April 11, 2018
Education Week, Vol. 37, Issue 26
College & Workforce Readiness
High School Diploma Criteria Fall Short, Study Finds
An analysis finds that, in most states, students must exceed high school diploma requirements in order to be admitted to a public, four-year college in their state.
Law & Courts
For One Supreme Court Justice, a Personal Connection to School Law
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer reminisces about his father’s time as legal counsel to the San Francisco Unified School District.
School Climate & Safety
Betsy DeVos Weighing Action on School Discipline Policy
At the heart of the debate is why black students are disciplined at higher rates and the role of federal officials in addressing disparities.
Student Well-Being
Teenagers Are Skeptical of Praise for Good Effort, Study Finds
An analysis of studies on learning mindsets suggests that praising students for effort, rather than for being smart, can backfire in middle and high school.
Every Student Succeeds Act
In Tenn., a 'Microcredential' to Help Teachers Identify Students' Hidden Giftedness
The Volunteer State is the first to test a professional development effort aimed at enabling teachers to find academic potential in students who don’t fit stereotypes about giftedness.
School Climate & Safety
Data: Schools Have Gotten Safer Over Time
Federal data show that U.S. public schools have gotten safer in recent years even as public perception may suggest otherwise.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Arizona Gov. Ducey Signs Law Requiring Recess Time for Students
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey last week signed a proposal that requires schools to expand recess for young students, a measure that aims to give kids more time for unstructured play.
Ed-Tech Policy
News in Brief
Technology Giants, Startup Give Millions for Devices, Training, and Supplies
Verizon Innovative Learning pledged more than $200 million last week to furnish technology, teacher training, and internet connectivity in K-12 schools.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Puerto Rico to Close 283 Schools Amid Sharp Enrollment Drop
Puerto Rico's Education Department announced Thursday that it would close 283 public schools in the face of plummeting student enrollment.
Education Funding
News in Brief
GAO: Thousands of Compliant Teachers Forced to Repay Federal TEACH Grants
More than 60 percent of teachers who received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education prior to July 2014 were forced to repay the money as an unsubsidized loan, a government report says—even though many of them were meeting the program's requirements.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
California Unveils Policy Guide to Help Schools Shield Undocumented Students
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has released a policy guide for school officials that lays out how they can protect students from immigration enforcement on school grounds.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Recipients of 'Dead' DACA Program Reap Educational Benefits, Study Says
While President Donald Trump was tweeting that DACA is "dead," new research concludes that the program, which protects hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants from deportation, has important educational benefits for recipients.
Every Student Succeeds Act
News in Brief
Only Three Jurisdictions Apply for ESSA's Innovative Test Pilot
Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Puerto Rico alone have officially submitted applications for the Every Student Succeeds Act's Innovative Assessment pilot, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Education
Letter to the Editor
There Is No Silver-Bullet 'Reform'
To The Editor:
In the Jan. 17 article "How Much Reform Is Too Much? Teachers Weigh In," —the opening statement that "change is hard, particularly for teachers" puts the blame on teachers again by suggesting that teachers are somehow unable to adapt to progress. This attitude is at the heart of why our schools have not improved or moved in a positive direction since the Sputnik era.
In the Jan. 17 article "How Much Reform Is Too Much? Teachers Weigh In," —the opening statement that "change is hard, particularly for teachers" puts the blame on teachers again by suggesting that teachers are somehow unable to adapt to progress. This attitude is at the heart of why our schools have not improved or moved in a positive direction since the Sputnik era.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Emotional Disabilities Are Misunderstood
To the Editor:
In the March 21 article "Fact Sheet: Students With Emotional Disabilities," the reporter cites a study of school shooters as evidence that special education students are no more likely than their peers to be shooters. Rather than concluding that emotional disturbance isn't a potential marker for becoming a shooter, perhaps a better conclusion is that emotional disturbance is underidentified by the schools.
In the March 21 article "Fact Sheet: Students With Emotional Disabilities," the reporter cites a study of school shooters as evidence that special education students are no more likely than their peers to be shooters. Rather than concluding that emotional disturbance isn't a potential marker for becoming a shooter, perhaps a better conclusion is that emotional disturbance is underidentified by the schools.
School Climate & Safety
Letter to the Editor
School Safety Is Everyone's Responsibility
To The Editor:
Jennifer Young's March 19 online Commentary "The Case for Limiting School Security," is incomplete and inaccurate. Sandy Hook Elementary School was not equipped with visual surveillance equipment, and we had one system for entry: a locked front door with buzz-in capability. Training was minimal, and for substitute teachers, nonexistent. Our attacker did not fire on a lock to enter, he broke unprotected window glass. There was no secure vestibule or front-office area to prevent further access. The school's safety systems were not fully functioning, and teachers could not safely lock doors. On his way to Sandy Hook, where police vehicles rarely visited, our attacker passed by two Newtown schools with school resource officers and a police vehicle parked outside.
Jennifer Young's March 19 online Commentary "The Case for Limiting School Security," is incomplete and inaccurate. Sandy Hook Elementary School was not equipped with visual surveillance equipment, and we had one system for entry: a locked front door with buzz-in capability. Training was minimal, and for substitute teachers, nonexistent. Our attacker did not fire on a lock to enter, he broke unprotected window glass. There was no secure vestibule or front-office area to prevent further access. The school's safety systems were not fully functioning, and teachers could not safely lock doors. On his way to Sandy Hook, where police vehicles rarely visited, our attacker passed by two Newtown schools with school resource officers and a police vehicle parked outside.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
Opportunity Gaps
Home access to digital resources is widespread, but inequities persist based on race, income, family education level, and geography, concludes a long-awaited report from the U.S. Department of Education.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Research Report: Teaching
Elementary students matched with the same teacher two years in a row show improvement in test scores, finds a new study in the journal Economics of Education Review.
English-Language Learners
Report Roundup
Research Report: English-Language Learners
With the nation's school-age population becoming more linguistically and culturally diverse, early-childhood educators should do more to embrace the differences that the nation's youngest English-learners bring to the classroom, a new report from the Migration Policy Institute concludes.
Student Well-Being
Report Roundup
Math Anxiety
Extracurricular math may help young students with math anxiety, finds a new study. Johns Hopkins University researchers evaluated the Crazy 8s Club, a play-based math after-school program for K-5 students developed by the Bedtime Math Foundation.
Federal
Report Roundup
STEM Education
Federal STEM education programs need better coordination, finds a new report by the Government Accountability Office—the federal government's watchdog arm. In 2010 Congress created the Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics to review some 163 STEM education programs in
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Mark Schneider, a vice president and institute fellow at the American Institutes for Research and College Measures and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has been confirmed for a six-year term as the director of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences
Federal
Trump Fails in Bid to Slash Education Budget
Congress approved a spending bill for fiscal 2018 that boosts the Education Department’s budget to the largest number in its history, despite President Donald Trump’s proposal for a cutback.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
How Schools Have Successfully Prevented Violence
To improve student safety, districts can learn lessons from schools who have successfully stopped acts of violence, write three school-safety experts.
Data
Schools Choose Not to Delete Facebook Despite Data-Privacy Worries
K-12 districts and education organizations are taking a closer look at how they use Facebook in the wake of its high-profile data-privacy scandal.
School & District Management
Opinion
What to Do About a Generation of 'Lost Einsteins'
Creativity is too often the domain of the elite. Schools can help, write composer Anthony Brandt and neuroscientist David Eagleman.
States
In Teacher Unrest, Democrats See Election Edge
Activists hope to ride momentum from labor activism in states like Arizona and Oklahoma to legislative and even gubernatorial victories that will help break GOP dominance in statehouses.
Social Studies
MLK's Legacy in the Classroom: Truncated and Tidied Up
Experts say the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. is often reduced in school curricula to one speech, if not four words: “I have a dream.”
College & Workforce Readiness
What's Your Passion? High School Enlists Businesses to Help Students Decide
A suburban Minneapolis high school is partnering with more than 200 businesses to reshape its classes and help students find a career that excites them—whether or not it leads to a bachelor's degree.