April 17, 2019
Education Week, Vol. 38, Issue 29
School & District Management
News in Brief
Hungry Students Taking Home Uneaten Meals
On Fridays, more than 100 students in three Indiana districts take home two backpacks.
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
Research Report: Reading
A meta-analysis of nearly three-dozen research studies published over the past decade finds that reading from paper has a small, statistically significant benefit on reading performance.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Lead Effects
High levels of lead in topsoil boosts the likelihood that 5-year-old boys will have cognitive difficulties, a study concludes.
Early Childhood
Report Roundup
Math Instruction
Students can understand and benefit from being introduced to algebraic concepts even in elementary school, a forthcoming study finds.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Vulnerable Students
Eight states—including three of the nation's largest, California, Florida, and Michigan—are doing a "poor" job of looking out for vulnerable students in their plans to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act, according to an analysis by the National Urban League.
Families & the Community
Q&A
Meet the Moms on the Front Lines of the Latest Reading Wars
Kate Mayer and Jamie Lynch explain why they want to change the way reading is taught in their Pennsylvania school district.
School Climate & Safety
Extending Vouchers Into Middle Class Is Florida's Next Move
Already home to a thriving ecosystem of private school choice, the state’s lawmakers want vouchers for thousands of new students.
Every Student Succeeds Act
DeVos Mends Fences With State Chiefs, Faces Critics in Congress
After weathering a political storm over the Trump administration's proposed budget at the end of March, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos continued her run of public appearances into April, and got widely varied reactions from state education leaders and from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Standards
Mismatch Seen Between New Science Tests and State Requirements
Teachers in some states worry students may face questions on topics they haven't studied on new science tests rolling out across the country.
School Climate & Safety
Classrooms May Soon Shed Dated Desk/Chair Combo
The classroom of the future could bear little resemblance to the "old school" look prevalent in schools today.
Equity & Diversity
K-12 Aid at Stake in Suit Over Census' Citizenship Question
Count educators as part of the population taking a keen interest in a major U.S. Supreme Court case about whether President Donald Trump's administration properly added a question about U.S. citizenship to the 2020 census.
Mathematics
Letter to the Editor
Clarifying Ed-Tech Research
To the Editor:
I was pleased to see our research cited in the article about key lessons about education-technology research for educators ("The Best Ed-Tech Research: 5 Key Lessons for Educators," March 13, 2019). I am writing to clarify our findings, which I worry were obscured in the article.
I was pleased to see our research cited in the article about key lessons about education-technology research for educators ("The Best Ed-Tech Research: 5 Key Lessons for Educators," March 13, 2019). I am writing to clarify our findings, which I worry were obscured in the article.
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
It's Not About Teachers
To the Editor:
In the final paragraphs of the Commentary about teacher strikes' impact on vulnerable students ("What Happens to Vulnerable Students When Teachers Strike?," March 6, 2019), the author urges teachers to consider the consequences of their actions.
In the final paragraphs of the Commentary about teacher strikes' impact on vulnerable students ("What Happens to Vulnerable Students When Teachers Strike?," March 6, 2019), the author urges teachers to consider the consequences of their actions.
Equity & Diversity
Letter to the Editor
What the NCTQ Report Misses
To the Editor:
The article "You're More Likely to Pass the Bar Than an Elementary Teacher Licensing Exam" (March 5, 2019) covers "A Fair Chance," the report from the National Council on Teacher Quality about how teacher licensure exams disproportionately screen out aspiring teachers of color from the profession. This report, however, ignores all insights from the most important source: aspiring teachers of color themselves.
The article "You're More Likely to Pass the Bar Than an Elementary Teacher Licensing Exam" (March 5, 2019) covers "A Fair Chance," the report from the National Council on Teacher Quality about how teacher licensure exams disproportionately screen out aspiring teachers of color from the profession. This report, however, ignores all insights from the most important source: aspiring teachers of color themselves.
Student Well-Being
Letter to the Editor
Schools Need Registered Nurses
To the Editor:
It was disappointing, but not surprising, to read how many children in this country attend a school without a full-time, trained health professional ("1.7 Million Students Attend Schools With Police But No Counselors, New Data Show," March 4, 2019). We are well past the point where all a school nurse does is administer medications and wait with ill or injured students until their parents arrive.
It was disappointing, but not surprising, to read how many children in this country attend a school without a full-time, trained health professional ("1.7 Million Students Attend Schools With Police But No Counselors, New Data Show," March 4, 2019). We are well past the point where all a school nurse does is administer medications and wait with ill or injured students until their parents arrive.
Student Well-Being
News in Brief
N.Y.C. Orders Yeshiva Schools to Ban Unvaccinated Students
New York City's health department last week ordered all ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools in a neighborhood of Brooklyn to exclude unvaccinated students from classes during the current measles outbreak.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Illinois High Court Backs Pension for One-Day Teacher Substitute
A union lobbyist who worked just one day as a substitute teacher is entitled to a pension worth potentially tens of thousands of dollars annually, the Illinois supreme court has ruled.
Standards
News in Brief
Changes to Social Study Standards In Michigan Reversed After Outcry
Back is Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Back is Roe v. Wade. Back is climate change. and the word "democratic." A new proposal incorporating those revisions was presented to the Michigan board of education last week.
Every Student Succeeds Act
News in Brief
Arizona Could Lose $340 Million For Skirting ESSA Testing Rules
Arizona faces a loss of $340 million in federal funding because the state hasn't followed the Every Student Succeeds Act's rules for testing its students, say U.S. Department of Education officials.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
N.Y.C. Program Aimed at Diversifying Elite High Schools Comes Up Short
A program meant to diversify New York City's infamously segregated specialized high schools failed to admit representative numbers of black and Hispanic students this school year, figures released last week by district officials show.
Education
News in Brief
Citing Class Sizes, Services, Teachers In California's Capital City Walk Out
Hundreds of teachers across the Sacramento Unified school district walked out of their classrooms and onto picket lines last week for the first time in 30 years, staging a one-day strike alleging unfair labor practices by the California district.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Principals From Schools Where Shootings Occurred Form Network
Current and former principals whose schools were the scenes of shootings have formed a network to support other school leaders in the aftermath of violence.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
New Analysis Details Incidents of Gun Mishandling in Schools
More than 60 publicly reported incidents of mishandled guns occurred in schools in the past five years, finds a new analysis.
Education
Correction
Correction
The story, "Where Districts Spend on Principals, Scores Rose," in the April 10, 2019, edition of Education Week used the incorrect academic year in describing the year in which new principals were placed in schools as part of the Wallace Foundation's Principal Pipeline Initiative.
Assessment
Opinion
Did the Common Core Kill Classroom Assessment?
New standards may be more rigorous, but they've created a widening gulf between large-scale and classroom assessment, argues Gregory J. Cizek.
School & District Management
4 Ways Schools Help or Hinder Gifted Students
Gifted education programs can support academically advanced students or, in some cases, hold them back. Four studies presented at the American Educational Research Association meeting show how.
School & District Management
Opinion
I Was an Angry Teacher Fighting for Better Education Policy. Now, I'm Shaping It
What goes on behind all the closed doors in politics? Most teachers never get a chance to find out, writes teacher-turned-politician John Waldron.
States
Here's How 7 States Are Faring in the Battle Over School Funding
The prospects were bright earlier this year for dozens of states to overhaul antiquated formulas and take other big steps on K-12 funding. It’s proven a tricky task.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Why a Culturally Responsive Curriculum Works
When instruction feels relevant to students' lives, amazing things can happen, writes veteran educator Eugene Butler Jr.