March 21, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 28
School Choice & Charters
Federal File
Choice Words
A senior Department of Education official touts the voucher elements of President Bush’s plans for renewing the No Child Left Behind Act to advocates for Catholic schools.
Assessment
A State Capitals Roundup
Test Scores Released in Illinois After Lengthy Series of Delays
The results come after months of delay due to test-distribution glitches, scoring problems, and data-entry errors.
Student Well-Being
A State Capitals Roundup
N.M. Soon to Require Vaccination for HPV
The state legislature is the second in the country to enact such a measure.
Student Well-Being
When a Road Trip Turns Into a Hike
Oregon state Superintendent Susan Castillo has asked for more control over high school sports leagues after last fall’s enactment of a realignment plan that is still causing headaches.
Teaching
Opinion
The New Anti-Intellectualism in America
U.S. curriculum may be promoting mental labor rather than intellectual thinking, argues Nel Noddings.
School & District Management
New Center Asks: Does Merit Pay Work?
Researchers want to find out whether the prospect of bonuses affects teachers' behavior, and whether student achievement improves as a result.
Education Funding
California’s Schooling Is ‘Broken’
The state's school finance and governance system needs a major overhaul, a massive research project concludes.
Early Childhood
Opinion
Beyond Pre-K
To help disadvantaged youths, our investment in children needs to start early and continue into the teenage years, argues James J. Heckman.
Federal
Spellings Is Grilled on NCLB, Reading First
Members of the appropriations subcommittees express concerns about the department’s efforts in implementing the federal school law.
School & District Management
Easing Rules Over Schools Gains Favor
State, district leaders debate when to grant autonomy.
Education
People in the News
David E. Sawyer
David E. Sawyer has become the superintendent of the 26,500-student Stafford County schools in Stafford, Va., a Washington suburb.
Education
People in the News
Sonia Diaz
Sonia Diaz has been named the associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the 106,000-student Baltimore County, Md., public schools in suburban Baltimore.
Education
People in the News
Marilyn E. Stewart
Marilyn E. Stewart began a two-year term this month as the president of the New York City-based American Montessori Society.
Education
Report Roundup
Latinos' Web Use
Latinos do not use the Internet as often as their non-Hispanic counterparts, according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Internet Project.
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
Language and Reading
The achievement gap in reading in California between students coming from homes where only English is spoken and those from Spanish-speaking homes increased during the students' first six years of school, according to an analysis of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study.
Education
Report Roundup
Research Report: School Safety
Teachers and principals in traditional public schools in urban areas consistently report more safety problems than authorities in urban charter schools do, says a report by the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education.
Education
Report Roundup
NCLB Services Seen Difficult to Monitor
A survey found that 38 states said they were unable to monitor "to a great extent" the effectiveness of supplemental-service providers.