April 22, 2009
Education Week, Vol. 28, Issue 29
Education
Photo Gallery: A Nation At Risk - Global Strategies
Slovenia and Australia search for the means to improve student achievement—and their chances for success in the global arena.
International
National Curriculum Inching Forward
After decades of trying to get common content in schools, the land Down Under appears to be on the verge of succeeding.
International
Out-of School Classes Provide Edge
In South Korea, families spend about 10 percent of their incomes on private tutoring and other academic services.
International
Slovenia Sharpens Academic Prowess
Revamped content and teacher training has led to higher student scores on international exams.
International
Global Strategies
Three countries, in their own ways, search for the means to improve student achievement—and their chances for success in the world arena.
International
International Exams Yield Less-Than-Clear Lessons
Differences in demographics, policies, and cultural norms among nations make it difficult to judge the value of the tests.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Public Preschool
Economic hardships may force states to curtail spending on preschool programs that have recently been expanding.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Tutoring and Reading
A program that uses older volunteers as tutors has significantly improved the reading skills of students in the early grades, a study says.
Education
Report Roundup
Small Schools
A new report examines the history and impact of an effort to create smaller schools in the 43,000-student Oakland, Calif., school district.
English-Language Learners
Report Roundup
Research Report: English-Language Learners
English-language learners lost ground academically in Boston public schools in the three years following passage of a ballot measure that greatly curtailed bilingual education in the state, according to a study by the Maurico Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and the Center for Collaborative Education.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
High School Hazing
Authors of an ambitious survey of hazing in colleges and universities have discovered that many freshmen arrive on campus with experience—with 47 percent reporting having been hazed in high school.
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
Straw-Man Arguments in Skills-vs.-Content Debate
To the Editor:
One might have hoped that educators would have gotten past straw-man arguments such as those found in Peter Berger’s Commentary “Predicting the Past” (April 1, 2009). No responsible advocate of 21st-century skills is suggesting the teaching of skills without rigorous content. At the same time, no responsible advocate of rigorous content is suggesting boring and irrelevant lessons that cause students to drop out, tune out, or go to college looking for the least-rigorous math and science courses they can take. That both extremes happen frequently is a shame, but demolishing these straw men is no way to come to a solution.
One might have hoped that educators would have gotten past straw-man arguments such as those found in Peter Berger’s Commentary “Predicting the Past” (April 1, 2009). No responsible advocate of 21st-century skills is suggesting the teaching of skills without rigorous content. At the same time, no responsible advocate of rigorous content is suggesting boring and irrelevant lessons that cause students to drop out, tune out, or go to college looking for the least-rigorous math and science courses they can take. That both extremes happen frequently is a shame, but demolishing these straw men is no way to come to a solution.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Obama Disappoints in Failure to 'Break the Mold'
To the Editor:
How long will it take to get a U.S. president and Congress that “get it” when it comes to public education ("Obama Echoes Bush on Education Ideas,” April 8, 2009)? Education is not about high standards and accountability; it’s about doing the sorts of things that will preserve and nurture enthusiasm for learning. That will cause students to achieve the highest standards possible, and accountability will become a nonissue.
How long will it take to get a U.S. president and Congress that “get it” when it comes to public education ("Obama Echoes Bush on Education Ideas,” April 8, 2009)? Education is not about high standards and accountability; it’s about doing the sorts of things that will preserve and nurture enthusiasm for learning. That will cause students to achieve the highest standards possible, and accountability will become a nonissue.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Religion and Vouchers: Faulting a New Report
To the Editor:
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s recently issued report on school voucher programs, described in your article “Transparency Time for Vouchers?” (April 1, 2009), offers nothing new, but simply reiterates the same tired old line: “Give us your money, go away, and shut up.”
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s recently issued report on school voucher programs, described in your article “Transparency Time for Vouchers?” (April 1, 2009), offers nothing new, but simply reiterates the same tired old line: “Give us your money, go away, and shut up.”
Ed-Tech Policy
Letter to the Editor
Technology's 'Tipping Point' May Increase Online Classes
To the Editor:
I want to congratulate you on an excellent edition of your annual Technology Counts special report (March 26, 2009). It is interesting to note that among the many positive statements about technology’s potential and examples of how it is being introduced successfully at the margins of the education market, Douglas A. Levin of the National Association of State Boards of Education takes aim at Clayton M. Christensen’s recent book Disrupting Class in the article “Virtual Approaches Vary.”
I want to congratulate you on an excellent edition of your annual Technology Counts special report (March 26, 2009). It is interesting to note that among the many positive statements about technology’s potential and examples of how it is being introduced successfully at the margins of the education market, Douglas A. Levin of the National Association of State Boards of Education takes aim at Clayton M. Christensen’s recent book Disrupting Class in the article “Virtual Approaches Vary.”
Education
Letter to the Editor
Suggestions for Improving Teacher Preparation
To the Editor:
Linda Darling-Hammond and David Haselkorn’s Commentary "Reforming Teaching: Are We Missing the Boat?" (April 1, 2009) is right on the mark. Unless we improve the quality of the nation’s teacher-preparation programs, we cannot improve American education.
Linda Darling-Hammond and David Haselkorn’s Commentary "Reforming Teaching: Are We Missing the Boat?" (April 1, 2009) is right on the mark. Unless we improve the quality of the nation’s teacher-preparation programs, we cannot improve American education.
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
Kudos to TAP Program From New Orleans School
To the Editor:
Your In Perspective article on the Teacher Advancement Program, “TAP: More Than Performance Pay” (April 1, 2009), was spot on. In New Orleans, the Algiers Charter Schools Association, which you cited in the piece, believed so much in TAP that we included it in our charter when we organized in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and took charge of what are now nine urban schools.
Your In Perspective article on the Teacher Advancement Program, “TAP: More Than Performance Pay” (April 1, 2009), was spot on. In New Orleans, the Algiers Charter Schools Association, which you cited in the piece, believed so much in TAP that we included it in our charter when we organized in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and took charge of what are now nine urban schools.
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
'No Effects' Research and the Realities of Learning
To the Editor:
I read with considerable interest your article "'No Effects' Studies Raising Eyebrows" (April 1, 2009), which reported on a recent lack of findings from research sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences. As befitting the story’s suggestive April Fools’ Day publication, it seemed to obscure the fact that any research design, including randomized controlled trials, has the potential to be poorly executed or misinterpreted in a way that arches eyebrows.
I read with considerable interest your article "'No Effects' Studies Raising Eyebrows" (April 1, 2009), which reported on a recent lack of findings from research sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences. As befitting the story’s suggestive April Fools’ Day publication, it seemed to obscure the fact that any research design, including randomized controlled trials, has the potential to be poorly executed or misinterpreted in a way that arches eyebrows.
Federal
Standards To Receive Fresh Push
Representatives from 41 states met in Chicago to begin the process of drafting voluntary national content standards.
International
Opinion
Comparing Ourselves With the World
A tour of Education Week's commentary archives for perspectives on the findings of the landmark report, A Nation at Risk.
Federal
Youths' Civic Engagement Seen to Rise
Scholars say school experiences shape participation in civic life, and that disadvantaged students face a civics "opportunity gap."
Federal
Scholars Size Up Outlook for Federal Research Funds
Researchers get advice at the AERA’s annual meeting on partnering with states and districts to tap economic-stimulus aid.
Early Childhood
Ads Aim to Build Political Support
An advocacy group for children and youths has mounted a media effort aimed at federal lawmakers from four states, urging them to vote for President Barack Obama’s proposed 2010 budget because of the increased funding it would provide for early-childhood programs.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Texas Suit Dismissed
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Chris Comer, a former employee of the Texas Education Agency, who resigned from her job in 2007 after she forwarded an e-mail to her colleagues advising them of a public appearance by a critic of creationism and intelligent design. Ms. Cowan quit her job after she said that agency officials threatened to fire her for the e-mail, warning her that her electronic message had violated the agency’s policy of impartiality on such issues. She then sued the agency.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Los Angeles School Board OKs 5,400 Layoffs
The Los Angeles board of education voted last week to lay off as many as 5,400 teachers and support personnel for the upcoming school year, hours after saving nearly 2,000 jobs belonging to elementary school teachers.
School & District Management
News in Brief
As Trial Looms, Louisiana District Changes Policy on Meeting Prayers
The Tangipahoa Parish, La., school board has altered its meeting invocation policy, as a federal lawsuit over such prayers heads toward trial in June.
School & District Management
News in Brief
D.C. Mediator Named
Kurt Schmoke, the dean of the Howard University law school and a former mayor of Baltimore, will mediate the contract dispute between the District of Columbia school system and the Washington Teachers’ Union, both parties and the American Federation of Teachers announced last week.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Broad Foundation Backs 2 Groups Running Charter Schools in N.Y.C.
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation has awarded $2.5 million in grants that will allow two charter school management organizations to expand the number of their schools in New York City.
Federal
News in Brief
Study Shows D.C. Voucher Gains
With the future of the closely watched voucher program for students in the District of Columbia hanging in the balance, the latest round of data from a federal study offers the first evidence that, overall, participating students are getting some extra academic benefit.