April 18, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 33
Federal
Policy Push Redefining High School
Activities to better prepare students for work and college spiked noticeably in the past year, according to a recent survey.
Education
Opinion
Chat Wrap-Up: The Evolution of Educational Technology
Three experts in the area of educational technology answered questions on its progress, or lack thereof, over the past decade.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Writer Not Amused by Gifted Students’ Prank
I was disturbed by your story about the 8th grade “gifties” at Beaubien Elementary School, in Chicago.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Seeing Omissions in Testimony on ELLs
I read the glowing profile of Peter Zamora, the Washington counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, in your April 4, 2007, issue.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Giving Grade-Inflation Prevention Its Due
I would like to offer two observations in response to Perry A. Zirkel’s Commentary.
Reading & Literacy
Opinion
It’s Not Just the Schools
An important variable is missing when analyzing test performance: the leisure habits of teenagers, say Sunil Iyengar and Mark Bauerlein.
Reading & Literacy
Global-Literacy Work at UNESCO Undergoes Shake-Up
The organization is decentralizing with the aim of strengthening literacy efforts in the world’s neediest countries.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Terrorism in Schools: Not So ‘Far-Fetched’
I read with interest your Federal File column about a federal law-enforcement bulletin advising of foreign nationals with suspected extremist group ties who have purchased school buses and/or acquired licenses to drive them.
Education
Letter to the Editor
B.A.s for Pre-K Teachers: Making Them Possible
Consider this: In some states, the person who cuts your hair is required to have more training than the person who teaches your 4-year-old.
States
Push to Repeal Utah Voucher Law Advances
Unions and other opponents submit petitions to force a vote on the country’s first "universal" taxpayer-funded voucher law.
Education
Letter to the Editor
School Funding Reassessed
In a Feb. 28, 2007, letter to the editor, Manny Lopez comments on my and Shikha Dalmia’s Commentary.
States
Florida Legislators Want Rewrite of Content Standards
Lawmakers in Florida are setting their sights on expanding its assessment system to include social studies.
Teacher Preparation
Alternative-Certification Programs Multiply
The number of alternative programs that certify teachers skyrocketed from 12 in 1983 to 485 last year.
Teaching Profession
Teachers’ Training Aids Early Skills
When teachers in child-care and early-childhood programs receive training focused on improving children’s early literacy skills, the language skills of those children improve, according to a federally financed study of children in Florida.
Accountability
Foreign Scholars Eye Issues That Resonate In U.S.
In many countries, disappointing test results have been a major impetus for school improvement efforts.
Federal
Cultures of Commitment
Teachers in the small public high schools cropping up in many U.S. cities find the human dimension of their jobs bringing both strains and rewards.
Professional Development
For Start-Up Teacher, Jam-Packed Routine
Cheyanne Zahrt is a teacher in the Academy for College and Career Exploration, one of five small high schools this city’s school system midwifed starting in 2002.
Teaching Profession
Teacher Panel Calls for Overhaul of Pay Across Profession
The plan calls for paying teachers for the quality and quantity of their contributions to the schools and communities where they work.
Education
Events
13-14—Reading: Annual Conference, sponsored by the International Reading Association, for educators, in Toronto. Contact: IRA, 800 Barksdale Road, P.O. Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714; (800) 336-7323; Web site: www.reading.org/association/ meetings/annual.html.
May
13-14—Reading: Annual Conference, sponsored by the International Reading Association, for educators, in Toronto. Contact: IRA, 800 Barksdale Road, P.O. Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714; (800) 336-7323; Web site: www.reading.org/association/ meetings/annual.html.
Federal
Not All Agree on Meaning of NCLB Proficiency
Because the federal law gives the states the power to define proficiency, there are 50 different definitions of the term.
Federal
Education Trust Offers NCLB Renewal Plan
The Washington-based group Education Trust has advocated keeping accountability strong under the law.
Federal
Advocates Want Bigger Role for Charters Under NCLB
Charter advocates are calling for changes to enhance the sector’s role in providing alternatives for troubled schools.
Assessment
Gaps in Proficiency Levels on State Tests And NAEP Found to Grow
Far greater shares of students are proficient on state tests than on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a study concludes.
Special Education
Audit Raises Concerns on Special Education In BIA-Funded Schools
The BIA cannot account for more than $100 million in funding for students in special education on American Indian reservations, according to a recent audit.
Education Funding
Less Education Aid Sent to War Zones
More than half the world’s school-age children who are not attending school live in conflict-ridden countries, according to a report.
Federal
GAO Finds U.S. Agencies Can’t Keep Track Of Programs Abroad
Federal agencies must improve their efforts to support education overseas if they are to be effective, a report said.
Law & Courts
A National Roundup
Judge Backs Use of Race in Berkeley
A judge ruled in a lawsuit brought against the district, which argued that consideration of race was illegal under the state’s Proposition 206.
School & District Management
A National Roundup
Study Finds Outside Managers Raised State Scores in Phila.
The study comes on the heels of other reports that found students in privately managed schools didn’t perform as well as those in schools that Philadelphia restructured.