RttT

• From Gallup, near record-low confience in U.S. Public Schools - only 34% say a great deal or quite a lot.

• VCs are collectively losing confidence in the entrepreneurial environment.  Full report here (pdf).

• TN seeks NCLB waivers. Think of this as the first major test for the Admin in not just waivers but also if this is moving the goal posts with respect to RttT (replacing 100% proficiency committment with 60% for 3rd grade reading and just 51% for 7th grade math). Waiver letter here.

• WSJ Infographic showing strengths and weaknesses of economic recoveries.  Useful dashboard view to keep track.

• Nolan Bushnell aims to disrupt schools with edutainment

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This month's survey explored a number of federal issues including:

• Has ESEA reauthorization stalled?
• What current Federal policies should be waived?  What shouldn't be waived?  
• Which state is most likely to win the next RttT competition?
• What are Insider reactions to the new early childhood education grant?
• Is the elimination of federal literacy programs just a blip or a signal of a shifting federal priorities away from literacy?
• Are we experiencing a technology bubble in K12 education?
• What is next for the Gainful Employment regulation?  Do Insiders believe there will be legal and legislative action taken to stop its implementation?

And much more including a new regular feature tracking the 2012 Presidential Election Cycle.   Read more

Yesterday, David wrote about the White House's enhanced SOTU-website.  Full text of the speech here. White House fact sheets here and here.  The Washington Post provides a fun way to compare this year's speech to previous years.  Word clouds at the bottomr depict the frequency of words used for the entire speech and also just the education section. 

Rep. Kline issued a statement after the speech.  Education Insider co-publisher Andy Rotherham offers some reactions to the speech here and here.  EdWeek's coverage here.

I thought it was generally a good speech, but was surprised at the rather lukewarm call for ESEA reauthorization.  It was stronger than last year's, but still rather tepid and lacking any real details other than increasing the number of STEM teachers.  It's not surprising that 56% of our Insiders think ESEA reauthorization will be delayed until 2013.

This line also puzzled me, "That's why instead of just pouring money into a system that's not working, we launched a competition called Race to the Top."   Technically, most of the stimulus funds were poured into a system that isn't working - through Title I and other forumula programs. And the EduJobs bill poured $10 billion - more than two times the size of RttT - into supporting the status quo instead of adopting a cleantech approach of funding new innovations or scaling charters schools or online learning providers.   

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One of the interesting education debates is around the issue of "innovation" - what is it?  What is the role of the federal government, foundation community, and private capital markets?  How does regulation inhibit innovative solutions and discourage private capital investments?  What are the best - and most appropriate - policy levers the Federal government can employ to engage education entrepreneurs on some of our nation's most pressing education challenges?  

The Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation Fund competitions represented an unprecedented federal investment in supporting innovation and creative reforms.  However, they also stirred debate around the role of for-profits vs. non-profit solution providers and if there was a more pressing need for start-up funding or scale up funding.  

The sector has seen also seen a number of organizations helping to scale and incubate innovative start-ups.  New School Venture Fund is raising another round of funding and continues to help scale promising human capital and charter organizations.  STARTL, backed with foundation funding, is exploring how to accelerate and scale education innovation.  Doug Lynch at the University of Pennsylvania has convened a number of leading non-profits and for-profits to explore new approaches to education, including hosting an education business plan competition. ASU and NeXtAdvisors recently held an Education Innovation Summit that attracted 200 organizations, including 53 companies. One of the keynote addresses was provided by Silicon Valley legend Reed Hastings who discussed his acquisition of DreamBox Learning. News Corps recently acquired Wireless Generation, capping a year in which we saw unprecedented private equity interest in the education sector.  

We asked our Insiders a number of questions around where innovation is most needed, the greatest barriers to the effective use of technology, which arguments are the most compelling for online learning, and how effective they believe some federal programs are in terms of improving education.  We also asked for their opinions on the recommendations released by the Digital Learning Council and the National Education Technology Plan, including how they might prompt state and federal policy action.  

We also added a new element to this month's survey.  Working with the Aspen Institute, we asked some of the same questions to the Aspen Institute's Education Innovation Forum's participants.  This allowed us to compare the "insider" view to those outside the Beltway.  In some areas, there was agreement but in others, a surprising disconnect.   Read more