October 29, 2008
Education Week, Vol. 28, Issue 10
Federal
Opinion
Remember America’s Education Problem?
"With financial disaster all around, it’s understandable that education is no longer at the top of the list of domestic concerns. But why has it disappeared almost completely from the public’s radar?," asks Brian Crosby.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
The Question of Performance Pay
"While policy-system enthusiasm for the idea is building, the research-and-evaluation jury is still out on educator performance pay," say James W. Guthrie and Patrick J. Schuermann.
Teaching
Opinion
Five Ways Schools Can Kill Learning
"Leaving aside the question of whether or why schools might want to kill learning, the simple fact that some of the prevalent school structures and practices do is worth greater study in this age of standards and accountability," says John D. McNeil.
Federal
Opinion
Federal Education Innovation—Getting It Right
The future education innovation office must have the right mix of independence, structure, and transparency in order to avoid the mistakes of the past, say Ted Mitchell and Jonathan Schorr.
School & District Management
Opinion
Telling the Story of School Reform
Gina Burkhardt and Richard Lee Colvin discuss how the news media leaves communities in the dark about the hard, day-to-day decisions on the most important contributors to learning: curriculum, teacher quality, instructional practices, and assessments.
Equity & Diversity
Campaign Notebook
No to Teachers' Buttons
A federal district judge has ruled that the New York City school system’s prohibition against teachers’ wearing of campaign buttons in school is likely constitutional.
Federal
Campaign Notebook
A College Debate on K-12
The Teachers College debate last week between Ms. Darling-Hammond and Ms. Keegan, which was webcast live by edweek.org, resulted in a vigorous, and at times pointed, discussion about merit pay, early-childhood education, and other issues under the title “Education and the Next President.”
Federal
Campaign Notebook
Remark on Testing Opens a Portfolio of Questions
A spokeswoman for Sen. Barack Obama sparked a mini-debate over testing last week when she suggested on a national radio show that the Democratic presidential nominee endorses the use of student portfolios.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Do Successful Principals Travel a Common Path?
To the Editor:
I read Lew Smith’s Commentary “What McCain and Obama Can Learn From Successful School Principals” (Oct. 15, 2008) with great interest.
I read Lew Smith’s Commentary “What McCain and Obama Can Learn From Successful School Principals” (Oct. 15, 2008) with great interest.
Student Well-Being
Math Specialists Roam South Dakota to Help Elementary Teachers
South Dakota officials created a professional-development and mentoring program that tries to build teachers’ confidence and content knowledge in math and encourages them to teach math in a different way.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Having National Standards and Teacher Freedom, Too
To the Editor:
In their Oct. 15, 2008, letters to the editor, David Marshak and Ronald A. Wolk take me to task for arguing in favor of a national curriculum. They are entitled to their opinion, but they misunderstand my position ("The Case for National Standards and Testing," Commentary, Sept. 17, 2008).
In their Oct. 15, 2008, letters to the editor, David Marshak and Ronald A. Wolk take me to task for arguing in favor of a national curriculum. They are entitled to their opinion, but they misunderstand my position ("The Case for National Standards and Testing," Commentary, Sept. 17, 2008).
Federal
Hawaii Schools See Green
Faced with crushing energy costs across its far-flung district, the Aloha State is pushing aggressive conservation efforts that could offer lessons for the U.S. mainland.
Education
Correction
Corrections
An article in the Oct. 8, 2008, issue of Education Week on brain science in education gave an incorrect figure for the amount of money the Neuro-Education Initiative has been granted by the Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The initiative has been given $100,000 over two years.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
N.Y.C. Entrance Exam Questioned
A graduate of one of New York City’s most competitive public high schools has written a policy brief suggesting that the admissions process for those schools may not produce equitable or valid results.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Teachers Strike in Pa.
More than 280 teachers in a western Pennsylvania school district were on strike last week after a late-night bargaining session failed to produce a new contract.
Education
News in Brief
Chicago School Workers Charged in Alleged Paycheck Scheme
Nine employees of the Chicago public schools have been indicted in an alleged payroll scheme that generated and deposited $130,000 in bogus paychecks.
School Choice & Charters
Report Roundup
School Choice
The U.S. Department of Education released two reports on how to increase and maintain quality in charter and magnet schools.
Special Education
News in Brief
Supreme Court Rejects Case on Spec. Ed. 'Burden of Proof'
The U.S. Supreme Court last week refused to hear the appeal of a Minnesota family in a case about the burden of proof in legal disputes over special education.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Online Learning Evolves
Online-learning programs that are supplemental to K-12 students’ enrollment in regular schools are continuing to grow rapidly—with nearly one in three programs increasing enrollment by more than 50 percent last year, says a new report.
Federal
News in Brief
Charter Enrollment Estimated Across U.S. At 1.34 Million Pupils
Nationwide, 355 charter schools opened their doors for the first time this fall, according to survey results from a pro-charter research and advocacy group.
School & District Management
Hopes Riding on Leader for Troubled St. Louis District
Kelvin Adams, who is taking over as the St. Louis schools’ seventh superintendent since 2003, is already familiar with the dynamics of a district under state supervision.
Federal
Election Renews Controversy Over Social-Justice Teaching
The diffuse movement to address social issues, historical conflicts, and multicultural viewpoints that have not been part of the traditional curriculum has proponents on the defensive once again, amid a new round of attacks related to the presidential campaign.
Federal
School-Based Voting Poses a Tricky Choice: Class Day, or Day Off
When voters line up at school-based polling places Nov. 4, some students will have a front-row seat, and others will watch what is widely predicted to be a historic turnout from home. It all depends on where they live.`
Early Childhood
Preschool Rating Systems Need Fine-Tuning, Study Says
The use of rating scales as a way to encourage child-care centers and preschools to improve their programs continues to grow in popularity across the states, even as researchers say states need to do more to share what they find and to demonstrate whether rating systems improve learning.
Federal
Races for Congress Have Sparse Debate on Education Issues
Congressional candidates from both major parties are largely sidestepping the key education questions that await the next Congress.
Federal
Federal File
Accountability Still a Grad-Rate Issue
The Department of Education soon will publish new regulations that require states to improve the way they calculate and report high school graduation rates.
Federal
Unions Battle for Democrats in Swing States
National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers affiliates have been campaigning with every tool at their disposal to reach out to more than 4 million members and their families.
Special Education
Candidates Can Relate to Teachers
The presidential and vice presidential nominees all have close relatives who are, or have been, teachers.
Teaching Profession
Union Donations in California Same-Sex-Marriage Debate Criticized
The California Teachers Association has donated $1 million to oppose a ballot initiative that would end same-sex marriage in the state.