March 5, 2014
Education Week, Vol. 33, Issue 23
College & Workforce Readiness
States Eye Plans to Lower Cost Barriers to College
A new batch of proposals from state leaders explores different strategies, from making community college free to a "pay it forward" model.
English-Language Learners
Calif. Bill Would Repeal Bilingual-Education Restrictions
A bill to roll back long-running restrictions on bilingual education is only the latest signal of changing politics around English-language instruction in California.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Pearson Data System Hits Bumpy Ride in North Carolina
The new computer system for keeping track of student information has run into so many problems that the accuracy of transcripts and other records remains uncertain.
Federal
Ed. Dept. Makes Protecting Student Data a High Priority
Guidance from the U.S. Department of Education comes amid a flurry of activity around student-data privacy, including recommendations from a leading technology trade group and proposed legislation in California.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
On the Front Lines in the War on Poverty
Deborah Meier recounts her experiences in schools during the "heyday" of the campaign to end poverty and considers where the fight stands now.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Studies Follow Four Districts Moving Toward Common Core
A new cluster of reports profiles the work of four school districts that jumped into the new standards earlier and more aggressively than most.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
David Hespe, a former New Jersey state education commissioner, has been tapped by Gov. Chris Christie to take that job once again.
Student Well-Being
Proposed Rules Aim to Curb Junk-Food Ads in Schools
If approved, the new federal regulations would limit displays of product logos on vending machines, scoreboards, lunchroom posters, and menu boards on school campuses.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Teaching Twins
The practice of separating twins into different classrooms at the start of their schooling is challenged in a new report.
Early Childhood
Report Roundup
Language Problems
A study of more than 10,000 Norwegian children found a connection between gender and delayed language development, with boys at greater risk of delays than girls.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Obesity in Children
The obesity rate for children between the ages of 2 and 5 plunged 43 percent over the past decade, according to new data published last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Pain Relievers and ADHD
New research has found that children of women who took pain relievers containing acetaminophen during pregnancy were at a higher risk of developing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or hyperkinetic disorder, which is similar to ADHD but characterized by more severe impairments.
Assessment
Report Roundup
Community Schools
A report by Child Trends finds promise in community schools, which seek to boost academic performance by offering mentoring, counseling, health care, and other wraparound services that extend well beyond the classroom.
Accountability
Opinion
When Education Is But a Test Score
The corporate model of schooling relies on the unreasonable idea that higher test scores reflect improvements in education, writes Michael V. McGill.
Assessment
News in Brief
Florida Releases 'Value Added' Data on Teachers' Performance Reviews
Florida has become the latest state, after New York and Ohio, to release "value added" data on its teachers to news outlets, after losing an open-records battle in the courts to The Florida Times-Union.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Report Expected to Blame Faulty Design of Tornado Site
An upcoming report will say that an elementary school destroyed by a tornado in Moore, Okla., last spring was poorly designed and could have protected children better if it had been properly reinforced.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Chicago's Expulsion Rate Higher at Charter Schools
The Chicago school district released data showing privately run charter schools expel students at a vastly higher rate than do schools in the rest of the district.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Foes of Transgender Law Fail to Get Enough Signatures
Opponents of a new California law that provides transgender students certain rights in public schools have failed to gather enough voter signatures to place a referendum to repeal the law on the November ballot.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
N.C. Court Suspends Student-Voucher Program
A superior court judge has suspended a new voucher program in North Carolina from distributing funds until the lawsuits have been resolved.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Mayor Ends Space-Sharing for Some N.Y.C. Charters
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he is rescinding several existing agreements that allow charter schools to share space in buildings with regular public schools.
Standards
News in Brief
AERA Kicks Off Site on Common Standards
The world's largest organization of educational researchers has introduced a new resource to help make sense of the concept of states sharing academic benchmarks for English/language arts and mathematics.
Special Education
News in Brief
National Federation of Blind Settles Suit Against PARCC
Blind students will have access to the common-core-aligned field tests under development by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, based on a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the National Federation of the Blind.
Assessment
News in Brief
Teachers at Chicago School Plan Boycott of State Test
Teachers at an elementary school in Chicago have announced that they will refuse to administer state-mandated standardized tests that were scheduled to start this week.
Families & the Community
News in Brief
New Alliance Aims to Unite Grassroots Testing Opposition
A new coalition of national groups is trying to bring together grassroots boycotts, protests, and petitions aimed at reducing and revamping student testing in an effort to ignite more legislative reforms.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Obama Launches Initiative To Help Boys of Color
The Obama administration announced a collection of initiatives called "My Brother's Keeper" to help improve the lives of boys of color.
Early Childhood
Governors Urged to Seize Pre-K Momentum
Early-childhood education is an area ripe for gubernatorial leadership, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told members of the National Governors Association.
Education
Letter to the Editor
On the State of Education Today, What Would Dewey, Sizer Think?
To the Editor:
I teach at a small community school in Afton, Va. Recently at recess (that time of day children can run around unfettered by adult intrusion), three boys made a kite. I was sitting in my room, catching up on some work, and the boys hustled through to show me their efforts.
I teach at a small community school in Afton, Va. Recently at recess (that time of day children can run around unfettered by adult intrusion), three boys made a kite. I was sitting in my room, catching up on some work, and the boys hustled through to show me their efforts.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Is 'Ineffective' Curriculum OK, Or a Form of Discrimination?
To the Editor:
I just read two articles in the Feb. 5, 2014, issue. One covered the Vergara v. California lawsuit, which alleges "discrimination of a youth having to be placed in front of an ineffective teacher." The other was about curriculum materials for the Common Core State Standards.
I just read two articles in the Feb. 5, 2014, issue. One covered the Vergara v. California lawsuit, which alleges "discrimination of a youth having to be placed in front of an ineffective teacher." The other was about curriculum materials for the Common Core State Standards.