Tuesday Tidbits - Dec. 4, 2007

It's Tuesday, so it must be time for some K-12 tidbits!

• The Dec. 10 issue of U.S. News & World Reports includes its first ranking of "America's Best High Schools." But don't look for Washington schools on the list. The U.S. News & World Report researchers' ranking formula evaluated schools based on how well students performed on state reading and math tests, participation in AP and several other factors. You can view the list of schools in Washington state here. Schools are sorted into Gold, Silver and Bronze categories, with scores given for Poverty Adjusted Performance, Disadvantaged Student Performance Gap, College Readiness Index, Minority Enrollment and Disadvantaged Student Enrollment.
  
• While we're on the subject of graduation and high schools, Tacoma News Tribune Columnist Peter Callaghan has a noteworthy column today on the debate over college readiness for all students. Should all students be required to take college prep courses regardless of their post-graduate plans?
  
• Experience vs. Degrees? Apparently experience trumps degrees when it comes to K-12 teaching, according to a new study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy. “In the first few years on the job, a teacher gains considerably in her or his ability to improve the academic performance of students,” the report concluded. Members of the state's Basic Education Task Force, will use the study in its analysis of basic ed funding. (Unfortunately, it does not look like this study has been added to the WSIPP site just yet.)