October 8, 2008
Education Week, Vol. 28, Issue 07
Federal
Candidates' Math-Science Ideas Face Limits
McCain and Obama both want to boost teacher training in the subjects, but budget realities may intervene.
Early Childhood
Project Aims to Bridge Neuroscience and Schools
Making brain research on such topics as executive function digestible to educators in the field is a central goal of a cross-disciplinary project underway in Baltimore.
Early Childhood
Preschool Program Focused on Executive-Function Skills Provokes Scholarly Debate
New studies reach different conclusions on the effectiveness of a program, called Tools of the Mind, at preparing children for school.
School & District Management
New Project Details Low-Income Schools' Avenues to Success
A team of visitors descends on a school, armed with video cameras, tape recorders, and piles of interview questions, to find out what the school did to succeed and then posts the case studies on a Web portal.
Federal
Campaign K-12 Notebook
The vice-presidential candidates insert education into their debate, third-party candidates outline their education proposals, and a major campaign comes to a close.
School & District Management
Minnesota Governor Targets Teacher Quality
Gov. Tim Pawlenty's school improvement plan would require that all districts to tie annual teacher pay increases to student performance, and mandate for tighter admission standards for teacher education programs.
School Choice & Charters
Aid Project Targets Gulf Coast Schools
As Roman Catholic schools and parishes across the Gulf Coast region struggle to recover from Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, the National Catholic Educational Association has launched a fundraising campaign to help out.
School & District Management
Board Bus, Plug In, Earn Some Credits
Students in a rural Arkansas district have found a way to put their long bus rides to good use: work on math and science enrichment.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
Information Technology
Technology has greatly improved the quality of life in areas such as education, health care, energy, transportation, and the environment, says a report released by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Federal
Obituary
Former Leader of NAESP Dies
Samuel G. Sava, who led the National Association of Elementary School Principals for nearly two decades, died Sept. 27 in Fairfax, Va.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Superintendent of Md. District to Depart For Leading Position at Gates Foundation
John E. Deasy, the superintendent of the 128,000-student Prince George’s County, Md., school district, is leaving to become the deputy director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s education division early next year.
Federal
Report Roundup
Military Child Care
The United States military is known for providing high-quality child-care programs, but those services might not be reaching all the military families who need them, says a new study from the RAND Corp.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Mass. Appeals Court Upholds Reinstatement of Lowell Teachers
A state appeals court in Massachusetts has upheld the reinstatement with full back pay of three teachers who were fired by the Lowell school district for “failure to demonstrate fluency in English.”
Federal
Report Roundup
Use of Calculators
Calculators’ effectiveness in mathematics classes, long a source of debate, depends in large measure on students’ pre-existing knowledge of basic math, a recent study found.
Education
Correction
Correction
A story in the Sept. 24, 2008, issue of Education Week about research on added time for learning gave an incorrect university affiliation for Steven W. Hemelt and Dave E. Marcotte. They were at the University of Maryland Baltimore County when they published their study.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Education in California
California policymakers should “depoliticize” the student-testing process by creating an “independent scorekeeper” to measure school and student performance and separating those responsibilities from the state education department, says a new report on the state’s education system.
Federal
News in Brief
What Works Clearinghouse Dings 'Accelerated Math' Program
Accelerated Math, a popular middle school mathematics software program, was found to have “no discernible effect” on student achievement in a review by the federal What Works Clearinghouse.
Federal
Report Roundup
Advanced Placement
Students who participated in the Advanced Placement program were more likely to score higher on college-entrance exams, earn college degrees, and make more money after college than non-AP students, but those differences varied significantly among various racial and ethnic groups, a new study says.
Federal
News in Brief
Congress Signs Off on Bill To Protect Children Online
The U.S. Senate last week approved a bill aimed at protecting children when they surf the Internet.
Teaching
Historic Election and New Tech Tools Yield Promising Vistas for Learning
Just as the candidates have learned to use novel technology tools to reach young people during this year’s presidential campaign, teachers are turning to electronic resources to capture students’ interest in the election.
Law & Courts
Federal File
Kennedy Faults Bush Justice Dept.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., has published an article criticizing the Department of Justice’s civil rights division, including its oversight of school desegregation cases and other education issues.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Study Sees Chance to Reverse Enrollment Losses in Nation's Capital
Civic and education leaders could reverse the decline in public school enrollment in the nation’s capital and potentially attract up to 20,000 more students to the city’s public schools by 2015 if they improve academic achievement, expand affordable housing options, and strengthen neighborhoods, a new pair of reports concludes.
Law & Courts
N.J.'s Top Court Wrestles Anew With Funding Issue
State officials ask to have rulings set aside in landmark Abbott v. Burke case; foes say that new funding formula would shortchange poor urban districts.
Federal
Education in Spotlight on Statewide Ballots
Education issues are poised to break through the din of presidential politics and economic anxiety in more than a dozen states next month, as voters confront ballot questions and constitutional amendments involving K-12 policy and school finance.
School & District Management
Fertile Soil for Charters
With backing from foundations and a mayor who champions choice, Newark, N.J., may emerge as a model for other cities seeking to strengthen and expand their charter school sectors.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
America's Crisis of Character—And What to Do About It
"A high-quality character education program produces young people who are both humane and smart," says Sanford N. McDonnell.
Teaching
Opinion
How My 3-Year-Old Taught Me About Education
"Assessments are worthwhile, but we don’t hear many stories of their inspiring students to like school. Exploring and discovering are what inspires," says David Polochanin.
Education
Opinion
Preparing Students for the Flat World
"The current economic crisis and its relationship to the way in which the American economy has adjusted to the 'flat world' provide an opportune context to rethink the purposes of our schools," says Fernando M. Reimers.
Teaching
Opinion
Where Has All the Knowledge Gone?
Schools are failing children—particularly when it comes to math and science, says Jo Boaler.