June 10, 2015
Education Week, Vol. 34, Issue 34
College & Workforce Readiness
Congress Turns Attention to Higher Education Act Renewal
Efforts to reauthorize the law could be complicated by some of the same issues holding up renewal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Federal
Additional Entrants Join Presidential Race
Two more Democrats and another two Republicans–including three former governors and a sitting U.S. Senator–officially announce their candidacies for the White House in the 2016 race.
Curriculum
Multistate Effort Brings 'Open' Content to Broad Audience
The K-12 OER Collaborative is supporting the creation of open educational resources, which can be built upon by educators as well as for-profit and nonprofit entities.
Curriculum
N.Y. 'Open' Education Effort Draws Users Nationwide
A free online library of instructional materials created in New York state to align with the common-core standards has generated a vast audience.
Federal
As Federal Grants Taper Off, Two N.C. Districts Tally Impact
Two North Carolina school systems show how districts have used a patchwork of one-time federal grants to spur changes, and face challenges going forward.
Federal
District Uses Federal Aid to Fuel Multi-Tiered Instruction
The federal Investing in Innovation program was among the sources of grant funding for the Iredell-Statesville school system in North Carolina.
Recruitment & Retention
SIG Money Gives Principal Tools for Turnaround
A federal School Improvement Grant has helped the principal at one North Carolina school amp up the focus on using data to boost student achievement.
Federal
Nevada Statute Supercharges School Choice
A broad new law will give parents near-total control over how state education dollars are spent on their children, through education savings accounts.
Special Education
Hurdles in Pairing General, Special Education Teachers
Poorly implemented co-teaching practices may be taking the "special" out of special education, say many who train teachers and districts in collaboration.
School Climate & Safety
Urban Districts Embrace Social-Emotional Learning
Researchers are measuring the impacts of social-emotional learning programs in eight big-city school districts.
Student Well-Being
From Our Research Center
Survey: Student Success Calls for More Than Academic Skills
Educators agree that social-emotional learning is important, but teachers and school leaders have different perceptions about how well students are faring.
Law & Courts
High Court Rules in Online Threat, Religious Rights Cases
A pair of U.S. Supreme Court decisions deal with issues playing out in schools as much as in the rest of society.
School & District Management
Education Policy Issues Caught in Arizona Crossfire
Disagreements between the state's education chief and other officials could complicate work on academic standards, school finance, and other topics.
Equity & Diversity
Magnet Schools Struggle to Be Diverse, Says Study
While the specialty schools do boost diversity, students outside their local neighborhoods are not flocking to them as expected, say researchers who studied 21 nonselective magnets.
Federal
In Strategy to Help English-Learners, New York Expands Dual-Language Programs
The nation's largest school district, which enrolls 160,000 ELLs, remains under a state-imposed corrective-action plan to improve services for English-learners.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Per-Pupil Spending Found to Rise a Bit
After a three-year dip, per-pupil spending on public prekindergarten-12 education inched upward again in 2013, according to a report.
Education
How Could Opting Out Affect School Ratings?
See how a relatively small number of homogenous students opting out could tip a school’s rating into a different score bracket.
Assessment
Opinion
The Opt-Out Movement Is Gaining Momentum
The building opt-out movement signals a need for K-12 policymakers to improve family engagement, argue Michael P. Evans and Andrew Saultz.
School & District Management
Opinion
The Power of Parents Is on Display in Opt-Outs
Resistance to mandated tests, especially from parents of children with special needs, is reaching a breaking point in many districts, writes Rebecca Page Johnson.
Federal
Opinion
When Students Opt Out, What Are the Policy Implications?
The opt-out movement has an impact on K-12 accountability, but it's complicated, write researchers Jessica K. Beaver and Lucas Westmaas.
Assessment
Opinion
Q&A: An Early Opt-Out Talks About School Without Tests
Twelve years after opting their children out of testing, Fred and Catherine Hamel interview their daughter on her experience.
Assessment
Opinion
Test-Taking 'Compliance' Does Not Ensure Equity
Parents have a civil right to opt out of testing when children's K-12 needs go unmet, write Judith Browne Dianis, John H. Jackson, and Pedro Noguera.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Higher Education
Illinois' efforts to control costs for college students actually led to faster tuition increases, finds a study.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Community Partnerships
Schools that participated in City Year's schoolwide programs in 22 cities were more likely to see overall improvements on their states' mathematics and English/language arts tests than similar schools that did not participate, according to a new report.
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
Research Report: Special Education
Students with disabilities continue to score much lower than their peers on state tests, even as their graduation rates inch upwards, a new report finds.
Early Childhood
Report Roundup
Digital Games
Younger students get the most out of digital learning games when the game combines elements of both the real and virtual worlds, finds new research.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
School Nutrition
More low-income children ate at federally subsidized summer meals sites in summer 2014, continuing a trend of growth in participation that started a few years before, a new report says.
Education
Correction
Correction
An article in the June 3, 2015, issue of Education Week on efforts to develop measures of social-emotional factors for the National Assessment of Educational Progress incorrectly identified Chris Gabrieli's role in the project. Mr. Gabrieli, an adjunct lecturer with the Transforming Education project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is developing such measures for a separate project involving a coalition of California districts.