NAEP

This review of “Sound Basic Education for All: An Action Plan for North Carolina” by California-based consultant WestEd will focus on student performance.  “Sound Basic Education for All” offers…

Last week, the Education Law Center published “Making the Grade 2019,”  a report that focuses exclusively on three categories of public school inputs: funding levels, distribution, and effort using…

Click here to view and here to listen to Dr. Terry Stoops discussing this Spotlight report. RALEIGH — International comparisons show North Carolina public school students struggle to…

This study employs multiple studies and data sources to fill the gaps left by the state’s unacceptable omission of international inputs and outcomes. Overall, the evidence suggests that, despite ample resources, public school students in North Carolina fail to meet or exceed the performance of many of our economic competitors throughout the world. Simply put, the state has failed to "produce globally competitive students," and that failure is a cause for serious concern.

RALEIGH – State education officials canceled a news conference today, a move that helps hide problems with new statewide math scores. Those scores show how North Carolina’s education testing program…

Beginning in 1996, the state implemented a comprehensive program of education testing called the ABCs of Public Education. It did not take long for state leaders to declare North Carolina a national leader in implementing state-level accountability measures. In 1999, then Governor James Hunt declared that, “we’re holding our schools accountable for results. Education Week Magazine says no state is doing more than North Carolina to put in place real and meaningful accountability measures.”

Like other states, North Carolina maintains a system of certification and licensing for public school teachers. Proponents of the system argue that certification standards will separate good teachers from poor ones, but there is no evidence that these standards determine teacher quality. A state-by-state comparison of teacher certification and student performance on the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics exam shows that certification standards and teacher testing did not improve test scores. Schools should be able to recruit and retain talented teachers whether they are certified or not.