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Education News in Alabama
January 5, 2011

New Report Challenges Middle Schools to Improve Rigor

A new report by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) issued a challenge to middle schools across the southeast: stop acting like a “way station for adolescents,” and start preparing students for success in rigorous high school courses. A New Mission for the Middle Grades offers a roadmap for change, with six goals and several specific recommendations, including focusing the middle grades curriculum on literacy and STEM disciplines, and requiring middle grades students to complete individual academic and career plans.

SREB research found that too many of the region’s 8th graders enter high school without the basic skills necessary to take and pass high school level courses. Unless middle schools improve teaching and learning, the report argues, students will remain unprepared for high school, and states like Alabama will be unable to significantly decrease their high school dropout rates.

Alabama Could Use Data More Effectively for Decision-Making

A new analysis from The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) reports that states could empower stakeholders to make education decisions with data, but most have not. Every state now has the ability to improve student achievement using data that follow individual students over time. However, policymakers must now act to ensure data are not only collected but also used to make informed decisions. Empowering stakeholders with this information will increase student success rates.

"The stakes have never been higher as policymakers and educators are asked to deliver all students a world-class education with fewer resources. The education sector will never reach this goal without effective data use and the political leadership to get us there.”

Good News for Alabama Pre-K

Alabama’s Office of School Readiness, which runs the state-funded pre-K programs, has a new director. Jan Hume was appointed to the post by Gov. Bentley in November. She is the former Executive Director of the Alabama School Readiness Alliance (ASRA), a nonprofit dedicated to closing achievement gaps by helping children enter school ready to succeed. In February, Allison de la Torre, former policy associate for the national nonprofit organization Pre-K Now, joins ASRA as the Executive Director. These two individuals have a great record of growing high-quality, voluntary pre-K programs.

Education Can Improve Your IQ

For decades, scientists believed that a person’s IQ remained fixed at birth. A new Norweigan study, however, has found that people who pursue higher levels of education can actually improve their IQ scores over time.

Bama Fact Check just released its annual “Biggest Whoppers of 2011” list, which catalogues the biggest fibs of last year.

Bama Fact Check, a partnership of statewide news organizations, is dedicated to investigating the truthfulness of statements made by politicians and public figures. During this upcoming legislative session, you can check its website to see which claims receive a high “Truth Rating” -- and which ones are whoppers!

A+ Education Partnership would like to thank George Hall Elementary for allowing us to feature its photo in our Education News in Alabama newsletter.

George Hall Elementary has been a defining example of education excellence in Alabama by showing that, with quality teaching and high expectations, all students can learn at very high levels.