"Trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers." - Librarian of Congress, Daniel Boorstin.

Great article over at Alliance for Excellent Education on U.S. History as American student's worst subject. 

What gets measured gets the focus and right now schools measure math and reading - some with science.  But we are not really focused on history and it shows with only 17% o f9th graders and only 12% of 12th graders scoring proficient in history.   

AP History is a great way to lower the cost of college if students can score high enough to earn credit.  So we need to have a greater pre-AP history, government and social  science focus so that more students can go to college and graduate on time. 

Now that 42 states have adopted the Common Core Standards, having a Common Core Standards app makes sense. At the end of May, MasteryConnect released a new app of the Standards—a great reference tool for teachers, administrators, students, and parents.

Here are 4 reasons why we at LTF like this app:

1. It’s comprehensive. According to the iTunes Preview, “This app includes Math standards K-12 and Language Arts standards K-12. Math standards include both traditional and integrated pathways (as outlined in Appendix A of the common core) and synthesizes Language Arts standards with the Corresponding College and Career Readiness Standards (CCR's).” The bases are covered.
2. It’s easy to navigate. A quick screenshot view shows the no-frills layout of the app. Although we value the rigor of the Common Core Standards, when it comes to understanding the Standards, basic is better.
3. It’s highly rated. Of the current 27 iTunes ratings, 19 are five-star. In the Android Market, 6 of the 7 current ratings are five-star. Not a bad start for a new app!
4. It’s free. With education budgets growing increasingly tight, teachers and administrators are still scrambling to cut costs. A free app means greater accessibility for educators across the board.

The Common Core Standards app is available for both Android and Apple mobile devices.

If you’re already using it, leave a comment below to let us know what you think!

From the Alliance for Excellent Education -

"Remedial education—courses designed for postsecondary students on basic skills that they did not master in high school—costs the United States an estimated $5.6 billion according to a new brief by the Alliance for Excellent Education. This figure represents the cost associated with students enrolled in two- or four-year institutions during the 2007–08 school year who had taken one or more remedial courses while in college. It includes $3.6 billion in direct remedial education costs and an additional $2 billion in lost lifetime wages because students enrolled in remedial courses are more likely to drop out of college, which in turn, significantly reduces their earning potential."

So when states and districts say they can't afford training and resources for teachers to go through LTF Training it is, just a tad, disingenuous.  If they really look at the big picture and work to challenge students in middle school, they can significantly reduce remediation.

Kentucky specifically addressed remediation in their landmark legislation - 2009 Senate Bill 1 - specifically called for LTF training for schools to significantly reduce remediation in 2 and 4 years schools.  Kentucky is investing the Advance Kentucky programs that work and we call on more states to do the same.  Stop wasting money and start investing in improved education for all students.

Time magazine has a great article on "The Achievement Gap: Why Hispanic Students Are Still Behind".  There has been no real movement in closing the gap since 1990 and Hispanic students are two whole grade levels behind white students on NAEP fourth and eighth grade reading and mathematics. Three states have larger gaps than the national average - California, Connecticut and Rhode island while Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wyoming has smaller than average gaps.

The key according to Kati Haycock from EdTrust - rigorous curricula.  She says that the expectation that disadvantage students will not perform well results in setting a low bar rather than pushing them to achieve at higher levels. 

Huh.....if only there was program that always set the bar high and provided the resources to teachers to push their students to achieve more.....if only.....

We have 50 people enrolled in our Louisiana Pre-AP Training at Tulane the summer - but from the facts in the article, "BESE orders college-level courses", we need a lot more!

- According to the article, only 33% of the 70 Louisiana districts offer AP classes
- Only 4% of all Louisiana students passed one AP exam in 2009 compared to 16% in other southern states.
- Only 10% of students even took an AP exam in Louisiana compared to 26% in the nation

Mandating more students take AP and finally offering it will increase the numbers of students.  But without a steady pipeline of students coming from middle school who are ready for the challenge, you cannot truly succeed.

We applaud your efforts Louisiana - now get more teachers to training this summer!