Mass EdForum

Today Massachusetts’ education standards received a significant endorsement from the non-partisan, independent Worcester Regional Research Bureau. The bureau’s new report, Toward a Common Understanding of the Common Core, examines the origins and merits of the Common Core standards, and concludes […]

There is a new measure from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tying 12th grade results to college preparedness.  In 2009, for the first time, NAEP reported state results for 12th Graders from 11 volunteer pilot states including Massachusetts, […]

Budget Moves to Senate; House to Act on Bill to Improve Student Achievement May is always a busy month, but it is especially so this year as legislators work to complete the Massachusetts Budget for fiscal year 2015 and wrap […]

We routinely teach our children the importance of honesty and telling the truth, even when it is difficult or uncomfortable.   But, for years, we have been giving our children the false impression that passing the MCAS exams and earning […]

Is Common Core really taking control away from teachers? According to a new report, the answer is no. Latest research by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) finds that it is local teachers and districts that are leading the charge […]

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has issued a call for volunteers to join Working Groups that will develop recommendations for subject matter knowledge required for educator licensure.  This is a critically important endeavor with the potential to […]

In late March, Rick Hess, Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute,  wrote a column in Education Week with three questions for the two consortia of states that have developed assessments aligned to the Common Core State […]

The U.S. Department of Education is moving forward with a plan to improve the recruitment and preparation of our nation’s teachers.  This is welcome news since educator preparation programs have been shown to lack the rigor and training needed for […]

Commissioner of Higher Education Richard Freeland is joining the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) at their monthly meeting tonight to discuss “options for transition of the high school Competency Determination (CD) requirements – that is, the state standards […]

In the Constitution adopted in 1780 and in force today, the people of Massachusetts recognized that the “opportunities and advantages of education” were “necessary for the preservation of their rights had liberties,” and directed the representatives of the people to […]

Twenty years ago, the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education and the business community played a leading role in bringing about changes that propelled our state to the top of the nation on most measures of K-12 education performance.  But we […]

The Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education is thrilled to announce the launch of the Future Ready Massachusetts website. The Future Ready campaign was created to help students, their families, teachers and their mentors access the tools and resources that will […]

Last fall, as we embarked on our New Opportunity to Lead Campaign our partners at Associated Industries of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and asked MassINC Polling Group to conduct a statewide survey of employers to gauge their concerns […]

National survey results released Friday by Achieve, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education reform organization, show strong voter support for Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Although a majority of those polled (two-thirds) had heard “nothing” or “not too much” about the Common […]

Many thanks to Achieve for allowing us to share this important information from their February Newsletter! As states continue to implement college- and career-ready standards and prepare for the transition to aligned assessments, it’s more important than ever to remember […]

Another survey has confirmed teacher enthusiasm for the Common Core State Standards.  Yes, it is a project of Scholastic and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which the standards’ detractors characterize as the all-powerful Oz, but the data is indisputable. […]

The convergence of education and the economy is evident in two separate reports issued this week.  The findings make it clear that we need to pay attention to the competencies our children acquire in school if we expect them to […]

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”                           […]

Despite a steady stream of misinformation in recent weeks, the new Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks that include the Common Core State Standards will better prepare students for higher education and the workplace.  For the record:   When nearly 40% of MA […]

With Race to the Top and other federal funding initiatives winding down this academic year, state policy makers and school leaders are grappling with the challenge of sustaining this work with declining resources.  So, we were interested to see how […]