Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

5 components of educational innovation

The industrial education model was massively successful at first, with high school graduation rates and student achievement increasing decade after decade. However, by the end of the 20th century, it was evident that the industrial education model had hit its limit, with graduation rates plateauing at 80 percent and student achievement and engagement plummeting the longer students were in school.

According to Dr. Devin Vodicka, chief impact officer at AltSchool, in a recent edWebinar, reform after reform and many well-intended efforts have tried—and failed–to make all students successful. Vodicka, along with Erik Burmeister, superintendent, and Theresa Fox, coordinator of technology and innovation, both from Menlo Park City School District (CA), noted that if 80 percent of students are graduating, then 20 percent of students are not graduating–educational professionals can’t remain satisfied with these statistics.

Related: 9 innovation tips from pioneering schools…Read More

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Seven key stats with important implications for schools

The percentage of U.S. students living in poverty jumped by 40 percent in the last decade, and total funding for K-12 education dropped by $1 billion from 2008-09 to 2009-10. Yet, despite these challenges, high school graduation rates are slowly climbing—and more students are completing math and science courses, according to the latest figures from the National Center on Education Statistics.

Released May 23, “The Condition of Education 2013”—the latest in an annual series of reports from NCES, a branch of the U.S. Department of Education—is chock full of valuable statistics for policy makers and education leaders. Here are seven findings of particular significance for K-12 education.

1. Public school enrollment is projected to increase by 7 percent from 2010-11 to 2021-22.…Read More

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Better high school graduation rates may be an illusion

Over the past several years, high school graduation rates nationwide have improved, Yahoo! News reports. On Monday, the Florida Department of Education announced the state’s graduation rate hit a record high of 80.1 percent. But don’t expect those numbers to continue rising, due to a federal mandate that takes effect next year. New federal rules that mandate states to report graduation rates uniformly will go into effect for the class of 2012, meaning states, including Florida, will no longer be able to count students who finish special education and adult education programs in their state graduation rates. Under current federal laws, states are allowed to lump in students who complete special education programs, night school, the GED, and virtual high school programs along with those who earn a traditional high school diploma…

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High school graduation rates up, but some states lag behind

More high school students are hitting the books and getting their degrees within four years, data from the National Center for Education Statistics show. But not every state is part of that positive trend, the Lookout reports. About 74.7 percent of high school students in the class of 2007-08 graduated on time, up from 72 percent of the class of 2002. But on-time graduation rates dropped by more than 5 percent in Utah, the District of Columbia, and Nevada over the same period…

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