In the News on July 14-18, 2008
CT's recently released state standardized test scores indicate uneven performance * Sixty percent of Hawaii's public schools still fail to meet their progress goals under No Child Left Behind * Maine communities selected to participate study to measure effectiveness of various youth programming
State Roundup
- CT’s recently released state standardized test scores for
grades 3 through 8 indicate uneven subject-specific performance.
http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-mastery0718.artjul18,0,7341455.story - HI test scores demonstrate improvement, yet sixty percent of
public schools still fail to meet their progress goals under No Child Left
Behind.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080718/NEWS07/807180372&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL - MD education officials acknowledge that changes made on this
year’s Maryland School Assessment may have contributed to the large rise in
student test scores.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.scores18jul18,0,1108492.story - ME communities selected to participated in $3.1 million
study to measure their effectiveness in preventing substance abuse and other
problems through the implementation of youth programming, such as early
childhood services, adolescent mentoring programs, after-school enrichment, and
other activities.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=167279&zoneid=500 - OK Education Association (OEA) plans petition drive called
HOPE (Helping Oklahoma Public Education) with the goal of amending the State
Constitution to require more per-pupil funding.
http://newsok.com/school-funding-plan-draws-opponents-in-state/article/3271712/?tm=1216351864
In the News July 17, 2008
National/NCLB
- McCain discusses education agenda during speech given at
NAACP meeting. Top priorities include: school choice programs, direct federal resources
to alternative teacher-certification programs, school-level funding for teacher
merit pay, access to tutoring services, and fully funding NCLB.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/44mccain_web.h27.html
School funding/Litigation
- AZ House Speaker’s plan to use $5 million of about $9
million in a House contingency fund to pay for scholarships for hundreds of
disabled and foster-care children to attend private schools denied by Attorney
General's Office. Denied on grounds that such programs were declared
unconstitutional by the Arizona Court of Appeals.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/07/17/20080717vouchers0717.html
State Roundup
- CA high school dropout rate greater than previously
estimated—dropout rate reaches nearly 25%.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/17/BAS311QATI.DTL&feed=rss.education - NJ Board of Education approves raising the minimum, required
scores for reading and math proficiency exams in grades 5 through 8.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1216269327262650.xml&coll=1 - OK Education Association plans petition drive to raise $850
million for schools by requiring state to fund schools at regional average.
http://newsok.com/education-petition-seeks-more-state-funding/article/3271182/?tm=1216270485 - PA Independent Regulatory Review Commission reviews and
questions proposal to require high school students to pass subject-specific
exams before they can graduate.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/state/s_578045.html
School funding/Litigation
- CT Legislature approves K-12 budget for fiscal 2008-09.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43ctrecap.h27.html - FL senator schedules public forums on plan to abolish property taxes for
school funding. Judge schedules arguments for Aug. 13 on suit to remove
Amendment 5 (the proposed elimination of "required
local effort" for school support) from the November ballot.
http://floridacapitalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080716/CAPITOLNEWS/807160345 - Senate bill approved to provide $61.8 billion for the Department of
Education—a 4.2 percent increase over the current year. House Appropriations
subcommittee bill approved to boost spending for disadvantaged students and
special education. Both bills would eliminate funding for the Reading First
program.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43budget.h27.html - Federal funding to be eliminated from Reading First program.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43read.h27.html
State Roundup
- MD Education Department reports improvements in test scores among minority
and poor students.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071502530.html?nav=rss_opinions - OR ballot
initiative, which would restrict the amount of time ELLs
could receive instruction in their native languages or take
English-as-a-second-language classes, will be put before a statewide vote.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43oregon.h27.html?levelId=2300& - PA Governor and state lawmakers make high school, subject-specific exams for
graduation optional.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43brief-1.h27.html - RI enacts legislation permitting the creation of “mayoral academies”—public
charter schools overseen by municipal leaders and intended to serve a diverse
student population.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43ri.h27.html
Other News
- A consortium of charter school advocates issue a report designed to serve as
a framework for assessing charter quality entitled, “A
Framework for Academic Quality.”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43brief-b1.h27.html
In the News on July 15, 2008
Federal/NCLB
- The six states with federal approval to change the way they
hold schools accountable under NCLB will use six different ways to distinguish
between schools with minor problems and those that need total overhauls
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43nclb_ep.h27.html - The new president of the American Federation of Teachers
vows to take down NCLB, saying it has become “a four-letter word”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/30/44aft.h27.html - Opinion – School Choice could sway Hispanic vote in
presidential election.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121607849587752587.html?mod=rss_opinion_main - Studies say gap in teacher qualifications at high- and
low-poverty urban schools has narrowed since the beginning of this decade
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43teachgap.h27.html - Commentary – “States must take a lead in improving school
leadership”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43zahorchak.h27.html
School Funding/Litigation
- Education issues like teacher quality and NCLB were drowned
out by concerns over soaring energy prices and a weakening economy at the
National Governors Association meeting, yet even those worries intersected with
education
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/15/43nga_web.h27.html - Budget woes force cuts in summer school programs across the
nation
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2008/07/14/budget_woes_force_cuts_in_summer_school_programs/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Education+news - With fuel prices soaring nationwide, school districts
struggle to supplement transportation-budget shortfalls and find ways to offset
the increasing costs
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43fuelcost.h27.html
State Roundup
- MD test scores show surprisingly strong gains in reading and
math, especially among disadvantaged students
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071402582.html?nav=rss_education - MT educators and candidates urge lawmakers to hike school
funding; the issue could again be a battleground in the 2009 Legislature.
http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/07/15/news/20schools.txt - NY’s new data system to calculate high school graduation
rates “has caused a number of problems” and the public has yet to learn what
percentage of the Class of 2007 graduated
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/education/15grad.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
In the News on July 14, 2008
National/NCLB
- Board that sets policy for the National Assessment of
Educational Progress organizes ad hoc committee in an effort to analyze the
consistency of policies associated with the exclusions and accommodations of
states and cities participating in “the nation’s report card”
exam.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43accommodate_ep.h27.html - States continue to struggle in meeting the NCLB’s academic
targets for ELLs in mathematics and reading, according to the latest analysis
released by the U.S. Department of Education.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43ell.h27.html - Editorial: Civil rights groups defend provisions of NCLB.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121581793188647485.html?mod=rss_opinion_main - The U.S. Department of Education releases guide to the
evaluation of K-12 online-learning programs.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/16/43online.h27.html - A National Council on Teacher Quality study finds that the
math skills elementary school teachers learn in college are insufficient to
adequately teach math to their students.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/164/story/192434.html
State Roundup
- CA legal ruling which outlawed most forms of home schooling
in
could come under scrutiny because the court case on which it was based has been
dismissed
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080712-1228-ca-homeschooling.html - IL budget redistributed after $1.4 billion cut. Education
funding to receive $360 million.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-state-budget-14jul14,0,7342478.story - NY Governor states that he would like to lift state's cap on
charter schools.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=703358&category=STATE&newsdate=7/14/2008
Published Monday, Jul. 28, 2008