April 24, 2013
Education Week, Vol. 32, Issue 29
School Climate & Safety
School Safety Legislation: A Tally by State
Education Week analyzes nearly 400 bills related to school safety filed in the days, weeks, and months after the deadliest K-12 school shooting in American history.
College & Workforce Readiness
Swiss Academic and Career Paths Designed to Cross
System allows secondary students to shift from vocational training to a degree roughly equivalent to the high school diploma.
Teaching Profession
Union Sues Over Basis of Appraisal
The NEA, in the first of what's likely to be a string of suits, claims teachers are being judged based on subjects and students they don't teach.
College & Workforce Readiness
New High School Pathways Emerging
Some states are trying to provide meaningful, rigorous, and flexible academic and career options for their students.
College & Workforce Readiness
Obama Proposal on Student Loans Draws Fire
The administration is seeking to shift Stafford Loans to a market-based rate at the time of the loan, but some warn that such a move could dampen college access.
Federal
FCC Commissioner Calls for Overhaul of the E-Rate
Pressures put on school systems by the upcoming common-core assessments, and increasing emphasis on digital learning, are straining districts' online capacity, the official says.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Legislative Briefs
W.Va. Governor's Plan Prevails
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has signed a K-12 overhaul bill that will significantly affect both district governance and early-childhood education in West Virginia.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has signed a K-12 overhaul bill that will significantly affect both district governance and early-childhood education in West Virginia.
Federal
PARCC Proposes Common-Core Test Accommodations
The first of two groups of states working to design common assessments has released a draft accommodations manual that outlines the types of test supports that can be used to help ELLs and students with disabilities.
School & District Management
Opinion
Cities Should Embrace After-School Learning
City leaders must make after-school education a priority, a group of mayors and city council members writes.
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
Advice to TFA From a Former Insider
Teach For America has many good points, but it could do more to help its corps members, Lauren Blair Aronson writes.
Equity & Diversity
Letter to the Editor
Nationalizing Education Would Be a Mistake
To the Editor:
In the 19th century, Horace Mann wanted to establish a national education system in the United States. But he realized that such a system would never work, because of the political pressures of the various religious groups found throughout the country. Even today, our science curricula are under attack from those who want their children to learn creationism as opposed to other views about how Earth began.
In the 19th century, Horace Mann wanted to establish a national education system in the United States. But he realized that such a system would never work, because of the political pressures of the various religious groups found throughout the country. Even today, our science curricula are under attack from those who want their children to learn creationism as opposed to other views about how Earth began.
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
Winning Obsession Yields Cheating in School, Life
To the Editor:
America is obsessed with winning. We are obsessed with glamour. We consistently reward our imagined superstars with glory, unreasonable financial perks, and far too many headlines and cover stories.
America is obsessed with winning. We are obsessed with glamour. We consistently reward our imagined superstars with glory, unreasonable financial perks, and far too many headlines and cover stories.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Student Resilience
Talent and strong high school achievement can propel young black men to college, but a new study finds their determination and ability to handle setbacks is nearly as critical to their success at majority-white campuses.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
K-12 Educators, College Teachers Far Apart on College Readiness
High school teachers think their students are ready for college, but college professors beg to differ.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Teacher Quality
Middle school Teach For America teachers in Texas are outperforming other novice teachers in math, according to a new study.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Expanded Learning Time
A longer school day may help students' math performance, concludes and evaluation of 11 elementary and middle schools in Baltimore, New Orleans, and New York City.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Educational Equity
A new report says it's time to push for new efforts to address decades-long disparities in how resources are parceled out to public schools.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Boston Student Killed in Marathon Bombing
An 8-year-old boy was one of the three victims confirmed dead from the explosions that rocked the Boston Marathon on April 15.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
LAUSD to Streamline Teacher Investigations
The school board for the Los Angeles Unified School District voted last week to streamline the investigations of educators accused of serious physical abuse or sexual misconduct.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Title IX Lawsuit Filed Against Mich. District
The National Women's Law Center filed a Title IX lawsuit against a Michigan district last week, charging that it had failed to respond to the alleged sexual assault of a female high school student by a player on the school's basketball team.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Early Learning a Target of Fresh Federal Grants
Armed with another $490 million, the U.S. Department of Education is poised to award new Race to the Top grants to districts for general education improvement ideas and to states for more early-learning initiatives.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Hawaii Union Reaches 4-Year Contract Deal
After a standoff that lasted two years, the Hawaii State Teachers Association last week approved a contract that ties teacher evaluations and pay raises to student test scores.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Charter-Expansion Bill Passes in Mississippi
Legislation that will expand the scope of charter schools in Mississippi was signed into law last week by Republican Gov. Phil Bryant.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
School Safety Measure on Hold in U.S. Senate
A gun-control and school safety bill that had the potential to address school-based mental-health services is stalled in the U.S. Senate.
Assessment
News in Brief
Minn. Computer Crash Halts State Math Test
Thousands of students across Minnesota could not take the online state math assessment because of a technology failure last week.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
School Board Guide Targets Suspensions
The National School Boards Association has labeled the use of out-of-school suspensions a "crisis" in a new policy guide.
College & Workforce Readiness
Some States Seek GED Alternative as Test Price Spikes
Several dozen states are looking for an alternative to the GED high-school-equivalency test.
Curriculum
News in Brief
K-12 Financial Literacy is Goal of Standards
The Council on Economic Education released financial-literacy standards for K-12 last week.