May 14, 2014
Education Week, Vol. 33, Issue 31
Assessment
Swamp Fight: Louisiana's Common-Core Debate, a Timeline
Nowhere has the conflict surrounding the Common Core State Standards been more protracted, high-profile, and complicated than in Louisiana.
Assessment
NAEP Tech., Engineering Test Brings Interactivity
Results from the first administration of the national exam, which is focused on assessing problem-solving skills, will arrive in 2016.
School & District Management
Geovisual Software Use Expands in K-12 Schools
The rapid evolution of the technology is due largely to the rise in the use of mobile devices and the increasing technological savvy of school district administrators.
School Choice & Charters
Public Schools Outperform Private Schools, Book Says
A pair of researchers have published a controversial book reigniting the long-running debate over academic achievement in public vs. private schools.
College & Workforce Readiness
'R U on Track for College?' Texting a New Strategy
To keep seniors on track for college and to avoid the "summer melt" that leads some astray after graduation, some educators are texting them reminders and information.
Student Well-Being
States Tightening Loopholes in School Vaccine Laws
Amid a resurgence in childhood diseases, some states are rethinking provisions that once allowed parents to exempt their children from school vaccine requirements for personal reasons.
Assessment
Time for Testing: 'Right Amount' or Too Much?
A survey finds teachers and administrators are looking more favorably than they did two years ago on the amount of time spent on testing and test prep.
Assessment
NAEP Scores Stall for 12th Graders in Reading, Math
Performance on the national exams has stagnated since 2009, including among racial and ethnic groups, prompting renewed concerns about the persistence of achievement gaps.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Why Integration Matters in Schools
Integration has a positive effect on almost every aspect of education that matters, and segregation the inverse, writes Derek Black.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Hispanics Are Forgotten in Civil Rights History
High school senior Nicholas Dauphine writes that U.S. history has all but erased the struggles of Hispanics against racism.
School & District Management
Samuel Halperin, Leader in Education Policy, Dies at 84
A political scientist and among the architects of landmark Great Society education laws, Samuel Halperin died in Washington May 6.
Data
Redouble Focus on Data Privacy, White House Report Urges
A new report calls for assurances that data collected on students will be used for educational purposes, but is sketchy on how to guarantee that happens.
Law & Courts
Ruling May Reignite Debate on School-Board Prayers
Legal experts split on the implications for school boards after the U.S. Supreme Court upholds prayers before meetings of the town council in Greece, N.Y.
Standards
News in Brief
Political Support for the Common Core
Two new polls show different levels of support for the Common Core State Standards based on political-party affiliation and political viewpoint.
Education
Correction
Correction
A Commentary in the May 7, 2014, issue of Education Week, "Charting a Common-Sense Course for the Common Core," mischaracterized action on the common core and teacher evaluation by the New York legislature. The bill had passed only the lower house, the Assembly.
Science
Obituary
N.Y. Science Hall Leader Remembered as Booster of Informal Science Learning
Alan J. Friedman, a longtime champion of informal science education who served as the director of the New York Hall of Science for 22 years, died May 4.
Education
News in Brief
Transition
Antwan Wilson, the assistant schools superintendent in Denver, will be the new superintendent of the Oakland, Calif., public schools.
States
State of the States
State of the States 2014: Minnesota
Gov. Dayton used his State of the State address to announce a review of all K-12 assessments with a goal of streamlining and reducing standardized testing, to push for expansion of early-childhood education, and to introduce the idea of extending school days and the school year.
Law & Courts
Opinion
Integration: New Concepts for a New Era
School desegregation remains a goal worth pursuing, but by different, more nuanced means than schools used to employ, Leonard Stevens writes.
Law & Courts
Opinion
K-12 Education: Still Separate, Still Unequal
Sixty years after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, racial disparities in schools should be a call to action, writes Leticia Smith-Evans.
School & District Management
Opinion
I, Too, Am America: Making All Students Feel Like They Belong
Graduate student Pierce Gordon writes about words and actions that make some minority students feel unwelcome in school programs and on college campuses.
Law & Courts
In a Small Mississippi City, a Half-Century of Legal Battles
Cleveland, Miss., appears far from getting out from under federal court supervision decades after a desegregation case was filed.
Equity & Diversity
Ky. District 'Keeps Faith' on School Desegregation
Despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down its race-based student-assignment plan, Jefferson County is maintaining diverse schools and improving achievement.
Law & Courts
Federal Enforcement Is Key to Brown Legacy
The Civil Rights Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act continue to offer tools for compliance, amid a shifting legal landscape.
Equity & Diversity
60 Years After Brown, School Diversity More Complex Than Ever
Dramatic demographic changes, shifting court opinions, and housing segregation make school integration a major challenge.
Equity & Diversity
Data: Race and Ethnicity in U.S. Schools Today
Statistics point to changed racial and ethnic enrollment patterns in public schools, 60 years after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed race-based segregation.
English-Language Learners
Report Roundup
Study: Do School Turnarounds Overlook ELLs?
The unique learning needs of English-language learners enrolled in low-performing schools that were targeted for dramatic improvements under a federal school turnaround program were largely overlooked, at least in the early phases of implementation, a new evaluation concludes.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
School Start Times
Two sleep experts are urging policymakers to start the school day later—a move they say is backed by a review of the latest research on school starting times and adolescent health.