Senate gadfly who isnt

As mentioned above, the federal relief programs direct far more aid to high-poverty urban districts. Students in those places have likely struggled most during the pandemic. However, state legislators may start to rethink plans to ratchet up funding for high-poverty districts. The Cupp-Patterson plan, for instance, proposes a boost through the economically disadvantaged funding stream.

In normal circumstances, these would be commendable moves. Will the dollars create more demands for transparency and accountability? Given the anti-accountability mood around the statehouse, this one might be a longshot.

But the influx of funding could shift some attitudes about school accountability. Taxpayers certainly deserve some assurances that the dollars are being used effectively and that students are getting back on-track. Will lawmakers see to it that there continues to be transparency around school spending and student outcomes?

Will they start being more demanding about results? But just as the state has oversight responsibilities for federally subsidized programs like unemployment compensation, policymakers should demand evidence that these education dollars are being used to benefit students.

In normal times, the relatively modest amount of federal support—about 10 percent of overall K—12 education funding—usually flies under the radar. But will the billions in federal relief aid go unnoticed by state legislators? Although most schools have returned to some semblance of in-person learning for families who want it, education researchers and analysts are still working to gauge the impact of extended school closures.

Students were asked to report whether they took the test in school or out, allowing researchers to disaggregate data based on testing location. As such, the results reported in this brief cover only in-school assessment data—an important limitation given how many students are still learning at home full-time. The sample includes students in grades one through eight who took the midyear diagnostic assessment during the winter of the —21 school year.

It comprises nearly 1,, students for reading and more than 1,, for math. Students from forty-nine states and the District of Columbia are represented, though the number of students is not statistically representative of any state. To compare winter results to prior years, the researchers constructed a historical average to represent typical performance during the three previous school years.

They also matched student data at the school level to ensure that current and historical samples consisted of students in the same school, and school demographic data were obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics. They are referred to as students who are ready for grade-level work. They are referred to as students who are underprepared for grade level work. The researchers differentiate between these two groups—students who are on grade level and those who are below—throughout the brief, as they observed slightly different patterns when examining the demographic data.

Overall, the findings indicate that unfinished learning was greater this winter in both reading and math compared to historical averages. In reading, the percentage of students considered ready for grade-level content decreased across all grades, with a particularly strong decline in grades one through three. The percentage of students who were underprepared for grade-level reading content also increased.

Math results are similar. The percentage of students considered prepared for grade-level content decreased during the —21 school year, with students in grades one through six demonstrating the largest amount of unfinished learning. The percentage of students who were underprepared for grade-level math content also swelled, with students in grades two through six showing the greatest increases.

In both subjects, the youngest students appear to have suffered the most from school closures. Across the board and compared to historical averages, the percentage of third graders who were ready for grade-level work decreased in both reading and math. These declines were similar across groups and within each subject. There are, however, notable differences in which students were impacted.

In reading, there is a greater increase in unfinished learning among those who attend schools serving a majority of Black and Latino students compared to schools with a majority White population. The results are similar in math, where unfinished learning was greater for schools that serve a majority of Black or Latino students compared to majority White schools. Unfinished learning was also greater for students who attend schools located in lower-income areas.

They found that the percentage of students who are considered ready for grade-level content decreased regardless of income bracket and across grade levels and subjects. The same proved true for math. But the researchers took a look at changes in grade-level placements for a sample of students who took the i-Ready diagnostic during both the fall and winter testing windows to see if any patterns emerged.

They found that in some subjects and grade levels, the difference between the historical average and the current school year increased, while in others it decreased. This particular finding must be interpreted with caution due to sample constraints, but it appears that the variability across subjects and grades makes the midyear results inconclusive as far as whether students are catching up.

These include ensuring assessments deliver clear and actionable data, choosing high-quality and rigorous curricula that focus on grade-level work and addressing learning gaps as needed, setting ambitious yet attainable goals for students, and prioritizing coherence to avoid redundancy.

Nor did he thrill Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader and fellow Kentuckian, when he urged supporters to contact Mr. A senatorial peacock with a rust-colored crown, Mr. Paul stands out as someone who, at least for now, seems to be here less to make laws than points. His libertarian-leaning amendments — one would have made it harder for counterterrorism investigators to obtain firearms records and another would have relieved banks from their duty to report suspicious transactions — failed by wide margins, even among Republicans.

Paul said in an interview Thursday. Paul appears to be modeling his style somewhat on people like Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, who once forced a Friday night procedural vote on an AIDS bill then failed to show up for it, or Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, who also often stymies legislation and insists on debating his own doomed amendments.

Coburn, with the sort of alacrity reserved for parents who just saw their child get his first base hit. I like what he is trying to do. The people of Kentucky were not bait-and-switched by Mr. Read more at Politico. Melania Trump reportedly tried 4 times to block an election night party at the White House. Weapons of mass destruction. Congressional Black Caucus chair Joyce Beatty among those arrested during Capitol voting rights protest. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced how they'll compensate the fan who initially received Tom Brady's th career touchdown pass.

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