February 17, 1999
Education Week, Vol. 18, Issue 23
Reading & Literacy
Ohio Governor Proposes Volunteer-Based Reading Plan
Declaring that Ohio has no education need more urgent than teaching children to read, Gov. Bob Taft has proposed recruiting a citizen army of 20,000 volunteer tutors and spending $25 million to improve literacy in the early grades.
Education
GOP, Schools Decry Clinton Plan To Cut Title VI Funds
In the Centennial school district just north of Minneapolis, money from the federal Title VI block grant is helping administrators develop student assessments and train teachers to meet Minnesota's accountability requirements.
Education
Federal File
One prominent Democratic senator isn't too thrilled with President Clinton's State of the Union remarks on education.
A New Yorker view
One prominent Democratic senator isn't too thrilled with President Clinton's State of the Union remarks on education.
Assessment
Ky. District Questions Fairness of Accountability Proposals
A Kentucky district's objection to new statewide accountability policies now being drafted has highlighted the difficult balance states must strike in efforts to make schools responsible for performance.
Education
State Journal
Illinois citizens believe that class sizes in their state should be reduced, teachers should receive more training, and schools must strive to become more connected to their communities, according to a report delivered to the state's lawmakers last week.
Polling the people
Illinois citizens believe that class sizes in their state should be reduced, teachers should receive more training, and schools must strive to become more connected to their communities, according to a report delivered to the state's lawmakers last week.
College & Workforce Readiness
Higher Tuitions Aren't Inevitable, Report Contends
College-tuition costs continue to climb, but neither federal, state, nor institutional policymakers are addressing the causes of the problem, a new report contends.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Food for Thought
| Schools take aim at junk food and inactivity in fight against childhood obesity. |
Education
Commissioner Klagholz Leaving N.J. Chief's Job
After five years as Gov. Christine Todd Whitman's school reform lieutenant, New Jersey Commissioner of Education Leo F. Klagholz is stepping down to become a college professor.
Education
Milestones
John H. Hollifield Jr., a longtime editor and disseminator of research reports for the Center for the Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, died of cancer Feb. 2. He was 59.
John H. Hollifield Jr., a longtime editor and disseminator of research reports for the Center for the Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, died of cancer Feb. 2. He was 59.
Education
Urban Education
Heavy Artillery: The National Urban League's campaign to help raise academic achievement among young African-Americans has received major reinforcements in the form of a $25 million grant from the Lilly Endowment.
Education
Carper Unveils Plan to Improve Teacher Salaries, Accountability
Gov. Thomas R. Carper of Delaware is calling for significant increases in teacher salaries tied to a professional-development and teacher-accountability plan.
Teaching Profession
Calif. Bill Rekindles Debate Over Teacher Peer Review
California's Poway Unified School District launched a program in 1987 that lets teachers review their colleagues' performance. Since then, teachers and administrators in the 33,000-student district say the gamble has paid off handsomely, giving new teachers much-welcomed help and removing some who belonged in another profession.
Ed-Tech Policy
Congress Expected To Put High Priority on Technology
Education technology will figure even more prominently in this year's revamping of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act than it did in the bill's last overhaul, in 1994, according to staff members on Capitol Hill and at the Department of Education. 
Education
Researchers Rate Whole-School Reform Models
Only three of 24 popular school reform models have strong evidence that they improve student achievement, according to a report released last week that provides the most comprehensive rating of such programs by an independent research group.
Assessment
Most Schools Failed, But Experts Call Va. Tests Fair
A panel of testing experts has declared Virginia's new state exams fair and accurate a month after students' high failure rates on the high-stakes assessment were announced.
School Climate & Safety
School Construction in U.S. Tops $15 Billion
Public school districts poured a record $15 billion into construction last year, and the upward trend is likely to continue for at least a few more years, an annual study of industry trends shows.
Education
Calif. Web Site Provides Parent-Friendly Portraits of Schools
Click on the profile of Hubbard Elementary School in San Jose, Calif., and you'll find that the school is using the Success for All reading program.
Teaching Profession
Critics' Study Finds Flaws in Teacher Exams
Massachusetts' controversial teacher-licensing tests are unreliable and of such poor validity that they should be discontinued, a study released last week by three critics concludes.
Education
Catholics Gather To Discuss 'Moral Issue' of Choice
Washington
Washington
The event opened with a prayer for participants to "assume more effective leadership roles" in the school choice movement and for "clarity, that [they] may develop an understanding of the complexities" of the issue.
College & Workforce Readiness
More College Aid Going to Top Students
Jessica Bostdorf had everything she needed to attend the college of her dreams--stellar grades, extensive leadership experience, athletic ability. Everything, that is, except the money to afford the $22,000-a-year price tag.
Ed-Tech Policy
Schools Buying More Computer Software, Less Hardware
Education-software publishers are finally cashing in on their efforts to develop software for the school market.
Education
Private Schools
Catholic History: When the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in 1925 that families could not be prohibited from sending their children to private schools, it described an important balance between the rights of parents and the responsibilities of states.
College & Workforce Readiness
Fla. Plan Would Cut Graduation Rate Sharply
Florida's release this month of recalculated high school graduation rates showing that fewer than half the state's students complete high school in four years has local administrators there combing through record books and crunching numbers, hoping to find flaws in the state's math.
Assessment
Businesses See Hot Commodity In School Data
Officials of the Evanston/Skokie, Ill., school district were not amused when their schools mistakenly received the lowest rating last fall on a free World Wide Web site designed to help home buyers.
Education
News in Brief: A National Roundup