October 22, 2008
Education Week, Vol. 28, Issue 09
Families & the Community
Pick a Tuesday—Just Not That One
When schools in Bismarck, N.D., scheduled parent-teacher conferences this school year, some chose a Tuesday instead of a Wednesday so as not to compete with the customary “church night” activities for youths in the capital city. Too bad it turned out to be Election Day.
Teaching Profession
Growth Data for Teachers Under Review
As states’ information-collection systems grow more sophisticated, officials are grappling with where to draw the line on how “value added” data on teachers can be used.
Special Education
Researchers Piloting 'Accessible' Guidelines
Checklist of questions helps test creators avoid needless confusion for students with disabilities.
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
Seeking–and Finding–Good Teaching
"By not paying upfront for meaningful and fair teacher evaluation, we pay later in costs to the profession," writes Julie Sweetland.
Student Achievement
Opinion
Social Promotion or Retention?
Teacher Adam Berlin says schools do great harm to young people by not requiring them to earn middle school graduation.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Nation at Risk Assumptions Are Not Necessarily Today's
To the Editor:
In recalling the contributions of the 1983 report A Nation at Risk ("A Nation at Risk: 25 Years Later," Sept. 24, 2008), we should not forget that its authors had not bought in to the current assumption of standards reformers that secondary education is solely a preparation for college. The report stated: “We must emphasize that the variety of student aspirations, abilities, and preparations requires that appropriate content be available to satisfy diverse needs.” This statement would be dismissed by current reformers as “the soft bigotry of low expectations.”
In recalling the contributions of the 1983 report A Nation at Risk ("A Nation at Risk: 25 Years Later," Sept. 24, 2008), we should not forget that its authors had not bought in to the current assumption of standards reformers that secondary education is solely a preparation for college. The report stated: “We must emphasize that the variety of student aspirations, abilities, and preparations requires that appropriate content be available to satisfy diverse needs.” This statement would be dismissed by current reformers as “the soft bigotry of low expectations.”
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
Other Perspectives on 'Anti-Knowledge' Math
To the Editor:
In her Commentary on the “anti-knowledge movement” and its impact on mathematics teaching, Jo Boaler uses as a case study what she describes as “a [California] school that had changed the math approach it used for years with poor results, to one that engaged students more actively in their math learning” ("Where Has All the Knowledge Gone?," Oct. 8, 2008). But by not naming the school, she continues a pattern of reporting her preconceptions and perceptions as historically accurate. The school is one of three—the pseudonymously named Greendale, to be specific—that she wrote about when she was a professor at Stanford University. ("Study: Teacher-Designed Math Curriculum Is Effective," Feb. 16, 2005.)
In her Commentary on the “anti-knowledge movement” and its impact on mathematics teaching, Jo Boaler uses as a case study what she describes as “a [California] school that had changed the math approach it used for years with poor results, to one that engaged students more actively in their math learning” ("Where Has All the Knowledge Gone?," Oct. 8, 2008). But by not naming the school, she continues a pattern of reporting her preconceptions and perceptions as historically accurate. The school is one of three—the pseudonymously named Greendale, to be specific—that she wrote about when she was a professor at Stanford University. ("Study: Teacher-Designed Math Curriculum Is Effective," Feb. 16, 2005.)
Education
Letter to the Editor
Does Standardized Testing Help More Than It Harms?
To the Editor:
Last November, while laying out his education plan in a speech at a New Hampshire high school, Sen. Barack Obama said, “Don’t tell us that the only way to teach a child is to spend most of the year preparing him to fill in a few bubbles on a standardized test.”
Last November, while laying out his education plan in a speech at a New Hampshire high school, Sen. Barack Obama said, “Don’t tell us that the only way to teach a child is to spend most of the year preparing him to fill in a few bubbles on a standardized test.”
Federal
Opinion
What Can We Learn From L.A.?
"Paying too much attention to short-run change dulls the ability to see longer-range transformation," writes Charles Taylor Kerchner.
Federal
Education Officials Back Down on Some Proposed ELL Mandates
After complaints from the states, federal officials offer more flexible guidelines on a section of the NCLB Act applying to English-language learners.
Federal
American Culture Seen to Thwart Girls' Math Development
New research finds that many countries consistently produce a higher percentage of girls with elite math skills than the United States does, which it attributes to a tendency in American society to discourage girls from pursuing those studies.
Federal
McCain and Obama Tussle on Education
The Oct. 15 event gave school issues their highest profile yet in the the presidential campaign, as the candidates had their first and probably only chance for a face-to-face exchange over education.
School & District Management
Court Mulls Process for Deciding 'Qualified Immunity' of Officials
High court to decide issue of liability for lawsuits that is of interest to educators.
Federal
District on Texas Border Wins Broad Prize for Urban Education
The Broad Foundation honors the district as the nation’s 'best-kept secret' for the achievements of its overwhelmingly poor student population.