Monthly Archives: March 2011

Late Hires More Likely to Turnover

Interesting article in EdWeek on late hires (those hired after Labor Day).  The study concluded that late hires are twice as likely to leave their schools—or the profession altogether—within a year.  This quickly brought me back to a book I … Continue reading

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Jimmer Fredette Sets a Goal and Research Finds Coaching with Goal Setting Works

I saw two interesting stories last week about the importance of setting goals. The first was during the NCAA tournament when CBS reported about Jimmer Fredette’s contract he made with his brother to reach his ultimate dream of playing in … Continue reading

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NH AYP Excel Tool

Recently I put some data together to look at Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Index over time in New Hampshire (download the spreadsheet below to use the tool).  NH calculates an index score based on individual student performance.  The goal is … Continue reading

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Goal Setting for Students

Last month I wrote about the importance of students knowing their learning target. There is research that supports the power of students knowing where they stand today and where they are expected to end up. Last week in the Wall … Continue reading

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Collaborative Impact: Effectively Using Data to Improve Performance

A recent New York Times blog describes the success of a Cincinnati-based collaborative organization that aims to have an impact on public education.  By using an approach called “collective impact” many organizations from public schools to local non-profits agreed to … Continue reading

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Visualizing A Process

In the last two years I have seen Adams 14  (where I worked most recently) move more and more towards a standard process for instructional blocks. This process has steps and feedback loops with lots of room for teachers and students … Continue reading

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New Hampshire Legislator Proposes Reducing Age for Compulsory School Attendance

I was a little stunned to read this morning that a New Hampshire legislator (James Parison) has proposed reducing the compulsory school attendance age to 16 (from 18).  The move has been proposed as a parents’ rights issue.  The law would … Continue reading

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Gates Discusses Teaching with Governors

I heard this story today on Market Place about Bill Gates speaking to the nation’s governors in Washington, D.C. (You can read his blog post and listen to the speech here).  In short, Gates said that given a choice between … Continue reading

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