September 29, 2010
Education Week, Vol. 30, Issue 05
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
Adolescent Literacy
The federal government should step up its role in promoting strong literacy skills at the middle and high school levels, a policy brief by the Alliance for Excellent Education argues.
Federal
News in Brief
Federal Panel to Explore Fiscal Fairness
The U.S. Department of Education’s blueprint for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act includes a line about seeking greater “fiscal equity” in schools, but few specifics on how to do it. At the behest of two members of Congress, the department is now establishing a 15-member commission to explore that question. It closed the nominations for members this month. The commission will be run by the department’s office for civil rights and is slated to work for about 15 months.
School Climate & Safety
K-12 Implications Seen in Some Cases Before High Court
Tax credits in Arizona and a curb on the sale of violent video games in California are the top two cases with implications for education in the U.S. Supreme Court term that formally begins Oct. 4.
Education Funding
Funders Giving 'i3' Runners-Up Second Look
Promising applicants may find favor as the push to fund innovation continues.
Professional Development
Opinion
'That's Not the Way It Works in Education'
As a new school board member, Matt Winkle learned quickly about the brick walls and frustrations of the job.
Teaching
Opinion
When Pedagogic Fads Trump Priorities
Mike Schmoker writes that popular instructional orthodoxies such as Differentiated Instruction often rest on a shaky foundation.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Small Schools, Big Difference
Findings from New York City's small-schools initiative may portend rapid progress at scale in high school reform, write Michele Cahill and Robert L. Hughes.
School & District Management
Opinion
Question of Values: Are We Learning for Earning—or for Living?
Former teacher, principal, and teacher-educator Jim Haas urges recommitment to the deeper goals of education: informed citizenship and a rich, full life.
Curriculum
Before Texas Panel: 'Pro-Islamic' Textbook Bias
The Texas board of education has approved a resolution warning publishers against "pro-Islamic/anti-Christian distortions."
School Climate & Safety
School Closures Hit Homeless Students Hard, Study Finds
The push to shutter low-performing or financially unsustainable schools is starting to conflict with an even sharper rise in homeless students, research suggests.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Concussion-Prevention Efforts Zero in on School Sports
Rising numbers of head injuries nationwide prompt advocates and lawmakers to launch awareness and prevention measures.
School & District Management
Alabama Squabble Stalls BP Spill Reimbursement
A cut in school aid looms as the governor and attorney general clash in seeking compensation for revenue lost due to the disaster.
School & District Management
Merit Pay Found to Have Little Effect on Achievement
A study finds students whose teachers have a chance to earn bonuses perform no better than those of teachers paid traditionally.