Very interesting article this morning from the NYTimes, which spoke to dozens of education experts on how to improve student achievement.

Initiative were ranked by how much they cost and how effective they were at improving over-all student math and reading scores.

A bit of a surprise: cell phone bans. The issue gets lots of public attention, but doesn’t really have much of an impact on student performance.

And as most people who spend a lot of time in the classroom will tell you, knowing how to read early and being able to interpret and apply what you read helps a lot.

Classroom size does have an impact. Tutoring in small groups is effective, but also expensive.

Saskatchewan’s Minister of Education, PLEASE TAKE NOTE: increasing per student funding improves student performance.

And Universal pre-K: very expensive but effective.

Here’s the link to the whole article: