President and Founder of The Efficacy Institute, Jeff Howard, is chairing a task force to address the "proficiency gap" in Massachusetts; yesterday the group presented their report and recommendations to state board members. The report sets a goal that every student population (including currently underperforming groups such as English Language Learners, Black, Hispanic, and Low-Income), reach 85% proficient or advanced by 2020.  The board will vote on task force recommendations next week.

Click here to read more about it from The Boston Globe (by Jamie Vaznis).