June 4, 2008
Education Week, Vol. 27, Issue 39
Education
News in Brief
In Poll, Superintendents Express Worry Over Supply of Leaders
The nation is facing a shortage of candidates for district superintendencies, according to a survey scheduled for release this week by the American Association of School Administrators.
Curriculum
News in Brief
Texas State Board Approves English, Reading Standards
The Texas board of education has approved a new set of standards that will be used to create reading and English-language-arts materials for 2010.
Education
News in Brief
Ariz. District Plans to Defy State Law on English Instruction
After seeking advice from the office for civil rights of the U.S. Department of Education, officials from the Sahuarita Unified School District in Arizona have decided to defy a state law that calls for giving students who are new to English four hours of language instruction each day.
Education
News in Brief
After Control Bid By Ohio Governor, Chief Plans Exit
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland called the state’s schools superintendent “one of our nation’s premier education leaders” as she announced her resignation about two months after he criticized her as being neither a leader, an advocate, nor a good manger.
Education
News in Brief
Ga. to Invalidate Results On Social Studies Tests
Georgia education officials have decided to invalidate "implausibly low" results from state social studies tests that a majority of 6th and 7th graders failed.
Assessment
Reading Scores Given ‘Bump’ By Student Incentives, Study Finds
School-based reward programs that offer students incentives as appear to produce improved reading scores across grade levels, preliminary findings from an ongoing research project suggest.
Education
Report Roundup
African-American Achievement
Despite improvement, achievement among African-American students in California still lags.
Education
Report Roundup
Diversity Training
A survey finds that the majority of teachers say their diversity training was inadequate.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Teach for America
A report says more than 60 percent of teachers who started jobs in low-income schools via Teach For America were still in the classroom two years later.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Do Single-Sex Classes Work? Answer: Yes, No, and Maybe
To the Editor:
It is no surprise that single-sex classes have emerged as a school reform that may foster student achievement (“Single-Sex Schooling Gets New Showcase,” In Perspective, May 7, 2008). But single-sex classes are not a silver bullet that will solve all problems associated with student learning.
It is no surprise that single-sex classes have emerged as a school reform that may foster student achievement (“Single-Sex Schooling Gets New Showcase,” In Perspective, May 7, 2008). But single-sex classes are not a silver bullet that will solve all problems associated with student learning.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Supporting Choice Broadly Is in the Public Interest
To the Editor:
The two May 7, 2008, letters to the editor responding to your April 16, 2008, article “Papal Visit Spurs Plea for ‘Saving’ Catholic Schools” missed the point of both the University of Notre Dame’s task force report on Catholic schools and the recent Thomas B. Fordham Institute report “Who Will Save America’s Urban Catholic Schools?” No doubt stinging from the April visit of Pope Benedict XVI and his full embrace of Catholic education, followed a week later by a White House summit convened by President Bush on inner-city faith-based private schools, public school lobbyists are quick to resort to the standard—and now expected—defense of the teachers’ unions.
The two May 7, 2008, letters to the editor responding to your April 16, 2008, article “Papal Visit Spurs Plea for ‘Saving’ Catholic Schools” missed the point of both the University of Notre Dame’s task force report on Catholic schools and the recent Thomas B. Fordham Institute report “Who Will Save America’s Urban Catholic Schools?” No doubt stinging from the April visit of Pope Benedict XVI and his full embrace of Catholic education, followed a week later by a White House summit convened by President Bush on inner-city faith-based private schools, public school lobbyists are quick to resort to the standard—and now expected—defense of the teachers’ unions.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Confronting Race Will Take More Than Teachers, Programs
To the Editor:
Regarding your May 7, 2008, Commentary “If We’re Talking About Race, Let’s Talk About Education”:
Regarding your May 7, 2008, Commentary “If We’re Talking About Race, Let’s Talk About Education”:
Education
Letter to the Editor
Mathematics and Game Playing: Nothing New Under the Sun
To the Editor:
There is truly very little that is new under the education sun, or so many veteran teachers such as I will be more than happy to tell you. Your article on the value to children of playing board games, as a way of developing their math skills, is a case in point ("Playing Games in Classroom Helping Pupils Grasp Math," April 30, 2008.)
There is truly very little that is new under the education sun, or so many veteran teachers such as I will be more than happy to tell you. Your article on the value to children of playing board games, as a way of developing their math skills, is a case in point ("Playing Games in Classroom Helping Pupils Grasp Math," April 30, 2008.)
Education
Letter to the Editor
Accountability That Works: Adding Another ‘Pillar’
To the Editor:
Congratulations to Randi Weingarten for her excellent Commentary "Accountability That Works," which relates the United Federation of Teachers’ proposed four pillars of a new school evaluation system (May 14, 2008). As a 77-year-old semiretired public school veteran, I am delighted that Ms. Weingarten describes so eloquently what all school districts should put in place. There is, however, a fifth pillar, similar to the fourth, central-administration accountability, but distinct: accountability for school boards, mayors, and other officials who appropriate funds for public schools. They must be held to account for the quality of education throughout their respective districts. Our children deserve no less.
Congratulations to Randi Weingarten for her excellent Commentary "Accountability That Works," which relates the United Federation of Teachers’ proposed four pillars of a new school evaluation system (May 14, 2008). As a 77-year-old semiretired public school veteran, I am delighted that Ms. Weingarten describes so eloquently what all school districts should put in place. There is, however, a fifth pillar, similar to the fourth, central-administration accountability, but distinct: accountability for school boards, mayors, and other officials who appropriate funds for public schools. They must be held to account for the quality of education throughout their respective districts. Our children deserve no less.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Essayist ‘Speaks the Truth’ on Status of U.S. Teachers
To the Editor:
Only those who have made a career of teaching can fully appreciate James D. Starkey’s perceptive remarks in his Commentary “Please Don’t Do Me Any Favors” (May 14, 2008). He speaks the absolute truth about the status of public school teachers in American society.
Only those who have made a career of teaching can fully appreciate James D. Starkey’s perceptive remarks in his Commentary “Please Don’t Do Me Any Favors” (May 14, 2008). He speaks the absolute truth about the status of public school teachers in American society.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Performance Assessments and ‘Cockeyed Optimism’
To the Editor:
Peter J. McWalters, Rhode Island’s education commissioner who is stepping down next year, should be commended for adhering to his principles, but condemned for his cockeyed optimism ("Outgoing R.I. Chief Bucked National Push for High-Stakes Tests,” May 7, 2008).
Peter J. McWalters, Rhode Island’s education commissioner who is stepping down next year, should be commended for adhering to his principles, but condemned for his cockeyed optimism ("Outgoing R.I. Chief Bucked National Push for High-Stakes Tests,” May 7, 2008).
School & District Management
Phila. 9th Graders Found to Get Least-Seasoned Teachers
A recently published study shows Philadelphia’s 9th-grade students are more likely than upperclassmen to be taught by inexperienced, uncertified teachers.
Teaching
ACT Test-Prep Backfiring in Chicago, Study Warns
A recent study shows hours of ACT practice may be hurting, not helping, attempts to boost the scores Chicago students.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
School Technology
U.S. teachers use digital content for just a small share of classroom time, according to a survey by Quality Education Data Inc., a market-research company based in Denver.
Education
Report Roundup
Obesity in Young People
A journal study finds the percentage of obese and overweight children has reached a plateau.
Education
Report Roundup
Equity in Developing Countries
Quality of education in developing countries questioned.
Education
Report Roundup
Scholars Put Price Tag On Parent Involvement
A study finds that schools would need to spend $1,000 per student to achieve the results of parent involvement.
Education
Report Roundup
Fears of ‘Boys Crisis’ Called Overstated
A report by the American Association of University Women says fears about a boys being left behind are overstated.
Federal
Federal File
Obama Introduces Bill on STEM Issues
Senator Barack Obama hopes a bill he sponsored will “give students the resources and curriculum they need” to prosper in the future economy.
Education
News in Brief
No Penalty for Test Woes
Officials say Puerto Rico’s Title I funding will not be jeopardized by plans to exempt it from an upcoming National Assessment of Educational Progress test.
Education
Obituary
Plaintiff in Brown Case Dies
Zelma Henderson of Topeka, Kan., was part of the famous desegregation case.
Education
News in Brief
Congressional Republicans Call For Probe of Fraud in Ed. Programs
Leading Republicans in Congress are calling for an investigation of fraud in federal education programs.
Teaching Profession
Teacher-Retention Funding Approved in Mississippi
The legislature in its recently concluded session financed efforts to retain new and veteran teachers, including a $3.4 million program to give experienced educators an extra $1,000 a year, in exchange for serving as mentors to new teachers.
Student Well-Being
‘Systems of Care’ Found to Benefit Troubled Youths
Teenagers involved in “systems of care”—coordinated networks of providers and schools that work to get services to adolescents with mental-health issues—have fewer disciplinary problems, and attend school more regularly within a year and a half of getting services, a government report says.