July 20, 2016
Education Week, Vol. 35, Issue 36
Federal
A Persistent Divide: New Federal Data Explore Education Disparities
A deep gulf between the educational experiences of traditionally disadvantaged student groups and their peers on a range of indicators persists in public schools, according to new federal data.
Equity & Diversity
Q&A
Landmark Equity Study Turns 50
The last living co-author of the Coleman study on educational opportunity discusses the legacy of the famous report.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Q&A: U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr.
The U.S. Department of Education's top official discusses the Every Student Succeeds Act, equity, and other education issues.
School Choice & Charters
Vouchers Put Some Parents in Squeeze on Special Ed. Rights
In order to accept vouchers for private schools, parents of students with disabilities generally must waive their children's individual rights to services under the federal special education law.
College & Workforce Readiness
Summer Programs Help First-Gen. College-Goers Brave the Leap
Colleges are working harder to provide summer experiences for top high school students who may be the first in their families to attend college.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Data Looms Large in Quest for New School-Quality Indicator
States are looking hard at what it will take to gather the right information for a new indicator of school quality or student success under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
School & District Management
Longtime Leader in Education Journalism Passes the Baton
Virginia B. Edwards, the editor of Education Week and president of its nonprofit parent corporation, is stepping down later this month.
Classroom Technology
Digital Device Choices Could Impact Common-Core Test Results, Studies Finding
Some test questions are likely harder to answer on tablets than on laptop or desktop computers, presenting a new challenge as states move to online assessments.
Every Student Succeeds Act
States, Districts Eye Chance to Craft Innovative Tests
Buzz builds around a pilot program under the Every Student Succeeds Act that aims to jump-start the next generation of assessments.
School Climate & Safety
Letter to the Editor
Transgender Restroom Debate Draws Readers' Reactions
To the Editor:
I have been a teacher or administrator in public and higher education for 53 years. As I retire from my current position as the dean of the college of education at the University of North Texas, I have a few (admittedly biased) observations about the role of government in education.
I have been a teacher or administrator in public and higher education for 53 years. As I retire from my current position as the dean of the college of education at the University of North Texas, I have a few (admittedly biased) observations about the role of government in education.
Equity & Diversity
Letter to the Editor
Correct Name Pronunciation Aids Classroom Management
To the Editor:
Regarding the article "Bungling Student Names: A Slight That Stings," I spent 11 years of my life as a daily full-time substitute, known as an occasional teacher, in a school district just north of Toronto, Canada, with a large and very ethnically diverse student population. China (mainland and Hong Kong), India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Japan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Russia, and many other countries were represented in the student population.
Regarding the article "Bungling Student Names: A Slight That Stings," I spent 11 years of my life as a daily full-time substitute, known as an occasional teacher, in a school district just north of Toronto, Canada, with a large and very ethnically diverse student population. China (mainland and Hong Kong), India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Japan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Russia, and many other countries were represented in the student population.
Special Education
Letter to the Editor
Less Rigorous 'False' Diplomas Hurt Students With Disabilities
To the Editor:
In his Commentary "Making Sense of High School Graduation Rates," John Gomperts, the chief executive officer of America's Promise Alliance, correctly points out that "giving false diplomas or passing students who aren't ready helps no one." Unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening to students with disabilities in most states.
In his Commentary "Making Sense of High School Graduation Rates," John Gomperts, the chief executive officer of America's Promise Alliance, correctly points out that "giving false diplomas or passing students who aren't ready helps no one." Unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening to students with disabilities in most states.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Letter to the Editor
Educator Sexual Misconduct Targeted by Provision in ESSA
To the Editor:
Thank you for your coverage of the new federal K-12 law, the Every Student Succeeds Act. Your introduction to the article series, "Inside the Every Student Succeeds Act," is absolutely correct in stating that "Now comes the really hard part: implementation." Topics that you covered included "accountability and testing, teacher quality, research, regulation, funding, early-childhood education, and thorny issues involving student groups that often lag behind their peers," as the introduction states.
Thank you for your coverage of the new federal K-12 law, the Every Student Succeeds Act. Your introduction to the article series, "Inside the Every Student Succeeds Act," is absolutely correct in stating that "Now comes the really hard part: implementation." Topics that you covered included "accountability and testing, teacher quality, research, regulation, funding, early-childhood education, and thorny issues involving student groups that often lag behind their peers," as the introduction states.
Ed-Tech Policy
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Ed Tech Should Be Aligned to State Standards
To the Editor:
Amazon recently followed its competitors Apple, Google, and others into the education technology space with the launch of its Inspire platform, an open education resource ("Will Amazon Change the Way Teachers Find Lesson Plans?"). But, so far, there is little evidence that such online portals delivering mountains of lesson materials have done much to improve teachers' instruction.
Amazon recently followed its competitors Apple, Google, and others into the education technology space with the launch of its Inspire platform, an open education resource ("Will Amazon Change the Way Teachers Find Lesson Plans?"). But, so far, there is little evidence that such online portals delivering mountains of lesson materials have done much to improve teachers' instruction.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
Digital Education
Of the thousands of Montana students who turned to a state-run virtual program to make up courses they previously failed, 57 percent passed, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Early-Childhood
New data show that a growing percentage of children, especially those from well-off households, attend center-based care in the year before they attend kindergarten.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
Secondary School
In efforts to keep high school students on track to graduate, an evaluation of the Diplomas Now intervention suggests an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Shortcut Paths to Teaching Linked to Higher Turnover
Alternative-certification programs are bringing in scores more teachers of color, male teachers, and teachers who attended selective colleges than traditional programs. But teachers who enter the profession through such programs also appear to leave it at higher rates—a gap that has grown since 1999.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Teacher Pipeline
High school students are getting less and less interested in becoming teachers, a trend that's picking up speed at an "alarming" rate, ACT Inc. said this month.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Research Report: Curriculum
A study has found that giving middle school math teachers access to inquiry-based lesson plans and online support significantly improved student achievement—and benefited weaker teachers the most.
Federal
Report Roundup
Education Spending
From 1979 to 2013, the growth in corrections spending by states and localities rose by 324 percent, compared with the 107 percent growth rate in money for education over that period.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Martin Blank, the president of the Institute for Educational Leadership, will step down in early 2017. Since 2009, he has led the IEL, where he worked for 25 years.
School & District Management
Obituary
Obituary
Jerome Seymour Bruner, one of the primary drivers of the "cognitive revolution" in psychology in the 1960s and an active scholar, died June 5. He was 100.
Standards & Accountability
News in Brief
La. to Require the Teaching of Cursive Through Grade 12
Starting in 2017, Louisiana students will learn cursive writing in 3rd grade—and they'll keep getting instruction on it through graduation.
Curriculum
News in Brief
Publishers Get Poor Marks on Common-Core Math Texts
The curriculum-review website EdReports.org has released its first round of results for high school math textbooks, and three of the major publishers performed poorly.
Education Funding
News in Brief
N.J. Governor Wants to Send Less Money to Poor Districts
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has proposed to flatten the state's funding formula by equalizing the amount of money it distributes to poor and wealthy students, according to local news media.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Desegregation Program to End in St. Louis Area
The nation's largest and longest-running school desegregation program that has allowed more than 60,000 African-American students in St. Louis to attend suburban schools over several decades will be coming to an end.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Phila. Enacts Beverage Tax to Pay for Prekindergarten
Philadelphia's City Council has voted in favor of a tax on sugar-added and artificially sweetened beverages that is expected to raise $409 million over five years for preschool and other city programs.