Wh
at’s churning:
Average math scores for high school seniors edged up three points from 2005 to 2009, the National Assessment of Education Progress has announced. The new report also breaks out results for 11 states that participated in a new pilot testing program – but Colorado wasn’t in that group. (Learn more here.)
In case you missed it: The Jefferson County clerk’s office late Thursday afternoon posted final results in the House District 29 race showing that Republican challenger Robert Ramirez beat incumbent Rep. Debbie Benefield 12,738 votes to 12,541. Benefield, a longtime parent and schools activist in Jefferson County, was a member of the House Education Committee and a vocal opponent of the educator effectiveness bill during the last legislative session.
Her defeat leaves the Republicans in control of the House with a bare 33-32 majority. Democrats remain in control of the House with a 20-15 margin.
Preliminary estimates show the Clark County, Nev., Schools facing a $150 million budget shortfall in the 2011-12 school year. Outgoing Superintendent Walt Rulffes said that could mean the loss of 2,000 jobs unless district unions make significant concessions. Rulffes won’t have to worry about all that – Colorado’s Dwight Jones takes his job on Dec. 15. (Get details here.)
What’s on tap:
The State Council on Educator Effectiveness meets from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Department of Education boardroom at 201 E. Colfax Ave. (Agenda and background on council)
Good reads from elsewhere:
- Kicking the hornets’ nest: Bill Gates urge radical overhaul of teacher pay. New York Times.
- Fiction becomes truth: NJ principal plays Ed Rooney, busts into truants’ house. New York Post
- NAEP bribery: Seniors who ace the national test offered prom tickets, prime parking spaces. Education Week