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.
Caralee J. Adams, March 4, 2014
8 min read
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.
March 4, 2014
4 min read
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.
T. Keung Hui, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), March 4, 2014
4 min read
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.
Benjamin Herold, March 4, 2014
6 min read
Deborah Meier leads a class in Harlem in New York City in 1968. She founded schools in East Harlem and Boston's Mission Hill community.
Deborah Meier leads a class in Harlem in New York City in 1968. She founded schools in East Harlem and Boston's Mission Hill community.
Courtesy of Deborah Meier
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.
Deborah Meier, March 4, 2014
6 min read
Education Blogs of the Week
March 4, 2014
9 min read
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.
Catherine Gewertz, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
March 4, 2014
3 min read
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.
Debra Viadero, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
Christina A. Samuels, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
Bryan Toporek, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
Christina A. Samuels, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
Holly Kurtz, March 4, 2014
1 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
adventtr/iStockphoto
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.
Michael V. McGill, March 4, 2014
6 min read
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.
Stephen Sawchuk, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
The Associated Press, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
McClatchy-Tribune, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
The Associated Press, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
Holly Kurtz, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
Christina A. Samuels, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
Anthony Rebora, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
Karla Scoon Reid, March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
Michele McNeil, March 4, 2014
1 min read
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan addresses the education and workforce committee session of the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington. From left are Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan addresses the education and workforce committee session of the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington. From left are Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican.
Cliff Owen/AP
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.
Christina A. Samuels, March 4, 2014
2 min read
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.
March 4, 2014
1 min read
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.
March 4, 2014
1 min read