April 25, 2018
Education Week, Vol. 37, Issue 28
Teaching Profession
Arizona Teachers Set to Strike Over School Funding and Pay
In a late-night announcement on Thursday, officials from the Arizona Education Association and organizers of the grassroots group Arizona Educators United announced a walkout would take place starting April 26.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Ed. Dept. Policing ESSA Rule Involving Testing, Special Education
Some states have been told they’ll need to change the way they assess students with severe cognitive disabilities because of changes under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
School Climate & Safety
Parents Lash Out at District Over Shooting
During an emotional public safety forum in Broward County, Fla., shaken students and enraged parents and educators demanded fixes for what they consider lax security, district indifference, and failure to act to prevent the mass shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
School Climate & Safety
School Shootings Reverberate on Capitol Hill
Federal lawmakers, especially some from Florida, hear from school officials, educators, and students about ways to secure schools and empower students and staff against school violence.
Assessment
Low Scorers Losing Ground on NAEP
As achievement continues to flatten on NAEP, the gap is widening between the lowest and highest scorers on the nationally representative reading and math tests.
Reading & Literacy
U.S. 4th Graders Surprise on New Exam of Online Reading
Amid worries about digital distractions and "fake news," more than half of students scored "high" or above on a new international assessment of internet reading skills.
School Climate & Safety
Discipline Gaps—and Ways to Close Them—Get Researchers' Attention
Studies on school discipline policies that disadvantage some groups of students over others were a recurring theme at last week's American Educational Research Association meeting. Here is what researchers found.
Every Student Succeeds Act
States Give Short Shrift to School Choice Option in ESSA Plans
An Education Week review shows that few states plan to take advantage of opportunities in the Every Student Succeeds Act to bolster various forms of school choice.
Classroom Technology
Report Roundup
Digital Media
Multitasking with a mobile phone negatively affects students' lecture recall, reading comprehension, and reading speed, finds an analysis presented last week at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Principals' Worries
Among the nation's K-12 principals, getting enough money for schools is a top concern.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
College Admissions
More than two-thirds of colleges see applicants' social-media profiles as "fair game" for consideration in the admissions process, according to survey data released last week by Kaplan Test Prep—and 70 percent of students agreed.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Title I Assistance
A nationwide study of the $15.8 billion Title I program finds that many school leaders aren't making the most of the grant's flexibility.
Early Childhood
Report Roundup
Early Childhood
More young children are enrolled in state-funded early-childhood-education programs across the country, the National Institute for Early Education Research says in its latest annual report, but only Alabama, Michigan, and Rhode Island meet all the organization's new benchmarks for quality.
Reading & Literacy
Obituary
Obituary
Former first lady Barbara Bush, an advocate for early and adult literacy during her time in the White House and afterward, died last week at the age of 92.
College & Workforce Readiness
Job-Market Data Inform Student Career Plans at Ky. School
The staff at iLEAD Academy knows which jobs are in demand locally and how much they pay—and they make sure that students know, too, as they weigh college and career.
Federal
News in Brief
A Believer Still, Bush Stands Tall On NCLB Law
The law he championed has been replaced, but former President George W. Bush sees reasons to stand up for the No Child Left Behind Act.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Ethics Lapses Don't Derail Interim Job From Becoming Permanent in Maryland
The Baltimore County school board voted last week to keep its interim superintendent on a permanent basis, despite ethical lapses.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Amid Walkouts, Charter Fight, Kentucky Chief Forced to Resign
Kentucky education Commissioner Stephen Pruitt, a former science teacher who led the state through an upending of its school accountability system, dramatic budget cuts, and teacher walkouts over pensions, abruptly resigned under pressure last week.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
By Any Other Name, Texas Gives Nod to Mexican-American-Studies Class
Texas' school board has given final approval to a plan to draft standards to guide a class focused on the experiences of Mexican-Americans, but in a decision that riled board members and supporters, it won't be called Mexican-American Studies.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Pen Pal Group Underway for Survivors From Columbine and Stoneman Douglas
Survivors of the deadly shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 are forming a pen pal group with those who survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Appointed School Boards Pass Muster Under Voting Rights Act, Court Rules
A federal appeals court has rejected a challenge under the Voting Rights Act to Chicago's mayorally appointed school board, holding that nothing in the text of the 1965 federal law requires any public office to be elective.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Oklahoma Teachers' Union Shuts Down Walkout, Despite Some Resistance
Oklahoma teachers returned to their classrooms last week, ending a nine-day statewide walkout.
Every Student Succeeds Act
News in Brief
California Officials Agree on Plan to Satisfy Ed. Dept. on ESSA
Two years after the California board of education started working to satisfy the Every Student Succeeds Act, members have agreed to submit a plan.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
2018 National Teacher of the Year Noted for Work With Refugee Students
Mandy Manning, who teaches English and math to newly arrived refugee and immigrant students Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash., was named the 2018 National Teacher of the Year.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Federal Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Administrator in Equal-Pay Case
Ruling in the case of a California administrator, a federal appeals court has issued a landmark decision that prior salary—whether alone or in combination with other factors—may not justify a difference in pay between male and female workers doing the same job.
Federal
Opinion
When It Comes to Public Education, the Nation Is Still at Risk
Betsy DeVos and other political leaders have lost sight of the audacious Reagan-era goal to revitalize education, writes Thomas Toch.
Every Student Succeeds Act
An Interview With DeVos' New Special Ed. Chief
Johnny Collett’s selection to oversee special education for the U.S. Department of Education was a rare point of agreement between the Trump administration and the disability-advocacy community.
Teaching Profession
Costly Pension Plans Are Fanning the Flames of Teacher Unrest
The pressure to rein in costly retirement systems could put more states in the center of policy fights like the one that sparked teacher walkouts in Kentucky.
Assessment
Opinion
What NAEP Scores Aren't Telling Us
It's time to elevate family structure as an influential factor in academic success, argues Fordham Institute fellow Ian Rowe.