October 31, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 27, Issue 10
Reading & Literacy
State, Local Officials Again Find ‘Reading First’ Useful
Despite problems with the implementation of the program—which resulted in several federal investigations and congressional hearings over the past two years—it's worth preserving or expanding, a study found.
Federal
Study Finds No ‘Educational Triage’ Driven by NCLB
Researchers observed that schools identified as having fallen short of their performance goals succeeded in raising achievement for the entire range of students at risk of failing.
Education
Book Review
New in Print
English-language learners, college admissions, Golden books, and more.
School & District Management
School Issues Vary on States’ Ballots
Voters will decide some notable education- and child-related questions when they go to the polls next month.
Classroom Technology
New Orleans Equips High School Students With Laptops
Thousands of public high school students in New Orleans received their own laptop computers this month as part of a $53 million technology initiative.
Education
Clarification
Clarification
An article in the Oct. 10, 2007, issue of Education Week described the University of Chicago Urban Teacher Education Program as “an alternative-certification program.” The program is nontraditional, but those who complete it receive an initial Illinois teaching certification.
Education
Correction
Corrections
An article about Reading First and English-language learners in the Oct. 24, 2007, issue of Education Week should have said that Shelly Spiegel-Coleman is the executive director of Californians Together.
School & District Management
News in Brief
D.C. Mayor Names Schools Ombudsman
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has named Tonya Vidal Kinlow, a former school board member, as the first-ever ombudsman for the District of Columbia’s 50,000-student school system.
Federal
Federal File
FCC Joins Critics of Pundit’s Contract to Push School Law
The Federal Communications Commission has issued a citation to the commentator Armstrong Williams and his company for promoting the No Child Left Behind Act over the TV airwaves.
Federal
News in Brief
Top U.S. Language Official Resigns
Kathleen Leos, director of the office of English-language acquisition in the U.S. Department of Education, resigned last week.
Equity & Diversity
Spanish-Speaking Oregon Students Get Helping Hand
The Oregon Department of Education is looking beyond its borders—well beyond—to encourage Spanish-speaking students to stay in high school.
Student Well-Being
Friday Night Lights Via the Web
If a Wisconsin entrepreneur’s plans take hold, high school sporting events across the state will be shown on an Internet site, with viewers able to tune in to games for a $9.95 monthly fee.
Classroom Technology
Report Roundup
Online Learning in Higher Ed.
Online learning in higher education has grown at an average annual rate of almost 22 percent over the past five years, researchers found.
Education
Report Roundup
Commercialism in Schools
Commercialism is now pervasive in schools, a report contends.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
Home-Based 'Digital Divide'
Young children in families have and use television sets, computers, the Internet, and cellphones more than ever before, but there are significant differences in use based on family income, says a study.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Assistance for New Teachers
Intensive professional-support programs for new teachers help reduce teacher-turnover costs and enhance student learning, a policy brief says.
Assessment
Report Roundup
How NAEP Works
A new guide attempts to unravel the complexities of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Federal
Report Roundup
Research Report: English-Language Learners
The lack of a national standard for how English-language learners are identified and tracked makes it difficult for anyone to know how well such students are doing academically, a study says.
Student Well-Being
Report Roundup
Athlete Drug Testing
The use of random drug and alcohol testing among high school athletes does not deter student-athletes from future drug use, concludes a study.
Student Well-Being
Report Roundup
Elementary Absenteeism
Absenteeism among children in the early-elementary grades is highest in kindergarten and has a positive correlation with poverty, says a study.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Study Examines Leadership Needs
Participants identified young teachers or vice principals already in the school as the best source of future leaders.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Wildfires in California Force School Closings
Schooling was disrupted for students throughout Southern California last week as raging wildfires forced closure of about 300 schools in seven counties and turned some schools into emergency shelters amid a mandatory evacuation of 321,000 people.
Federal
News in Brief
Spellings Announces Grants for Russian Ed. Partnerships
Three American universities will receive $575,000 to establish partnerships with Russian higher education institutions, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said last week in Moscow.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
DREAM Act Falls Short in Senate Procedural Vote
Supporters of legislation that would give some undocumented students a path to legal immigration status failed last week to win the votes needed in the U.S. Senate for the bill to proceed in the legislative process.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Senate Approves Spending Boost for U.S. Education Department
The U.S. Senate approved a measure last week that would provide $150 billion in discretionary spending for the federal departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services in fiscal 2008.
Science
News in Brief
Evolution May Get Specific Mention in Florida State Science Standards
The theory of evolution, not mentioned in the current version of Florida’s state science standards, would be listed as one of seven “big ideas” in a proposed revision of that document.
College & Workforce Readiness
With World Growing Smaller, IB Gets Big
Amid heightened concern about preparing students for a global economy, the academically demanding International Baccalaureate program is catching on fast in U.S. schools.
Student Well-Being
News in Brief
CDC Issues Guidelines for Schools on MRSA
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta, has provided schools and parents with a concise summary of guidelines on how to prevent the spread of drug-resistant staph infections blamed for the deaths of at least four minors in October.
School & District Management
Computer Simulations Hone Leadership Skills
An $11 million executive-training course for principals, modeled after best practices used in the corporate, medical, engineering, and military worlds, is starting to gain traction among states.
