[From the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education]

The U.S. Department of Education announced that STEM education is one of the new “absolute priorities” in the Investing in Innovation (i3) grants. The i3 competition was created under the Recovery and Reinvestment Act to encourage districts, along with community partners, to explore evidence-based, innovative approaches to improving student achievement. The first round in 2010 drew nearly 1,700 applications competing for a slice of $650 million.

The second round of i3 will be much smaller, providing a total of $150 million and awarding up to 22 winners. While the previous round required grant winners to secure 20% matching funds from the private sector, the matching requirements will be lower and scaled to the type of grant awarded.  According to the Department of Education, the smaller matching fund requirement, along with fewer selection criteria are part of “simplifications” made in response to feedback from prior applicants and other stakeholders. Click here for more information.

All results for the 2011 Colorado Teaching, Empowering, Leading & Learning (TELL) survey are posted at http://www.tellcolorado.org. Principals and superintendents can use this data to gauge working conditions for teachers in schools.

Anyone interested in assessment will be interested in the new report from the Colorado Department of Education and the Department of Higher Education. The study shows that students who need remediation or who were on track toward postsecondary readiness could have been identified by looking at CSAP scores from as early as sixth grade. Click here for the full report. Continue reading →

The Colorado Department of Higher Education’s i3 website is available at http://highered.colorado.gov/i3/default.aspx. This site can be used to search Colorado higher education data and find state reports, like the annual Report on Remedial Education or the Report on Educator Preparation. Continue reading →

The U.S. Department of Education has launched the dashboard at http://dashboard.ed.gov/dashboard.aspx.  The dashboard shows what the U.S. Department of Education considers to be important indicators of how the nation, and each state, is progressing on the outcomes necessary to achieve the national goal. Continue reading →

Please see the attached call for Proposals for information on the Assessment in Arts Conference at Rocky Mountain College or Art + Design.  Assessment in Arts Conference CFP. Proposal deadline is February 28, 2011.