December 5, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 27, Issue 14
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Teacher Quality
Over the past five school years, California has reduced by nearly a third the number of its teachers who are not adequately prepared to teach, but the state still lacks a coherent system to improve teacher quality, concludes a report.
Teacher Preparation
Grounded in Content
The University of Texas at Austin has built a teacher education model that presents courses through the lens of math and science.
School Choice & Charters
Political Aftershocks From Voucher Vote Continuing in Utah
Hard feelings over the referendum will likely complicate coming legislative skirmishes about money—and might even affect the makeup of the state board of education.
School & District Management
Academy in N.Y.C. Prepares Principals for Toughest Jobs
The role of the New York City Leadership Academy—created by Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein to recruit, train, and support new principals for the city’s toughest schools—has never been more central.
Education
Correction
Correction
A chart that accompanied an article in the Nov. 28, 2007, issue of Education Week misstated the annual salary of a typical Ohio teacher used to calculate pension wealth at certain retirement ages. The correct figure is $78,000.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Parent Preferences for Teachers
Parents at wealthier schools generally tend to consider a teacher’s job satisfaction more important than whether the teacher is a high achiever, but parents from poor schools are more likely to value the teacher’s achievement status above job satisfaction, a recent study found.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Grantmaking and School Choice
About 1,200 politically conservative foundations contributed more than $380 million in grants between 2002 and 2006 to nonprofit organizations and other national institutions that support school choice and school vouchers, concludes a report.
Education
Letter to the Editor
College-Credit Options: Explain the Differences
While it is appropriate for the College Board to have held a national audit of Advanced Placement course syllabuses, instructor qualifications for Advanced Placement teachers are not given the significance that is basic to college teaching.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Time, Connection, and Character Education
Thank you for identifying, in Peter R. Greer’s Commentary “Character Education on the Cheap,” some important critiques of current character education programs.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Florida Will Consider Methods of Protecting Local Investment Fund
Responding to news that assets in a state-run investment pool have been downgraded, Florida state officials were expected to meet this week to consider recommendations for protecting the fund against possible default.
Education
Letter to the Editor
‘New Century’ Critique Draws Evaluator’s Response
My colleagues and I at Policy Studies Associates Inc. wish to respond to inaccuracies in a recent letter to the editor regarding our evaluation of New York City’s New Century High Schools.
Federal
Federal File
YouTube Debate for GOP Avoids Most Ed. Queries
Republican presidential contenders Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney squared off on college tuition for undocumented immigrant students during last week’s CNN/YouTube debate.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Seeing a Glass Half Empty on International Rankings?
Instead of selling bad news through shocking headlines, why not present a reasoned discussion that might lead to a useful look at education issues?
Federal
Report Roundup
NCLB Accountability
About 13 percent of schools overall and 18 percent of Title I schools were identified for improvement under the No Child Left Behind Act during the 2004-05 school year, says a report.
Student Well-Being
Report Roundup
Student Nutrition
Only 11 states have school food and beverage policies that apply to all grade levels and 21 states earned a nutritional rating of F, concludes a report.
School & District Management
Opinion
Reform and the Dynamics of Governance
Improving America’s schools requires more than just changing who’s in charge, Jacob E. Adams Jr. & Robert F. Sexton argue.
Science
Opinion
Hidden Gems for Helping Science Educators
Zach Constan explains how science teachers can become "modern-day Mr. Wizards."
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Surveys Track Online Harassment
Between 10 percent and 34 percent of children in the United States ages 10 to 17 have been harassed on the Internet, according to two separate reports.
Federal
Report Roundup
Study Abroad
The number of U.S. students studying abroad rose by almost 9 percent between the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years to a total of about 220,000, and the increase was fueled, in large part, by a 38 percent increase in enrollment in programs in China, says a report.
Federal
Instructional Model May Yield Gains for English-Learners
One small N.Y.C. public school for immigrant students has a graduation rate that outpaces that of many other public schools in the city.
Special Education
Schools for Deaf Confront Other Disabilities
Members of the deaf education community have not reached consensus on the best placement for students who face severe disabilities in addition to deafness.
School Climate & Safety
Cleveland Schools Get Security Audit Following Shooting
After a 14-year-old student shot and injured two classmates and two teachers before killing himself at a Cleveland high school in October, educators have sought to improve security across the 50,000-student district.
Federal
Opinion
Learning Without Loopholes
With NCLB reauthorization on hold, we should move toward common standards—and fewer excuses, John Merrow argues.
Federal
Demand for New Student-Aid Programs Falls Short
Many eligible students have not taken advantage of two new federal grant programs that help high-performing students from low-income backgrounds pay for college.
Special Education
ADHD Experts Fear Brain-Growth Study Being Misconstrued
Implicit in some of the coverage was the hopeful idea that many children eventually grow out of the disorder. But that’s not exactly true.
Federal
Effort for Education as Campaign Issue Fights for Traction
Most analysts have seen little evidence that the Ed in '08 campaign is succeeding in giving education a high profile in the presidential race.
Federal
Usually Contentious Title I Formula Is No NCLB Barrier
For all of this year’s debate about the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, virtually no one has brought up the question of how best to give out billions of dollars a year under the law.
Education Funding
Cross-Currents Roil School Finance Debate
A top lawmaker is pushing to replace local property taxes for education with a statewide sales tax as the state gears up to fight a lawsuit from school districts over the current funding formula.
Federal
Projects Probe New Media’s Role in Changing the Face of Learning
The Foundation has funded a variety of research-and development projects as part of its digital-learning initiative launched a year ago.
