Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Education Week: Audit: 109 Atlanta Educators Suspected of Cheating

Education Week: Audit: 109 Atlanta Educators Suspected of Cheating

Audit: 109 Atlanta Educators Suspected of Cheating

By The Associated Press
Article Tools
Atlanta
Investigators say more than 100 educators should face scrutiny or punishment after they found evidence of them cheating for students on a statewide achievement test at 58 schools in Atlanta.
An investigative panel released a summary of its findings Monday to Atlanta Public Schools officials after months of probing allegations that teachers changed students' answers on standardized tests. It did not name the educators suspected of cheating, but many could face sanctions from the state — from being put on probation to losing their teaching license permanently.
The review showed that most of the teachers — 78 of the 109 listed — worked at only a dozen schools. The report says that group of schools needs systemic changes because of "school-wide institutional issues."

FROM THE WIRES

Tests: UK kids better at math, worse at reading
August 3, 2010
Vt. school districts face cuts
August 3, 2010
Outspoken Ind. schools chief to meet with teachers
August 3, 2010
Calif. adopts common national education standards
August 3, 2010
School Chief: Outsourcing Security Saves Millions
August 3, 2010
Ore. "No Child" figures show modest gains
August 3, 2010
We're No. 1! UGA tops party schools ranking
August 3, 2010
Colo. Education Board approves new standards
August 3, 2010
Tests show two-thirds of Idaho schools make gains
August 3, 2010
Immigration law may have cut school attendance
August 3, 2010
Fewer N.M. Schools Meet Student Improvement Goals
August 3, 2010
Audit: 109 Atlanta Educators Suspected of Cheating
August 3, 2010
Judge ends desegregation oversight in Orlando
August 3, 2010
Mich. Teachers Win Right to Sue Over Discipline
August 3, 2010

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Schools Matter: The Fearsome Facts that Threaten Power

Schools Matter: The Fearsome Facts that Threaten Power

The Fearsome Facts that Threaten Power

by Jim Horn
When racists on the Texas School Board proposed last spring that the Slave Trade be changed to the "Atlantic Triangular Trade," they offered a perfect example of power, paranoia, and stupidity rolled into one smelly package. In attempting to re-write the past to minimize our ancestral crimes against humanity, America's children could grow up even dumber than their parents in dealing with history's unpaid debt to those who never even got a mule and 40 acres.

Same goes for the Texas Teabaggers' attempt to change today's poisonous moniker, "capitalism," to "free
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LOSING THE RACE: Addressing America's Growing Education Deficit EducationNews.org

EducationNews.org

Daily EducationNews


LOSING THE RACE: Addressing America's Growing Education Deficit
8.3.10 - Gaston Caperton - When I was governor of West Virginia in the early 1990s, there was a ranking of developed countries based on the number of young people who had earned college degrees. Among 25 to 34 year-olds, the United States ranked third. I remember thinking that wasn't good enough. We used to be No. 1; we should lead the world in education attainment again.

Texas needs more minority teachers, experts say
8.3.10 - AUSTIN - Texas' minority student enrollment continues to surge, but the state's teacher corps isn't keeping pace. Minority teacher rolls are not keeping pace with minority student enrollment. ...

Venture Philanthropy gives $5.5M to KIPP DC
8.3.10 - A private donor hopes to double the number of students in KIPP charter schools in D.C. by 2015. It's another sign of private money shaking up public education in the District: A $5.5 million gift will dramatically help expand a network of high-performing charter schools in the city, with a goal of more than doubling the number of students enrolled by 2015. ...

Methods for detecting test bias flawed, research suggests
8.3.10 - For many years, critics of the SAT have cited a verbal question involving the word "regatta" as an example of how the test may favor wealthier test-takers, who also are more likely to be white. It's been a long time since the regatta question was used...

Commentaries

An Interview with Kelly Middleton: Simply the Best

8.3.10 - Michael F. Shaughnessy - It seems that the very best have a way of doing most of the 29 concepts. We actually went into classrooms of teachers who were considered the best by both administration and the students and asked the teacher to leave the classroom.

An Interview with Lea Hyvarinen: Conference in Dortmund, Germany
8.3.10 - Michael F Shaughnessy - It has come to my attention that there will be a major conference at the University of Dortmund in Germany. Professor Renate Walthes originally had the idea to honor Dr. Hyvarinnen and at the same time celebrate the opening of a new service for children with brain damage related vision loss. In this interview, Dr. Hyvarinen responds to questions about the conference.

An Interview with Dr. M. Maitland DeLand: The Great Katie Kate Tackles Questions About Cancer
8.3.10 - Michael F. Shaughnessy - The reason I wrote this book was that I have seen parents with their child who has been diagnosed with cancer. The child will, unfortunately, be exposed to the process of cancer diagnosis, evaluation and treatment, which is quite scary for both the child and parents to experience.
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School Tech Connect: EduJobs Pulled By Reid

School Tech Connect: EduJobs Pulled By Reid

EduJobs Pulled By Reid

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)
Edweek has a good summary. Apparently they didn't do enough offsets to pay for itself. As you know, every bit of domestic spending that helps actual people has to be offset by spending on other programs that help actual people.

The whole offset thing doesn't come into the question when we're shoveling money out the window; it only comes into play when average Americans might get a scrap. I can tell you exactly what's going to happen to this $33.5 billion that Congress just authorized for Afghanistan.

It's going to vaporize, just like this money did:
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$10 billion school funding bill is dead again. Does anybody care? � Fred Klonsky's blog

$10 billion school funding bill is dead again. Does anybody care? � Fred Klonsky's blog

$10 billion school funding bill is dead again. Does anybody care?

by preaprez
First they tried to attach it to an Afghan war funding bill. The Republicans and blue dog Democrats said no, so the Administration and Democratic Party Congressional leaders pulled it. And billions more went to the war.
Then they attached it to a domestic spending bill. The Republicans and blue dog Democrats said no, so yesterday Senate leader, Harry Reid, pulled it.
I’m talking about the $10 billion dollar federal package to keep teachers on the job and class sizes below 35.
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Concern over students switching schools - The Boston Globe

Concern over students switching schools - The Boston Globe

GLOBE EDUCATION NEWS

MIT, NU lauded in annual college review

Brown University has the happiest students in the United States, MIT the most studious, and Bowdoin the best fed, says Princeton Review Inc. The rankings come from the Framingham company’s annual survey of 122,000 students for its book, “The Best 373 Colleges,’’ which comes out today. (By David Beard, Globe Staff)

Brainchild of MIT scientist is bound for space shuttle

CAMBRIDGE — In 1994, Nobel laureate Samuel C.C. Ting began to plan an ambitious experiment: launching a powerful instrument into space that could detect particles left over from the big bang and bring serious science to the International Space Station. (By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff)

Teachers warned of possible shake-up

The Boston Teachers Union has alerted teachers at five underperforming schools that Superintendent Carol R. Johnson intends to ask them to reapply for their jobs, setting off a wave of anxiety among teachers and a war of words between the union and district administrators.(By James Vaznis, Globe Staff)

Salem State College offers graduate program in tourism, hospitality

Salem State College is providing students a new opportunity to prepare for jobs in the growing hospitality industry. (By John Laidler, Globe Correspondent)

For six state colleges, a new outlook

With a flourish of the governor’s pen yesterday, much of the bookstore fare at Bridgewater State College became collectors’ items. (By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent)

LATEST EDUCATION NEWS WIRE UPDATES

LATEST K-12 EDUCATION NEWS

LATEST HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS

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The Educated Guess � Amid confusion, no vote on SIG money

The Educated Guess � Amid confusion, no vote on SIG money

Amid confusion, no vote on SIG money

Posted in Program innovation, Turning around failing schools
After hearing complaints Monday that unclear rules had created confusion and unfairly excluded Los Angeles Unified and other districts, the State Board of Education postponed divvying up $316 million in federal money for the worst-performing schools in the state. Board members acknowledged the situation was “a mess.”
Faced with a time pressure to get the money out to districts before school starts, the board won’t be delaying long. On an 8-1 vote, board members asked for state officials to consider revising the figures. But if federal officials won’t allow any tweaking and further delays, then the board agreed to meet as soon as legally permitted to pass what they concede would be flawed allocations.
(Read more and comment on this post)
By John Fensterwald on August 3rd, 2010

Final vote on common core is unanimous

Posted in Common Core standards, State Board of Education
Voting 9-0, the State Board of Education approved the common core standards in English language arts and math Monday after major players in California education, including the California Teachers Association, the state PTA and the California Math Council, lined up to announce their full support. California became the 33rd state, plus the District of Columbia, to adopt common core. It did so an hour before the deadline for either passing them or losing points toward the state’s Race to the Top application.
The standards broadly outline what skills and concepts students should master at every grade level. They were developed under the direction of the National Governors Association and the Council of State School Officers, at the encouragement of the Obama administration.
(Read more and comment on this post)
By John Fensterwald on August 2nd, 2010

A smarter way to divvy up turnaround money

Posted in State Board of Education, Turning around failing schools
Doug McRae has a sharp eye and a rational mind. A retired vice president in the publishing division of McGraw-Hill who follows state education policy closely, McRae saw the state’s peculiar recommendations for distributing $316 million in federal money this fall for turning around the worst performing schools and thought, There’s got to be a better way.
So McRae spent a good part of Saturday and Sunday creating a new formula for dividing up School Improvement Grant dollars that strikes me as fair and sound. Instead of giving huge sums – up to $6 million — indiscriminately, for the most part, to 63 schools and goose eggs to a dozen schools in Los Angeles Unified and 18 other schools, he’s come up with a set of reasonable criteria that school districts – even those that would get less than they had hoped – would have a hard time disputing.
(Read more and comment on this post)
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The Best Sites For Learning About The Russian Fires | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

The Best Sites For Learning About The Russian Fires | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

The Best Sites For Learning About The Russian Fires The images of the countless fires in Russia are terrifying, and they don’t expect rain anytime soon. I’m also adding this list to A Compilation Of “The Best…” Lists About Natural Disasters. Here are my choices for The Best Sites For Learning About ...
“Summer Must-Read for Kids? Any Book” Summer Must-Read for Kids? Any Book is the headline of an article in The New York Times. It’s a more informative article on the study I’ve written about previously that shows the impact of summer reading on student achievement. I’m adding this post ...
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Legislature bolsters free-speech rights at charter schools | California Watch

Legislature bolsters free-speech rights at charter schools | California Watch

Legislature bolsters free-speech rights at charter schools

by Corey G. Johnson
The California State Assembly approved legislation yesterday that guarantees free-speech rights for students and teachers at charter schools.
Passed by a 51-19 vote, Senate Bill 438 now goes to the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who will have 12 days to either sign or veto it. The Senate approved their version of the bill in January.
Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, wrote the bill after administrators at the Orange County High School of the

CSU San Bernardino hires former bank chief terminated by feds

by Erica Perez
CSU San Bernardino has hired as its new vice president for university advancement a local credit union CEO who was ousted from that position as part of a federal takeover a few weeks ago.
After 27 years as president and CEO of the San Bernardino-based Arrowhead Credit Union, Larry Sharp was dismissed as the bank's chief in mid-July. This comes a couple weeks after the National Credit Union Administration seized the bank June 25, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported. Sharp was one of several of
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Texas needs more minority teachers, experts say | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Texas needs more minority teachers, experts say | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Texas needs more minority teachers, experts say



07:04 AM CDT on Tuesday, August 3, 2010

By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
tstutz@dallasnews.com
AUSTIN – Texas' minority student enrollment continues to surge, but the state's teacher corps isn't keeping pace.
That has left large numbers of black and Hispanic children without the role models experts believe would help them achieve more.
Hispanic students made up more than 48 percent of the enrollment in Texas schools in the 2008-09 school year, the most recent figures available, and the state projects they'll be more than half by the 2011-12 school year.
When black student enrollment – increasing at a much slower pace – is added, more than 62 percent of students are minorities. A decade ago, it was 53 percent.
Two out of three Texas teachers in the past school year were white, a
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Three South Bay students head to China Girls Math Olympiad - San Jose Mercury News

Three South Bay students head to China Girls Math Olympiad - San Jose Mercury News

Three South Bay students head to China Girls Math Olympiad
Eight girls leave Tuesday to represent the United States at the international competition in Shijiazhuang, a city about 168 miles northeast of Beijing. They are the cream of the mathematical crop, those who rose to the top in successive exams beginning with one taken annually by many secondary math students.
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Rise & Shine: City finds teacher faked fall on observation day | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: City finds teacher faked fall on observation day | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: City finds teacher faked fall on observation day

by Philissa Cramer
  • A Brooklyn teacher threw herself down stairs to avoid a performance review, investigators say. (Post)
  • The city tossed a mound of books from the windows of a Catholic school it’s leasing. (Daily News)
  • City schools and colleges accounted for half of all construction starts in the last two years. (Crain’s NY)
  • A nonprofit gives special assistance to visually impaired students who are heading to college. (NY1)
  • The Harbor School is finally holding school fulltime on Governor’s Island. (WNYC)
  • West Harlem residents still can’t decide what should be done with the old PS 156 building. (Times)
  • The Post points out that the union’s charter schools saw larger-than-average test score drops.
  • Chicago has dropped a plan to save money by eliminating non-varsity sports. (Sun-Times)
  • An independent review of test irregularities in Atlanta found no evidence of systemic cheating. (Times)
  • In letters to the editor, readers including a city teacher weigh in on kindergarten teacher quality. (Times)
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