason to be cautiously […]