May 21, 2014
Education Week, Vol. 33, Issue 32
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Integrating Social-Emotional Learning Into High School
Students benefit when secondary schools make a strong commitment to fostering social and emotional learning, write Barbara Cervone and Kathleen Cushman.
States
Opinion
Holding Kids Back Doesn't Help Them
At a time when more states are moving to retain struggling students in lower grades, research shows that such efforts are counterproductive, Deborah Stipek and Michael Lombardo say.
IT Infrastructure & Management
FCC Seeks Input on 'Open' Web Rule
Proposed changes to "net neutrality" rules, posted by the Federal Communications Commission, have raised concerns among some education and technology advocates, who fear it will diminish the tradition of a free and open Internet.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Baltimore, Boston Move to Build Ed-Tech Hubs
The Baltimore and Boston initiatives come amid an influx of money into the ed-tech sector for the development of digital curricula, assessment products, and other offerings.
Standards
Opinion
Confessions of an Assessment Field-Tester
A common-core enthusiast, Carol Lloyd, questions the assessment after her daughter takes it.
Early Childhood
Senate Panel OKs Early-Education Bill
The Senate education committee on a sharply partisan vote, approves a measure that would expand preschool to more low- and moderate-income 4-year-olds.
Early Childhood
Pre-K Funding, Enrollment Landscape Seen Shifting
An annual report on the status of state preschool programs found that spending rose while enrollment dipped slightly in 2012-13, but high-profile expansions are underway.
Special Education
Arts Program Shows Promise in Special Ed. Classes
Fueled by a federal "innovation" grant, the initiative aims to improve the academic, socialization, and communications skills of students with severe cognitive and behavioral needs.
Equity & Diversity
Latino Students Are Nation's Most Segregated, Report Finds
A surge of Latino students in public schools in the past two decades coincided with a retreat from major desegregation efforts in many school districts, researchers argue.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Research Report: English-Language Learners
The criteria that California educators use to decide when English-language learners are fluent enough to leave behind special language instruction should be made uniform across the state, a new analysis says.
Professional Development
Report Roundup
Research Report: Professional Development
A new report looks at how expanded school schedules can be used to boost teacher effectiveness by allowing more time for educators to plan with colleagues, analyze student data, and develop new skills.
Professional Development
Report Roundup
Study Links Principal Training to Gains
Students who attended schools led by New Leaders-trained principals had slightly higher achievement scores than similar students in schools headed by principals who were not in the program, according to an analysis.
Teaching Profession
Waiver-Renewal Twist Centers on Teacher Evaluations
Questions surround extra breathing room given states seeking to renew waivers from some provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Student Health
Adolescents who consume sports drinks or energy drinks on a weekly basis are more likely to smoke cigarettes, consume sugar-sweetened soft drinks or fruit drinks, and play video games frequently, according to a study.
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
Research Report: Reading
A prominent child-advocacy group is calling for stepped-up research into the impact of digital technology on children's reading.
Assessment
Report Roundup
Ability Grouping
Regardless of the form it takes, academic tracking does little to close achievement gaps between students, according to a 20-nation study published this month in the American Journal of Education.
Standards
National Landscape Fragments as States Plan Common-Core Testing
A 50-state survey by Education Week finds that the shared exams being developed by two assessment consortia are losing sway as more states pursue their own paths.
School & District Management
States Forge Ahead on Principal Evaluation
More states are mandating principal evaluations, but there is uncertainty about the best ways to measure effectiveness and how much weight to give student performance.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
How to Build a Better Teacher Evaluation
Communication is key to an effective teacher-evaluation process, writes district superintendent Nicholas A. Fischer.
Families & the Community
State Lawmakers Throttle Back on 'Parent Trigger'
Interest in the controversial school choice option known as the parent trigger has declined sharply in state legislatures this year.
School & District Management
Array of Factors Drives Students From School
In a large-scale survey, youths who left school before graduating reported that adverse events in their lives combined to push them off the academic track.
Data
Indiana Data Network Draws Opposition
An Indiana project that seeks to track information on students from elementary school through their time as adults in the workforce is drawing objections from critics concerned about data privacy and security.
Assessment
Map: The National K-12 Testing Landscape
See the results of Education Week's 50-state reporting project on states' testing plans for 2014-15.
Assessment
News in Brief
Most Seniors Unprepared for College, NAEP Analysis Finds
The governing board for "the nation's report card" concludes in a new analysis that only 39 percent of 12th graders are prepared for entry-level college courses in math and 38 percent are ready in reading.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Atlanta District Gives Raises to Head Off Inequity Suits
The two highest-ranking women working in the Atlanta district have received big raises and back pay so the school system could avoid potential lawsuits over salary inequity.
Assessment
News in Brief
Calif.'s Computerized Exam Is Plagued by Glitches
The trial rollout of California's new standardized exams, administered for the first time on computers, has been plagued by technical glitches, according to a newspaper investigation.
Federal
News in Brief
Illinois to Hold Students to Different Standards
Under a dramatic new approach to rating public schools, Illinois students of different backgrounds no longer will be held to the same standards.
International
News in Brief
Pearson Ranks U.S. 14th on Educational Attainment
The United States ranks 14th in the world in cognitive skills and educational attainment, while Asian countries and regions dominate the top rankings, according to a report commissioned by Pearson.