January 16, 2008
Education Week, Vol. 27, Issue 19
Student Well-Being
‘The Hurricane Messed a Lot of Us Up’
Settling back in to school has been a struggle for thousands of New Orleans students whose lives were disrupted by Katrina.
Federal
NCLB Once Again a Legislative Target of Minnesota Critics
When the legislature reconvenes next month, state senators will debate whether the state should refuse to follow mandates under the No Child Left Behind Act—potentially forfeiting up to $250 million in annual federal funding.
Student Well-Being
Report Roundup
Evaluating After-School Programs
Outcome evaluations that investigate whether after-school programs are run successfully should be used regularly by staff members and administrators, says a policy brief by Child Trends.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
Digital Youths
Children ages 8 to 10 spend more than six hours a day interacting with some form of digital media, according to a new study.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
UNESCO Report Calls for Ed. Tech. Training
If teachers do not take part in more training in information and communication technologies, they will lack the skills to integrate technology into the classroom and improve student learning, a new report finds.
Student Well-Being
Federal File
Utah School Faces Unusual Challenge Under NCLB Law
Like most schools serving disadvantaged students, West Middle School in Fort Duchesne, Utah, has struggled to meet its student-achievement goals under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Education Funding
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Eyeing Cost of School Finance Revamp
A study requested by the legislature said the state would need to spend $2,500 more per child than it now spends to deliver a quality education.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Teacher Fellowships: Only a Partial Solution
Ultimately, societal attitudes and willingness to invest in teacher preparation and teachers must change if we hope to keep new teachers in the profession.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Accountability Systems Need Many Data Sources
Most current “growth” models for educational accountability fail to address the public’s primary concern about the No Child Left Behind Act’s intense focus on testing: the reduction of curriculum and instruction to “teaching the test.”
Education
Letter to the Editor
Can Government Ever Judge Research Well?
As a political entity, the Education Department and its various offices and divisions should not be in the business of evaluating educational research at all.
Federal
Evidence for Moving to K-8 Model Not Airtight
Research from a recent wave of K-8 conversions suggests that determining what kind of grade configurations are best for students is still a complicated and unsettled matter.
Teaching
Opinion
Can Changing the Discourse Change the School?
Paul Barnwell offers plenty of reasons to resist the education "language rut."
Curriculum
Opinion
Why Markets Are Important (And What They Could Do for Public Education)
Denis P. Doyle comments on the heavy hand of tradition and the lack of entrepreneurial vitality in the education realm.
Federal
Opinion
An Open Letter to the Next President
No area is more in need of reconceptualization than education, James P. Comer writes.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Carnegie Selects Prominent Scholar as New President
Anthony S. Bryk, a nationally known education researcher, has been named the next president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Federal
Opinion
Rural Schools: Growing, Diverse, and ... Complicated
Government has not served rural students well, especially where need is greatest, Rachel B. Tompkins contends.
Reading & Literacy
Massive Funding Cuts to ‘Reading First’ Generate Worries for Struggling Schools
The reduction of more than 60 percent may affect reading coaches, professional-development programs, and instructional materials that are the cornerstones of the Reading First program.
Federal
Tying Cash Awards to AP-Exam Scores Seen as Paying Off
As money-for-achievement programs grow, the debate over whether remuneration works in education and what the trade-offs are sharpens.
School & District Management
Assessment to Rate Principal Leadership to Be Field-Tested
Known as VAL-ED, the tool has been developed by a team of experts to measure leadership behaviors that research has found are associated with student achievement.
Law & Courts
Court Ruling in NCLB Suit Fuels Fight Over Costs
The case’s revival reopens talk of "unfunded" obligations in the federal law.
Federal
Bush Presses NCLB Renewal on His Terms
As the federal law turned 6 years old this month, a top Democrat signaled that he would seek far-reaching changes, while President Bush suggested he would favor less dramatic revisions.
Teaching Profession
Justices Examine Age Disparity in Retirement Systems
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether certain disparities in a state’s public-employee retirement system violate the main federal law against age discrimination.
Federal
Need for Proposed U.S. Public Service Academy Debated
A Teach For America veteran is leading the effort to finance and establish a university that offers a free, four-year degree to students in exchange for five years of postgraduate work in the public sector.
States
New Funding Formula in N.J. Faces Hurdles
New Jersey lawmakers approved a new school funding formula Jan. 7 that would give more money to needy districts outside the state’s large cities.
Teacher Preparation
Guidance Given on Young and Disruptive
A new study finds that support for teachers is key in reducing the number of expelled prekindergartners.