March 5, 2008
Education Week, Vol. 27, Issue 26
Federal
U.S. Position on Research Seen in Flux
Observers are trying to divine what the upcoming political shifts in Washington might mean for the U.S. Department of Education’s effort to make education an “evidence based” field.
Education
News in Brief
Chicago Board Votes to Close 18 Schools
Eight, on the city’s South and West sides will be “turned around” with new principals and teaching staffs.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Put the Brakes on AP
Patrick Mattimore examines the drawbacks of expanding the Advanced Placement program.
Teaching Profession
Teachers’ Union Spending
From the hundreds of pages in the teachers' unions' most recent financial statements, Education Week selected highlights.
Federal
Arizona Still Grappling With Order on Adequate Funding for ELLs
Lawmakers are considering appealing the ruling to the full 9th Circuit court or to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Federal
In Final Months, Ed. Dept. Seeks Teachers’ Advice
By next fall—only months before she leaves office—U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings plans to have five teachers on her staff.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Journalism and Advocacy
With your Quality Counts publication, you abandon objectivity and promote the standards-and-testing, industrial school paradigm of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Classroom Technology
Voluntary Online-Teaching Standards Come Amid Concerns Over Quality
Experts are hoping that the new guidelines may help bring clarity and credibility to an industry that some analysts say sorely needs both.
Science
Frustrations Give Rise to New Push for Science Literacy
Scientists and teachers are responding to what they see as a lack of public understanding about the nature and purpose of science.
Federal
Education Earmarks Get Scrutiny
The president seeks to rein in dedicated appropriations but some defend the practice.
Social Studies
Students Frequently Name Blacks, Women as ‘Famous Americans’
Whether the poll shows any change in social studies or pop culture is debated.
Standards & Accountability
Less Improvement Seen in Secondary Schools Using TAP
A leading model for professionalizing teaching and changing the way teachers are paid shows mixed capacity for raising student test scores, a study concludes.
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
‘Ready by 21’ Aims to Prepare Youths
The initiative is intended to help state and local leaders improve education and social services in the first two decades of children’s lives.
Standards & Accountability
Project on Milwaukee Vouchers Shares Baseline Findings
The one-year snapshot found little difference in state test scores between students who use the tuition subsidies to attend private schools and those who attend public schools.
Federal
New Group Formed to Promote Liberal Arts Curriculum
American high schoolers earned a D for their knowledge of history and literature on a recent survey.
Education Funding
Bush Education Budget Inadequate, Spellings Is Told
Democratic leaders say they are willing to wait for a new president to take office who might be more disposed to supporting their priorities.
Federal
Education Gets Short Shrift at Governors’ Winter Session
The long list of priorities that the nation’s governors tackled at their just-concluded annual meeting in Washington barely had room for K-12 education.