October 14, 2010
A new study finds that many states fall short in the “fairness” of their school funding models, measured not just by the amount of money they provide to education, but also by whether they direct sufficient resources to the poorest schools. The study, based on a detailed analysis of pre-recession data, was released Tuesday by […]
October 13, 2010
The first ever challenge to Georgia’s charter school law went before the state’s highest court Tuesday, with seven public school districts hoping to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding. The districts are asking the court to toss out a May ruling by a Fulton County Superior Court Judge Wendy Shoob tha t declared […]
October 13, 2010
Wisconsin gets relatively high marks for overall spending on public education, but not for ensuring that students in high-poverty schools receive the resources they need to succeed academically, according to a new report ranking all 50 states. The study, conducted by researchers from Rutgers University and th e Education Law Center, gave Wisconsin a "B" […]
October 13, 2010
Results from the 2010 Kansas Statewide Assessments show a 10-year growth trend in reading and mathematics statewide. Students performing in the top three performance levels on the reading assessment increased to 86.3 percent in 2010, up from 85.7 percent in 2009. On the mathematics assessment, students in the top three performance levels totaled 83.1 percent […]
October 13, 2010
New Jersey’s cash-strapped public school districts are one step closer to being able to raise money by soliciting school bus advertising. The measure, approved late last month in the Assembly, would allow ads on the outside of buses that districts own or lease. Districts would set their own ad rates, determine how many ads are […]
October 13, 2010
The New York State Board of Regents is set to excuse school districts from a requirement to provide extra help to all students who fail the state’s standardized exams, a number that grew by hundreds of thousands after the state made the exams tougher to pass this year. The vote by the board, which is […]
October 13, 2010
Researchers and policymakers agree that teachers’ expectations of what their students can do can become self-fulfilling prophecies for children’s academic performance. Yet while the “soft bigotry of low expectations” has become an education catchphrase, scholars and advocates are just beginning to explore whether it is possible to prevent such expectations from taking root by making […]
October 13, 2010
The U.S. Department of Education has given the largest grant in KU history — $22 million — to researchers at the University of Kansas. The grant will fund the development of a new assessment system for special education students. The system, called the Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment System, is led by Neal Kingston, director […]
October 12, 2010
To secure writing materials for her classroom, Sandi Sidor is willing to jump through a lot of hoops these days. Make that throw: "I will toss beanbags through anything for a packet of pens," says the fifth-grade teacher in Redlands, Calif., who seeks out competitions and fairs at office-supply stores in order to win a […]
October 12, 2010
Everybody loves a good story: including kids. That’s why the Harry Potter series and other fiction books are so popular. But will students love reading and writing when the subject is non-fiction? That’s the challenge for teachers as New York State begins phasing in new national standards. One Lower East Side middle school is getting […]