March 26, 2014

Education Week, Vol. 33, Issue 26
Education Study Finds No Upswing in Racially Isolated Schools
Research disputing the idea that racial isolation is on the rise in American schools has ignited a scholarly argument over how best to measure school segregation.
Holly Kurtz, March 25, 2014
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4 min read
Assessment NAEP Provides Vehicle for Study of Read-Aloud Option
A sample of English-learners and students with disabilities in California scored better when parts of the NAEP reading-comprehension test were read aloud to them.
Christina A. Samuels, March 25, 2014
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4 min read
Photo of school staff walking.
E+ / Getty
School & District Management Principals Pressed for Time to Lead Instructional Change
Principals spend a small fraction of their day on instruction-related duties—new research suggests that some of that time may be wasted.
Lesli A. Maxwell, March 25, 2014
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7 min read
Standards Opinion Embracing Teachers as Critical Thinkers
If the common-core standards are to succeed, the deeper learning and thinking they promote must be adopted by teachers, as well as students, writes David Ruenzel.
David Ruenzel, March 25, 2014
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3 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
VLADGRIN/iStockphoto
Teacher Preparation Opinion Building a Better Teacher-Prep Program
Caitlin Hannon and others from Teach Plus Indianapolis exhort teacher-prep programs to raise admission standards, offer transparent data on post-graduation results, and engage alumni for feedback.
Caitlin Hannon, Natalie Merz, Jacob Pactor & Jennifer Rogers, March 25, 2014
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5 min read
Classroom Technology News in Brief States Found to Be Making Progress on Digital Learning
A flurry of state-level legislative activity during 2013 sent a strong signal that support for digital-learning initiatives and "next generation" educational models is growing, according to Digital Learning Now!, a project of the Tallahassee, Fla.-based Foundation for Excellence in Education.
Benjamin Herold, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
School & District Management State of the States Louisiana
In his opening speech to the 2014 legislature in Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal said state spending on higher education would increase by more than $141 million, or about 5.5 percent, next year under his budget proposal for 2014-15.
Liana Loewus, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
School & District Management State of the States District of Columbia
Longer school days for low-performing schools is one of the new education initiatives offered by Mayor Gray in his address to city leaders.
Christina A. Samuels, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
Special Education News in Brief Charters to Improve Accessibility for Special-Needs Students
The U.S. Department of Education's office for civil rights has entered into an agreement with the South Carolina Public Charter District to make its Internet-based schools accessible to students and parents with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments.
Christina A. Samuels, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
Teaching News in Brief Washington State Poised To Toughen Graduation Rules
The Washington state legislature has approved a bill that would require more study of science, foreign languages, and the arts before students graduate from high school. The measure increases the overall credit requirement from 20 to 24.
March 25, 2014
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief China Cracks Down On Medicating Students
China's education ministry ordered a nationwide investigation last week into whether schools are giving students medication without permission after a protest by parents of kindergartners who were given an antiviral drug.
The Associated Press, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief Many Teachers Will Forfeit Pension Wealth, Study Says
Many of the nation's young public school teachers won't be vested in their defined-benefit pension plans or reach the normal age of retirement before they leave the profession—factors that will cost them thousands of dollars in pension wealth, a new analysis concludes.
Stephen Sawchuk, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief School Finances Appear to Be Worsening in Illinois
An Illinois board of education report shows more schools are in poor financial shape and borrowing money or dipping into reserves than in previous years, a problem that could worsen as the state faces overall budget cuts next year.
The Associated Press, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief Wyoming Blocks Adoption Of Science Standards
A footnote attached to a Wyoming budget measure signed by Republican Gov. Matt Mead will prevent the state board of education from reviewing and adopting the Next Generation Science Standards. Apparently, key concerns are how the standards, adopted so far by 10 states and the District of Columbia, address the issues of climate change and evolution.
March 25, 2014
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1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief Phila. Principals' Union Agrees to Steep Pay Cuts
Members of the school administrators' union in Philadelphia have ratified a labor agreement with the district that calls for severe wage cuts.
McClatchy-Tribune, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal in 'Boobies' Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up a Pennsylvania district's appeal of a lower-court ruling that upheld the right of students to wear "I ♥ Boobies" breast-cancer-awareness bracelets.
Mark Walsh, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Gay-Straight Club Lawsuit Allowed to Move Forward
Students fighting to have a gay-straight alliance club at their middle school in central Florida have won a partial victory for the time being.
The Associated Press, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
Assessment News in Brief Audit Reveals Discrepancies With Student Records in La.
Louisiana is ordering a comprehensive review of the records of recent East Baton Rouge Parish public high school graduates after a limited audit found that some students earned grades or credits that differed from those the school system reported to the state.
The Associated Press, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
Equity & Diversity News in Brief N.Y. Lawmakers Reject College Aid for DREAMers
Two Democrats banded together with Republicans in the New York state Senate last week to block passage of legislation that would have made undocumented high school graduates eligible for the state's tuition-assistance programs.
Lesli A. Maxwell, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
School & District Management News in Brief Transitions
Carey Wright was confirmed last week as Mississippi's superintendent of education.
March 25, 2014
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1 min read
Education Correction Correction
A profile of Dan Walker, an Alaskan assistant superintendent, in the March 5, 2014, issue of Education Week's Leaders To Learn From special report misspelled Yup'ik, the name of a language spoken by some Native Americans in Alaska.
March 25, 2014
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1 min read
English-Language Learners Report Roundup Different ELL Programs Found Effective
By the time they reached 5th grade, English-language learners in San Francisco's public schools were equally proficient in English, whether they had been in a bilingual program or had received all their instruction in English, a recent study from Stanford University researchers has found.
Lesli A. Maxwell, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
Assessment Report Roundup Preschool
Children in Georgia's state-funded, universal pre-K program produced higher scores in language, literacy, and math than children who were not enrolled, and those not in the program scored at or below the national norm, a new study finds.
Julie Blair, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
School Choice & Charters Report Roundup School Choice
The latest of a series of reports by a Stanford University research center has found that Los Angeles charter schools are outperforming charters in California and also nationwide. The city's charter school students are also making slightly more academic growth than their peers in local regular public schools.
Holly Kurtz, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Report Roundup Higher Education
An analysis of newly available information on the prices families actually pay for college finds that the costs have increased by a larger amount for poor students than for wealthy ones in recent years.
Caralee J. Adams, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup Civil Rights
Many states falter on how aggressively they push to teach civil rights history, a new study says, but some also provide excellent teaching resources on the subject.
Ross Brenneman, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup Research Report: Homework
For students at competitive high schools in upper-middle-class areas, homework may be a double-edged sword, according to a study published in the peer-refereed Journal of Experimental Education.
Holly Kurtz, March 25, 2014
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1 min read
Federal Calif. Testing Waiver Draws Civil Rights Concerns
Advocacy groups argue the federal decision to let California bump accountability decisions to 2016 could jeopardize moves affecting key student subgroups.
Michele McNeil, March 25, 2014
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5 min read
Dashawn Smith, 6, left, looks over at his friend Malachi Davis, 10, outside the Potomac Gardens public-housing complex in Washington. The fence was erected around the property to keep out drug dealers and other criminals. While the federal housing programs expanded through the War on Poverty provide stability for assisted families, their children still often live in concentrated poverty.
Dashawn Smith, 6, left, looks over at his friend Malachi Davis, 10, outside the Potomac Gardens public-housing complex in Washington. The fence was erected around the property to keep out drug dealers and other criminals. While the federal housing programs expanded through the War on Poverty provide stability for assisted families, their children still often live in concentrated poverty.
Swikar Patel/Education Week
Equity & Diversity 50 Years Later, Housing Programs' Reach Is Limited
The housing programs expanded through the War on Poverty provide stability for many assisted families, but their children still often grow up in concentrated poverty and struggle academically.
Evie Blad, March 25, 2014
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12 min read
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