November 29, 2006
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 13
Education
Events
5-10—Science: 2007 Winter Meeting, sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Astronomical Society, for physics teachers, in Seattle. Contact: AAPT, 1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3845; (301) 209-3311; Web site: www.aapt.org/Events/calendar.cfm.
January 2007
5-10—Science: 2007 Winter Meeting, sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Astronomical Society, for physics teachers, in Seattle. Contact: AAPT, 1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3845; (301) 209-3311; Web site: www.aapt.org/Events/calendar.cfm.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Bilingual Guides
Two recent U.S. Department of Education-funded efforts to help practitioners derive practical conclusions from the research on English-language learners are silent on the language of instruction ("Guides Avoid Bilingual vs. English-Only Issue," Nov. 8, 2006).
Education
Letter to the Editor
Impact of Healthy-Eating Programs May Be Delayed
Since school is a large part of every child’s life, it’s essential that students be offered healthy options for school meals ("Effects of Schools’ Push for Healthy Eating Unclear," Oct. 18, 2006). These options also might provide a model for students of what other meals of the day should look like.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Highlight Native American Culture and Contributions
How is it possible that Education Week did nothing in its pages to highlight November as Native American Heritage Month?
Education
Letter to the Editor
Two Essays Underscore Importance of ‘Climate’
Sam Chaltain’s Oct. 25, 2006, Commentary "To Make Schools Safe, Make All Children Visible" and Kirsten Olson’s Nov. 8, 2006, Commentary "The Wounds of Schooling" are sadly related.
Education
A National Roundup
Civil Rights Project to Leave Harvard for Los Angeles
After a decade at Harvard University, the Harvard Civil Rights Project is planning to move to the University of California, Los Angeles.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Administrative Licensure: More Imagination Needed
As your well-balanced article makes clear, the revolt of the Springfield, Mass., school district against orthodox licensure procedures for administrators marked an important moment in education ("Mass. District Steps Into Licensing Role for Administrators," Nov. 8, 2006).
Education
Letter to the Editor
Encyclopedias Still Have Place in Student Learning
I read your Nov. 8, 2006, article "Scholars Test Out New Yardsticks of School Poverty" with interest, living and working as I do in a small, rural district that sits on the poverty line, as measured by free or reduced-price lunches.
Education
Letter to the Editor
No Sympathy Here for Arizona’s Low Ranking
As a California teacher, I cannot feel sympathetic about Arizona’s low ranking on the Morgan Quitno Press Inc. study ("Ariz. Chief Angry Over Ranking," Nov. 1, 2006).
Equity & Diversity
San Francisco Bans JROTC
After a 90-year run in San Francisco’s high schools, the popular Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps has been cut from the city’s schools.
Education
Letter to the Editor
A 10 Percent Solution?
In his Oct. 18, 2006, Commentary "Research and Effectiveness," Robert E. Slavin proposes an initiative whereby districts not meeting standards could, when requesting discretionary federal funding, be awarded “a bonus of up to 10 points, on a scale of 100, if the applicant commits to the use of programs with strong evidence of effectiveness.”
Education
Letter to the Editor
Proceed With Caution on Growth-Model Pilot
Evaluating teachers and schools on the basis of the progress their students make during a stipulated time frame, rather than on the basis of their proficiency during the same period, makes eminent sense ("Education Dept. Poised to Approve More States for Growth-Model Pilot," Nov. 8, 2006).
Education
Letter to the Editor
The Inherent Conflicts of an Entrepreneurial Era
Frederick M. Hess’ Commentary "Welcoming the Entrepreneurial Era?" (Nov. 1, 2006) disregards contradictory evidence. Moreover, to believe that only “entrepreneurs have the freedom and incentives to search for new solutions” ignores history. Has Mr. Hess ever heard of John Dewey?
Federal
A Washington Roundup
House Backs Measure on Underage Drinking
The House of Representatives has approved a bill that would require the Department of Health and Human Services to create a yearly report card that rates the performance of each state in fighting underage drinking.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
Bush, Indonesian Leader Hail U.S. Education Aid
President Bush and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia said last week that a 3-year-old U.S. aid program is helping Indonesian schools improve.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
NCLB Parental Funds Misspent, Audit Says
The Department of Education’s office of inspector general has found that the Learning Exchange, a nonprofit education organization based in Kansas City, Mo., misused money allocated to it under a grant to establish a Parental Information and Resource Center.
Standards & Accountability
College Board Readies Plans for AP Audits
A plan by the College Board to scrutinize high school Advanced Placement courses to ensure that they adhere to college-level standards is getting mixed reviews from educators. Some say the process will add rigor and relevance to their AP programs, while others worry it will just add up to busywork for teachers.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
States’ Data-Collection Efforts Improving, Report Finds
Forty-two states are now using a data tool called a unique student identifier to follow individual student progress, up from 37 states a year ago, says a report released this month by the Data Quality Campaign, an effort by the Washington-based National Center for Educational Accountability to improve the collection and use of education data.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Audit of Kan. Efforts for At-Risk Reveals Data-Tracking Issues
A legislative audit has found problems with the way Kansas doles out more than $100 million annually to school districts for programs for at-risk youths because of inaccuracies in the counting of students who receive federally funded free lunches.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Arizona Lawsuit Targets Special-Needs Vouchers
Three Arizona parents, backed by civil liberties groups, are suing to block two new state voucher programs aimed at children with disabilities and those in foster care.
Education Funding
Financial Solution Eludes Galveston
Voters in Galveston, Texas, may soon have the option of deciding, yet again, how they plan to share their school district’s wealth with less advantaged school systems.
Assessment
Urban Students Fold Under Basic Science
Students in urban schools struggled with relatively basic tasks in a recent test of their science skills, a weakness observers say reflects many teachers’ tenuous knowledge of the subject, as well as the inconsistent way in which it is taught across the country.
Law & Courts
Michigan Vote Roils Ground Under K-12 Race Cases
Less than four years after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly upheld the consideration of race in admissions at the University of Michigan’s law school, the court returns Dec. 4 to the highly charged topic of racial diversity in education.
States
Flagship Colleges’ Aid Priorities Knocked
States’ flagship universities are serving disproportionately fewer low-income and minority students than they were more than a decade ago, according to a report released last week by the Education Trust.
Assessment
Study Unlocks Secrets of Lithuania’s Success
Only 15 to 22 countries participated in the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study in 1995, 1999, and 2003. Of those, the nation with the biggest gains in student achievement over that time period was tiny Lithuania, a former Soviet republic on the Baltic Sea.
Federal
Potential of Global Tests Seen as Unrealized
Nearly 50 years after the inception of a project now called the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS—one of the biggest and most influential assessment programs in the world—it still hasn’t delivered on its early promise, say experts who attended a conference this month aimed at rekindling the original vision of the program’s founders.
Federal
Abstinence Programs Lack Factual Reviews, GAO Study Concludes
Most abstinence-until-marriage sex education programs financed by the federal government are not reviewed by the government for scientific accuracy, nor does the government require grant recipients to review the materials they use to make sure they are medically accurate, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Federal
Researchers Ask Whether NCLB’s Goals for Proficiency Are Realistic
While some leaders in Washington may believe that the No Child Left Behind Act is almost perfect, researchers who took part in a recent conference suggest it’s more like a rough draft of a term paper that needs major rewriting.