August 26, 2015
Education Week, Vol. 35, Issue 02
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
We Must Teach for 'Range' and 'Depth'
When it comes to measuring student ability, not everything that counts can be counted, argues education professor James Nehring.
Privacy & Security
'De-Identifying' Student Data Is Key for Protecting Privacy
Schools and the companies that work with them are being urged to do a better job clearing personal information from student records that are shared with outside organizations.
Student Well-Being & Movement
After Legalization of Marijuana, Colo. Regroups on Drug-Free Message
With changing attitudes about recreational marijuana, state officials are renewing efforts to get teens to stay away from it.
School & District Management
Q&A
First Lady to Tap U.S. Students in Education Equity Campaign for Girls
Michelle Obama's initiative seeks to remove barriers that keep about 62 million girls around the world from attending school.
Families & the Community
Nevada's School Choice Law Encounters Growing Pains
Hundreds of applications pour in as state officials figure out how to manage a program that gives parents a major role in how state K-12 money is spent.
Law & Courts
Wash. State Lawmakers Face Hard Choices on K-12 Finance
Tensions remain among legislators as they seek to hammer out a school funding plan amid $100,000 a day in court-ordered sanctions.
School & District Management
GOP Candidates Forum Puts Education Policy Front and Center
A half-dozen White House hopefuls talk common core, teachers' unions, and the federal role in K-12 at a New Hampshire event.
Special Education
Justice Pursues ADA Action Against Network of Ga. Programs
A scathing U.S. Department of Justice letter alleges discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act by a statewide network of alternative schools.
School & District Management
Opinion
How We Rebuilt New Orleans' Schools 'From Scratch'
Ten years after Hurricane Katrina, the head of New Orleans' Recovery School District, Patrick Dobard, describes how the city is transforming its schools.
School & District Management
Opinion
New Orleans' Path to Education Equity
Former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu: The New Orleans charter school experience offers a model in upending racial inequity.
School Climate & Safety
Letter to the Editor
Schools as Society Surrogate: A Course to Cure Every Ill?
To the Editor:
I just read the online article "Texas Drownings Highlight Calls for Swim Instruction" about the sad spike in the number of children who have died from drowning this summer in Dallas County, Texas.
I just read the online article "Texas Drownings Highlight Calls for Swim Instruction" about the sad spike in the number of children who have died from drowning this summer in Dallas County, Texas.
College & Workforce Readiness
Letter to the Editor
Middle-Schoolers Need Context, Connection in Career Education
To the Editor:
I read with interest "Career-Preparation Programs Take Root in Middle Schools" and agree completely with Jason A. Cascarino, the chief executive officer of the nonprofit Spark, who was quoted in the article. Cascarino argued that we need to meet middle school kids "where they are" as we offer them a sense of various career options.
I read with interest "Career-Preparation Programs Take Root in Middle Schools" and agree completely with Jason A. Cascarino, the chief executive officer of the nonprofit Spark, who was quoted in the article. Cascarino argued that we need to meet middle school kids "where they are" as we offer them a sense of various career options.
Science
Letter to the Editor
As Math Education Changes, Social Media Play a Role
To the Editor:
People often talk about how times are changing when students are taught mathematics differently than were previous generations. But saying that the times are changing for mathematics education is not precise enough. In math ed., the type of change itself is what is changing, and social media may provide one method for keeping up.
People often talk about how times are changing when students are taught mathematics differently than were previous generations. But saying that the times are changing for mathematics education is not precise enough. In math ed., the type of change itself is what is changing, and social media may provide one method for keeping up.
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
Some Why-and-How Questions on Teacher Merit Pay
To the Editor:
Some experts and educational economists would have us believe that rewarding "high performing" teachers with merit pay could improve student achievement. Why? Isn't using value-added modeling to tie teacher performance directly to student achievement a way to expose those educators who are underperforming in comparison with their peers?
Some experts and educational economists would have us believe that rewarding "high performing" teachers with merit pay could improve student achievement. Why? Isn't using value-added modeling to tie teacher performance directly to student achievement a way to expose those educators who are underperforming in comparison with their peers?
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
Linking CEOs and Principals Through Florida Partnerships
To the Editor:
As Education Week reported on last summer and earlier this year, many educators and others are stressing that a key to improving public schools is helping school principals develop the leadership skills often found in successful chief executive officers.
As Education Week reported on last summer and earlier this year, many educators and others are stressing that a key to improving public schools is helping school principals develop the leadership skills often found in successful chief executive officers.
Classroom Technology
Big Hype, Hard Fall for News Corp.'s $1 Billion Ed-Tech Venture
Amplify, the education division of Rupert Murdoch's company, is deeply in the red and on the auction block after its ambitious vision failed to materialize.
Classroom Technology
Timeline: Amplify's Big Flop
When global media giant News Corp. pushed its way into the ed-tech market, the company vowed to transform classrooms and disrupt the K-12 marketplace. Five years later, Amplify, the company's much-hyped education division, is up for sale.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
High Schools Should Start Later, Report Says
Too many high schools and middle schools begin classes too early in the day, according to a report published by the federal Centers for Disease Control.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
School Improvement
Efforts to provide wraparound social and emotional supports in Massachusetts schools may have given elementary students a boost in reading and math achievement, according to a report.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
School Nutrition
School food workers say they need more training and resources to keep up with changes made in the wake of new nutrition standards created under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
Computer Science
Principals and superintendents underestimate how much support there is among parents for teaching K-12 computer science in school, according to a Gallup survey.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Student Health
Notifying parents of a student's bodymass index may not be an effective way to address childhood obesity, a new study has found.
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
Exit-Exam Cancellation Leaves California Students in a Bind
California lawmakers scrambled last week to draft emergency legislation to allow about 5,000 students to graduate even though they lost their last chance to take the state-required exit exam.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Lawsuit: Calif. Fails to Offer Equal P.E. to Minorities
According to the complaint, a number of recent studies have found that black and minority students "are systematically denied quality physical education and are less physically fit than other students in California public schools."
Families & the Community
News in Brief
Board Members at Center of AP History Flap Targeted
A group of Colorado parents and teachers that has been seeking to oust three Republican school board members has collected enough valid signatures to force a recall election against them.
Education Funding
News in Brief
State Forces Milwaukee to Sell Vacant Schools
Historically, the district has been reluctant to sell the facilities to potential competitors that could siphon off its students—and state funding.
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
Texas Attorney General Sues Alleged Diploma Mills
State Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas announced last week that he has sued a Dallas-based group of 13 private schools and their operators, saying they marketed and sold fraudulent diplomas and transcripts.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Charleston Schools Bar Confederate Flag Images
Students may no longer wear clothing, jewelry, or other apparel bearing the image of the Confederate flag, local media report.