November 14, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 27, Issue 12
Student Well-Being
Staying Hydrated in School Stirs Controversy
Many schools prohibit students from bringing liquids into the classroom for a variety of reasons—from simply preventing spills to keeping alcohol from being smuggled in.
School Choice & Charters
GAO Urges Better Oversight of Voucher Program in D.C.
Representatives from the group that administers the program contend that a recent report contained several inaccuracies, and that several of the recommendations have been voluntarily addressed.
School Climate & Safety
In Battling Microbe, Schools Seek Help From Germ-Busters
Schools nationwide have tapped into a network of professional cleaning services that come armed with heavy equipment, antibacterial foggers, and industrial-strength disinfectants.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Story on New Century Study Is Faulted on Many Grounds
The fact that your newspaper receives grant support from two foundations that also fund the organization that was instrumental in producing both the research and the program it evaluated leads me to question the way you presented this story.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Source of Research Vital to Assessing Fordham Report
Not acknowledging the source of the research earlier in your article is a mistake I would hope would be avoided in the future.
Education
Letter to the Editor
What NCLB Leaves Behind: Readers Respond to Essay
I agree that some form of educational standardization must be in place, or a diploma in Maine will not have the same value as a diploma in Indiana, Texas, or Hawaii.
Curriculum
Report Roundup
School Readiness
Children in California are lagging behind in language arts and mathematics when they enter kindergarten, according to two reports.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Teacher-Pay Policies
The teacher-pay structures that succeed in improving teacher retention and student performance develop and use a variety of pay programs, require teacher participation in the development of them, consistently reevaluate their merits, and test the programs in high-needs schools, says a report.
Education
Report Roundup
Dropout Prevention
Students who are at risk for dropping out of high school can be identified as early as 6th grade by key warning signs such as low attendance, little classroom participation, and poor grades in core subjects, says a report.
Curriculum
Report Roundup
High School Dropouts
The U.S. economy could have gained almost $330 billion more in purchasing power and taxable income if the high school class of 2007 had graduated on time, concludes a report.
Curriculum
Report Roundup
Science Education
Science is being squeezed out of early elementary grades in northern California schools, a finding that echoes similar worries about the loss of teaching time in that subject nationwide, a study suggests.
Curriculum
Report Roundup
Sex Education
Sex education programs that focus on both abstinence and contraception have a more positive effect on teenagers’ sexual behavior than programs that focus solely on abstaining from sex until marriage, says a report.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
School Board Accountability
Student test scores are unlikely to influence school board elections, concludes a study.
Education
Correction
Corrections
• An article about drug-resistant staph infections and student-athletes in the Nov. 7, 2007, issue of Education Week should have said that the former football player filing a lawsuit against Iona College nearly lost his leg because of an infection.
Law & Courts
Child-Support Ruling Offers Bit of Cheer to Choice Backers
A recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling provides a bit of clarity for those whose situation may be made more complicated by home-schooling or distance-learning arrangements.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
SREB Evaluates Leadership Efforts
Only three states in the South—Alabama, Louisiana, and Maryland—are making promising progress toward producing excellent leadership systems that help improve student achievement, concludes a report.
Ed-Tech Policy
News in Brief
Web Site Offers Information on ‘21st-Century Skills’
Called “Route 21,” the site offers reports, recommended practices, articles, and research to help practitioners adopt 21st-century teaching practices and learning outcomes.
Federal
Opinion
Accountability Tests’ Instructional Insensitivity: The Time Bomb Ticketh
Teacher quality should not be judged by students’ scores on tests that are incapable of distinguishing between effective and ineffective instruction, writes W. James Popham.
Federal
News in Brief
Congress to Consider Measure to Reauthorize Head Start
A conference committee in the U.S. House and Senate last week approved a measure reauthorizing the Head Start Act for the next five years.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Houston, Charlotte OK Bonds to Build Schools
Voters in Houston narrowly approved an $805 million bond issue last week that will pay for building 24 new schools, renovating 134 others, and upgrading safety and security in all schools.
Federal
Federal File
IG’s Office to Study Complaint About Ignite! Learning
The Department of Education’s inspector general has told a watchdog group that his office will examine whether school districts in three states have improperly used funds under the No Child Left Behind Act to purchase educational technology from a company headed by Neil Bush, a brother of President Bush.
Reading & Literacy
Opinion
The Teacher Reads Aloud
Meryl Ironson remembers a formative classroom experience.
Curriculum
Opinion
Character Education on the Cheap
Some of what is called character education is presented in ways that require little effort and have no lasting impact, Peter R. Greer writes.
Teaching Profession
New Teachers Are New Orleans Norm
Hundreds of fresh recruits, many of them new to K-12 teaching, are filling public school classrooms across the city in Katrina’s aftermath.
Curriculum
Advent of Digital Video Triggers Shifts in School Market
Some educational-video providers are shifting toward online distribution, much like their counterparts in the entertainment industry.
School & District Management
Urban Leaders Assess Methods for Integrating Schools
The Jefferson County, Ky., school district, set back by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating its student-assignment plan, is exploring other remaining legal avenues in its bid to maintain racially integrated schools.
Federal
Jousting Continues Over Budget Increase for Education
President Bush has pledged to veto a measure passed by Congress because it contains more money than he requested for education, health, and labor programs.
Federal
Ed. Dept. Web Site Seeks to Link Research, Practice
Educators can access information such as video, slides, or audio recordings of practitioners using research-based techniques in the classroom.
School & District Management
‘Turnaround’ Work Needs Rethinking, New Report Says
School leaders must link arms to create a different model for turning around the worst-performing schools, including a “protected space” free from many traditional rules.