March 16, 2016
Education Week, Vol. 35, Issue 24
IT Infrastructure & Management
$680 Million Project Spurs Collaboration in Ore. District
When voters approved a huge technology project in Beaverton schools, it was clear that a shift was needed in the district's tech and instruction departments.
College & Workforce Readiness
Study: Drops in Class Rank Affect Student Outcomes
A Chicago study finds that when students who are "big fish" in their neighborhood schools move to higher-achieving ones, they may pay an academic price.
School Climate & Safety
Atlanta District Will Drop City Police, Hire Own Force
Amid scrutiny of the role of school resource officers in public schools, the Georgia school system plans to end its security contract with the Atlanta police department and form its own security team that is “aligned with its social-emotional learning approach,” the district has announced.
Equity & Diversity
Immigrant Influxes Put U.S. Schools to the Test
In St. Cloud, Minn., educators are grappling with language and cultural differences in the city's growing Somali community.
Federal
Early-Ed. Measures Percolate at State, Local Levels
Proposals include a soft-drink tax in Philadelphia to help boost early education and a bipartisan push for expanded pre-K in Minnesota.
Recruitment & Retention
Boston's Revamp of Teacher Hiring Sparks Gains, Costs
The Boston school district's shift to an earlier hiring cycle has improved new-teacher quality, but it has created a larger pool of "excessed" educators, a new study concludes.
Federal
Acting Ed. Secretary Urges Congress to Renew Career-Tech Law
The Perkins Act was last reauthorized in 2006, said Acting U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr., and action is overdue.
School Climate & Safety
Would 'Blockchain' Tech Work for K-12 Schools?
The new technology, which allows for the transmission of data free of a centralized authority, has drawn the curiosity of the ed-tech community.
Reading & Literacy
Opinion
Q&A With David Denby: 'Serious' Reading in the Digital Age
Writer David Denby talks about how he wrote his new book to understand how today's students consume the written word.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
The New SAT Won't Close the Achievement Gap
Disadvantaged students will experience the new SAT very differently from their more-advantaged peers, writes Garrett Neiman of test-prep nonprofit College Spring.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Creating Informed Citizens Should Be Education's Goal
Education is key to raising responsible citizens, writes Arnold Packer, a former assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Labor.
School Climate & Safety
Letter to the Editor
South Korea's 'Top Performance' Numbers Should Not Be Applauded
To the Editor:
As a student from South Korea who is now studying in the United States, I find it surprising that many people here applaud the South Korean education system. The Center on International Education Benchmarking lists South Korea as a "top performer," and even Arne Duncan, the former U.S. secretary of education, has asked why the United States can't be more like South Korea. As a recent Commentary argued, the United States should not blindly applaud and emulate countries that perform well on international assessments.
As a student from South Korea who is now studying in the United States, I find it surprising that many people here applaud the South Korean education system. The Center on International Education Benchmarking lists South Korea as a "top performer," and even Arne Duncan, the former U.S. secretary of education, has asked why the United States can't be more like South Korea. As a recent Commentary argued, the United States should not blindly applaud and emulate countries that perform well on international assessments.
School Climate & Safety
Letter to the Editor
Reimagining Middle School Years to Help Students Overcome Challenges
To the Editor:
Close to 200,000 students in Los Angeles public schools are middle-grades students—5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th graders—who are either launched onto the path to graduation or knocked off track during these years. Although research has definitively shown that experiences in the middle grades have substantial impacts on high school graduation and success in college, not enough attention has been paid to these formative years.
Close to 200,000 students in Los Angeles public schools are middle-grades students—5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th graders—who are either launched onto the path to graduation or knocked off track during these years. Although research has definitively shown that experiences in the middle grades have substantial impacts on high school graduation and success in college, not enough attention has been paid to these formative years.
Standards & Accountability
Letter to the Editor
Using Traditional School Methods to Assess Online Charters Is 'Apples to Oranges' Exercise
To the Editor:
Over the last six months, Education Week news and Commentary have cited a national study of online charter schools conducted by CREDO, Mathematica, and the Center on Reinventing Public Education, raising questions about online charter schools. (See, for example, "Walton Family Foundation: Rethink Virtual Charters" and "Cyber Charters Have 'Overwhelming Negative Impact,' CREDO Study Finds.")
Over the last six months, Education Week news and Commentary have cited a national study of online charter schools conducted by CREDO, Mathematica, and the Center on Reinventing Public Education, raising questions about online charter schools. (See, for example, "Walton Family Foundation: Rethink Virtual Charters" and "Cyber Charters Have 'Overwhelming Negative Impact,' CREDO Study Finds.")
Ed-Tech Policy
Letter to the Editor
Access 4 Learning Executive Defends Company's 'Successful' History
To the Editor:
I write in response to Education Week's article "New Tech Standard Aims to Ease Sharing of Digital Roster Data." The article inappropriately—and with no opportunity for response—quoted Rob Abel, the chief executive officer of IMS Global Learning Consortium, on his inaccurate depiction of Access 4 Learning (A4L) as an organization and its work in roster functionality, which is critical for software applications to be populated with learner information.
I write in response to Education Week's article "New Tech Standard Aims to Ease Sharing of Digital Roster Data." The article inappropriately—and with no opportunity for response—quoted Rob Abel, the chief executive officer of IMS Global Learning Consortium, on his inaccurate depiction of Access 4 Learning (A4L) as an organization and its work in roster functionality, which is critical for software applications to be populated with learner information.
Reading & Literacy
Letter to the Editor
State Reading Bill Invests in Students
To the Editor:
With the recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, key policy decisions about how federal education grant money will be used and what constitutes accountability in performance will soon happen at the state level.
With the recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, key policy decisions about how federal education grant money will be used and what constitutes accountability in performance will soon happen at the state level.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Gifted Education
Racial and economic disparities in the students tested for New York City gifted programs are smaller for children who attended a public prekindergarten, finds a study in the journal Educational Researcher.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
School Nutrition
White female students are more likely to pursue science fields in college if they attended a high school with a high proportion of female math and science teachers, finds a study in the journal Social Problems.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Science Education
White female students are more likely to pursue science fields in college if they attended a high school with a high proportion of female math and science teachers, finds a study in the journal Social Problems.
Mathematics
Report Roundup
Math Education
Algebra 1 is considered a gatekeeper to advanced math in high school, but the students who repeat the course aren't always those who failed it, finds a study presented at the annual meeting this month of the Society for Research in Educational Effectiveness.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Paraprofessionals
Teaching assistants significantly contribute to student achievement, particularly in disadvantaged schools, according to a new study presented this month at the annual conference of the National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Lead Levels Force Shutdown of Newark Water Fountains
School leaders in the Newark, N.J., district ordered water fountains at 30 schools to be turned off after tests found elevated levels of lead in some water samples, state environmental officials said last week.
Classroom Technology
News in Brief
ACLU Blasts District's Plan to Monitor Social Media
Officials from the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama say that a school district's plan to use students' social-media posts to justify disciplinary action or expulsion raises serious First Amendment concerns.
Families & the Community
News in Brief
First Parent-Trigger School Leaves District Oversight
The first school in the country to successfully use a parent-trigger law to become a charter school is leaving the oversight of the district that it has bitterly fought, according to The San Bernardino Sun.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
'Deeper Learning' Approach Linked to Higher Grad Rates
Students who attend schools in networks that focus on "deeper learning" have higher on-time graduation rates, studies find.
Families & the Community
News in Brief
S.C. District Nixes Slavery Assignment
A South Carolina district has scrapped an assignment asking 3rd graders to pretend to be slaves after a parent complained it wasn't appropriate for 8-year-olds at Killian Elementary School in Columbia.
Families & the Community
News in Brief
In Turnaround, Judge Rules No Student Records to Be Released
A federal judge has reversed an order that would have allowed the release of 10 million student records to lawyers tied to a special education lawsuit in California, making the decision after parent protests.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Publisher's Digital Sales Surpass Print Sales
McGraw-Hill Education, one of the largest publishers of textbooks, said sales of its digital content and online programs surpassed print sales for the first time last year.