Graduation exams raise special-needs concerns
Washington Times
State schools superintendent calls critics' fears overblown
HARWOOD, Md. | Maryland will this year become the 24th state to require an exit exam for graduation. As the state has slowly phased in its tests, known as the High School Assessments, the national debate continues about them in part because the federal No Child Left Behind law punishes schools that fail to raise test scores.
How NCLB Ignored the Elephant in America's Classroom -- POVERTY
by Jim Trelease
As politician after politician and CEO after CEO have pontificated for 20 years about what is wrong in American schools, all the while offering simple-minded solutions (higher expectations girded by more high-stakes testing), nearly all have ignored the great elephant in the classroom: poverty. Their behavior said, "If we pretend it isn't there, either it will go away or cease to exist." The inherent suggestion in NCLB is that all of that will go away if we just expect more of our teachers and students. That is an insult to both of them and it diminishes the enormity of the problem while doing nothing to solve it.
Under 'No Child' Law, Even Solid Schools Falter
New York Times
By SAM DILLON
Fawzia Keval, the principal of Prairie Elementary in Sacramento, which had not missed a testing target since the No Child Left Behind law took effect. "I'm spending sleepless nights," she said. Required to make a gigantic leap in improving students' test scores, many previously successful schools in California have been sinking.
Showing posts with label Schools News Around the Blogosphere. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Schools News Around the Blogosphere. Show all posts
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Blackman v. District of Columbia
D.C. to Aid Students With Special Needs
Washington Post
Pilot programs aim to make the school system a more welcoming place for children with learning disabilities or behavioral challenges. District officials, under mounting pressure from a federal judge to overhaul special education services in public schools, promised significant improvements over the next year, including the return of some children now in private schools because the city could not meet their needs.
Well-Paid Teachers? I'm on Board
New York Times
By Christine Gralow
When I recently saw an ad for a $125,000-a-year teaching job at a New York City charter school, my first thought was that it must be some sort of phishing scam. Everyone knows teachers don't make $125,000. My second thought was, "Why shouldn't we?"
Students Are No Longer Surpassing Parents' Educational Achievement
Diverse Magazine
by Robin Chen Delos
The American tradition of generational upward mobility is at a standstill, and for some minority groups the younger generation is obtaining postsecondary education at lower levels than older adults, according to a new report released Thursday by the American Council on Education (ACE).
7 proposed Philadelphia charter schools in limbo
Philadelphia Inquirer
Five months after winning conditional approval, seven charter schools are still in limbo, unsure whether they'll get the green light to start school next year, and unable to access grant money awarded them, secure buildings or hire teachers.
financial crisis will cause a huge influx of private school kid
Meltdown may burn public schools
New York Daily News
Public school parents fear the financial crisis will cause a huge influx of private school kids into the already overcrowded public system. Many of the city's 35,000-plus private school students are concentrated in Manhattan's overstuffed Districts 2 and 3.
Layoffs, trims in education, services coming
D.C. to Aid Students With Special Needs
Washington Post
Pilot programs aim to make the school system a more welcoming place for children with learning disabilities or behavioral challenges. District officials, under mounting pressure from a federal judge to overhaul special education services in public schools, promised significant improvements over the next year, including the return of some children now in private schools because the city could not meet their needs.
Well-Paid Teachers? I'm on Board
New York Times
By Christine Gralow
When I recently saw an ad for a $125,000-a-year teaching job at a New York City charter school, my first thought was that it must be some sort of phishing scam. Everyone knows teachers don't make $125,000. My second thought was, "Why shouldn't we?"
Students Are No Longer Surpassing Parents' Educational Achievement
Diverse Magazine
by Robin Chen Delos
The American tradition of generational upward mobility is at a standstill, and for some minority groups the younger generation is obtaining postsecondary education at lower levels than older adults, according to a new report released Thursday by the American Council on Education (ACE).
7 proposed Philadelphia charter schools in limbo
Philadelphia Inquirer
Five months after winning conditional approval, seven charter schools are still in limbo, unsure whether they'll get the green light to start school next year, and unable to access grant money awarded them, secure buildings or hire teachers.
financial crisis will cause a huge influx of private school kid
Meltdown may burn public schools
New York Daily News
Public school parents fear the financial crisis will cause a huge influx of private school kids into the already overcrowded public system. Many of the city's 35,000-plus private school students are concentrated in Manhattan's overstuffed Districts 2 and 3.
Layoffs, trims in education, services coming
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
The Human Factor in Education
by Dorothy Rich
Education is a messy business. I am not talking about the educational "mess" rhetoric that is much in the news. I am talking about the messy quality of even good education. Education is not a sleek, mechanistic enterprise of "I teach and you learn. Instead, education is an emotional set of experiences. That's what makes it so messy
An F School? Depends on How It's Judged
New York Times
By ROBERT GEBELOFF
Grades for New York City schools are determined, in part, by a series of subjective decisions about which factors to use and how to weigh them.
A diploma for every student
Boston Globe
THERE ARE conflicting reports about the state of the public education system in Massachusetts. National data indicate that students are achieving at the highest levels in the country, yet the state Department of Education says that one out of every two public schools in the Commonwealth "needs improvement," and 75 percent of the middle schools and 277 public schools need yet-undefined "restructuring" to meet state MCAS standards.
It's a rough road to a diploma that means something
Providence Journal
Julia Steiny
The best thing about Rhode Island's rigorous new diploma system is its child-friendly spirit. Not that everyone feels that spirit. A newly organized group of parents sees the system becoming outright oppressive to kids, but more on those parents in a moment
Audit gives Detroit PS failing grade
Detroit News
An audit of Detroit Public Schools found serious systemic problems across many facets of the district, including lack of a strategy for raising academic performance, financial systems teetering on the edge of a breakdown and a nonexistent facilities management plan.
Primary school axes spelling tests because they are too 'distressing' for pupils
Daily Mail
Pupils in a Gloucestershire school will no longer be tested because staff believe it leaves them feeling like failures nationwide.
by Dorothy Rich
Education is a messy business. I am not talking about the educational "mess" rhetoric that is much in the news. I am talking about the messy quality of even good education. Education is not a sleek, mechanistic enterprise of "I teach and you learn. Instead, education is an emotional set of experiences. That's what makes it so messy
An F School? Depends on How It's Judged
New York Times
By ROBERT GEBELOFF
Grades for New York City schools are determined, in part, by a series of subjective decisions about which factors to use and how to weigh them.
A diploma for every student
Boston Globe
THERE ARE conflicting reports about the state of the public education system in Massachusetts. National data indicate that students are achieving at the highest levels in the country, yet the state Department of Education says that one out of every two public schools in the Commonwealth "needs improvement," and 75 percent of the middle schools and 277 public schools need yet-undefined "restructuring" to meet state MCAS standards.
It's a rough road to a diploma that means something
Providence Journal
Julia Steiny
The best thing about Rhode Island's rigorous new diploma system is its child-friendly spirit. Not that everyone feels that spirit. A newly organized group of parents sees the system becoming outright oppressive to kids, but more on those parents in a moment
Audit gives Detroit PS failing grade
Detroit News
An audit of Detroit Public Schools found serious systemic problems across many facets of the district, including lack of a strategy for raising academic performance, financial systems teetering on the edge of a breakdown and a nonexistent facilities management plan.
Primary school axes spelling tests because they are too 'distressing' for pupils
Daily Mail
Pupils in a Gloucestershire school will no longer be tested because staff believe it leaves them feeling like failures nationwide.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Bush Official Seeks Renewed Support for 'No Child'
By Washington Post Published Today Daily EdNews , K-12 , No Child Left Behind Rating:
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings today sought to reinvigorate support for the No Child Left Behind law even as the two major-party presidential candidates have distanced themselves from it. She contended the law has helped improve public education and should be strengthened.
On Obama: Why the Democratic Candidate Is Right About Education
New York Times
By BRUCE FULLER
Barack Obama understands that top-down government regulation is strangling innovation inside schools.
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/on-obama-why-the-democratic-candidate-is-wrong-to-blindly-throw-money-into-schools/index.html?ref=opinion
New York Times
By LANCE T. IZUMI
Common wisdom is that technology in the classroom improves student learning and achievement. But the evidence is far from clear.
District spent $1,116,000 on attorney fees!
School Board Settles Lawsuit Brought by Family of Autistic Student
The Ledger
For the past four years, Bill and Janie Sammons have fought the Polk County School District, contending that their autistic son, Drew, was never given a proper education
New Effort Aims to Test Theories of Education
New York Times
By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ
A $44 million program called the Educational Innovation Laboratory is intended to infuse education with the data-driven approach that is common in science and business
Denver PS takes hit on bond refinance
Denver Post
Denver Public Schools' pension plan was pulled into the financial crisis on Wall Street this week when a dearth of buyers at a bond sale cost the fund "hundreds of thousands" of dollars in increased interest payments. The DPS fund has reserves to cover the increased interest and neither taxpayers nor pensioners are likely to notice. But the fund's inability to find investors for a week is just one example of how the tightening of credit markets could impact local governments should it continue or worsen
By Washington Post Published Today Daily EdNews , K-12 , No Child Left Behind Rating:
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings today sought to reinvigorate support for the No Child Left Behind law even as the two major-party presidential candidates have distanced themselves from it. She contended the law has helped improve public education and should be strengthened.
On Obama: Why the Democratic Candidate Is Right About Education
New York Times
By BRUCE FULLER
Barack Obama understands that top-down government regulation is strangling innovation inside schools.
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/on-obama-why-the-democratic-candidate-is-wrong-to-blindly-throw-money-into-schools/index.html?ref=opinion
New York Times
By LANCE T. IZUMI
Common wisdom is that technology in the classroom improves student learning and achievement. But the evidence is far from clear.
District spent $1,116,000 on attorney fees!
School Board Settles Lawsuit Brought by Family of Autistic Student
The Ledger
For the past four years, Bill and Janie Sammons have fought the Polk County School District, contending that their autistic son, Drew, was never given a proper education
New Effort Aims to Test Theories of Education
New York Times
By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ
A $44 million program called the Educational Innovation Laboratory is intended to infuse education with the data-driven approach that is common in science and business
Denver PS takes hit on bond refinance
Denver Post
Denver Public Schools' pension plan was pulled into the financial crisis on Wall Street this week when a dearth of buyers at a bond sale cost the fund "hundreds of thousands" of dollars in increased interest payments. The DPS fund has reserves to cover the increased interest and neither taxpayers nor pensioners are likely to notice. But the fund's inability to find investors for a week is just one example of how the tightening of credit markets could impact local governments should it continue or worsen
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Bidding for Dollars: Online Auctions Help Schools Earn Cash
As budgets stretch to the breaking point, many schools are discovering the powerful fundraising possibilities of the auction with a technological twist. Schools and their parent-teacher organizations are capitalizing on the flexibility, convenience, and popularity of online auctions to tap a limitless base of supporters nearby and far away.
My book is called "Betrayed."
by Laurie Rogers
Curiosity, questions and a tape recorder: That's what I had in January 2007 when I met with the superintendent and the curriculum director of Spokane Public Schools. I thought I'd write an article about why my daughter's 4th-grade class wasn't working. I brought my recorder because I'm a former journalist, and that's what journalists do.
Can't Anybody Here Run a School?
Washington Post
Michael Casserly
The failure of the D.C. public school system has been a team effort. In 1962, after the New York Mets had lost a record 120 games in the franchise's first year, Casey Stengel, the team's legendary manager, walked into the locker room and reportedly said, "I don't want you boys to feel bad about this. It's been a team effort. No one or two of you guys could have done all this by yourselves."
Taking the gifted down
Washington Times
Charles Murray
College is usually pretty easy for the gifted who go into the humanities or social sciences. Those who major in mathematics, engineering and the hard sciences have to pass a tough curriculum, but all the other gifted can readily find undemanding courses in today's colleges that allow them to get a degree without approaching their intellectual limits.
Data highlight achievement gap in Phila. schools
Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia School District officials have known they had an achievement gap on their hands for years. Yesterday, they saw the raw data, and were collectively horrified.
As budgets stretch to the breaking point, many schools are discovering the powerful fundraising possibilities of the auction with a technological twist. Schools and their parent-teacher organizations are capitalizing on the flexibility, convenience, and popularity of online auctions to tap a limitless base of supporters nearby and far away.
My book is called "Betrayed."
by Laurie Rogers
Curiosity, questions and a tape recorder: That's what I had in January 2007 when I met with the superintendent and the curriculum director of Spokane Public Schools. I thought I'd write an article about why my daughter's 4th-grade class wasn't working. I brought my recorder because I'm a former journalist, and that's what journalists do.
Can't Anybody Here Run a School?
Washington Post
Michael Casserly
The failure of the D.C. public school system has been a team effort. In 1962, after the New York Mets had lost a record 120 games in the franchise's first year, Casey Stengel, the team's legendary manager, walked into the locker room and reportedly said, "I don't want you boys to feel bad about this. It's been a team effort. No one or two of you guys could have done all this by yourselves."
Taking the gifted down
Washington Times
Charles Murray
College is usually pretty easy for the gifted who go into the humanities or social sciences. Those who major in mathematics, engineering and the hard sciences have to pass a tough curriculum, but all the other gifted can readily find undemanding courses in today's colleges that allow them to get a degree without approaching their intellectual limits.
Data highlight achievement gap in Phila. schools
Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia School District officials have known they had an achievement gap on their hands for years. Yesterday, they saw the raw data, and were collectively horrified.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
A Good School Can Revitalize a Downtown
Wall Street Journal By KANE WEBB
Fifth and sixth grades are in the newsroom, middle school dominates the Clinton campaign's War Room, and seventh-graders have the run of the sports department.
Get Pad and Pen: The School Supply List Is Long
New York Times By LISA W. FODERARO
Many schools both poor and prosperous are asking parents to purchase more, and more particular, school supplies.
Students and Schools in Double Blow
New York Times
By SAM DILLON
While school districts struggle with financial problems, record numbers of students turning up for classes this fall are homeless or poor enough to qualify for free meals.
Charter Grade School Documents Its Success
New York Times
By WINNIE HU
One of New Jersey's first charter schools went looking for some of its first students to see if their early experience at a charter school made a difference.
Add It Up: Math Matters
Washington Post
From arithmetic to algebra and beyond, mathematics absorbs a huge amount of class time, and students are pushed to learn more math than ever -- and sooner.
Raising the Bar: How Parents Can Fix Education
The Wall Street Journal
At the start of yet another school year, it's time for some radical change in your local schools -- a specific change that only parents can bring about. What is this miracle that lies within the reach of nearly every family? It's simple. All you have to do is to start insisting that your children fully apply themselves to their studies -- and commit yourself to doing your part. That means making sure they do all the work expected of them as well as their abilities allow. It also means making sure everything at home stands behind these principles and supports the idea of learning.
Wall Street Journal By KANE WEBB
Fifth and sixth grades are in the newsroom, middle school dominates the Clinton campaign's War Room, and seventh-graders have the run of the sports department.
Get Pad and Pen: The School Supply List Is Long
New York Times By LISA W. FODERARO
Many schools both poor and prosperous are asking parents to purchase more, and more particular, school supplies.
Students and Schools in Double Blow
New York Times
By SAM DILLON
While school districts struggle with financial problems, record numbers of students turning up for classes this fall are homeless or poor enough to qualify for free meals.
Charter Grade School Documents Its Success
New York Times
By WINNIE HU
One of New Jersey's first charter schools went looking for some of its first students to see if their early experience at a charter school made a difference.
Add It Up: Math Matters
Washington Post
From arithmetic to algebra and beyond, mathematics absorbs a huge amount of class time, and students are pushed to learn more math than ever -- and sooner.
Raising the Bar: How Parents Can Fix Education
The Wall Street Journal
At the start of yet another school year, it's time for some radical change in your local schools -- a specific change that only parents can bring about. What is this miracle that lies within the reach of nearly every family? It's simple. All you have to do is to start insisting that your children fully apply themselves to their studies -- and commit yourself to doing your part. That means making sure they do all the work expected of them as well as their abilities allow. It also means making sure everything at home stands behind these principles and supports the idea of learning.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Milwaukee Public Schools ordered to pay $450,000 in legal fees
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Milwaukee Public Schools must pay just more than $450,000 to the legal staff representing plaintiffs in a class-action suit over how the district serves students with special needs, a federal judge has ordered.
and Virginia this month.
[Moderator Note: Also check this previous post on the Milwaukee Public School special education lawsuit]
Texas Education Agency reviewing contract with Princeton Review testing company after security lapse
Dallas Morning News
By TERRENCE STUTZ
AUSTIN - Texas Education Agency officials are reviewing their new student data contract with the Princeton Review after the education testing company accidentally disclosed personal data and test scores of tens of thousands of students in Florida and Virginia this month.
[Moderator Note: This is why volunteers should not possess or review schools data]
"In mathematics, when you see what they are asked to do, there is so much vocabulary, so many concepts you have to get through language,"
Slumping math scores among middle school students prompt creative solutions
South CoastToday.com
With MCAS test results showing slumping middle school math performance across the state and SouthCoast, local school districts are finding creative ways to increase math instruction
Obama, the Next Education President?
Allen Jan Baird Ph.D.
Guest Columnist EducationNews.org
If Barack Obama is elected, what might we expect as he tries to become the new "education president"? It is important to understand that a President Obama would soon face the same school environment that previous education presidents have faced. According to data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the "nation's report card", reading scores for nine, thirteen, and seventeen year olds are basically where there were in 1970, with less than one third currently reading at "proficiency levels".
Rick MacArthur: "You Can't Be President: The Outrageous Barriers to Democracy in America"
Democracy Now
As the Democratic National Convention begins in Denver, we speak to Harper's publisher Rick MacArthur on his new book You Can't Be President. MacArthur says that the popular notion that any American can become president only reinforces the "destructive national delusion that widespread, up-from-the-ground, truly popular democracy, both political and economic, really exists in America." To assume that, he says, is equal to believing that Santa Claus exists.
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Milwaukee Public Schools must pay just more than $450,000 to the legal staff representing plaintiffs in a class-action suit over how the district serves students with special needs, a federal judge has ordered.
and Virginia this month.
[Moderator Note: Also check this previous post on the Milwaukee Public School special education lawsuit]
Texas Education Agency reviewing contract with Princeton Review testing company after security lapse
Dallas Morning News
By TERRENCE STUTZ
AUSTIN - Texas Education Agency officials are reviewing their new student data contract with the Princeton Review after the education testing company accidentally disclosed personal data and test scores of tens of thousands of students in Florida and Virginia this month.
[Moderator Note: This is why volunteers should not possess or review schools data]
"In mathematics, when you see what they are asked to do, there is so much vocabulary, so many concepts you have to get through language,"
Slumping math scores among middle school students prompt creative solutions
South CoastToday.com
With MCAS test results showing slumping middle school math performance across the state and SouthCoast, local school districts are finding creative ways to increase math instruction
Obama, the Next Education President?
Allen Jan Baird Ph.D.
Guest Columnist EducationNews.org
If Barack Obama is elected, what might we expect as he tries to become the new "education president"? It is important to understand that a President Obama would soon face the same school environment that previous education presidents have faced. According to data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the "nation's report card", reading scores for nine, thirteen, and seventeen year olds are basically where there were in 1970, with less than one third currently reading at "proficiency levels".
Rick MacArthur: "You Can't Be President: The Outrageous Barriers to Democracy in America"
Democracy Now
As the Democratic National Convention begins in Denver, we speak to Harper's publisher Rick MacArthur on his new book You Can't Be President. MacArthur says that the popular notion that any American can become president only reinforces the "destructive national delusion that widespread, up-from-the-ground, truly popular democracy, both political and economic, really exists in America." To assume that, he says, is equal to believing that Santa Claus exists.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Schools on a shoestring: Specialized programs cut to the core
Orlando Sentinel
Students across Central Florida will learn a brutal lesson in economics when the new school year starts next week. For years, school leaders juggled their budgets to prevent the state's chronic money woes from creeping into the classroom. But they're out of options now and scaling back popular programs for gifted students and troubled kids.
Opinion: We can learn from special schools
The Age
JULIA Gillard has called for a "raging debate" about how our education system compares to the best in the world, how to ensure that every school is a great school, and how to ensure every child gets an excellent education.
ACT scores show 3 in 4 need some remedial help for college
USA Today
Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam dipped slightly for the high school class of 2008 as the number of students taking the exam jumped by 9% compared to last year. This year's results, released Wednesday, reveal that more than three in four test-takers will likely need remedial help in at least one subject to succeed in college.
Even the SPED kids outperformed black students.
S.F.'s black students lag far behind whites
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco schools earned bragging rights on state standardized tests again this year - performing better than the state as a whole across every grade in both math and English - but any celebration was clouded by the subpar proficiency of the district's African American students, who continued to fall further behind their peers.
Could bumpy economy lead to slumping education?
USA Today
By Libby Quaid, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Harder times and higher fuel prices are following kids back to school this fall. Children will walk farther to the bus stop, pay more for lunch, study from old textbooks, even wear last year's clothes. Field trips? Forget about it.
Homeschoolers Threaten Our Cultural Comfort
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Ms.
You see them at the grocery, or in a discount store.
It's a big family by today's standards - "just like stair steps," as the old folks say. Freshly scrubbed boys with neatly trimmed hair and girls with braids, in clean but unfashionable clothes follow mom through the store as she fills her no-frills shopping list.
Orlando Sentinel
Students across Central Florida will learn a brutal lesson in economics when the new school year starts next week. For years, school leaders juggled their budgets to prevent the state's chronic money woes from creeping into the classroom. But they're out of options now and scaling back popular programs for gifted students and troubled kids.
Opinion: We can learn from special schools
The Age
JULIA Gillard has called for a "raging debate" about how our education system compares to the best in the world, how to ensure that every school is a great school, and how to ensure every child gets an excellent education.
ACT scores show 3 in 4 need some remedial help for college
USA Today
Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam dipped slightly for the high school class of 2008 as the number of students taking the exam jumped by 9% compared to last year. This year's results, released Wednesday, reveal that more than three in four test-takers will likely need remedial help in at least one subject to succeed in college.
Even the SPED kids outperformed black students.
S.F.'s black students lag far behind whites
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco schools earned bragging rights on state standardized tests again this year - performing better than the state as a whole across every grade in both math and English - but any celebration was clouded by the subpar proficiency of the district's African American students, who continued to fall further behind their peers.
Could bumpy economy lead to slumping education?
USA Today
By Libby Quaid, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Harder times and higher fuel prices are following kids back to school this fall. Children will walk farther to the bus stop, pay more for lunch, study from old textbooks, even wear last year's clothes. Field trips? Forget about it.
Homeschoolers Threaten Our Cultural Comfort
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Ms.
You see them at the grocery, or in a discount store.
It's a big family by today's standards - "just like stair steps," as the old folks say. Freshly scrubbed boys with neatly trimmed hair and girls with braids, in clean but unfashionable clothes follow mom through the store as she fills her no-frills shopping list.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Writing Off Disabled Children
New York Times
In Texas and throughout the country, disabled children should be given the school services they are entitled to under federal law. Many of America's juvenile jails would be empty if the public schools obeyed federal law and provided disabled children with the special instruction that they need. Instead, these children are allowed to fall behind. When they act out, they are often suspended or expelled, which makes them more likely to commit crimes and land in jails where they can count on even less help.
Over-cautious parents stop play
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (UK)
Children are being denied the chance to climb trees and play conkers by over-cautious parents, a new survey claims.
"A Program That Pays." [PDF format]
Providing a world-class education for all kids may no longer be possible without outside financial help, says Stan Levenson, Fundraising Consultant to the Public Schools in his latest article appearing in the July 2008 issue of the American School Board Journal. In this article, Levenson recommends that school districts consider a large-scale fundraising effort coordinated and articulated across district lines.
Growing hesitancy over a military test
Philadelphia Inquirer
Every school year, at hundreds of high schools across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, students are asked - and sometimes required - to take a vocational aptitude test with a strange-sounding name - the ASVAB, which stands for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.
Students 'robbed of their childhood'
Chicago Sun-Times
Maybe kids do know best. For a social studies project this year, fifth-graders at Little Village Academy plotted a cost-free way to counter the guns and gangs that plague their neighborhood: They asked parents to volunteer to lead after-school programs in drawing, painting, handcrafts, dancing, sports, cheerleading and chess.
College Board to debut an 8th-grade PSAT exam
Los Angeles Times
By Gale Holland
The test, expected to be released in 2010, aims to identify talented students and get them into college-prep classes early. But many critics say students already face too many tests and too much stress
New York Times
In Texas and throughout the country, disabled children should be given the school services they are entitled to under federal law. Many of America's juvenile jails would be empty if the public schools obeyed federal law and provided disabled children with the special instruction that they need. Instead, these children are allowed to fall behind. When they act out, they are often suspended or expelled, which makes them more likely to commit crimes and land in jails where they can count on even less help.
Over-cautious parents stop play
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (UK)
Children are being denied the chance to climb trees and play conkers by over-cautious parents, a new survey claims.
"A Program That Pays." [PDF format]
Providing a world-class education for all kids may no longer be possible without outside financial help, says Stan Levenson, Fundraising Consultant to the Public Schools in his latest article appearing in the July 2008 issue of the American School Board Journal. In this article, Levenson recommends that school districts consider a large-scale fundraising effort coordinated and articulated across district lines.
Growing hesitancy over a military test
Philadelphia Inquirer
Every school year, at hundreds of high schools across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, students are asked - and sometimes required - to take a vocational aptitude test with a strange-sounding name - the ASVAB, which stands for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.
Students 'robbed of their childhood'
Chicago Sun-Times
Maybe kids do know best. For a social studies project this year, fifth-graders at Little Village Academy plotted a cost-free way to counter the guns and gangs that plague their neighborhood: They asked parents to volunteer to lead after-school programs in drawing, painting, handcrafts, dancing, sports, cheerleading and chess.
College Board to debut an 8th-grade PSAT exam
Los Angeles Times
By Gale Holland
The test, expected to be released in 2010, aims to identify talented students and get them into college-prep classes early. But many critics say students already face too many tests and too much stress
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Are You a Bully?
A Connecticut school administrator, commenting on his district's decision to include teacher behavior in its anti-bullying policy, complained that it would be difficult to distinguish between bullying behavior and classroom management strategies. What about you? Can you tell the difference between behavior management and bullying?
Standing Up for Average Students
Teacher/coach Tom Krause worries that real learning and the average student's needs are getting lost in the pressures of greater accountability and assessments.
Another Edison Schools achievement claim falls apart under scrutiny
The Examiner
Caroline Grannan
The minor flurry of news about the failed for-profit school manager Edison Schools - and an indignant post here by an Edison supporter or employee - spurred a longtime Edison critic who is an indefatigable number-cruncher to take a close look at Edison's newest claims about achievement in its Philadelphia schools.
Math Scores Show No Gap for Girls, Study Finds
New York Times
By TAMAR LEWIN
A study paid for by the National Science Foundation has found that girls perform as well as boys on standardized math tests.
Math IS harder for girls . . . and also, it seems, for the New York Times.
By Heather MacDonald
The New York Times is determined to show that women are discriminated against in the sciences; too bad the facts say otherwise. A new study has "found that girls perform as well as boys on standardized math tests," claims a July 25 article by Tamar Lewin-thus, the underrepresentation of women on science faculties must result from bias. Actually, the study, summarized in the July 25 issue of Science, shows something quite different: while boys' and girls' average scores are similar, boys outnumber girls among students in both the highest and the lowest score ranges.
People in leadership roles are ubiquitous, but leaders are in short supply.
Hayes Mizell
Guest Columnist EducationNews.org
Introductory remarks of Hayes Mizell on July 14, 2008 before moderating Session B01 at the National Staff Development Council's Summer Conference, held at the Marriott World Center Resort in Orlando, FL.
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
EdNews
by Nicholas Carr
Dave, stop. Stop, will you? Stop, Dave. Will you stop, Dave?" So the supercomputer HAL pleads with the implacable astronaut Dave Bowman in a famous and weirdly poignant scene toward the end of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Bowman, having nearly been sent to a deep-space death by the malfunctioning machine, is calmly, coldly disconnecting the memory circuits that control its artificial
For Many Student Athletes, Game Over
New York Times
By WINNIE HU
As cash-strapped school districts across the nation scale back sports programs, some fear that the tradition of the scholar athlete is at risk.
Teaching Life Lessons Through Sports
Organized athletics originally were viewed as mechanisms for teaching social values and selflessness, but society has changed and so have sports. Mitch Lyons suggests that athletics still can be a springboard for valuable lessons, if the approach is changed.
A Connecticut school administrator, commenting on his district's decision to include teacher behavior in its anti-bullying policy, complained that it would be difficult to distinguish between bullying behavior and classroom management strategies. What about you? Can you tell the difference between behavior management and bullying?
Standing Up for Average Students
Teacher/coach Tom Krause worries that real learning and the average student's needs are getting lost in the pressures of greater accountability and assessments.
Another Edison Schools achievement claim falls apart under scrutiny
The Examiner
Caroline Grannan
The minor flurry of news about the failed for-profit school manager Edison Schools - and an indignant post here by an Edison supporter or employee - spurred a longtime Edison critic who is an indefatigable number-cruncher to take a close look at Edison's newest claims about achievement in its Philadelphia schools.
Math Scores Show No Gap for Girls, Study Finds
New York Times
By TAMAR LEWIN
A study paid for by the National Science Foundation has found that girls perform as well as boys on standardized math tests.
Math IS harder for girls . . . and also, it seems, for the New York Times.
By Heather MacDonald
The New York Times is determined to show that women are discriminated against in the sciences; too bad the facts say otherwise. A new study has "found that girls perform as well as boys on standardized math tests," claims a July 25 article by Tamar Lewin-thus, the underrepresentation of women on science faculties must result from bias. Actually, the study, summarized in the July 25 issue of Science, shows something quite different: while boys' and girls' average scores are similar, boys outnumber girls among students in both the highest and the lowest score ranges.
People in leadership roles are ubiquitous, but leaders are in short supply.
Hayes Mizell
Guest Columnist EducationNews.org
Introductory remarks of Hayes Mizell on July 14, 2008 before moderating Session B01 at the National Staff Development Council's Summer Conference, held at the Marriott World Center Resort in Orlando, FL.
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
EdNews
by Nicholas Carr
Dave, stop. Stop, will you? Stop, Dave. Will you stop, Dave?" So the supercomputer HAL pleads with the implacable astronaut Dave Bowman in a famous and weirdly poignant scene toward the end of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Bowman, having nearly been sent to a deep-space death by the malfunctioning machine, is calmly, coldly disconnecting the memory circuits that control its artificial
For Many Student Athletes, Game Over
New York Times
By WINNIE HU
As cash-strapped school districts across the nation scale back sports programs, some fear that the tradition of the scholar athlete is at risk.
Teaching Life Lessons Through Sports
Organized athletics originally were viewed as mechanisms for teaching social values and selflessness, but society has changed and so have sports. Mitch Lyons suggests that athletics still can be a springboard for valuable lessons, if the approach is changed.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Summer School for Parents: Rights & Responsibilities; Academic Standards; Tactics & Strategy
Don't Rely on the School to Explain Your IDEA Rights & Responsibilities
Learn how to use IDEA 2004 and the No Child Left Behind Act.
Sizing Up State Academic Standards
Advanced Tactics and Strategies
How NOT to be a Yappy Parent
Submit Written Requests and Reports
Students pass state test, but at what cost to their education?
Cleveland Plain Dealer
For all of those accomplishments, Principal David Root has only one thing to say to the students, staff and citizens of Rocky River: He's sorry. "We don't teach kids anymore," he said. "We teach test-taking skills. We all teach to the test. I long for the days when we used to teach kids."
Strip Search of Middle School Student Violated Fourth Amendment, 9th Circuit Rules
A strip search of an 8th grader by school authorities looking for Ibuprofen pills violated the student's rights under the Fourth Amendment, a federal appeals court has ruled. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled 8-3 on July 11 that officials at an Arizona middle school "acted contrary to all reason and common sense as they trampled over" the privacy interests of the student.
Seven Things All Adults Should Know About MySpace
What's a teacher to do? Stay informed about student uses of technology. Build student trust by maintaining an open mind about new social phenomena. Teach students about potential hazards of all online environments.
A School Where One Size Doesn't Fit All
Washington Post
Teacher is recruiting students for a new private school like none the Washington area has ever seen. "The model is inspired by the success of home-schoolers," he said. Students will set their class schedules, enabling them to learn at their pace and in their styles. Teachers will act as advisers, not taskmasters.
The genius of American education
by Michael J. Petrilli
Even if education isn't at the top of the list for Senators Obama or McCain during this election season, it remains a major concern for governors and CEOs. That's because they see a direct link between educational achievement and economic growth. And this spring, Education Next published research by Hoover Institution scholar Eric Hanushek and colleagues that illustrated this link. The analysts found that, in general, the higher a country scored on international tests of math and science, the faster its economy grew from 1960 to 2000.
Summer schools run low on funds
Washington Times
Budget woes hit enrichment
From coast to coast, tough financial conditions are forcing school districts and nonprofit groups to cut back on summer programs that are widely viewed as invaluable to both struggling and superior students.
Don't Rely on the School to Explain Your IDEA Rights & Responsibilities
Learn how to use IDEA 2004 and the No Child Left Behind Act.
Sizing Up State Academic Standards
Advanced Tactics and Strategies
How NOT to be a Yappy Parent
Submit Written Requests and Reports
Students pass state test, but at what cost to their education?
Cleveland Plain Dealer
For all of those accomplishments, Principal David Root has only one thing to say to the students, staff and citizens of Rocky River: He's sorry. "We don't teach kids anymore," he said. "We teach test-taking skills. We all teach to the test. I long for the days when we used to teach kids."
Strip Search of Middle School Student Violated Fourth Amendment, 9th Circuit Rules
A strip search of an 8th grader by school authorities looking for Ibuprofen pills violated the student's rights under the Fourth Amendment, a federal appeals court has ruled. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled 8-3 on July 11 that officials at an Arizona middle school "acted contrary to all reason and common sense as they trampled over" the privacy interests of the student.
Seven Things All Adults Should Know About MySpace
What's a teacher to do? Stay informed about student uses of technology. Build student trust by maintaining an open mind about new social phenomena. Teach students about potential hazards of all online environments.
A School Where One Size Doesn't Fit All
Washington Post
Teacher is recruiting students for a new private school like none the Washington area has ever seen. "The model is inspired by the success of home-schoolers," he said. Students will set their class schedules, enabling them to learn at their pace and in their styles. Teachers will act as advisers, not taskmasters.
The genius of American education
by Michael J. Petrilli
Even if education isn't at the top of the list for Senators Obama or McCain during this election season, it remains a major concern for governors and CEOs. That's because they see a direct link between educational achievement and economic growth. And this spring, Education Next published research by Hoover Institution scholar Eric Hanushek and colleagues that illustrated this link. The analysts found that, in general, the higher a country scored on international tests of math and science, the faster its economy grew from 1960 to 2000.
Summer schools run low on funds
Washington Times
Budget woes hit enrichment
From coast to coast, tough financial conditions are forcing school districts and nonprofit groups to cut back on summer programs that are widely viewed as invaluable to both struggling and superior students.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Economy takes toll on education funding
National Public Radio
By Larry Abrahmson
Education budgets are getting hit by higher costs for fuel and food, and by lower tax revenues due to the real estate downturn. School budgets often take a slap when the economy sputters, as it's doing now. But some states are trying to protect schools from lousy economic conditions.
The Great Crisis in Workforce Skills Debate
Tom Sticht, Columnist EducationNews.org
In June 2008 a National Commission on Adult Literacy presented the final report of a two year study of the skills of the American workforce and the demands for skills in the workplace. Entitled "Reach Higher, America:
Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce", the report states "Almost a decade into the 21st Century, America faces a choice: We can invest in the basic education and skills of our workforce and remain competitive in today's global economy, or we can continue to overlook glaring evidence of a national crisis and move further down the path to decline."
Student Gains in Privately Managed Philadelphia Schools - Nearly Double Those in District Schools
State Tests Show Increases in Student Achievement at EdisonLearning Schools in both Reading & Math
School test scores recently released by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment reveal that schools partnering with private education management organizations (EMO's) - including EdisonLearning - showed greater gains in student achievement than the schools operated by the Philadelphia School District.
"a warehouse for children of color."
HISD urged to reconsider alternative schools deal
Houston Chronicle
Ex-official blasts management of alternative schools
The Houston school board must decide next month whether to continue working with the private company that runs the district's two schools for students with serious discipline problems.
Disrupting Class may offer best hope for U.S. schools
Houston Chronicle
Surprise No. 1: America's public schools are actually improving, average scores inching upward despite increased numbers of immigrant and often poorly prepared children.
Teachers 'fear' smart students
The Age
An advocate says schools need special strategies for the gifted. TOO many teachers fear having very bright students in class because they feel ill-equipped to deal with them, according to a visiting campaigner on gifted children.
Calm Down or Else
New York Times
By BENEDICT CAREY
Unable to handle behavior disorders, many schools use forcible restraint. Is it abuse? The children return from school confused, scared and sometimes with bruises on their wrists, arms or face. Many won't talk about what happened, or simply can't, because they are unable to communicate easily, if at all.
National Public Radio
By Larry Abrahmson
Education budgets are getting hit by higher costs for fuel and food, and by lower tax revenues due to the real estate downturn. School budgets often take a slap when the economy sputters, as it's doing now. But some states are trying to protect schools from lousy economic conditions.
The Great Crisis in Workforce Skills Debate
Tom Sticht, Columnist EducationNews.org
In June 2008 a National Commission on Adult Literacy presented the final report of a two year study of the skills of the American workforce and the demands for skills in the workplace. Entitled "Reach Higher, America:
Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce", the report states "Almost a decade into the 21st Century, America faces a choice: We can invest in the basic education and skills of our workforce and remain competitive in today's global economy, or we can continue to overlook glaring evidence of a national crisis and move further down the path to decline."
Student Gains in Privately Managed Philadelphia Schools - Nearly Double Those in District Schools
State Tests Show Increases in Student Achievement at EdisonLearning Schools in both Reading & Math
School test scores recently released by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment reveal that schools partnering with private education management organizations (EMO's) - including EdisonLearning - showed greater gains in student achievement than the schools operated by the Philadelphia School District.
"a warehouse for children of color."
HISD urged to reconsider alternative schools deal
Houston Chronicle
Ex-official blasts management of alternative schools
The Houston school board must decide next month whether to continue working with the private company that runs the district's two schools for students with serious discipline problems.
Disrupting Class may offer best hope for U.S. schools
Houston Chronicle
Surprise No. 1: America's public schools are actually improving, average scores inching upward despite increased numbers of immigrant and often poorly prepared children.
Teachers 'fear' smart students
The Age
An advocate says schools need special strategies for the gifted. TOO many teachers fear having very bright students in class because they feel ill-equipped to deal with them, according to a visiting campaigner on gifted children.
Calm Down or Else
New York Times
By BENEDICT CAREY
Unable to handle behavior disorders, many schools use forcible restraint. Is it abuse? The children return from school confused, scared and sometimes with bruises on their wrists, arms or face. Many won't talk about what happened, or simply can't, because they are unable to communicate easily, if at all.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Learning from the best schools, whatever we call them
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Joe Nathan
All kinds of students - eager, indifferent, bright and bored, suburban, urban and rural, will benefit from careful, nondefensive use of several recent reports about Minnesota's district and charter public schools. The reports came from Minnesota's Legislative Auditor, the University of Minnesota/Minnesota State College/University System and the Center for School Change.
Is algebra useless? Not to these folks
Sacramento Bee
Thursday morning, Johnnie Powell, a longtime National Weather Service forecaster, heard the news that all of California's eighth-grade students would have to take Algebra 1 within three years.
Professor: Don't leave gifted, talented behind
Des Moines Register
Sally Beisser has watched educational programs for Iowa's most talented students improve and expand over 30 years, but the Drake University professor is concerned that those efforts have been hurt by a federal push to bring lower-achieving classmates up to speed.
289 Math & Science Employment and Employment Projections by Required Education and Training Levels in the United States 2006-2016
Columnist EducationNews.org
This is the first of a series of Center reports that will be prepared from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) U. S. Employment Projections 2006-2016 published in the Monthly Labor Review November 2007. The ten-year projections of United States employment are prepared every two years and are conveniently ignored by the popular media and the supporters and critics of public education in the United States.
Performance-based bonuses cropping up across Maryland
Baltimore Sun
From rural Washington County to suburban Prince George's County, school systems around the state are beginning to wade into a promising but controversial topic in education: pay for performance.
Autistic students get help navigating college life
USA Today
By Melissa Kossler Dutton, Associated Press
When Dan Hackett started college, he didn't make the grades he knew he could. Hackett, who has Asperger's syndrome, found at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh that some of his symptoms were holding him back. He had difficulty organizing his time and managing assignments.
Pennsylvania Tells Autism Speaks to Stop Talking
In a historical and unprecedented move, the Pennsylvania legislature voted nearly unanimously in the affirmative for House Bill 1150 to mandate commercial insurance companies to cover some services for children with autism. The bill, introduced by House Speaker Dennis M. O'Brien, requires insurance companies to cover up to $36,000 of autism-related treatment for individuals less than 21 years old.
Could Four-Day Weeks Work for You?
Some school districts looking to save time and money have switched to four-day school weeks, either leaving the fifth day free or available for tutoring and parent conferences. Although some superintendents favor the concentrated class time, some say the wear and tear from a longer day has not been worth it for staff or students.
Student Gains in Privately Managed Philadelphia Schools - Nearly Double Those in District Schools
State Tests Show Increases in Student Achievement at EdisonLearning Schools in both Reading & Math
School test scores recently released by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment reveal that schools partnering with private education management organizations (EMO's) - including EdisonLearning - showed greater gains in student achievement than the schools operated by the Philadelphia School District.
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Joe Nathan
All kinds of students - eager, indifferent, bright and bored, suburban, urban and rural, will benefit from careful, nondefensive use of several recent reports about Minnesota's district and charter public schools. The reports came from Minnesota's Legislative Auditor, the University of Minnesota/Minnesota State College/University System and the Center for School Change.
Is algebra useless? Not to these folks
Sacramento Bee
Thursday morning, Johnnie Powell, a longtime National Weather Service forecaster, heard the news that all of California's eighth-grade students would have to take Algebra 1 within three years.
Professor: Don't leave gifted, talented behind
Des Moines Register
Sally Beisser has watched educational programs for Iowa's most talented students improve and expand over 30 years, but the Drake University professor is concerned that those efforts have been hurt by a federal push to bring lower-achieving classmates up to speed.
289 Math & Science Employment and Employment Projections by Required Education and Training Levels in the United States 2006-2016
Columnist EducationNews.org
This is the first of a series of Center reports that will be prepared from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) U. S. Employment Projections 2006-2016 published in the Monthly Labor Review November 2007. The ten-year projections of United States employment are prepared every two years and are conveniently ignored by the popular media and the supporters and critics of public education in the United States.
Performance-based bonuses cropping up across Maryland
Baltimore Sun
From rural Washington County to suburban Prince George's County, school systems around the state are beginning to wade into a promising but controversial topic in education: pay for performance.
Autistic students get help navigating college life
USA Today
By Melissa Kossler Dutton, Associated Press
When Dan Hackett started college, he didn't make the grades he knew he could. Hackett, who has Asperger's syndrome, found at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh that some of his symptoms were holding him back. He had difficulty organizing his time and managing assignments.
Pennsylvania Tells Autism Speaks to Stop Talking
In a historical and unprecedented move, the Pennsylvania legislature voted nearly unanimously in the affirmative for House Bill 1150 to mandate commercial insurance companies to cover some services for children with autism. The bill, introduced by House Speaker Dennis M. O'Brien, requires insurance companies to cover up to $36,000 of autism-related treatment for individuals less than 21 years old.
Could Four-Day Weeks Work for You?
Some school districts looking to save time and money have switched to four-day school weeks, either leaving the fifth day free or available for tutoring and parent conferences. Although some superintendents favor the concentrated class time, some say the wear and tear from a longer day has not been worth it for staff or students.
Student Gains in Privately Managed Philadelphia Schools - Nearly Double Those in District Schools
State Tests Show Increases in Student Achievement at EdisonLearning Schools in both Reading & Math
School test scores recently released by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment reveal that schools partnering with private education management organizations (EMO's) - including EdisonLearning - showed greater gains in student achievement than the schools operated by the Philadelphia School District.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Check out SpecialEdAdvocate.org
Schools can't punish a kid into cooperation
Providence Journal
No one likes an unruly, mouthy or disruptive brat. But the adult urge to fight unwanted behavior by shaming, temporarily banishing or otherwise hurting the kid into compliance has begun to seem not just ineffective to me, but full-on Jurassic. "Zero tolerance?" Does that even sound like a good idea, when you think about it?
Goodbye, SAT
Washington Post
Nathan O. Hatch
Wake Forest hopes dropping the test requirement will open its doors. The College Board amended its policy on reporting SAT scores this month in an effort to ease stress on student test takers. While all scores are currently reported to colleges students apply to, starting with the Class of 2010 students who take the entrance examination multiple times will be able to control which of their scores admissions officers see.
Why You Are Hearing More about Autism
Vallejo, CA - It has been a high profile year for autism. A severely autistic Minnesota boy was banned from church. An autistic kindergartner in Florida was voted out of class. A mother and her autistic son were thrown off an American Airlines flight at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. And another mother and autistic toddler were kicked off an airplane in Huston reportedly because the boy was repeating 'bye, bye plane' during the safety speech.
Schools can't punish a kid into cooperation
Providence Journal
No one likes an unruly, mouthy or disruptive brat. But the adult urge to fight unwanted behavior by shaming, temporarily banishing or otherwise hurting the kid into compliance has begun to seem not just ineffective to me, but full-on Jurassic. "Zero tolerance?" Does that even sound like a good idea, when you think about it?
Goodbye, SAT
Washington Post
Nathan O. Hatch
Wake Forest hopes dropping the test requirement will open its doors. The College Board amended its policy on reporting SAT scores this month in an effort to ease stress on student test takers. While all scores are currently reported to colleges students apply to, starting with the Class of 2010 students who take the entrance examination multiple times will be able to control which of their scores admissions officers see.
Why You Are Hearing More about Autism
Vallejo, CA - It has been a high profile year for autism. A severely autistic Minnesota boy was banned from church. An autistic kindergartner in Florida was voted out of class. A mother and her autistic son were thrown off an American Airlines flight at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. And another mother and autistic toddler were kicked off an airplane in Huston reportedly because the boy was repeating 'bye, bye plane' during the safety speech.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
The next big thing: smaller schools
Baltimore Sun
Across the nation, urban school districts are breaking up large schools and replacing them with smaller ones. In Baltimore, new high schools with as few as 400 to 500 students have been carved out of old ones with enrollments of 2,000 or more.
To be a good parent requires a firm, affectionate patience
Providence Journal
Julia Steiny
Standing on the beach, on one of those recent scorching days, I saw a little boy in blue swim trunks careening across the beach, a 4-year-old with a mission. He had a white rock shaped roughly like a round loaf of bakery bread. He presented it with pride to a woman I assumed was his mom.
Documentary Chronicles Pitfalls of American Education in Global Economy
Diverse Magazine
by Michelle Nealy
Diverse reporter Michelle Nealy chats with Indianapolis venture-capitalist-turned-filmmaker, Bob Compton, about his provocative new documentary, "2 Million Minutes." The film chronicles six students from India , the United States and China during their high school years. Compton highlights the pitfalls of American education in today's global economy and praises those cultures that revere academic achievement.
NEW READING FIRST DATA FROM STATES SHOWS IMPRESSIVE GAINS IN READING PROFICIENCY
United States Department of Education
Students From Nearly Every Grade and Every Subgroup Show Improvement
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced new data from the states showing impressive gains for Reading First students. The achievement data submitted by state education agencies (SEAs) and compiled and analyzed by the Education Department's contractor, American Institutes for Research, showed improvement in nearly every grade and subgroup, including English language learners and students with disabilities.
Restraint and Seclusion on Children with Disabilities in Florida Public Schools
There are many families from counties all over Florida who have children with Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders that are being restrained, put in time-out and forced locked seclusion rooms in the public school system. Our children are being injured physically and mentally because of their disabilities and the lack of appropriate programs and highly qualified teachers and aides available to educate them. Most of the aides that are hired have little or no background in children with Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Across US, schools feel budget pinch
Christian Science Monitor
By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo
Slashed funding and rising costs are forcing school districts to cut back, even close down. Lynn, Mass. - The Fallon elementary school is a joyous place. But last week, some parents, students, and staff felt as blue as the hallway walls. On Friday, the small school in Lynn, Mass., shut its doors - not just for the summer, but for good.
EducationNews National Coverage
Poll: Half say schools aren't preparing kids
USA Today
WASHINGTON (AP) - It's not much of a report card. Half of Americans say U.S. schools are doing only a fair to poor job preparing kids for college and the work force. Even more feel that way about the skills kids need to survive as adults, an Associated Press poll released Friday finds.
Baltimore Sun
Across the nation, urban school districts are breaking up large schools and replacing them with smaller ones. In Baltimore, new high schools with as few as 400 to 500 students have been carved out of old ones with enrollments of 2,000 or more.
To be a good parent requires a firm, affectionate patience
Providence Journal
Julia Steiny
Standing on the beach, on one of those recent scorching days, I saw a little boy in blue swim trunks careening across the beach, a 4-year-old with a mission. He had a white rock shaped roughly like a round loaf of bakery bread. He presented it with pride to a woman I assumed was his mom.
Documentary Chronicles Pitfalls of American Education in Global Economy
Diverse Magazine
by Michelle Nealy
Diverse reporter Michelle Nealy chats with Indianapolis venture-capitalist-turned-filmmaker, Bob Compton, about his provocative new documentary, "2 Million Minutes." The film chronicles six students from India , the United States and China during their high school years. Compton highlights the pitfalls of American education in today's global economy and praises those cultures that revere academic achievement.
NEW READING FIRST DATA FROM STATES SHOWS IMPRESSIVE GAINS IN READING PROFICIENCY
United States Department of Education
Students From Nearly Every Grade and Every Subgroup Show Improvement
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced new data from the states showing impressive gains for Reading First students. The achievement data submitted by state education agencies (SEAs) and compiled and analyzed by the Education Department's contractor, American Institutes for Research, showed improvement in nearly every grade and subgroup, including English language learners and students with disabilities.
Restraint and Seclusion on Children with Disabilities in Florida Public Schools
There are many families from counties all over Florida who have children with Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders that are being restrained, put in time-out and forced locked seclusion rooms in the public school system. Our children are being injured physically and mentally because of their disabilities and the lack of appropriate programs and highly qualified teachers and aides available to educate them. Most of the aides that are hired have little or no background in children with Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Across US, schools feel budget pinch
Christian Science Monitor
By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo
Slashed funding and rising costs are forcing school districts to cut back, even close down. Lynn, Mass. - The Fallon elementary school is a joyous place. But last week, some parents, students, and staff felt as blue as the hallway walls. On Friday, the small school in Lynn, Mass., shut its doors - not just for the summer, but for good.
EducationNews National Coverage
Poll: Half say schools aren't preparing kids
USA Today
WASHINGTON (AP) - It's not much of a report card. Half of Americans say U.S. schools are doing only a fair to poor job preparing kids for college and the work force. Even more feel that way about the skills kids need to survive as adults, an Associated Press poll released Friday finds.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
Subjects, Verbs and Disagreement
Washington Post
By Linton Weeks
Survey finds that Internet language and text-messaging abbreviations are seeping into academic writing, worrying scholars that the death of the English sentence is looming.
'Two Million Minutes' suggests it's time to improve U.S. education
Los Angeles Times
A Memphis entrepreneur's documentary compares high-achieving students from India, China and America. It has drawn mixed reactions from academics. That conversation launched Compton, 52, of Memphis, Tenn., on a mission. As both an entrepreneur and the father of 14- and 16-year-old girls, he wanted to know what schools in other countries were doing that American schools weren't, and why the United States performed so miserably on international student comparisons.
Study Finds Little Benefit in New SAT
New York Times
By TAMAR LEWIN
The revamped SAT, expanded three years ago to include a writing test, predicts college success no better than the old test, according to studies by the College Board, which owns the test.
Many states watch - and like - Florida's education policy
St. Petersburg Times
By Ron Matus
Florida is No. 1 in the nation in vouchers. It's No. 2 in charter school enrollment. It's No. 4 in the percentage of high school students passing college-level exams.
Predicting success, preventing failure
San Francisco Chronicle
Julian Betts, Andrew Zau
After the sounds of "Pomp and Circumstance" have faded, Californians will find out just how many high school seniors actually graduated this year. A significant number will be denied diplomas because they failed the California High School Exit Exam.
Washington Post
By Linton Weeks
Survey finds that Internet language and text-messaging abbreviations are seeping into academic writing, worrying scholars that the death of the English sentence is looming.
'Two Million Minutes' suggests it's time to improve U.S. education
Los Angeles Times
A Memphis entrepreneur's documentary compares high-achieving students from India, China and America. It has drawn mixed reactions from academics. That conversation launched Compton, 52, of Memphis, Tenn., on a mission. As both an entrepreneur and the father of 14- and 16-year-old girls, he wanted to know what schools in other countries were doing that American schools weren't, and why the United States performed so miserably on international student comparisons.
Study Finds Little Benefit in New SAT
New York Times
By TAMAR LEWIN
The revamped SAT, expanded three years ago to include a writing test, predicts college success no better than the old test, according to studies by the College Board, which owns the test.
Many states watch - and like - Florida's education policy
St. Petersburg Times
By Ron Matus
Florida is No. 1 in the nation in vouchers. It's No. 2 in charter school enrollment. It's No. 4 in the percentage of high school students passing college-level exams.
Predicting success, preventing failure
San Francisco Chronicle
Julian Betts, Andrew Zau
After the sounds of "Pomp and Circumstance" have faded, Californians will find out just how many high school seniors actually graduated this year. A significant number will be denied diplomas because they failed the California High School Exit Exam.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
New Orleans schools chief chips away at big issues
Associate Press
Paul Vallas recently passed his first major milestone when fourth- and eighth-graders in the city's woeful public schools posted significantly higher test scores on state tests.
Winston Churchill was right: education is too important to be left to politicians
Daily Telegraph
Just as hundreds of thousands of pupils, including my own children, sat down this week to start their A-levels, Imperial College, London, declared that what they were doing was, from its point of view, "almost worthless".
Milwaukee Public Schools ordered to do more for special needs
Milwaukee Journa-Sentinel
BY ALAN J. BORSUK
A federal judge has ruled full-force in favor of potentially historic changes that would require Milwaukee Public Schools to provide more services sooner to thousands of struggling students.
Part 2: America had the world's best school system.
Keith Baker
Guest Columnist EducationNews.org
The idea that America was being harmed because our schools were not keeping up with other advanced nations emerged after Sputnik, took hold of educational policy after the Reagan Administration's "A Nation At Risk" report, and continues today. This concern is justified by evidence showing that within the USA, test scores predict a number of important life advantages, such as going on to college and making more money as an adult.
Peer review system for teachers spreads
By Claudio Sanchez, National Public Radio (Audio)
The teachers' union in Toledo, Ohio, has spearheaded a controversial policy to purge the school district of incompetent teachers. It's called "peer review" and no school system in the country has been doing it longer than Toledo.
Associate Press
Paul Vallas recently passed his first major milestone when fourth- and eighth-graders in the city's woeful public schools posted significantly higher test scores on state tests.
Winston Churchill was right: education is too important to be left to politicians
Daily Telegraph
Just as hundreds of thousands of pupils, including my own children, sat down this week to start their A-levels, Imperial College, London, declared that what they were doing was, from its point of view, "almost worthless".
Milwaukee Public Schools ordered to do more for special needs
Milwaukee Journa-Sentinel
BY ALAN J. BORSUK
A federal judge has ruled full-force in favor of potentially historic changes that would require Milwaukee Public Schools to provide more services sooner to thousands of struggling students.
Part 2: America had the world's best school system.
Keith Baker
Guest Columnist EducationNews.org
The idea that America was being harmed because our schools were not keeping up with other advanced nations emerged after Sputnik, took hold of educational policy after the Reagan Administration's "A Nation At Risk" report, and continues today. This concern is justified by evidence showing that within the USA, test scores predict a number of important life advantages, such as going on to college and making more money as an adult.
Peer review system for teachers spreads
By Claudio Sanchez, National Public Radio (Audio)
The teachers' union in Toledo, Ohio, has spearheaded a controversial policy to purge the school district of incompetent teachers. It's called "peer review" and no school system in the country has been doing it longer than Toledo.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
America had the world's best school system.
Keith Baker
Guest Columnist EducationNews.org
Once upon a time, and not so long ago, America had the world's best school system. That may no longer be true, and the reason why will surprise you.
Education reformers typically claim we have a serious problem with our schools because American students do poorly compared to other nations on international tests. They claim our low scores will adversely affect our ability to compete economically on the world stage.
The National Math Panel Report Goes to Washington
Barry Garelick
Columnist EducationNews.org
The National Math Advisory Panel (NMP), which was formed two years ago, released its final report on March 13, 2008. One of the principal messages of the report is that "the delivery system in mathematics education is broken and must be fixed." Such a statement is hard to ignore, so it was only a matter of time before someone on the Hill would look into what it would take to fix the broken system.
Charter oversight hobbled in 2005
Philadelphia Daily News
Rather than risk offending powerful legislators, the School Reform Commission decided to end audits.
The Philadelphia School District's first audits of charter schools up for renewal in 2004 found problems at all seven, including conflicts of interest at a charter founded by the wife of State Rep. John Perzel, the powerful Northeast Republican who was then speaker of the House.
Government's education policy is self-defeating, academics warn
The Independent
The drive to reform Britain's education system, with frequent shifts in policy and the added burden of targets, is self-defeating and "working against the Government's own intentions", leading academics have warned ministers.
In Defense of Testing Series: NIST Assessment of the U.S. Measurement System
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a new report, An Assessment of the United States Measurement System: Addressing Measurement Barriers to Accelerate Innovation (NIST Special Publication 1048). The report is available at usms.nist.gov and consists of 68 pages for the main report plus nearly 1,000 pages of appendixes. An eight-page "in brief" summary is also available.
Living Literacy: A Cycle of Life to Text and Text to Life
Elliot Washor and Charles Mojkowski
In a December 2007 New Yorker article, "Twilight of the Books," author Caleb Crain laments the decline of literacy in the United States, citing a number of studies indicating, "Americans are losing not just the will to read but even the ability." Crain reports that, "readers are more likely than non-readers to play sports, exercise, visit art museums, attend theater, paint, go to music events, take photos, and volunteer.
Keith Baker
Guest Columnist EducationNews.org
Once upon a time, and not so long ago, America had the world's best school system. That may no longer be true, and the reason why will surprise you.
Education reformers typically claim we have a serious problem with our schools because American students do poorly compared to other nations on international tests. They claim our low scores will adversely affect our ability to compete economically on the world stage.
The National Math Panel Report Goes to Washington
Barry Garelick
Columnist EducationNews.org
The National Math Advisory Panel (NMP), which was formed two years ago, released its final report on March 13, 2008. One of the principal messages of the report is that "the delivery system in mathematics education is broken and must be fixed." Such a statement is hard to ignore, so it was only a matter of time before someone on the Hill would look into what it would take to fix the broken system.
Charter oversight hobbled in 2005
Philadelphia Daily News
Rather than risk offending powerful legislators, the School Reform Commission decided to end audits.
The Philadelphia School District's first audits of charter schools up for renewal in 2004 found problems at all seven, including conflicts of interest at a charter founded by the wife of State Rep. John Perzel, the powerful Northeast Republican who was then speaker of the House.
Government's education policy is self-defeating, academics warn
The Independent
The drive to reform Britain's education system, with frequent shifts in policy and the added burden of targets, is self-defeating and "working against the Government's own intentions", leading academics have warned ministers.
In Defense of Testing Series: NIST Assessment of the U.S. Measurement System
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a new report, An Assessment of the United States Measurement System: Addressing Measurement Barriers to Accelerate Innovation (NIST Special Publication 1048). The report is available at usms.nist.gov and consists of 68 pages for the main report plus nearly 1,000 pages of appendixes. An eight-page "in brief" summary is also available.
Living Literacy: A Cycle of Life to Text and Text to Life
Elliot Washor and Charles Mojkowski
In a December 2007 New Yorker article, "Twilight of the Books," author Caleb Crain laments the decline of literacy in the United States, citing a number of studies indicating, "Americans are losing not just the will to read but even the ability." Crain reports that, "readers are more likely than non-readers to play sports, exercise, visit art museums, attend theater, paint, go to music events, take photos, and volunteer.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
A special edition of Schools News Around the Blogosphere: Bad Behavior
Also a special shout out to the Long Hill Observer blog. Recent entries include:
What is the problem with open and transparent government?
I Asked The Board; No Response Yet
Apathy This one was a goodie!
How Do We Hold Them Accountable?
Wow...sounds just like home!
Ga. county struggles as school crisis drags on
Fort Mill Times, May 31, 2008
A February report from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools blamed the district's woes on a "fatally flawed" school board and accused it of bickering, acting on behalf of special interests, meddling in the schools and making derogatory comments to school administrators during meetings.
Taxpayers won't have to pay for new Clayton diplomas
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 05/31/08
A national company has offered to waive the charges to print 3,000 new diplomas for Clayton County students, saving taxpayers about $80,000. Clayton's new schools superintendent, John Thompson, had ordered new diplomas printed after he learned the old ones bore the name of former Superintendent Gloria Duncan and the signature of former school board Chairwoman Ericka Davis, who resigned in April.
Palm Beach County teachers found to have questionable content on Facebook profiles
South Florida Sun-Sentinel June 1, 2008
Join Facebook and type in "Palm Beach County School District." Up popped more than 200 names, many of them local teachers sharing personal information. A kindergarten teacher had a page with links to photos of herself drinking and having her bottom spanked by a friend. An elementary school music teacher had a page sprinkled with profanity about his former administrators. A special-education teacher had a page that revealed he is "super horny" and an "A++" in bed.
'Loose at best, criminal at worst'
Toronto Sun, June 1, 2008
Toronto's Catholic School Board trustees still owe taxpayers for thousands of dollars worth of questionable expenses, a Sunday Sun review of board documents dating back to 2003 shows.
Also a special shout out to the Long Hill Observer blog. Recent entries include:
What is the problem with open and transparent government?
I Asked The Board; No Response Yet
Apathy This one was a goodie!
How Do We Hold Them Accountable?
Wow...sounds just like home!
Ga. county struggles as school crisis drags on
Fort Mill Times, May 31, 2008
A February report from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools blamed the district's woes on a "fatally flawed" school board and accused it of bickering, acting on behalf of special interests, meddling in the schools and making derogatory comments to school administrators during meetings.
Taxpayers won't have to pay for new Clayton diplomas
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 05/31/08
A national company has offered to waive the charges to print 3,000 new diplomas for Clayton County students, saving taxpayers about $80,000. Clayton's new schools superintendent, John Thompson, had ordered new diplomas printed after he learned the old ones bore the name of former Superintendent Gloria Duncan and the signature of former school board Chairwoman Ericka Davis, who resigned in April.
Palm Beach County teachers found to have questionable content on Facebook profiles
South Florida Sun-Sentinel June 1, 2008
Join Facebook and type in "Palm Beach County School District." Up popped more than 200 names, many of them local teachers sharing personal information. A kindergarten teacher had a page with links to photos of herself drinking and having her bottom spanked by a friend. An elementary school music teacher had a page sprinkled with profanity about his former administrators. A special-education teacher had a page that revealed he is "super horny" and an "A++" in bed.
'Loose at best, criminal at worst'
Toronto Sun, June 1, 2008
Toronto's Catholic School Board trustees still owe taxpayers for thousands of dollars worth of questionable expenses, a Sunday Sun review of board documents dating back to 2003 shows.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Schools News Around the Blogosphere
The big "unfunded mandate" is the one the unions demand
Keep the promise to the children - educate them
Providence Journal
Julia Steiny
The big “unfunded mandate” is the one the unions demand, asking to be constantly paid more and more, for the status quo as well as the “extras,” no matter what the academic outcome for the kids.
Fewer Kindergarteners Will Take a Screening Test
Rollback Set in Schooling of the Gifted
New York Sun
Chancellor Joel Klein last year said he wanted to expand screening so that programs often dominated by well-connected and affluent white parents could include a more diverse group of students.
Parents question proposed changes to Pennsylvania's gifted-student regulations
Pennsylvania is taking steps to make gifted education available to more students, but that has done little to quell long-standing tension between parents and school districts over how the state's brightest are educated.
Schools CEO to earn up to $500,000 a year
By Kristen A. Graham
Inquirer Staff Writer
The ink is dry and the details finalized - incoming Philadelphia schools chief Arlene Ackerman will earn a package worth up to $500,000 annually in salary and perks, a review of her contract shows.
Long school holidays 'should end'
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (UK)
Long school holidays should be abolished to prevent children falling behind in class, a think-tank says. The Institute for Public Policy Research said studies suggested pupils' reading and maths abilities regressed because the summer break was too long.
Ohio teacher training: What does it take to make the grade?
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Why teacher training matters: A growing body of research argues that education schools - despite some exemplary exceptions - produce inadequately prepared teachers. Students who have three ineffective teachers in a row will score as much as 50 percentage points lower on standardized tests than those who have three effective teachers in a row.
Educations "Wag the Dog": Geniuses Lost
By Dick Kantenberger
It is like someone shouted "FIRE" in a theater, but nobody moved. Is the theater empty? No, it's full of people, but still nobody moved or even cared. We are losing hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of potential geniuses every year in the United States because we are just not finding them before it's too late, which in most cases is about the time they are suppose to start 9th grade.
Algebra I stumping high school freshmen
Detroit Free Press
Thousands of high school freshmen across Michigan are failing Algebra I, the first of four math courses this class of students must take and pass to fulfill what are among the toughest graduation requirements in the nation.
U.S. Experts Bemoan Nation's Loss of Stature in the World of Science
Washington Post
Some of the nation's leading scientists, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's top science adviser, today sharply criticized the diminished role of science in the United States and the shortage of federal funding for research, even as science becomes increasingly important to combating problems such as climate change and the global food shortage.
Idaho asks the feds for a fresh start on No Child Left Behind
Idaho Statesman
Idaho's State Board of Education wants a fresh start for hundreds of public schools facing sanctions under a tough federal education accountability mandate.
Keep the promise to the children - educate them
Providence Journal
Julia Steiny
The big “unfunded mandate” is the one the unions demand, asking to be constantly paid more and more, for the status quo as well as the “extras,” no matter what the academic outcome for the kids.
Fewer Kindergarteners Will Take a Screening Test
Rollback Set in Schooling of the Gifted
New York Sun
Chancellor Joel Klein last year said he wanted to expand screening so that programs often dominated by well-connected and affluent white parents could include a more diverse group of students.
Parents question proposed changes to Pennsylvania's gifted-student regulations
Pennsylvania is taking steps to make gifted education available to more students, but that has done little to quell long-standing tension between parents and school districts over how the state's brightest are educated.
Schools CEO to earn up to $500,000 a year
By Kristen A. Graham
Inquirer Staff Writer
The ink is dry and the details finalized - incoming Philadelphia schools chief Arlene Ackerman will earn a package worth up to $500,000 annually in salary and perks, a review of her contract shows.
Long school holidays 'should end'
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (UK)
Long school holidays should be abolished to prevent children falling behind in class, a think-tank says. The Institute for Public Policy Research said studies suggested pupils' reading and maths abilities regressed because the summer break was too long.
Ohio teacher training: What does it take to make the grade?
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Why teacher training matters: A growing body of research argues that education schools - despite some exemplary exceptions - produce inadequately prepared teachers. Students who have three ineffective teachers in a row will score as much as 50 percentage points lower on standardized tests than those who have three effective teachers in a row.
Educations "Wag the Dog": Geniuses Lost
By Dick Kantenberger
It is like someone shouted "FIRE" in a theater, but nobody moved. Is the theater empty? No, it's full of people, but still nobody moved or even cared. We are losing hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of potential geniuses every year in the United States because we are just not finding them before it's too late, which in most cases is about the time they are suppose to start 9th grade.
Algebra I stumping high school freshmen
Detroit Free Press
Thousands of high school freshmen across Michigan are failing Algebra I, the first of four math courses this class of students must take and pass to fulfill what are among the toughest graduation requirements in the nation.
U.S. Experts Bemoan Nation's Loss of Stature in the World of Science
Washington Post
Some of the nation's leading scientists, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's top science adviser, today sharply criticized the diminished role of science in the United States and the shortage of federal funding for research, even as science becomes increasingly important to combating problems such as climate change and the global food shortage.
Idaho asks the feds for a fresh start on No Child Left Behind
Idaho Statesman
Idaho's State Board of Education wants a fresh start for hundreds of public schools facing sanctions under a tough federal education accountability mandate.
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