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…

“Let’s be honest with ourselves, and let’s speak bluntly: many parts of our system of public education are broken.” – Gov. Malloy introduces the topic of education in his State…

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…

Ramani Ayer, former CEO of Hartford Financial Services Group In order for Connecticut to close it’s the achievement gap, which is the largest in the nation, the Commissioner must improve…

Not long ago, we discussed the need for a framework for intervention in Connecticut. However, as the expression goes, “the Devil is in the details.” Working through the nitty-gritty issues…

What is a low-achieving school and what are the lowest-achieving schools in Connecticut?  It’s a common question that we hear at CCER.  Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer to…

In our last post, we discussed the State Board of Education’s authority to create a new 5-year plan for the state of Connecticut. Another power that the Board should be…

The CT Achievement Gap Task Force had its first meeting on November 14th at the Legislative Office Building. The eleven-member group is responsible for developing a master plan that will…