December 5, 2012
Education Week, Vol. 32, Issue 13
Federal
Ed. Dept. Analysis Paints Mixed Picture of SIG Program
Two-thirds of schools that tapped into a new infusion of School Improvement Grant cash made first-year math and reading gains, but a third saw achievement drop.
Standards
Conservative Group Kills Anti-Common-Core Proposal
After much debate, the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, backs off on formal common-core opposition.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Data Evangelists See People Power as Top Priority
The shift in priorities from putting hardware and software in place to figuring out how data are used by actual people is a theme highlighted in a recent Data Quality Campaign report.
College & Workforce Readiness
New Graduation Rates Posted for Most States
For the first time, 47 states and the District of Columbia used a common yardstick to measure high school graduation rates.
Teaching
Opinion
Teacher Collaboration: The Essential Common-Core Ingredient
Helping teachers work together will be essential to the success of the common core, say Vicki Phillips and Robert Hughes.
College & Workforce Readiness
Digital Divide Hits College-Admissions Process
Online resources now dominate the college-admissions process, but disadvantaged students often lack the hardware or the know-how to navigate them.
Education Funding
Striking a Balance in Evaluating Teacher Buying
Some states are enacting policies that give teachers a bigger role in what products and materials they use in the classroom.
Education Funding
Startups Target Teachers as 'Consumerization' of Education Emerges
Education companies market directly to teachers to influence district purchasing decisions.
School & District Management
Arne Duncan Sketches Out 'Long Haul' Agenda
The education secretary aims to tackle teacher and principal quality in President Obama's second term—and maintain momentum from his first.
Federal
Fights Loom on Michigan K-12 Overhaul Proposals
A pair of bills would take aim at the state's school finance model and push a statewide "reform district."
School & District Management
W. Va. Chief's Firing Prompts Pushback
The firing of West Virginia state schools chief Jorea Marple took many in the Mountain State by surprise.
Early Childhood
Opinion
The Half-Day Kindergarten-Common Core Mismatch
Without full-day kindergarten, many students will be at a disadvantage in the common-core era, Laura Bornfreund writes.
Education Funding
News in Brief
61 Districts Named Finalists for Latest RTT Round
Sixty-one of the applications submitted for the $400 million Race to the Top district competition have been selected as finalists.
Assessment
Testing Costs States $1.7 Billion a Year, Study Estimates
Testing costs for the states amount to $65 per student on average nationwide, according to the Brookings Institution's Brown Center on Education Policy.
Education
Correction
Corrections
• A story in the Oct. 12, 2012, issue of Education Week about arts education in Los Angeles provided an incorrect figure for the number of arts specialists in the district. In addition to employing 204 elementary arts specialists, the district also employs 1,014 arts teachers at the secondary level.
School & District Management
Study Finds Housing Aid No Path to Better Education
Researchers say children in the four largest federal housing-aid programs rarely end up with access to better schools.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Early-Career Teachers
A study published in the Elementary School Journal finds that the main reason new teachers leave the profession is not the insane workload or the lack of resources but their principals.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Districts Keep Surplus, Ark. High Court Rules
A sharply divided Arkansas Supreme Court ruled school districts that collect more in property taxes than state-mandated school funding levels can keep the money.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Physical Education
Of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, just 38 require schools to provide students with physical education in elementary, middle/junior high, and high school, according to a report released last month by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and the American Heart Association.
Standards
News in Brief
Social Studies Group To Issue Framework
A framework for social studies standards is moving forward, providing guidelines to states as they rework their own standards in that subject.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Group Trying to Close Subpar Charters
A national organization is urging state legislators to set higher standards for opening charter schools and ensuring that weak ones get shut down.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Many Youths With HIV Unaware of Infection
More than half of 13 to 24 year olds living with HIV don't know they have the disease, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says schools must work harder to prevent HIV's spread.
Assessment
News in Brief
District Status Denied for Memphis Suburbs
A federal judge has ruled that six Memphis, Tenn., suburbs cannot start their own public school systems.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Ethnic Studies Eyed In Ariz. Deseg. Case
After a long, tumultuous fight, a popular Mexican-American studies program is poised for a comeback in Tucson, Ariz.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Funding Call Delayed For Head Start Grants
A decision about whether more than 130 Head Start providers will continue to receive federal funding has been put off until spring.
Standards
News in Brief
State Says Textbooks Not Standards-Aligned
Louisiana is poised to reject every math and reading textbook submitted by publishers in its most recent adoption cycle.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Federal Judge Halts La. District's Vouchers
A New Orleans-based federal judge halted Gov. Bobby Jindal's voucher program saying it conflicts with a decades-old desegregation case.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
Impact of Arrests
A minor student's arrest may be wiped clean at 18, but it may already have permanently harmed his or her chances of graduating from high school and going on to college, according to a new study from the University of Texas at Austin.