Education News

edTech Houston Launches to Promote Education Technology

edTech Houston Launches to Promote Education Technology

Education News September 1, 2016 at 3:28 pm

Shelby Joe, publisher of Thesis and Co-Founder of Piqosity.com, announced the launch of edTech Houston today. edTech Houston is a group for education entrepreneurs and educators looking to implement technology into their classrooms and curriculums. As an edtech entrepreneur, Joe was looking for a supportive community but was surprised to findRead More

No Singing at 9/11 Memorial – Lesson is to Respect Authority?

No Singing at 9/11 Memorial – Lesson is to Respect Authority?

Education News April 27, 2016 at 3:42 pm

Middle School students from western North Carolina weren’t allowed to sing the Star Spangled Banner at the National September 11 Memorial in Manhattan last week. Security guards told them that they weren’t allowed to but were not able to explain the reasoning. The memorial’s policy is that any public performersRead More

Test Prep Website Launches with 10 Free Tests for SAT, ACT, and Upper Level ISEE

Test Prep Website Launches with 10 Free Tests for SAT, ACT, and Upper Level ISEE

Best of the Web, Education News, ISEE & HSPT, SAT & ACT April 27, 2016 at 1:13 pm

More than three million American students stress over the SAT and ACT college admissions tests every year. Tens of millions more take annual accountability tests in their public schools as required by federal law. These students now have a new tool in their arsenal to take on standardized tests. Piqosity,Read More

Competency-Based Grading is Growing Trend Nationwide

Competency-Based Grading is Growing Trend Nationwide

Education News May 19, 2015 at 7:30 am

The equivalence of ages with grade levels is a fairly ingrained tradition in American education. If a friend tells you her son is five years old, it’s reasonable to assume that the child is in kindergarten; and if a teenager has just gotten her driver’s license, it’s a safe betRead More

Texas High School Graduation Requirements, Explained

Texas High School Graduation Requirements, Explained

Education News, Resources for Parents May 12, 2015 at 7:30 am

Later this month and early next month, the class of 2015 will be graduating from high schools all over Texas. They will be one of the last classes to graduate under the existing graduation requirements. Students entering high school in 2014 and following years will graduate under the requirements ofRead More

2015 Children at Risk Scores Released

2015 Children at Risk Scores Released

Education News, Houston Schools April 28, 2015 at 7:30 am

Public school parents, take note – the Children at Risk scores for Greater Houston schools were made available yesterday. Children at Risk (CAR) is a Houston-based nonprofit which aims to improve the lives of Texas’ children – particularly disadvantaged children – through research, political activism, and collaborative action with otherRead More

Finland Rolls Out Radical Restructuring of K-12 Curriculum

Finland Rolls Out Radical Restructuring of K-12 Curriculum

Education News, International April 1, 2015 at 8:30 am

Finland has one of the top educational systems in the world. And now, it’s considering a major overhaul that administrators hope will make it even better. Teaching by subjects – a curriculum element so fundamental most of us take it for granted – is to be phased out and replacedRead More

Image courtesy of CanStockPhoto.

Protecting Student Privacy Online: A Look at New Proposed Legislation

Education News, Technology March 31, 2015 at 5:35 pm

Earlier this year, we told you about the Student Privacy Pledge which Google, Microsoft, and other major infotech companies signed in a gesture of goodwill toward keeping students’ data safe. The pledge was put forward as part of President Obama’s broader agenda on education technology, an agenda in which dataRead More

Colin Powell to Speak at Rice University Commencement

Colin Powell to Speak at Rice University Commencement

Education News March 19, 2015 at 3:20 pm

Former US Secretary of State and four-star Army general Colin Powell will speak at Rice University’s commencement address on Saturday, May 16th at 8:30am. “We are deeply honored to have such a respected national leader and extraordinary public servant as our commencement speaker,” Rice President David Leebron said. “We choseRead More

Curriculet and USA Today Partner to Mix Current Events and Literacy

Curriculet and USA Today Partner to Mix Current Events and Literacy

Education News, Technology March 13, 2015 at 6:33 pm

One of the most prevalent concerns in the modern American education system is literacy. Studies show that while most students can understand the face value of written words by third grade, only about one third of middle schoolers can truly comprehend written texts. A variety of strategic plans, teaching strategies,Read More

HISD To Expand Programs in College Readiness, Dual Language, Linked Learning

HISD To Expand Programs in College Readiness, Dual Language, Linked Learning

Education News, HISD February 27, 2015 at 8:30 am

Two weeks ago, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier gave his annual State of the Schools address, in which he discussed strides the district has made in the past year and revealed plans to make further progress in the coming year. The most prominent announcements this year dealt with programs undergoing considerableRead More

Freshman Year for Free? The Future of Online Education

Freshman Year for Free? The Future of Online Education

Best of the Web, Education News February 23, 2015 at 8:30 am

Several months ago, we wrote about edX’s High School Initiative, a groundbreaking expansion into online APs, which will unveil comprehensive MOOCs for eight different AP courses (as well as other college-preparatory material) over the next year. Last month, in partnership with the Modern States Education Alliance, edX announced yet another significantRead More

Gates Foundation Education Grants Favor College Prep & Common Core Initiatives

Gates Foundation Education Grants Favor College Prep & Common Core Initiatives

Best of the Web, Education News, National K-12 February 5, 2015 at 1:38 pm

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation annually awards millions in funding to education initiatives aimed at impacting both students and policy. One of the goals stated by the Gates Foundation in regards to education are to support innovation that can improve U.S. K-12 public schools and ensure that students graduateRead More

Homework, Class Size, and What We Thought We Knew

Homework, Class Size, and What We Thought We Knew

Education News, Schools January 26, 2015 at 3:59 pm

There are many things that we take for granted when thinking about K-12 education. Children have plenty of homework, and that’s good – it’s a critical learning tool. Right? And class size is a great talking point for selective schools, but  students can learn just as well in a largerRead More

Google Signs Pledge to Keep Your Kids’ Data Safe

Google Signs Pledge to Keep Your Kids’ Data Safe

Best of the Web, Education News January 22, 2015 at 8:30 am

In this age of electronic surveillance and the ever-present question of online privacy, many parents are particularly concerned about their children’s online presence – who can see them, who might be collecting data on them, and how might they be using that data? Large companies like Google have been theRead More

30% of HISD Schools Require Improvement According to Texas Education Agency

30% of HISD Schools Require Improvement According to Texas Education Agency

The Texas Education Agency published its annual Public Education Grant list which is used to rate which schools across the state require improvement. Houston ISD, the state’s largest district, topped the list with 86 different elementary, middle and high schools requiring improvement due to low test scores and other factors contributingRead More