Big education bills land early

Some key – and mostly expected – education bills were formally introduced on the 2012 legislature’s opening day.

SBE trips over charter rules

It took some time and wrangling, but the State Board of Education Wednesday approved regulations on charter and online schools.

Commentary: Big artillery in the value-added wars

Researchers from Harvard and Columbia recently released the results of a massive study of the impact of teaching on student success, in school and later in life. The study tracked 2.5 million students over 20 years. The New York Times featured the study in an article last Friday. Value-added measures have been one of the hot-button issues in education, especially since the Los Angeles Times released its analysis of teacher effectiveness in 2010, naming names.

The study found that “great teachers create great value – perhaps several times their annual salaries – and that test score impacts are helpful in identifying such teachers.”

But it also cautioned that:

more work is needed to determine the best way to use VA for policy. For example, using VA in teacher evaluations could induce undesirable responses that make VA a poorer measure of teacher quality, such as teaching to the test or cheating.

People will likely view this study through the lens of their preconceived notions and biases. Those who disparage value-added methodology will find ways to shoot holes in this study, while those who favor using test scores as a means of evaluating teacher effectiveness will say it conclusively bolsters their case.

Here is a video of one of the study’s authors presenting its findings. Let us know what you think.

Ask an Expert: How much physical activity is required in Colo. schools?

How much physical activity does your child get during the school day? The state has beefed up exercise requirements, but at some schools, kids don’t get exercise on snow days and may even be banned from recess for misbehaving.

The Capitol lights up

Updated - The 2012 legislative session kicked off today with the usual speechmaking and the first wave of bills.

Wednesday Churn: ASSET bill

Updated – Two lawmakers are trying again with a bill that would give discounted tuition to undocumented students