December 14, 2011
Education Week, Vol. 31, Issue 14
Families & the Community
More Districts Sending Teachers Into Students' Homes
As they expand across the country, many new home-visit projects are tracking their impact on student behavior and academics.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Online Behavior Jeopardizing College Plans
The number of college-admissions officials using social-networking sites to learn more about applicants quadrupled over the past year.
College & Workforce Readiness
States Promise Higher Standards for NCLB Leniency
Minnesota is the only applicant that did not adopt the common-core standards and is not taking part in designing common assessments.
School & District Management
Studies Explore How to Nurture Students' Creativity
Policymakers and educators are touting U.S. students' creativity as a world model, though researchers just now are trying to figure out how to foster that trait.
Standards & Accountability
Merged NCATE Likely to Raise Teacher-Entry Bar
Tougher admissions criteria for teacher education programs are under consideration for the new teacher-accreditation body.
School & District Management
Science 'Proficiency' Wide Ranging Across States
A new report finds that in many cases, what a state has deemed a proficient score is equivalent to below "basic" on the science NAEP.
School & District Management
Civil Rights Office Expands Its Reach Into Schools
The Education Department's office for civil rights is trying to make good on a pledge to aggressively combat discrimination, in all forms, in the nation's schools.
Curriculum
Opinion
Where Are the Books?
Inner-city students are hurt by lack of access to books and other crucial learning materials, Jay Urwitz writes.
Curriculum
Opinion
Can Readers Really Stay Within the Standards Lines?
The new reading standards would impose limits that are too restrictive, Maja Wilson and Thomas Newkirk write.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Youth Suicide
Nearly 40 percent of adolescents who attempt suicide first try it before high school.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Research Report: Curriculum
Most teachers believe that in an era of high-stakes testing, other vital subjects are getting pushed out of the classroom.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
Exit Exams
While 31 states use or are planning to implement some form of high school exit exam, some states are also dropping the practice.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Immigration Trends
A report reveals some shifts in patterns of immigration to the United States.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Bullying Laws
Schools in 13 states can intervene when behavior off campus creates a hostile environment at school.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Middle-Class Students Seek and Get More Help
Middle-class children are more likely than their working-class peers to ask for help in the classroom.
School & District Management
News in Brief
New Ala. Law Limits Gifts to Teachers
Alabama's new ethics law is putting an end to a student giving a gift to a teacher that's worth more than a few dollars.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
HIV-Positive Student Sues Over Rejection
A private Pennsylvania boarding school established by the founder of the Hershey chocolate company says it was trying to protect other students.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
Pa. Cyber Charters Not Passing Test
Most cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania failed to make the grade on state standardized tests during the last school year.
School & District Management
News in Brief
State P.E. Mandates Make a Difference
Schools are more likely to offer students 150 minutes of physical education per week if located in a state or district that mandates that level of P.E., according to Adolescent Medicine.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Tennessee Educators Dropping Union Ties
Hundreds of educators in Tennessee have dropped union memberships since state lawmakers stripped the organizations of collective bargaining rights earlier this year.
Curriculum
News in Brief
McGraw-Hill to Cut 550 Jobs in Ed. Unit
The publishing company McGraw-Hill Cos. says it will cut 550 jobs at its education arm and freeze all employees' pensions next year as part of a plan to split into two companies.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Detroit School District Reports Budget Surplus
After three years and two financial overseers, the Detroit school district achieved its first budget surplus in four years.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Chicago Charters Get New State Scrutiny
If the past decade was defined by a remarkable expansion of charter schools in Chicago, the next 10 years might ultimately be about accountability.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
Number of Students in Charters Rises
Enrollment in charter schools has soared to more than 2 million students, according to a national charter school group.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
NEA Promises Initiatives to Raise Teacher Quality
The National Education Association has promised to begin several initiatives to upgrade the teaching profession that draw on recommendations from a commission it created last year.
School & District Management
Iowa Governor Seeks to Raise Teachers' College Bar
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad wants a minimum 3.0 GPA for those seeking admission to teacher-education programs.
Federal
Letter to the Editor
Commentary Gave False Picture of NAEP Proficiency
To the Editor:
In a recent Commentary ("NAEP's Odd Definition of Proficiency," Oct. 26, 2011), James Harvey makes inaccurate assertions about the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, achievement levels—specifically, that they are invalid and that the "proficient" level is set too high.
In a recent Commentary ("NAEP's Odd Definition of Proficiency," Oct. 26, 2011), James Harvey makes inaccurate assertions about the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, achievement levels—specifically, that they are invalid and that the "proficient" level is set too high.
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
Jefferson County, Ky., 'Fixing for Long Haul'
To the Editor:
In this, my 20th year as a school superintendent, I continue to see the rhetoric of "reformers" to include "choice," "charters," "vouchers," "merit pay," and other brief descriptors of how to turn around failing schools. But, in the Commentary "Investing in Turnaround That Endures" (Nov. 2, 2011), the Jefferson County, Ky., public school system has it right.
In this, my 20th year as a school superintendent, I continue to see the rhetoric of "reformers" to include "choice," "charters," "vouchers," "merit pay," and other brief descriptors of how to turn around failing schools. But, in the Commentary "Investing in Turnaround That Endures" (Nov. 2, 2011), the Jefferson County, Ky., public school system has it right.