Quick Hits

"Value-added" systems used to measure student progress: More educators are talking about "value-added" teacher-evaluation systems that measure individual student progress on standardized tests from year to year instead of comparing raw test results from other students and schools. The system -- praised by the Obama administration -- also has been used as a gauge of effective teaching. However, teachers unions have resisted such evaluation systems, saying that student progress and teacher effectiveness cannot be measured by standardized tests. (Los Angeles Times)

Research shows brain connections improve with reading practice: Students who practice reading can strengthen their brains -- especially the white-matter connections essential to learning, according to research by scientists at the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Researchers scanned students' brains, then enrolled struggling readers in an intensive reading program. Researchers again scanned students' brains, this time after 100 hours of reading practice, and found the training improved "not just their reading ability, but the tissues in their brain." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Quality exams strike right balance, ensure quality: The No Child Left Behind act has led to an increased focus on standardized testing, making it important to ensure the quality of tests and a balance of the types of tests used, according to Stephen Chappuis, Jan Chappuis and Rick Stiggins, who work with the ETS Assessment Training Institute in Oregon. They write that quality assessments have a purpose, understandable learning targets, good design, clear results and allow for student involvement. Assessment balance, they assert, is achieved by assessing learning with a range of testing methods. (Educational Leadership)

Officials consider future testing under common standards: The Department of Education recently sought input from testing experts and members of the public as it decides what state testing will look like under common standards and how tests might best include English-language learners and students in special education. Officials traveled to Boston, Atlanta and Denver to gather advice as they design guidelines for the Obama administration's next competition for education stimulus funds, which will help pay for developing the tests. (Education Week)

Research: Schools perform better with experienced principals: New research shows that principals have the most impact on students in economically disadvantaged schools, and the most effective principals are skilled at recognizing and retaining the strongest teachers. According to a series of papers on the role that principals play in the success of schools, a principal's experience is a contributing factor to a school's success. "Our clearest finding is that schools perform better when they are led by experienced principals," one research paper states.(Education Week)

The best testing method is one that measures instruction: Researcher and writer Gerald Bracey has examined and compared three national and international testing programs to determine how they should be used by educators, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is used to measure progress under No Child Left Behind. Bracey argues that the NAEP is a poor accountability tool and that a better student assessment is a model used in Nebraska called the School-based Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System -- measuring instruction rather than forcing instruction to meet the measurement. (Educational Leadership)

Study - More states require exit exams for graduation: High-school exit exams are carrying more weight, with 26 states requiring students to pass the tests to graduate, and 24 using them as a measure of achievement under No Child Left Behind. A study by the Center on Education Policy found increases in the number of states making the exams a graduation requirement and in the number of students passing the exams. (Education Week)

Duncan - State tests "setting the bar too low" for students: The Department of Education says some states have lowered testing standards, leading to suspicions about whether benchmarks have been lowered to meet No Child Left Behind and whether states have made as much progress as they have claimed. Education Secretary Arne Duncan accused states of "setting the bar too low," and he called for testing to accurately measure college readiness and academic performance. (The Wall Street Journal)

Schools struggle to sustain one-year gains in test scores: Studies show that many low-performing schools that make significant one-year gains in test scores struggle to build on their successes. Seven schools in Washington, D.C., posted academic gains in reading and math of 20 percentage points or more in 2008, but just one improved achievement in 2009. While changes in school leadership and policy can make it difficult for schools to sustain progress, smaller schools with smaller sample sizes may be subject to substantial swings in scores. (The Washington Post)

Detroit teachers are being asked to loan money to the district: Detroit education officials have proposed a plan to borrow $10,000 from each district teacher over the next two years to save the school system $25.4 million and help prevent the district from going bankrupt. The district faces a $219 million budget gap. Under the proposed wage-deferment plan, teachers would be paid back -- without interest -- upon their departure from the district. Teachers are expected to vote in the next two weeks on the plan, which is part of a new three-year contract. (Detroit Free Press)