Today, Sept. 7, marks the final ‘opening day' for school year 2010.
On Monday, Sept. 6, Washington Post columnist Robert J. Samuelson examined school reform efforts over the last 40 plus years and their generally disappointing results.
Samuelson notes that reforms which began in the 1960's have resulted in a one point gain in reading scores and a two point gain in math scores according to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). The tests began to measure reading in 1971 and math in 1973.
According to Samuelson standard theories lack an explanation for the almost non-existent progress. He does, however, call out student motivation and the lack thereof as a key culprit.
Click here to read the entire op-ed.
In the meantime remember that students identify working with newspaper content as highly engaging and there is great opportunity to capture and enhance student performance at the high school level.
We deliver tomorrow's readers and engaged citizens.