Foundation

The NAA Foundation focuses on Newspaper In Education, newspaper youth content, scholastic journalism and diversity. In this blog, you'll learn about products, programs and resources that emphasize the use of newspapers and other media by young people. You'll also learn about programs and activities that can help news media companies transform their cultures in order to grow business and increase readership and audience.

States with the Smartest Kids

Those of us in the education business or those of us who work with folks in education well realize the enormous weight placed on standardized testing.  You might find this article from The Daily Beast of interest.  It offers some background on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, notes it is given every other year to students in grades 4 and 8 and then provides some insight into the test, some discussion of what factors might play into a state's performance and a ranking of states by performance.  Of note is that "With 52 different school systems, NAEP testing is the only comprehensive, if imperfect, gauge for comparing how America’s children are educated."  You can find the article and the state rankings at http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-01-23/states-with-smartest-kids-from-massachusetts-to-mississippi/?cid=gallerieslanding:mostpopular1 

About Sandy Woodcock

Sandy Woodcock is director of the Newspaper Association of America Foundation. She oversees the Foundation's Young Reader research and programming initiatives for Newspaper in Education, Youth Editorial Alliance and the scholastic press.