Archive for Policy
Reading-Room Plan at Library of Congress Will Hurt Service, Critics Say
The library will consolidate several rooms and offer "one-stop shopping" to researchers. It says the plan is part of efforts to keep up with how its vast collections are used today.
AAUP Censures 2 Institutions and Removes 2 Others From Censure List
Southern University at Baton Rouge and National Louis University drew rebukes at the association's business meeting over the weekend.
Faculty Culture Is Fractured
Professors, connected yet isolated by the Internet and other factors, are seeking to revive collegiality via the faculty club.
Huge Minority Gaps in Higher Ed
The Lumina Foundation produced a report last week detailing disturbing gaps in college degree attainment rates by race. Blacks, Native Americans, and Hispanics are lagging woefully behind whites and Asians in college graduations. The report finds that 59.1 percent of Asians have a degree, compared with 43.3 percent of whites, 27.1 percent of blacks, 23.0 of Native Americans and 19.3 of Hispanics.
That disparity isn't new, according to Lumina President Jamie Merisotis, but the trend appears to be Read more here
NSBA and CTEq host Common Core graduation requirements Twitter chat at #CCSSGradReq
The new report released last week from Change the Equation (CTEq) and the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) Center for Public Education (CPE) examines the connection between state graduation requirements and Common Core State Standards in math. The report, “Out of Sync: Many Common Core states have yet to define a Common Core-worthy diploma,” found that of the 45 states that have voluntarily adopted Common Core, only 11 have aligned their graduation requirements in mathematics Read more here
Senate Committee Approves Democrat-backed ESEA Bill
A summary of the Committee action and an outline of what to expect next in the reauthorization process to better understand what this could mean for your school.
Kevin Welner responded to It’s Baaaack on June 12, 2013 11:55 PM
Why are senators not listening? Perhaps our senators haven’t yet noticed, but their constituents don’t much care for No Child Left Behind. Perhaps they haven’t noticed all the protests against excessive testing and school closings. Or that all of the Democratic candidates to replace NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg seem to be running away from his education policies. Or the defeat of Tony Bennett in Indiana, or the two recent school board elections in Los Angeles, or last week’s Read more here
AAUP Sees MOOCs as Spawning New Threats to Professors’ Intellectual Property
In a speech at the group's annual meeting, its former president, Cary Nelson, warned of a broader battle over intellectual property being waged on college campuses.
High school graduation requirements are out of sync with Common Core, new report finds
A new report from Change the Equation (CTEq) and the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) Center for Public Education (CPE) examines the connection between state graduation requirements and Common Core State Standards in math. The report, “Out of Sync: Many Common Core states have yet to define a Common Core-worthy diploma,” found that of the 45 states that have voluntarily adopted Common Core, only 11 have aligned their graduation requirements in mathematics with those standards.
CPE Read more here
CPE discusses resurgence of “Ability Grouping” in video chat
The Center for Public Education’s (CPE) Director Patte Barth joined the Huffington Post today for a video chat on “’Ability Grouping’ in Schools.”
The segment discussed the classroom practice of “ability grouping,” often known as clustering, of students by their strengths and abilities. The practice declined in the 1980s and 1990s because of concerns over inequalities, according to a recent article in Salon magazine, “The Return of Ability Grouping,” that inspired the video chat. Read more here
New Opportunity for School Leaders: Principal Ambassador Fellowship
Apply now for this special leadership opportunity from the U.S. Department of Education.
Grown-Ups, We Need Your Help: A Message from Kid President
Kid President and the National Opportunity to Learn Campaign are spreading the word about the opportunity gap.
Kerri L. Briggs responded to It’s Baaaack on June 11, 2013 10:38 PM
Reauthorize and focus No Child Left Behind changed and improved the education landscape. Because of this law, · every school is held accountable for results; · every child gets an opportunity to demonstrate what he or she has learned; · every parent receives information about their student and school; and · Read more here
Kris Perry responded to It’s Baaaack on June 11, 2013 11:03 AM
A launch pad for early learning Senator Harken’s proposed ESEA Authorization (No Child Left Behind) is a big step in the right direction for creating better education outcomes for children and our nation. It recognizes what educators, child advocates, economists, governors, Members of Congress and President Obama have learned over the last decade: quality early childhood education from birth to five is essential for success in school, career and life. There is no question that revisions to Read more here
School boards speak out in upcoming Supreme Court employment case
The U.S. Supreme Court should not allow employees to file constitutional lawsuits for alleged age discrimination because employees already have ample legal remedies in place, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and the Illinois School Boards Association say in an amicus brief.
The brief in Madigan v. Levin urges the Court to deny an employee’s ability to add an Equal Protection Clause claim to a lawsuit that alleges age discrimination against the employer. NSBA argues in the brief that Read more here
Smooth Lectures Foster Only the Illusion of Learning, Study Finds
Students who heard the same lecture on cats from two instructors scored equally well on a test, even though students with the better lecturer thought they'd learned more.
New Test to Measure Faculty Collegiality Produces Some Dissension Itself
Two consultants have devised an assessment to identify good and bad behavior in the academic workplace. Many professors have their doubts.
My Two Cents: Summer Communications
In the latest installment of My Two Cents, Principal magazine asked principals how they maintain communication over the summer. Here's how some of you responded:
It’s Baaaack
No Child Left Behind is back, but who knows how long the effort to reauthorize the long overdue legislation will last. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is voting on a bill this week to overhaul the nation's elementary and secondary school system. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn., unveiled his own reauthorization proposal last week.
Republicans and Democrats are far apart on many issues when it comes to No Child Left Behind, which Read more here
Monty Neill responded to It’s Baaaack on June 10, 2013 12:49 PM
Congress: End Test-and-Punish Policies The Democratic bill released by Senator Tom Harkin, the Legislation from Rep. John Kline, and that from Sen. Lamar Alexander, are different enough that chances of final passage approach zero. Unfortunately, neither house is going to eliminate the test-and-punish core of NCLB – even though the growing public demand for fundamental change is backed by volumes of research. Far better alternatives to NCLB exist, and they could be readily implemented. Read more here
Nina Rees responded to It’s Baaaack on June 10, 2013 12:08 PM
ESEA Reauthorization or Ground Hog Day! This week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will mark up legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – also known as the much maligned No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The House Education and Workforce Committee will soon follow suit. Since the Administration’s waivers have reduced state and local angst over NCLB, the only way these efforts stand a chance to see the light of day is Read more here
Local flexibility is needed in ESEA reauthorization, says NSBA
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is asking the U.S. Senate to make changes in its legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), commonly known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). On Tuesday, June 11, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) will mark-up this bill.
NSBA sent a letter to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the HELP Committee, and Sen. Lamar Alexander, the ranking minority member. The letter notes NSBA is pleased Read more here
Harvard Mounts Campaign to Bolster Undergraduate Humanities
Reports describe coming changes in the curriculum, new internships, and improved advising, among other steps to reverse a decades-long slide in majors.
Bills to Rewrite ESEA Introduced in Congress
Debate on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act legislation starts June 11 in the Senate Education Committee.
LFA calls for longer transition to prepare for Common Core
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is one of 16 members of the Learning First Alliance (LFA). This week LFA called on lawmakers to give states and school districts more time to transition to the Common Core State Standards so that they can develop the proper resources for students and teachers, including curriculum, assessments, and professional development. NSBA also recently asked Congress to give adequate time for stakeholders to prepare for the transition.
Here is a copy of LFA’s Read more here
California Union Seeks Federal Intervention in Battle With Accreditor
A complaint to the Education Department says an accreditor broke the law and was biased when it punished the City College of San Francisco.
School boards pleased with Obama’s plan to improve schools’ Internet access
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) praised President Barack Obama’s new initiative, ConnectED, to connect 99 percent of America’s students to the Internet through high-speed broadband and high-speed wireless within 5 years.
“Broadband has an important role to play in education, from digital learning resources to professional development for teachers, remote instruction, and data-driven decision-making,” said NSBA Executive Director Thomas J. Gentzel. “Increasing high speed Internet Read more here
NSBA asks Senate leaders to rethink Title I change in new ESEA bill
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) has issued a report calling on the U.S. Senate to reconsider a provision in its new Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization bill that seeks to ensure school districts give equitable support to students in high-poverty schools.
The ESEA legislation would change the current method for determining how school districts allocate comparable resources to their Title I schools. Based on NSBA’s report, “The Challenges and Unintended Consequences Read more here
Congress takes first steps toward ESEA reauthorization
Democrats in the U.S. Senate introduced their bill to overhaul the No Child Left Behind Act, and the National School Boards Association’s advocacy team is hopeful that efforts to reauthorize the massive K-12 law could progress this summer.
“In conversations with key staff members, it’s clear they are eager to move a bill through the committee in short order” said Michael A. Resnick, the Associate Executive Director for Federal Advocacy and Public Policy at NSBA. “But some of the philosophical Read more here
Minnesota Program Will Offer a Tuition Break Based on Test Scores
A community college and a state university are partners in the program, whose criteria include scores on a version of the Collegiate Learning Assessment.
New on ASBJ.com: Going beyond academics
Reading. Writing. Algebra. Geometry. Educators and schools need to cover a lot of academic subject matter with their students. But most people who work with children and teenagers know that the knowledge they are imparting will fall on deaf ears if their students are hungry. Or in pain. Or worried about their parents. Or dealing with any of the myriad problems that children and youth face every day.
In ASBJ’s June cover story, now online at ASBJ.com, Senior Editor Lawrence Hardy looks at Read more here
Prominent Philosopher to Leave U. of Miami Amid Misconduct Allegations
Colin McGinn denies allegations that he sent improper messages to a graduate student, but he has agreed to depart at the end of the year, supporters say.
House Committee Approves Nearly 20 Percent Cut to Education Funding
The House annual appropriations bill could provide nearly 20 percent less for education funding than current funding levels, but details have not yet been released.
Boston College Wins a Victory in Fight Over Oral-History Records
An appellate court said the college must hand over only 11 of the 85 confidential interviews that were subpoenaed on behalf of British authorities.
Accreditor Rejects Challenge to Punishment of City College of S.F.
A complaint filed by the California Federation of Teachers is "without merit," and some of it does not even deserve a reply, says a report from the accreditor.
Can a Historian Lead Berkeley’s Anthropologists? Department Is Split
The interim appointment has angered several senior cultural anthropologists, but some colleagues dismiss their complaints.
AAUP Urges Direct Talks Between Colleges’ Boards and Faculties
Effective faculty-board communication, the association says in a draft statement, is "a critical component of shared governance."
Speaking Out on Pre-K Rigor
In the most recent speaking out column in Principal magazine, authors Christopher P. Brown and Brian Mowry discuss the contentious nature of implementing rigor at the pre-K level.
NSBA’s President discusses the New NSBA and school board leadership on Education Talk Radio
David A. Pickler
David A. Pickler, President of the National School Boards Association and member of Tennessee’s Shelby County Board of Education, was a guest on Education Talk Radio for a two part interview. Pickler discussed the “New NSBA,” school board leadership, vouchers, the Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act, and his experiences and leadership on his local school board.
Listen to the interviews:
Part 1:
Listen to internet radio with EduTalk on BlogTalkRadio
Part Read more here
National school leadership organizations urge “adequate time” for Common Core implementation
States and school districts need adequate time, professional development, and the technical infrastructure to properly transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the assessment requirements, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and the major organizations representing school administrators say in a joint statement on the issue.
“Strong educational standards can be an important tool for improving student achievement, but states and school districts must be well prepared to Read more here
ASBJ bonus article offers sound advice for boosting meeting participation
Tired of spending hours in meetings only to walk out and wonder, yet again, “What was our net gain?” This week’s ASBJ bonus article can help. Read along as a retired superintendent with 50 years of service in public schools outlines a three-phase planning process that leads to truly effective meetings — the kind of meetings that produce results that meet or exceed your expectations.
Learn how stepping back and listening to some wise voices from an earlier generation can help us develop Read more here
Accreditor Rejects Adjuncts’ Complaint Against College in Washington State
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities said it planned to take no action on a complaint against Green River Community College.
Patricia McGuire responded to Whence the Apprenticeship on May 28, 2013 09:05 AM
Internships Pave the Way to Jobs Work is not something most people delay until after college any more. That’s an old fashioned stereotype from the days when going to college meant four years of self-indulgent free time supported by parents paying the bills. While a small minority of students still fit that stereotype, data from the U.S. Department of Education reveals that the vast majority of college students today have “non-traditional” characteristics including working Read more here
Whence the Apprenticeship
"Business speaks one language and education speaks another language. We have to have translators," said Jane Oates, the outgoing Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training at the Department of Labor, at a recent National Journal event on the underemployed. (You can view the full program here.)
Oates is unusual in that she has professionally placed one foot in the education world and the other foot in the labor world, effectively making herself one of these translators. She worked for years Read more here
Dan Domenech responded to Whence the Apprenticeship on May 28, 2013 08:59 AM
We Made Vocational Ed a Dirty Word I have previously extolled the virtues of apprenticeship programs on this blog. I absolutely agree with Jane Oates that we are allowing our students to transition to the world of work without ever giving them some real life work experience. Part of the problem we created. At one point we made vocational education a dirty word and relegated the students in those programs to second class. We espouse that we want our students to be college and career ready but Read more here
New Job Types at Some Colleges Would Offer Adjuncts Health Care
At least two colleges plan to create a "lecturer" classification for non-tenure-track instructors who teach 75 percent of a full-time professor's course load.
Oklahoma State School Boards Association helps tornado-torn district recover
Tornados are a fact of life in Oklahoma. That’s especially true in the central and western portions of the state, which form part a region encompassing parts of nine states and dubbed “Tornado Alley.” Shaped, fittingly, like a cylinder, it stretches north from Texas to South Dakota and is the area of the country where tornados are among the most numerous and severe.
The town of Moore, south of Oklahoma City, is in the heart of Tornado Alley. Its residents are familiar with the storms and Read more here
NSBA, Impact Aid districts warn of consequences of federal budget cuts
Federal budget cuts are coming for every school district this fall—but the reality of teacher layoffs and program cuts already are here for school districts that receive Impact Aid.
Two district officials who already have endured the first round of scheduled cuts shared their experiences in a teleconference organized by the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS).
NSBA is continuing to lobby Congress through its grassroots network Read more here
Gina Burkhardt responded to New Definition of Asperger’s, Autism for Kids on May 22, 2013 03:20 PM
To Label or Not to Label? The new diagnostic changes to the DSM-5—the first in nearly twenty years—have generated discussion and debate among educators and others. One goal of these changes is to make the diagnostic criteria more specific and less subjective, excluding those who really do not have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A major change is the decision to group Asperger’s Syndrome under the umbrella of ASD. The jury is out on how these changes will affect the treatment and Read more here
