21st Century Skills
Preparing students for the 21st Century calls for collective action on many fronts. Leaders in the education, business, and the public sector have been discussing the need for a 21st Century education model for at least a decade—but we still have much to accomplish.
Next Steps for K-12 Education Leaders
- Examine local learning goals, curriculum, teaching tools, instructional practices and student assessments to make sure they are aligned in support of 21st century skills.
- Provide teachers and administrators with professional development that prepares them to learn 21st century skills.
- Increase your own ICT literacy.
- Provide staff access to 21st century tools.
- Improve assessments to measure 21st century skills.
- Increase teacher knowledge and use of classroom assessment methodologies.
- Seek funding to support 21st century skills.
Spotlight on Leading & Managing Resources
- Extended Learning Activities
Students who take part in high-quality before- and after-school programs (also known as Extended Learning Opportunities, or ELOs) show substantial improvement in academic achievement, school attendance, student engagement, and social and emotional development, a recent report has found. In addition, the supports and services that high-quality ELOs provide are particularly important for low-income and minority youth, who often lack sustained access to enriching activities and academic support during non-school hours. The report also outlines seven strategies that state leaders can implement to boost the quality and success of their ELO programs.
High Schoolers Have Made Little Progress Since 1970s
American 17-year-olds aren't performing any better in reading and math than their bell-bottom-clad counterparts in the early 1970s. That's one conclusion from the latest round of a national test tracking long-term educational trends. On the positive side, the test shows that younger students – 9- and 13-year-olds – are making significant gains. In addition, racial differences in scores have narrowed for all three age groups over the past 30-plus years. But overall, the mixed results parallel other indicators of how challenging it is to raise academic achievement. The flat-line trend for 17-year-olds should sound an alarm, say advocates of high school reform. "If high schools were cell phones, they'd be considered in a dead zone," says Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington advocacy group. "We've got to finally start addressing high schools in the same way that we addressed elementary schools.... This is the jumping-off place for college or the modern workplace, and our kids unfortunately are performing at [1970s] levels." More than 26,000 students took the tests for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – a project overseen by the research wing of the US Department of Education. As part of the NAEP project, reading scores have been tracked since 1971 and math since 1973. -
Merit-pay plans for teachers may be growing more popular with politicians, but a new report argues that such compensation plans are rarely used in the private sector and can sometimes bring about unintended negative consequences. During the 2008 presidential campaign, both President Barack Obama and his rival, U.S. Sen. John McCain, endorsed the idea of performance-incentive plans that would tie teachers’ pay to their students’ scores on standardized tests. Mr. Obama’s proposed fiscal 2010 budget, in fact, calls for boosting spending on the Teacher Incentive Fund, a program that awards grants to school districts to devise performance-pay programs, to $517.3 million, up from $97.3 million in the current year. But in "Teachers, Performance Pay, and Accountability," the report published by the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, researchers point out that such pay plans are less common in the private sector than their proponents sometimes claim. Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the use of merit pay systems based on quantitative measures is fraught with perverse consequences that often thwart the larger goal of improving the quality of services and outcomes.
Preparing students for the 21st Century calls for collective action on many fronts. Leaders in the education, business, and the public sector have been discussing the need for a 21st Century education model for at least a decade—but we still have much to accomplish.
Next Steps for K-12 Education Leaders
- Examine local learning goals, curriculum, teaching tools, instructional practices and student assessments to make sure they are aligned in support of 21st century skills.
- Provide teachers and administrators with professional development that prepares them to learn 21st century skills.
- Increase your own ICT literacy.
- Provide staff access to 21st century tools.
- Improve assessments to measure 21st century skills.
- Increase teacher knowledge and use of classroom assessment methodologies.
- Seek funding to support 21st century skills.
Spotlight on Leading & Managing Resources
- Extended Learning Activities
Students who take part in high-quality before- and after-school programs (also known as Extended Learning Opportunities, or ELOs) show substantial improvement in academic achievement, school attendance, student engagement, and social and emotional development, a recent report has found. In addition, the supports and services that high-quality ELOs provide are particularly important for low-income and minority youth, who often lack sustained access to enriching activities and academic support during non-school hours. The report also outlines seven strategies that state leaders can implement to boost the quality and success of their ELO programs.
High Schoolers Have Made Little Progress Since 1970s
American 17-year-olds aren't performing any better in reading and math than their bell-bottom-clad counterparts in the early 1970s. That's one conclusion from the latest round of a national test tracking long-term educational trends. On the positive side, the test shows that younger students – 9- and 13-year-olds – are making significant gains. In addition, racial differences in scores have narrowed for all three age groups over the past 30-plus years. But overall, the mixed results parallel other indicators of how challenging it is to raise academic achievement. The flat-line trend for 17-year-olds should sound an alarm, say advocates of high school reform. "If high schools were cell phones, they'd be considered in a dead zone," says Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington advocacy group. "We've got to finally start addressing high schools in the same way that we addressed elementary schools.... This is the jumping-off place for college or the modern workplace, and our kids unfortunately are performing at [1970s] levels." More than 26,000 students took the tests for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – a project overseen by the research wing of the US Department of Education. As part of the NAEP project, reading scores have been tracked since 1971 and math since 1973. -
Merit-pay plans for teachers may be growing more popular with politicians, but a new report argues that such compensation plans are rarely used in the private sector and can sometimes bring about unintended negative consequences. During the 2008 presidential campaign, both President Barack Obama and his rival, U.S. Sen. John McCain, endorsed the idea of performance-incentive plans that would tie teachers’ pay to their students’ scores on standardized tests. Mr. Obama’s proposed fiscal 2010 budget, in fact, calls for boosting spending on the Teacher Incentive Fund, a program that awards grants to school districts to devise performance-pay programs, to $517.3 million, up from $97.3 million in the current year. But in "Teachers, Performance Pay, and Accountability," the report published by the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, researchers point out that such pay plans are less common in the private sector than their proponents sometimes claim. Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the use of merit pay systems based on quantitative measures is fraught with perverse consequences that often thwart the larger goal of improving the quality of services and outcomes.
Preparing students for the 21st Century calls for collective action on many fronts. Leaders in the education, business, and the public sector have been discussing the need for a 21st Century education model for at least a decade—but we still have much to accomplish.
Next Steps for K-12 Education Leaders
- Examine local learning goals, curriculum, teaching tools, instructional practices and student assessments to make sure they are aligned in support of 21st century skills.
- Provide teachers and administrators with professional development that prepares them to learn 21st century skills.
- Increase your own ICT literacy.
- Provide staff access to 21st century tools.
- Improve assessments to measure 21st century skills.
- Increase teacher knowledge and use of classroom assessment methodologies.
- Seek funding to support 21st century skills.
Spotlight on Leading & Managing Resources
- Extended Learning Activities
Students who take part in high-quality before- and after-school programs (also known as Extended Learning Opportunities, or ELOs) show substantial improvement in academic achievement, school attendance, student engagement, and social and emotional development, a recent report has found. In addition, the supports and services that high-quality ELOs provide are particularly important for low-income and minority youth, who often lack sustained access to enriching activities and academic support during non-school hours. The report also outlines seven strategies that state leaders can implement to boost the quality and success of their ELO programs.
High Schoolers Have Made Little Progress Since 1970s
American 17-year-olds aren't performing any better in reading and math than their bell-bottom-clad counterparts in the early 1970s. That's one conclusion from the latest round of a national test tracking long-term educational trends. On the positive side, the test shows that younger students – 9- and 13-year-olds – are making significant gains. In addition, racial differences in scores have narrowed for all three age groups over the past 30-plus years. But overall, the mixed results parallel other indicators of how challenging it is to raise academic achievement. The flat-line trend for 17-year-olds should sound an alarm, say advocates of high school reform. "If high schools were cell phones, they'd be considered in a dead zone," says Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington advocacy group. "We've got to finally start addressing high schools in the same way that we addressed elementary schools.... This is the jumping-off place for college or the modern workplace, and our kids unfortunately are performing at [1970s] levels." More than 26,000 students took the tests for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – a project overseen by the research wing of the US Department of Education. As part of the NAEP project, reading scores have been tracked since 1971 and math since 1973. -
Merit-pay plans for teachers may be growing more popular with politicians, but a new report argues that such compensation plans are rarely used in the private sector and can sometimes bring about unintended negative consequences. During the 2008 presidential campaign, both President Barack Obama and his rival, U.S. Sen. John McCain, endorsed the idea of performance-incentive plans that would tie teachers’ pay to their students’ scores on standardized tests. Mr. Obama’s proposed fiscal 2010 budget, in fact, calls for boosting spending on the Teacher Incentive Fund, a program that awards grants to school districts to devise performance-pay programs, to $517.3 million, up from $97.3 million in the current year. But in "Teachers, Performance Pay, and Accountability," the report published by the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, researchers point out that such pay plans are less common in the private sector than their proponents sometimes claim. Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the use of merit pay systems based on quantitative measures is fraught with perverse consequences that often thwart the larger goal of improving the quality of services and outcomes.
Preparing students for the 21st Century calls for collective action on many fronts. Leaders in the education, business, and the public sector have been discussing the need for a 21st Century education model for at least a decade—but we still have much to accomplish.
Next Steps for K-12 Education Leaders
- Examine local learning goals, curriculum, teaching tools, instructional practices and student assessments to make sure they are aligned in support of 21st century skills.
- Provide teachers and administrators with professional development that prepares them to learn 21st century skills.
- Increase your own ICT literacy.
- Provide staff access to 21st century tools.
- Improve assessments to measure 21st century skills.
- Increase teacher knowledge and use of classroom assessment methodologies.
- Seek funding to support 21st century skills.
Spotlight on Leading & Managing Resources
- Extended Learning Activities
Students who take part in high-quality before- and after-school programs (also known as Extended Learning Opportunities, or ELOs) show substantial improvement in academic achievement, school attendance, student engagement, and social and emotional development, a recent report has found. In addition, the supports and services that high-quality ELOs provide are particularly important for low-income and minority youth, who often lack sustained access to enriching activities and academic support during non-school hours. The report also outlines seven strategies that state leaders can implement to boost the quality and success of their ELO programs.
High Schoolers Have Made Little Progress Since 1970s
American 17-year-olds aren't performing any better in reading and math than their bell-bottom-clad counterparts in the early 1970s. That's one conclusion from the latest round of a national test tracking long-term educational trends. On the positive side, the test shows that younger students – 9- and 13-year-olds – are making significant gains. In addition, racial differences in scores have narrowed for all three age groups over the past 30-plus years. But overall, the mixed results parallel other indicators of how challenging it is to raise academic achievement. The flat-line trend for 17-year-olds should sound an alarm, say advocates of high school reform. "If high schools were cell phones, they'd be considered in a dead zone," says Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington advocacy group. "We've got to finally start addressing high schools in the same way that we addressed elementary schools.... This is the jumping-off place for college or the modern workplace, and our kids unfortunately are performing at [1970s] levels." More than 26,000 students took the tests for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – a project overseen by the research wing of the US Department of Education. As part of the NAEP project, reading scores have been tracked since 1971 and math since 1973. -
Merit-pay plans for teachers may be growing more popular with politicians, but a new report argues that such compensation plans are rarely used in the private sector and can sometimes bring about unintended negative consequences. During the 2008 presidential campaign, both President Barack Obama and his rival, U.S. Sen. John McCain, endorsed the idea of performance-incentive plans that would tie teachers’ pay to their students’ scores on standardized tests. Mr. Obama’s proposed fiscal 2010 budget, in fact, calls for boosting spending on the Teacher Incentive Fund, a program that awards grants to school districts to devise performance-pay programs, to $517.3 million, up from $97.3 million in the current year. But in "Teachers, Performance Pay, and Accountability," the report published by the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, researchers point out that such pay plans are less common in the private sector than their proponents sometimes claim. Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the use of merit pay systems based on quantitative measures is fraught with perverse consequences that often thwart the larger goal of improving the quality of services and outcomes.
Preparing students for the 21st Century calls for collective action on many fronts. Leaders in the education, business, and the public sector have been discussing the need for a 21st Century education model for at least a decade—but we still have much to accomplish.
Next Steps for K-12 Education Leaders
- Examine local learning goals, curriculum, teaching tools, instructional practices and student assessments to make sure they are aligned in support of 21st century skills.
- Provide teachers and administrators with professional development that prepares them to learn 21st century skills.
- Increase your own ICT literacy.
- Provide staff access to 21st century tools.
- Improve assessments to measure 21st century skills.
- Increase teacher knowledge and use of classroom assessment methodologies.
- Seek funding to support 21st century skills.
Spotlight on Leading & Managing Resources
- Extended Learning Activities
Students who take part in high-quality before- and after-school programs (also known as Extended Learning Opportunities, or ELOs) show substantial improvement in academic achievement, school attendance, student engagement, and social and emotional development, a recent report has found. In addition, the supports and services that high-quality ELOs provide are particularly important for low-income and minority youth, who often lack sustained access to enriching activities and academic support during non-school hours. The report also outlines seven strategies that state leaders can implement to boost the quality and success of their ELO programs.
High Schoolers Have Made Little Progress Since 1970s
American 17-year-olds aren't performing any better in reading and math than their bell-bottom-clad counterparts in the early 1970s. That's one conclusion from the latest round of a national test tracking long-term educational trends. On the positive side, the test shows that younger students – 9- and 13-year-olds – are making significant gains. In addition, racial differences in scores have narrowed for all three age groups over the past 30-plus years. But overall, the mixed results parallel other indicators of how challenging it is to raise academic achievement. The flat-line trend for 17-year-olds should sound an alarm, say advocates of high school reform. "If high schools were cell phones, they'd be considered in a dead zone," says Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington advocacy group. "We've got to finally start addressing high schools in the same way that we addressed elementary schools.... This is the jumping-off place for college or the modern workplace, and our kids unfortunately are performing at [1970s] levels." More than 26,000 students took the tests for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – a project overseen by the research wing of the US Department of Education. As part of the NAEP project, reading scores have been tracked since 1971 and math since 1973. -
Merit-pay plans for teachers may be growing more popular with politicians, but a new report argues that such compensation plans are rarely used in the private sector and can sometimes bring about unintended negative consequences. During the 2008 presidential campaign, both President Barack Obama and his rival, U.S. Sen. John McCain, endorsed the idea of performance-incentive plans that would tie teachers’ pay to their students’ scores on standardized tests. Mr. Obama’s proposed fiscal 2010 budget, in fact, calls for boosting spending on the Teacher Incentive Fund, a program that awards grants to school districts to devise performance-pay programs, to $517.3 million, up from $97.3 million in the current year. But in "Teachers, Performance Pay, and Accountability," the report published by the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, researchers point out that such pay plans are less common in the private sector than their proponents sometimes claim. Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the use of merit pay systems based on quantitative measures is fraught with perverse consequences that often thwart the larger goal of improving the quality of services and outcomes.
Preparing students for the 21st Century calls for collective action on many fronts. Leaders in the education, business, and the public sector have been discussing the need for a 21st Century education model for at least a decade—but we still have much to accomplish.
Next Steps for K-12 Education Leaders
- Examine local learning goals, curriculum, teaching tools, instructional practices and student assessments to make sure they are aligned in support of 21st century skills.
- Provide teachers and administrators with professional development that prepares them to learn 21st century skills.
- Increase your own ICT literacy.
- Provide staff access to 21st century tools.
- Improve assessments to measure 21st century skills.
- Increase teacher knowledge and use of classroom assessment methodologies.
- Seek funding to support 21st century skills.
Spotlight on Leading & Managing Resources
- Extended Learning Activities
Students who take part in high-quality before- and after-school programs (also known as Extended Learning Opportunities, or ELOs) show substantial improvement in academic achievement, school attendance, student engagement, and social and emotional development, a recent report has found. In addition, the supports and services that high-quality ELOs provide are particularly important for low-income and minority youth, who often lack sustained access to enriching activities and academic support during non-school hours. The report also outlines seven strategies that state leaders can implement to boost the quality and success of their ELO programs.
High Schoolers Have Made Little Progress Since 1970s
American 17-year-olds aren't performing any better in reading and math than their bell-bottom-clad counterparts in the early 1970s. That's one conclusion from the latest round of a national test tracking long-term educational trends. On the positive side, the test shows that younger students – 9- and 13-year-olds – are making significant gains. In addition, racial differences in scores have narrowed for all three age groups over the past 30-plus years. But overall, the mixed results parallel other indicators of how challenging it is to raise academic achievement. The flat-line trend for 17-year-olds should sound an alarm, say advocates of high school reform. "If high schools were cell phones, they'd be considered in a dead zone," says Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington advocacy group. "We've got to finally start addressing high schools in the same way that we addressed elementary schools.... This is the jumping-off place for college or the modern workplace, and our kids unfortunately are performing at [1970s] levels." More than 26,000 students took the tests for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – a project overseen by the research wing of the US Department of Education. As part of the NAEP project, reading scores have been tracked since 1971 and math since 1973. -
Merit-pay plans for teachers may be growing more popular with politicians, but a new report argues that such compensation plans are rarely used in the private sector and can sometimes bring about unintended negative consequences. During the 2008 presidential campaign, both President Barack Obama and his rival, U.S. Sen. John McCain, endorsed the idea of performance-incentive plans that would tie teachers’ pay to their students’ scores on standardized tests. Mr. Obama’s proposed fiscal 2010 budget, in fact, calls for boosting spending on the Teacher Incentive Fund, a program that awards grants to school districts to devise performance-pay programs, to $517.3 million, up from $97.3 million in the current year. But in "Teachers, Performance Pay, and Accountability," the report published by the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, researchers point out that such pay plans are less common in the private sector than their proponents sometimes claim. Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the use of merit pay systems based on quantitative measures is fraught with perverse consequences that often thwart the larger goal of improving the quality of services and outcomes.
Preparing students for the 21st Century calls for collective action on many fronts. Leaders in the education, business, and the public sector have been discussing the need for a 21st Century education model for at least a decade—but we still have much to accomplish.
Next Steps for K-12 Education Leaders
- Examine local learning goals, curriculum, teaching tools, instructional practices and student assessments to make sure they are aligned in support of 21st century skills.
- Provide teachers and administrators with professional development that prepares them to learn 21st century skills.
- Increase your own ICT literacy.
- Provide staff access to 21st century tools.
- Improve assessments to measure 21st century skills.
- Increase teacher knowledge and use of classroom assessment methodologies.
- Seek funding to support 21st century skills.
Spotlight on Leading & Managing Resources
- Extended Learning Activities
Students who take part in high-quality before- and after-school programs (also known as Extended Learning Opportunities, or ELOs) show substantial improvement in academic achievement, school attendance, student engagement, and social and emotional development, a recent report has found. In addition, the supports and services that high-quality ELOs provide are particularly important for low-income and minority youth, who often lack sustained access to enriching activities and academic support during non-school hours. The report also outlines seven strategies that state leaders can implement to boost the quality and success of their ELO programs.
High Schoolers Have Made Little Progress Since 1970s
American 17-year-olds aren't performing any better in reading and math than their bell-bottom-clad counterparts in the early 1970s. That's one conclusion from the latest round of a national test tracking long-term educational trends. On the positive side, the test shows that younger students – 9- and 13-year-olds – are making significant gains. In addition, racial differences in scores have narrowed for all three age groups over the past 30-plus years. But overall, the mixed results parallel other indicators of how challenging it is to raise academic achievement. The flat-line trend for 17-year-olds should sound an alarm, say advocates of high school reform. "If high schools were cell phones, they'd be considered in a dead zone," says Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington advocacy group. "We've got to finally start addressing high schools in the same way that we addressed elementary schools.... This is the jumping-off place for college or the modern workplace, and our kids unfortunately are performing at [1970s] levels." More than 26,000 students took the tests for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – a project overseen by the research wing of the US Department of Education. As part of the NAEP project, reading scores have been tracked since 1971 and math since 1973. -
Merit-pay plans for teachers may be growing more popular with politicians, but a new report argues that such compensation plans are rarely used in the private sector and can sometimes bring about unintended negative consequences. During the 2008 presidential campaign, both President Barack Obama and his rival, U.S. Sen. John McCain, endorsed the idea of performance-incentive plans that would tie teachers’ pay to their students’ scores on standardized tests. Mr. Obama’s proposed fiscal 2010 budget, in fact, calls for boosting spending on the Teacher Incentive Fund, a program that awards grants to school districts to devise performance-pay programs, to $517.3 million, up from $97.3 million in the current year. But in "Teachers, Performance Pay, and Accountability," the report published by the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, researchers point out that such pay plans are less common in the private sector than their proponents sometimes claim. Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the use of merit pay systems based on quantitative measures is fraught with perverse consequences that often thwart the larger goal of improving the quality of services and outcomes.
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The Gateway to 21st Century Skills is a JES & Co. Project
