January 22, 2020
Education Week, Vol. 39, Issue 19
States
Polarized Environment Shapes Policy Debates on Key K-12 Issues
How have private school choice and "right to work" laws driven political donations from teachers' unions and education reform groups? New research tries to answer that question, and finds some surprising results.
School & District Management
Opinion
Introducing: A New Series on the Practical Takeaways From Research
In a new series, Heather C. Hill and Susanna Loeb will synthesize the research to see what works and what doesn't in education.
Teaching
Flexible Seating: Collaboration Catalyst or Classroom Disaster?
New classroom arrangements are all the rage in K-12. But experts and educators caution there is more to it than just moving desks around.
School Climate & Safety
Iowa Caucuses Offer Students a Laboratory for Civics Education
With their state’s caucuses the first official marker in the 2020 presidential contest, Iowa teenagers are in a unique position to observe and participate.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
A Quick But Important Test for How Your School Perceives Students
And four strategies for fixing the underlying problems most often laid bare, from Great Schools Partnership’s Craig Kesselheim.
Equity & Diversity
Letter to the Editor
Whitesplaining Segregation
To the Editor:
I was shocked to read the article concerning so-called controversy surrounding mere usage of the term "racial segregation" as it relates to public education ("It's One of the Most Fraught Words in Education. What Does It Mean?" Big Ideas in Education special report, Jan. 8, 2020). There is no area of life within the thoroughly racist, white-supremacist-based U.S. nation-state in which racial segregation is more pronounced and objectively more obvious than in the arena of public education.
I was shocked to read the article concerning so-called controversy surrounding mere usage of the term "racial segregation" as it relates to public education ("It's One of the Most Fraught Words in Education. What Does It Mean?" Big Ideas in Education special report, Jan. 8, 2020). There is no area of life within the thoroughly racist, white-supremacist-based U.S. nation-state in which racial segregation is more pronounced and objectively more obvious than in the arena of public education.
Federal
N.H. Lawmakers Twice Reject Federal Charter School Money
Legislators in New Hampshire turned down $46 million in federal charter school grants, concerned about continued costs once the money ran out.
School & District Management
Will Academia Give Rural Schools the Attention They Need?
A push to open a center devoted to research and professional development for rural K-12 holds promise for educators who work in small, isolated communities.
Federal
Letter to the Editor
Proposed Changes to CRDC Would Hide Troubling Disparities
To the Editor:
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is proposing to eliminate nearly 30 data points from the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), including data pertaining to teacher experience, school finance, and advanced coursework ("Clashing Views On Civil Rights Data Proposal," Nov. 27, 2019). Should these data points disappear, so, too, does the transparency families and communities want and need to be better informed about the quality of schools they desire and support. Research has underscored the importance of teacher experience to student success. Without the CRDC data, we would not know that the percentage of teachers in their first year of teaching is twice as high in school districts with the highest concentrations of Black and Latino students compared to school districts with the lowest percentages of Black or Latino students.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is proposing to eliminate nearly 30 data points from the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), including data pertaining to teacher experience, school finance, and advanced coursework ("Clashing Views On Civil Rights Data Proposal," Nov. 27, 2019). Should these data points disappear, so, too, does the transparency families and communities want and need to be better informed about the quality of schools they desire and support. Research has underscored the importance of teacher experience to student success. Without the CRDC data, we would not know that the percentage of teachers in their first year of teaching is twice as high in school districts with the highest concentrations of Black and Latino students compared to school districts with the lowest percentages of Black or Latino students.
Families & the Community
From Our Research Center
English Fluency Among Parents: Why It Matters for Student Success
How does the lack of fluency in English impact a student's chance for success in school? And what can we learn from new nationwide data on parental fluency?
School & District Management
From Our Research Center
This State Leads the Pack in Nurturing Most Students. Can It Help the Rest?
Massachusetts ranks high in laying the groundwork for moving through its educational system, but officials are keenly aware that children in poverty, those with special needs, and English-learners can fall short.
School & District Management
From Our Research Center
When It Comes to Nurturing Student Success, N.M. Ranks Last. Can It Turn Things Around?
Early-childhood education is a priority for New Mexico, and a first-term governor has approved school funding increases, but the state remains challenged by issues of poverty and educational governance.
School & District Management
From Our Research Center
What Sets the Stage for a Lifetime of Achievement?
Learn more about Education Week’s Chance-for-Success Index, which weighs more than a dozen family, school, and socioeconomic indicators that play into a student’s prospects for positive outcomes.
School & District Management
From Our Research Center
Nation Shows Scant Progress in Assuring Bright Prospects for All Students
For the 13th year, the nation posts C-level grades when it comes to preparing residents for a lifetime of success, Education Week’s latest analysis shows.
School & District Management
From Our Research Center
What's Behind the Grades and Scores?
How does the EdWeek Research Center determine the grades given to states and the nation in the 2020 Quality Counts report? Learn more about the report's grading scale, methodology, and sources.
School & District Management
D.C. Gains Momentum in Boosting Opportunities for Students
The District of Columbia trailed behind most of the country in 2008 in offering students a chance for success. It's now No. 7, the nation’s most improved in that time.
College & Workforce Readiness
What the Research Says
High School Completions on Par for Black, White Students
For the first time in 40 years, the percentage of black 18- to 24-year-olds with a high school credential was nearly the same as that of their white peers, data from the National Center for Education Statistics show, but racial gaps remain for earning an on-time diploma.
English Learners
What the Research Says
Schools in 35 States Offer Dual-Language Programs
Schools now offer dual-language education in 18 languages, according to newly released 2016-17 data from the U.S. Department of Education.
Special Education
Briefly Stated
Briefly Stated: Stories You May Have Missed
A collection of short news stories from this week.
States
From Our Research Center
State Grades on Chance for Success: 2020 Map and Rankings
Examine the grades and scores that states and the nation earned on the Chance-for-Success Index in Quality Counts 2020, along with how they scored on a host of socioeconomic and other indicators that go into those rankings.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Opinion
Sorry, There's No Easy Toolkit for Social-Emotional Learning. But It's Worth the Work
Teaching and modeling good SEL is a lifelong project. Let's not undersell (or underfund) it, write Yale professors Marc Brackett and Diana Divecha.
Teaching Profession
When Teachers Get Sick, Taking Leave Can Be Tough
Even for teachers who aren’t feeling well, a powerful mix of devotion, obligation, and fear often leads them to consider coming to work.