March 16, 2011

Education Week, Vol. 30, Issue 24
States State of the States State of the States 2011: Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania
Education Week's coverage of the governor's addresses in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
March 15, 2011
3 min read
Education Report Roundup Reform Collaborations
Out of five collaborative education improvement efforts funded by the Ford Foundation over the last half of the past decade, only one became a strong voice for reform at both the local and state levels, an assessment by the RAND Corp. concludes.
Mary Ann Zehr, March 15, 2011
1 min read
English-Language Learners Report Roundup Research Report: English-Language Learners
More than a third of Utah 10th graders who scored high enough on the state's regular English-content tests to exit English-language-learner programs failed to pass the same hurdle on proficiency tests designed for ELLs.
Mary Ann Zehr, March 15, 2011
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Report Roundup Schooling Statistics
After growing by 27 percent from 1994 to 2007, the number of high school graduates is expected to increase by just 1 percent between then and the 2019-20 school year, according to new projections.
Debra Viadero, March 15, 2011
1 min read
Special Education Report Roundup Hearing-Impaired Students
More than a third of teenagers with hearing impairments took all their courses in general education classrooms, and most were given some type of accommodation, support, or service from their schools, a report says.
Nirvi Shah, March 15, 2011
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Report Roundup School Health Centers
A study by researchers in Washington state has found that high school students who used school-based health centers were somewhat less likely to drop out than their peers who did not use those centers.
Nirvi Shah, March 15, 2011
1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Principals' Group Weighs in on Evaluations
The National Association of Secondary School Principals is calling for more-comprehensive teacher evaluations and training for school leaders who conduct them.
Stacy Morford, March 15, 2011
1 min read
State Rep. Jon Richards, center, and other Assembly Democrats, thank protesters after failing to preserve bargaining rights for most public workers.
State Rep. Jon Richards, center, and other Assembly Democrats, thank protesters after failing to preserve bargaining rights for most public workers.
Michael P. King/Wisconsin State Journal/AP
School & District Management News in Brief Wis. GOP Bypasses Democrats, Votes to Strip Bargaining Rights
Thousands of angry protesters flooded the Wisconsin Capitol after Senate Republicans found a way to bypass their absent Democratic colleagues and push through a plan to strip most public workers of collective bargaining rights.
The Associated Press, March 15, 2011
2 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Charter Schools Founder Fired
A Los Angeles charter school organization has fired its founder, who was accused of ordering principals and teachers at six schools in the city to break the seal on state standardized tests and use the questions to prepare students.
The Associated Press, March 15, 2011
1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Hartford Names Superintendent
Christina Kishimoto, an assistant superintendent in the 26,500-student Hartford, Conn., school district, will take over as superintendent.
Christina A. Samuels, March 15, 2011
1 min read
Education News in Brief Baltimore Adds Monitoring After Test-Cheating Scandal
Baltimore school officials ordered that monitors be added to every city school administering the Maryland School Assessments this year, an unprecedented measure.
McClatchy-Tribune, March 15, 2011
1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief Ga. Plan May Preserve Pre-K
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced last week that he would retool his budget-reduction strategy to preserve a six-hour day in the states pre-K program.
Maureen Kelleher, March 15, 2011
1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief Tenure and Merit-Pay Bill Easily Passes Fla. Senate
A new version of a teacher merit-pay and tenure bill that was vetoed last year after statewide protests is now on a fast track to passage.
The Associated Press, March 15, 2011
1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief D.C. Schools Chief Named
Kaya Henderson, a deputy District of Columbia schools chancellor under former Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, was named to the top post last week.
Michele McNeil, March 15, 2011
1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Okla. Lawmakers Rethinking State Board of Education
Oklahoma legislators are considering a plan to remove the six appointed members of the state board of education and replace them with the governor, the attorney general, and the secretary of state.
McClatchy-Tribune, March 15, 2011
1 min read
Classroom Technology News in Brief State Moves to Shut Down Minn.'s First Online Charter
Minnesota took action last week to unplug the state's first online high school after two audits and an investigation found that some students were graduating from the school without completing state-required coursework.
McClatchy-Tribune, March 15, 2011
1 min read
Education News in Brief Test-Score Reviews Uncover Improbable Gains in 6 States
Gains in standardized-test scores in 304 schools in six states and the District of Columbia have been found to be so improbable they should be investigated, an analysis by a group of newspapers has found.
The Associated Press, March 15, 2011
1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief Minn. Clears Alternative Path to Teaching Licenses
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has signed legislation that creates a new path into the teaching profession for nontraditional teachers and midcareer professionals.
The Associated Press, March 15, 2011
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness News in Brief Survey Shows Broad Support for College, Work Readiness
A new survey shows broad agreement about the importance of college and career readiness for high school graduates. But opinions about what exactly that means, how high a priority it should be, and what changes are needed vary.
Caralee J. Adams, March 15, 2011
1 min read
School Climate & Safety Budget Eliminates Emergency Grants; Districts Regroup
Emergency training programs aimed to prepare schools for events like Columbine are losing their funding amid budget cuts.
March 15, 2011
5 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief Idaho Lawmakers OK Union Limits
The Idaho legislature approved a measure last week to phase out tenure for new teachers and restrict collective bargaining.
The Associated Press, March 15, 2011
1 min read
Federal Research Collaborations Not Seen as Two-Way
Both scientists and practitioners say school-based research partnerships need to go both ways.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 15, 2011
5 min read
School Climate & Safety White House Eye Again on Bullying
The president, himself bullied as a child, put a spotlight on what he sees as an epidemic for American school children.
Nirvi Shah, March 15, 2011
1 min read
Pfc. Samantha Malik, of Salem Township, Pa., holding her 21st Century Cyber Charter School diploma, says she was worried that her online-only education would prevent her from joining the military.
Pfc. Samantha Malik, of Salem Township, Pa., holding her 21st Century Cyber Charter School diploma, says she was worried that her online-only education would prevent her from joining the military.
Guy Wathen/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
College & Workforce Readiness Cyber Students Facing Barriers to Enlistment In Military Services
Those who hope to enlist in the military are finding their plans derailed by an obscure Department of Defense policy that ranks cyber schools as “less desirable.”
Amy Crawford, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 15, 2011
4 min read
School & District Management D.C. Success Must Go Beyond Test Scores, Study Says
The first of a series of outside evaluation reports on the District of Columbia's four-year-old school reform efforts concludes that improving test scores don't tell the whole story.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 15, 2011
4 min read
Memphis school board members Tomeka Hart and Martavius Jones get excited by early results from the merger vote, while City Council member Shea Flinn, right, checks his mobile device.
Memphis school board members Tomeka Hart and Martavius Jones get excited by early results from the merger vote, while City Council member Shea Flinn, right, checks his mobile device.
Nikki Boertman/The Commercial Appeal/Landov
School & District Management Memphis Votes to Merge City and Suburban Schools
Now haggling begins over when to form a new school board and what its composition should be.
Christina A. Samuels & Mary Ann Zehr, March 15, 2011
3 min read
Education Letter to the Editor Value-Added Can Help Guide Schools
To the Editor:
The Commentary by Douglas Harris (“Economists and the Value-Added Wave in Schools,” Jan. 26, 2011), in which he discusses a divide between economists and education scholars over the merits of value-added analysis, was thought-provoking and largely well-reasoned. But his assertion that “there is almost no evidence to suggest that any use of value-added does or does not improve teaching and learning” demands further scrutiny.
March 15, 2011
2 min read
Education Letter to the Editor Wake County Article Repeats Misconceptions
To the Editor:
Education Week's recent article, “Cooling Signs in Wake Debate,” (Feb. 23, 2011) repeated some misconceptions about the diversity policy that have contributed to a poor understanding of the policy’s goals and accomplishments. The article quotes Wake CARES founder Patrice Lee in claiming that no study had shown increased achievement under the diversity policy: “You can’t have it both ways,” Ms. Lee said. “You can’t say you’re busing to give [low-income students] a better opportunity if they’re not getting it.”
March 15, 2011
1 min read
Education Letter to the Editor Report Card Misses Need for Narratives
To the Editor:
Re: Education Week’s recent article on the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s report card on the teaching of history in the different states (“Majority of States Get Poor Grades on History Standards,” Feb. 23, 2011). In the article, Chester E. Finn Jr. defends the institute’s concern for “names, dates, and events” at the expense of in-depth understanding by saying: “You have to get the bricks before you can get the mortar.” Finn should know better. A teacher builds learning by using bricks and mortar at the same time, from the very start.
March 15, 2011
1 min read