Value-added data informing and improving TN Schools of Education

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|May 8, 2012

With the rapid changes in our education systems regarding new standards, assessments, accountability and evaluation, teachers are rightfully feeling the pressure of being underprepared. The majority of teachers were not trained or certified with these rigorous systems in place. Recognizing that higher education institutions need to play an active role [...]

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More than “teaching to the test”: Value-added ROI persists throughout a student’s life

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|March 30, 2012

A 23-year Harvard and Columbia University study was recently published shedding new light on the long-term impacts of teachers with both high and low value-added estimates. Researchers Chetty, Friedman, and Rockoff tracked math and reading assessment data on over 2.5 million students from 1989-2009. They then incorporated 90% of these [...]

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SAS Curriculum Pathways and the path to Common Core success

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|February 20, 2012

Teachers have more than enough to juggle each day, lacking the time to search for, and find, high-quality curricular resources online. When I would search for lesson plan supplements, I would often get lost in Google’s abyss of results, spending far too much precious time sifting through mediocre materials. Until [...]

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The art and science of seating charts

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|January 12, 2012

A’s in the front, Z’s in the back. How many of us grew up sitting in alphabetical order next to the same few classmates throughout school? While this is a quick and efficient way to learn student names, which is no easy task, it is not the most effective way [...]

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2011: The more things change...

Paula Henderson
Paula Henderson|December 21, 2011

2011 saw incredible change in the states as more than half of the governorships changed hands. As expected, that caused significant turnover at the State CIO level, as well. So while executive and technology policies changed in many ways, the dismal budget situation reinforced the need to allocate tax pay [...]

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Poor does not equal lazy

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|December 15, 2011

After my November blog post about achievement gaps between affluent and poor students, Newt Gingrich cast some renewed energy on the topic with his inflammatory comments about poor children at a Dec 1st GOP debate. In case you missed his remarks, here is the quote that sent the media into [...]

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Giving thanks for good teachers, closing the achievement gap

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|November 17, 2011

I recently attended The Education Trust’s 2011 National Conference on closing gaps and raising achievement for ALL students. This was my first Ed Trust event and I walked away baffled by the data about the inequities in our education system, and the persistent gaps between the affluent and impoverished. First, [...]

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Student achievement's trick masks student growth's treat

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|October 20, 2011

Halloween is around the corner and children everywhere will wear masks throughout their neighborhoods for a night of trick-or-treating fun and, likely, too much candy. A masking has also occurred in education policy with the No Child Left Behind Act, sans the candy at the end of the night. That [...]

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Part 3 of the 3 R’s of Education: Relationships that Raise Learning

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|October 6, 2011

With an increasing volume of curriculum to cover and no time to spare, teachers often hit the ground running with the full throttle rigor and relevance critical to teaching and learning. However, I argue that the first two R’s are futile if teachers don’t have meaningful relationships with their students. [...]

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