October 29, 2014
Education Week, Vol. 34, Issue 10
Education
What Are Edweek.org Readers Saying About the Common Core?
From the start of 2014 through the middle of October, Education Week published more than 120 COMMENTARIES either in print or online. 10 of those focused on the Common Core State Standards.
College & Workforce Readiness
State Initiatives Widen Reach of ACT, SAT Tests
Newly mandated tests are sometimes doing double duty as exit exams or accountability gauges.
Data
School Researchers Use Computer Models to 'Field-Test' Ideas
Increasingly detailed simulations designed to mimic student behavior and learning provide new testing grounds for classroom interventions.
School Climate & Safety
N.Y.C. Schools to Open Doors to Student Cellphones
The country's largest school district plans to end its ban on student cellphones in schools, following the path of a growing number of districts.
Federal
Ed. Startups Get Money, Advice From Federal Program
Operating within the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, the Small Business Innovation Research program has backed the development of dozens of ed-tech companies.
Teaching
Opinion
Teaching the Why, Not Just the What, of Geography
Standards should emphasize the deeper reasoning implicit in geography education, not just learning place names, Phil Gersmehl writes.
School Choice & Charters
Opinion
Ensuring Equity in Charter Schools
The underwhelming performance of many charters should be a call to action, Richard D. Kahlenberg and Halley Potter say.
Federal
Education and the 2014 Election: A Guide to Key Races
Education is front and center in dozens of federal, state, and local contests in this pivotal midterm election year. Here's a selection of key contests to watch on election night.
Education
Correction
Corrections
A story in the special pullout section of the Oct. 22, 2014, issue of Education Week about a personalized learning initiative in South Carolina's Horry County schools misspelled the name of Socastee High School.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Education Spending Yet to Reach Pre-Recession Levels
The majority of states are funding schools below the levels reached a half-dozen years ago, before the Great Recession caused significant budget cuts, according to a report by a Washington think tank.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Southern Youths
A new report on educational attainment and achievement among 15- to 24-year-olds in the South argues that the region needs to build a new "infrastructure of opportunity" that includes stronger middle schools, a new "meld" of high schools and community colleges, and enhanced prekindergarten programs.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
After-School Programs
A burst of interest in after-school programs over the past decade has far surpassed their growth, shutting out millions of families that need a safe place to send their children while parents are at work, concludes a new survey.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Access to Education
Opportunity Nation, a coalition of 300 community organizations, has released its latest Opportunity Index, a Web-based tool that allows users to see their community's performance on 16 different indicators.
Classroom Technology
Report Roundup
E-Learning
Digital learning games have officially gone mainstream, with nearly three-quarters of K-8 teachers saying they use them for classroom instruction, according to a new national survey.
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
Arts Education
Students who attended a live theater performance showed better knowledge of vocabulary words, more tolerance, and an improved ability to read others' emotions when compared with students who did not attend, says a recent study.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Drugs and Accountability
A new study finds that middle and high school students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely than students in poverty to "selectively use stimulants only during the academic year."
School & District Management
Two States Revisit NCLB Tangles After Losing Waivers
For now, Oklahoma and Washington are navigating a bumpy transition back to life under the outdated No Child Left Behind Act.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
No, Teachers Should Not Carry Guns
Educators shouldn't be allowed to carry firearms, writes school principal and licensed gun owner Russ Moore.
Teaching
Letter to the Editor
Reader: Advertisements Show Students Using Improper Pencil Grips
To the Editor:
Recent issues of Education Week included a Renaissance Learning advertisement and an American Reading Company advertisement each showing a student using a very poor pencil grip.
Recent issues of Education Week included a Renaissance Learning advertisement and an American Reading Company advertisement each showing a student using a very poor pencil grip.
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
Cross-Sector Collaboration Can Unite All Types of Schools
To the Editor:
The article "Some Districts, Charters Forge New Partnerships" on state-led charter-district collaboration in Florida was encouraging, but if charter schools truly are to become education innovation labs, robust cross-sector collaboration is the key, and it won't be just charters doing the teaching.
The article "Some Districts, Charters Forge New Partnerships" on state-led charter-district collaboration in Florida was encouraging, but if charter schools truly are to become education innovation labs, robust cross-sector collaboration is the key, and it won't be just charters doing the teaching.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Already-Delayed Teacher-Preparation Rules Pushed Back
The U.S. Department of Education has again delayed its release of proposed regulations requiring teacher-preparation programs to do a better job of identifying weak programs.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
La. District Sells Computers Containing Student Data
At least two computers from a defunct charter school organization in New Orleans that were sold at auction a week ago contained names, birthdates, and Social Security numbers for 210 students.
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
ACT Test Sheets Disappear for 182 Students in Pa.
Test sheets of 182 students who took the ACT college-readiness exam last month at Upper Darby High School in Pennsylvania are missing.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Workers Under Investigation Get Bonuses in Ohio District
Columbus schools Superintendent Dan Good said that Ohio law and state school board policy required the district to pay bonuses last week to administrators who have been implicated in the district's data-rigging scandal.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Arbitrator Rules N.J. District Fired Teacher Prematurely
An arbitrator has sided with a teacher dismissed for "inefficiency" in Newark, N.J., saying the district impermissibly used her review under a pilot teacher-evaluation system as evidence of her performance.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Court Rejects Handcuffing of Elementary Student
A federal appeals court has upheld most of a jury verdict against two police officers and the city of Sonora, Calif., in the handcuffing and transport of an 11-year-old student who was unresponsive at recess.
School & District Management
News in Brief
N.Y.C. Chancellor Replaces Many Superintendents
New York City Chancellor Carmen Fariña has replaced 15 of 42 school superintendents.
Assessment
News in Brief
Under Pressure, Okla. Hires New Vendor to Oversee Tests
Oklahoma officials have steered past a potential crisis by reaching a deal with another company to deliver winter exams used to fulfill high school graduation requirements.