Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

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Results 1 - 10 of 442

Google Mail Checker by extensions@chromium.org

(596) - 66,273 users
Displays the number of unread messages in your Google Mail inbox. You can also click the button to open your inbox.

Google Translate by chrome.translate.extension

(144) - 37,754 users
This extension translates entire webpages into a language of your choice with one click. By the Google Translate team.

AdThwart by ttjoseph

(258) - 35,723 users
Blocks ads on websites. Includes the EasyList ad filter list as of 8 Dec 2009.

RSS Subscription Extension by finnur@chromium.org

(192) - 31,659 users
Adds one-click subscription to your toolbar

Xmarks for Chrome Beta by colin@xmarks.com

(173) - 20,931 users
Xmarks for Chrome Beta is a beta preview of Xmarks for Chrome.

Chromed Bird by cezarsa

(233) - 18,294 users
Chromed Bird is a Twitter extension that allows you to follow your timelines and interact with your Twitter account.

Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer (by Google) by wescarr@google.com

(94) - 17,326 users
Automatically previews pdfs, powerpoint presentations, and other documents in Google Docs Viewer.

Google Wave Notifier by jerem.selier

(94) - 16,777 users
Displays number of unread Waves.

Google Reader Notifier (by Google) by reader.chrome.notifier

(141) - 15,921 users
Displays the number of unread items in your Google Reader account. Clicking can show a preview popup or open your Reader account.

Cooliris by chrome@cooliris.com

(94) - 14,766 users
Cooliris transforms your browser into a full-screen 3D Wall for searching, viewing and sharing the Web.

California Prison Educator Numbers May Be Cut 65%


California Prison Educator Numbers May Be Cut 65%:

"Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, while speaking at a press conference today, responded to a question about cuts to the number of prison educators.

Question: There was a rally this morning about hundreds that say that they're going to get laid off next month from the department, training, vocational teachers that rehabilitate prisoners and they're going to be laid off next month, 900 out of 1,400. How do you expect our streets to be safe if our criminals are not going to be educated and have nothing to do on the outside?"

Death of the Master Plan? | California Progress Report


Death of the Master Plan? | California Progress Report:

"A newly created legislative committee on California’s Master Plan for Higher Education listened Monday to a long list of college presidents, students, professors and others tell different versions of the same sad story: The fifty-year-old promise of the Master Plan has been broken.

But if the members, all presumably earnest men and women, had wanted a quick analysis, they would have been better off looking in the mirror. It was the state – governors and legislators and the voters they represent – that betrayed the promise.� .


The Master Plan, engineered by University of California President Clark Kerr in 1960, was a formal division of turf among the three segments of California’s higher education system."

D.C. schools show big gains in national math tests - washingtonpost.com


D.C. schools show big gains in national math tests - washingtonpost.com:

"D.C. public schools made outsize gains in mathematics during the past six years, according to a federal report card released Tuesday that shows the city school system, long derided as one of the nation's worst, is progressing faster than most of its urban peers."

Fuzzy math behind NY test gains: critics - NYPOST.com


Fuzzy math behind NY test gains: critics - NYPOST.com:

"New York City fourth- and eighth-graders have made little if any improvement since 2007 on the 'gold standard' national math test -- prompting critics to question the hefty gains city kids made on state math tests over that same period.

Just 35 percent of city fourth-graders scored proficiently this year on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a tick up from the 34 percent who did so in 2007.

Twenty-six percent of eighth-graders also met that benchmark this year -- up 4 points since 2007.

By comparison, city fourth-graders' proficiency jumped by 10.8 percentage points since 2007 on the state math tests -- to 84.9 percent meeting or surpassing that benchmark."

Study predicts dire teacher shortage in all grade levels in Tenn.� The Commercial Appeal


Study predicts dire teacher shortage in all grade levels in Tenn.� The Commercial Appeal:

"If nothing changes by the fall of 2013, University of Tennessee researchers say the state can expect a teacher shortage so severe 40 percent of the current positions could be open.

The most critical need will be for math and science teachers, but dire shortages are predicted at every grade level, plus special education and vocational education, said Bill Fox, director of the UT Center for Business and Economic Research in Knoxville.


MARK WEBER/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL FILES

A study released Tuesday predicts an acute shortage of teachers in Tennessee, beginning next year. By fall of 2013, researchers project 31,431 teacher openings. Students at all grade levels, such as elementary student Errion Boyd, could feel the effects.
'We've been changing the rules,' he said. 'For instance, we've increased the number of math classes and science classes that students must take. We've lowered pupil-to-teacher ratios,' he said."

Algiers Charter School Association awards $900,000 in bonuses | New Orleans Metro Education News - - NOLA.com


Algiers Charter School Association awards $900,000 in bonuses | New Orleans Metro Education News - - NOLA.com:

"For the second straight year, the majority of students in the Algiers Charter Schools Association have boosted their standardized test scores from one year to the next, according to an analysis of state testing data that tracks individual student growth over time.

As a result, the teachers and principals who have helped their students attain such gains were rewarded Tuesday with $900,000 in bonuses at a ceremony at Algiers Technology Academy in Algiers. The rewards, which were distributed to about 340 educators across the association, are part of the System of Teacher and Student Advancement, or TAP, a national program that encourages continued professional development and training for teachers and serves as the cornerstone of the charter association's educational philosophy."

Fast-food standards for meat top those for school lunches - USATODAY.com


Fast-food standards for meat top those for school lunches - USATODAY.com:

"In the past three years, the government has provided the nation's schools with millions of pounds of beef and chicken that wouldn't meet the quality or safety standards of many fast-food restaurants, from Jack in the Box and other burger places to chicken chains such as KFC, a USA TODAY investigation found.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the meat it buys for the National School Lunch Program 'meets or exceeds standards in commercial products.'"

Class Struggle - We're tied for no. 14! We're tied for no. 14!


Class Struggle
- We're tied for no. 14! We're tied for no. 14!
:

"If you live in or near a big city, check out my colleague Nick Anderson's intriguing news break, giving the latest rankings for math achievement among our best known urban districts. The big news for us Post people is that D.C. IS NOT LONGER LAST IN THE NATION!! There is a good and a bad reason for this. The good reason is that our math achievement has grown significantly. The bad reason is that they added Detroit to the list this year, and nobody can beat Detroit for worst-run school district (and in recent years worst-run city) in America.

The report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the federally-run test that provides the most dependable measure of national and state achievement, shows that the gains in fourth and eighth grade math in the District began before D.C. School Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee arrived. We know there have been math gains also during her watch, but if I were she I would be careful not to celebrate this latest news too much."

Doyle calls special legislative session for MPS changes - JSOnline


Doyle calls special legislative session for MPS changes - JSOnline:

"Madison — Citing low Milwaukee Public Schools scores on a national assessment, Gov. Jim Doyle called Tuesday for a special legislative session on Dec. 16 to give the Milwaukee mayor the power to appoint the school superintendent.

That's the same day lawmakers hope to pass a bill to toughen drunken driving laws.

Doyle for weeks has pushed for the change to help secure a share of $4.35 billion in federal Race to the Top funds. But he faces strong opposition from some of his fellow Democrats who control the Legislature.

'I truly hope the Legislature understands the urgency of this,' Doyle said. 'We are not going to turn these schools around in a month or even a year, but we have to start immediately.'

Legislative leaders gave no commitments to holding votes Dec. 16 on Doyle's plan, and opponents said they were confident Doyle could not force it through the Legislature next week."

Old-hen meat fed to pets and schoolkids - USATODAY.com


Old-hen meat fed to pets and schoolkids - USATODAY.com:

"Pets might like it, but among most consumers, 'spent-hen' meat isn't very popular.
It's tough, stringy and far less appealing than the more tender meat of broiler chickens. But that didn't stop the government from using the National School Lunch Program as an outlet for egg producers struggling to find a market for 100 million egg-laying hens culled each year.

From 2001 though the first half of 2009, USA TODAY found, the government spent more than $145 million on spent-hen meat for schools — a total of more than 77 million pounds served in chicken patties and salads. Since 2007, 13.6 million pounds were purchased."

WFR,ZZFNV SunEdison and SPG Solar to establish solar power systems at 21 sites in California


SunEdison and SPG Solar to establish solar power systems at 21 sites in California:

"Dec 09, 2009 (M2 EQUITYBITES via COMTEX) -- ZZFNV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- SunEdison, a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic materials (NYSE:WFR), said on Wednesday that it will enter into an agreement with The Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) Board of Education and SPG Solar for a solar power deployment.

The parties intend to establish energy-generating solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems at 21 sites throughout the school district.

This will be the largest solar deployment for a public school system in the state of California, SunEdison said."