Tips for Tests
It’s springtime, and you know what that means: it’s standardized test season again! btw can’t take the test for you, but what we can do is share with you some hints to help you do your best on testing day. Take Your Time Most standardized tests come with time limits, which encourage students to rush. […]
YOU DECIDE: Mastery Learning
By now, most schools around the country are back in session after summer break. Are you feeling excited or are you worried about the school year to come? What if you didn’t have to worry about grades and could learn all of the material at your own pace? How would that change your feelings about education? […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
New Options in Education Do you have a plan for what you want to do when you finish high school? In West Virginia, one of the poorest states in the nation, 17 percent of young adults are neither in school nor working. That’s the second-highest rate of “disconnectedness” in the country. Now, West Virginia is trying […]
The Battle Over School Vouchers
The argument over private school choice has received a lot of attention in the media lately, with both President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos expressing full support for the idea. Just in time for the end of the school year, btw takes a look at the fight over private school vouchers in Indiana, the […]
Accountability and Predictive Modeling
Have you started thinking yet about your plans for after you finish high school? For many students, a university is the next step. However, fewer than half of the nation’s students graduate college in four years, and only sixty percent manage to complete that education in six years. At the same time, the average debt accumulated […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Bilingual Education Returning to California In 1998, 61 percent of California voters passed Proposition 227, which limited bilingual education in California schools by requiring parents to sign a waiver if they wanted their child to participate in a bilingual program. Next month, however, bilingual education will be back on the ballot again. If Proposition 58 passes, […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
EgyptAir Crash Update Earlier this month, EgyptAir Flight 804 disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea. There were 66 people aboard, including crew. The flight departed from the Charles deGalle Airport in Paris at 11:09 p.m. on May 18. Its destination was the Cairo International Airport in Cairo, Egypt. It was last heard from at 2:27 a.m. […]
Every Student Succeeds Act Signed Into Law
At the start of the school year, btw brought you a story of this country’s history of education reform. Last week, President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This legislation will replace the unpopular No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Law that went into effect in 2001 (which was a reauthorization of […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Jimmy Carter’s Cancer News The years 1977 to 1981 were turbulent ones for Jimmy Carter, our 39th president of the United States. The country suffered high inflation and interest rates, as well as an energy crisis. Despite playing a successful role in the Camp David Peace Accord between Israel and Egypt, Carter’s presidency was plagued […]
A History of Educational Fixes
Right about now, more than 55 million kids are starting back to school in the United States. Thirty years ago, our nation’s education system was ranked one of the best in the world. Today, that brag is slipping further out of our grasp as our math rankings in particular continue to fall below our expectations. […]