July 10, 2013
Education Week, Vol. 32, Issue 36
Law & Courts
Race-Related Cases Drew High Court Focus
The U.S. Supreme Court's just-finished term included two major decisions affecting how race plays out in the nation's school districts.
Assessment
Blacks, Hispanics See Long-Term Progress
The long-term trends report sheds light on test-score improvements for minorities and changes in the achievement gap.
School & District Management
Disputed Review Finds Disparities in Teacher Prep
The National Council on Teacher Quality says most of the reviewed programs are weak, but critics find fault with the project's methods.
Social Studies
Advocates Finding Ways to Bulk Up History Learning
Out-of-school and extracurricular activities are picking up some of the demand for teaching students history.
Education Funding
Gallup-EdWeek Poll: What Superintendents Really Think
District leaders share their views on common standards, budget cuts, staff development, and other key education issues in these first results from a new ongoing survey.
Standards
Testing Group Delays Some Components for One Year
PARCC gets permission to take until 2016 to finish three elements so it can meet the federal deadline for the summative portions.
School Climate & Safety
Feds Propose Deeper Dig on School Discipline Data
The Office of Civil Rights wants to add more questions about bullying and discipline to its next school data collection.
Education
Correction
Corrections
A story in the June 5, 2013, edition of Education Week misspelled the name of Robert Fayfich, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools.
Student Well-Being
New School Snack Rules Restrict Calories, Fat
In its final rules, the USDA is limiting the fat, salt, sugar, and calories in snacks and vending-machine foods sold in schools.
School & District Management
Memphis-Shelby Schools Merge, Amid Uncertainty
Six municipalities are still trying to break off from the merged system, which became official on July 1.
Federal
Common-Core Group Details Test Accommodations
The PARCC consortium outlines supports to be offered English-learners and students with disabilities on common-core-aligned assessments.
Federal
Letter to the Editor
Individualizing Schools Is Path to Real Learning
To the Editor:
I write in regard to the blog post "Senate Democrats to Unveil NCLB Reauthorization Bill" (Politics K-12, edweek.org, June 4, 2013). Again we see the attempt to "tweak" the failed status quo.
I write in regard to the blog post "Senate Democrats to Unveil NCLB Reauthorization Bill" (Politics K-12, edweek.org, June 4, 2013). Again we see the attempt to "tweak" the failed status quo.
Education Funding
Letter to the Editor
St. Louis Pension System 'Doing Just Fine'
To the Editor:
Wading into the debate over defined-benefit public-pension systems is complex. Two points regarding the article on St. Louis' defined-benefit pension plans ("Retirement Headaches Take Root," June 5, 2013), in which I was quoted extensively:
Wading into the debate over defined-benefit public-pension systems is complex. Two points regarding the article on St. Louis' defined-benefit pension plans ("Retirement Headaches Take Root," June 5, 2013), in which I was quoted extensively:
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
One Teacher-Prep Rating Suggests 'Flawed' Study
To the Editor:
The online article "Disputed Review Finds Disparities in Teacher Prep" (edweek.org, June 18, 2013) provides an overview of the mixed reception of the National Council on Teacher Quality's report on teacher-preparation programs. However, closer analysis of one program, at the University of California, Los Angeles, illuminates how flawed this report may be.
The online article "Disputed Review Finds Disparities in Teacher Prep" (edweek.org, June 18, 2013) provides an overview of the mixed reception of the National Council on Teacher Quality's report on teacher-preparation programs. However, closer analysis of one program, at the University of California, Los Angeles, illuminates how flawed this report may be.
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
Quality-Rating System Seen Spurring Change
To the Editor:
The article "States Fold Teaching Into Preschool Rating Factors" (June 12, 2013) quotes Robert Pianta, the dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia and my organization's co-founder and chairman. But the piece also questions the ability to demonstrate that a Quality Rating and Improvement System, or QRIS, improves teacher quality.
The article "States Fold Teaching Into Preschool Rating Factors" (June 12, 2013) quotes Robert Pianta, the dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia and my organization's co-founder and chairman. But the piece also questions the ability to demonstrate that a Quality Rating and Improvement System, or QRIS, improves teacher quality.
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
Classroom-Level View Draws Reader's Kudos
To the Editor:
I've been reading Education Week for more than 20 years, and your article "One Class Takes On the Standards" (June 5, 2013) is a well-told story of real people in a real-life predicament. The portraits and mini-bios made it intimate, and there was a good layout. Reading about how teacher Dowan McNair-Lee finds being instructed in how to instruct about tropes, figures of speech, allusions, similes, and so on reminds me again of Henry Reed's poem "Naming of Parts."
I've been reading Education Week for more than 20 years, and your article "One Class Takes On the Standards" (June 5, 2013) is a well-told story of real people in a real-life predicament. The portraits and mini-bios made it intimate, and there was a good layout. Reading about how teacher Dowan McNair-Lee finds being instructed in how to instruct about tropes, figures of speech, allusions, similes, and so on reminds me again of Henry Reed's poem "Naming of Parts."
Special Education
Letter to the Editor
Severe Disabilities Raise Different Equity Issues
To the Editor:
The recent article "A Spec. Ed. Twist on Common-Core Testing" (May 22, 2013) makes the point that students with severe disabilities are better served when they are included in standardized assessments and general curriculum.
The recent article "A Spec. Ed. Twist on Common-Core Testing" (May 22, 2013) makes the point that students with severe disabilities are better served when they are included in standardized assessments and general curriculum.
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
Parent Revolution: We Need to Work Together
To the Editor:
Three years ago, California enacted a groundbreaking new law called the "parent trigger" that gives parents the power to transform their failing neighborhood schools. From the start, opponents of the parent-trigger law have argued that the secret agenda behind it is a conspiracy to convert public education into a national for-profit charter school movement. And they see parents as well-meaning pawns in this effort.
Three years ago, California enacted a groundbreaking new law called the "parent trigger" that gives parents the power to transform their failing neighborhood schools. From the start, opponents of the parent-trigger law have argued that the secret agenda behind it is a conspiracy to convert public education into a national for-profit charter school movement. And they see parents as well-meaning pawns in this effort.
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
TFA Plays a Crucial, 'Effective' Role
To the Editor:
In his recent post about Teach For America on edweek.org, opinion blogger John Wilson names "Madison Avenue" and "Wall Street" among the organization's most dedicated advocates ("More Vetoes of Teach For America Needed," John Wilson Unleashed, June 3, 2013). As a principal in west Charlotte, N.C., I live and work far from either place. But if there's a list of believers in the work of this organization, I want my name near the top.
In his recent post about Teach For America on edweek.org, opinion blogger John Wilson names "Madison Avenue" and "Wall Street" among the organization's most dedicated advocates ("More Vetoes of Teach For America Needed," John Wilson Unleashed, June 3, 2013). As a principal in west Charlotte, N.C., I live and work far from either place. But if there's a list of believers in the work of this organization, I want my name near the top.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
HPV Vaccines
A new study shows that the vaccine against the types of HPV that commonly cause cervical cancer in women has dropped by half since the vaccine's introduction in 2006.
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
25-State Study Finds Charter Schools Improving
Charter school students are outpacing their peers in regular public school districts in reading, and performing at about the same level in mathematics, according to a study.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
Learning Algebra
Students who used a mathematics program that blends online learning and in-class instruction in algebra significantly improved their performance in the subject, finds a new study.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Child Well-Being
The Annie E. Casey Foundation's latest annual compendium of data on child well-being finds nearly one in four school-age children lived in poverty in 2011.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
District Reform
A districtwide school improvement program that incorporates corporate management practices has helped boost student achievement in four districts, according to a new report.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
Early College
Students who attended an early-college high school were more likely than their peers to earn a high school diploma and later a college degree, according to a study.
School Climate & Safety
Denver Teachers Push Back on Suspension Cuts
Just eliminating suspensions and expulsions is not a workable solution to school discipline problems, argues one group of educators.
School Climate & Safety
'Camp' Enlists Students to Protest Zero Tolerance
Action Camp 2.0 mobilizes students and community activists to take a stand on get-tough school discipline.
School & District Management
Dueling Visions in Congress on NCLB Renewal
Senate and House bills to revamp the No Child Left Behind Act offer clues to where Congress may end up when it finally overhauls the landmark education law.