Blog
Learning never stops.
The UPD team is constantly looking for ways to learn more about our industry and, by extension, improve the results we achieve for our clients. Our blog is where we share our latest thinking.
You Can’t Comply Your Way to Common Core Implementation
Forty-five states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The CCSS, developed by a state-led initiative, are intended to align instructional expectations across…
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Managing for Mastery
We have blogged about the topic of that last video post before, including a reference to Herzberg’s classic “One more time, what motivates employees?” And just like Herzberg, Daniel Pink points out that the three…
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Value-Added Data and Special Education
At a gala for the American Association of People with Disabilities in March, Education Secretary Arne Duncan affirmed the current administration’s commitment to maintaining high expectations for special education populations, noting that “students with disabilities…
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Why Naysayers on Teacher Pay for Performance are Missing the Mark
It seems simple, right? Offer bonuses to teachers that bring big gains in student achievement, and you’ll get better performance out of your teachers. But, a pack of studies over this past year seems to…
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Data Systems: Mosaic or Layers?
The cold weather has returned to many parts of the country, bringing back those dreaded winter layers: snow – ice – snow – sleet – ice. Districts and schools often feel a similar sense of…
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The Baltimore Consensus
In 2008, the Copenhagen Consensus Center asked a group of the world’s top economists to identify optimal social “investments” that could best help reduce malnutrition, broaden educational opportunity, slow global warming, cut air pollution, prevent…
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Predicting Crime with CompStat?
A great article in Slate from Christopher Beam highlights a CompStat program in Los Angeles which will begin to use predictive statistics alongside traditional CompStat figures. CompStat traditionally tracks a slate of common crime stats…
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Why We Still Can’t Understand Value-Added
Analogies are important. While often imperfect, they help us make connections and better understand our world. That’s why I think it’s a shame the education field has yet to come up with good analogies for…
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CompStat and Campbell’s Law
As you may have seen in the news, The New York City Police Department is conducting a comprehensive review of its crime stats. Over the past months, reports have emerged that Precinct Commanders felt pressured…
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UPD’s Otis Rolley at TedX MidAtlantic
Check out Otis Rolley, Senior Manager for UPD’s Community Development practice, giving a thought-provoking talk at a recent TedX event in Washington.