September 30, 2009
Education Week, Vol. 29, Issue 05
Standards
News in Brief
Maryland Reports State Tests Caused Eleven Students Not to Graduate
Maryland education officials say only 11 students did not graduate this year because they failed to pass state tests.
Education Funding
News in Brief
N.C. Charter Schools Sue for Access to State, Local Capital Funding
North Carolina charter schools want a court to force counties and school districts to consider their requests for the same funds that regular public schools receive for buildings, new buses, and equipment.
Federal
News in Brief
Dell Foundation Donation to Help Create Data System in Texas
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is giving $10 million to help Texas create a $60 million data system to track student performance.
School & District Management
Lemons for Ohio on Slots Revenue
The state high court says legalizing video-lottery terminals must go to the voters, delaying $850 million in projected education revenue.
School & District Management
Questions Raised on New York Test System's Reliability
High pass rates on statewide tests—and the leg-up for New York City—prompt concerns about reliability.
Student Achievement
N.Y.C. Study Finds Gains for Charters
Attending charters from kindergarten to 8th grade found to help close city-suburban test score gap.
Classroom Technology
Report Roundup
Social Networking
Most educators participate in collaborative Web sites, although many say they could use more professional development in how to tap such resources effectively, according to a new survey.
Federal
Report Roundup
Policymakers Find Little Value in Studies
Even though the federal No Child Left Behind Act requires the use of scientific evidence in making a wide range of school-related decisions, a study suggests that policymakers don’t put much stock in that research.
Special Education
Report Roundup
Response to Intervention for ELLs
Response to Intervention, an instructional approach used with struggling students, is being seen as a more effective way than traditional approaches for determining if an English-language learner needs extensive interventions.
Education
Report Roundup
College Readiness
Growing numbers of students are graduating from public high schools in New York City, but the percentage of those who are considered "college ready" remains relatively low.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
High School Counselors
A survey by a national counselors' organization has found that budget cuts are forcing freezes or cutbacks in most high schools' counseling staffs.
Federal
Report Roundup
Dropout Rates
Students living in low-income families are 10 times more likely to drop out of school than those in higher-income families, the National Center for Education Statistics reported last week.
School & District Management
Texas School Board Backs More Inclusion in Social Studies Draft
The state school board tells writers to reinstate holidays and give more prominence to minority figures in the social studies standards.
Education
News in Brief
GAO Faults Agencies on Food-Safety Alerts
Federal authorities failed to tell schools about recalls of potentially tainted foods, and cafeterias may have unknowingly served them to children.
Federal
News in Brief
Gates Broadening 'Race to Top' Aid
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will now offer aid to more states—if they meet eight education reform criteria.
Federal
News in Brief
Louisiana Chief Warns New Diploma May Jeopardize ‘Race to Top’ Chance
Louisiana's superintendent of education says the way the state hammers out its new "career diploma" will determine whether it lands up to $200 million in 'Race to the Top' money.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Teacher Stabbed to Death in Classroom
Todd Henry, a special education teacher at John Tyler High School in Tyler, Texas, died Sept. 23 after being stabbed in a classroom.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Minneapolis Board Approves Plan to Cut Citywide Choice System
In response to years of falling enrollment and multimillion-dollar budget deficits, the Minneapolis school board has approved a downsizing plan that will close four schools and reduce busing.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Stockton Superintendent Fired
The Stockton, Calif., school board has voted to fire Superintendent Anthony A. Amato just more than a year into his tenure.
Ed-Tech Policy
News in Brief
'Diplomas Now' Project Receives $5 Million to Expand Across U.S.
A five-city initiative aimed at providing "wraparound" supports for middle and high school students has received $5 million from the PepsiCo Foundation.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Classroom Teachers Aren't Theoreticians
To the Editor:
Alfie Kohn, in his Sept. 16, 2009, Commentary "The Value of Negative Learning," divides education into two discrete camps: traditional (bad) and progressive (good). But in a 1902 article titled "The Child and the Curriculum," John Dewey wrote that neither side was right. Experience without concepts is superficial, but concepts without immediate connections to experience are useless. Dewey incorporated many of his ideas into his laboratory school at the University of Chicago from 1896 to 1904.
Alfie Kohn, in his Sept. 16, 2009, Commentary "The Value of Negative Learning," divides education into two discrete camps: traditional (bad) and progressive (good). But in a 1902 article titled "The Child and the Curriculum," John Dewey wrote that neither side was right. Experience without concepts is superficial, but concepts without immediate connections to experience are useless. Dewey incorporated many of his ideas into his laboratory school at the University of Chicago from 1896 to 1904.
Education
Letter to the Editor
We All Should Follow Mr. Obama's Example
To the Editor:
What President Barack Obama conveyed to schoolchildren in his Sept. 8 speech was the importance of a positive learning culture ("How Obama's Pep Talk Became a Publicity Headache," Sept. 16, 2009). This is far more important than anything his education initiatives are engineered to address.
What President Barack Obama conveyed to schoolchildren in his Sept. 8 speech was the importance of a positive learning culture ("How Obama's Pep Talk Became a Publicity Headache," Sept. 16, 2009). This is far more important than anything his education initiatives are engineered to address.
Education
Letter to the Editor
K-12 Engineering: More Information on Courses
To the Editor:
As recommended by the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council, whose recent report is described in your article "Panel Wants Engineering Integrated Into Curriculum" (Sept. 16, 2009), multidisciplinary engineering lessons are starting to bloom in classrooms across the country, through a new Academy of Engineering initiative led by the National Academy Foundation, Project Lead the Way, and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.
As recommended by the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council, whose recent report is described in your article "Panel Wants Engineering Integrated Into Curriculum" (Sept. 16, 2009), multidisciplinary engineering lessons are starting to bloom in classrooms across the country, through a new Academy of Engineering initiative led by the National Academy Foundation, Project Lead the Way, and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.
Classroom Technology
Technology Links Students to Fieldwork
Schools are increasingly using blogs, e-mail, and other online tools to bring scientific research within students' reach.
School & District Management
Management Guru Says 'Student Load' Key to Achievement
Higher scores are linked to lowering the number of students to teach and the number of papers to grade.
Federal
New Standards Draft Offers More Details
Disagreements and outside feedback sparked changes for language arts section of 'college- and career-readiness' draft.
Teaching
Hawaii Braces for Educational Impact of Furloughs
The reduction in instructional time resulting from teacher furloughs is likely to exact a harsh toll on student learning, officials say.
School & District Management
Opinion
The Vanishing Innovation
Jeanne Century writes that "sustaining change" must be as important to school reform as "scaling up."