May 21, 2014
Education Week, Vol. 33, Issue 32
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
Common Application Makes Changes After Tough Year
The creators of the Common Application for college admissions say they have made changes that should prevent snags that had the high school class of 2014 tweeting horror stories.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Ohio Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Bullying
A judge in northeastern Ohio has dismissed a lawsuit claiming that officials at a high school were negligent in allowing bullying that eventually drove a student to commit suicide.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Mass. High Court Upholds Pledge of Allegiance
Massachusetts' highest court has upheld a state law that requires schools to lead daily recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance, and it ruled that the inclusion of "under God" in the pledge does not violate the state equal-protection rights of atheist and humanist students.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Charters, Closings Targeted in Civil Rights Complaints
Minority communities are unfairly targeted for school closures, according to complaints filed last week with the U.S. departments of Education and Justice.
Federal
News in Brief
U.S. Senators Release Draft of Changes to Privacy Law
A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators released a draft of a bill that would amend the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.
School Choice & Charters
Letter to the Editor
Catholic Schools Cannot 'Convert' To Charter School Status
To the Editor:
Talk about a misleading headline! "Catholic Schools Benefit From Converting to Charters" was a totally inaccurate statement.
Talk about a misleading headline! "Catholic Schools Benefit From Converting to Charters" was a totally inaccurate statement.
School Climate & Safety
Letter to the Editor
Early-Childhood Suspensions Hurt Children in Distress
To the Editor:
A recent evening news program on public television carried a report on the U.S. Department of Education's office for civil rights and a litany of racial disparities in education. This report was also covered to a lesser extent in Education Week, first in "U.S. Comes Up Short on Education Equity, Federal Data Indicate" and then in "Pre-K Suspension Data Shines Spotlight on Interventions." The PBS segment and latter Education Week article focus heavily on suspension data for 4- and 5-year-olds.
A recent evening news program on public television carried a report on the U.S. Department of Education's office for civil rights and a litany of racial disparities in education. This report was also covered to a lesser extent in Education Week, first in "U.S. Comes Up Short on Education Equity, Federal Data Indicate" and then in "Pre-K Suspension Data Shines Spotlight on Interventions." The PBS segment and latter Education Week article focus heavily on suspension data for 4- and 5-year-olds.
Ed-Tech Policy
Letter to the Editor
Framework for Data Management Already Available to Schools
To the Editor:
I have just read the article titled "Data-Sharing Challenges in Spotlight as inBloom Sputters to a Shutdown."
I have just read the article titled "Data-Sharing Challenges in Spotlight as inBloom Sputters to a Shutdown."
Teaching Profession
Research Detects Bias in Classroom Observations
Although the debate over teacher-evaluation systems is dominated by the use of test scores, a new Brookings Institution analysis finds flaws with the observation component.
Early Childhood
Pre-K Enrollment Dipped, Funding Rose in 2012-13, Report Says
The annual "State of Preschool Yearbook" says the enrollment decline wasn't enough to affect the overall percentage of children served in publicly funded programs.
School & District Management
Studies Highlight Complexities of Using Value-Added Measures
As a number of states begin evaluating teachers' effectiveness based on changes in their students' test scores, academic research is raising more questions about such "value-added" models.