Delegates from 12 leading education organizations, including ASCD, endorsed an historic agreement January 28th for joint action to improve student learning in reading and mathematics. At a three-day national summit in Washington, D.C., members of the Learning First Alliance, a partnership to promote student improvement in America's public schools, explored the most effective means of working together long-term to bring about real impact.
Alliance member organizations and leading experts in reading and mathematics drafted an action agenda that supports two overarching goals: to ensure that (1) all children born in 1998 will be reading at or above the "basic" level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) by age nine, and that every child now in elementary school will graduate from high school as a proficient reader; and (2) that all children will complete a challenging K-12 math program that includes introductory algebra and geometry by grade nine.
The Alliance's member organizations represent more than 10 million individuals engaged in providing, governing, and improving U.S. elementary and secondary schools. Summit delegates committed to working with their local and state members, and those of other Alliance organizations, to organize collaborative action at the state and local levels.
For more information about participants and goals of the Learning First Alliance, direct your Web browser to http://www.learningfirst.org.