Archives
IEBC Newsletter – July 2015
July 2015 – What to do with a record budget increase…
Getting Evaluations Right – How to Get Better at Getting Better
5 ways grantees can get better at getting better Philanthropy has come a long way in evaluating and reporting on whether funded projects are working. Instead of furtively redirecting underperforming grants or attempting to shine up less-than-stellar results for an annual report, foundations are doing one better: learning to get better at getting better. When well designed and implemented, evaluations can provide useful information and insights that drive strategy and impact. The key is providing grantees feedback in ways they can use to learn what’s working (or not) and act on that information to continuously improve. Five lessons are emerging: 1. Shorter feedback loops When grantees receive evaluation feedback early and more often, they can make the changes necessary to deliver better results. The Doceō project, launched by the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation (JKAF), established technology education centers at Northwest Nazarene University and the University of Idaho. The goal...
Education’s “pea in the mattresses” A tale of layers and royal domains
Sometimes the most obvious education solutions are the hardest to get attention for, much less implement. That’s the way it is with advocating for K-12 and higher education working together to improve college completion. The simple act of K-12 and higher education faculty and administrators together reviewing student performance data and observations about student needs delivers huge benefits. Student learning is made more relevant. The transition from K-12 to higher education is made smoother. Faculty understand more about what students need to succeed. More students earn degrees. But this solution is a bit like the Hans Christian Andersen “Princess and the Pea” tale with the pea that signals ‘happy ever after,’ stuck amidst layers and layers of separate K-12 and higher education cultures and control agencies. We’re still waiting for the most discerning would-be princess policymaker or philanthropist to discover this magical pea. Like the prince, we’re stuck grumbling about the...
IEBC Newsletter – May 2015
May 2015 – California’s Golden Opportunity
Improving Response Time in Education
by Brad C. Phillips What if the solution to what ails education was a simple matter of timing? We know the fastest response times win the day in health care, retail, and other sectors, so why not education? The answer lies in when education’s data and accountability systems provide information – is it in time or too late? Too often the success or failure of education is measured after the fact. Education reporting and data collection systems almost exclusively focus on metrics like graduation rates, test scores, and even employment, which are reported too late to be acted upon. While important and representative of goals we as a nation must attain, they are not designed to help those in the delivery of education do the work required to meet those goals. Imagine being made to follow the speed limit, but denied access to a speedometer – only learning how fast you are going after the police officer pulls you over and gives you a ticket. And when you protest, you’re told you should have...
IEBC Newsletter – April 2015
April 2015 – The Next Big Things
Driving Education Accountability: ‘I’m Sorry Officer, the Gas Gauge Shows I Wasn’t Speeding.’ on Huffington Post
Driving Education Accountability: “I’m Sorry Officer, the Gas Gauge…” — full article on Huffington Post.
IEBC Newsletter – March 2015
March 2015 – In like a Lion?
A College Completion Idea That’s So Simple. Why Aren’t We Doing It?
This week’s White House “College Opportunity” summit will focus on an overlooked area with enormous potential for student success: K-12 and higher education working together to improve college completion. It sounds so simple and obvious. In fact many assume it’s already happening. After all both groups of educators share the same students, just at different points in their education careers. Why wouldn’t they share information about students and coordinate efforts to help students be successful? Origins of the divide The answer lies in the separate cultures and control agencies that have grown up in both sectors over time. And, professional development and practices never included the opportunity to collectively review student performance data and how it aligned with lesson plans and expectations for what students should be learning and doing as they progress through their education. It’s time to change that. The simple act of K-12 and higher education faculty and administrators...
IEBC Newsletter – January 2015
January 2015: The Year it Sticks