Education Week: A Midterm Report

Education Week: A Midterm Report:

"A MIDTERM REPORT"

As the first year of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ends and the second year begins, Education Week takes a close look at the impact education stimulus dollars have had and sheds light on what the next year will bring.

Race to the Top: The Race Is On from Education Week on Vimeo.

The deadline has arrived, and 40 states plus D.C. are hoping to win a share of a $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" pie. Who will get the money? How have they prepared? This video is part of a Learning Matters series covering the Race to the Top. Watch all related videos and listen to more podcasts here. Produced by: Cat McGrath & David Wald. Correspondent: John Merrow. Camera: David Wald, Bruce Liffiton, Carl Filoreto & Rudy Gelenter.

Dueling Objectives Mark Stimulus at Halfway Point

The long-term impact of the huge influx of federal education funding remains uncertain as the flow of $100 billion in aid continues. February 5, 2010 – Education Week

Multiple Stimulus Aid Streams Flow to Ed Tech

States and school districts are tapping into several pots of federal economic-stimulus money to rev up their educational technology. February 5, 2010 – Education Week

Private Sector Competes for Share of Stimulus Pie

Both for-profit and nonprofit organizations are being tapped to play roles as the federal money opens new business opportunities. February 5, 2010 – Education Week

Title I, Spec. Ed. Aid Casts Long Stimulus Shadow

Advocates worry that districts’ choices to use the money to fill budget gaps and avoid layoffs may come back to haunt them later. February 5, 2010 – Education Week

Stimulus Reflects Push for Teacher Effectiveness

The legislation emphasizes on-the-job performance as a gauge of teacher quality more than such criteria as formal credentials. February 5, 2010 – Education Week

Schools Stuck at Bottom Target of $3 Billion Push

The infusion of federal stimulus money is intended to supercharge efforts to overhaul the worst-performing Title I schools. February 5, 2010 – Education Week

Aid Lets Hard-Hit State Keep Programs Aloft

Schools around Las Vegas made quick use of federal stimulus funding as Nevada copes with high unemployment and other problems. February 5, 2010 – Education Week

Fiscal Stability Allows for Long View on Stimulus

The extra funds offer Arkansas a chance for lasting investments, while officials remain aware that caution is the watchword in spending. February 5, 2010 – Education Week

As Education's Funding Cliff Nears, Anxieties Rise

States and school districts are already mapping strategies to maintain their momentum after the federal stimulus aid stops flowing. February 5, 2010 – Education Week

Race to Top Sets Stage for ESEA Reauthorization

The Education Department is expected to keep championing many policies it has prodded states to adopt in the grant competition. February 5, 2010 – Education Week

Coverage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is supported in part by grants from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, at www.hewlett.org, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, at www.mott.org.

Districts turn to arbitration to settle teacher contracts - JSOnline

Districts turn to arbitration to settle teacher contracts - JSOnline:

"In an action that's likely to be repeated across the state, the West Bend School District is preparing to take contract negotiations with its teachers to arbitration, potentially among the first districts to do so since the Legislature removed teacher salary controls that held sway in Wisconsin for 16 years.

District negotiators and representatives for the West Bend Education Association have their first mediation session scheduled for next week, the first step they need to take before they can proceed to binding arbitration.

Administrators say they would prefer being able to resolve their issues with the teachers union by settling a contract through the mediation process. But they also say they are willing to go to arbitration if needed.

'We're not afraid of it,' said Bill Bracken, labor relations coordinator for Davis & Kuelthau, which is representing the school district."

The science of learning - The Denver Post

The science of learning - The Denver Post

Think of it as a chemistry experiment: Distill a coherent set of standards with a well-prepared teacher, then light a Bunsen burner under students with the latest technology and other hands-on resources.

Performed well, the exercise yields an eighth- grader grounded in science and eager to pursue the discipline into high school and beyond.

But economically strapped districts — and that covers most of Colorado — find it increasingly difficult to secure tools vital to the inquiry-based science model embraced as a "best practice."

Some schools already worry budget cuts will leave them short of materials, particularly the non-reusable sort such as chemicals, and behind the curve on ever-changing technology.

Read more:http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14345651#ixzz0elhdKBXm

Super Bowl a good peg to teach kids about finances - Yahoo! News

Super Bowl a good peg to teach kids about finances - Yahoo! News: "Super Bowl"

DES MOINES, Iowa – There's no denying that the Super Bowl is all about money, and lots of it.

Consider that advertisers will spend as much as $3 million to grab your attention during the football championship in hopes of convincing you to buy their products.

Also consider estimates that the average host of a Super Bowl party will spend more than $140 on food, drinks and supplies.

Payment processing giant Visa Inc., the NFL and educators believe the combination of football and finance creates an ideal teachable moment for youngsters.

"People spend a lot of money this time of year be it on a giant TV or just on chips and dip and the kids often get involved," said Jason Alderman, Visa's director of financial education. "What we're saying to parents is this is a great time to get kids involved, help them be a part of the decision-making process."

Kids can also learn about the basics of spending, borrowing and budgeting from a football-themed video game called Financial Football that is now used in high schools in 25 states.

Versions for high school and college-age kids can be played on the Practical Money Skills for Life Web site athttp://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/football.

Players move the ball down field by answering correctly multiple choice financial questions. An example: Which is not a way to decrease your debt to income ratio? The choices are: a. Increase your income; b. Decrease your debt; c. Take a loan to pay off your debt; or d. All of the above would decrease your debt to income ratio. (The answer is C).

Education Week: As Education's Funding Cliff Nears, Anxieties Rise

Education Week: As Education's Funding Cliff Nears, Anxieties Rise:

"States, Districts Already Mapping Strategies to Keep Momentum When Stimulus Aid Stops"

It’s a warning that’s etched in the mind of every state and local education policymaker: Beware the funding cliff.

States and school districts are already bracing for the budget crunch that is almost certain to hit when the up to $100 billion in education aid made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act runs out starting later this year.

Aware that the fiscal picture in most states will likely remain bleak for the next few years, state and local leaders are trying to pinpoint new revenue sources for education, and are seeking ways to trim spending to blunt the impact of the stimulus aid’s end—the so-called “funding cliff.”

Since much of the funding under the economic-stimulus measure enacted by Congress a year ago was used to fill budget holes at the local level, many students, teachers, and administrators may not have been aware of just how much of a difference the money made in classrooms, said Jack Jennings, the president of the Center on Education Policy. His research organization, based in Washington, has been tracking the stimulus funds.

Education Week: Dueling Objectives Mark Stimulus at Halfway Point

Education Week: Dueling Objectives Mark Stimulus at Halfway Point:

"Long-Term Impact Still Uncertain as $100 Billion Aid Flow Continues"

A year ago, the federal floodgates opened for aid to education, releasing a one-time surge of up to $100 billion in economic-stimulus money aimed at both stabilizing and transforming the nation’s public education system.

The results so far have been mixed, as weighed against the Obama administration’s twin goals for its unprecedented infusion of education funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

From the outset, the stimulus program’s education piece—among the largest elements of the $787 billion package intended to jump-start a recession-battered economy—was to serve both an economic and a school improvement purpose.

By pouring money into the coffers of states and districts already suffering from cuts to K-12 schooling, the ARRA aimed to stanch the fiscal bleeding 

Education Week: Aid Lets Hard-Hit State Keep Programs Aloft

Education Week: Aid Lets Hard-Hit State Keep Programs Aloft:

"In the nation’s fifth-largest school district, which encompasses the glitz and grime of Las Vegas, the economic-stimulus package has given school leaders a $193 million lifeline to continue the fundamentals needed to improve student achievement: tutoring for struggling students, credit recovery for those at risk of dropping out, and professional development for teachers.

While not trendy or flashy, those educational interventions met important criteria when officials here in the Clark County, Nev., district were weighing how to spend the federal largess. They were quick and easy to implement, and they already had a proven record of success. In other words, they were programs school leaders wanted to do anyway, except they had long ago run out of money."

Education Week: Title I, Spec. Ed. Aid Casts Long Stimulus Shadow

Education Week: Title I, Spec. Ed. Aid Casts Long Stimulus Shadow:

"Programs serving the nation’s economically disadvantaged students and those with disabilities are receiving massive funding boosts through the federal stimulus package—$13 billion for Title I aid and $11.3 billion for special education—but how school districts choose to use the money may set them up for problems when it dries up.

The fiscal fallout from the recession has forced many districts to use part of the stimulus money for short-term budget fixes, such as filling in funding gaps and avoiding layoffs. Those uses contrast with the kinds of one-time investments for technology, training, school improvement programs, and infrastructure that advocates and federal education officials say would have a long-term payoff."

Rutgers among universities awarded Google grant for greener internet | - NJ.com

Rutgers among universities awarded Google grant for greener internet | - NJ.com:

"NEW BRUNSWICK — Rutgers University will share a grant awarded by Google for research on how to make the internet more energy efficient, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.
A team of computer scientists from the university studying 'green computing,' along with computer scientists at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia, were given the largest share of the $5.7 million Google awarded this week to 12 university projects, the paper reported.
Researchers will use the two-year grant to find ways to improve poorly efficient data centers, which consume huge amounts of power. A study by"

Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Education- Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Readers question Challenge Index

After the release of every new Washington Post Challenge Index list, my rankings of local high schools based on college-level test participation, I get many questions, complaints and even an occasional compliment from readers. Here is a sample of this week's mail. There are some surprises.

Q: When you were compiling your list, I was developing my own, which I feel is equally important. I decided to look at the graduation rates for students with disabilities from the Virginia school report card. Last year Centreville High School had a graduation rate for students with disabilities of 63%. While it’s not the lowest in this category in Fairfax County – Edison and West Potomac have that esteemed title at 49%-- I still think that a rate where over one third of the students with disabilities do not graduate is a compelling statistic, and one that should be spotlighted. Here are the graduation rates for students with disabilities for the other high schools from your Challenge Index – Woodson 90%, McLean 72%, Langley 88%, Madison 81%, Herndon 52%, Oakton 84%, Lake Braddock 75%, Fairfax 61%, Marshall 61%, South Lakes 57%, Chantilly 71%, West Springfield 70%, South County 66%, Westfield 70%, Stuart 51%, Falls Church 55%, West Potomac 49%, Hayfield 61%, Lee 52%, Mt Vernon 61%.

Why should I be excited about my son attending a school where in all likelihood he will not take an AP, IB or college level class, and where he has a 37% chance of not graduating? ---JoNell M. Doyle

Continue reading this post »

Willingham: On Susan Engel

My guest today is cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham, a professor at the University of Virginia and author of "Why Don't Students Like School?"

By Daniel Willingham
In her February 2 Op-ed piece in The New York Times, Susan Engel of Williams College celebrates the current administration’s goal of education reform, but cautions that reform may not mean much unless the curriculum is changed. Test-driven accountability, she argues, has led to a curriculum that “is strangling children and teachers alike.” As an alternative, she suggests a curriculum with more authentic, real-world tasks, and greater student choice.

Engel does not mention that this curriculum has been tried again and again, and it has failed again and again.

Continue reading this post »

Latin American Herald Tribune - Study: Immigration Doesn’t Hurt Pay of Native-Born Workers

Latin American Herald Tribune - Study: Immigration Doesn’t Hurt Pay of Native-Born Workers:

"WASHINGTON – Immigration doesn’t make workers born in the USA earn less, but rather this group, regardless of education level, has enjoyed a modest pay increase as a result of the new immigration, according to a new study.

Immigration and Wages, a research paper released Thursday by the Economic Policy Institute, concludes that over the long term, immigration has no overall impact on the average national wage.

Figures from the U.S. Department of Labor show, according to the report, that the arrival of 9.6 million immigrant workers between 1994 and 2007 increased by 0.4 percent ($3.68) the weekly pay of U.S.-born workers compared with that of the foreigners.

Nonetheless, the arrival of new immigrants did reduce by 4.6 percent ($33.11) the weekly pay of foreign-born U.S. workers relative to that of their native-born counterparts."

CalSTRS expects rate-hike tussle in Legislature amid CalPERS' woes - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee

CalSTRS expects rate-hike tussle in Legislature amid CalPERS' woes - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee

CalSTRS officials say controversies at the state's other big pension fund, CalPERS, will complicate the already difficult task of persuading theLegislature to raise pension contributions for teacher retirements.

Staggered by a 25 percent loss in the last fiscal year, the board of the California State Teachers' Retirement System began crafting a strategy Friday to petition lawmakers for higher rates.

The investment loss left CalSTRS some $42 billion underfunded as of last June – an estimate of how much additional cash the fund needs to pay its bills over the next 30 years. The amount of underfunding doubled in about 12 months.

Although there's no immediate crisis, CalSTRS Deputy Chief Executive Ed Derman said the financial problem will only worsen the longer the fund waits to ramp up contributions. CalSTRS gets more than $6.6 billion in annual contributions from the state, school districts and teachers. About $1.6 billion of that comes from the state.

Unlike CalPERS, which has the authority to impose rate hikes, the teachers' retirement system 

Professor heads for the Hill to promote science education | ASU News

Professor heads for the Hill to promote science education | ASU News

Influencing practice and policy in science education is what drives ASU's Julie Luft and has led to her distinguished service to K-12 science teacher education and renowned research contributions to the field. She considers her recent call from Congress to testify about the status and future of science education to be among her most notable achievements.

Luft delivered her first-time testimony before the House Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee at the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Education Hearings that took place Feb. 3-4.  She was joined by Craig Strang, associate director of the Lawrence Hall of Science at University of California-Berkeley.

The purpose of the hearing was to inform Congressional subcommittee members about the status and future direction of STEM education in the K-12 sector. STEM education is considered vital to maintaining the United States’ leadership in the rapidly 

ETS Looking for California English Teachers to Make a Difference

ETS Looking for California English Teachers to Make a Difference:

"PRINCETON, NJ--(Marketwire - February 5, 2010) - During the upcoming California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) Conference in Los Angeles February 12 - 14, representatives of Educational Testing Service's (ETS) online scoring network will be recruiting English Teachers to participate as essay raters for vital student assessments.
ETS's Online Scoring Network operates over the Internet and allows raters to grade essays from home, work or on the road. Raters receive training and instruction and have the benefit of an online community of scoring leaders to whom they can turn with questions. An hourly honorarium is provided for participating English teachers."

Education Week: Debate Heats Up Over Replacing AYP Metric in ESEA

Education Week: Debate Heats Up Over Replacing AYP Metric in ESEA:

"The Obama administration’s proposal to revamp the signature yardstick used to measure schools’ progress under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is being seen as a bold step toward revising a key feature of the law, even as questions loom about how a new system would work.

Under the plan, adequate yearly progress, or AYP—the accountability vehicle at the heart of the current version of the law, the 8-year-old No Child Left Behind Act—would be replaced with a new metric that would measure student progress toward readiness for college or a career.

Though many details remain up in the air, some education advocates say the administration proposal outlined in its fiscal 2011 budget request earlier this week is a good first step."

The Civil Rights Project University California, Los Angeles

The Civil Rights Project University California, Los Angeles

Civil rights and policy leaders share CRP charter school segregation concerns

New Report - Charter Schools' Political Success is a Civil Rights Failure

CRP's analysis of the 40 states, the District of Columbia, and several dozen metropolitan areas with large enrollments of charter school students reveals that not only are charter schools more racially isolated than traditional public schools in virtually every instance, but troubling data gaps also make it impossible to assess charter schools enrollments of low-income and English Learner students.

Download the report and related documents from the press release page.

February 4, 2010

Charter Schools' Political Success is a Civil Rights Failure: CRP--News and Media

CRP--News and Media

Los Angeles—February 4, 2010— Today, the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA issued "Choice Without Equity: Charter School Segregation and the Need for Civil Rights Standards," a nationwide report based on an analysis of Federal government data and an examination of charter schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia, along with several dozen metropolitan areas with large enrollments of charters. The report found that charter schools continue to stratify students by race, class, and possibly language, and are more racially isolated than traditional public schools in virtually every state and large metropolitan area in the country.

"President Barack Obama just delivered his budget to the U.S. Congress which increases both incentives and resources to create more charter schools," Erica Frankenberg, co-author of the report said. "This report should be considered in evaluating new federal incentives to states that encourage the expansion of charter schools, such as the Race to the Top initiative."

The study's key findings suggest that charter schools, particularly those in the western United States are havens for white re-segregation from public schools; requirements for providing essential equity data to the federal government go unmet across the nation; and magnet schools are overlooked, in spite of showing greater levels of integration and academic achievement than charters.

Identifying O.C.'s best elementary schools | schools, school, score - News - The Orange County Register

Identifying O.C.'s best elementary schools | schools, school, score - News - The Orange County Register

The Orange County Register's rankings are designed to show which elementary schools in Orange County provide the richest academic experience and strongest environment for learning – from schools with the best test scores to those with cultural diversity and small class sizes.

The results generated a ranking system of more than a dozen measurements for 388 public elementary schools.

• Data sources: All the data used to create the rankings come from the state Department of Education and Register education partner GreatSchools, and is available publicly. The categories were chosen and weighted in consultation with local education experts.
• Who wasn't ranked: After consultation with county education leaders, we omitted K-8 schools, but kept smaller schools with fewer grade offerings than the typical K-5 or K-6. Because we know parents will want to know how their schools performed, we provide the raw data for those 12 schools.

Register rank

This score is determined by combining a school's academic and school environment scores. Academics forms 75 percent of the total rank. School environment contributes 25 percent. Each category, like the Register rank, runs from 1-388, with 1 indicating the best.

Academics

The Register simplified its academic rating this year, swapping several categories of the California Standards Test and the Academic Performance Index used in 2009 for education partner GreatSchools' rating.

• GreatSchools rating: GreatSchools issues schools a rating from 10, the best possible score, through 1, based on the percent of students who are proficient on California Standardized Tests in English, math and other core subjects. Great Schools calculates ratings by grade, subject and demographic combinations, then averages those ratings to achieve an overall school figure. Those same standardized tests are used by the state to help generate elementary school Academic Performance Indexes. Click here for a detailed explanation on GreatSchools ratings. This category constitutes half of the academic score.
• 2008 API similar schools rank: The state ranks each school's API performance against 100 schools of similar demographic makeup. Schools that perform in the top 10 percent of their comparison set receive a score of 10; those that perform in the bottom 10 percent receive a 1. The 2008 similar school score is the most recent – the 2009 ranking is released in May. This equals one-sixth of Academics score. Note: Trabuco Elementary and Silverado Elementary schools did not receive a score because of their small sizes. Heroes Elementary did not receive a score because the school just opened in 2008.
• 2010 Best Public Schools: 
  Elementary Excellence
  What works, what doesn't: From the best to those struggling, how O.C. schools rank in 2010.
  Top districts: Smaller districts seem to have the edge
   Top 10
  1. Oka Elementary
  2. Loyal Barker Elementary
  3. Jack L. Weaver Elementary
  4. Panorama Elementary
  5. Arroyo Elementary
  6. Northwood Elementary
  7. Stone Creek Elementary
  8. Mariners Elementary
  9. Ladera Elementary
  10. Olinda Elementary
  Review the data
  Compare schools in our database of 388 elementary and 12 K-8 campuses
  Methodology: Our criteria for ranking the schools.

Education officials cry foul over governor's cuts - Times-Standard Online

Education officials cry foul over governor's cuts - Times-Standard Online:

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has developed a budget proposal that he claims “protects education,” yet local school officials continue to cry foul over a spending plan they say takes even more away from their already shrunken piece of the state's budget pie.

In reality, the proposed budget will actually cut $2.5 billion from the state's education funds, said Garry Eagles, superintendent of the Humboldt County Office of Education.
Schwarzenegger is being dishonest, he said, and, across the state, schools will likely have to make more cuts and lay off employees to make their budgets work.
”You can't cut as deep as that and not cut vital services...,” Eagles said. “I want parents, students and community members to know that's going to happen.”"