Industry News
Testing Scandal Claims Atlanta Schools Superintendent (GA)
November 22, 2010
Atlanta Schools Supt. Beverly Hall today bowed to calls for her to step down following a standardized-testing scandal, saying she would not return next school year. A statement from her office said that Hall, who has been superintendent for 11 years, had notified school board members that she won’t seek another contract when her current […]
Education: School Funding Formula Mirrors Other States’ (IN)
November 22, 2010
Indiana’s move toward a school-funding program in which dollars follow students has come as the dollars have diminished. But the state’s system for funding schools now more closely mirrors neighboring states such as Michigan and Illinois, where voters have up-or-down votes on school funding. For years, those states and about 40 others have assured public […]
Oregon Schools Escape Further Cuts (OR)
November 22, 2010
Oregon classrooms will finish out the calendar year with no new cuts, based on the latest state economic forecast released Friday. The state brought in about $100 million more than projected in September. It’s the first quarterly forecast in two years that didn’t send school officials scrambling to plan for lower revenues and possible cuts. […]
State’s Education Department Details Big School Cuts (NC)
November 22, 2010
North Carolina could lose more than 5,300 teachers and all public school classes would be larger under a proposal for education cuts prepared for Gov. Bev Perdue’s budget office. The state Department of Public Instruction was the first large state agency to release its budget cut proposal in response to a request by The News […]
A Dilemma for Schools Seeking to Reform (IL)
November 22, 2010
On the eve of a Board of Education meeting in February where the death knell was to sound for five schools, Ron Huberman, the chief executive of Chicago Public Schools, granted an 11th-hour reprieve. The low enrollment and poor academic record at Paderewski Elementary had made the South Side school a target for closing, and […]
Cyber Charter Schools: End of Public Education or a New Beginning? (US)
November 22, 2010
The one commonality educators have regarding online schools, particularly cyber charter schools, is a passionate opinion about their contribution to American education. The politics and turf war between traditional (also known as brick-and-mortar) and online schools have made it difficult to collect public, non-partisan data on virtual charter schools and online education in general. Currently, […]
HISD Considers Easing the Path to the Next Grade (TX)
November 19, 2010
Houston school district officials are debating whether to make it easier for students to be promoted to the next grade level, reversing a decade-old policy touted as one of the toughest in Texas. A draft proposal from Superintendent Terry Grier’s administration, delivered to the school board Thursday, suggests that students should no longer be automatically […]
SC Budget Writers Consider Cutting 10 School Days (SC)
November 19, 2010
The state House’s top budget writer said Thursday that cutting 10 days out of South Carolina’s school year could save $210 million and help ease an $800 million deficit. Whittling down the 180-day school calendar is just one of the ideas House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper offered after his panel’s first meeting, […]
Five Years and Counting: Florida’s Graduation Rate Continues Rising (FL)
November 19, 2010
Governor Charlie Crist today announced Florida’s graduation rat e soared to new heights this year, continuing a five-year trend of increases. According to results released today by the Florida Department of Education, the state’s graduation rate climbed more than two-and-a-half percentage points to 79 percent. Included in the increases was a 3.5 percentage point increase […]
12th-Grade Reading and Math Scores Rise After a Historic Low (US)
November 19, 2010
Reading scores for the nation’s 12th-grade students have increased somewhat since they dropped to a historic low in 2005, according to results of the largest federal test, released Thursday. Average math scores also ticked upward.&l t;br /> Experts said the increases, after years of dismal achievement reports, were surprising because every year the nation’s schools […]