August 8, 2012
Education Week, Vol. 31, Issue 37
Education
News in Brief
Suburban Districts Announce Coalition
Representatives from several large suburban districts have announced they are forming a coalition to represent the unique needs of their school systems.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Ohio Superintendent Cited for Lobbying
An investigation by Ohio's inspector general has revealed that Superintendent of Public Instruction Stan W. Heffner had signed an employment agreement with the Educational Testing Service when he lobbied for the company's tests to be used in written testimony to the state Senate last year while serving as interim superintendent.
Education Funding
News in Brief
State School Spending Faces Gloomy Outlook
A new report warns that the future for state school spending appears gloomy, especially when other funding obligations for health care and retirement are considered.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Florida Education Commissioner Announces Resignation
After a year of difficult headlines for public education in Florida that included criticisms of state testing and accountability standards, Commissioner of Education Gerard Robinson has announced he will step down Aug. 31.
Federal
Mass. Moves on ELL-Training for Regular Teachers
By 2016, the Bay State plans to teach tens of thousands of core-content teachers how to work with English-learners.
Curriculum
Weekly Reader Folds Into Scholastic News
After more than 80 years of providing student-friendly twists on current events, the classroom magazine Weekly Reader will be folded into Scholastic News.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
Schooling Age
Raising the age for compulsory schooling to 18 does not necessarily increase the number of students who eventually graduate from high school with a diploma, an analysis by the Washington-based Brookings Institution says.
Student Well-Being
Ohio Deepens Attendance-Tampering Probe
The state education department launches a statewide investigation after three districts are implicated.
States
Special Ed. Ratings Fault District of Columbia—Again
In annual state ratings, the Education Department has given a "needs intervention" to the District of Columbia six years in a row.
Early Childhood
Letter to the Editor
Weighing In on Imagination And Creativity
To the Editor:
The ongoing problem with education research could not have been more starkly delineated in the July 18, 2012, edition.
The ongoing problem with education research could not have been more starkly delineated in the July 18, 2012, edition.
Standards
Letter to the Editor
Math Commentary Doesn't Add Up
William Schmidt claims his research “found an overlap of roughly 90 percent between the common math standards and the A+ [TIMSS high achievers] standards” (“Seizing the Moment for Mathematics,” July 18, 2012). Unfortunately, his own data, which can be found in a PowerPoint presentation at www.achieve.org, belie this claim.
Mathematics
Letter to the Editor
Writer Applauds Math Commentary
To the Editor:
William Schmidt illuminates an often-overlooked fact in his Commentary. He points out that, while we can have confidence that the Common Core State Standards for mathematics can improve mathematics learning, we cannot be as sure that we, “as a nation, have the commitment to ensure that it does.” Mr. Schmidt points, in particular, to the dilemma created for teachers juggling the common-core standards, textbooks, and state assessments. If these three are not coherently connected, a teacher’s job becomes exponentially more challenging.
William Schmidt illuminates an often-overlooked fact in his Commentary. He points out that, while we can have confidence that the Common Core State Standards for mathematics can improve mathematics learning, we cannot be as sure that we, “as a nation, have the commitment to ensure that it does.” Mr. Schmidt points, in particular, to the dilemma created for teachers juggling the common-core standards, textbooks, and state assessments. If these three are not coherently connected, a teacher’s job becomes exponentially more challenging.
College & Workforce Readiness
Letter to the Editor
SAT Commentary Misses the Mark
To the Editor:
Like many pieces written by faith-based proponents of high-stakes testing, the Commentary by Jonathan Wai ignores readily available facts to make ideologically motivated arguments.
Like many pieces written by faith-based proponents of high-stakes testing, the Commentary by Jonathan Wai ignores readily available facts to make ideologically motivated arguments.
College & Workforce Readiness
Letter to the Editor
College Board Responds To SAT Commentary
As the former dean of admission of a highly selective university and now a vice president of the College Board, I don’t think the SAT needs to be harder to meet the needs of the nation’s most highly selective institutions. The Commentary, “The SAT Needs to Be Harder,” (July 24, 2012) overstates the proportion of top performers on the SAT and does not mention additional options already available to admissions officers who seek further information about the academic preparedness of students applying to our nation’s most selective colleges and universities.
Teaching Profession
Feeling the Heat, AFT's Reform Resolve Wavers
At the biennial convention, union delegates take hard-line stances despite leaders' calls to continue pursuing reform measures.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Moving Beyond the Single Data Point
Value-added scores are important, but they don't tell the whole story of what's happening in the classroom, writes Aimee Rogstad Guidera.
Federal
NCLB Waivers Roll On, Now 33 and Counting
Just three states—Idaho, Illinois, and Nevada—still await word on flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Special Education
Federal Special Ed. Ratings Fault D.C.—Again
In annual state ratings, the Education Department has given a "needs intervention" to the District of Columbia six years in a row.
School & District Management
Pilot Program Targets Gifted Rural Students
Johns Hopkins' program for talented youths enrolls rural scholarship students in its summer residential camps.
School & District Management
La. Law Boosts, Complicates Local Chiefs' Personnel Powers
Louisiana superintendents are empowered to hire and fire teachers without board approval—and take the heat—under a new state law.
Standards
Opinion
Give the Standards Back to Teachers
Teachers need to "own" the common standards, too, if standards are going to improve learning, John Ewing writes.
School & District Management
Study Finds Timing of Student Rewards Key to Effectiveness
New research sheds light on some possible reasons why experiments to pay or reward students for good test scores have been yielding lackluster results.
Assessment
Questions Dog Common-Test Development
In the wake of announcing a new suite of tests, ACT Inc. pulls out of a contract with one of the groups crafting common assessments.
Reading & Literacy
History Lessons Blend Content Knowledge, Literacy
As schools prepare for changes under the Common Core, some educators are turning to a program that strengthens students' history knowledge and reading comprehension.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
A Teacher Remembers the Accused Colorado Gunman
A former teacher of the man under arrest in the mass shooting in Colorado reflects on the once-promising 5th grader and one of his classmates.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
What Domestic-Violence Prevention Can Teach Schools
Alice Gallen says developing indicator-assessments could help keep at-risk students in school.
Education Funding
Analysis Reveals Firm's Involvement in Phila. School Reform
Officials say the Boston Consulting Group has helped with the district's budget crisis and strategic plan, but critics charge it is part of a coordinated effort to privatize the city's public education system.