Download or read book Closing America s High achievement Gap A Wise Giver s Guide to Helping Our Most Talented Students Reach Their Full Potential written by Andy Smarick and published by The Philanthropy Roundtable. This book was released on 2013-10-22 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This intriguing book makes a powerful case for a sorely needed U.S. educational improvement that has been almost entirely overlooked. During the last two decades, philanthropists and education reformers have made urgent efforts to pull weak students up to levels of basic competency. Though that vital work is incomplete, there is evidence of progress among low achievers. Meanwhile, though, children at the other end of the achievement spectrum have gotten lost in the shuffle. Programs and funding once aimed at stimulating high-potential students to make the most of their talents have withered, and we are now doing a poor job of stimulating our quick learners. When the particular needs of high-potential students are not met by schools, that is a moral failure—because every child deserves to be stretched and challenged. It is also a threat to our national interests—since high achievers will be crucial to America’s future ability to compete internationally. This is a field where donors have wide-open opportunities to lead. In the pages of this fresh, practical guidebook, savvy school-reform philanthropists will be introduced to scores of programs and institutions that can pull talented students of all ages, races, and income levels up to their full natural capabilities.
Download or read book Teacher s Survival Guide written by Julia Link Roberts and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-23 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teacher's Survival Guide: Gifted Education is packed with practical information, up-to-date resources, tips for success, and advice from experts in the field. This updated second edition: Is the perfect introduction to gifted education for beginning and early career educators. Provides field-tested, proven strategies. Is designed to help teachers build their understanding of gifted education and gifted learners. Covers topics essential to gifted education teachers, including identifying giftedness and encouraging creativity. Includes tips for providing resources and opportunities to spur talent development. Each chapter features a key question, making the book ideal for an engaging book study, as well as survival tips and a survival toolkit of resources to keep readers on course as they navigate through gifted ed.
Download or read book Clearing Obstacles to Work A Wise Giver s Guide to Fostering Self Reliance written by David Bass and published by The Philanthropy Roundtable. This book was released on 2015-07-08 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cracks are becoming visible in American work habits. Whole subpopulations now have weak attachments to self-supporting labor. This worsens poverty and economic mobility. It also damages well-being in subtler ways—because work plays a vital role in building social connections, and boosting self-respect and happiness. Any sensible effort to improve American prosperity today must begin by bolstering work. Alas, government agencies have a very checkered history when it comes to helping those who have struggled in the workforce develop the capacities to do better in the future. Statistically, most government job-training programs are quite unimpressive. There are, however, many charitable programs that have demonstrated real success at leading unskilled persons, single mothers, inexperienced minorities, released prisoners, former addicts, and other at-risk populations into lasting, transformative employment. This book was written to help donors find those successful models and strategies. Because when it comes to curing deprivation, softening inequality, improving life satisfaction, and strengthening society, work works.
Download or read book Excellence Gaps in Education written by Jonathan A. Plucker and published by Harvard Education Press. This book was released on 2020-01-15 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2017 Texas Association for Gifted and Talented Legacy Scholar Book Award 2017 National Association of Gifted Children Scholar Book of the Year Award In Excellence Gaps in Education, Jonathan A. Plucker and Scott J. Peters shine a spotlight on “excellence gaps”—the achievement gaps among subgroups of students performing at the highest levels of achievement. Much of the focus of recent education reform has been on closing gaps in achievement between students from different racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic backgrounds by bringing all students up to minimum levels of proficiency. Yet issues related to excellence gaps have been largely absent from discussions about how to improve our schools and communities. Plucker and Peters argue that these significant gaps reflect the existence of a persistent talent underclass in the United States among African American, Hispanic, Native American, and poor students, resulting in an incalculable loss of potential among our fastest growing populations. Drawing on the latest research and a wide range of national and international data, the authors outline the scope of the problem and make the case that excellence gaps should be targeted for elimination. They identify promising interventions for talent development already underway in schools and provide a detailed review of potential strategies, including universal screening, flexible grouping, targeted programs, and psychosocial interventions. Excellence Gaps in Education has the potential for changing our national conversation about equity and excellence and bringing fresh attention to the needs of high-potential students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Download or read book Closing the Achievement Gap in America written by Dr. Jesse J. Hargrove and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2011-07-22 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reveals how this new generation of learners, the Deuce Millennium Generation (DMG), began their journey from Pre-kindergarten at the start of the new millennium in fall 2001 to their middle school years. This generation has endured the societal effects of the post 9/11 years for almost ten years, yet the author asserts that they will be the best and the brightest. He contends that the recent educational training delivered by highly-skilled Teacher Training Institutions will contribute to an increase in students' knowledge and performance on high stakes measures of assessments over the years. The book acknowledges that accreditation is a key factor that plays an important role in the student achievement process. This book is a primary source for understanding how the achievement gap in America can be closed. The author contends that this scholarly work is the first comprehensive book written on the subject. He engages the audiences in issues that are thought-provoking and makes the case that the historical, social, and public education processes have a profound impact on the learning outcomes of students in American schools. It is easy to understand why the author puts a name and a face on this new generation of learners. The book reveals a clear picture concerning who this generation is and what effects will occur to them, if the signs of the times are not reversed. This book should be read and used by all Teacher Training Institutions, teachers, parents, and decision-makers who are interested in Closing the Achievement Gap in America. The gap issue is a national imperative!
Download or read book Changing Policies to Close the Achievement Gap written by Cynthia D. Prince and published by R&L Education. This book was released on 2004 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Closing the academic achievement gap is one of the most complex challenges that school system leaders face. Closing the gap became even more urgent with the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act. For the first time, the federal government has set a deadline for closing the gap, requiring schools to bring all students to proficient levels of academic performance in twelve years. How much of the achievement gap can be attributed to what school districts themselves may be doing? What factors and conditions impede progress toward closing the achievement gap? And what can superintendents do to narrow as much of the gap as they can? These questions led to the development of this guide. In Changing Policies to Close the Achievement Gap Cynthia Prince identifies state and local policies that tend to make the achievement gap worse and describes policy changes that superintendents have made with the support of their boards to help narrow the gap. She also examines policies that aggravate the inequitable distribution of quality teachers and principals, that restrict student access to challenging coursework, and that reduce academic instruction time. Prince argues that closing the gap will require serious efforts to change these policies and other conditions that impede the ability of school districts to bring all students to high levels of performance.
Download or read book Creating the Opportunity to Learn written by A. Wade Boykin and published by ASCD. This book was released on 2011-09-08 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Unless we believe that those who have more are inherently superior to those who have less, we should be troubled by the fact that patterns of achievement are often fairly predictable, particularly with respect to students' race and class." In Creating the Opportunity to Learn, Wade Boykin and Pedro Noguera help navigate the turbid waters of evidence-based methodologies and chart a course toward closing (and eliminating) the academic achievement gap. Turning a critical eye to current and recent research, the authors present a comprehensive view of the achievement gap and advocate for strategies that contribute to the success of all children. Boykin and Noguera maintain that it is possible to close the achievement gap by abandoning failed strategies, learning from successful schools, and simply doing more of what the research shows is most effective. Success is founded on equity, but equity involves more than simply ensuring students have equal access to education; equity also entails a focus on outcomes and results. If we want to bring about significant improvements in those outcomes, we have to do more to address the context in which learning takes place. In short, we must create schools where a child's race or class is no longer a predictor for how well he or she might perform.
Download or read book The Global Achievement Gap written by Tony Wagner and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010-05-21 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the best efforts of educators, our nation's schools are dangerously obsolete. Instead of teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, we are asking them to memorize facts for multiple choice tests. This problem isn't limited to low-income school districts: even our top schools aren't teaching or testing the skills that matter most in the global knowledge economy. Our teens leave school equipped to work only in the kinds of jobs that are fast disappearing from the American economy. Meanwhile, young adults in India and China are competing with our students for the most sought-after careers around the world. Education expert Tony Wagner has conducted scores of interviews with business leaders and observed hundreds of classes in some of the nation's most highly regarded public schools. He discovered a profound disconnect between what potential employers are looking for in young people today (critical thinking skills, creativity, and effective communication) and what our schools are providing (passive learning environments and uninspired lesson plans that focus on test preparation and reward memorization). He explains how every American can work to overhaul our education system, and he shows us examples of dramatically different schools that teach all students new skills. In addition, through interviews with college graduates and people who work with them, Wagner discovers how teachers, parents, and employers can motivate the ''net'' generation to excellence. An education manifesto for the twenty-first century, The Global Achievement Gap is provocative and inspiring. It is essential reading for parents, educators, business leaders, policy-makers, and anyone interested in seeing our young people succeed as employees and citizens.
Download or read book Closing the Achievement Gap written by Belinda Williams and published by ASCD. This book was released on 1996-10-15 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's no secret that students attending urban schools in the United States do not fare as well on measures of achievement as their rural and suburban counterparts. According to Belinda Williams and her coauthors, this gap is largely due to a little acknowledged fact: that poor and minority students bring culturally distinct values and beliefs to the classroom that are often incompatible with the biases inherent in the curriculum, assessment measures, and teachers themselves. This second edition of Closing the Achievement Gap argues that if education reform is to work, educators must become more sensitive to the worldviews of disadvantaged students--and to incorporate this awareness into their day-to-day work. Teachers, principals, and legislators must * Learn about cultural perceptions of human development, * Apply this knowledge to professional development and comprehensive reform, and * Align political policy accordingly. In addition to providing a framework for meeting these challenges, this book offers specific suggestions for bridging the cultural divide through such diverse methods as direct vocabulary instruction, opportunity-to-learn strategies, and school-level organizational reform. Thoroughly researched and eloquently written, it is a vital resource for ensuring that students of all backgrounds succeed equally well in the classroom.
Download or read book The Global Achievement Gap written by Tony Wagner and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2014-03-11 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the best efforts of educators, our nation's schools are dangerously obsolete. Instead of teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, we are asking them to memorize facts for multiple choice tests. This problem isn't limited to low-income school districts: even our top schools aren't teaching or testing the skills that matter most in the global knowledge economy. Our teens leave school equipped to work only in the kinds of jobs that are fast disappearing from the American economy. Meanwhile, young adults in India and China are competing with our students for the most sought-after careers around the world. Education expert Tony Wagner has conducted scores of interviews with business leaders and observed hundreds of classes in some of the nation's most highly regarded public schools. He discovered a profound disconnect between what potential employers are looking for in young people today (critical thinking skills, creativity, and effective communication) and what our schools are providing (passive learning environments and uninspired lesson plans that focus on test preparation and reward memorization). He explains how every American can work to overhaul our education system, and he shows us examples of dramatically different schools that teach all students new skills. In addition, through interviews with college graduates and people who work with them, Wagner discovers how teachers, parents, and employers can motivate the &"net"; generation to excellence. An education manifesto for the twenty-first century, The Global Achievement Gap is provocative and inspiring. It is essential reading for parents, educators, business leaders, policy-makers, and anyone interested in seeing our young people succeed as employees and citizens. For additional information about the author and the book, please go to a href="http://www.schoolchange.org"www.schoolchange.org
Download or read book The Instructional Leader s Guide to Closing Achievement Gaps written by Teresa D. Hill and published by ASCD. This book was released on 2024 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This practical guide outlines five keys to effectively close achievement gaps in their districts and schools and provides tools for increasing student achievement"--
Download or read book Learning First written by Carolyn J. Kelley and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2009-08-11 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combine this research-based, collaborative framework with four critical dimensions of leadership to advance equity and excellence in student learning and close student achievement gaps in your school.
Download or read book The Instructional Leader s Guide to Closing Achievement Gaps written by Teresa D. Hill and published by ASCD. This book was released on 2024-06-17 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All the tools that educators need to improve student outcomes and close achievement gaps. Although it's easy to connect out-of-school factors such as poverty or the pandemic to achievement gaps in schools today, education leaders need to focus on what's within their school or district’s control to ensure equitable learning outcomes for their students. In this practical guide for K–12 instructional leaders, superintendent Teresa D. Hill outlines five keys to effectively close achievement gaps: meaningful assessment, language and literacy, experience and exposure, consolidation of knowledge, and perfect practice. She walks readers through a step-by-step process so that they can * Develop a deep understanding of the achievement gaps in their school or district, including the sources and perpetuators of those gaps. * Prepare their team for the capacity-building work ahead. * Closely examine the five most meaningful and effective strategies for improving outcomes that fall within their school's sphere of influence. * Develop and implement a real-world action plan, including short-, moderate-, and long-term steps for closing gaps. Written by a colleague who knows firsthand what it takes to increase student achievement, the targeted advice and tools in The Instructional Leader's Guide to Closing Achievement Gaps will help educators confront the gaps in their school or district and make progress right away.
Download or read book The Educator s Handbook for Understanding and Closing Achievement Gaps written by Joseph Murphy and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2009-11-13 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Synthesizes the most current research to help school leaders understand the achievement gap and provides strategies to address the external society factors and internal school factors that contribute to this issue.
Download or read book Reach for Greatness written by Yong Zhao and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2018-01-09 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Make education personalizable - Every child can be great when they own their learning For years, focusing on the achievement gap has led to the same result: We hope for greatness and settle for competence. But why settle? It’s time to recognize that the potential for greatness lies in a unique form within each child, and that the goal of education should be to encourage and develop it. This inspiring manifesto brings in research from different disciplines to show where children’s strengths and passions can be found, and how personalizable education uncovers them. Also included: Strategies for implementing personalizable education Examples showing practices that have gone wrong—and right Guidance for teaching disadvantaged students Every child has the potential to be great. Teaching for greatness gives students control of their own learning—and guides them toward future happiness and success. Are you tired of gimmicks like "personalized learning" that have become empty slogans, but keen for the real depth and substance of an education that helps all students to reach their full potential? If so, Yong Zhao′s Reaching for Greatness is the book for you! With vivid examples and carefully scaffolded argumentation, Zhao shows how what he calls "personalizable education" offers an exciting and practical future for all of our students truly to become great. Zhao′s writing is full of whimsy and humor, so that you can′t wait to see what this wonderful alchemist of educational change is going to say next. Best of all, this gem of a book is one that not only all teachers, but also a rising generation of students, will cherish as well. --Dennis Shirley, Professor, Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Educational Change. Once again Yong pulls us from our narrow view of what education is and reminds us what it needs to be. Personalized education (as opposed to the ubiquitous and limited notion of personalized learning) is essential for a time in which we need to recognize and cultivate the diverse strengths of our students for their own good and our shared future on earth. Poignant stories from Yong′s global travels to schools make the research in this call to action relatable and accessible for all educational stakeholders. This is an important read! --Emily McCarren, Academy Principal, Punahou School, co-author of The Take Action Guides to World Class Learners book series.
Download or read book The Opportunity Equation written by Eric Schwarz and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2015-08-25 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Schwarz, founder of the groundbreaking Citizen Schools program, shares his vision for reducing inequality by pairing successful adults with low-income students. Parental wealth now predicts adult success more than at any point in the last hundred years. And yet as debates about education rage on, and wealth-based achievement gaps grow, too many people fix the blame on one of two convenient scapegoats: poverty or our public schools. But in fact, low-income kids are learning more now than ever before. The real culprit for rising inequality, Eric Schwarz argues in The Opportunity Equation, is that wealthier kids are learning much, much more—mostly outside of school. In summer camps, robotics competitions, sessions with private tutors, and conversations around the dinner table, children from more affluent families build the skills and social networks that propel them to success. In The Opportunity Equation, Schwarz tells the story of how he founded the pioneering Citizen Schools program to combat rising inequality by bringing these same opportunities to children who don’t have access to them. By increasing learning time in schools and harnessing the power of an army of volunteers with various skills and professional backgrounds—lawyers, engineers, carpenters, journalists, nonprofit leaders, and grandmothers who sew—Citizen Schools offers after-school apprenticeships that provide the building blocks for adult success. Recounting the triumphs and setbacks he’s encountered in implementing the program, Schwarz shows that some of the nation’s lowest-performing schools in its lowest-income cities can, with help, provide their students with many of the same experiences wealthy communities afford to their children. The results have been proven: in the dozen school districts, from New York to Oakland, that have partnered with Citizen Schools, rates of attendance, proficiency, graduation, and college acceptance have gone up—and the achievement gap closes. At a time when many stakeholders in the education debates are looking for new, silver-bullet shortcuts to educational excellence, Schwarz shows that the best solution is human-centered, rooted in the American tradition of citizen voluntarism, and, most important, achievable. We can provide quality education for all students and close the opportunity gap in this country—and we can do it together.
Download or read book Reaching Higher written by Rhona S. Weinstein and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “She has a funny way of looking at you,” a fourth-grader told Rhona Weinstein about his teacher. “She gets that look and says ‘I am very disappointed in you.’ I hate it when she does that. It makes me feel like I’m stupid. Just crazy, stupid, dumb.” Even young children know what adults think of them. All too often, they live down to expectations, as well as up to them. This book is about the context in which expectations play themselves out. Drawing upon a generation of research on self-fulfilling prophecies in education, including the author’s own extensive fieldwork in schools, Reaching Higher argues that our expectations of children are often too low. With compelling case studies, Weinstein shows that children typed early as “not very smart” can go on to accomplish far more than is expected of them by an educational system with too narrow a definition of ability and the way abilities should be nurtured. Weinstein faults the system, pointing out that teachers themselves are harnessed by policies that do not enable them to reach higher for all children. Her analysis takes us beyond current reforms that focus on accountability for test results. With rich descriptions of effective classrooms and schools, Weinstein makes a case for a changed system that will make the most of every child and enable students and teachers to engage more meaningfully in learning.
