March 31, 2010

Education Week, Vol. 29, Issue 27
Education Letter to the Editor Civil Rights Enforcement: 'Impact' or 'Treatment'
To the Editor:
The U.S. Department of Education has promised to use “disparate impact” claims to ramp up its anti-discrimination enforcement ("Duncan Vows Tougher Civil Rights Action", March 17, 2010). Such claims are brought against practices that lead to politically incorrect racial results, even if the practices are nondiscriminatory by their terms, in their design, and in their application.
March 30, 2010
1 min read
Education Letter to the Editor The Turning of Diane Ravitch
To the Editor:
Diane Ravitch’s flip-flop on educational ideas and institutions is symptomatic of a larger problem exhibited by the university professoriate in the academic study of education ("Ravitch Lays Out Change of Heart on Earlier Ideas", March 10, 2010).
March 30, 2010
3 min read
Federal Schools Chiefs Give Duncan Earful on ESEA, Race to Top, Standards
State superintendents pose tough questions about flexibility and rural education, but generally support the ESEA-renewal blueprint.
Lesli A. Maxwell, March 30, 2010
5 min read
School & District Management Boys Trail Girls in Reading Across States
In reading proficiency, boys lag by at least 10 percentage points in some states, while girls have caught up in math, a study finds.
March 30, 2010
3 min read
Classroom Technology National Broadband Plan Emphasizes E-Learning, Revisions to the E-Rate
The new FCC report recommends changes to the E-rate program and removal of policy barriers to online learning.
Katie Ash, March 30, 2010
4 min read
Assessment Little Progress Seen in Student Results on Reading NAEP
In the latest administration of the test, 8th graders gained 1 point, while 4th graders' scores were unchanged from 2007.
Catherine Gewertz, March 30, 2010
5 min read
IT Infrastructure & Management Principal-Training Portal Aims for Ease of Use
New Leaders for New Schools offers a range of online professional-development resources through its Effective Practice Incentive Community.
Dakarai I. Aarons, March 30, 2010
6 min read
School & District Management Study: High School Choices Elude Phila. Students
A new report shows that many middle school students do not end up attending their top-choice high schools.
Debra Viadero, March 30, 2010
3 min read
Education Funding Stimulus Aid Yanks States' Spending Leash
Badly needed federal cash requires states to maintain education funding at levels that may be tough to meet.
Michele McNeil, March 29, 2010
6 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion Common Ground on Gender
Lise Eliot and Richard Whitmire, two writers with different perspectives, agree that in learning needs boys and girls are more alike than different.
Lise Eliot & Richard Whitmire, March 26, 2010
4 min read
School & District Management Opinion The Evidence on Race to the Top
Criticism of the federal initiative has been heated and widespread, writes Douglas N. Harris, but are the naysayers right?
Douglas N. Harris, March 26, 2010
6 min read
Education Funding Student-Lending System Made Over in Health Law
Savings will go to shore up the Pell Grant program, but new early-education money failed to make the cut.
Alyson Klein, March 26, 2010
3 min read
Education Opinion Transforming High Schools: Three Forces, Three Ideas
Bill Coplin and Adam Patrick propose three changes that they say could help any high school become a dynamic hub of activities that prepare students for college and careers.
Bill Coplin & Adam Patrick, March 26, 2010
5 min read
Education Unions Object to Proposals on Teachers, Principals
The focus on teacher and principal effectiveness in the Obama administration’s plan for a new ESEA has drawn fire from teachers' unions.
Stephen Sawchuk, March 26, 2010
2 min read
Federal ESEA's Effect on Rural Areas, ELLs, Spec. Ed. Eyed
Rural students, English-language learners, and students with disabilities are drawing interest as Congress weighs rewriting NCLB.
Dakarai I. Aarons, March 26, 2010
2 min read
Education ESEA Plan Would Add 'Well-Rounded Education' Fund
The competitive grants for subjects such as the arts, foreign languages, and history would augment other programs for STEM and literacy.
March 26, 2010
2 min read
Education ESEA Renewal Blueprint Faces Legislative Hurdles
The Obama administration's plan has drawn some early praise, though federal lawmakers have qualms about specific points.
Alyson Klein, March 26, 2010
6 min read
IT Infrastructure & Management Principal-Training Portal Aims for Ease of Use
New Leaders for New Schools offers a range of online professional-development resources through its Effective Practice Incentive Community.
Dakarai I. Aarons, March 25, 2010
6 min read
Social Studies History a Flash Point as States Debate Standards
As Texas, North Carolina, and Ohio rewrite their social studies standards, the expectations around history are stirring controversy.
March 25, 2010
11 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion Is Firing Teachers the Answer?
There's never a school in which every teacher is incompetent, argues Paul Kelleher, so wholesale dismissals risk losing valuable experience and know-how.
Paul Kelleher, March 25, 2010
3 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion Better Mentoring, Better Teachers
Selecting the right teachers, training them well, and giving them the time they need are the keys to mentoring success, writes Dara Barlin.
Dara Barlin, March 25, 2010
6 min read
Assessment NAEP Reading Results Deemed Disappointing
In the latest administration of the test, 8th graders gained 1 point, while 4th graders’ scores were unchanged from 2007.
Catherine Gewertz, March 24, 2010
7 min read
Teaching Opinion Big Ideas and Reform Fatigue
The transformation of schooling as we know it is inevitable, writes Lisa Petrides, but it will have to be led by those who experience daily the problems of the current system.
Lisa Petrides, March 23, 2010
5 min read
School & District Management Chiefs Press Education Secretary on ESEA Issues
State superintendents pose tough questions about flexibility and rural education, but generally support the ESEA-renewal blueprint.
Lesli A. Maxwell, March 23, 2010
6 min read
Teaching Profession Better Mentoring, Better Teachers
Selecting the right teachers, training them well, and giving them the time they need are the keys to mentoring success, writes Dara Barlin.
Dara Barlin, March 23, 2010
6 min read
IT Infrastructure & Management Homegrown Talent Keeps Tech. Repairs In-House
School IT workers earn money for their districts doing computer warranty repairs under company-sponsored programs.
Ian Quillen, March 22, 2010
7 min read
Assessment Big-City Test Scores on Rise, Report Says
A new report from a Washington-based advocacy group for urban districts sees progress among big-city students on state tests and NAEP.
Dakarai I. Aarons, March 22, 2010
4 min read
Science U.S. Gets Poor Grades in Nurturing STEM Diversity
Two new reports focus on ways to spur more females and students from minority groups to pursue studies leading to STEM-related careers.
March 22, 2010
5 min read
Teaching Opinion It's the Classroom, Stupid
Schools will need "a form of shock treatment" to break the cycle of mismanagement in the design and delivery of classroom instruction, writes Kalman R. Hettleman.
Kalman R. Hettleman, March 19, 2010
6 min read