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Boston Globe
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Lawmakers once again seek to overhaul reading instruction
About half of the state's districts in 2023 relied on reading programs in kindergarten through third grade the state considers low quality, among the findings of a Related : Advertisement 'It's very clear that we can't wait any longer to address what the data is telling us and the data is telling us that we are in a literacy crisis,' said Mary Tamer, founder and executive director of Lisa Lazare, executive director of Educators for Excellence, said students struggling with reading could face severe consequences if the Legislature fails to act, noting it could increase students' risk of dropping out of school. 'It is heartbreaking,' she said. Mandating literacy restrictions has generated resistance, including from the Massachusetts Teachers Association. Advertisement 'With so many districts facing a fiscal crisis and possible additional losses in federal funds, it is even more harmful to introduce new state-mandated spending that local districts can't control on limited curriculum packages,' Max Page and Deborah McCarthy, the president and vice president, said in a statement. Following the Globe's investigation, Governor Maura Healey announced a $20 million But Representative Danillo Sena, a bill sponsor, said more aggressive action is needed. 'I know that teachers want students to succeed," he said. 'We can give them the tools they need to use evidence-based material.' The lack of a statewide mandate is leaving many parents with an uphill battle to change reading curriculums, with debates emerging in such districts as Lexington and Winchester. Lexington superintendent Julie Hackett has been A similar debate is unfolding in Needham, where some parents earlier this year started the Needham Literacy Coalition. The group is attempting to convince district leaders to stop using Lucy Calkins's Units of Study, a reading curriculum that is subject of a Related : The debate filtered into this year's School Committee race. Leanne Ratti, who has three children in the Needham public schools, ran for a seat in an effort to push for changes to literacy instruction. Advertisement Ratti, who lost her School Committee bid on April 8, said she was surprised Needham was still using Units of Study, noting Boston Public Schools, where she teaches, got rid of it eight years ago. 'The trust with Lucy Calkins has been broken,' Ratti said. 'Why would we buy another product from the same company and the same person?' Parents pushing for changes say the debate has turned contentious and they have faced false accusations of pushing a conservative political agenda. 'It's just so hurtful and could not be further from the truth,' said Melissa Rotman, a speech therapist with two children in Needham schools. 'I definitely think getting this bill passed would help.' Needham is in the midst of overhauling reading instruction and is piloting five programs, including a revised version of Units of Study that now has a stronger emphasis on phonics, but would continue pairing it with a separate phonics program. Carmen Williams, assistant superintendent of instruction and innovation, said she believes a combination of strong guidance and accountability from the state would be better in ensuring quality reading instruction rather than a state law mandating specific programs. 'There is no perfect program,' Williams said. James Vaznis can be reached at
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion: If McMahon Really Wants to ‘Invest in Teachers,' She Should Listen to Them
A few weeks ago in Washington, D.C., I sat beside several teachers and watched Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump's new education secretary, testify in front of the Senate. He had already told reporters that 'the Department of Education's a big con job' and he'd 'like it to be closed immediately.' He said he wanted McMahon to 'put herself out of job' — a comment widely taken to mean he wants her to dissolve the Department of Education. McMahon's testimony before the Senate that Trump merely wants the department to 'operate more efficiently' was difficult to stomach. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter But the comment from the hearing that stung the most was McMahon's promise to 'invest in teachers.' I didn't need to look at the teachers sitting next to me to see their frustration. McMahon has expressed strong alignment with Trump's education agenda, which promises many things — from diverting public dollars to private schools and micromanaging or outright prohibiting workforce diversity initiatives — though investing in teachers is not one of them. If she is sincerely interested in what teachers need to be successful, she should ask them — which she does not appear to have done. Related A new survey of 1,000 teachers conducted by Educators for Excellence, the nonpartisan, teacher-led organization I co-founded in 2011, asked teachers about their values, classroom needs and policy views. It reveals a resounding rejection of the education policies the Trump administration has pursued or enacted in its first weeks in power. From incendiary and legally dubious Executive Orders that meddle directly in classrooms by attempting to interfere in curricular decisionmaking to regulatory changes that strip LGBTQ+ students of federal protection against discrimination, this agenda is not what America's educators want for their students. If McMahon were interested in supporting teachers, she'd know that 92% of them favor federal funding for Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provide crucial aid to help teachers serve low-income students and children with disabilities. If she'd take the time to meet with educators and listen to their perspectives, she'd know that a mere 16% support using public dollars for private schools and that 79% favor collecting student achievement data, which is necessary for building the evidence base on which types of teaching and school leadership work best. The Trump administration has already shown it is at odds with each of these positions and many others held by the professionals who fill the nation's classrooms. Its agenda, which McMahon was presumably hand-picked to carry out, not only ignores the will of teachers — it also represents a radical shift away from decades of bipartisan agreement on core pillars of public education. Related Twenty-three years ago, President George W. Bush signed into law No Child Left Behind, which expanded the federal government's role in public education. Although the law was far from perfect, it sought to ensure that our public dollars were having the intended impact and drew on a longstanding bedrock of conservative social policy: accountability. When President Barack Obama refashioned No Child Left Behind into the Every Student Succeeds Act, he maintained the focus on accountability, which Democrats agreed was vital to improving the quality of America's public schools. Now, accountability is on the chopping block. Trump has already gutted the nation's top education research agency, the Institute of Education Sciences, which collects data and reports on how well states are educating students. And, on Feb. 19, a key NAEP assessment was canceled, foreclosing on the collection of longitudinal data that goes back over 50 years. Without reliable information about student achievement and school funding, schools will be left to navigate blind, relying on unproven, lower-quality curricula and tools. This will weaken learning standards and stall academic progress at a time when we should be closing achievement gaps, not widening them. As with many policy matters, there are political differences on key education issues like school choice, how to best fund schools, and the right measures to hold schools and districts accountable. The same is true among teachers: In hundreds of surveys and countless conversations with educators over the past decade, I've encountered wide-ranging views on everything from layoffs, evaluations and school choice to, most recently, artificial intelligence. While 45% of educators nationally think AI shows promise, 50% have concerns. This lack of consensus is what makes teachers' alignment against Trump's education agenda all the more striking — though not surprising. Related No matter where they live, educators now face the likelihood that crucial funding will be stripped from their classrooms. If Trump cuts Title I funding, for example, Alabama schools will lose an estimated $300 million. Mississippi's education budget would shrink by 25% if Trump cut the state's federal funding. It's no wonder that teachers across the country, whatever their politics happen to be, fiercely oppose the president's crusade to dismantle a department that exists to strengthen their ability to do their jobs. America asks a lot of its teachers, whose overall satisfaction has dipped to historic lows. If the nation's leaders in Washington want them to stay in the classroom and deliver the outstanding education that America's kids need, the first thing those leaders – and that includes the new education secretary – better do is listen to them.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NYC students have regained ground lost during the pandemic, but reading scores remain stubbornly low
New York City children who just started grade school during the pandemic are rebounding in math — but schools are still struggling to teach students how to read, according to highly anticipated data released Wednesday as part of the 'Nation's Report Card.' The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or 'NAEP,' showed an 8-point increase in the average test score of a local fourth grader in 2024, according to district snapshot reports. With the latest improvements, students are performing at about the same level as fourth graders before the COVID years. In 2022, the last year the test was given, fourth-grade math scores plummeted by 9 points — a record drop since the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the gold-standard exam, started collecting data. 'The latest NAEP results underscore the resilience of New York City's students and educators,' Chyann Tull, a spokeswoman for the city's public schools, said in a statement. 'Our test scores have returned to pre-pandemic levels, and this stability reflects the extraordinary efforts of our schools to support learning recovery and maintain high standards for all students.' But signs of headway end there. The latest NAEP results show how a representative sample of fourth and eighth graders performed in math and reading. Apart from fourth-grade math, New York City schools failed to improve on any of the other tests — though averaged roughly the same scores as before the pandemic and in other large cities. In 2024, fourth-grade readers considered 'economically disadvantaged' had an average score than was 37 points lower than their peers — a significant widening over two decades, when that gap was 18 points. 'We hoped to see post-pandemic improvement — but the reality is that it hasn't happened,' said Marielys Divanne, executive director of the New York chapter of Educators for Excellence. 'We cannot afford to be passive in the face of these disparities.' On top of the disruptions to classroom time, the pandemic contributed to mental health challenges for young people. Chronic absenteeism has remained stubbornly high, with more than one-third of local students missing 10% or more of last school year. Average reading scores dipped by 2 points among the city's fourth graders and 1 point in eighth grade. Neither decline is considered significantly different by NCES but continue a worrisome trend: Fewer than 3 in 10 local-test takers scored proficient — or better — in reading. (The NAEP standard for proficiency exceeds that of most state tests.) 'This is not just a pandemic story,' NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr told reporters during a briefing. 'Our nation is facing complex challenges in reading.' The city's top education officials are trying to overhaul how the system teaches literacy, requiring community school districts to choose between one of three research-backed curricular options. While teachers are still being trained in the new methods, experts have advised the local school system to stay the course as the city's school chancellor, Melissa Aviles-Ramos, has made some tweaks to the requirement. A similar push to standardize curriculum is also underway in math. 'While there is still so much to be done, we remain committed to building on this foundation and fostering continued growth citywide,' said Tull, the city schools spokeswoman. Other states that have adopted the so-called 'science of reading' before New York saw improvements in their NAEP scores. Carr cited Louisiana as doing 'what most states were unable to do' by surpassing its pre-pandemic reading scores for fourth graders. 'They did focus heavily on the science of reading,' Carr told reporters, 'but they didn't start yesterday. They've been working on it several years. So I would not say that hope is lost. And I would not say that we cannot turn this around — it's been demonstrated that we can.'
