Education Program
This Week in Education
October 3 - October 10, 2007
Study examines public, private schools
Low-income students who attend urban public high schools generally do just as well as private-school students with similar backgrounds, according to a study being released Wednesday.
States venture into teacher performance pay
The controversial idea of paying teachers based not on how long they’ve been teaching but on how much their students learn got a boost when a key congressman recently proposed adding pay-for-performance money for teachers in high-poverty schools to the next version of the federal No Child Left Behind education law.
Easley pushes Web-based early college initiative: Governor says students could leave high school with degree
Gov. Mike Easley has a message for North Carolina students discouraged by the cost and time commitment of getting a college degree. "You don't have an excuse not to any more," he said Thursday. Easley said the state and the College Foundation of North Carolina plan to air a public service announcement within days announcing the official launch of the Learn and Earn Online Web site.
National Center on Time & Learning is Launched
The new organization was launched on October 2nd in Washington, D.C. to promote expanded learning time to improve student outcomes and ensure an enriched education for all students. The National Center on Time & Learning will provide research and support for efforts to increase academic and enrichment opportunities for students, which some experts say can help improve student performance and close the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their better-off peers.
U.S.-Chinese Exchanges Nurture Ties Between Principals
Program participants are selected from the Principals’ Leadership Academy of Nashville, a partnership of Vanderbilt, the 74,000-student public school system in metropolitan Nashville, and the Nashville Public Education Foundation. Leaders of districts in and around Guangzhou recommend the Chinese principals.
Low-Performing Schools Targeted
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and L.A. Unified will unveil a partnership today that calls for the mayor to oversee two families of schools under a five-year contract that will not be renewed if the schools don't meet goals for test scores and graduation and dropout rates, according to documents obtained by the Daily News.
‘Genius Grant’ for Leader of College-Access Group
Deborah Bial, the founder and president of the Posse Foundation, was named last week as one of this year’s 24 MacArthur Fellows by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Feds tout computerized tests for key skills: Study suggests that computerized exams hold promise as problem-solving assessment tools
A federal report funded by the National Center for Education Statistics says computer-based testing holds promise for measuring "21st-century" and higher-order thinking skills that cannot be measured easily via traditional pencil-and-paper exams. One of the study's researchers notes, however, that the United States may well be years away from developing the infrastructure to support such testing.
Federal Rule Yields Hope for Science: Testing mandate is expected to increase time for subject
Some proponents of science education say they have faced no greater foe over the past few years than federally mandated tests in reading and mathematics, which have forced teachers to devote increasingly bigger chunks of class time to building students’ skills in those two subjects.
States turn to seniors for help in classrooms
Dorothy Johns, 74, volunteers as a teacher’s aide at a Baltimore elementary school and says the kids help her stay active and healthy. Elizabeth DeSell, the teacher she helps, says she doesn’t know what she would do without her. The kids say they like reading with Johns, and studies show their grades have improved.
Sputnik's anniversary sparks reflection: Launch of first satellite 50 years ago changed technology ... and education
Since the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, was launched by the Soviet Union 50 years ago, satellite technology has transformed life on Earth in a myriad of ways. According to White House science adviser John Marburger, satellites have actually triggered heightened interest among the American people, not only in space, but in science, mathematics, and education.
An archaic education system
The archaic system of starting school at the crack of dawn, seating students in strict rows, marking off arbitrary blocks of time with bells, and exposing kids to strict, teacher-centered instruction (also known as "chalk and talk") was designed to prepare kids for manufacturing work in factory settings.
WHAT CANNOT COUNT TOWARD OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONAL TIME?
State policymakers typically set the minimum number of instructional days or hours, with fewer states explicitly addressing whether certain non-teaching activities that fall within the school day count toward that minimum number. A new ECS StateNote presents a scan of state laws in search of such provisions.
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