U.S. approves first brain wave test for ADHD | The Raw Story

U.S. approves first brain wave test for ADHD | The Raw Story:

U.S. approves first brain wave test for ADHD

US regulators on Monday approved the first brain wave test for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, saying it may improve the accuracy of diagnoses by medical experts.

Cases of ADHD are on the rise in the United States, as are the number of prescriptions for stimulants doled out to young people who appear to have difficulty concentrating or controlling impulses.

The new test, known as the Neuropsychiatric EEG-Based Assessment Aid (NEBA) System, measures electrical impulses given off by neurons in the brain.

A 15-20 minute test calculates the ratio of certain brain wave frequencies known as theta and beta waves in children age six to 17.

“The theta/beta ratio has been shown to be higher in children and adolescents with ADHD than in 

UPDATE: Daily Kos:Charles M. Blow + Eugene Robinson may deserve another Pulitzer

Daily Kos: Eugene Robinson may deserve another Pulitzer:


Charles M. Blow also has a powerful column

Earlier today I posted Eugene Robinson may deserve another Pulitzer about the column he wrote in reaction to the verdict in Sanford.  In that piece I wrote I have been waiting for the reactions of Eugene Robinson and Charles M. Blow.  The latter's column would normally next run on Thursday.   Well, it came out today, for tomorrow's paper, as Catte Nappe informed us in a comment, where he quote a b

by rss@dailykos.com ... / 1h 

Eugene Robinson may deserve another Pulitzer

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for a column titled Black boys denied the right to be young.  Intended for the print edition of Tuesday's Washington Post, it went live in early afternoon on the website.

It begins with two short and to the point paragraphs:  

Justice failed Trayvon Martin the night he was killed. We should be appalled and outraged, but perhaps not surprised, that it failed him again Saturday night, with a verdict setting his killer free.

Our society considers young black men to be dangerous, interchangeable, expendable, guilty until proven innocent. This is the conversation about race that we desperately need to have — but probably, as in the past, will try our best to avoid.

Trust me when I say that what you have just read is not close to the full power of this op ed.

It would be unfair of me to try to summarize the article - Robinson lays out his case thoroughly, precisely, and with evidence.

He reminds us of the history of the case, including the fact that Zimmerman was never tested for drugs or alcohol -  and we have to wonder, what if in fact he had them in his system?  Might that have changed anything.

He feels the case was more than met for a conviction on manslaughter, and offers the reasons 

Is a Path to College a Mistake? | My Island View

Is a Path to College a Mistake? | My Island View:

Is a Path to College a Mistake?

July 15, 2013 by tomwhitby

My youngest daughter just graduated high school in June. She has always been an outstanding student and, as her dad, I welcome the chance to recognize that publicly. One of the high points of one of the speeches given at her graduation ceremony caused a huge round of applause from the audience, which was gathered for the outdoor event. Ninety-Five percent of the graduating class of over 300 students had been accepted to institutions of higher learning. Why would the cheers not abound? This is the exact statistic that politicians, business people, parents, and educators are all calling for in every high school across our land. Percentage of college acceptances has become a component in the way we assess successful schools.

My concern is that if our goal is to educate our students to give them a path to college, how are we preparing those who do not go to college? If they failed on the pathway to college program, have we adequately prepared them for a life short of a college education? That applies not only to those who were not accepted to college, but a great number of those who were as well. Many of those students proud of their acceptance to college upon high school 

Charts for PAA positions on House (Repub) and Senate (Dem) ESEA bills | Parents Across America

Charts for PAA positions on House (Repub) and Senate (Dem) ESEA bills | Parents Across America:

Charts for PAA positions on House (Repub) and Senate (Dem) ESEA bills

 With the House poised to act this week on H.R. 5, the Republican version of ESEA reauthorization, PAA has prepared two charts detailing where we support and where we oppose the proposals of the House and Senate education committees.

Please share them with your Congressional representatives. PAA’s annual meeting takes place this Wednesday through Friday in D.C., so several PAA leaders will be on Capitol Hill distributing our charts. They could use your support from the field!

PAA chart on H.R. 5, the Student Success Act, which is the House ESEA reauthorization proposal passed out of the Republican-majority House education committee

PAA chart on S. 1094, the Strengthening America’s Schools Act, the Senate proposal passed out of the Democratic-majority Senate education committee

- See more at: http://parentsacrossamerica.org/charts-paa-positions-house-repub-senate-dem-esea-bills/?utm_source=feedly#sthash.ItSZ0D1Z.dpuf

A new round of segregation plays out in charter schools | Hechinger Report

A new round of segregation plays out in charter schools | Hechinger Report:

A new round of segregation plays out in charter schools

By Sarah Butrymowicz

This story also appeared at:

In keeping with national demographic shifts, the Twin City suburbs have been growing more diverse in recent years, with an increasing African-American and Hispanic population. But that diversity is not always reflected in the area schools.

At Seven Hills Classical Academy, a charter school in Bloomington, Minn., for instance, 80 percent of the student body is white, compared to 57 percent in the Bloomington Public School District. Indeed, the number of predominantly white charters in the Twin Cities metro area has risen from 11 in 2000 to 37 in 2010.

Click to enlarge

Charter schools and their proponents argue that charters must take any student who wants to attend– and randomly select students through a lottery if too many apply – and, as such, can’t control who enrolls. Yet someexperts are concerned that this trend is an example of the next phase of white flight, following a long history of white families seeking out homogeneous neighborhoods and schools.

School choice was once seen as a means of helping to 

In higher ed, as the Gates Foundations’ power grows, grumbles do too — Tech News and Analysis

In higher ed, as the Gates Foundations’ power grows, grumbles do too — Tech News and Analysis:

In higher ed, as the Gates Foundations’ power grows, grumbles do too

by Ki Mae Heussner

 

2 HOURS AGO

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SUMMARY:

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has spent $472 million on higher education but, according to a report, it’s accumulating critics along with its influence.

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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the most active nonprofit players in higher education — to the tune of $472 million. But according to an exhaustive special report in The Chronicle for Higher Education this week, its money and advocacy is rubbing many in the academy the wrong way.

Given the scope of its activity and funding, it’s hard for the foundation to not be a target for critics. And it’s been the subject of educational debate in the past: Education historian Diane Ravitch has been among its most vocal detractors of its pro-privatization efforts in K-12 education and, earlier this spring, the Gates Foundation rankled some parents with its new initiative to aggregate mounds of student data with the goal of personalizing learning.

In higher education, the Chronicle reports that the foundation’s approach to the field as “an engineering problem to be solved” is making academics and analysts 

Next Generation Science Standards Proposed - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

Next Generation Science Standards Proposed - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Proposes Next Generation Science Standards Focused on Deep Understanding of Science and Engineering Practices

SACRAMENTO—Working to help more students master the science skills they need to thrive in a changing world, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced he will recommend that the State Board of Education adopt the proposed Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). 

"Science instruction is crucial to California's future, and these new standards will bring the science being taught in our classrooms up to date," Torlakson said. "These standards eliminate arbitrary limits on hands-on experimentation and replace long lists of facts to memorize with a deeper focus on understanding the cross-cutting concepts within and across scientific disciplines."

Scientific understanding and technology have advanced markedly in the past 15 years when California's last science standards were adopted. The new standards integrate engineering practices with science practices to help students understand the workings of science and the natural world. They also provide a coherent progression of learning from kindergarten through grade twelve, so students learn step-by-step the knowledge and skills they need for college and careers.

"The new science standards will help students make connections with other parts of the curriculum, and like our new Common Core State Standards, will provide a chance for all students—no matter where they live or where they happen to go to school—get the world-class science instruction they deserve," Torlakson added.

The number of jobs involving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics has grown three times as fast as other fields—a trend experts believe will continue for the next decade.

A science teacher himself, Torlakson worked to make California among the lead states in the development of the NGSS. The voluntary standards were crafted through an open, transparent, and collaborative process over the past 18 months. 

California teachers and scientists—along with college professors, business and industry leaders, and education experts—all took part in an 80-member California NGSS review team that thoroughly examined the standards six times.

The State Board of Education is expected to begin its discussions of the NGSS during its next meeting in Sacramento on July 10 and 11, 2013. The standards have been posted on the California Department of Education's Web site at Next Generation Science Standards. 

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Profiles in Education: Josh Garcia — Whole Child Education

Profiles in Education: Josh Garcia — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Profiles in Education: Josh Garcia

July 15, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Josh Garcia, deputy superintendent of Federal Way Public Schools in Tacoma, Washington, strongly believes in creating success for every learner. "Every student can graduate prepared for higher education," Garcia says. "In order to provide each child with a whole child education, school and community leaders must relentlessly dissolve barriers and build cohesive systems that foster excellence. Only then will we fulfill our pledge to provide every child the opportunity to pursue a successful life."

Throughout his career, Garcia has worked mainly in urban settings, serving the most vulnerable learners. Garcia has led efforts to develop board policy that automatically enrolls students into rigorous AP, IB, and CIE programs. Also, Garcia has developed a preK–12 standards-based instruction, grading, reporting, and assessment system; a sustainable and comprehensive K–12 instructional coaching model; a districtwide differentiated professional development model; and an accountability model that measures how healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged students are in school.

Hear more about Garcia's passion for educating the whole child; demonstrating leadership; improving student 

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Value of Connections

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Value of Connections:

Ugh. The Seattle Times

Today's Seattle Times features this guest column: Education reforms for state students blocked by WEA by Liv Finne of the Washington Policy Center.In this one, brief guest column she manages to squeeze in nearly every single lie about public schools. It is a remarkable achievement."lawmakers passed a budget that will direct an additional $1 billion to the public schools"Hmm. Depends on what you ca

by Charlie Mas / 20min mark as read  //  save

Washington Charter School Doom and Gloom from the Washington Policy Center

Honestly, they have some of the most entertaining posts over at the WPC.  Omit details, pump up (to the point of near explosion) any point they feel they must - it's all good fun.So they have one post about how a Highline School Board director, Susan Goding,  wrote - on her education blog how she thinks charter schools will hurt districts.  I can only say that she is entitled to her own profession

by Melissa Westbrook / 20min 

Washington State Agencies Ask for Feedback on Charter School Regulations

Both the Board of Education and the Charter Commission are soliciting feedback for draft rules for charter schools. From the BOE:At its July 10-11 meeting, the State Board of Education approved for public hearing draft rules pertaining to annual reports by charter school authorizers under RCW 28A.710.100(4) - proposed WAC 180-19-210.We are seeking public comment on these draft rules. We encourage

by Melissa Westbrook / 2h 

KUOW Interviews with School Board Candidates

KUOW's Ann Dornfeld interviewed all the candidates and got some telling responses. The transcript of each interview is what you will see and not a recorded interview.I will also encourage those of you whose children enjoyed Glee to read the NPR story about Cory Monteith who was found dead in his hotel room early Saturday.  To anyone who watched Glee, Mr. Monteith was a fresh-faced talent and many

by Melissa Westbrook / 10min 

The Value of Connections

What is the value of having School Board Directors with connections to the Seattle Establishment and the ruling elites in Washington? How does it benefit the district and the schools for the Board to have positive relationships with the City Council, county officials, members of the State legislature, powerful non-profits, and corporate leaders? I think we have enough data to decide. In the last ten years we have seen four boards - two with good relations and two with poor relations with the Seattle Establishment. What does the evidence show?



I know that it has hurt the District to have poor relations with the established power structure.

The greatest trauma and expense to Seattle Public Schools in the past ten years has been caused by school closures. There was a round of closures in 2006 and another in 2009.

The closures in 2006 were driven entirely by opposition to the sitting board by the Seattle Establishment with their political and commercial forces. They were upset by the election of new, activist Board Directors in 2005 that they did not choose and could not control. They used their media outlets to slander the Board and 

Diane in the Evening 7-15-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Andy Borowitz on the Next Big Idea in Florida

Andy Borowitz at his best today. He has figured out what ALEC really wants in Florida and everywhere else.

by dianerav / 1min 

The Appeal of Charters to Families Besieged by Fear and Want?

A reader explains the appeal of charters to communities fearful for their children in a world fraught with danger: “Perhaps this site can be a venue for discussing the manner in which racial segregation and military discipline are packaged so as to market charter schools to families legitimately concerned with the dangers their children face growing up in communities that lack good jobs, good heal

by dianerav / 16min 

Tom Torlakson Shows What Leadership Is

This comment just arrived in response to the post about California having the nerve to defy all-wise, all-powerful Arne Duncan: “State Superintendent Tom Torlakson is a former teacher. When he gathered a group of educators to hammer out the blueprint for the future of CA schools, he wisely selected classroom teachers to be on the task force. I was honored to be co-chair of the Teacher Evaluation c

by dianerav / 21min mark as read  //  save

NJ Teacher to Booker: Change Before It’s Too Late

A reader writes: yes, yes! As a black educator and unfortunately a TFA alum who has now been a teacher for 15 years, I don’t understand why Obama and Booker have embraced this corporate style of reform. I worked tirelessly to elect Obama but I continue to find his governance particularly his stance on education and civil rights disappointing. I will not do the same for Booker and I hope that the t

by dianerav / 1h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-15-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:   The Failure of Market-Based “Reform”The Broader Bolder Approach to Education has steadfastly opposed the high-stakes testing and privatization “reforms” that have done so much to undermine public education. Now it has published a major analysis of the failure of these reforms. Here in clear, graphic images is a report card on dis

by mike simpson / 2h 

Bill Gates expands influence — and money — into higher education:

Bill Gates expands influence — and money — into higher education

By Valerie Strauss, Published: July 15 at 12:54 pmE-mail the writer

Bill Gates (Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)

For years, Bill Gates has exercisedextraordinary influence in shaping modern K-12 school reform to his liking, leveraging cash from his vast Microsoft fortune to drive the public agenda — and taxpayer funds –  toward standardized test-based accountability.

Now, the Chronicle of Higher Educationhas exposed how he is doing the same thing in higher education: spending his own money to remake the system.

In a package of stories, the Chronicle makes clear how Gates has used his money to change higher education into one that is focused on getting more students degrees faster through technology and what is called “competency-based learning,” which in part rewards students for what they know rather than for how many credits they take in college. His vision includes ways to measure everything, largely through testing.

Critics say this vision of higher education is aimed at getting students ready for jobs rather than giving them a broad education; that it, along with other reform efforts he has funded, are not based in research but rather in his corporate-based idea of how schools should run; and that Gates has been so dominant in the reform debate that opponents have had difficulty getting their voices heard.

One story titled “The Gates Effect” reports that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has spent $472 million on higher education since 2006 — with the vast majority since 2008 — on this agenda, including money to media organizations “to keep its reform 

Sabrina Joy Stevens • Would there ever be a Trayvon's Law?

Sabrina Joy Stevens • Would there ever be a Trayvon's Law?:

Would there ever be a Trayvon’s Law?

Back when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old, I remember picking up a women’s magazine and reading one of the token “substance stories”— about health care horror stories—included amongst the articles and ads about fashion and cosmetics. In one of the stories, a Black woman described an outrageous experience of going to the hospital with a serious medical problem, yet being left to wait, unexamined and untreated, for hours. Later, when asked to explain why that happened, a hospital employee involved in the receiving process said something along the lines of, “Well, I just assumed that she was some welfare person who didn’t have insurance,” and so he just left her.

By then, I had some understanding that things had historically been unfair to people who looked like me. But until that moment, I hadn’t really understood what my parents meant when they said that, even in the present day, the world was different for me because I was Black. Until then, it hadn’t fully occurred to 

Cooper Union Occupation Ends With Administration Concessions After 65 Days |:

Cooper Union Occupation Ends With Administration Concessions After 65 Days

July 15, 2013 in Students

The students who have been occupying the office of the Cooper Union president in opposition to the college’s plan to impose tuition fees for the first time in more than a century have ended their occupation with a negotiated agreement.

The Cooper Union students announced the terms of that agreement this morning, and while they did not succeed in rolling back the tuition plan — yet — the concessions from the administration are significant. Here’s what they won:

• A working group of students, faculty, alumni, administrators, and trustees is to be established to “to explore ways in which Cooper Union may revert to providing full-tuition scholarships for all enrolled students.” Student and faculty representatives on the committee will be democratically elected, and will together make up seven of the committee’s sixteen members. (Alumni will account for another three of the members, but it has not yet been announced how they will be chosen.)

• The working group will, according to the students, “have access to all of 

NYC Public School Parents: The curious case of John White, Louisiana, Gates Foundation & inBloom: FOILed emails reveal clues to his involvement & decision to pull out

NYC Public School Parents: The curious case of John White, Louisiana, Gates Foundation & inBloom: FOILed emails reveal clues to his involvement & decision to pull out:

The curious case of John White, Louisiana, Gates Foundation & inBloom: FOILed emails reveal clues to his involvement & decision to pull out

Superintendent John White (credit: Shreveport Times)

Thanks to the inspired digging of bloggers like Jason France of Crazy Crawfishand Tom Aswell of Louisiana Voice, parent and student activists like Deborah and Rachael Sachs, and the FOILed emails obtained by Aswell and activist Lee Barrios, we now have a better picture about how John White, newly appointed Louisiana state Superintendent, went from knowing nothing in January 2012 about the student data-sharing project called the Shared Learning Collaborative, that soon morphed into inBloom Inc., to having decided to share the entire state’s student data less than a year later.

Then a mere four months after the decision was made to become a “Phase I” inBloom state, White suddenly announced he was withdrawing from the project, after parents and state board members had erupted in protest about the plan’s violation of student privacy.   How did this happen?  Some clues can be found below.

April 26, 2011:  Paul Pastorek, State Superintendent of Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE), appoints John White as head of the Recovery School District (RSD).  White is the former NYC Deputy Chancellor, controversial for his support for closing public schools and installing charter schools in their place.  Pastorek instead cites White’s “collaborative” work “with principals and teachers to design a teacher effectiveness program in New York City that effectively supports and evaluates their achievement.”

June 2011: The Gates Foundation gives the

California holds out against Obama's education vision - latimes.com

California holds out against Obama's education vision - latimes.com:

California holds out against Obama's education vision

The state has made a rare break with the administration, refusing to follow its lead on evaluating teachers, in a standoff that reflects a union's lasting influence.

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Education Secretary Arne Duncan visits a Louisville, Ky., school last month. "I actually use the California model, and not in a good way, as I travel the country," he said. (Angela Shoemaker / Courier-Journal / June 20, 2013)

By Evan Halper

July 15, 2013, 6:00 a.m.

WASHINGTON — California is almost always there to boost President Obama's policy agenda as he fights fierce headwinds in Congress, working with the executive branch to carry out the administration's vision on healthcare, renewable energy and clean air.

But when the topic shifts to overhauling education, the state has become one of the administration's biggest headaches.

California has defiantly refused to follow the administration's lead in grading the performance of teachers and using those measurements to reward the best teachers and punish the worst. The state is one of very few that have told Washington that under no conditions will it put in place the type of teacher evaluation system Obama has championed.

As a result, the administration has not given California a waiver from the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law, leaving thousands of local schools exposed to expensive federal sanctions.

California is one of the last holdouts in the country; the administration has succeeded in persuading