Everyone has an opinion today about whether school assessments are good for students, how many assessments students should be taking each year, and the effects of assessments on students’ well-being. Those who…

“We have lots of evidence that putting investments in early childhood education, even evidence from very hard-nosed economists, is one of the very best investments that the society can possibly…

By Jeffrey Villar, Executive Director of the Connecticut Council for Education Reform I have my annual physical this week. It’s not something I look forward to, and I particularly dislike…

On Thursday, March 19th, the Education Committee heard testimony from the general public and public officials during a hearing that ran deep into the night. To read Jeffrey Villar’s written testimony, click…

Introduction of New Bills Every new piece of legislation begins as a bill before a specific committee, depending on the subject matter of the bill.  (For example, education related matters…

Ramani Ayer is vice-chair of the CT Council for Education Reform and retired chairman & CEO of The Hartford Financial Services Group. With 135 schools that have been designated as…

Recently, we observed that despite having similar demographics to Connecticut–Massachusetts has both a narrower achievement gap and a low-income population that outperforms Connecticut’s on some key national assessments.  Furthermore, Massachusetts’…

A Comparative Look at School Turnaround Policies and Intervention Authorities in Connecticut’s Neighboring States Earlier in the week, we compared the proposals put forth by Governor Malloy in Senate Bill…

Introduction of New Bills Every new piece of legislation begins as a bill before a specific committee, depending on the subject matter of the bill.  (For example, education related matters…

Peyton R. Patterson, Chair of the Connecticut Council for Education Reform. Former President & CEO of New Alliance Bank. We are fortunate to live in one of the wealthiest states in…

Recently, the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER) highlighted Massachusetts’ five-tiered Framework for District and School Accountability, and explained why it might be a useful model for Connecticut.  Given the…