Tuesday, February 9

Childhood Nutrition
Michelle Obama Aims To End Child Obesity in a Generation
Today, First Lady Michelle Obama is launching Let's Move, a campaign to help other parents deal with a national health crisis she describes in epic terms. The goal: to eliminate childhood obesity in a generation. Obama says she will use all the power of her pulpit to promote a campaign that will include more healthful food in schools, more accurate food labeling, better grocery stores in communities that don't have them, public service announcements and efforts to get children to be more active. (USA Today, 02/09/10)

College Remediation
Nearly One in Three Colo. Graduates Needs Remedial Courses in College, Study Finds
About one in three first-year college students in Colorado needs remedial help in at least one core subject, according to an annual report. Officials are confident that a new system in place to align Colorado's K-12 schools with higher education will begin to reverse this trend. Overall, 52.7% of recent Colorado high school graduates who enrolled in two-year colleges in 2008 needed remedial help, while 19% of students attending four-year colleges needed remedial courses. The report also shows how well high schools are preparing students for college-level work. (Denver Post, 02/09/10)

Early College Programs
For Students at Risk, Early College Proves a Draw
Increasingly, early college programs, such as those in North Carolina, are aimed at keeping at-risk students in school by eliminating the divide between high school and college. Results in North Carolina and other states show that the approach can reduce high school dropout rates and increase the share of college degree holders. A Jobs for the Future report found that in 2008, the early-college schools that had been open for more than four years had a high school graduation rate of 92% — and four out of 10 graduates had earned at least a year of college credit. (New York Times, 02/08/10)

High School Credits
High-school Credit Can Soon Be Earned Outside Class
Under S.B. 311, Ohio high-school students will be able to earn credits by completing coursework; pursuing an educational option such as a senior project, internship or college classes; or demonstrating mastery of a subject through end-of-course exams or performance-based assessments. State officials plan to release a list of case studies from Ohio schools that best exemplify the spirit of the policy. More than 30 states have similar policies according to Jennifer Dounay Zinth, senior policy analyst with the Education Commission of the States. (Columbus Dispatch, 02/08/10)

Teacher Certification
States Rethink Policies on National-Board Teachers
The economic turmoil has prompted some states to scale back pay bonuses and subsidies for teachers who earn certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. But officials in Georgia, for instance, contend that the state wants to turn its focus toward output-based measures of teacher effectiveness, rather than credentials. Both phenomena are leading some experts to urge districts, teacher associations and the NBPTS to restructure incentives so that board-certified teachers' expertise is used effectively in schools. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 02/09/10)

Teacher Recruitment
'Critical' Lack of Teachers in Remote Areas of State
Teachers willing to work in South Dakota's poorest rural schools can get thousands of dollars in signing and retention bonuses, student loan forgiveness and even housing assistance. Yet, districts are having as much trouble as ever attracting and keeping good candidates. Some suspect that today's college graduates place greater importance on where they live than where they work. Another problem is that South Dakota universities churn out more than enough elementary education majors each year, but only a few chemistry and physics teachers. (Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 02/08/10)

Monday, February 8

AYP Overhaul
Debate Heats Up Over Replacing AYP Metric in ESEA
The Obama administration's proposal to revamp the yardstick used to measure schools' progress under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is being seen as a bold step, even as questions loom about how a new system would work. Under the plan, adequate yearly progress, or AYP, would be replaced with a new metric that would measure student progress toward readiness for college or a career. But some practitioners are voicing qualms about the feasibility of the proposal, and Congressional reaction has been muted so far. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 02/05/10)

Education Stimulus
Dueling Objectives Mark Stimulus at Halfway Point
A year ago, the federal floodgates opened for aid to education, releasing a one-time surge of up to $100 billion in economic-stimulus money. From the outset, the stimulus program's education piece was to serve both an economic and a school improvement purpose. But as states scramble to comply with new federal demands in exchange for the new money it remains to be seen whether the aid will produce lasting changes in K-12 policy, or if it is, in every sense, a one-shot deal. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 02/05/10)

Education Stimulus
With Federal Stimulus Money Gone, Many Schools Face Budget Gaps
Federal stimulus money has helped avoid drastic cuts at schools in most parts of the nation, at least so far. But with the federal money running out, many schools are approaching what officials are calling a "funding cliff." Congress included about $100 billion for education in the stimulus law last year. New studies show that many states will spend all or nearly all that is left between now and the end of this school term. With state and local tax revenues still in decline, the end of the federal money will leave big holes in education budgets. (New York Times, 02/08/10)

Faculty Tenure
OSU's President Gordon Gee Challenging Faculty Tenure at Nation's Biggest Campus
The leader of the country's largest university thinks it's time to re-examine how professors are awarded tenure, a type of job-for-life protection virtually unknown outside academia. Ohio State University President Gordon Gee says the traditional formula that rewards publishing in scholarly journals over excellence in teaching and other contributions is outdated and too often favors the quantity of a professor's output over quality. Gee is one of the few American college presidents who might be able to begin the transformation. (Columbus Dispatch, 02/04/10)

Higher Ed Institutions
The Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution
The number of institutions officially recognized by the federal government as "Hispanic serving" is set to rise dramatically in the coming years, according to an Excelencia in Education study. In the 1980s, the designation Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) was created to direct funding to nonprofit colleges where at least 25% of the full-time-equivalent students are Latino. The study identifies the growing number of institutions that do not meet the HSI enrollment threshold but are "emerging HSIs" and are within the range of 15-24%. (Inside Higher Ed, 02/05/10)

School Finance Litigation
School Funding Gets an F; Judge Calls for Action
A Washington superior court ruled that the state isn't adequately funding its public schools. The judge agreed with the plaintiffs' contention that the state has long been failing its duty under the state constitution to provide for the "ample" education of its school children. He ordered the legislature to establish the cost of providing a basic education for all students, then pay for it. Fiscal crisis or not, he said, the constitution can't be ignored. The state may appeal, especially given the fact that it faces a budget shortfall of $2.6 billion. (Seattle Times, 02/04/10)

Turnaround Strategies
Jindal Wants To Cut Red Tape at Low-performing Schools
Low-performing schools that are under threat of state takeover would get new freedom to waive some regulations under a proposal unveiled by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Districts would be allowed to seek four-year waivers from curriculum requirements, textbook requirements, teacher tenure rules, salary schedules and other regulations. In exchange, schools where more than half the students are performing below grade level would have to implement "turnaround strategies," such as replacing principals or reopening as a charter school. (New Orleans Times Picayune, 02/05/10)

Friday, February 5

Achievement Gaps
Study Finds Wide Achievement Gaps for Top Students
Achievement gaps between students of different genders and racial, economic and linguistic groups are large and persistent for the nation's top-performing students, even as they seem to be narrowing for K-12 students as a whole, according to a report by the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University. Researchers analyzed data stretching back as far as 1996 from 4th- and 8th-grade reading and math tests administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress and from state assessments in those subjects. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 02/05/10)

AP Classes
Maryland Makes Huge Strides in Advanced Placement
Five years ago, Maryland was pushing high-schoolers into Advanced Placement classes. But kids weren't doing so well. In response, State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick began auditing coursework and hired a trainer to work with AP teachers. She pushed for schools to align curricula so that virtually all roads led to AP or comparable high school courses. And she required districts to show which schools had high pass and failure rates on AP tests. Now, Maryland leads the nation in the percentage of high school students who have taken and passed at least one AP exam. (USA Today, 02/04/10)

AP Exams
Failure Rate for AP Tests Climbing
The number of students taking Advanced Placement tests hit a record high last year, but the portion who fail the exams is rising as well, a USA TODAY analysis finds. The findings raise questions about whether schools are pushing millions of students into AP courses without adequate preparation and whether schools are not training enough teachers to deliver the high-level material. The analysis finds that 41.5% of students earned a failing score of 1 or 2, up from 36.5% in 1999. In the South, 48.4% of students earned a 1 or 2. (USA Today, 02/04/10)

Closing Achievement Gaps
State Education Chief Targets Achievement Gap
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced a new initiative to help educators close student achievement gaps. The state has developed new workbooks designed to strengthen teacher-student relationships, address perceptions of bias and improve the general climate of a school. The workbooks include results of a survey that show the disparity in how students and school employees perceive everything from expectations and academic rigor to campus safety and discipline problems. (San Diego Union Tribune, 02/05/10)

Education Overhaul
Beshear Discusses Vision for New Education Task Force
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear offered suggestions for a new task force that is charged with recommending ways to improve education by November in preparation for next year's legislative session. As "general goals and guiding principles" to the task force, Beshear suggested that the task force focus on the following issues: teacher recruitment and retention; career and technical schools; transition from preschool to K-12; dual enrollment; college readiness; technology; and student assessments. (Lexington Herald-Leader, 02/04/10)

Financial Aid
Lobbying Imperils Overhaul of Student Loans
Four months ago, it appeared all but certain that the White House and Democrats in Congress would succeed in overhauling the student loan business and ending government subsidies to private lenders. They proposed taking billions of dollars from the profits of private lenders and giving it directly to students, and many colleges were already moving to get loans directly from the federal government in anticipation of the change. But an aggressive lobbying campaign by the nation's biggest student lenders has now put the White House's plan in peril. (New York Times, 02/05/10)

Online Education
Panel Approves Bill To Add Restrictions to Online Schools
An Oregon legislative committee approved H.B. 3660 that revises virtual charter school laws, while extending an enrollment freeze enacted in 2009. The proposal requires virtual charter schools to use the same accounting systems as other public schools. It requires virtual charter school teachers and administrators to hold appropriate Oregon licenses and for teachers and students to meet twice a week, either in person or through the use of conference calls or other technology. About 4,000 Oregon students attend virtual charter schools. (Statesman Journal, 02/04/10)

Thursday, February 4

Charter Schools
Study: Charter School Growth Accompanied by Racial Imbalance
Seven out of 10 black charter school students are on campuses with extremely few white students, according to a study by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA. Nationally, black students account for 32% of charter school enrollment, which is roughly twice their share of enrollment in regular public schools. The study found that 70% of black charter students are in schools in which at least 90% of the student population is nonwhite, and 43% of black charter students are in schools with virtually all-minority enrollment. (Washington Post, 02/03/10)

Class Size Limits
Do-over on Class Size Proposed
Florida voters would get a chance to "right size the class size" next November, under a constitutional amendment endorsed by two legislative leaders and several education officials. Still, opposition exists to relaxing the classroom student limits on schools. The amendment's sponsors said it would only change the measuring stick to schoolwide averages rather than clamping the limits on every room. They said Florida has spent more than $18 billion building classrooms, hiring teachers and making other preparations to meet limits set by the 2002 amendment. (Tallahassee Democrat, 02/03/10)

Common Standards
State School Boards Raise Questions About Standards
States that adopt proposed common academic standards may not revise them or select only portions to adopt, according to the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, which are leading the initiative. The organizations sought to clarify the agreement with states indicating that common standards must represent at least 85% of the state's standards. The officials said that states must approve the entire common-standards document verbatim, but may choose to add 15% of their own material. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 02/03/10)

Diploma Mills
Wisconsin Plan Aims To Stop Use of Phony Degrees
Lawmakers are considering a bill that would crack down on the manufacture and use of phony academic credentials in Wisconsin by criminalizing both practices. It would prohibit unauthorized schools from using the words "college," "university," "state" or "Wisconsin" in their names. The goal is to stop the spread of diploma mills. The bill also would allow employers to more easily fire and press criminal charges against workers who use fake credentials to get jobs, bonuses and professional licenses. See ECS' summary of diploma mill policies. (Wisconsin State Journal, 02/02/10)

Online Exams
Washington Achievement Tests Online in 364 Schools
State officials say 364 middle schools will give Washington achievement tests online this spring. The new online tests, called the Measurements of Student Progress, are being tried in both reading and math. The schools in the pilot will be giving one or both tests online in grades 6-8. Students at other schools will be using pencil and paper to take the new tests replacing the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. The 364 schools in the pilot represent about 27% of the state's middle schools. (Seattle Times, 02/03/10)

Sex Education
Mississippi Proposes 'Abstinence Plus' Sex Education Option
Mississippi has one of the highest teenage birth rates in the nation, and its only sex education option in public schools is an abstinence-only curriculum. A bill that passed the state House would give districts the option of offering an "abstinence-plus" curriculum that would still encourage students to refrain from sex but would also give them information about contraception. Parents would have to give permission for their children to take the classes. (Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 02/02/10)

Wednesday, February 3

Common Standards
Core Knowledge To Link Curriculum to Core Standards
The Core Knowledge Foundation, which criticized an early version of common-core standards, has decided to align its central curriculum sequence to the revised standards and make it available for free. Core Knowledge's move appears to be the first of what observers anticipate will be many bids by a variety of groups and businesses to adapt or distribute curriculum materials for the common academic standards, an initiative coordinated by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 02/01/10)

Federal Education Priorities
State Lawmakers Unhappy with Obama Priorities
The National Conference of State Legislatures assailed No Child Left Behind as a major encroachment on the states' authority over K-12 education. Now, members of the group say that new policies unveiled by the Obama administration are shaping up to be just as prescriptive and intrusive. The requirements of NCLB have simply been replaced by other, mostly unproven approaches in the programs put forth so far by President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the lawmakers argue in a report. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 02/01/10)

Higher Education Giving
Contributions to Colleges Drop 12%
With the economy in decline, charitable contributions to colleges and universities fell 12% percent in 2009, the steepest decline since the Council for Aid to Education started collecting national data on fund raising in 1969. The contribution total is still significant — $27.85 billion. But most categories of giving were down sharply, according to the report. Giving was down particularly among private bachelor's institutions, which was off by 18.3%. Capital purposes gifts were down by 25%, while giving for general operating support was down by less than 1%. (Inside Higher Ed, 02/03/10)

Student Data Systems
Arizona To Track Learning After High School
Arizona will take part in a new nationwide system to track where high school graduates go to college, which will help measure the success of the state's college-preparedness programs. The National Student Clearinghouse will track high schoolers who move to on to colleges, universities or trade schools. The system will work by matching information about high school graduates against a national database. Previously, the state could track only high schoolers who enrolled in public colleges and universities in the state. (Arizona Daily Star, 02/02/10)

Textbook Options
Senate Votes To Expand Definition of Text Book
Can a Kindle, iPad or any other reading device soon be as common in schools as textbooks? The Georgia Senate voted to expand the definition of "textbook," to include computer hardware and technical equipment to support the use of digital content. The bill would give districts the flexibility to expand their options and seek modern, alternative methods of receiving information. Reading devices, where textbooks could be downloaded into the unit, is one option. The bill now has to go to the House and ultimately be approved by the state board. (Atlanta Journal Constitution, 02/02/10)

Tuesday,  February 2

College Textbooks
A Textbook solution for the High Cost of Education?
The Mississippi College Board is looking at policies to reduce the cost of college textbooks by putting stricter requirements on professors and the books they select. Instructors would be required to use the same book for three consecutive years for their lower-level courses and two years for upper-level courses. Professors would be required to establish earlier textbook adoption deadlines, more clearly identify whether books are required or recommended and let students know if earlier editions may be used. Departments would be encouraged to adopt the same textbook for all sections of the same course. (Jackson Clarion Ledger, 02/01/10)

ESEA Reauthorization
Obama Budget Calls for Major Shifts on ESEA
The Obama administration wants to revamp the signature yardstick used to measure schools' progress under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, but the details of the new accountability system still must be worked out. Meanwhile, the department wants to use a proposed 6.2% boost for education included in the 2011 budget proposal to put forth incentives to states and districts to improve K-12 schools, continuing efforts already afoot. And the proposed budget would consolidate 38 existing programs into 11 new funding streams aimed at furthering the administration’s key education goals. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 02/01/10)

High School Exams
Alaska Bill Tries To Eliminate High School Exit Exam
A high school exit exam is keeping hundreds of Alaska students from earning diplomas and jobs for which they're otherwise qualified, proponents of repealing the test told a Senate committee. Proponents of a bill to eliminate the exam say it eats up both classroom time and resources for yet another standardized test. But the state board of education sees the test as a crucial accountability tool and wants it to stay in place until there is an alternative. Graduation rates have risen since the exit exam requirement took effect in 2004, from 62.9% to 67.5% last year, according to the department of education. (Juneau Empire, 01/31/10)

Higher Education Aid
The Education Exception
President Obama's 2011 budget proposal largely exempts programs important to higher education from the fiscal restraint he urged. Still, the administration would hold funding for many student aid programs at their 2010 levels and eliminate a handful of others; end the Department of Labor's Career Pathways Innovation Fund for community colleges; and slice the budget of the National Endowment for the Humanities. But the proposal recommends significant increases for the Pell Grant Program, several key scientific research agencies and the AmeriCorps national service program. (Inside Higher Ed, 02/02/10)

School Turnarounds
Six States Sign On to School Turnaround Project
Dozens of schools are slated for aggressive interventions under a new, multistate effort that aims to clear hurdles that have hindered previous attempts to improve underperforming schools. Education officials in Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts and New York have agreed to partner with Mass Insight Education and Research Institute. The Partnership Zone Initiative is a $75 million effort that will tap into the $3.5 billion in new Title I school improvement aid that states will receive later this year, as well as private philanthropy. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 02/02/10)

Sex Education
Abstinence-only Classes May Be Effective for Young Teens
A new study shows for the first time that a sex education class emphasizing abstinence only — ignoring moral implications of sexual activity — can reduce sexual activity by nearly a third in 12- and 13-year-olds compared with students who received no sex education. Other forms of sex education also worked, however, reducing sexual activity by about 20% and reducing multiple sexual partners by about 40%. None of the classes appeared to influence the use of condoms or other birth control when the students did have sex. The children thus remained at risk of pregnancy and disease. (Los Angeles Times, 02/02/10)

Monday, February 1

Bible Curriculum
TN Tells High Schools How To Teach the Bible
The Tennessee Board of Education approved guidelines on how to teach the Bible in public high schools. The curriculum is in response to 2008 legislation, which authorized the state to create a course for a "nonsectarian, nonreligious academic study of the Bible." State officials said they tried to develop principles that are safe from court challenges, but others believe a state-approved Bible course could violate church and state separation, depending on who is teaching the course. (Tennessean, 01/29/10)

Charter Schools
Charter School Plan Amended
South Dakota Education Secretary, Tom Oster, made drastic changes to a bill that would allow charter schools in the state, saying the idea needs another year of study. Oster said his original intent was to set up a single state-run pilot charter, which might be paid for by Race to the Top funds. But when some districts asked permission to set up their own charters, he added language that limits the number of such schools. The revised bill limits charters to one state-run school that would target Native Americans students and focus on science, technology, engineering and math. (Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 01/29/10)

College Options
Ariz. Universities Plan To Offer More Degrees
The presidents of Arizona's three public universities told Governor Jan Brewer that they're on pace to double the amount of bachelor's degrees they award in the next 10 years. Under the plan, up to five new campuses will offer only bachelor's degrees with limited, more service-driven majors. The campuses also would have cheaper in-state tuition than three public universities. The plan also calls for the universities to partner with two-year schools to offer four-year degrees, allow more transfers and create dual-enrollment options. (Arizona Daily Sun, 01/28/10)

Common Assessments
States Rush To Join Testing Consortia
Spurred by the promise of $350 million in Race to the Top money for improved tests — as well as a chance to strengthen bids for the program’s larger $4 billion pot — states are scrambling to join consortia to develop common assessments. Six state consortia are now engaged in discussions about common tests, and the multiple partnerships may put to rest for now speculation that federal support inevitably will lead to a single national set of exams. Most states have signed up for more than one partnership since it is unclear what the Department of Education expects to see from the consortia. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 02/01/10)

ESEA Overhaul
Obama To Seek Sweeping Change in 'No Child' Law
The Obama administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of No Child Left Behind, and will call for broad changes in how schools are judged to be succeeding or failing, as well as for the elimination of the law's 2014 deadline for bringing every child to academic proficiency. Significantly, the White House wants to change federal financing formulas so that a portion of the money is awarded based on academic progress, rather than by formulas that apportion money to districts according to their numbers of students, especially poor students. (New York Times, 02/01/10)

Pay for Performance
HISD To Pay Out More than $40 Million in Bonuses
The Houston Independent School District will pay more than $40 million in performance bonuses, rewarding teachers and other staff whose students made the biggest academic gains. Teachers earned an average of $3,606, while executive principals and regional superintendents received $16,157 on average. Leaders of two main teacher groups say their members still complain that the bonus program is based solely on students' test scores and doesn't give all educators an equal shot at the money because of the subjects or grade levels they teach. (Houston Chronicle, 01/27/10)

State Data Systems
States Said To Lag in Using Data Systems Well
States have made progress in building data systems that track student performance over time, but are not sharing the information in a way that leads to meaningful decisionmaking, according to a Data Quality Campaign survey. The report specifies 10 state actions necessary for effective data use. But 43 states have taken three or fewer of the actions, which call for states to expand their data systems to include higher education and workforce information; ensure that the data can be accessed, analyzed and used; and build the capacity of stakeholders to use the data. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/29/10)

Friday, January 29

Common Standards
New Critiques Urge Changes in Common Standards
A draft of grade-by-grade common standards is undergoing significant revisions in response to feedback that the outline of what students should master is confusing and insufficiently user-friendly. Writing groups convened by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association say the new version will be leaner, better-organized and easier-to-understand than the 200-plus-page set that has been circulating in recent weeks. The first public draft of the standards is now expected by mid-February. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/28/10)

Diploma Mills
Taking Aim at Diploma Mills
A U.S. Congressman and several supporters unveiled legislation that aims to address problems associated with diploma mills. The bill would: cement in federal law definitions of "diploma mills" and "accreditation mills"; bar federal agencies from using degrees from diploma mills to provide jobs or promotions that depend on candidates' educational credentials; and give the Federal Trade Commission more authority to define and crack down on deceptive practices by dubious institutions. (Inside Higher Ed, 01/29/10)

Minority Male Success
Minority Male Plight Demands Broad U.S. Action, College Board Says
A College Board report highlights the "overwhelming barriers" minority males confront in becoming educated and productive citizens and recommends national strategies aimed at erasing "the disparities in educational attainment." Among the recommendations: convene a national policy discussion on the issue of minority male achievement; fund research to clarify issues that could impact minority male achievement; pursue P-16 partnerships to help minority males gain preparation and succeed in college; and identify and scale up funding for successful programs. (Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 01/27/10)

School Calendar
Senate Committee OKs Later School Start Date
Legislation endorsed by the Senate's education committee would prohibit Indiana's public schools and accredited nonpublic schools from starting classes before Labor Day. Its original version would have also prevented schools from keeping students in class after June 10, but an amendment would let local school boards make the final call after a public hearing on when to end the school year. See ECS' summary of school calendar policies. (Gary Post-Tribune, 01/28/10)

Student Health
First Lady Backs Childhood Obesity Screening
New Hampshire is considering legislation that would require schools to record children's body mass index, an indicator of obesity, which has the support of the First Lady, Dr. Susan Lynch, who is a pediatrician. The bill would require BMI screenings in grades one, 4, 7 and 10. Parents would be given the information as part of a health report, but could order schools not to do the screenings based on religious objections. The results would be reported without identifying individual students to the school board, superintendent or state department of education. (Concord Monitor, 01/28/10)

Teaching Quality
Report: States' Policies Protect Ineffective Teachers, Shortchanging Students
Most states are holding tight to policies that protect incompetent teachers and poor training programs, shortchanging educators and their students before new teachers even step into the classroom, according to a report by the National Council on Teacher Quality. The annual report paints a grim picture of how states handle everything from pay to discipline for public school teachers. In fact, even the top scoring state, Florida, received a C, with most states getting Ds or Fs. (Los Angeles Times, 01/28/10)

Thursday, January 28

College Completion
Cal State Aims To Boost Graduation Rates
California State University is embarking on an ambitious initiative to raise its graduation rates and help more low-income and minority students earn degrees, even as it faces a grim budget. The university is setting a goal of boosting its six-year graduation rate by 8% by 2016, bringing it to 54%, in line with the top national averages at similar institutions. University leaders say they hope to raise graduation rates for underrepresented minority students by 10%, cutting in half what has been a thorny achievement gap in degree completion compared with white students. (Los Angeles Times, 01/27/10)

College Endowments
Investment Losses Cause Steep Dip in University Endowments, Study Finds
Reflecting the difficult financial environment for higher education, university endowments lost an average of 18.7% in the last year, the worst returns since the Great Depression, according to a new study. Unusually, the universities with endowments over $1 billion had the greatest decline, an average of 20.5%. At the same time, the study found, debt rose, especially at the largest universities, and gifts declined. The 2009 losses in endowment income come on top of an average loss of 3% in 2008. (New York Times, 01/28/10)

Community Service
N.J. High Schools Study Community-service Requirement
Community service may have inched closer to becoming a graduation requirement for New Jersey high school students under a recently signed bill. The legislation calls for a four-year study to start this fall at 15 high schools. Under the pilot program, incoming freshmen will complete at least 20 hours of community service during their high school careers. The pilot expands a program the state began in 2005 that called for students in selected high schools to complete at least 15 hours of service in their junior year. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 01/27/10)

International Assessments
Measuring Student Learning, Globally
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has announced an effort to develop a global assessment of student learning. The Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) project aims to gauge whether it is possible to develop "reliable and useful comparisons of learning outcomes" that are valid across countries with different cultures and languages. The experiment will focus on producing three separate measures: one designed to measure general skills, and two in disciplines, economics and engineering. (Inside Higher Ed, 01/28/10)

Race to the Top
States Vie To Stand Out in Race to Top Proposals
As peer reviewers begin to comb through Race to the Top Fund applications, they will find many common themes. But the plans differ markedly on the details, and in interviews with Education Week, state officials highlighted reform proposals they believed might set them apart in the scoring process. Among other areas, they noted factors such as how heavily states plan to weight student-achievement data in teacher and principal evaluations, the extent of buy-in by local education officials and unions, and promises to improve poorly performing schools. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/27/10)

Teacher Absences
Teacher-Dismissal Powers Found To Affect Absences
Chicago teachers who didn't have tenure took fewer days off after principals were given more flexibility to dismiss probationary teachers, a new study has found. The policy reduced teacher absences on an annual basis by about 10% and cut the number of teachers with 15 or more annual absences by 20%. Principals were given the ability to dismiss probationary teachers without completing elaborate documentation or attending a dismissal hearing. In return for the flexibility, the district expanded the pool of teachers who were placed on a tenure track. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/27/10)

Wednesday, January 27

Federal Education Funding
Obama To Promote More Education Spending in State of the Union Speech
President Obama will propose a major increase in funding for elementary and secondary education for the coming year in his State of the Union address, one of the few areas that would grow in an otherwise austere federal budget. The proposal to raise federal education spending by as much as $4 billion was described by administration officials as the start of an effort to revamp No Child Left Behind. Obama will highlight his school reform agenda in the address. The funding would include a $1.35 billion increase in Race to the Top funds and $1 billion to overhaul of NCLB. (Washington Post, 01/26/10)

Girls and Math
Study: Female Teachers' Math Anxiety Affects Girl Students
Women teachers' anxiety about math may undermine girls' confidence in learning the subject and decrease their performance in fields that depend on a grasp of math fundamentals, such as science and engineering, research at the University of Chicago shows. The researchers found that boys' math performance was not related to their teacher's math anxiety while girls' math achievement was affected. More than 90% of elementary school teachers are women and they are able to get their teaching certificates with little math preparation, according to one survey. (Chicago Tribune, 01/25/10)

Governor’s Ed Agenda
Gov. Christie Transition Report Recommends Tougher N.J. Rules for Teacher Tenure
New Jersey should make it more difficult for teachers to earn tenure, eliminate some school budget votes and provide a "robust" slate of school choice options for parents, according to the education transition committee report advising Governor Chris Christie. The report includes dozens of recommendations for pre-K through higher education and talks repeatedly about "the sheer volume and onerous requirements of regulations" covering schools, calling for streamlining or even putting a moratorium on some. (Newark Star-Ledger, 01/25/10)

High School Exams
State Lawmakers Back Plans To Replace High School FCAT
The FCAT in Florida high schools might soon become a thing of the past. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressing ahead with a plan to replace the test with a series of standardized end-of-course exams. Lawmakers said the state needs more sophisticated testing than provided by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Students would have to pass the new exams to earn course credit, and the courses would become graduation requirements. (St. Petersburg Times, 01/27/10)

Online Learning
Online Enrollment Up 17%
Fall 2008 online enrollments at colleges were up 17% from a year before, with about 4.6 million students taking at least one class online, according to the 2009 Sloan Survey of Online Learning. With all higher education enrollments increasing only by 1.2% for the same time period, the share of students taking at least one course online reached 25.3%. According to chief academic officers, the growth in online enrollments has not been matched by consistent training programs so faculty members can learn how to teach virtually, and that many of these officers doubt that their faculties truly respect online learning. (Inside Higher Ed, 01/27/10)

Student Discipline
Delaware Schools: Task Force Examines Discipline
Delaware lawmakers want to change school discipline policies, including mandatory reporting to police of cases involving young students, to keep children in school instead of in court. A task force was charged with reviewing the regulations to find ways to give greater flexibility to school officials when doling out punishments. The task force issued several recommendations, including making codes of conduct and appeal policies uniform across all districts and charter schools. (Wilmington News Journal, 01/27/10)

Tuesday, January 26

College Enrollment/Degrees
College 'Gender Gap' Favoring Women Stops Growing
More men are attending college and graduating with a bachelor's degree, reversing the tendency of females to outnumber and outperform men, according to an American Council on Education report. One notable exception is young Hispanic men, who are falling further behind Hispanic women. Men account for 43% of overall college enrollment and earn 43% of bachelor's degrees. However, men are much less likely than women to go to college — or return to college — later in life: Undergraduate men age 25 or older are outnumbered by women in the same age group 2-to-1. (Boston Globe, 10/26/10)

Computers in Classrooms
A Computer Per Student Leads to Higher Performance than Traditional Classroom Settings
A dozen years into the "1 to 1" computing movement's push to pair every schoolchild and teacher with a laptop, studies show the students in these programs outperformed and were more engaged than their peers in traditional classrooms. Across all of the studies, one common link is clear: the value of teachers committed to making 1:1 computing work. Additional factors included: a strong commitment from school leadership; consistent and supportive administrative policies; and professional development opportunities for teachers, particularly the sharing of best practices. (Science Daily, 01/22/10)

Financial Aid
Obama Seeks To Expand Student Loan Program
The Obama administration proposed expanding a popular program that caps monthly student loan payments for college graduates with low or moderate incomes. Under the proposal, monthly payments on federal loans would be limited to 10% of discretionary income — above a "basic living allowance" — for qualified borrowers. Currently, the cap is 15% for the program that began last summer. In addition, certain borrowers could be eligible for loan forgiveness after 10 years in public service or 20 years in other fields of work. (Washington Post, 01/25/10)

Preschool Payoff
State Preschool Programs Save $1B a Year in Crime, Education Costs
Michigan preschool programs over the past 25 years are saving the state $1 billion this year in crime and education costs, according to a new study. Among the savings cited: $220-million to schools because fewer students repeat grades and there is less need for special education; $584 million less for programs for juvenile corrections, child abuse, welfare and unemployment, and more work productivity when the children enter the workforce; and $347 million less in social costs as a result of less crime and substance abuse, and more income for their parents. (Detroit Free Press, 01/25/10)

Teacher Preparation
ASU Plans Big Change in Teacher Training
Arizona State University is shaking up its training program for K-12 educators. The university, one of the largest producers of teachers in the nation, plans to cut in half, to about 25%, the time its undergraduates spend on teaching theory and increase to about 75% the time spent learning subjects. Students will get more time working with experienced teachers in K-12 classrooms. ASU also will try to improve the quality of its students by incorporating some of the ways that Teach for America recruits and trains its corps members. (Arizona Republic, 01/25/10)

Urban Schools
Scholars Identify 5 Keys to Urban School Success
A new book based on data on Chicago elementary schools identifies five tried-and-true ingredients that work, in combination with one another, to spur success in urban schools. The ingredients are: strong leadership, in the sense that principals are "strategic, focused on instruction, and inclusive of others in their work;" a welcoming attitude toward parents, and formation of connections with the community; development of professional capacity of teachers; a learning climate that is safe, welcoming, stimulating and nurturing to all students; and strong instructional guidance and materials. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/25/10)

Monday, January 25

District Spending
Experts Urge Districts To Do More With Less
Districts are facing a budget crisis that is expected to only get worse as the effects of the recession linger. But some thought leaders, who presented papers at a recent conference, are insisting that education officials can and should use the opportunity to target resources in a way that serves their students better. The papers offer several suggestions, including taking a hard look at personnel decisions, converting what districts spend into a per-unit cost to better track expenditures, and making business decisions based on data. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/20/10)

Education Technology
After 10 Years, Federal Money for Technology in Education
More than a decade ago, two leaders in the news and communications fields were asked by foundations to explore how nonprofits like schools, libraries and museums could tap into emerging digital technologies. Their recommendation was to set up a multibillion dollar trust that would act as a "venture capital fund" to research learning technology. Their organization, what is now being called the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies, finally has Congressional appropriation through the Education Department. It could be handing out grants by fall. (New York Times, 01/25/10)

Race to the Top
State Cuts Teacher Merit Pay from Federal Fund Application after AEA Leader Objects
Alabama's application for Race to the Top basically says that schools would use the money to expand existing programs. More extensive reforms were killed after the Alabama Education Association leader wrote state Superintendent Joe Morton a letter opposing them. Teacher performance-based pay and seven other proposals that he questioned — including quarterly standardized tests for all students and a new salary schedule that would give more money to certain teachers — were deleted from an earlier draft of the application. (Mobile Register, 0124/10)

School Finance
R.I. Working on New School-financing Formula
Despite Rhode Island's economic woes, Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist says developing an equitable funding formula is among her top priorities. The state education department, working with Brown University, is taking a leadership role in developing the formula. Rhode Island abandoned its previous formula years ago and is the only state without one. Instead, lawmakers simply have added an across-the-board percentage increase, kept the allocations the same or even cut state aid to schools. (Providence Journal, 01/25/10)

Student and Economic Gains
Study Links Rise in Test Scores to Nations' Output
Relatively small improvements in the skills of a nation's workforce can have a big effect on its future economic well-being, concludes a new Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development study. A "modest goal" of having 30 industrialized countries raise their average scores by 25 points on the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, in the next 20 years would provide an aggregate gain of $115 trillion in GDP "over the lifetime of the generation born in 2010." (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/25/10)

Friday, January 22

Chinese Classes
Foreign Languages Fade in Class — Except Chinese
Thousands of public schools stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade. But another contrary trend shows a rush by schools to offer instruction in Chinese. Some schools are paying for the classes on their own, but hundreds are getting some help. The Chinese government is sending teachers from China to schools all over the world — and paying part of their salaries. No one keeps an exact count, but rough calculations suggest that perhaps 1,600 American public and private schools are teaching Chinese, up from 300 or so a decade ago. And the numbers are growing exponentially. (New York Times, 01/21/10)

College Student Attitudes
Cost of College Is a Big Worry of Freshmen in National Survey
Financial concerns, from paying for college to job prospects, dominated the new-student experience in 2009, according to an annual survey on freshman attitudes. Some of the students' concerns were driven by family finances. Another possible effect of the economic downturn was the change in the number of students who reported that they would pursue either majors or careers in business. When it comes to their studies, about 39% of freshmen said they would need tutoring or remedial courses while in college. (Chronicle of Higher Education, 01/21/10)

Higher Ed Reforms
Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Higher-education Bill
Tennessee's community college students should find it easier to transfer between schools and to public four-year universities under a plan approved by the legislature. The higher-education reform law will also revamp how schools are funded — tying their budgets to the number of students they graduate rather than how many they enroll. And it will force four-year universities to stop offering remedial courses to students. The bill calls for creating a single set of core standards for all 13 community colleges by 2011. (Tennessean, 01/22/10)

Race to the Top
Superintendent's Reform Plan for Md. Schools Criticized
Several Maryland senators are balking at the state schools superintendent's proposals to alter teacher tenure and compensation as a way to win Race to the Top money. Maryland was one of 10 states that did not apply in the first round of applications for the federal funding. Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick wants to extend the two-year teacher tenure process by at least a year, packaging that with added support for new teachers. She also wants to provide incentive pay for high-performing teachers who agree to work in low-performing schools. (Baltimore Sun, 01/22/10)

School Year
GOP Seeks To Mandate 180 School Days a Year
Mandating a minimum number of instructional days for Hawaii students would take furloughs off the table in contract negotiations and get students back in school, Republican House members contend. The GOP unveiled its legislative package that includes a proposal to mandate a minimum of 180 instructional days per year. Public school students already are facing 17 days of lost instructional days from furloughs that were negotiated into public worker contracts as a cost-cutting move by the state. (Honolulu Star Bulletin, 01/22/10)

Secretary of Education’s Influence
Duncan Carves Deep Mark on Policy in First Year
Arne Duncan enters his second year as secretary of education pursuing a national policy agenda that could place him among the most influential leaders in his department's 30-year history. Empowered by up to $100 billion in economic-stimulus aid for education, Duncan has pressed hard on such priorities as charter schools, teacher performance pay, common academic standards and turnarounds of low-performing schools. Observers are now watching to see whether he will succeed in codifying the administration's agenda through the renewal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/20/10)

Thursday, January 21

Common Assessments
Obstacles Seen to Richer Questions on Common Tests
Most testing experts have presumed that the Education Department's promise of $350 million to support common assessments would promote open-ended items capable of measuring higher-order critical-thinking skills. But such an approach raises questions about added expense, who should score the items, and whether they will prove reliable enough for high-stakes decisions. There also are questions about which entities would actually "own" any new assessments created in common by states and whether working in state consortia would generate savings. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/20/10)

District Consolidation
Consultants To Study Miss. School District Mergers
The same Denver-based national consulting firm that helped develop Mississippi's education funding formula will crunch numbers for the state as officials decide which districts are best suited for merger. Governor Haley Barbour said when he unveiled his budget in November that Mississippi should go from 152 districts to 100 to save money as state revenues are running short. In December, he appointed a 19-member commission of business people, legislators and education experts to study consolidation. (Biloxi Sun Herald, 01/18/10)

ESEA Reauthorization
Duncan Tells Mayors To Expect Incentives in ESEA
Providing incentives for districts that are making progress on student achievement will be a key element of the Obama administration's plan for renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He said that he wants ESEA to be "tight on goals" but looser in terms of how states should achieve them. Duncan also encouraged mayors to work with their districts to go after other new funds, including the Investing in Innovation grants and the Teacher Incentive Fund. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/20/10)

Special Education
Measure Would Help Oklahoma Parents of Special Needs Children
Parents of Oklahoma schoolchildren with special needs would have a greater choice and control in deciding their education under a bill up for consideration this session. Under H.B. 3393, students with disabilities who have an individualized education program would qualify for a scholarship to attend any school that meets the accreditation requirements of the state board of education. The scholarship program would redirect existing funds currently being spent on the student, even to a private school. (Oklahoman, 01/20/10)

Teacher Evaluation
State Seeks Uniform Teacher Evaluation
South Dakota teachers would face a more regular and formal evaluation process under S.B. 25. The bill calls for the state department of education to come up with standards for teacher evaluation and three tiers of teacher performance: beginning teachers, professional teachers and instructional leaders. Under the bill, teachers in their first three years would receive annual evaluations, while teachers with four or more years would be evaluated every other year. The bill also calls for a mentoring program to help teachers in their first three years. (Pierre Capital Journal, 01/20/10)

Youth and Media Use
Kids Spend More than Seven Hours a Day with Entertainment Media, Study Says
Youths 8 to 18 now spend an average seven hours and 38 minutes a day using entertainment media, marking a 20% increase from 2004, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study. Some youth can average 10 hours and 45 minutes daily. Some results were startling: heavy media users got worse grades, however, researchers note they can't prove cause and effect; black and Hispanic children consume more than four hours more media each day than white children; and only about three in 10 young people say they have rules about how much time they can spend using media. (St. Petersburg Times, 01/21/01)

Wednesday, January 20

College Tuition
New Push in New York
New York Governor David A. Paterson proposed legislation that could give the State University of New York and City University of New York a large infusion of funds and far more flexibility — even in what is going to be another tight budget year. The proposal would allow the university systems to set their own tuition rates and to consider differential tuition policies by campus or academic program. Further, the plan would allow the university systems to keep any additional tuition revenues they generate. (Inside Higher Ed, 01/18/10)

Common Standards
Putting New Standards into Practice a Tough Job
If all 50 states were to adopt common content standards, the calculus for educators to exchange long-held practices for newer ones could be daunting: There are about 3.3 million public school teachers, and even if the initial standards were to cover only math and English, the numbers affected could be significant. Some observers are arguing that other stakeholders must be engaged to reshape teacher training, craft new curricular materials, devise methods of gauging student progress and ensure that instruction is aligned with them. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/14/10)

Preschool Reforms
Gregoire Proposes Enhanced Preschool
Washington Governor Chris Gregoire said that she wants all preschools for children ages 3 and 4 to be certified by the state. Gregoire said that under her proposed "All Start" program, certification would ensure that all preschools would operate under the same standards set by the Department of Early Learning. Also, she added, preschool teachers are not required to undergo background checks. Under the proposal, more low-income parents would receive financial help on a sliding scale to send their children to preschool. (Seattle Times, 01/18/10)

Promotion/Retention
Bill Puts Emphasis on Third-graders' Reading
The Indiana General Assembly is considering a bill that would require 3rd graders be retained until they achieve grade level proficiency in reading on the state exam. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett will testify in support of S.B. 258, but local school officials are concerned that the additional costs could put the squeeze on district budgets. Schools would have to provide intensive interventions to students, such as small group instruction; transition classes with 3rd and 4th graders; extended learning time; and summer reading programs. (Gary Post-Tribune, 01/20/10)

Race to the Top
All But 10 States Throw Hats Into Race to Top Ring
Forty states and the District of Columbia applied for the first round of the Race to the Top Fund. Ten states did not apply: Alaska, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Washington. Those states that did not apply, and losing states from the first round, will be able to compete in the second round, which is set for June. Peer reviewers will evaluate the applications, based on a 500-point scale. Winners will be announced in April, and the Education Department will post all applications — from winners and losers — online. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/19/10)