October 8, 2014
Education Week, Vol. 34, Issue 07
Law & Courts
Map: A Wave of State Student-Data-Privacy Legislation
This interactive map gives state-by-state information regarding student data privacy laws in the 2014 legislative year.
School Climate & Safety
Researchers and Schools Diverge in Definitions of Bullying
An effort to reach a common definition of bullying for research purposes could lead to more evidence-based solutions for schools.
Federal
Civil Rights Office May Probe Inequities in K-12 Resources
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan warns that the office may investigate states, districts, and schools that aren't doing enough to ensure equal access.
School Climate & Safety
Analysis Cites Holes in N.Y.'s Teacher-Dismissal Process
New York's due process procedures for teachers are dominated by a focus on teacher rehabilitation, with the end result that even abusive teachers are often fined or suspended rather than fired, according to a newly released analysis.
School & District Management
Chicago's Local School Councils 'Experiment' Endures 25 Years of Change
The unique school governance model that gave local parent-majority boards power to hire and fire principals has had some of its authority diluted over the years.
School Climate & Safety
Education Measures on Ballot in 11 States
School funding, class size, and governance are among the issues facing voters on various education-focused state initiatives, referendums, and amendments.
Data
Ed-Tech Industry Weighs Impact of New Data-Privacy Laws
A California law is one of the most aggressive attempts to balance the promise of digital learning technologies with concerns about the privacy of children's sensitive information.
Assessment
Kindergarten-Readiness Tests Gain Ground
A Maryland classroom offers a look at how educators are pioneering new ways of merging assessment with observation and instruction for K-12's youngest learners.
School & District Management
Popularity Grows Anew for Year-Round Schooling
Behind the recent upswing are grant programs in Michigan and Virginia aimed primarily at reducing time out of school for students from low-income families.
School & District Management
Opinion
K-12 Educators: Are We Listening to Each Other?
Three education leaders discuss how to communicate with colleagues in order to promote risk-free conversations.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Chronic Absenteeism Can Devastate K-12 Learning
Missing school can have a lasting, negative impact on student achievement, write Hedy Chang, John Gomperts, and Leslie Boissiere.
School Choice & Charters
Report Roundup
State Charter Systems Given Rankings
The District of Columbia and Louisiana have the "healthiest" charter school systems, while Oregon and Nevada have the weakest sectors, according to a report.
Special Education
Report Roundup
Research Report: English-Language Learners
English-language learners in special education programs in one district had significantly lower English-proficiency scores than the average for all ell students, a study found.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Fitness and Learning
Elementary school children who exercised for about an hour a day in an after-school program had better brain function and were more focused in class than students who didn't get much physical activity, according to a study.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Student Motivation
Curiosity about a subject really does excite the brain in ways that can make it easier to learn, a study concludes.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
College-Going
A new study finds that 79 percent of high school graduates go to a two- or four-year college by age 20, and that 88 percent enroll by age 26—a much higher proportion than researchers previously thought.
Assessment
Letter to the Editor
Hampshire College President: Grades Are Not Enough
To the Editor:
Imagine going into a performance review with your boss, eager for substantive guidance on how to grow and advance—and being handed a letter or number. Not much of a learning experience, you might think. Yet grades remain the standard for evaluating students' performance.
Imagine going into a performance review with your boss, eager for substantive guidance on how to grow and advance—and being handed a letter or number. Not much of a learning experience, you might think. Yet grades remain the standard for evaluating students' performance.
Standards
Letter to the Editor
Why Supporters of Common Core Are Losing Public Relations Fight
To the Editor:
Over the past year, the war against the Common Core State Standards has escalated, and as a PDK/Gallup Poll recently confirmed, the opposition is winning the public relations battle.
Over the past year, the war against the Common Core State Standards has escalated, and as a PDK/Gallup Poll recently confirmed, the opposition is winning the public relations battle.
Standards
Letter to the Editor
More 'Pilot Study' Would Not Help Rollout of the Common Standards
To the Editor:
In Mike Schmoker's recent Commentary about the Common Core State Standards, he argues that the standards are "not ready" and need a pilot test. There are several issues with this argument, but I will focus on two.
In Mike Schmoker's recent Commentary about the Common Core State Standards, he argues that the standards are "not ready" and need a pilot test. There are several issues with this argument, but I will focus on two.
School & District Management
News in Brief
School Superintendents in Florida Seek Testing Relief From State
Florida school superintendents, saying their districts are being overwhelmed by state-required testing, last week asked the state school board for help.
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
Preliminary SAT to Undergo Changes Next Year
The College Board is rolling out a new Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test next fall and a redesigned SAT in spring 2016.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Russia Halts Exchanges of Students With U.S.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has voiced regret about Russia's decision to cancel its participation in a major high school student- exchange program.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Union Sues N.M. Chief Over Teacher Evaluations
The National Education Association is backing a lawsuit by its New Mexico chapter against state Secretary of Education-designate Hanna Skandera, seeking to invalidate her agency's requirements for evaluating teachers.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Tucson District Delays Police Program in Schools
Tucson city leaders have delayed a program that puts police officers in high schools and middle schools over concerns that officers will ask students about their immigration status as required by Arizona's immigration-enforcement law.
Special Education
News in Brief
Hawaii Is Ordered to Serve Older Students Under IDEA
Hawaii must provide free educational services to more than 1,000 young adults with disabilities who aged out of the state's system.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Threat Leads to Evacuation of Sandy Hook School
A bomb threat called into Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School last week led authorities to order students, including many who lived through the 2012 shootings at the school's original Newtown site, out of its current building.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Teachers' Strike in Illinois Cancels School for Two Days
A teachers' strike in suburban Chicago closed down schools for two days last week in the 17,000-student Waukegan district.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Oversight Panel Refuses to Fund New L.A. Computers
The Los Angeles school district's bond-oversight panel has rejected a move by officials to spend an additional $42 million on new computers.