September 15, 2010
Education Week, Vol. 30, Issue 03
Education Funding
Report Roundup
International Education
The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released its latest annual Education at a Glance report with a new focus on how education has affected global workers during the economic downturn.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
Technology and Math
A summary of findings from a four-year study released early this month suggests that training Algebra 1 teachers in software that lets them monitor students’ work on graphing calculators can lead to better student results on a researcher-designed algebra test.
Education
Report Roundup
Turnaround Offices
School districts need independent offices to manage the work of turning around low-performing schools, according to a new report from the Boston-based Mass Insight Education.
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
Adolescent Literacy
A final evaluation of the federal Enhanced Reading Opportunities program suggests that extra, explicit reading classes can boost reading skills for struggling adolescents, but the short-lived improvements aren’t enough to catch up students who are years behind the curve.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Study Gives K-8 Schools an Edge Over Middle Schools
Researchers found that New York City students lose more academic ground moving to middle schools than they would in a K-8.
Education
News in Brief
2010 Blue Ribbon Schools Announced
The U.S. Department of Education last week named 304 schools—254 public and 50 private—as National Blue Ribbon Schools.
Classroom Technology
News in Brief
First Virtual School in Mass. Opens, Covering All Grades
Massachusetts has launched the state’s first virtual school, the first in New England to serve students from kindergarten through high school.
School & District Management
News in Brief
21st-Century-Skills Group to Move In With the Chiefs
Read more News Briefs
Standards
News in Brief
Largest Achievement Gap Found in Connecticut
A state-appointed commission has announced late last month that the performance gap between low-income Connecticut students and their peers is the largest in the country.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Oregonian Is Middle School Principal of the Year for 2010
Read more News Briefs
Early Childhood
News in Brief
California Raises Cutoff Age for Youngest Kindergartners
California lawmakers have voted to raise the age of the state’s kindergartners by shifting the birthday deadline for 4-year-olds allowed to attend kindergarten from Dec. 2 to Sept. 1.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Agencies Investigate Arizona for Teacher-Fluency Actions
The U.S. departments of Justice and Education have launched an investigation into whether Arizona discriminates against teachers who are nonnative English speakers, state schools Superintendent Tom Horne confirmed to the Arizona Republic last week.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Gifted Education Funding Verges on Elimination
For years, the only financing at the federal level for gifted education has come through the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act, funded at $7.5 million annually for the past few fiscal years.
Teaching Profession
Hope, Caution Vie at R.I. High School
Teachers at a Rhode Island school who were fired and ultimately rehired have returned to their classrooms amid hopes that changes they agreed to will help improve student performance.
Education Funding
N.J. Clings to Agenda Despite Race to Top Loss
The state's governor and lawmakers still hope to move forward on priorities outlined in the state's losing bid for $400 million in federal aid.
Education Funding
Analysis Notes Virtual Ed. Priorities in RTT Winners
The International Association for K-12 Online Learning outlines the 19 finalists' plans to use online learning to achieve federal Race to the Top goals.
School & District Management
Scholars Worry Conflicts Over Data Could Hamstring Future Research
Scholars worry that two high-profile controversies over sharing data on teachers could make it harder to do research on schools.
Education Funding
Tough Work Begins for Race to Top Assessment Winners
With the $330 million in hand, the two consortia head into the next phase of building multipurpose assessments—and consensus.
Education Funding
Race to Top Winners Face Data System Challenges
In some states, key reforms hinge on the effectiveness of data systems that may be in need of significant upgrade.
School & District Management
Education Advocate Robert F. Sexton Dies at 68
Head of Kentucky’s Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, he was long a force in national education policy.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Board Games Can Teach More Than Basics to All
To the Editor:
I read with interest "Study: Board Games Boost Preschoolers' Math Skills" (Inside School Research blog, Aug. 4, 2010). While the article concerns preschool children, I hope you'll also find time to look into the massive progress modern board games have made with all age groups in recent years. Children and adults alike can learn much more than basic math or geography, without even realizing it.
I read with interest "Study: Board Games Boost Preschoolers' Math Skills" (Inside School Research blog, Aug. 4, 2010). While the article concerns preschool children, I hope you'll also find time to look into the massive progress modern board games have made with all age groups in recent years. Children and adults alike can learn much more than basic math or geography, without even realizing it.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Federal 'i3' Funding: Where's the Innovation?
To the Editor:
So the taxpayers just forked over $650 million for the U.S. Department of Education’s “i3” program, the “i” ostensibly standing for “innovation” (“49 Applicants Win ‘i3’ Grants,” Politics K-12 blog, edweek.org, Aug. 4, 2010). Never mind that almost one-third of the funding is going to four established organizations to scale up what they have been doing for at least 15 years, in three of the four cases. Never mind that most of the recipients of the validation grants are involved in “best practices,” the bête noire of education reform. Never mind that, of the 29 development grants, only one is technology-related, the grant to the New York City Department of Education for the School of One project.
So the taxpayers just forked over $650 million for the U.S. Department of Education’s “i3” program, the “i” ostensibly standing for “innovation” (“49 Applicants Win ‘i3’ Grants,” Politics K-12 blog, edweek.org, Aug. 4, 2010). Never mind that almost one-third of the funding is going to four established organizations to scale up what they have been doing for at least 15 years, in three of the four cases. Never mind that most of the recipients of the validation grants are involved in “best practices,” the bête noire of education reform. Never mind that, of the 29 development grants, only one is technology-related, the grant to the New York City Department of Education for the School of One project.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Ways Do Exist to Check Alignment to Standards
To the Editor:
The architects of the common-core state standards are right to be worried about the alignment of curriculum materials to the standards ("Curriculum Producers Work to Reflect Common Standards," Aug. 25, 2010). The fact is that curriculum developers make all kinds of claims about the alignment of their materials to different states’ standards, and these claims are seldom verified in any scientific way. The result is that the materials teachers use are, at best, not as well aligned with the standards as they could be, and, at worst, poorly aligned, leading teachers to teach content not specified in the standards at all.
The architects of the common-core state standards are right to be worried about the alignment of curriculum materials to the standards ("Curriculum Producers Work to Reflect Common Standards," Aug. 25, 2010). The fact is that curriculum developers make all kinds of claims about the alignment of their materials to different states’ standards, and these claims are seldom verified in any scientific way. The result is that the materials teachers use are, at best, not as well aligned with the standards as they could be, and, at worst, poorly aligned, leading teachers to teach content not specified in the standards at all.