February 7, 2018
Education Week, Vol. 37, Issue 19
School Climate & Safety
Homeschooling: Can It Hide Abuse?
A severe case of child abuse and torture is bringing renewed attention to the mostly hands-off approach states take with home schooling.
Teaching
Opinion
You Don't Have to Be a Boring Teacher
Storytelling doesn't just belong in the English classroom. Nonfiction can energize other subjects, too, writes Joy Hakim.
School & District Management
Opinion
Tech Companies Are Buying Their Own Education Research. That's a Problem
Tech-company-funded research hides the dangers of too much screentime in schools, warns high school teacher Matt Miles.
Every Student Succeeds Act
A Primer on Continuous School Improvement
What is continuous improvement and why are schools and districts jumping on that bandwagon?
School & District Management
Tinkering Toward Better Schools
Educators in Menomonee, Wis., are going all in on "continuous improvement," a strategy that combines constant feedback, experimentation, and problem-solving.
Equity & Diversity
How is Slavery Taught in U.S. Schools? Not Well, Says Study
The lessons many students get on the topic are fragmentary, sentimentalized, or sanitized, argues a 15-state report by a civil rights advocacy group.
College & Workforce Readiness
Do Student Projects Have a Role in College Admissions?
Experts are working with counselors and admissions officers on ways to factor performance assessments into admissions decisions.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
The Bureau of Indian Education Is Broken
The federal government’s record of failing Native American students is long and unacceptable, writes former Montana state superintendent Denise Juneau.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Should States Swap Out Their Tests for the ACT or SAT?
A Florida study urges caution in taking advantage of ESSA's new flexibility on state testing.
Federal
Major Education Research Programs May Be Combined in Budget, Advocates Say
The federal spending plan to be unveiled later this month is likely to combine three significant research programs.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Betsy DeVos: A One-Year Progress Report
The U.S. secretary of education faced a steep learning curve when she took office last year. See how her tenure is shaping up in key issue areas.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Democrats Use Hearing to Hammer DeVos on ESSA Plans
A Senate confirmation hearing for Pres. Trump's nominee to oversee K-12 policy turns into a debate over how well Betsy DeVos is overseeing ESSA implementation.
Federal
Scant Mention of K-12 in Trump's State of the Union Address
A nod to vocational education and a pitch to offer "Dreamers" a path to citizenship got mentions in President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Teachers Are Already 'Reinventing' Themselves
To the Editor:
In his Dec. 11, 2017, Commentary, "Students Must Be Prepared to Reinvent Themselves," Christopher Dede describes an increasing demand for education to better align itself with the growing realities of careers and the workplace. Contained within this call is a need for teachers to rethink and retool their own learning, as well as the learning of their students in response to the press of these realities.
In his Dec. 11, 2017, Commentary, "Students Must Be Prepared to Reinvent Themselves," Christopher Dede describes an increasing demand for education to better align itself with the growing realities of careers and the workplace. Contained within this call is a need for teachers to rethink and retool their own learning, as well as the learning of their students in response to the press of these realities.
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
The Critical Need for Critical Instruction
To the Editor:
On January 17, Education Week covered a recent report released by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education's Clinical Practice Commission (Teacher Beat blog, edweek.org, "Teacher Ed. Group Calls for More High-Quality Student Teaching"). The report, "A Pivot Toward Clinical Practice, Its Lexicon, and the Renewal of Educator Preparation," addressed the preparation of teacher-candidates but omits the instructional preparation of teacher-educators who teach teacher-candidates. The tenets outlined in this report do not challenge conventional classroom pedagogy of rote instruction and learning. To claim, as the AACTE report does, that conventional pedagogy represents a "science" of professional knowledge is to lose the meaning of the term science. The AACTE tenets do not address the need to replace rote instruction with a core body of knowledge for critical instruction and learning. The most important core principle of educator preparation is to practice subject matter critically based on critical reasoning, reading, and writing processes.
On January 17, Education Week covered a recent report released by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education's Clinical Practice Commission (Teacher Beat blog, edweek.org, "Teacher Ed. Group Calls for More High-Quality Student Teaching"). The report, "A Pivot Toward Clinical Practice, Its Lexicon, and the Renewal of Educator Preparation," addressed the preparation of teacher-candidates but omits the instructional preparation of teacher-educators who teach teacher-candidates. The tenets outlined in this report do not challenge conventional classroom pedagogy of rote instruction and learning. To claim, as the AACTE report does, that conventional pedagogy represents a "science" of professional knowledge is to lose the meaning of the term science. The AACTE tenets do not address the need to replace rote instruction with a core body of knowledge for critical instruction and learning. The most important core principle of educator preparation is to practice subject matter critically based on critical reasoning, reading, and writing processes.
English Learners
Report Roundup
Research Report: English-Language Learners
An analysis of national data finds almost 1 in 4 children in the United States speaks a language other than English at home.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Early Childhood
A new study in the journal Child Development suggests a potential exception to infant and toddlers' exposure to screens: family video calls.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
Data Security and Privacy
Many state and local education agency websites aren't disclosing the presence of third-party tracking services, which can use information about users' browsing.
School Choice & Charters
Report Roundup
School Choice
Researchers in a new report zero in on the San Francisco Bay Area for clues on the reasons behind the nationwide slowdown in charter school growth.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Transition
Karolyn Belcher, the president of TNTP, will step down in April after three years at the helm of the teacher-policy and -recruitment group.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Viral Anti-Bullying Video Nets Student Two-Day Suspension
A Tennessee high school student's anti-bullying video has resulted in nearly 600,000 views on YouTube and a suspension for its creator.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Civil Rights Groups Sue Ed. Department Over Rules on Sexual Assault Probes
Several civil rights organizations are suing U.S. Ed. Secretary Betsy DeVos and her agency over its policy on investigating sexual assault on college campuses.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Conn. High Court Strikes Down Funding Lawsuit for Schools
Connecticut's supreme court has struck down a lower-court ruling that deemed the state's school spending formula unconstitutional.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Employees Wrongly Blacklisted in Tucson, Ariz., School District
Hundreds of former employees of Arizona's second-largest district were blacklisted from ever working for the system again.
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
ACT Inc. to Launch Free Service for Students' Test Preparation
ACT Inc. has added a new, free test-preparation service to its lineup.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Head Start Delays Rule for Centers to Run Longer Days and Years
The federal Head Start office is delaying a requirement for its grantees to offer a longer day and year for 4-year-olds.
Classroom Technology
News in Brief
Online Charter School in Ohio Closes Down in Middle of Year
One of the largest full-time online charter schools in the U.S. has shuttered its doors midyear, sending students scrambling to find new schools.
Assessment
Opinion
Hidden Labels Hold Students Back
Here are five questions school and district leaders should be asking to move beyond tracking, write Robin Avelar La Salle and Ruth S. Johnson.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Showdown in Florida Over State's ESSA Plan and Vulnerable Students
The state is under intense scrutiny about how it plans to hold schools accountable for historically disadvantaged groups of students under the new federal law.