May 21, 2014

Education Week, Vol. 33, Issue 32
BRIC ARCHIVE
Chris Whetzel for Education Week
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.
Barbara Cervone & Kathleen Cushman, May 20, 2014
6 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
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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.
Deborah Stipek & Michael Lombardo, May 20, 2014
5 min read
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.
Michele Molnar, May 20, 2014
2 min read
Jess Gartner, the CEO and founder of the Baltimore-based educational technology startup Allovue, a resource-planning platform, received help from the city’s Emerging Technology Center and the Greater Baltimore EdTech Advisory Task Force to start and develop her business.
Jess Gartner, the CEO and founder of the Baltimore-based educational technology startup Allovue, a resource-planning platform, received help from the city’s Emerging Technology Center and the Greater Baltimore EdTech Advisory Task Force to start and develop her business.
Matt Roth for Education Week
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.
Danielle Wilson, May 20, 2014
7 min read
Standards Opinion Confessions of an Assessment Field-Tester
A common-core enthusiast, Carol Lloyd, questions the assessment after her daughter takes it.
Carol Lloyd, May 20, 2014
5 min read
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.
Alyson Klein, May 20, 2014
2 min read
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.
Christina A. Samuels, May 20, 2014
5 min read
Special education teacher Elizabeth Rosenberry, right, uses singing in a lesson to encourage Jesus Torres-Tiamani, left, to make eye contact as classmate Ian Tokay looks on. The strategy comes from a federally backed arts initiative for students with severe cognitive and behavioral needs
Special education teacher Elizabeth Rosenberry, right, uses singing in a lesson to encourage Jesus Torres-Tiamani, left, to make eye contact as classmate Ian Tokay looks on. The strategy comes from a federally backed arts initiative for students with severe cognitive and behavioral needs
Emile Wamsteker for Education Week
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.
Liana Loewus, May 20, 2014
10 min read
Education Best of the Blogs Blogs
May 20, 2014
5 min read
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.
Lesli A. Maxwell, May 20, 2014
2 min read
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.
Lesli A. Maxwell, May 20, 2014
1 min read
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.
Samantha Stainburn, May 20, 2014
1 min read
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.
Denisa R. Superville, May 20, 2014
1 min read
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.
6 min read
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.
Bryan Toporek, May 20, 2014
1 min read
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.
Benjamin Herold, May 20, 2014
1 min read
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.
Holly Kurtz, May 20, 2014
1 min read
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.
6 min read
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.
Denisa R. Superville, May 20, 2014
8 min read
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.
Nicholas A. Fischer, May 20, 2014
5 min read
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.
Andrew Ujifusa, May 20, 2014
6 min read
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.
Arianna Prothero, May 20, 2014
4 min read
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.
Michelle R. Davis, May 20, 2014
4 min read
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.
May 19, 2014
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.
Liana Loewus, May 19, 2014
1 min read
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.
McClatchy-Tribune, May 19, 2014
1 min read
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.
The Associated Press, May 19, 2014
1 min read
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.
McClatchy-Tribune, May 19, 2014
1 min read
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.
Danielle Wilson, May 19, 2014
1 min read