news
TNTP to Incorporate Student Surveys into Evaluations
December 15, 2011
Teacher-training group TNTP plans to incorporate a student-feedback measure into the system it's developing to evaluate its teachers, becoming one of the first organizations in the nation to use such measures formally.
Read the rest of Stephen Sawchuk's Ed Week blog post about the YouthTruth and TNTP partnership here.
YouthTruth Partnership With The New Teacher Project Brings Student Perspectives to Teacher Evaluations
December 13, 2011
YouthTruth is thrilled to announce a new partnership with The New Teacher Project (TNTP), a pioneer in the recruitment and training of effective teachers, in which we will collect, analyze, and integrate student feedback into TNTP’s teacher assessment efforts. “Getting a meaningful picture of how teachers are doing in their classrooms requires multiple measures,” says Timothy Daly, president of TNTP. “Student voices are one critical component in these assessments, and YouthTruth’s rigorous and proven model for gathering actionable student feedback makes them an ideal partner.”
This partnership enhances YouthTruth’s capabilities to inform education reform efforts by expanding our reporting from the school-level to the teacher level. Going forward, states, districts and networks participating in YouthTruth will be able to use student feedback to inform both school change efforts broadly and as well individual teacher assessments.
Reports Fuel School Reform Effort
December 6, 2011
YouthTruth is mentioned as one of two recent reports that is fueling the movement to reform Del Norte County's public schools in California.
Kelley Atherton writes in her piece, Reports Fuel School Reform Effort, "...a survey of students found that they want to be challenged and taught more information that has real-world relevance. They also crave better communication with their teachers and assistance figuring out how to achieve career goals."
Delta Democrat Times: YouthTruth Helps Schools Gain Input
November 17, 2011
"A recent study from the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) reports that African-American and Hispanic students are often punished more severely, and are more likely to get suspended from school for breaking the
rules, than their white peers." Click here to read the rest of the Op Ed, written by YouthTruth Director Valerie Threlfall and published in the Delta Democrat Times.
Foundations Can Learn a Lot From the People They Want to Help
November 13, 2011
YouthTruth is highlighted as an example of a program that systematically solicits the perspectives of beneficiaries in this Chronicle of Philanthropy Article written by Fay Twersky, senior fellow at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Regarding YouthTruth, Twersky states, "data are systematically collected in electronic format and benchmarked with comparable schools, and the results are reported in short order so schools and districts can make improvements as soon as possible." Read the full article here.
Round 1 Surveying Begins
October 31, 2011
We are excited to announce that this year’s first round of surveying has officially commenced. Congratulations to all 61 participating schools who are working to gather meaningful feedback from their students!
Lessons Learned: Practical Advice On What Helps High School Students Learn Best...From Students Themselves
September 1, 2011
As teachers and students begin another academic year, here are five practical tips for how to improve the student experience and learning in the classroom. Read the blog post by YouthTruth DIrector, Valerie Threllfall on the Huffington Post: http://ow.ly/6iUH0
Education, Philanthropy and Metrics
August 16, 2011
Students may have the best seats in the house to judge the quality of their education. Check out CEP President Phil Buchanan's new blog post. http://ow.ly/64F5q
YouthTruth Op-Ed In Philadelphia Inquirer and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
August 9, 2011
By Center for Effective Philanthropy President Phil Buchanan and Fay Twersky, formerly of the Gates Foundation.
The cheating scandal in Atlanta's public schools - and suggestions of others in Philadelphia and elsewhere - illustrate the peril of focusing on a single performance measure. School leaders and policymakers should see the need for a broader set of indicators of school quality. Read the rest of the op-ed on philly.com or ajc.com.
College Bound: Surveys Tap Into Student Voices to Improve High Schools
July 27, 2011
Students are the ultimate beneficiaries of education reform, so why not tap into their expertise? Read more from EdWeek: http://ow.ly/5OEra
YouthTruth Gives Students Greater Voice in Education Reform
July 21, 2011
The Center for Effective Philanthropy announced today that an innovative program bringing student voices forward into the education process has been implemented in more than 100 communities nationwide. The program, called YouthTruth, is a national survey project that provides comparative data to schools, districts, education networks and funders summarizing students' perceptions of what is working and not working in their high school experience. Read more here.
YouthTruth is Now Recruiting for the 2011-2012 School Year
June 24, 2011
Are you a district, network, or school leader interested in gathering honest feedback from your students about their high school experience? If yes, we'd love to work with you! Please check out the YouthTruth overview for more information.
YouthTruth at CCSSO's National Conference on Student Assessment
June 20, 2011
Valerie Threlfall, Vice President, YouthTruth, led a breakout session at CCSSO's National Conference on Student Assessment in Orlando, FL.. The session, "Call On Me: Exploring The Potential Of Student Feedback As Complementary Performance Data" was a great success. Thank you to all who were involved! http://www.ccsso.org/ncsa.html
Participant Feedback Has Been Positive
June 14, 2011
YouthTruth is helping schools bring about tangible changes and improvements. Based on the findings of a third party study by Brandeis University, 91% of participants agreed that YouthTruth is more useful than most other surveys administered at their school and 100% would recommend that other schools participate in YouthTruth.
Thank You Participating 2010-11 YouthTruth Schools
June 1, 2011
The 2010-11 academic year was a huge success for YouthTruth! One hundred eighteen schools from across the US surveyed students to gather feedback about their high school experiences. Changes in schools are being made right now based on what students had to say. A huge kudos to students, teachers, principals, district, and network leaders!
YouthTruth on The Huffington Post!
November 18, 2010
Check out YouthTruth Director, Valerie Threlfall's, debut post, "Student Feedback: A Missing Piece in Education Reform" on The Huffington Post.
Student Feedback: The Missing Piece in Education Reform
September 29, 2010
Head on over to the Center for Effective Philanthropy's blog to read the latest post written by YouthTruth Director, Valerie Threlfall.
Gearing Up for YouthTruth 2010-2011
September 16, 2010
The YouthTruth team is actively recruiting networks and districts to participate this year. If you or schools you work with are interested in participating, download this project overview and contact us at youthtruth@effectivephilanthropy.org!
YouthTruth in Action
September 12, 2010
Watch testimonials from past participants to see how YouthTruth is helping school leaders around the country use comparative data to drive change.
YouthTruth Featured by Monitor Institute Report
August 24, 2010
Monitor Institute cites YouthTruth in a recent report, What’s Next In Philanthropy, as one of 10 examples of innovation in the field of philanthropy.