May 21, 2008
Education Week, Vol. 27, Issue 38
School & District Management
Opinion
Why We Need ‘Translational’ Research
Mary Brabeck urges adoption of a new paradigm that would foster better working relationships among researchers and classroom practitioners.
Teaching Profession
Revised California Budget Plan Could Blunt Impact on Schools
The cuts to education won’t be as deep as the $4.8 billion originally projected for K-12 schools.
Equity & Diversity
Community Colleges in N.C. Move to Bar Illegal Immigrants
North Carolina’s community college system last week began turning away undocumented immigrants wanting to enroll in credit-bearing classes.
Student Well-Being
Federal File
Food-Allergy Issue Is of Special Interest to One U.S. Senator
A senator who knows firsthand the dangers of food allergies wants to help schools respond effectively to the growing number of children with such problems.
Federal
Groups Urge That FERPA Rules Give Researchers Access to Data
The proposed rules would make it clear that schools can enter into agreements to provide researchers with individual student data, as long as the subject of the research was testing, student aid, or “to improve instruction.”
Teaching Profession
Funding for Higher Teacher Salaries Among Iowa Legislative Actions
Newly approved $75 million will help move the state closer to its goal of reaching the median national salary.
Teaching Profession
Labor Tiff Comes With a Price Tag: $13.2 Million
Nobody’s happy about the union-management standoff that’s left Washington state without a $13.2 million grant from the National Math and Science Initiative to support the teaching of Advanced Placement classes.
Teaching
Learning Essentials
The Core Knowledge approach prizes content across the disciplines, bucking a trend toward a narrower, skills-based approach to learning.
Assessment
Ideas on Creative and Practical IQ Underlie New Tests of Giftedness
Yale University researchers are pilot-testing an assessment for identifying gifted and talented children that taps intellectual skills other than those captured by traditional intelligence tests.
Federal
Opinion
Fixing the Flaw in the ‘Growth Model’
Four education advocates offer their advice for improving NCLB’s ‘growth model’ pilot assessment system. The improvements would be a boon, they write, to schools, states, and the federal law itself.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Collaborative Teaching:
The three authors discovered that they could meet the challenges of No Child Left Behind with a powerful tool learned in their collective 37 years in education: collaborative teaching.
Federal
Colorado Moves Ahead on Ambitious K-12 Package
Measures approved by Colorado lawmakers with strong backing from Gov. Bill Ritter hold potentially big implications for the state’s K-12 education system.
Federal
Spending Bills Would Permit Medicaid Reimbursements
A provision protecting school Medicaid reimbursements was approved as part of a supplemental-spending bill by the House of Representatives.
Education
Letter to the Editor
‘Disrupting’ Public Schools for Competitiveness
The author contends that online education should be embraced by educators, not feared.
Federal
Letter to the Editor
Rhode Island Praise for Outgoing Schools Chief
The state is losing Peter J. McWalters because of conditions beyond his control, the writer argues.
Curriculum
Report Roundup
Economics and Early Learning
Report aims to help policymakers better understand how economic analysis can help improve early-childhood policy.
Curriculum
Report Roundup
Native Americans' Reading
The performance of 4th and 8th graders on the National Assessment of Educational Progress remained the same overall for students who are American Indians or Alaska Natives, study finds.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
School Funding Disparities
Federal, state, and local systems distributing public funds to schools often systematically favor wealthier schools, report finds.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Principals' Views on Bullying
Half of public school principals in a recent survey say bullying is a serious problem in their schools.
Curriculum
Report Roundup
Career Education Urged to Lower Dropout Rate
Report calls for states to align their career and technical curriculum with college-readiness standards.
School & District Management
News in Brief
High Court Refuses Case on Criticism of Superintendent
Court’s refusal to hear the appeal means that the suit will go forward on a First Amendment retaliation claim.
Federal
News in Brief
Online Clearinghouse Offers Help for K-12 History Teachers
The free Web site includes links to journal articles and other historical collections, as well as examples of best teaching practices.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Indiana High Court Throws Out Punishment Over MySpace Page
Court throws out a finding of child delinquency for a middle school student who posted a vulgarity-laced tirade against her principal on MySpace.com.
Education
Opinion
New in Print: Also of Note
The Devil in Dover: An Insider’s Story of Dogma v. Darwin in Small-Town America
Federal
Online Options for 'Credit Recovery' Widen
Under pressure to raise graduation rates, some high schools are turning to online courses to help faltering students.
Assessment
NAEP Gap Continuing for Charters
The latest data on the nation's 4,300 charter schools do not bolster advocates' early hopes that the sector would significantly outperform regular public schools.
Professional Development
‘Book Study’ Helps Teachers Hone Skills
On media-center couches and at conference-room tables, downing Cokes and sipping coffee together, teachers around the country are cracking open books to get better at what they do—and, often, relishing the experience.
Standards & Accountability
Vote Draws Near on Texas Curriculum
The process has been made nettlesome at times, Texas educators and some state board members say, because of a sharp ideological divide on the 15-member state school board.
