Education

A national report that evaluates teacher prep programs highlights some shortfalls in Indiana, but one education professional says it doesn’t quite tell the whole story.

The National Council for Teacher Quality’s latest update, ranking teacher prep programs across the nation, criticizes some in Indiana for gaps in elementary school math and reading instruction. But Indiana University’s School of Education Dean Terry Mason questions how adequate the data used in the review really is.

Gia Bradford has some words of hard-earned advice she’d give her freshman year self, if she could.

“I would take the SATs earlier,” says Bradford.

Bradford is a senior at West Lafayette High School. She and her fellow seniors are in the last months of their high school careers, so they’re starting to relax a little. But the past four years haven’t been worry-free.

The so-called “nation’s report card” came out Tuesday to highlight math and reading scores for fourth and eighth graders throughout the country. Indiana’s 2017 averages remained similar to those from 2015, but it was one of the 10 states to show significant improvements in average eighth grade reading scores.

Purdue University officially launched its controversial joint venture with what was formerly known as Kaplan University Monday. Officials say the newly-rebranded Purdue Global is targeted toward ‘working adults.’

Lawmakers worked on a controversial school financial management bill this year, but it died in the last minutes of the regular session. The mayor of Gary says lawmakers should avoid more community specific mandates during the special session.

More than a dozen Indiana schools are working to implement dual language programs. The state is helping them with funding, but some schools say what they need from the state now is more information on how to structure the programs.

How to fix a statewide teacher shortage is still a big question for many schools, but an Indianapolis-based group has announced a new effort to recruit more qualified teachers, in a city with high turnover rates.

Changes to education in Indiana are coming over the next two years with new standardized tests and federal education law, but members of the State Board of Education plan to postpone another shift around school accountability.

There will be a special legislative session later this year. The governor made the official announcement Monday, and lawmakers will likely take up some unfinished education issues when they reconvene.