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U.S. News & World Report has released its 2024 Best High Schools rankings, which evaluate nearly 18,000 eligible public high schools at the national, state, and local levels. The top 10 schools include Riverside Stem Academy in California, International Academy in Michigan, Julia R. Masterman Secondary School in Pennsylvania, Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Georgia, and BASIS Peoria in Arizona, which took the number one spot. The rankings also cover charter and magnet schools, as well as the top science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) schools. According to LaMont Jones, managing editor of education at U.S. News, the rankings provide valuable data for parents to understand a school's academic performance. The rankings consider factors such as student performance on state assessments, college readiness, and graduation rates. U.S. News worked with RTI International to implement the ranking methodology. Along with the national rankings, U.S. News also publishes state-by-state rankings and a demographic breakdown of all ranked schools.

 

U.S. News

School Leadership’s Guide to Building an Online Learning Program

No two students learn the same way, and alternative options for education have never been more necessary than they are right now. Online learning has become an option that’s gained traction nationwide. According to a recent study, 81% of parents believe online learning helps their children better prepare for the future and 94% believe it positively impacts their children’s ability to understand courses.*

This guide will help school and district leaders like you learn more about the fundamentals of online learning and its benefits.

Topics include:

• Debunking common myths about online education
• An outline of the first steps to create and implement a new program
• Strategies for creating open communication with parents, students, and staff
• How to select the best industry partner to help develop your new program

*FlexPoint 2021 Parent Survey

Download the Guide

 

High rates of superintendent vacancies in Wisconsin have raised concerns among lawmakers. A bill was passed to expand the pool of superintendent candidates by waiving state requirements, but it was recently vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. The veto was based on concerns that unlicensed candidates would lack the necessary experience and training to work with children and lead school systems. Superintendent attrition is a trend that worries education leadership experts, as frequent turnover can disrupt student learning. Wisconsin state Sen. Duey Stroebel, a Republican and sponsor of the bill, highlighted the limited number of applicants in a thin talent pool. Other states have sought to address superintendent turnover through proposals that allow limited waivers or expedited licensure pathways. Efforts to address the issue should consider the complex nature of the role, which requires deep knowledge and skills. Unlicensed district leaders may also face legal barriers in carrying out federal special education law or employee evaluations. Alternative steps to address superintendent workforce issues include providing flexibility in superintendent contracts and offering limited waivers of licensure requirements.

 

Education Week News

Students in Texas will now be graded by an AI scoring engine for open-ended questions on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has introduced this automated grading system to save money and reduce the time it takes to score exams. However, some superintendents have expressed concerns about the AI's ability to accurately interpret and score students' writing samples. The TEA's auto scoring engine uses natural language processing and has been programmed to assign scores that are consistent with human grading. The computer will grade all constructed responses, with a quarter of the responses being rescored by humans. If the computer has low confidence in a score or encounters a response it does not recognize, it will be reassigned to a human. While some districts have reservations about the new system, automated scoring technology has been used for over a decade and is widely employed in other states. The main concern is ensuring that students' work is scored fairly and accurately.

 

Hood County News

Critics are questioning the accreditation of a program that they say is ignoring new standards on structured literacy. The program in question, Mills College at Northeastern, has received full accreditation from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, despite concerns that it is not adhering to the new standards. Advocates argue that this decision sets a bad example for other programs that are required to overhaul their literacy instruction. The accreditation process revealed ongoing disagreements over how California's new literacy standards should be interpreted and implemented. While some support a structured literacy approach, others favor a balanced literacy approach. The decision has sparked debate over the state's mandate to incorporate evidence-based methods of teaching foundational reading skills. Critics argue that the program fails to meet the requirements outlined in the mandate. However, supporters of the program argue that it represents a broad range of literacy practices and should be upheld. The controversy highlights the ongoing challenges in improving reading instruction and the need for continued research and discussion in this area.

 

EdSource

Gadsden County is focusing on providing more opportunities for students to learn about STEM careers. Dr. Renee Gordon, the STEM Program Director at Tallahassee Community College, emphasizes the importance of exposing kids to STEM at a young age to help them explore potential career paths. TCC recently hosted over a hundred students from Gadsden County to introduce them to STEM activities, including experiences with 3D printers and learning about various STEM careers. Currently, Gadsden County does not have a dedicated STEM school, and many students are unfamiliar with what STEM entails. Despite the costs associated with implementing STEM education, Superintendent Elijah Key highlights that there are funding opportunities through grants to support the development of STEM programs in schools. Dr. Gordon encourages students of all ages to develop a love for STEM and not be afraid of challenging content, as TCC prepares to host a free STEM summer camp for students from Gadsden, Leon and Wakulla counties.

 

Tallahassee News

A new study has found that students who had surnames that came later in the alphabet received lower grades than those at the top of roll call. The research from the University of Michigan found also found that these students tend to receive ruder comments on their work and have lower grading quality, measured by post-grade complaints from students. Associate professor and first author Dr Jun Li said: “We spend a lot of time thinking about how to make the grading fair and accurate. But even for me it was really surprising. It didn't occur to us until we looked at the data and realised that sequence makes a difference.” Study co-author Helen Wang said: “Our conclusion is this may be something that happened unconsciously by the graders that's actually creating a real social impact.” The reason for the findings is unclear, but researchers suggest that teachers might get tired and irritable as they pass through the alphabet. 

 

Metro (London)

School districts in New Jersey, including Lacey Township Public Schools, are wrestling with the question of how make up gaps in their budgets, debating which programs to cut and which to preserve. In Lacey, which faces a $7m deficit, Superintendent Vanessa Pereira said the district is running out of costs to cut. "It just really leaves us (administrators) … sitting here scratching our heads," she said. "What's next? Because cutting an additional $7 million out of my budget is just beyond ridiculous." Because state law limits local tax levy increases to no more than 2% a year, Lacey schools can only raise local taxes by an additional $1m this year. Other schools in the region are facing similar problems. Overall, state aid to districts in Ocean County will decline nearly 6.7% in the 2024-25 school year from the current year. In Monmouth County, state aid will drop about 2.9%. In January, the Association of School Business Officials prepared a report that recommended, among other things, to reflect the current Consumer Price Index within the state's school funding formula calculations. The report also urged lawmakers to allow districts to exceed the 2% tax levy cap until they raise taxes up to their "local fair share" of their budgets, as defined by the state Department of Education. "The problem is that when you ran the formula, and it said perhaps that your community should pay 4% more in that year, this (tax cap levy) law came along that said school districts could only raise the tax levy 2%," said Susan Young, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials. "So there are districts that … can never get to where they need to be, because they're restricted by (tax cap) law."

 

Asbury Park Press

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has announced that West Virginia will not face a clawback of $465m in COVID-19 money from the U.S. Department of Education, and that federal officials approved the state's application for a waiver for the money. He also said the state has dedicated money to building projects and putting teaching aides in classrooms to improve math and reading skills. The state said it spent $8,464 per K-12 pupil in 2024, compared with $7,510 during Justice’s first year as governor in 2017, according to documents submitted to the federal government.

 

ABC News

The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is considering sanctioning competitive video gaming, or esports, as an official sport due to increasing interest from member schools. During a recent meeting in Gainesville, the FHSAA Board of Directors discussed esports and conducted a survey to gauge school interest. According to the survey results, 26.4% of responding schools reported sponsoring an esports team or club. Specifically, 24.9% of public schools, 25.2% of private schools, and 39.1% of charter schools indicated having esports programs. For esports to be officially sanctioned by the FHSAA, the organization requires at least 20% of schools in at least two of its four regional sections to offer the sport. With the survey data revealing notable interest in esports programs, the FHSAA is now considering the next steps towards potentially recognizing esports as an official high school sport in Florida.

 

PalmCoastObserver.com

Orlando Sentinel

The New York Association for Pupil Transportation (NYAPT) is supporting Operation Safe Stop Day, an annual event, held this year on April 25, aimed at raising awareness about school bus safety and the risks of illegally passing a stopped school bus. NYAPT's surveys indicate that an estimated 50,000 motorists in New York illegally pass stopped school buses each day. Law enforcement across the state will be trailing school buses and issuing citations to offenders. Violators face fines, points on their license, and potential jail time. NYAPT is urging the public to remain vigilant of school buses on the road and to stop when they see the red lights flashing. The organization is hosting public awareness events throughout the state, including in Colonie and Henrietta. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, students are 70 times safer riding a school bus compared to traveling in a private car.

 

School Bus Fleet