Detroit's (predominantly black) public schools are the worst in the nation, and it takes some doing to be worse than Washington, D.C. Only 3 percent of Detroit's fourth-graders scored proficient on the most recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test, sometimes called "The Nation's Report Card." Twenty-eight percent scored basic and 69 percent below basic. "Below basic" is the NAEP category when students are unable to demonstrate even partial mastery of knowledge and skills fundamental for proficient work at their grade level. It's the same story for Detroit's eighth-graders. Four percent scored proficient, 18 percent basic and 77 percent below basic. Michael Casserly, executive director of the D.C.-based Council on Great City Schools, in an article appearing in Crain's Detroit Business, (12/8/09) titled, "Detroit's Public Schools Post Worst Scores on Record in National Assessment," said, "There is no jurisdiction of any kind, at any level, at any time in the 30-year history of NAEP that has ever registered such low numbers." The academic performance of black students in other large cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles is not much better than Detroit and Washington. ...more

December 26, 2009

To boost academic achievement, many Highlands County schools are looking to parents to get them involved in the education of their children. ...more

November 6, 2009

If the first day of spring wasn't cause enough to celebrate, students at Cimino Elementary School were given two more reasons to rejoice March 20. ...more

April 1, 2009

If the first day of spring wasn't cause enough to celebrate, students at Cimino Elementary School were given two more reasons to rejoice. ...more

March 29, 2009

When J.D. Floyd K-8 Principal Joe Clifford talks about the value of assessment teachers, he often comes back to "Young Joe." ...more

March 19, 2009

Say they are vital to student success. ...more

March 18, 2009

The annual Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test is meant to measure the academic performance and progress of individual students and entire schools. But when March rolls around, the one thing the FCAT tests most profoundly are teachers' and students' nerves. At many schools, administrators like to loosen things up with pre- and post-FCAT events, pep rallies and parties. This year, Fox Hollow Elementary School raised that idea to the next level with a group activity that raised their spirits sky high, somewhat literally. ...more

March 14, 2009

The University of South Florida football program avoided loss of scholarships by meeting the required Academic Progress Report score, but the USF baseball team lost 1.27 scholarships for not meeting APR requirements. ...more

February 10, 2009

They're used to being graded on their academic performance. Now students at the Brandon campus of Hillsborough Community College will be tested on their ability to celebrate. ...more

November 5, 2008

During the past year, University of South Florida leaders have overhauled the academic support for student-athletes and made scholastic success among players a top priority. ...more

October 15, 2008