Instead of focusing on standardized tests, the Indiana Growth Model will monitor individual students’ academic growth to measure
their progress and identify effective teaching methods, state public education officials say.
Inconceivable as it might sound, will the increasing focus on academic performance in public schools give private schools
a run for their money? It wouldn’t be the first time statistics upset an apple cart.
Gov. Mitch Daniels wants legislators to revive a merger of the Indiana Public Employees Retirement Fund and the Indiana
State Teachers Retirement Fund. He says the move could save up to $50 million a year in fees.
A securities-fraud case Secretary of State Todd Rokita brought against the union last month could make matters worse for the
already hobbled ISTA, blunting its ability to help elect Democrats in November.
State teachers union’s recommended approach differs sharply from spending cuts and salary freezes recommended by the Indiana
Board of Education.
The new rules are expected spur future teachers to spend more time learning subject matter and less time taking education
classes.
Programs similar to the Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowship will begin this year in Ohio and Michigan and up to two
other states.
Indiana’s students outscored the national average in mathematics on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress,
but the results show little improvement over previous years.
Teachers appear to have benefited most from the effort to save jobs with the $787 billion recovery package, which sent billions
of dollars to states that were on the verge of ordering heavy layoffs in education.
The state Department of Education has scheduled three public hearings on a contentious proposal to revamp Indiana’s teacher
licensing requirements. State schools Superintendent Tony Bennett wants to eliminate some requirements, saying teachers spend
too much time learning teaching methods and not enough on subject matter.
Proposed changes to teacher licensing rules are a threat in the eyes of most deans of Indiana’s colleges of education—both
to the quality
of
teacher training and to the budgets of the colleges.
State schools chief Tony Bennett said he wants a renewed commitment from parents, students and schools to improve test scores
after results released today showed that about 70 percent of Indiana students passed their spring exams.
A state board has given preliminary approval to a proposal that would revamp Indiana’s teacher licensing requirements.
Paul Barada’s argument that teachers with 30 years of teaching
experience making $50,000-plus a year are underpaid is flawed.
Indiana’s top education official, Tony Bennett, ruffled feathers last month when he proposed increasing teacher expertise
in math, science and other subjects, and stripping red tape from teacher certification and hiring of administrators.
A fellowship program is looking for people with science, technology, engineering or mathematics backgrounds who are interested
in becoming Indiana teachers.
Students going into and out of Indiana’s teacher education programs tend to score below average on standardized test scores.
And national data indicate the gap is entirely attributable to those headed into elementary education.
Educators widely support a new state law that gives teachers immunity from civil lawsuits for trying to discipline students.
But opponents of corporal punishment are giving it a frosty reception, fearing Indiana students could be subjected to more
paddling without legal recourse.
Folks from all sorts of professions are trying on teaching, to survive the recession or to give back to the community. Or
both.
The National Education Association said today that it is taking over its Indiana affiliate, a stunning comeuppance for what
long had been one of the most powerful union forces in the state.
