Issues

January 6, 2016

Education Week, Vol. 35, Issue 15
Maritza Fabian, a 3rd grader at Rose Hill Elementary School in the Adams 14 school district in Commerce City, Colo., attends a Spanish class last September. The district is under a federal compliance agreement to correct discrimination, including against bilingual students and staff.
Maritza Fabian, a 3rd grader at Rose Hill Elementary School in the Adams 14 school district in Commerce City, Colo., attends a Spanish class last September. The district is under a federal compliance agreement to correct discrimination, including against bilingual students and staff.
Nathan W. Armes for Education Week
Every Student Succeeds Act ELL Advocates Hopeful and Wary of New Federal K-12 Law
The new law will bring a number of changes to ELL policy that has some advocates and educators worried about the 5 million and growing population of English-learners.
Corey Mitchell, January 5, 2016
3 min read
Richard Crandall
Richard Crandall
Education News in Brief Transitions
Richard Crandall, a former Arizona legislator and Wyoming schools chief, is soon to become Colorado's education commissioner.
January 5, 2016
1 min read
Students point to the beginning of a musical measure during a band class last September at East Middle School in Tullahoma, Tenn.
Students point to the beginning of a musical measure during a band class last September at East Middle School in Tullahoma, Tenn.
Josh Anderson for Education Week
Every Student Succeeds Act Arts Learning Keeps Toehold in ESSA
Unlike earlier proposals in Congress, the new law includes language that cements states' obligation to support arts education.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, January 5, 2016
2 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act NCLB Rewrite Sets New Path on School Research
The Every Student Succeeds Act takes a more flexible, more nuanced approach to assessing the research evidence for educational programs and policies.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 5, 2016
7 min read
School & District Management Standards for Principal Supervisors Bring Sharper Focus to Role
K-12 leaders hope new professional guidelines will bolster efforts to redefine the job of overseeing principals.
Denisa R. Superville, January 5, 2016
5 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Education Department Gets Slight Boost in FY 2016 Deal
Title I aid and state grants for special education are among some of the areas receiving increased aid under the omnibus federal budget deal signed last month.
Andrew Ujifusa, January 5, 2016
2 min read
Students at SPARK! Discovery Preschool, in Frederick, Colo., work on an exercise designed to help them become proficient with numbers and counting.
Students at SPARK! Discovery Preschool, in Frederick, Colo., work on an exercise designed to help them become proficient with numbers and counting.
Nathan W. Armes for Education Week
Every Student Succeeds Act Law Adds to Pre-K's Stature as Federal-State Priority
The Every Student Succeeds Act locks into law a $250 million grant program to support states as they develop preschool programs and directs money to state early-childhood literacy efforts.
Christina A. Samuels, January 5, 2016
3 min read
Standards Obituary Obituary
Robert L. Linn, a prominent scholar of educational assessment, died Dec. 8 of natural causes. He was 77.
Debra Viadero, January 5, 2016
1 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Special Education Advocates Gear Up for ESSA Implementation
Advocates for students with disabilities say they'll want to be at the table as states hammer out plans to comply with the new federal education law.
Christina A. Samuels, January 5, 2016
4 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act States, Districts to Call Shots on Turnarounds Under ESSA
The new federal K-12 law still requires states to identify their worst-performing schools, but states and districts have great leeway in how to turn them around.
Daarel Burnette II, January 5, 2016
4 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act School Systems Get More Say on STEM Education
Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states and districts get more leeway—and more options—on funding STEM programs.
Liana Loewus, January 5, 2016
2 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Reins In, Reshapes Federal Role in Literacy
The new program is smaller and less prescriptive than Reading First, and it can be applied to students of all ages.
Liana Loewus, January 5, 2016
2 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Getty/Getty
School & District Management Opinion To Change Education, Change the Message
Laurene Powell Jobs' investment in model schools is not enough to alter the education landscape, writes Ron Wolk.
Ronald A. Wolk, January 5, 2016
7 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Chris Whetzel for Education Week
Education Funding Opinion With ESSA Passage, Delaware Offers Lessons
Paul Herdman of the Rodel Foundation of Delaware checks in where his state is after RTTT and how the state's education plan can serve as a model for other states responding to ESSA's reduction of federal oversight.
Paul Herdman, January 5, 2016
6 min read
Education Best of the Blogs Blogs
January 5, 2016
6 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Funding Flexibility Enhanced Under New K-12 Law
ESSA, the newly reauthorized version of the ESEA, makes changes in how schools can use money set aside for economically disadvantaged students.
Andrew Ujifusa, January 5, 2016
6 min read
Kindergarten teacher Jamie Landahl guides her students in a read-aloud activity at Ruby Duncan Elementary School in Las Vegas.
Kindergarten teacher Jamie Landahl guides her students in a read-aloud activity at Ruby Duncan Elementary School in Las Vegas.
Tiffany Brown Anderson/Redux for Education Week
Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Loosens Reins on Teacher Evaluations, Qualifications
The Every Student Succeeds Act could embolden some states to revise or abandon their current methods for rating teachers.
Stephen Sawchuk, January 5, 2016
8 min read
The Every Student Succeeds Act was signed by President Barack Obama on Dec. 10. The latest revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it aims to scale back the hands-on federal role in K-12 education and enhance the authority of states and districts.
The Every Student Succeeds Act was signed by President Barack Obama on Dec. 10. The latest revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it aims to scale back the hands-on federal role in K-12 education and enhance the authority of states and districts.
Evan Vucci/AP
Every Student Succeeds Act Under ESSA, States, Districts to Share More Power
The Every Student Succeeds Act, the latest version of the nation’s main K-12 law, aims to scale back the hands-on federal role in elementary and secondary education.
Alyson Klein, January 5, 2016
7 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Law Broadens Definition of School Success
The Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to measure at least one nonacademic factor, such as student engagement, when tracking schools' performance.
Evie Blad, January 5, 2016
7 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Regulatory Machinery Starting to Crank Up
With the ink barely dry on the Every Student Succeeds Act, the U.S. Department of Education begins the tricky process of setting the course for implementation.
Alyson Klein, January 5, 2016
4 min read
School & District Management Letter to the Editor Teaching Students 21st-Century Skills Takes Time. It's Worth It
To the Editor:
There is a disconnect between how high schools are preparing students for their future lives and what those lives will ultimately look like. Are high schools preparing students for the colleges and careers of the 20th century, or those of the 21st century and beyond?
January 5, 2016
1 min read
Classroom Technology Letter to the Editor Personal Electronics Should Be Banned From Schools
To the Editor:
With the recent arrest of a student because she did not put her cellphone away fast enough in South Carolina, the conversation about electronics in the classroom is growing.
January 5, 2016
1 min read
Education Funding Letter to the Editor Follow the Numbers: Magnet Schools Outperform Charters
To the Editor:
Based on the spring results of the California Smarter Balanced assessments, the Los Angeles Unified School District recently announced that 55 percent of the district's magnet students met or exceeded state standards in English/language arts, compared with 39 percent in charters, 33 percent in the LAUSD overall, and 44 percent in traditional schools statewide. The breakdown of math results followed a similar pattern.
January 5, 2016
2 min read
Classroom Technology Letter to the Editor Online Choices Have Offline Consequences—For Everyone
To the Editor:
In November, it was revealed that at least 100 students at a Colorado high school traded naked pictures of themselves as part of a large "sexting" ring.
January 5, 2016
1 min read
Reading & Literacy Report Roundup Signs of Dyslexia Emerge Before 1st Grade, Study Says
The academic gaps related to dyslexia can show up in verbal deficiencies years before children traditionally are expected to read, and can continue well into the teenage years, according to a study.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 5, 2016
1 min read
Early Childhood Report Roundup Arts Education
A new review of research on the arts and early childhood from the National Endowment for the Arts suggests that arts programs can help children develop social and emotional skills in early childhood.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, January 5, 2016
1 min read
Classroom Technology Report Roundup Research Report: Digital Learning
Toddlers are becoming adept at using touch-screen technology in ways that could help educators assess early skills.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 5, 2016
1 min read
Equity & Diversity Report Roundup Classroom Bias
Elementary school boys of color are likely to experience an increase of suspensions or missed classes if they're assigned to a teacher of another race.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 5, 2016
1 min read
Education News in Brief 'Nick News' Ends 25-Year Run
"Nick News with Linda Ellerbee," a news show for children on the Nickelodeon cable channel that debuted 25 years ago, has aired its final episode.
Mark Walsh, January 5, 2016
1 min read