Webinar with Linda-Darling Hammond

On Tuesday, November 17, Edutopia will host two webinars featuring Linda Darling-Hammond speaking on international standards and assessments. One webinar is oriented for policymakers, academic researchers, and administrators and the other for teachers and parents. Read more.

NPR show on achievment gap features SCOPE co-director

"Mind the Gap: Why Good Schools Are Failing Black Students" aired in October on NPR's "Weekend Edition." The two-part documentary examines why well-funded suburban schools are doing a good job educating white students while black and hispanic students are falling behind. Journalist Nancy Solomon interviews leading education researchers, including SCOPE Co-Director and Stanford University associate professor Prudence Carter. Also featured are NYU professor Pedro Noguera, University of Pennsylvania professor Annette Lareau, and Columbia University professor Amy Stuart Wells. To hear the NPR story, visit the NPR Weekend Edition web site. To learn more about the documentary, visit the Mind the Gap web site.

SCOPE co-director named a recipient of prestigious McGraw Prize in Education
SCOPE Co-Director and Stanford University professor Linda Darling-Hammond was one of three people to receive the highly prestigious 2009 Harold W. McGraw, Jr., Prize in Education. The annual prize, given for the past 22 years, recognizes outstanding individuals whose dedication to learning is having a significant impact in America. Honorees are chosen by a distinguished board from the education community. Read more.

New policy brief on examines report on teacher preparation
Recent findings from a Mathematica study comparing the performance of teachers prepared via alternative and traditional routes have been interpreted to suggest that alternative routes prepare teachers as well as teacher education programs anywhere in the country. However, the study, which examined teachers from a set of hard-to-staff schools in a small number of states that allow such programs, found that alternative route teachers from low-coursework programs actually reduced student achievement, rather than improving it. Traditional route teachers in these schools did only slightly better. This SCOPE research brief reviews the study and shares research from a number of other studies that point to the types of teacher preparation that produce positive outcomes for student learning. Read policy brief.