June 13, 2012
Education Week, Vol. 31, Issue 35
Federal
A History of Title IX and Boys/Girls Participation Trends
Since its passage, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 has spawned many changes in education. More girls than ever are taking part in school athletics. But most experts and educators say—and the data confirm—that gender equality has yet to be achieved.
Federal
Title IX: New Opportunities for Girls, But Gender Gap Remains
More K-12 girls than ever are involved in sports since passage of the 1972 law, but the gap between boys and girls remains huge.
College & Workforce Readiness
Los Angeles Schools Struggle With Curriculum Overhaul
A long-planned move to tougher high school graduation requirements is proving to be a challenge in Los Angeles.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Charter Hiring
A report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education, at the University of Washington in Seattle, outlines how charter management organizations create coherent school cultures.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Behavior Interventions
A study of children in 37 Maryland elementary schools has found that teachers in schools that implemented schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports reported lower rates of bullying.
School Choice & Charters
Report Roundup
Research Report: Charter Schools
An analysis of Minnesota school data finds enrollment growth in charter schools is slowing statewide after years of rapid increases.
School Choice & Charters
Report Roundup
Catholic Schools
A recent analysis out of New York suggests that the growth of charter schools is a "significant and growing factor" in the declining enrollment in that state's Roman Catholic schools.
Early Childhood
Report Roundup
Early Childhood
To maximize the return on its funding of early-childhood education for disadvantaged youngsters, the federal government ought to encourage states to adopt a "common approach."
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
No College Education, Fewer Job Prospects
Just 27 percent of recent high school graduates without a college education have full-time jobs, according to a new national survey from New Jersey's Rutgers University.
School Climate & Safety
Title IX Promise Unmet for Pregnant Students
Title IX is most often associated with school sports, but the gender-equity law applies to many aspects of schooling.
Curriculum
In Uncertain Times, a Publisher Pushes Digital Transformation
A company's sobering realization that things were quickly changing in a long-unchanged industry was one shared by many attending a meeting of educational publishers.
Education Funding
Districts Experiment With 'Weighted' Funding
Boston, Denver, and Baltimore are among the districts now funding schools based on the numbers and types of students they enroll.
Education
Correction
Diplomas Count Analysis Updated
Because of a change in Ohio's student-enrollment reporting practices, some of the calculations in the print edition of Education Week's Diplomas Count 2012 report are incorrect, including the national graduation rate. The correct four-year U.S. graduation rate for the class of 2009 is 73.4 percent. The graduation rate for Ohio has also been revised upward, to 76.4 percent, for that state's 2009 high school graduates.
Education
Clarification
Clarification
A story outlining Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's education agenda in the June 6, 2012, issue of Education Week referred to an initial plan then-Massachusetts Gov. Romney floated that would have required parents in failing school districts to attend parenting classes in order to enroll their child in full-day kindergarten. The idea faced significant pushback. A subsequent proposal, which would have required at least one parent to participate in a 60-minute orientation class for a child to be enrolled in a state-subsidized early-childhood program, failed to win legislative approval.
Education
Obituary
Fahrenheit 451 Author Ray Bradbury Dies
Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, died June 5 at age 91.
Teaching
Studies Dispute Benefits of Brain Training
A pair of new studies question whether exercises aimed at strengthening working memory can boost brainpower in other ways.
Equity & Diversity
Gender Gaps Persist in STEM Subjects
Girls are no longer shut out of math, science, or career education classes like they were before Title IX, but their participation still lags.
College & Workforce Readiness
IB Program Adds Career-Pathway Certificate
The new initiative, which blends academic and practical skills, is aimed at providing access to a more-diverse student population.
Federal
Opinion
Title IX: The Work Continues
On the eve of Title IX's 40th anniversary, Fatima Goss Graves considers barriers the law has lifted and those that remain on the frontlines of gender bias.
School Choice & Charters
Tax Credit Strategy Fuels Private School Choice Push
Backers say tax credits offer fewer legal red flags than traditional vouchers and could save states and districts cash.
Teaching Profession
Obama Uses Aid, Executive Muscle to Drive Education Agenda
The president can boast of big action on education, though critics weigh in on both sides of the political aisle.
Education Funding
Charter Operators Swoop In for Tenn. Race to Top
Some of the charter-school sector's biggest and best-known operators will open new schools as part of a turnaround push in Tennessee.
Teacher Preparation
Higher Ed. Assesses Training of Teachers for Common Core
Illinois' public and private colleges begin the task of gauging their efforts to train teachers to meet the standards' goals.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Hawaii Students to Rate Teachers
Hawaii's public school students are being asked to rate their teachers as part of a pilot program.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Ed. Dept. Launches College-Savings Plan
A new College Savings Account Research Demonstration Project was unveiled by the U.S. Department of Education last week that is designed to help disadvantaged students pay for higher education.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
N.C. Appeals Court Considers Pre-K Rule
A North Carolina appeals court is weighing whether taxpayers must provide a prekindergarten program that can prepare every eligible at-risk child for school.
Science
News in Brief
Group Says Standards Ignore Computing
The first public draft of common science standards is coming under fire from a coalition that says the document gives short shrift to computer science and its role in the K-12 curriculum.
Education
News in Brief
Low Scores Allowed on Texas H.S. Tests
Texas high school students can pass most of the state's new end-of-course exams this year by answering fewer than half the questions correctly, prompting concerns that the initial standards are not tough enough.