February 3, 2010
Education Week, Vol. 29, Issue 20
Equity & Diversity
School Districts Scramble to Help Homeless Students
Federal law requires that districts help with transportation so students don't have to disrupt their education when their families move.
States
Data Group Turning to Use of Information
Now that most states have built longitudinal systems, a report says, they need to help people make good use of them.
Federal
Education Dodges Obama's 'Freeze' Pledge
The president voiced support for K-12 education in a State of the Union speech that calls for freezing other domestic spending.
Standards
New Critiques Urge Changes in Common Standards
Groups writing the much-anticipated standards want to streamline the latest 200-plus-page draft and make it more user-friendly for educators.
Ed-Tech Policy
Digital Innovation Outpaces E-Rate Policies
The federal program is seen as not keeping up with technological advancements that could help schools.
Education
News in Brief
Dilapidated S.C. School Scheduled To Be Replaced, Officials Announce
Officials in a South Carolina town announced funding for a crumbling school President Obama had cited in a speech nearly a year earlier as an example of how the federal government should help with school construction.
Education
News in Brief
Texas Governor Wants to Tie Licenses to School Enrollment
Gov. Perry said students should have to prove they're enrolled in school and working toward a diploma or a General Educational Development certificate if they want to get and keep a driver's license.
Education
News in Brief
Ala. Case on Racial Bias in Testing For Teachers Ends After 30 Years
A nearly 30-year-old racial-bias case that revamped the way Alabama tests teachers for certification was dismissed last week.
Education
News in Brief
Documentary on Schools' Failings Emerges as Hit at Film Festival
A documentary shown last month at the Sundance Film Festival uses the stories of children in several cities to make the case that American public education is failing.
Education
News in Brief
Center on Technology, Learning Gets Inaugural Federal Funding
The National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies has received a $500,000 congressional appropriation for 2010 for initial launch costs.
Education
News in Brief
Foundation Official Named to Lead Consortium on Chicago Research
The Consortium on Chicago School Research has named Paul Goren, a senior vice president at the Spencer Foundation, as its new director.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
College Gender Gaps
A report says that gaps between men and women in the nation’s colleges and universities have stopped growing in key areas, including enrollment and attainment of bachelor’s degrees.
Education
Report Roundup
Study Finds Teen Pregnancies on the Rise
After declining or leveling off for 15 years, the pregnancy rate among U.S. teenagers rose again in 2006, a report published last week by the Guttmacher Institute says.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
The 'Boys Crisis'
Besides lagging behind girls in academic performance, boys struggle more than girls do with a variety of mental-health issues, according to a new report.
Education
News in Brief
Gates Calls Teacher Grants a Risk
Bill Gates describes his foundation's recent investment in developing evaluation systems to improve teacher effectiveness, saying there is a "high risk" the work could fail.
Education
Report Roundup
Rating Teaching
The level of student engagement in a class is a better measure of teaching success than standardized-test results, according to a survey of nearly 900 teachers.
Education
Report Roundup
Research Report: Charter Schools
Although charter schools have experienced steady and robust growth over the past five years, they're still not in the mainstream of American public education, a new report says.
Education
News in Brief
Michigan Court Rules E-Mails Not Public
E-mail messages from teachers-union leaders don't become public records just because they're contained in a school district's computer system, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
States
State of the States
State of the States 2010: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin
For complete coverage of this year's governors' speeches, check out State of the States 2010.
States
Children's Author Snared in Mix-Up
In their rush to make sure that the author of a book on Marxism didn’t make it into the state’s new lineup of social studies standards, the Texas board of ed. ended up targeting a similarly named children’s author.
School & District Management
Six States Sign On to School Turnaround Project
The multistate effort seeks to remove the barriers that have hindered previous attempts to turn around low-performing schools.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
When Should Students Graduate ... And Who Should Decide?
To restore the value of a high school diploma, writes S.G. Grant, whole communities should have a role in setting and safeguarding standards.
Reading & Literacy
Opinion
The Core Standards for Writing: Another Failure of Imagination?
If adopted, the proposed common-core standards for writing will kill the spirit that produces great literature and nonfiction, Edgar H. Schuster argues.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Rankings Question: Does Money Buy Quality?
To the Editor:
In the 2010 edition of your annual Quality Counts state report cards (Jan. 14, 2010), you rank Florida eighth. But as I read your rankings, it appears that the state would have been higher, except that you ranked it lower because it spends too little on education.
In the 2010 edition of your annual Quality Counts state report cards (Jan. 14, 2010), you rank Florida eighth. But as I read your rankings, it appears that the state would have been higher, except that you ranked it lower because it spends too little on education.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Duncan's First Year Had Familiar Mistakes
To the Editor:
Your article "Duncan Carving Deep Mark on Policy" (Jan. 20, 2010), on U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s first year in office, noted the existence of opposition to his policies. That opposition is grounded in the reality that the Obama administration’s education “reform” proposals have no basis in research or practical experience. In fact, school “restructuring” and extensive privatization in Chicago, where Mr. Duncan previously served as schools chief, and elsewhere have left many students worse off than they were before. People across the political spectrum recognize this.
Your article "Duncan Carving Deep Mark on Policy" (Jan. 20, 2010), on U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s first year in office, noted the existence of opposition to his policies. That opposition is grounded in the reality that the Obama administration’s education “reform” proposals have no basis in research or practical experience. In fact, school “restructuring” and extensive privatization in Chicago, where Mr. Duncan previously served as schools chief, and elsewhere have left many students worse off than they were before. People across the political spectrum recognize this.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Professional Learning: Expand It in AFT Plan
To the Editor:
Educators and policymakers have every reason to applaud American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten’s bold pledge to improve teacher-evaluation systems ("AFT Chief Promises Due-Process Reform," Jan. 20, 2010). But this effort—which also calls for professional development to help ineffective teachers improve their practice—will address the needs of a very small percentage of the teaching workforce. It is time to get serious about ensuring that the 3 million other teachers in the nation’s classrooms are able to engage in regular, team-based, content-rich, and sustained professional learning, which research has shown to help improve student achievement.
Educators and policymakers have every reason to applaud American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten’s bold pledge to improve teacher-evaluation systems ("AFT Chief Promises Due-Process Reform," Jan. 20, 2010). But this effort—which also calls for professional development to help ineffective teachers improve their practice—will address the needs of a very small percentage of the teaching workforce. It is time to get serious about ensuring that the 3 million other teachers in the nation’s classrooms are able to engage in regular, team-based, content-rich, and sustained professional learning, which research has shown to help improve student achievement.