February 20, 2002
Education Week, Vol. 21, Issue 23
Education
Retrospective
Selected stories from Feb. 24, 1982: The Reagan administration aims to overhaul rules on educating children with disabilities; a federal judge rules that a school may suspend a spec. ed. student; Clarence Thomas is chosen to head the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and testimony in Calif. describes school deterioration since the adoption of ballot-initiative to lower property taxes; and more.
Selected stories from Feb. 24, 1982: The Reagan administration aims to overhaul rules on educating children with disabilities; a federal judge rules that a school may suspend a spec. ed. student; Clarence Thomas is chosen to head the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and testimony in Calif. describes school deterioration since the adoption of ballot-initiative to lower property taxes; and more.
Education
People in the News
The Education Commission of the States recently hired Thomas B. Hayward as its senior development officer and Milton Goldberg as its liaison to Congress and the White House.
School Climate & Safety
Report Fuels Debate Over Risk From School Bus Fumes
A report on the health risks to children from the diesel exhaust from school buses is being received skeptically by school transportation experts.
Education Funding
Leading Democrats Say Bush Budget Proposal Breaks Faith On ESEA
When President Bush laid out his proposed fiscal 2003 federal budget, his requested increase for discretionary education spending fell short of some congressional Democrats' dreams.
Education
Facilities
Energy-Smart Schools
Schools in the hot, dry climate of the Southwest would be more energy efficient if they increased their use of natural lighting and tapped into solar energy, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy.
School & District Management
Research: Researching the Researchers
As policymakers and educators try to puzzle out the heap of reports and studies on education that cross their desks, some researchers are concerned about education research that may be colored by advocacy—and the difficulty that readers face in distinguishing it. Includes "Clued In: How to Look for Potential Biases."
Education
Clued In: How to Look For Potential Biases
Without training in research methodology or access to a researcher's data, it's often difficult to tell how objective a study may be. But experts agree that educators and policymakers can find some clues about a study's potential biases by asking themselves certain questions about the study's design and the researcher's motives. Here are examples of the kinds of questions that researcher say may be useful to keep in mind:
States
State of the States 2002: Pennsylvania, Connecticut
In his first and only state budget address, Pennsylvania Gov. Mark S. Schweiker proposed only a small increase for public education, saying he had to make “hard choices” in a fiscally tight year.
Education
News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup
- N.J. Commissioner Wants to Limit Teaching
- California Adopts Curriculum on Labor Leader
- Warner Picks Two for Virginia Board
- Washington Anti-Bullying Bill Moves Ahead
Early Childhood
Seattle Parents Paying for All-Day Kindergarten
Support for full-day kindergarten is on the rise around the country, not only among parents, but among educators and policymakers. In places like Seattle, some parents are footing the bill themselves.
Equity & Diversity
NEA: Local Schools Must Address Safety of Gays
A task force of leaders from the National Education Association has determined that educators cannot ignore the risks faced by homosexual students and school employees, but that deciding how to deal with the issue should be a matter of local concern.
Special Education
Forecast for IDEA Restructuring: Not This Year
An overhaul of the nation's guiding special education law, the next major education item on Congress' to-do list, will almost certainly fall into 2003, a key congressional aide said last week.
An overhaul of the nation's guiding special education law, the next major education item on Congress' to-do list, will almost certainly fall into 2003, a key congressional aide said last week.
Education
State Journal
Blasting Bureaucracy
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Jones doesn't want to trim just around the edges when it comes to changing California's education system.
Education Funding
Gov. Kitzhaber, Lawmakers At Odds Over School Funds
After clashing over how to address Oregon's $715 million budget shortfall, state legislators ended a three-day special session with a bailout plan that Gov. John Kitzhaber has vowed to veto, at least in part.
Education
Quarterly Blues
The chart below shows quarterly losses recorded by Edison Schools Inc. in the past two years. The company had a net loss of $38.1 million on revenues of $376 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2001. The company has never had a quarterly profit.
Ed-Tech Policy
Vandals Target School Technology Items
Vandalism has long been a pervasive problem in schools, but these days a single case can carry an especially hefty price tag—thanks to the increased presence of expensive technology on school campuses.
College & Workforce Readiness
Scholars Critique Advanced Classes In Math, Science
The nation's most popular honors programs for high school students fail to offer an enriched learning experience to high achievers in math and science, says a study from a panel of leading mathematicians and scientists.
Assessment
A 'Proficient' Score Depends on Geography
What exactly does proficient mean? The answer, it appears, depends on where you live. Yet how states define the word is at the heart of the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Education
Educating High Achievers
To improve the quality of math and science programs for high-achieving high school students, the National Research Council recommends in a new report that:
Early Childhood
Bush's Program Turning the Pages To Emphasize Early Reading Help
Elsie Thomas, a preschool teacher at the Miramonte Early Education Center here, holds up a book titled Store as she leads a circle of 24 children in a discussion. Together, they determine that shoes come from a shoe store and toys from a toy store.
Reading & Literacy
Some Educators See Reading Rules as Too Restrictive
Amid the fanfare and optimism surrounding President Bush's Reading First initiative, some educators anticipate that the program's stringent requirements will narrow their choices to a handful of commercial reading programs, severely limiting how teachers teach children to read.
Education
Testing
Three education professors in Washington state have come up with a proposed ballot initiative that would require candidates running for local or state office to take the state's 10th grade test and post their scores on the secretary of state's Web site and in voters' pamphlets.
Good for the Goose
Three education professors in Washington state have come up with a proposed ballot initiative that would require candidates running for local or state office to take the state's 10th grade test and post their scores on the secretary of state's Web site and in voters' pamphlets.
Education
What's Proficient?
As the chart below shows, what's "good enough" to qualify as "proficient" may vary widely from state to state. Education Week compared the percent of students who scored at or above proficient on the National Assessment of Educational Progress and on state assessments in mathematics in 2000. Only the 25 states that participated in the state-level NAEP in 2000, tested students in math in the 4th or 8th grade that year, and reported test results by proficiency levels were included in the analysis. In every state, the percent of students performing at the proficient level on state tests was used, except where the state employs a different, but similar, term. See also the accompanying "What's Proficient" chart for 8th Grade Math.
Equity & Diversity
Group Chides Bush on Civil Rights; Highlights Inequities
President Bush's talk about "leaving no child behind" hasn't been met by action, contends a report released last week by a nonprofit organization that monitors civil rights laws and enforcement.
Education
Federal File
Intestinal Fortitude
A bunch of smart people gathered at a downtown Washington hotel last week to begin, as the moderator put it, "reading the entrails" of the new education law enacted in January.
School Choice & Charters
Still in the Red, Edison Now Hit With Case of 'Enron-itis'
Last week, Edison Schools Inc. learned just how sensitive Wall Street is to the issue: The school management company's stock plunged 11 percent after a report raised questions about how it adds up its revenues. Includes a chart, "Quarterly Blues"
Last week, Edison Schools Inc. learned just how sensitive Wall Street is to the issue: The school management company's stock plunged 11 percent after a report raised questions about how it adds up its revenues. Includes a chart, "Quarterly Blues"
Social Studies
Concentration on Reading, Math Troubles Social Studies Educators
Concerned that schools under pressure to raise test scores in reading and mathematics will downplay other subjects, National Council for the Social Studies board memebers are quickly crafting a national strategy to ensure their discipline's place as a linchpin in the curriculum.
Education
News in Brief: A National Roundup
- AASA President-Elect to Reimburse Home District
- Judge Orders Tenn. District to Stop K-5 Bible Classes
- Philadelphia Boy Injured During Officer's Safety Talk
- Pupils Send Valentine's Day Notes to U.S. Troops Overseas
- Maryland State Board Overturns Firing Off District Superintendent
- New Jersey School Objects To Boy's Wheelchair Message