According to the article at Vanderbilt’s News Network:

The lack of writing and writing instruction was more pronounced in social studies and science, but even language arts teachers provided little writing instruction for their students,” Graham said. “Another disturbing finding was the sizable number of teachers who made few or no adaptations in their teaching efforts to assist weaker writers.

According to the results, teachers rarely ask high school students to complete assignments that involve writing more than a single paragraph, and most common writing assignments involve little to no analysis or interpretation. Some teachers reported using a variety of effective writing practices, but indicated that the use was infrequent, removing their effectiveness.

Writing is an important tool for educational, occupational and social success,” Graham said. “Writing instruction needs to be reformed to improve high school student work as well as strengthening the ability for success in college and beyond.

This is an alarming study because the ability to write effectively is an important skill in the workplace and you could argue it is becoming more important as professionals are more likely to write for a work related blog whether they are in business, journalism, or other fields. The growth of the cell phone and social media culture can develop bad habits such as poor grammar and punctuation that should be addressed in the classroom. Teens with cellphones avg 2,272 text messages a month, compared with 203 calls according to a Nielsen study.

One simple way that could help students to become more effective writers is to encourage student blogs. Blogs require students to write long form compositions that require analysis and critical thinking. Since it is publicly viewable, students will want to proofread for correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. It is also a fun way to express yourself and can even encourage a passion for writing.

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“Obama’s fundamental strategy is the same as George Bush’s: standardized tests, numbers-crunching; it’s the N.C.L.B. approach with lots of money attached,” Diane Ravitch, an education historian often critical of the education law, said in an interview.

In a recent blog Ms. Ravitch wrote, “Obama has given Bush a third term in education policy.”

If the plan is to improve on Bush’s strategy, will schools really improve? Hopefully we will see more innovation in the plan above implementing stricter standardized tests.

Photo by changedotgov

With schools all over the country facing record budget shortfalls, one approach that school leadership is pursuing to attempt to save money is school consolidation. However, consolidation often faces stiff opposition from communities, especially where they take school rivalries very seriously. The data also suggests that school and district size makes a difference when it comes to student achievement.

According to Open Education:

While no hard agreement exists on optimal school size, the research generally suggests a maximum of 300-400 students for elementary schools and 400-800 for secondary schools. In addition, many studies that seek to focus on the social and emotional aspects of student success conclude that no school should be larger than 500. Only in more affluent communities can test data support larger schools and in general, the poorer the school, the smaller it should be.

In addition, there is also clear research that there is no ideal size for school districts though generally smaller districts have better achievement, affective and social outcomes. More importantly, the larger a district becomes, the greater the district resources devoted to secondary and/or non-essential activities. And as with school size, there is a negative correlation between district size and student achievement when the student population is primarily low-income.

According to the article at Open Education, government leadership often overestimate the cost savings of school consolidation.

Then there was the preposterous suggestion that within the first three years the state (of Maine) could see as much as $250 million in savings. Those numbers were later significantly revised to a projected $30-40 million annually

If cost savings are low, compared to the cost to students and communities, then it may be the wrong course to take. Since larger schools can hurt student achievement, according to the research mentioned above, consolidation would not be aligned with the Education Department’s ambitious goals for education improvement. Since part of the stimulus funding will be awarded to states that show progress (see $44 Billion in Stimulus Funds Available to Drive Education Reforms and Save Teaching Jobs), states that attempt to consolidate may end up losing more than they save.