September 13, 2017
Education Week, Vol. 37, Issue 04
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
A Teacher's Struggle With Student Anxiety
As anxiety diagnoses soar among students, do teaching methods need an upgrade? wonders one veteran high school teacher.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Senate Bill Blocks Trump, DeVos on K-12 Cuts and School Choice
After-school programs and money to hire and train teachers win a reprieve in a bill moving through the Senate, but voucher and public school choice proposals aren’t so lucky.
Special Education
Legal Tangle Ensnares Case Involving Georgia Special Education Facility
A Justice Department lawsuit alleging that students were sent to segregated and inferior programs is on hold while an appeals court weighs whether the government can file such cases.
Curriculum
Do High School Literature Series Make the Grade?
A Consumer Reports-style review dissects six major textbook series used in America's high schools. Read how they fared.
Federal
K-12 Policy at Play as Two States Pick Governors This Year
The New Jersey and Virginia contests may offer some clues to how education issues may factor into 2018's busy election year, when 36 governors' seats are up for grabs.
School & District Management
Coding, Robotics, Makerspaces Poised to Grow in Schools, Report Says
Researchers consulted 61 education and technology experts to forecast the five-year impact of emerging technologies in K-12 schools.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Don't Stifle Conflict in the Classroom
Students need to learn how to hash out an argument rather than pick a side, argues author Alfie Kohn.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
How Do I Prepare My Students for Jobs That May Soon Disappear?
The rise of automation endangers future job prospects—and makes the work of educators that much harder, writes one teacher.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Parent Advocate Responds to Testing Critique
To the Editor:
As a parent and advocate, I want to get to the heart of Miriam Kurtzig Freedman's recent Commentary ("Have SAT Accommodations Gone Too Far?," Aug. 30, 2017): test validity. What are these tests intended to measure? Many dyslexic students, including my own son, lack the effective ability to decode words but not to comprehend when given effective access to the text. My son only received the necessary accommodation of having the test read aloud after a costly and lengthy battle with the College Board.
As a parent and advocate, I want to get to the heart of Miriam Kurtzig Freedman's recent Commentary ("Have SAT Accommodations Gone Too Far?," Aug. 30, 2017): test validity. What are these tests intended to measure? Many dyslexic students, including my own son, lack the effective ability to decode words but not to comprehend when given effective access to the text. My son only received the necessary accommodation of having the test read aloud after a costly and lengthy battle with the College Board.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Student Wellness
Preschoolers don't eat enough healthy foods or get enough exercise, according to a new study by the Cincinnati Chidren's Hospital Medical Center.
Mathematics
Report Roundup
Research Report: Mathematics
Helping students to categorize different types of word problems can help elementary-age students tackle a common challenge in math class, according to a new analysis of 21 studies in the journal Review of Educational Research.
Assessment
Report Roundup
Research Report: Charter Schools
A new study finds lasting, positive effects for students who attend KIPP's prekindergarten program and then go on to enroll in one of the charter school network's elementary programs.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Chronic Absenteeism
When a large number of students miss school regularly, it affects learning for everyone, even the kids who show up, a new analysis says.
Education
Correction
Correction
A Q&A in the Sept. 6, 2017, issue of Education Week, "What Makes a School Good? It's More Than Test Score," misstated the date of Jack Schneider's previous Commentary, published in 2013. It noted also that he had more than one child and that the Somerville, Mass., district had rec...
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
People Putting Less Faith in Four-Year Degrees, Poll Finds
Americans are increasingly doubting the value of a four-year college degree, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. The poll still tilts in favor of the bachelor's degree, but by the slimmest of margins: Only 49 percent of the 1,200 adults surveyed think that a four-year degree is worth the cost beca...
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Colorado Beefs Up Programs and Staff to Prevent Student Marijuana Use
Colorado has given 42 school districts and charter schools a combined $9.2 million to hire people and craft programs to keep marijuana out of the hands of students.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Chance the Rapper to Honor Educators With Annual Awards Show
Forget movie stars and pop artists—Chance the Rapper wants to honor educators. The Grammy-winning artist from Chicago announced this month that he would organize the inaugural Twilight Awards, "highlighting teachers, parents, principals, and students who convey leadership."
School & District Management
News in Brief
New Jersey Set to Return Control of Public Schools to Newark
Two decades after seizing control of the school system in Newark, New Jersey was expected to return the 40,000-student district to local control this week. Gov. Chris Christie said that the state board of education was to vote this week to make it official. The state took over the district in the mid-1990s, citing y...
Teacher Preparation
News in Brief
New York Charter Authorizer Proposes In-House Teacher Certification
A major charter school authorizer in New York state is pushing to allow teachers at its charters to teach without earning a master's degree or passing certification exams, requirements that other public school teachers must meet.
Ed-Tech Policy
News in Brief
Idaho Pays $3.5 Million to Settle FCC School Broadband Claims
Idaho has repaid the Federal Communications Commission $3.5 million as part of a settlement with the federal agency over claims that the state misused more than $14 million by putting it toward an illegally awarded contract.
Federal
News in Brief
Commission Issues Final Report on Nation's Data Collection
The Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking issued its final report last week, calling for Congress and the White House to modernize the country's infrastructure for collecting and protecting data.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
New York City Students Begin Getting Their Lunches for Free
New York City's public schools started offering free lunch to every student when the new school year started last week.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
Ariz. Petitioners Get Go-Ahead to Take Universal Voucher Issue to Voters
Opponents of Arizona's new universal private school voucher program last week succeeded in blocking the law until voters can weigh in next year, barring a successful court challenge or an outright repeal of the new law by the state legislature.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
DeVos Actions on Title IX, Sex Assaults Could Affect K-12 Schools
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced last week plans to revise Obama-era civil rights guidance on Title IX and sexual assault, a move that could affect elementary and secondary schools.
Education
News in Brief
Transition
Hadar Harris, a human-rights lawyer, is the new executive director of the Student Press Law Center.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Student Well-Being
Aside from Chicago, smaller cities lead the country in the rate of shootings among people younger than 18.
School Climate & Safety
Texas' Educators Tally the Steep Costs of Harvey
Houston education officials estimate it will cost $700 million to repair and replace schools damaged by Hurricane Harvey.
School Climate & Safety
Children's Trauma Lasts Long After Disasters, Studies Show
Long-running research on Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin, Mo., tornado suggest that Texas schools will be dealing with Harvey's aftereffects for years.
Equity & Diversity
With Rollback of DACA, 'Dreamers' in U.S. Schools Prepare for a Fight
With the Trump administration's order to rescind Obama-era protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, students and educators directly affected say they will mount a fight to win permanent legal status.