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Item(s) found: 587

Data Accountability and Trust Act -- H. R. 2221

Date Captured

Thursday November 05 2009, 3:19 PM

H. R. 2221 -- To protect consumers by requiring reasonable security policies and procedures to protect computerized data containing personal information, and to provide for nationwide notice in the event of a security breach. [Requires information brokers to: (1) establish procedures to verify the accuracy of information that identifies individuals; (2) provide to individuals whose personal information it maintains a means to review it; (3) place notice on the Internet instructing individuals how to request access to such information; and (4) correct inaccurate information. Directs the FTC to require information brokers to establish measures which facilitate the auditing or retracing of access to, or transmissions of, electronic data containing personal information. Prohibits information brokers from obtaining or disclosing personal information by false pretenses (pretexting).]

Testimony of Secretary Janet Napolitano before the House Committee on Homeland Security on DHS, The Path Forward

Date Captured

Wednesday February 25 2009, 3:13 PM

Release Date: February 25, 2009 - The Committee’s platform items: [Improving the governance, functionality, and accountability of the Department of Homeland Security; enhancing security for all modes of transportation; strengthening our Nation: response, resilience, and recovery; shielding the Nation’s critical infrastructure from attacks; securing the homeland and preserving privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties; connecting the dots: intelligence, information sharing, and interoperability; implementing common-sense border and port security; and inspiring minds and developing technology – the future of homeland security. ]

Response to the 2008 NAI Principles: The Network Advertising Initiative’s Self-Regulatory Code of Conduct for Online Behavioral Advertising

Date Captured

Thursday February 12 2009, 6:43 PM

[CDT believes the 2008 NAI Principles, while late in addressing new trends in the industry, demonstrate clear progress over the original code of conduct adopted in 2000. The transparency of the NAI’s revision and compliance process, the approach to sensitive information, and the coverage of advertising practices beyond behavioral advertising all represent important steps forward. While robust self-regulation in the behavioral advertising space does not obviate the need for a baseline federal privacy law covering data collection and usage of all kinds, the NAI has made advances in several areas, yielding what we hope will be better protections for consumer privacy. However, the 2008 NAI Principles still come up short in crucial respects including the opt-out choice requirement, the notice standard, the NAI member accountability model, the failure to address ISP behavioral advertising, the lack of a choice requirement for multi-site advertising, and the data retention principle. Some of these are outstanding issues that have existed within the NAI framework since its inception, while others are new concerns raised by the updates to the principles.]

DOD’s and VA’s Sharing of Information

Date Captured

Friday January 30 2009, 10:11 AM

(GAO-09-268) In the more than 10 years since DOD and VA began collaborating to electronically share health information, the two departments have increased interoperability. Nevertheless, while the departments continue to make progress, the manner in which they report progress—by reporting increases in interoperability over time—has limitations. These limitations are rooted in the departments’ plans, which identify interoperable capabilities to be implemented, but lack the results-oriented (i.e., objective, quantifiable, and measurable) goals and associated performance measures that are a necessary basis for effective management. Without establishing results-oriented goals, then reporting progress using measures relative to the established goals, the departments and their stakeholders do not have the comprehensive picture that they need to effectively manage their progress toward achieving increased interoperability. Further constraining the departments’ management effectiveness is their slow pace in addressing our July 2008 recommendation related to setting up the interagency program office that Congress called for to function as a single point of accountability in the development and implementation of electronic health record capabilities.

What Every American Needs to Know about the HIPAA Medical Privacy Rule* -- Updated November 2008

Date Captured

Sunday January 18 2009, 9:39 PM

By Sue A. Blevins, president of the Institute for Health Freedom and Robin Kaigh, Esq., an attorney dedicated to patients’ health privacy rights. [Did you know that under the federal HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) medical privacy rule, your personal health information—including past records and genetic information—can be disclosed without your consent to large organizations such as the following? Data-processing companies; Insurers; Researchers (in some instances); Hospitals; Doctors (even those not treating you); Law enforcement officials; Public health officials; Federal government.

Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) Applauds Critical Privacy, Security Provisions in Health IT Stimulus Bill

Date Captured

Sunday January 18 2009, 5:59 PM

[The bill's privacy provisions include the following: Stronger protections against the use of personal heath information for marketing purposes; Accountability for all entities that handle personal health information; A federal, individual right to be notified in the event of a breach of identifiable health information; Prohibitions on the sale of valuable patient-identifiable data for inappropriate purposes; Development and implementation of federal privacy and security protections for personal health records; Easy access by patients to electronic copies of their records; and Strengthened enforcement of health privacy rules. The provisions in the bill are similar to those that received bipartisan approval by the House Energy & Commerce Committee in the last Congress.]

U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program Planning and Execution Improvements Needed

Date Captured

Monday December 22 2008, 3:21 PM

GAO-09-96 -- DHS has not adequately met the conditions associated with its legislatively mandated fiscal year 2008 US-VISIT expenditure plan. The plan does not fully satisfy any of the conditions that apply to DHS, either because it does not address key aspects of the condition or because what it does address is not adequately supported or is otherwise not reflective of known program weaknesses. Given that the legislative conditions are intended to promote the delivery of promised system capabilities and value, on time and within budget, and to provide Congress with an oversight and accountability tool, these expenditure plan limitations are significant. Beyond the expenditure plan, other program planning and execution limitations and weaknesses also confront DHS in its quest to deliver US-VISIT capabilities and value in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Secretary Leavitt Announces New Principles, Tools to Protect Privacy, Encourage More Effective Use of Patient Information to Improve Care

Date Captured

Thursday December 18 2008, 5:11 PM

The privacy principles articulated by Secretary Leavitt are as follows: Individual Access – Consumers should be provided with a simple and timely means to access and obtain their personal health information in a readable form and format. Correction – Consumers should be provided with a timely means to dispute the accuracy or integrity of their personal identifiable health information, and to have erroneous information corrected or to have a dispute documented if their requests are denied. Consumers also should be able to add to and amend personal health information in products controlled by them such as personal health records (PHRs). Openness and Transparency -- Consumers should have information about the policies and practices related to the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information. This can be accomplished through an easy-to-read, standard notice about how their personal health information is protected. This notice should indicate with whom their information can or cannot be shared, under what conditions and how they can exercise choice over such collections, uses and disclosures. In addition, consumers should have reasonable opportunities to review who has accessed their personal identifiable health information and to whom it has been disclosed. Individual Choice -- Consumers should be empowered to make decisions about with whom, when, and how their personal health information is shared (or not shared). Collection, Use, and Disclosure Limitation – It is important to limit the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information to the extent necessary to accomplish a specified purpose. The ability to collect and analyze health care data as part of a public good serves the American people and it should be encouraged. But every precaution must be taken to ensure that this personal health information is secured, deidentified when appropriate, limited in scope and protected wherever possible. Data Integrity – Those who hold records must take reasonable steps to ensure that information is accurate and up-to-date and has not been altered or destroyed in an unauthorized manner. This principle is tightly linked to the correction principle. A process must exist in which, if consumers perceive a part of their record is inaccurate, they can notify their provider. Of course the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule provides consumers that right, but this principle should be applied even where the information is not covered by the Rule. Safeguards – Personal identifiable health information should be protected with reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to ensure its confidentiality, integrity, and availability and to prevent unauthorized or inappropriate access, use, or disclosure. Accountability – Compliance with these principles is strongly encouraged so that Americans can realize the benefit of electronic health information exchange. Those who break rules and put consumers’ personal health information at risk must not be tolerated. Consumers need to be confident that violators will be held accountable.

Joint Guidance on the Application of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) And the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) To Student Health Records (ID: CSD5578)

Date Captured

Thursday December 04 2008, 4:36 PM

The HIPAA Privacy Rule specifically excludes from its coverage those records that are protected by FERPA. At the elementary or secondary school level, students’ immunization and other health records that are maintained by a school district or individual school, including a school-operated health clinic, that receives funds under any program administered by the U.S. Department of Education are “education records” subject to FERPA, including health and medical records maintained by a school nurse who is employed by or under contract with a school or school district. Some schools may receive a grant from a foundation or government agency to hire a nurse. Notwithstanding the source of the funding, if the nurse is hired as a school official (or contractor), the records maintained by the nurse or clinic are “education records” subject to FERPA.

General Information Technology Access Account Records System (GITAARS) DHS/ALL-004, May 15, 2008, 73 FR 28139

Date Captured

Tuesday June 03 2008, 12:51 PM

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of Homeland Security is giving notice that it proposes to update a system of records in its inventory. The Department of Homeland Security is updating the General Information Technology Access Account Records System system of records notice to include four new routine uses and to add to the categories of records covered by the system. The first new routine use will allow for information sharing with federal agencies such as the Office of Personnel Management, the Merit Systems Protection Board, Office of Management and Budget, Federal Labor Relations Authority, Government Accountability Office, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when information is requested in the performance of those agencies' official duties. The second routine use will allow for the routine sharing of business information outside of the Department for official purposes. This includes the sharing of business contact information to contacts outside of the Department. The third routine use allows for sharing for the purpose of investigating an alleged or proven act of identity fraud or theft. The fourth routine use allows sharing of information to regulatory and oversight bodies, including auditors, who are responsible for ensuring appropriate use of government resources.

Schools Wait, Teeth Gritted: Their Grades Are Coming

Date Captured

Saturday September 01 2007, 9:31 AM

NY Times reports, "Making good on a promise to hold educators more accountable for student performance, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will oversee the distribution of report cards for each of the city’s schools next month. Each school (and by extension its principal) will receive a letter grade in the mail, and the grade and the data that led to it will be posted on the Web, where parents can see and possibly stew over them. Mr. Bloomberg described the grades as part of 'the most sophisticated achievement data system in the nation, which will allow us to focus on how well individual students are learning.'"

A failing grade

Date Captured	Saturday September 01 2007, 9:11 AM
Daily Freeman opines, "But by nearly any measure, a program that spends $559,000 of taxpayers' money to graduate two students - or 11 students -- is wasting money. Even using the college's numbers, you're talking more than $50,000 per graduate from a community college."

Let mayor lead schools? CSD needs dose of Duffy's drive, proven abilities

Date Captured

Friday August 24 2007, 6:40 AM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle op-ed contributor Alex Zapesochny, community member, Editorial Board opines, "Consider that about 96 percent of all Rochester property tax receipts ($119 million) go to the district, whose total budget, $639 million, is considerably larger than that of the entire city — $442 million. Further, educational failure is interwoven with the city's other serious challenges, including crime and economic development. So, by what logic do we not allow the city's top leader to have influence over the running of the schools? Mayor Duffy appears to have the skills and drive to take on our big challenges. Let's give him the ability and responsibility to do so."

Breaking ranks on college ratings

Date Captured	Saturday August 18 2007, 9:24 AM
Times Union reports, "Skidmore, RPI, Union and hundreds of other colleges are participating in a new project to provide what they bill as more and better information than what's in the U.S. News rankings. It's called the University & College Accountability Network (U-CAN). The Web site is scheduled to launch in September."

Commercial College Ordered to Repay U.S. $2.5 Million

Date Captured	Friday August 17 2007, 9:01 AM
NY Times reports, "The parent company of Interboro Institute, a commercial college in New York City that a state investigation found had cheated in determining student eligibility for government financial aid, has been ordered to repay the federal government about $2.5 million, the company said yesterday."

After troubles, district looks to repair image

Date Captured	Thursday August 16 2007, 7:25 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, " After hearing the results of the recent state audit of the Poughkeepsie City School District, parents and community members said they want to be kept up to date about improvements in the district's management."

Forum on Educational Accountability (FEA)

Date Captured	Thursday August 09 2007, 11:32 AM
The Forum on Educational Accountability (FEA) has been formed to expand on and advance the ideas in the "Joint Organizational Statement on No Child Left Behind" to improve federal education policy.

A Letter from Selected Civil Rights Groups on Multiple Measures

Date Captured

Thursday August 09 2007, 11:26 AM

EXCERPT: To counter the narrowing of the curriculum and exclusion of important subjects that has been extensively documented as a consequence of NCLB, the new law should also allow states to include other subjects, using multiple forms of assessment, in an index of school indicators. To ensure strong attention is given to reading and math, these subjects can be weighted more heavily. Graduation rates and grade promotion rates should be given substantial weight in any accountability system. Other relevant indicators of school progress, such as attendance and college admission rates, could be included.

Manuel 'Manny' Rivera

Date Captured

Monday August 06 2007, 7:54 AM

Times Union reports, "Rivera is Gov. Eliot Spitzer's senior policy adviser and point man on education issues, helping to oversee accountability issues proposed by the governor. He is working with the state Education Department to help implement the Contract for Excellence that Spitzer pushed through, which provides money to needy or under-performing schools but also sets priorities for making improvements. He was previously the Rochester schools superintendent and turned down an offer to run the Boston city school system to work in the Capitol."

Graduation Matters: Improving Accountability for High School Graduation

Date Captured

Thursday August 02 2007, 8:26 AM

By Daria Hall, Assistant Director for K-12 Policy at The Education Trust. "The Education Trust report provides recommendations for policy changes at both the federal and state levels, including the following priorities for NCLB reauthorization: * Crafting meaningful graduation-rate accountability provisions in the law and providing high schools with a greater share of the federal investment in education so they have more resources to meet ambitious improvement goals; * Targeting federal investments to improve high school curriculum and assessments; and *Better directing funds and interventions toward the lowest performing schools to ensure that high-poverty and high-minority schools get their fair share of the tools they need to be successful – strong teachers, high standards and high-quality curriculum and assessments."

The Records Manager

Date Captured	Tuesday July 31 2007, 12:58 PM
The Records Manager, vol. 1 no. 3, Summer 2007. The Records Manager is the new newsletter of the SAA Records Management Roundtable.

KLEIN SETS A RECORD

Date Captured

Tuesday July 31 2007, 8:35 AM

NY Post opines, "Klein, with Bloomberg's strong backing: * Undertook to break up decades of bureaucratic infrastructure - sundering longstanding political alliances and an gering union leaders by the score. * Eliminated the corrupt community school boards, imposed a tougher new curriculum, demanded and got stricter performance standards - and put an effective end to social promotion. * Raised basic standards and expectations at the earliest grade levels and installed no-nonsense discipline to remove violent troublemakers from classrooms. * Encouraged the development of charter schools as an innovative way to challenge the long-accepted notions of education that clearly have not been working. * Demanded the same accountability and responsibility from teachers - and principals - as he has set for himself."

State oversight of day care providers faulted

Date Captured

Tuesday July 31 2007, 8:12 AM

Times Union reports, "The report said the Office of Children and Family Services does not properly record or investigate complaints. Even after OCFS orders day care providers to correct inadequacies, it does not conduct required inspections to make sure its demands have been met, the audit found. Additionally, the audit concluded that OCFS needs to improve its monitoring practices to ensure that the complaints received are all 'properly classified, promptly recorded, timely investigated and thoroughly resolved.'"

Picture the arts in schools

Date Captured	Sunday July 29 2007, 9:07 AM
NY Daily News opines, "Building on an existing plan detailing curriculums in music, dance, theater and visual arts, ArtsCount adds accountability to the mix. It spells out, year by year, what arts training every student must receive. It will measure how good that instruction is. And it will note the results in annual school report cards, just like reading and math."

SPECIAL-ED WOE

Date Captured	Wednesday July 25 2007, 8:42 AM
NY Post Chuck Bennett reports, "The audit reviewed the records of 89 mainstreamed special-ed students during the 2004-05 school year. It found sloppy record-keeping and no formal rules for monitoring the delivery of services."

Revised school code flags accomplices

Date Captured	Friday July 20 2007, 8:16 AM
Daily Freeman reports, "The Board of Education has amended Kingston High School's code of conduct in an effort to increase accountability among students. Changes to the Jefferson Code include the addition of the phrase 'aiding and/or abetting.' The move was made in response to an administrative request from members at the high school and will serve as an added level of regulations."

Regents exam: American history for dummies

Date Captured

Wednesday July 18 2007, 8:29 AM

NY Daily News guest contributor Marc Epstein opines, "Before we allow Bloomberg and Richard Mills, the state's commissioner of education, to pop the champagne corks over improved test results and higher standards, let's examine the content of the product. Politicians and the public are forever demanding truth in packaging when it comes to food and other consumer products; why should they be deceived about the content of their children's educations?"

Fake degree mill for city medical aides, teachers?

Date Captured	Wednesday July 18 2007, 7:27 AM
NY Daily News reports, "State education officials announced a sweeping probe yesterday to determine if the state licensed teachers and medical workers based on phony diplomas issued at Touro College."

State aid could shrink classes, lengthen school day

Date Captured

Monday July 16 2007, 6:29 AM

Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "The contracts apply to 55 districts that have at least one school on the federal 'In Need of Improvement' list. These districts also received a $15 million increase or a 10 percent or more increase in state aid. In the contract, the district must show how it will use most of the additional state aid to implement programs and initiatives to address the lower-performing students identified by federal standards. The initiatives include reducing class size, increasing the length of the school day, professional development for teachers and principals, restructuring middle and high schools and implementing full-day kindergarten or pre-kindergarten or experimental programs."

West Point honor code to be reviewed

Date Captured

Sunday July 15 2007, 12:41 PM

Times Herald-Record Greg Bruno reports, "An honor code study group has been formed to review the state and status of the honor system at West Point, academy leaders announced yesterday. Under the guidance of retired generals, past and present cadet leaders and academy staff, the committee will analyze general feelings toward honor at West Point, and drill into specific areas where improvements could be made. Issues to be addressed include the state of plagiarism in academic classes and the type of legal advice cadets accused of honor violations should receive."

Federal Support for Adolescent Literacy: A Solid Investment

Date Captured

Friday July 13 2007, 9:34 AM

This Alliance for Excellent Education brief lays out a set of strategic policy recommendations that include: (1) Encourage schools, districts, and states to articulate clear, comprehensive, actionable plans for improving literacy instruction; (2) Invest in tools that help schools identify struggling readers and appropriately adjust instruction in grades 4-12; (3) Invest in ongoing professional development programs designed to help all middle and high school teachers provide effective reading and writing instruction in their subject area; (4) Support and invest in accountability systems that give teachers strong incentives to provide effective reading and writing instruction; and, (5) Invest in ongoing research on and evaluation of strategies to improve adolescent literacy.

Ruling bans school busing in Roosevelt

Date Captured	Thursday July 12 2007, 9:02 PM
Newsday reports, "Maureen Powell, 74, widow of a former Roosevelt school board trustee, complained to district officials when she noticed the buses in October 2005. Powell, who has long been active in district issues, argued that state law dictates that voters need to approve transportation."

Patrons’ Sway Leads to Friction in Charter School

Date Captured

Friday June 29 2007, 9:04 AM

NY Times DAVID M. HERSZENHORN reports, "The Reichs said the problem was that the board was 'constituency-based' and that they wanted members with practical skills like fund-raising or public relations instead. To get the changes, they threatened in a strongly worded letter to cut off their support unless all but three of the board members resigned. Among those told to quit were five parent and faculty representatives. At a board meeting last month, parents lashed out at the Reichs, angrily describing their relationship as that of master and servant or landlord and tenant."

City schools audit points to 'issues'

Date Captured	Thursday June 28 2007, 8:50 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said his office has uncovered 'some management issues' within the Poughkeepsie City School District and will release details of the yearlong audit soon."

Regents: Schools must have contracts of accountability

Date Captured

Tuesday June 26 2007, 8:48 AM

Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "With the new school year only a few months away, the state Education Department and school officials are racing to get effective accountability contracts in place for 56 school districts receiving large state-aid hikes. The school systems have to develop 'Contracts for Excellence' because they have a minimum of one underperforming school and are getting funding increases of at least $15 million or 10 percent more than last year. Gov. Eliot Spitzer proposed the measure, which was included in the Legislature's budget as part of a $7 billion boost in state school aid over four years."

Explain school violence data

Date Captured	Tuesday June 26 2007, 8:40 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Is my child safe at school? There's no more important query for a parent. Government is doing far too little to answer it."

Colleges Pull Out of 'U.S. News' Rankings

Date Captured	Sunday June 24 2007, 7:18 PM
Day to Day, June 22, 2007 · A group of liberal arts colleges has announced that they will stop participating in the annual U.S. News and World Report college rankings. Opponents say the rankings mislead students. Doug Bennett, president of Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., talks with Anthony Brooks.

It's the students who were cheated

Date Captured

Sunday June 24 2007, 12:56 PM

Newsday opines, "Don't buy into the argument that the Uniondale scandal is a side-effect of ratcheting up the pressure on school districts to perform better and better on 'high stakes' testing. There's legitimate debate on that issue in the state and around the country, but it's not relevant here. And don't buy into the notion that the investigators were picking on a minority district struggling to improve. No, the issue here is cheating, nothing more and nothing less. And not cheating by students with answers scribbled on their wrists, but by one or more adults responsible for the district's performance."

School mixes-up mailings of test results

Date Captured	Thursday June 21 2007, 8:52 AM
Newsday reports, "'The people stuffing the envelopes didn't double check that the proper tests were in the proper envelopes,' said Mullin [Fort Salonga Elementary School Principal], who added that she doesn't know how widespread the problem is."

Mr. Rivera Goes to Albany -- Is Spitzer’s new education lieutenant a genuine reformer?

Date Captured

Sunday June 17 2007, 11:21 AM

City Journal contributor Peter Meyer (Contributing Editor of Education Next) writes, "It was a promising sign, perhaps, that the 57-year-old Rivera, a grandfather, had turned down a cushy $300,000 offer to take the reins of Boston’s 150-school district in order to try to fix—with no real power and a mere $169,000 salary—New York’s 4,448 schools. He had to be nuts—a plus when doing real education reform."

Test fraud lands Uniondale schools on probation

Date Captured

Friday June 15 2007, 7:26 PM

Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "In what appears to be the worst case of test fraud in recent state history, the State Education Department has invalidated all test results in the Uniondale district for last year's math assessments in grades three to eight, together with all math Regents exams at the district's high school. All eight of the district's schools have been placed on academic probation as a result of the state's findings, and could see their state scholastic ratings slip next year if test scores don't improve. However, none of the 5,100 Uniondale students who took those tests have been implicated in the case, and no individual exam scores will be affected."

Valley Central hopes to do the No Child Left Behind act one, or two, better

Date Captured

Friday June 15 2007, 7:38 AM

Times Herald-Record reports, "Every member of the Accountability Task Force has equal leverage. 'We have some teachers (on the task force) who are among the greatest thinkers in the district,' said Hooley, 'and they're not afraid to disagree with me.' When the plan is finished, by the start of the next school year, Valley Central will have an in-house system for measuring expectations and achievement in every department."

Send charter law to reform school

Date Captured

Sunday June 10 2007, 9:44 AM

Times Union op-ed contributor Thomas Rogers, executive director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents opines, "Until the state pays the bulk of the costs, local districts -- whose taxpayers finance charter schools -- must have more say regarding charter school approval and renewal. The current system makes charter schools and district schools into enemies, instead of collaborators. Other statutory reforms must include: Robust oversight and consequences for academic failure. A state-financed safety net to accommodate enrollment fluctuations. Penalties for charter schools that plan poorly or send students back to the district schools. Downward recalculations in funding if charters do not enroll disabled students in proportions similar to district schools. Timelines for major decisions, scheduled to permit adequate planning by school districts and informed voting by the public. Prohibitions on management companies taking profits from academically failing schools."

Schools failing to secure exams

Date Captured

Wednesday June 06 2007, 9:01 AM

Times Union reports, "Several school districts sampled statewide failed to properly protect Regents exams before they were administered, a state comptroller's office report released Tuesday said. The state Education Department ships the Regents materials in sealed packages that are locked inside boxes, according to the report, released by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Schools are required to inventory the packages and place them back in the boxes in a safe or vault until exam day."

POL PAL FINED ON 'PRINCIPAL'

Date Captured	Friday June 01 2007, 7:43 AM
NY Post reports, "A Bronx principal got a very expensive civics lesson when he was slapped with a $5,000 fine for using an official letterhead to endorse two political candidates, officials disclosed yesterday."

How Educators in Three States Are Responding to Standards-Based Accountability Under No Child Left Behind

Date Captured

Thursday May 31 2007, 10:42 AM

This research brief describes work done for RAND Education documented in Standards-Based Accountability Under No Child Left Behind: Experiences of Teachers and Administrators in Three States, by Laura S. Hamilton, Brian M. Stecher, Julie A. Marsh, Jennifer Sloan McCombs, Abby Robyn, Jennifer Lin Russell, Scott Naftel, and Heather Barney, MG-589-NSF, 2007, 302 pp., ISBN: 978-0-8330-4149-4. "Key findings: Most superintendents considered three improvement strategies most important: using data for decisionmaking, aligning curriculum with state standards, and focusing on low-performing students. Teachers changed their instruction in both desirable and undesirable ways. Most educators felt challenged by insufficient alignment among state standards, curriculum, and tests. The researchers recommend improving alignment among standards, tests, and curriculum; providing educators with professional development assistance; and exploring ways to measure performance more accurately."

Capping property tax is way to escape 'tax hell'

Date Captured

Thursday May 31 2007, 9:37 AM

Press & Sun-Bulletin op-ed contributor Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco opines, "A property tax-cap on its own would have merit, but our plan goes much further in assisting local school districts and municipalities with costs. It: * requires that the state pay for any mandate it imposes on a school district or municipality that costs more than $10,000 a year or $1 million statewide. * provides 100 percent reimbursement to schools for costs incurred in administering fourth- and eighth-grade math and English tests. * creates an Office of State Inspector General for Education to investigate financial abuse, corruption and misconduct in schools. * consolidates school district paperwork requirements. * lets neighboring school districts and municipalities join to pool their risks and so lower their health-insurance costs."

New Covenant's fate

Date Captured

Thursday May 31 2007, 9:29 AM

Times Union opines, "Whatever meeting, or review, is planned should have been held long ago, before New Covenant officials decided to announce the school's closing. As for any new information that might be presented, it is beside the point. What matters is what has long been known about New Covenant -- some of the lowest test scores in the Capital Region and, in view of the State University of New York, which granted the charter, a chaotic environment. New Covenant has had time enough to prove itself. It hasn't."

ELIOT'S ODD ED. REFORMERS

Date Captured	Thursday May 31 2007, 9:05 AM
NY Post opines, "Under Goldstein, CUNY accepts every New Yorker with a high-school diploma who wishes to attend. Not everyone starts at the senior-college level, but everyone can earn a spot - over time, with hard work. He's shown the way. Will Spitzer's panel follow? "

ELIOT'S COLLEGE TRY

Date Captured

Wednesday May 30 2007, 9:01 AM

NY Post op-ed contributor THOMAS W. CARROLL, a graduate of SUNY-Albany and president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability opines on considerations, "Creating a new school of education focused less on education theory and more on proven teaching techniques. Right now, the best urban schools in the state - including those run by KIPP Achievement First and Uncommon Schools - have to retrain and 'reprogram' teachers who've graduated from even the 'best' ed schools. Why not let these successful schools design from scratch an ed school that gets it right the first time?"

State warns KIPP school to shape up or be closed

Date Captured

Saturday May 26 2007, 8:33 AM

Buffalo News reports, "Buffalo’s KIPP Sankofa Charter School, considered a promising alternative for inner-city middle school students when it opened in 1993, is plagued by failure and is fighting for its life. The school, located in the Central Park Plaza, was recently cited by the state’s Charter Schools Institute for low test scores, high teacher turnover, severe disciplinary problems, poor teacher training and failure to use test score data to guide instruction."

GOLD-PLATED SCHOOLS

Date Captured

Friday May 25 2007, 10:11 AM

NY Post opines, "To be sure, Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein have made some gains in New York's schools. But the tax burden - in the suburbs and upstate in particular - has long since passed acceptable levels. The state's economy, outside Manhattan, is suffering dearly for it. Bottom line? Potential investors in New York - the kind who create jobs - got a heads-up from the Census Bureau yesterday: Look elsewhere."

N.Y. SCHOOLKIDS AT HEAD OF THE CLA$$

Date Captured	Friday May 25 2007, 8:59 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "According to the data, which considered the 2004-05 school year, New York state spent $14,119 per student, outpacing its neighbors and leaving the national average of $8,701 in the dust."

Pol calls for Mills to step down

Date Captured	Wednesday May 23 2007, 9:40 AM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "A key state senator from Long Island is calling for the resignation of State Education Commissioner Richard Mills, saying the state's top schools executive bears direct responsibility for a multimillion-dollar budget deficit in Roosevelt."

Klein smears immigrant kids

Date Captured

Wednesday May 23 2007, 8:23 AM

NY Daily News reports, "Mayor Bloomberg and his schools chancellor, Joel Klein, have reaffirmed that old Mark Twain saying about the three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics. Using a PowerPoint presentation filled with glitzy graphs and color charts, Klein reached a new low yesterday by attempting to blame a sharp drop in this year's third-, fourth- and fifth-grade reading scores on thousands of immigrant pupils."

IVY BIG I$ CUT DOWN: COLUMBIA LOAN AX

Date Captured

Tuesday May 22 2007, 9:10 AM

NY Post Fred Dicker reports, "A source close to the probe said Charlow [top Columbia University student-aid officer], who did not return calls seeking comment, had made over $100,000 from the sale of stock in the company. Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore announced the resignation of its 18-year director of student financial services, who received $65,000 in fees and tuition payments from Direct III."

Transition Leader Is Named for Ailing Roosevelt Schools

Date Captured

Tuesday May 22 2007, 9:02 AM

NY Times WINNIE HU reports, "State education officials have asked a veteran school administrator who is a former president of the New York State Council of School Superintendents to oversee a transition period for the troubled Roosevelt Union Free School District on Long Island. The administrator, William Brosnan, will lead transition efforts until a new superintendent is appointed, Richard P. Mills, the state education commissioner, said yesterday."

Poor grade for timing?

Date Captured	Sunday May 20 2007, 3:25 PM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "Officials representing the state's school superintendents are relieved by the timing. A group representative, Robert Lowry, was outspoken earlier this month, declaring that it would be wrong to publish report cards immediately before elections - especially since this wouldn't allow schools time to correct any mistakes."

Baltimore school officials at risk of firing

Date Captured	Saturday May 19 2007, 8:52 AM
Baltimore Sun reports, "At a recent school board meeting, Gittings [president of the administrative union of Baltimore City public schools] said principals have trouble updating records because of high student turnover in city schools. He said that other systems do not have the same issues and that it can take up to a day to update just one student file."

Ed groups push for joint NCLB changes

Date Captured

Friday May 18 2007, 8:36 PM

Six of the nation's top education groups, including the National School Boards Association, jointly urged Congress to reauthorize NCLB to focus on five major areas of change: • A redesign of the federal accountability framework to improve public schools rather than abandon them. • Valid, reliable, unbiased assessment systems that are aligned with state standards. • Maximum flexibility for states and school districts to address the assessment and learning needs of English language learners and students with disabilities. • Helpful interventions tailored to the needs of schools and communities rather than the current system of punitive sanctions. • Determination of the qualifications of principals, teachers, and other education professionals by states and local school districts.

Error clouds vote on school budget

Date Captured	Friday May 18 2007, 8:40 AM
Times Union reports, "A state Education Department error left voters thinking they could save $1.37 million by rejecting Albany's school budget this week.."

Vote on schools

Date Captured

Tuesday May 15 2007, 7:46 AM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Turnout in local school elections traditionally is low. That has never made much sense, given that school payments are the largest piece of the annual local property tax bill. Today should be different. Because of the influx of state aid and the general failure of local districts to keep their proposed tax increases under the inflation rate, this is one of the most important school election days in recent times. It is important, too, to elect board members who understand the balance between school quality and fiscal discipline."

Give schools more time to comply with Contract for Excellence

Date Captured	Monday May 14 2007, 8:56 AM
Legislative Gazette reports, "Educators and lawmakers alike praised Gov. Eliot Spitzer for his landmark investment in public schools, but a Senate bill passed unanimously last week would allow certain schools more time to comply with new accountability measures the increased funding is tied to."

School survey: Syracuse parents pleased

Date Captured	Sunday May 13 2007, 7:53 AM
Post-Standard reports, "The first major survey in more than a decade of Syracuse school district parents shows about 75 percent of them - be they black, white, more educated or less educated - generally are satisfied with the education their children receive. On the flip side, about one-quarter of parents or guardians are not satisfied, and school environment and discipline are big concerns."

More schools on LI making the grade

Date Captured

Saturday May 12 2007, 9:26 AM

Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "Private analysts are skeptical. They note that the state Education Department for the first time this year has decided not to release "school report cards" until budget votes are completed. Voters need those report cards to judge schools' performance, analysts say, because the reports cover test results for a full range of subjects, not just the highlights. And some voice concern that the state would release the names of the highest-scoring schools so close to election time. "So we're having a cheerleader session before the budget vote," said B. Jason Brooks, a senior research associate at the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability, an Albany-area think tank. 'Yet parents and residents don't have straightforward data.'"

Spellings Rejects Criticism on Student Loan Scandal

Date Captured

Friday May 11 2007, 8:21 AM

NY Times reports, "In about three hours of testimony before the House education committee, Ms. Spellings portrayed her department’s oversight of federal lending programs as vigorous, but said that the world of private lending, which has become increasingly important as college costs have outstripped federal loan programs, was mostly beyond her regulatory authority. She told the panel that the entire student loan system needed overhaul, saying, 'The system is redundant, it’s byzantine and it’s broken.'”

New math for schools

Date Captured

Thursday May 10 2007, 9:14 AM

NY Daily News opines, "A new system for tracking student performance as well as schoolwide results will be critical to ensuring all this new dough is put to good use. And the arrival of the money only heightens the importance of using the new data to identify the teachers who foster the least learning, to deny tenure to rookies who don't make the grade and to halt programs that don't work. And, ideally, were the teachers union not an obstacle, the top instructors would get top rewards."

A check mark under 'tardy' for the state

Date Captured

Tuesday May 08 2007, 9:35 AM

Times Union reports, "Typically, the state Education Department releases the data to the media in the form of lengthy computer files. Newspapers and other outlets then sift through the data and present it in a user-friendly form that allows for school-to-school and district-to-district comparisons. But as of Monday, the data hadn't been released to the media. Education Department officials did not say why, but did say it could be coming as soon as this week."

In the school-aid shell game, you pay

Date Captured

Monday May 07 2007, 9:17 AM

Newsday Op-Ed contributor Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council opines, "Indeed, state legislators and school board members don't like to mention that state aid and STAR dollars come from us. It's a shell game. As public school spending marches higher, more money is found under the local property tax shell, the state tax shell, or both. And little of this is about educating children. We passed adequate spending levels for a proper education long ago. It's about taking more from the taxpayers to hand over to public school teachers and administrators, who already rank among the highest compensated in the nation. When it comes to dollars for public schools, state legislators and school boards are not lost in a desert. Instead, they are awash in money. Think about that when you vote May 15, and when state legislators come up for re-election next year. It's not manna from heaven. It's your money."

THE SCHOOL SCAM

Date Captured	Monday May 07 2007, 8:33 AM
NY Post opines, "The annual cash bath, of course, thrills school staffs, union brass and others who make a living off education. And they show their appreciation with generous campaign contributions and other forms of consideration at the appropriate moments in the two-year election cycle. But does it improve learning? If only."

Newburgh School District to vote on $204M budget

Date Captured

Friday May 04 2007, 9:02 AM

Times Herald-Record reports, "The Newburgh District plans to use 'Excellence' dough to: Hire 27 elementary teachers, 25 secondary teachers, three special education teachers, one social worker and three teaching assistants. Establish and expand Extended School Year and Expanded School Day programs. Establish a high school program for grades 9-12 and create grades K-8 programs in at least two elementary schools."

N.C.A.A. Cracks Down on Prep Schools and Angers Some

Date Captured

Tuesday May 01 2007, 8:52 AM

NY Times reports, "The N.C.A.A. quietly passed legislation last week to continue its fight against prep schools that require minimal academic study. In perhaps its most significant move to deter diploma mills, the N.C.A.A. will limit high school students to one core course that would count toward college eligibility after a student’s four-year high school graduation date. The decision will shut down a glaring N.C.A.A. loophole, one exploited by diploma mills: students avoided graduating high school to pad their grade point average in a fifth year. The N.C.A.A. also hopes the new policy will help eliminate schools that exist solely to qualify players for college scholarships."

HESC signs code of conduct for student loan guarantors

Date Captured

Tuesday May 01 2007, 8:39 AM

News from New York State Higher Education Services Corp. (HESC) -- HESC, the state agency that helps people pay for college, "has always embraced the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct" during the agency's 33 years of guaranteeing student loans and administering the state's grants and scholarship program, said HESC President James C. Ross. "We are pleased to sign this code of conduct and reaffirm our commitment to transparency in all of our dealings with our customers -- students, families, lenders and college financial aid professionals," Ross added. Several lenders and colleges have signed the attorney general's code.

Another 'F' for Rochester city schools

Date Captured

Monday April 30 2007, 8:34 AM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Whether you accept the state's contention that the city's four-year graduation rate is 39 percent or the city's argument that it's really 53 percent, the point is that not enough is being done at every level, but especially in the middle grades, to prepare children for high-school work and the Regents testing mandate. The graduation rates mirror, in a way, what's happening on the eighth-grade math and language tests: very weak performance at too many schools that leads to students feeling at sea once they get to high school."

State probes test fraud in Uniondale schools

Date Captured

Sunday April 29 2007, 9:31 AM

Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "The state is investigating potentially large-scale test fraud in the Uniondale school district, including alleged tampering with Regents exams required for graduation, state and local officials said. Investigators from the state attorney general's office questioned both school administrators and teachers last week, according to Uniondale officials who expressed anguish about the situation. The district plans to send out letters Monday to parents of the district's 6,400 students, acknowledging the state probe. Findings could be announced this week. Education Department officials said if any district staffers are implicated, students' scores on past tests would not be affected -- unless students themselves also are found culpable."

A test for the Regents

Date Captured

Sunday April 29 2007, 9:26 AM

Newsday opines, "Meanwhile, the problems of poverty force the schools to divert more money from the classroom - for everything from security to special education - than any other district. And political tweaking of state formulas on behalf of the wealthy means Roosevelt still won't get a fair share of school aid. It's show time Even before the next school year, Mills and the Regents must take these steps. They must find new leaders who will in turn inspire teachers, parents and students. And in so doing, they can create a national model of success for other struggling schools - especially those that fall through the cracks in the suburbs. It's an effort that will take the cooperation of everyone from state educators and lawmakers to local governments that aren't normally involved in education. Everyone from private philanthropists to community groups and parents. It's time to give the students of Roosevelt and their parents the fair shake that was denied the thousands who came before them. This is a test not just of Albany's competency but of its character."

Student loan sense

Date Captured	Sunday April 29 2007, 9:07 AM
Times Union opines, "Now, here's a reassuring thought. New York, so often held up as an example of how state government shouldn't function, is on the verge of being the first state to impose urgently required restrictions on the $85 billion a year student loan industry. In fact, Congress has taken note and may soon consider federal legislation based on the New York model."

Improving by degrees

Date Captured

Thursday April 26 2007, 10:16 AM

NY Daily News opines, "Many have attacked the reforms, and many have doubted whether students were actually learning more. Gains on standardized reading and math tests have been questioned as the products of dumbed-down exams. And Klein's own tally of rising graduation rates has been dismissed as statistical balderdash. His numbers and the state's figures differ because they count varying student populations, but Mills has now certified the trend. And it is happily up. So much so that Mills pointed other districts to some of the techniques now in use in the city's schools, virtually all of which hinge on constantly measuring the progress of individual students and tailoring teaching to their needs. The approach is at the heart of the drive by Bloomberg and Klein to hold everyone in every school accountable for producing results, as opposed to moving students along on a conveyor belt of failure. It's very basic, and it's working. Well done."

Teachers want change in education policy

Date Captured

Thursday April 26 2007, 9:36 AM

Observer-Dispatch reports, "New York teachers are asking Congress to: •Allow states to develop appropriate language-arts tests for English-language learners and special-education students. English-language learners have to take the same language-arts tests as their peers, even though they may not have a full command of English. •Distinguish struggling schools from those that are successful but need limited assistance, rather than putting all schools with problems into the same category. •Stop punishing entire schools and districts based on the low test scores of a small number of students. •Adequately fund testing and accountability mandates in the law. New York received $911 million less in funding last year than what Congress authorized when it passed the legislation in 2002, NYSUT said."

State targets districts to boost performance

Date Captured

Wednesday April 25 2007, 9:30 AM

Times Herald-Record reports, "The contracts require the districts to spend a big chunk of their state aid on programs that boost student academic performance. The booster programs are targeted at full-day prekindergarten and kindergarten, reducing class size, lenghtening school days, improving the quality of teachers and principals and restructuring middle and high schools. Additional accountability measures will permit parents and the community to see where and how the money is spent and what the results are, the state said."

School Districts (outside of NYC) that will have to file Contracts for Excellence for the 2007-08 School Year

Date Captured	Tuesday April 24 2007, 9:49 PM

State school boss Richard Mills won't quit

Date Captured

Tuesday April 24 2007, 9:44 AM

Newsday reports, "Mills and his department received multiple warnings over the past three years that Roosevelt's finances were in weak shape, though the exact size of the deficit was not revealed until last month. "What's going on in Roosevelt is a black mark on the Regents, and we need to fix it," said Merryl Tisch of Manhattan, recently elected the board's vice chairman. "And we need to hold the commissioner responsible." The board is expected to review Roosevelt developments in May, though it is not scheduled to formally review Mills' job performance until July."

In U.S. Absence, States Take Lead in Student Loan Cases

Date Captured

Tuesday April 24 2007, 9:04 AM

NY Times reports, "State attorneys general around the country are stepping up their scrutiny of college lending practices in the absence of federal enforcement action, following a pattern that experts say has prevailed in some other major consumer investigations in recent years. Yesterday the attorneys general of Illinois and Missouri announced that as a result of investigations into lending practices at three major universities in those states, the universities had agreed to adopt a code of conduct to guide their relations with student lenders. The code will be modeled on one developed by Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, who has been looking into student loan practices for months and who said in an interview that similar investigative efforts were snowballing around the country."

PROGRESS ON PRINCIPALS

Date Captured	Tuesday April 24 2007, 8:21 AM
NY Post opines, "So, yes, it's certainly good to see City Hall add a few arrows to its quiver vis-à-vis its relations with the folks who run New York's schools. But the biggest kudos must wait until the schools actually show marked gains. Klein and Bloomberg have 21/2 years left to make that happen."

School districts advised to protect computer data

Date Captured	Sunday April 22 2007, 9:43 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "Threats to computer data pose a major challenge to school district financial controls, according to a top state official."

Audits show some schools spending without getting voter approval

Date Captured	Sunday April 22 2007, 9:38 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "A Times Herald-Record review of school districts' 2005-2006 audits reveals some minor infractions and one more major trend: spending without taxpayer approval."

ELIOT TALKS THE TALK

Date Captured	Sunday April 22 2007, 9:32 AM
NY Post opines, "So, yes, Spitzer is again saying the right things. Mayoral control is essential to the schools. If New Yorkers aren't happy with education, they need to be able to give someone - the mayor - the boot. But Spitzer's pattern of speaking loudly while wielding a small stick shouldn't raise hopes too high."

PRINCIPALS CRAM FOR BIG CHANGES

Date Captured

Sunday April 22 2007, 9:26 AM

NY Post reports, "City principals will flock to a Manhattan hotel tomorrow for a crash course in the school system's latest reorganization, scrambling to learn details about a newly revealed program they must implement by the fall. The symposium at the Grand Hyatt will attempt to explain three 'support organization models,' which all schools must choose from in the next month. The support organizations are designed to help schools hit accountability targets, provide professional development, attract high-quality teachers and design programs to help scores and attendance, according to the Department of Education."

Mr. Rivera Goes to Albany

Date Captured	Saturday April 21 2007, 10:58 PM
City Journal, Spring 2007; Peter Meyer, a Contributing Editor of Education Next writes, "Rivera says that he will push the governor’s initiatives, which he helped create as a member of Spitzer’s education-policy transition team; they include detailed accountability standards and the Contract for Excellence, which obligates educators to spend money on 'what works.'"

Ten Accountability Lessons: What Works and What Does Not What Works and What Does Not

Date Captured

Saturday April 21 2007, 9:53 PM

Boosting Accountability in New York’s Schools How to Meet the Governor’s Historic Challenge March 8, 2007 Ten Accountability Lessons: What Works and What Does Not What Works and What Does Not Paul E. Peterson Paul E. Peterson – Harvard University Harvard University Lesson 1: Lesson 1: Overall, accountability seems to have Overall, accountability seems to have positive effects. positive effects. Effect of State Accountability Effect of State Accountability Systems on NAEP Performance Systems on NAEP Performance 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 none with report card with accountability math gains 4th to 8th grade (% of a standard deviation) Change in NAEP Test Scores Change in NAEP Test Scores (All Students, 1992/98 (All Students, 1992/98 - 2005) 2005) 18.5 2.5 10.7 -0.3 25.2 11.2 14.1 1.2 19.7 8.1 13.3 0.3 -10 0 10 20 30 4th Grade Math 4th Grade Reading 8th Grade Math 8th Grade Reading Change in Score (1992/98 to 2005) U.S. Florida New York Note: For 8th Grade Reading, comparison years are 1998 and 2005; for all others, 1992 and 2005. Stars denote changes in the state scores that were significantly higher or lower than the changes in the U.S. overall. Change in NAEP Scores Change in NAEP Scores (Black Students, 1992/98 (Black Students, 1992/98 - 2005) 2005) 27.7 7.9 18 0 35 17.8 14.8 2.4 24.6 8.3 25.2 -3.8 -10 0 10 20 30 40 4th Grade Math 4th Grade Reading 8th Grade Math 8th Grade Reading Change in Score (1992/98 to 2005) U.S. Florida New York Note: For 8th Grade Reading, comparison years are 1998 and 2005; for all others, 1992 and 2005. Stars denote changes in the state scores that were significantly higher or lower than the changes in the U.S. overall. Change in NAEP Scores Change in NAEP Scores (Hispanic Students, 1992/98 (Hispanic Students, 1992/98 - 2005) 2005) 24.2 6.9 14.1 3.5 25.6 12.1 18.4 4.5 29.2 24.2 21.4 3.9 0 10 20 30 40 4th Grade Math 4th Grade Reading 8th Grade Math 8th Grade Reading Change in Score (1992/98 to 2005) U.S. Florida New York Note: For 8th Grade Reading, comparison years are 1998 and 2005; for all others, 1992 and 2005. Lesson 2: Lesson 2: Accountability, as we know it, is not Accountability, as we know it, is not transforming schools. transforming schools. National Assessment of Educational Progress, 1971-2004 Age 17, Math 225 250 275 300 325 1971 1982 1993 2004 Scale Score White Black Hispanic National Assessment of Educational Progress, 1971-2004 Age 17, Reading 225 250 275 300 325 1971 1982 1993 2004 Scale Score White Black Hispanic Lesson 3: Lesson 3: Accountability is cost effective. Accountability is cost effective. Lesson 4: Lesson 4: NCLB NCLB’s measuring stick is flawed measuring stick is flawed – standards vary by state. standards vary by state. Variation in State Variation in State Proficiency Proficiency Standards, 2005 Standards, 2005 Lesson 5: Lesson 5: NCLB NCLB’s measuring stick conflicts measuring stick conflicts with state accountability measures. with state accountability measures. Comparison with Florida Comparison with Florida’s Measuring Stick Measuring Stick Lesson 6: Lesson 6: NCLB does a poor job of identifying NCLB does a poor job of identifying good schools. good schools. Accuracy of Measuring Stick Accuracy of Measuring Stick Lesson 7: Lesson 7: For accountability to work, states For accountability to work, states need to build a data base that can need to build a data base that can track students over time. track students over time. Lesson 8: Lesson 8: Schools respond if accountability Schools respond if accountability contains a penalty. contains a penalty. Florida Student Gains from Being Florida Student Gains from Being Threatened by the Voucher Option Threatened by the Voucher Option 10 percent of a standard deviation 10 percent of a standard deviation (about half the size of the class size reduction, (about half the size of the class size reduction, at little or no cost) at little or no cost) Lesson 9: Lesson 9: Student accountability is more Student accountability is more effective than school accountability. effective than school accountability. “The student is the crucial actor. The student is the crucial actor. Whether we adults like it or not, he or Whether we adults like it or not, he or she decides what has been purveyed. she decides what has been purveyed.” - Theodore Theodore Sizer Sizer High Stakes Testing in Chicago High Stakes Testing in Chicago Math Results Math Results High Stakes Testing in Chicago High Stakes Testing in Chicago Reading Results Reading Results Achievement Trend Achievement Trend – Chicago vs. Chicago vs. Other Large Midwestern Cities Other Large Midwestern Cities Change in Test Score Gains Change in Test Score Gains Resulting from Florida Resulting from Florida’s Retention s Retention Policy Policy – Low Performing Students Low Performing Students Change in Test Score Gains Change in Test Score Gains Resulting from Florida Resulting from Florida’s Retention s Retention Policy Policy – Retained Students Retained Students Impact of School Autonomy and Impact of School Autonomy and Central Exams on Math Test Scores Central Exams on Math Test Scores % of a standard deviation % of a standard deviation % of a standard deviation % of a standard deviation Statewide MCAS Math Results Statewide MCAS Math Results 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 Percentage at or above proficient 4th grade 8th grade 10th grade Lesson 10: Lesson 10: Principals and teachers, not schools, Principals and teachers, not schools, need to be held accountable. need to be held accountable.

Saving 'No Child Left Behind' From Itself

Date Captured

Saturday April 21 2007, 3:01 PM

Fox News reports Dan Lips, education analyst, The Heritage Foundation, "Under the new approach, states would be free to use federal education funds as they see fit, provided they maintain student testing to assess their progress and make the test results publicly available. Some NCLB supporters charge that the conservative plan would undermine accountability. Sandy Kress, a former Bush administration education adviser, protested: 'Republicans used to stand for rigor and standards, but no money for education. Now they seem to be for the money, but no standards.'”

State comptroller questions Roosevelt finances anew

Date Captured

Saturday April 21 2007, 9:25 AM

Newsday reports, "'Serious concerns were identified that what was being proposed was not sufficient to meet the challenges of the deficit ... ' said state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. 'They didn't follow their own spending plans in previous years.' In addition, some of the methods the district proposed for closing the budget gap were found to be financially unsound or illegal, the comptroller's office said. For example, the district said it was considering using the tax levy to pay down the deficit when state law says that such revenue can only be used for operating expenses."

Duffy, Rivera meet to mend fences

Date Captured

Friday April 20 2007, 9:13 AM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Mayor Robert Duffy, outgoing city school Superintendent Manuel Rivera and city and school district officials met Thursday to clear the air over requests for information concerning the academic achievement of students and the funding and operation of city schools. The meeting is the first since City Hall filed an open records request for and obtained a list of items from the district, including graduation and suspension rates, central office salaries and bonuses, and various district policies."

Boosting Accountability in New York's Schools

Date Captured

Friday April 20 2007, 9:12 AM

How to Meet the Governor's Historic Challenge, Thursday, March 8, 2007. A panel of state and national education experts gathered at the state Capitol in Albany March 8 to examine and debate Gov. Spitzer's historic education reform plan, which aims to hold New York schools more accountable than ever before. This page features a link to a slide presentation by one of the featured speakers, and also includes streaming audio of the event including John C. Reid, Assistant Secretary for Education State of New York; Thomas W. Carroll, President, Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability; Paul E. Peterson Director, Program on Educational Policy and Governance Kennedy School of Government; Moderator: David F. Shaffer, President, Public Policy Institute of New York State; Panelists: Carl Hayden, Chancellor Emeritus, New York State Board of Regents; Richard C. Iannuzzi, President, New York State United Teachers; Timothy G. Kremer, Executive Director, New York State School Boards Association; Thomas L. Rogers, Executive Director, New York State Council of School Superintendents; Sol Stern, Contributing Editor, City Journal and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

THE SCHOOL WARS: TEACHERS UNIONS MAULED GOV

Date Captured

Friday April 20 2007, 8:46 AM

NY Post Op-ed contributor Thomas W. Carroll, president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability opines, "In sum, the governor's vision for educational accountability got mangled in the legislative process. The public and educators will get much better student data. But the political process removed the 'teeth' from any consequences for failure. Teachers unions hijacked the infusion of billions of dollars in state money for things they favor - smaller class size (read more dues-paying teachers) - and blocked crucial companion measures like longer school days, longer school years and more flexible work rules that are the sine qua non for successful schools, especially those serving economically disadvantaged populations. At the same time, the governor couldn't expand school choice on anything like the scale of the vast need for alternatives, especially in New York City. The net result: New York state will spend billions more on public schools, and likely produce marginal, if any, changes in outcomes. Eventually, the new assessment system will let us demonstrate this failure conclusively - but that will be faint solace for the generation of children who will be forever damaged by our failure to get reform right."

When student lenders compete, New York wins

Date Captured

Thursday April 19 2007, 9:06 AM

NY Daily News guest writer MICHAEL DANNENBERG, director of education policy for the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan public policy institute based in Washington opines, "Banks could offer far cheaper federal loans to students. In fact, one small New York company called MyRichUncle currently offers federal loans at a rate that's a full percentage point lower than Sallie Mae's. For the typical federal student loan borrower with $20,000 in debt, that translates into roughly a $1,000 savings over the life of the loan. When MyRichUncle approached colleges to get on their preferred lender lists, it was rejected - because it didn't offer schools kickbacks, stock options, call centers or computer software like Sallie Mae's. It just had a cheaper product for students. You'd think that would be enough. It is in a real market."

Record state education budget aligns with NYSSBA Principles of Funding Reform

Date Captured

Tuesday April 17 2007, 11:44 AM

On Board Online • Volume 8 • No. 7 • April 16, 2007. David A. Little, Director of Governmental Relations writes, "While interpretations about this year’s state budget abound, one thing is clear: With a record investment of state funding, this year’s budget made public education the state’s top spending priority. With nearly $1.7 billion in direct aid to school districts and nearly as much again to offset local property tax increases, the 2007-08 state budget far outstripped its predecessors in support of public education."

Break Rochester city-school ice

Date Captured

Monday April 16 2007, 8:46 AM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Now that the City School District has provided the information requested by Mayor Duffy about the district, the two should come together for a meaningful dialogue. It's unfortunate that it took the city filing a Freedom of Information Law request to obtain the information — graduation and suspension rates, district policies and salary and bonus information — but now's the time for officials to work toward a consensus on finances and school performance."

ASBESTOS FURY; CITY TOO CHEAP TO SAVE SCHOOLKIDS: DOE VET

Date Captured

Monday April 16 2007, 8:23 AM

NY Post reports, "DOE spokeswoman Marge Feinberg insisted that the city's schools are safe and that the agency removes exposed asbestos as soon as it's alerted. But a lab hired by Kielbasa and Gleason found asbestos in samples obtained from the eight sites last November and December. 'I find it in libraries. I find it in classrooms. I find it in hallways. I find it in machinery rooms, near ventilation ducts,' he said."

Lenders Sought Edge Against U.S. In Student Loans

Date Captured

Saturday April 14 2007, 6:33 PM

NY Times reports, "In a fierce contest to control the student loan market, the nation’s banks and lenders have for years waged a successful campaign to limit a federal program that was intended to make borrowing less costly by having the government provide loans directly to students. The companies have offered money to universities to pull out of the federal direct loan program, which was championed by the Clinton administration. They went to court to keep the direct program from becoming more competitive. And they benefited from oversight so lax that the Education Department’s assistant inspector general in 2003 called for tightened regulation of lender dealings with universities."

Rochester city schools release records

Date Captured

Saturday April 14 2007, 5:55 PM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "An initial look at the other data finds: Total state aid to the City School District has increased from $293.7 million in 2003-04 to a projected $366.6 million for the coming year. Average attendance among secondary school students was 84.4 percent during the last school year. The goal is to achieve 93 percent by 2009-10. An earlier district policy required students to achieve that mark in 2003-04 to get a passing grade. Sixty-five percent of students who started kindergarten in the district in 1993-94 graduated in 2005-06, accounting for students who legally transferred out of the district."

Restore trust in student loans

Date Captured	Friday April 13 2007, 9:07 AM
Newsday opines, "New York's institutions should implement Cuomo's recommendation for a code of conduct to prevent future abuses. That would be a start to restoring some of the lost trust. "

Education Department official's disclosure raises questions about oversight

Date Captured	Friday April 13 2007, 8:40 AM
AP reports, "The student lending industry is already under scrutiny by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is investigating allegations of possible kickbacks to school officials for steering students to certain lenders. Cuomo's investigators say they have found numerous arrangements that benefited schools and lenders at the expense of students."

School Official Visits District Run by State

Date Captured	Friday April 13 2007, 8:35 AM
NY Times reports, "Responding to a recent state audit that projected a $12.3 million budget deficit in the chronically troubled Roosevelt school district, Richard P. Mills, the state education commissioner, acknowledged to an audience of parents and teachers on Thursday night that he had failed to notice that the district had been spending millions it did not have."

High style, no class

Date Captured

Friday April 13 2007, 8:24 AM

NY Daily News reports, "City investigators are probing whether bureaucrats built themselves a cozy lounge using money that was supposed to be used to repair crumbling schools, sources told the Daily News. The Education Department's Division of School Facilities - which fixes broken windows, replaces damaged doors and completes other school maintenance - has spent $38,000 for custom bookshelves, electrical wiring and other features inside the room, sources said. But work on the room inside the division's headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, was halted this week after the office of Special Schools Investigator Richard Condon paid a visit, the sources said."

Blowing the whistle

Date Captured

Thursday April 12 2007, 8:44 AM

NY Daily News opines, "Weingarten's purposes are particularly transparent in that city laws already protect whistleblowers who report gross mismanagement or abuse of authority, and a special investigator is tasked with investigating school complaints. New York State law also protects whistleblowing teachers. Regardless, the Council Education Committee yesterday voted 14 to 1 in favor of Weingarten's bill. Among those in support was Chairman Robert Jackson, who allowed that he doesn't really know what's covered under existing law but "wholeheartedly supports" Weingarten's bill anyway. If it sounds good for kids, that's good enough for Jackson. But the people it's really good for are teachers who are worried about being subject to hard data analysis of student progress."

Education Trust Recommendations for No Child Left Behind Reauthorization

Date Captured	Wednesday April 11 2007, 6:15 PM

College Loan Scandal May Touch Many Schools

Date Captured	Wednesday April 11 2007, 8:27 AM
NPR "All Things Considered" Larry Abramson reports, "In a developing student loan scandal, Johns Hopkins University has placed a financial aid official on leave after it was disclosed that she received fees from Student Loan Express, a company that has been accused of giving incentives to a number of financial aid officers around the country."

School Records on Special English Classes Are Called Works of Fiction by Critics

Date Captured	Wednesday April 11 2007, 8:10 AM
NY Times Samuel G. Freedman, professor of journalism at Columbia University writes, "According to official school documents, amplified by interviews with a teacher at the school and a union representative, the school tried at one point to create a paper trail to make it appear it was offering E.S.L. classes that were not being held."

End city district tug of war over school finances, record

Date Captured

Wednesday April 11 2007, 7:52 AM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Op-Ed contributors, Rochester Board of Education president and additional board members opine, "City Hall has taken a public stand that funding should be tied to academic achievement. Certainly, this board expects and promotes improved academic standards. Yet reducing aid will not produce better outcomes. No one would suggest that the police force cut its budget because the crime rate is rising. Money does not equal results; however, no reasonable person could expect better results from fewer resources. The district has been focusing on fundamentals, and we have been getting results by virtually every measure. Even our seniors are graduating to a higher standard. Our graduation rate has hovered around 50 percent for many years, but in 2003, only 21 percent of our students earned a Regents diploma. Now, 52 percent of our graduates earn Regents diplomas in four years and an additional 6 percent get theirs in five years."

Don't rush school accountability measures

Date Captured

Tuesday April 10 2007, 9:33 AM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "The contracts for excellence don't mean much if districts are offered enticing new piles of categorical aid — money for such things as class size reduction and teacher quality — but aren't told with clarity how their progress will be assessed. The narrow windows are yet another consequence of a budget process that starts too late. If Spitzer and the Legislature had cut a deal on schools early in the session, the regulations for the contracts could have been properly prepared and vetted by now. In the absence of that, the state should take pains to work with districts on accountability measures that not only are fair but are given a public airing. "

Schools for scandal

Date Captured

Tuesday April 10 2007, 8:57 AM

NY Daily News opines, "Cuomo's probe of 100 colleges and six lending firms has exposed a slew of dirty business practices among private lenders, a largely unregulated industry that affects 90% of U.S. college students and did $85 billion in business last year alone. Schools get bonuses from private lenders when their students take out loans; the bigger the loan, the bigger the payoff. They get even more if they put the companies on preferred-lender lists. College administrators get gifts and trips. The companies even staff university financial aid call centers, passing themselves off as school administrators giving students unbiased advice."

PTA Recommendations for Parent Involvement in the Upcoming ESEA-NCLB Reauthorization

Date Captured

Monday April 09 2007, 10:22 AM

As Congress moves towards reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), reauthorized in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), PTA has crafted specific recommendations to improve the parent involvement provisions within the law. While ensuring local flexibility, PTA recommends creating a system of accountability designed to encourage parents to be active partners in their child's education.

Education law needs flexibility

Date Captured

Monday April 09 2007, 9:35 AM

Poughkeepsie Journal opines, "Spellings says the new tests won't be as easy as those given to the severely disabled already exempted from the regular tests, but they won't be as difficult as those given to the great majority of students. While that sounds promising, it is essential the tests are counted toward a school's performance. Some groups representing disabled students say accountability standards have to be in place because these children were often ignored until No Child Left Behind forced schools to pay more attention to them. There is, indeed, a danger of lowering the bar to the point where some special education students won't be challenged to the degree they should be. More details about the tests will have to be fleshed out over time. But the announcement does show the administration has heard some of the criticism and is proposing changes. That is a good sign in what promises to be a contentious debate about the renewal of No Child Left Behind."

Colleges must learn to teach

Date Captured

Sunday April 08 2007, 10:05 AM

Times Union THOMAS TOCH and KEVIN CAREY write, "Ironically, our global dominance in research and persistent mediocrity in undergraduate education are closely related. Both are the result of the same choices. The 17 institutions atop the Shanghai rankings are driven by professional and financial incentives that favor research and scholarship over teaching. Funding from the federal government, publish-or-perish tenure policies, and college rankings from the likes of U.S. News & World Report all push universities and professors to excel at their research mission. There are no corresponding incentives to teach students well. Take the U.S. News rankings. Ninety-five percent of each college's score is based on measures of wealth, fame and admissions selectivity. As a result, college presidents looking to get ahead focus on marketing, fundraising and recruiting faculty with great research credentials instead of investing their resources in helping undergraduates learn and earn degrees."

Probe Targets College Financial Aid Kickbacks

Date Captured	Friday April 06 2007, 11:10 AM
All Things Considered Nancy Solomon reports, "High-ranking financial aid officers at three major universities owned stock in a loan company they recommended as a 'preferred lender,' according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo."

College officials owned stock in preferred lenders

Date Captured

Wednesday April 04 2007, 4:02 PM

AP reports, "Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office is investigating stock grants from student loan companies to financial aid officers at three major universities as part of a widening investigation into the $85 billion student loan industry. Cuomo's office on Wednesday sent a subpoena to Columbia University and sent letters to the University of Southern California and the University of Texas seeking information about financial aid officers ownership of stock in a loan company that appears on each school's list of preferred lenders. Securities and Exchange Commission records for Education Lending Group Inc. show officials at the three schools in September 2003 owned at least 1,500 shares each of the company. Education Lending Group's subsidiary, Student Loan Xpress, is listed as a preferred lender at each school."

Schools say no to Rochester Mayor Duffy request

Date Captured

Wednesday April 04 2007, 9:24 AM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Mayor Robert Duffy's request for information from the school district is a moot point and will not receive a response, district officials said Tuesday. But an incensed City Hall is not backing down and intends to take the unprecedented step of filing a Freedom of Information Law, or open records, request to get the data. City spokesman Gary Walker said he plans to hand-deliver a copy of the request today. Duffy wrote Superintendent Manual Rivera on March 1 requesting a bevy of information, including graduation and suspension rates, various district policies as well as salaries and bonuses paid to central office employees. The mayor wrote that he needed the information to help decide on the appropriate funding level for the district. The city has provided the district $119.1 million each of the past three years. But Duffy has been hammering on the district's poor graduation rates, currently worst in the state. For its part, the district has argued that improvements at the elementary school level are signs of progress."

Message from Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Education- P-16

Date Captured

Wednesday April 04 2007, 9:03 AM

It is an exciting time for education in New York State. For the first time in recent history, we have a solid P-16 action plan for statewide education reform and the resources necessary to fully support our schools and to help all students reach high standards of performance. The Board of Regents have set forth a P-16 agenda to improve graduation rates, strengthen instruction, raise learning standards, and increase accountability. At the same time, the new 2007-08 State budget includes an unprecedented increase of $1.7 billion in aid to school districts across the State. With the action plan and resources as the foundation for the future of education in this State, we are well-positioned to marshal the talent and energy across the Pre-Kindergarten through higher education continuum to achieve greater success for all students.

Real N.Y. school reform has only just begun

Date Captured

Wednesday April 04 2007, 8:34 AM

NY Daily News guest contributor Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform opines, "Many Democrats in particular will find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between, on the one hand, a reform-minded governor who is responding to a frustrated public and, on the other, to entrenched political forces that have proven to be more than willing to simply continue along without making important changes that would make excellence commonplace in our schools. Among the reforms we must begin to try without further delay: genuine accountability for our teachers that gives principals more authority to hire and fire educators; pay scales that give different teachers different salaries, based on market realities and quality; an aggressive overhaul of the way teachers are trained; and more choice for students and families. To be sure, the most historic part of this year's education budget is the resolution of the 14-year-old Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit, under which the state will now hike its spending on education by billions of dollars per year. But lasting change will require much more than just sending more and more money into systems where children compete with grownups for their share of the attention. In that regard, the fight has just begun."

Schools adopt code for student lending

Date Captured

Tuesday April 03 2007, 9:49 AM

Times Union reports, "The schools -- all 29 four-year State University of New York campuses, including University at Albany, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, St. John's University, Syracuse University, Fordham University, St. Lawrence University and Long Island University -- agreed to the code as part of settlements of the nationwide probe by Cuomo's office into student lending. None of the schools admitted any wrongdoing. Cuomo's investigation found that many colleges established questionable 'preferred lender' lists, and entered into revenue sharing and other financial arrangements with those lenders."

Squeeze out the lemons

Date Captured

Monday April 02 2007, 9:29 AM

NY Daily News opines, "It would be nuts to oppose a system driven by hard data on how well kids learn. But foes of the reforms are demanding that Klein and Mayor Bloomberg slam on the brakes. They have invented a parents revolt and staged noisy protests, fronted by United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and her allies at ACORN and the Working Families Party. Last week, they got more than half the City Council to call for a halt - with some pols even pining for the days when schools were run by corrupt, mismanaged, patronage-driven boards. All this sound and fury is part of a campaign in support of a system that failed kids year after year and let everyone in a school dodge responsibility for promoting students who didn't learn. It was the children who suffered. Anyone who'd perpetuate such a system, who'd put a stop to reforms aimed at truly putting the children first, can't have the kids' best interest at heart. If you are confused by all the noise, ask yourself this: Who could possibly be against getting rid of bad teachers, and why?"

True accountability

Date Captured

Wednesday March 28 2007, 9:26 AM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "In his State of the City address Monday night, Mayor Duffy did the expected — he highlighted his accomplishments during his first 15 months in office. But he was also honest about the challenges. Most interesting, however, was his focus on Rochester city schools. He pointed to the $119 million in funding the city provides the school district, more than Buffalo provides its schools, even while graduation rates are alarmingly lower here. That's a problem, Duffy said, and he plans to sit down with school officials to see where the disconnect is occurring between dollars and results. Does that mean less funding to the school district? Duffy didn't go that far. But for true accountability to take place, the school system must face consequences if results aren't realized."

Middletown schools chief fears that Gov. Spitzer's 'contract for excellence' will punish proactive districts

Date Captured

Tuesday March 27 2007, 9:18 AM

The 'contract for excellence' requires districts to spend most of the extra state money on programs that improve student learning — smaller class sizes, more instructional time, full-day kindergarten and the like. Here is the Catch-22 in Spitzer's plan: Districts can only spend the additional money on new programs, not current ones. But Middletown already has many of these programs, which are paid for by local taxpayers, Eastwood said. The restrictions mean the school district can't use the new money without duplicating what it already has. 'Since we have been proactive, we get punished,' Eastwood said. Middletown has nearly $5.8 million in state aid at stake. Other districts may be in a similar situation and not yet know it, Eastwood said. 'It will be kind of like a kick in the teeth when they find out,' he said. Spitzer's proposals create other problems as well, according to Bob Lowry, deputy director of the state Council of School Superintendents. Say voters force their district into a contingency budget. Then the district can neither spend the state aid as Spitzer mandates nor use it to lower taxes, Lowry said. Spitzer's excellence contract also forces superintendents into three-year contracts tied to student performance. If test scores don't improve enough, they can be fired."

No Retreat on School Reform

Date Captured

Monday March 26 2007, 9:28 AM

Washington Post Op-Ed contributor Sen. Edward Kennedy, a lead author of the Leave No Child Behind Act opines, "Part of the act's promise was that greater accountability would be accompanied by greater support. We knew that federal resources would be critical to achieving the goals. When the law was adopted in 2002, Congress delivered $22 billion to support public education -- an increase of 20 percent over the previous year. This was an unprecedented federal investment. The law promised increased funding levels over the life of its provisions, in step with the increase in targets for student performance. Yet year after year, the federal government has failed to provide the resources that states and school districts need to improve struggling schools. Assessment and accountability without the funding needed to implement change is a recipe for failure.":

The Administrative Burden of No Child Left Behind

Date Captured

Sunday March 25 2007, 9:20 AM

Dan Lips, Education Analyst and Evan Feinberg, Research Assistant in Domestic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation write, "As Congress considers the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, it should address the growing administrative burden that federal education policy imposes on state and local authorities. By allowing states to opt out of federal regulations and bureaucracy, A PLUS would return the authority to improve education to state and local officials. State and local communities would have the freedom to redirect resources currently expended on regulatory compliance toward promising reforms that boost academic achievement. Simplifying education policy in this way would bring about greater transparency in federal education spending and, ultimately, greater public accountability over taxpayer funding of education."

Ohio teachers union sues state over charter school program

Date Captured	Saturday March 24 2007, 9:10 AM
AP reports, "The state's largest teachers union sued the state over its charter school program on Friday, saying it lacks proper oversight and takes needed money from traditional public schools. The Ohio Education Association listed the Ohio Department of Education, the State Board of Education and Susan Zelman, the state superintendent of public instruction, as defendants."

Reading First: States Report Improvements in Reading Instruction, but Additional Procedures Would Clarify Education's Role in Ensuring Proper Implementation by States

Date Captured

Friday March 23 2007, 1:54 PM

GAO-07-161, February 28, 2007. GAO recommends that Education establish control procedures to guide departmental officials and contractors in their interactions with states, districts, and schools to ensure compliance with statutory provisions. GAO also recommends that Education establish and disseminate clear procedures governing its monitoring process. Education, in its response to a draft of this report, agreed with GAO’s recommendations.

GAO: Reading Program Improperly Managed

Date Captured

Friday March 23 2007, 9:10 AM

AP reports, "Education Department officials and their contractors appear to have improperly backed certain types of instruction in administering a $1 billion-a-year reading program, congressional investigators found. The Government Accountability Office report supports assertions by the inspector general of the Education Department, who has released several reports in recent months into the Reading First program. The program is a key part of the 2002 No Child Left Behind law. It offers intensive reading help for low-income and struggling schools."

New York to Take Legal Action Over Steering of Students to Lender

Date Captured	Friday March 23 2007, 8:55 AM
NY Times reports, "Andrew M. Cuomo, New York’s attorney general, announced yesterday that he planned to bring a civil lawsuit against a student lending company for deceptive business practices, accusing it of paying colleges and universities to steer borrowers toward its loans."

AUDIT CHOPS 'WASTEFUL' PRE-K $$$

Date Captured	Thursday March 22 2007, 8:44 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "City Comptroller Bill Thompson claimed to uncover $785,000 in questionable spending and overpayments at 10 city-funded full-day pre-K sites at nonpublic schools, between July 2003 and June 2005."

Wasted cash cost city tots class - audit

Date Captured	Thursday March 22 2007, 8:33 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Among allegations are unexplained checks, cash withdrawals listed as loan repayments and school directors paying themselves rent for space in buildings they own. Other allegations include centers appearing to use prekindergarten funds for things like karate uniforms, even though karate is not an approved activity for kids that age."

State comptroller will monitor Roosevelt spending

Date Captured	Wednesday March 21 2007, 9:18 AM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "Starting in May, auditors from the comptroller's regional office in Hauppauge will bring an added layer of financial supervision to the already much-monitored school district. They will check expenses and revenues as they come in, rather than waiting until year's end as usual."

On Large Scale Student Databases

Date Captured

Tuesday March 20 2007, 10:21 AM

Inside Higher Ed contributor John V. Lombardi, chancellor and a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst writes, "When particular categories of data are used for accountability purposes, institutions will change what they do, because institutional behavior tends to match whatever is measured. If we measure SAT scores, institutions work to increase the average SAT scores; if we measure graduation rates, institutions will do what it takes to graduate students; if we measure sports success, everyone wants a successful sports program. For this reason the quality, characteristics and type of data collected and used in any student unit record system on a national basis assume fundamental significance."

Preschoolers' Test May Be Suspended

Date Captured

Sunday March 18 2007, 9:45 AM

Washington Post reports, "Critics question whether the test accurately measures how much a child learns and cite a 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, that raised concerns about the way the test has been implemented. This spring, the test is scheduled to be administered to 410,000 4- and 5-year-olds unless Congress moves to end it. On Wednesday, the House Education and Labor Committee voted to end the test in a vote on the reauthorization of Head Start, a preschool program started in the mid-1960s to improve the lives of at-risk children and their families. The full House is expected to vote on the measure as soon as this week."

Spitzer plan sacrifices LI schools

Date Captured

Friday March 16 2007, 10:21 AM

Newsday Op-Ed contributor Dean G. Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), New York State Senate deputy majority leader writes, "The Senate Republican plan helps every homeowner and offers significantly greater relief than the governor's proposal. Under Spitzer's scheme, homeowners with household incomes below $80,000 would receive an additional tax exemption equaling 50 percent of their current STAR savings this year, with the savings declining as household income rises. This year, our plan provides every homeowner with a check for approximately 90 percent of the STAR benefit, regardless of household income. The Senate Republican plan also promotes school budget accountability. The governor's proposal would distribute these property-tax relief funds to the school districts, which, in turn, are expected to pass these savings to taxpayers. By providing this benefit directly to homeowners, the Senate Republican plan enables property-tax payers to distinguish between actual school district spending and property-tax relief."

STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STUDENT FINANCIAL AID ADMINISTRATORS

Date Captured

Friday March 16 2007, 9:05 AM

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) agrees with New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that preferred lender list abuses and real conflicts of interest must end. We agree that greater transparency is needed. In fact, two years ago NASFAA published a document for use by aid administrators in developing a preferred lender list using criteria of "good practices" in choosing among lenders.

GOP Bills Would Relax Test Requirements of 'No Child' Law

Date Captured	Friday March 16 2007, 8:51 AM
Washington Post reports, "White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said that Bush supports giving states and school systems more flexibility but that the bills introduced yesterday would go too far. 'We can't return to the time where there were no consequences for failing to educate children and accountability for federal education funding,' Stanzel said."

Roosevelt schools will remain under state review

Date Captured

Thursday March 15 2007, 10:32 PM

Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "State education officials Thursday announced that they had rejected a request by Roosevelt school superintendent Ronald Ross to remove the district's high school from the "Schools Under Registration Review" list -- a designation reserved for the lowest-performing schools in the state. At the same time, the state added Wyandanch Memorial High School to the list, while removing Hempstead High School, where student achievement has improved in recent years."

States Lax in Overseeing NCLB Tutoring

Date Captured

Thursday March 15 2007, 8:37 AM

U.S.News & World Report Elizabeth Weiss Green reports, "Each SES provider uses the money differently, setting the hours it will serve each student according to the fees it will charge the district. So while one company might charge under $20 per student and provide 80 hours of service, another will charge nearly $80 and provide 21 hours. The Chicago study found that expensive and inexpensive tutoring companies generated about the same gains. Private companies draw different conclusions, boasting widespread satisfaction and report cards lifted whole letter grades higher. Education Station, a major private provider, says its pre- and post-tests show that just 30 hours of instruction during the 2003–2004 school year produced gains of 28 percent improvement in math and 13 percent in reading. But the law calls on states, not school districts and companies, to monitor the programs' effectiveness, and the state administrators charged with that task say they are ill-equipped to fulfill it. Few, if any, have conducted studies on the programs' performance effects, and few are likely to be able to do so in the future, the CEP study found. Reasons cited by school districts include insufficient staff and inadequate federal funding."

Focus on school district access; Watchdog group reaches out to educate public on right to know

Date Captured	Thursday March 15 2007, 8:11 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "A fledgling education watchdog group has announced an outreach program to improve accountability in the Rochester School District. According to the Rochester Fund for Educational Accountability, its mission is to educate parents and taxpayers on their right to public information."

State owes $138M in refunds to schools

Date Captured	Thursday March 15 2007, 8:04 AM
Times Union reports, "After waiting in some cases as long as seven years, a chorus of school superintendents and BOCES officials on Wednesday demanded the state fork over more than $138 million it owes school districts throughout New York. Districts in the Capital Region are owed $11.7 million. The Education Department and state Division of the Budget appeared to point the blame at each other."

Putting schools in play

Date Captured

Wednesday March 14 2007, 8:12 AM

NY Daily News Michael Goodwin writes, "While conceding he wasn't satisfied, [Chancellor] Klein said there was real progress in test scores and graduation rates, which he put at 58%, including students who get GEDs. The state puts the stripped-down figure at about 43%. The problem now, Klein said, is 'the enormous push back from the status quo people.' He cited teachers union opposition to more charter schools. Saying some had proven their worth in poor neighborhoods, he added, 'How could anyone in good conscience block them?'"

State takes aim on Roosevelt's $12M deficit

Date Captured

Tuesday March 13 2007, 6:15 PM

Newsday HERBERT LOWE reports, "The actions include mandating the use of $4.4 million worth of new revenue enhancements and spending reductions, according to a joint release from the state Board of Regents and state Education Department. Other measures: Directing the district's state-appointed fiscal monitor to ensure several specific financial controls; and assigning additional state appointees to help solve the situation. Roosevelt is the first district in New York to be taken over by the state."

NCES Website on State Education Reforms

Date Captured	Tuesday March 13 2007, 8:09 AM
This site, which draws primarily on data collected by organizations other than NCES, compiles and disseminates data on state-level education reform efforts in four areas: Standards, Assessment, and Accountability; School Finance Reforms; Resources for Learning and State Support for School Choice Options.

Students' test rulers don't measure up

Date Captured

Tuesday March 13 2007, 7:46 AM

Newsday JOHN HILDEBRAND reports on defective equipment purchased by New York State Education Department, "The problem: 1.1 million plastic protractors mailed out by the state last month with test packets are missing 1/16th of an inch from the four-inch ruler along the bottom of the angle-measuring tools. Moreover, 1.6 million plastic rulers also sent out by the state are irregularly marked, with quarter-inch hash marks that are shorter than three-quarter-inch marks. Those lines are equal on standard rulers."

$7B education increase must come with tough standards

Date Captured	Tuesday March 13 2007, 7:34 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "Before the budget passes, the Legislature needs to review the plan to ensure that with this significant increase in funding comes meaningful measures to guarantee money is being used in the best way possible. Otherwise, all it will be is an expensive Band-Aid."

New York City COMPTROLLER RUINS Chancellor KLEIN'S APPETITE

Date Captured	Tuesday March 13 2007, 6:49 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "In a no-holds-barred evisceration of the department's business practices, Thompson[Comptroller] portrayed the agency as one in the midst of a corporate back-room, free-for-all spending spree with none of the accountability to the public that it demands of its schools."

ACCOUNTABILITY for ALL

Date Captured	Monday March 12 2007, 2:41 PM
5 Ways to Reform the Teacher Discipline Process, New York State School Boards Association (2007).

Audit faults Buffalo school contracts

Date Captured

Monday March 12 2007, 7:26 AM

AP reports, "A state audit criticizes Buffalo Public Schools for spending 6-point-3 (m) million dollars for school reform and technology initiatives without contracts detailing the work that was supposed to be done or the ability to make sure the district was getting what it paid for. The 41-page report urges district officials to recover any money spent on services that were not provided while questioning oversight and management."

SILVER'S NEXT STRIKE, CHALLENGES GOV ON CHARTERS

Date Captured	Monday March 12 2007, 7:21 AM
NY Post Op-Ed contributor THOMAS W. CARROLL, president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability writes, "Given the scale of educational failure in New York State - more than a half million students in failing schools - the speaker's unseemly effort to kill off charter schools speaks volumes about how far Gov. Spitzer still has to go before he truly changes the culture of Albany."

Monitors will oversee state testing in Pa. schools

Date Captured

Monday March 12 2007, 6:45 AM

Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "This year, for the first time, the state Department of Education will send monitors to about 1 percent of the 3,120 schools where the tests will be given. They will determine whether schools comply with everything from test security regulations to how instructions are given and what accommodations are made for students with learning disabilities, English-language learners, and others who need special arrangements."

Texas School District Asks Teachers to Return Pay

Date Captured	Sunday March 11 2007, 7:59 AM
AP reports, "The school district that runs the nation’s largest merit pay program gave oversized bonuses to about 100 teachers and is now asking them to return the money. A total of about $75,000 was overpaid because a computer program mistakenly calculated the bonuses of part-time workers as if they were full-time employees, the Houston Independent School District said."

Judge warns of child-abusing homeschoolers

Date Captured	Sunday March 11 2007, 7:29 AM
Lil Ole Lady reports, "A Superior Court judge in New Jersey says homeschooling is just about the same as deliberate child abuse. In fact, he says, he just might name a school district in his state as a defendant in a current court dispute, citing the district’s 'shocking' failure to monitor and test all students – including homeschoolers."

New York City Schools Turn To Business Intelligence For Help

Date Captured	Saturday March 10 2007, 11:46 AM
Information Week reports, "The deal, already controversial in New York, likely will face more scrutiny as details are revealed. IBM says ARIS will be a highly secure system, but some parents may voice concerns about a Big Brother approach to tracking the performance of more than 1 million students. And some parties feel the money could be put to better use."

Shutting Down Fake ‘Prep Schools’

Date Captured

Saturday March 10 2007, 8:58 AM

NY Times opines, "The storefront prep schools have been easy enough to identify. But the N.C.A.A. must now take a closer look at schools one level down that look legitimate but that may be just as willing to shortchange athletes’ education as their fly-by-night counterparts. State departments of education also have a major role to play in curbing these abuses. Beyond that, credible sanctions must be brought to bear on college programs that keep breaking the rules — and exploiting and discarding athletes — to field winning teams. This scandal won’t stop until those colleges are forced to pay a real price."

School voters want accountability, poll finds

Date Captured	Friday March 09 2007, 8:10 AM
Daily Freeman reports, "School district voters in Ulster and Dutchess counties want more accountability from public school officials, and a majority of voters believe public schools should be funded by income taxes, not property taxes."

Expert flunks school testing

Date Captured

Friday March 09 2007, 7:03 AM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "[Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability president] Carroll said New York needs to: Measure students' gains over a period of time, rather than just use a 'snapshot approach' of comparing students in a single grade each year. Use letter grades or a 0-100 grading system, rather than sorting performance into four levels, so the public can better understand results. Label school performance more accurately. Currently, a school with kindergarten through grade 8 with poor performance in just one or two areas will get the same classification — in need of improvement — as a school that fails in a multitude of areas. That 'simply makes no sense and substantially undermines the overall system's credibility,' Carroll said. Remove conflicts of interest by prohibiting teachers, schools and districts from scoring their own exams. Ensure that exam results are reported sooner. The state Education Department reported results of math and English/language arts exams last fall from the previous school year. The agency has promised to release this year's scores before the school year ends. Provide financial incentives for districts that do well, in addition to having serious consequences for those that do not. The recommendations are in a report the foundation is releasing this week."

NCLB School Reform Deserves Renewal, and It's Not Enough

Date Captured

Thursday March 08 2007, 11:23 AM

Mort Kondracke, Executive Editor of Roll Call writes, "The state with the best academic achievement records of all -- Massachusetts -- could boast only that about half of its students scored proficiently on the National Assessment of Education Progress. At the bottom was Washington, D.C., with proficiency ratings barely above 10 percent. The chamber hopes to equip its state affiliates and member businesses to confront state legislatures, local school boards and teachers unions to demand reform. It's a worthy purpose. And it could use some help from a presidential candidate who'll call for a grand trade -- professional level pay for teachers in return for professional accountability, pay-for-performance and an end to rigid union work rules. Also, equalization of funding between rich and poor school districts, a longer school day and a longer school year and more investment in early childhood education. Republicans resist spending more. Democrats chronically do the bidding of the teachers unions. America's kids and the country's future need a president who'll break that rancid mold."

Failure is not an option; State cannot throw in its fiscal towel and leave Roosevelt schools in lurch

Date Captured

Thursday March 08 2007, 10:36 AM

Newsday opines, "There's plenty of blame to go around, but the buck stops with the State Education Department and Commissioner Richard Mills. The state stepped in to run the district because the local school board and officials were doing such a poor job, both in terms of educating children and in running the district efficiently. If the state can't run the district, then nobody can. And that is unacceptable."

All must see to it that schools succeed

Date Captured

Thursday March 08 2007, 9:58 AM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Guest Essayist Stephen Uebbing, professor in the University of Rochester's Warner School of Education writes, "Schools are reflections of the society they serve, and thus, real accountability must include the social systems surrounding the schoolhouse. Schools must embrace deep parent and community involvement if they hope to realize true reform, especially in high need areas. Fundamental systemic changes, such as the Rochester Children's Zone, offer real promise. In the end, society deserves accountability for its investment, and if the superintendent has to serve as the vanguard for such accountability, so be it. But let's also recognize that we are all accountable for our public schools, and only when we make the entire system accountable do we achieve 'true' reform."

Crowd fumes as chancellor bolts from forum; A PTA president calls the meeting 'a disgrace,' with only 90 minutes for audience remarks

Date Captured	Thursday March 08 2007, 9:44 AM
Staten Island Advance reports, "[New York City Schools Chancellor] Klein's appearance was part of a five-borough series addressing the next phase of Children First, a four-part agenda for school reform that will eliminate regional offices and institute a new student-based school funding formula, a more rigorous teacher tenure review, and greater school accountability measures."

Charter schools a weakness in Spitzer's plan

Date Captured	Wednesday March 07 2007, 8:32 AM
Times Union contributor Richard C. Iannuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers opines, "The governor's proposal to expand the number of charter schools is inconsistent with the emphasis on accountability and reform that is central to his aid proposals."

THE CASE OF THE MISSING TEACHERS

Date Captured

Wednesday March 07 2007, 8:17 AM

NY Post opines on NYC schools database, "New York City's public schools employ the equivalent of 83,000 full-time teachers to instruct 1.1 million kids. That's 13.25 kids per teacher. Wait, you say - classes are larger than that. Right. So where are all the teachers hiding? Think maybe the database might be useful in finding them? And make it easier to herd a bunch of them back into the classroom - you know, to teach?"

Roosevelt schools facing $12M deficit

Date Captured

Tuesday March 06 2007, 7:54 PM

Newsday JOHN HILDEBRAND reports, "The state's new comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, declared that the 2,800-student district is headed toward a fiscal crisis. The state [education department] took direct control of the troubled school system in 2002 -- the first and only time Albany has done this -- and state-appointed administrators have run the district ever since. 'Continuing on this path, the district will run out of cash and won't be able to pay its bills,' DiNapoli declared. 'These problems must be addressed now. It is essential that a realistic, long-term financial plan is developed to get the district on the right track.'"

Teachers union given `F' for truth in lobbying ads

Date Captured

Tuesday March 06 2007, 7:47 PM

AP MICHAEL GORMLEY reports, "Spitzer also supports more charter schools _ because they are highly regulated and accountable public schools run by private enterprises. Charter schools must prove success every five years or be closed, which has happened to some already. Spitzer also proposes 'transition aid' to help traditional schools cope financially when they lose students to a charter school, taking their state aid with them. 'Some of the claims are misleading,' said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson. Nonetheless, the administration will continue to work with NYSUT to advance Spitzer's budget proposal that also calls for a $1.4 billion increase in the fiscal year beginning April 1. 'I find it kind of astonishing, their lack of gratitude, the total piggyness that they want to have it all their own way,' said Tom Carroll of the Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability, which supports charter schools."

Boosting Accountability in New York’s Schools; How to Meet the Governor’s Historic Challenge

Date Captured

Tuesday March 06 2007, 9:27 AM

Thursday, March 8, 2007. Governor Spitzer has proposed an historic education-reform package that includes a ringing call for greater accountability in New York’s schools. But this will require an overhaul of the State’s current educational accountability system, which is simply not designed to accomplish the goals the Governor has laid out. How should the state measure the progress of schools, students, principals, and superintendents? Can the state effectively track the progress of individual students over time? Does the federal No Child Left Behind Act need to be amended? Do current state tests need to be redesigned? Should the Legislature delegate key accountablity decisions to the Board of Regents? How quickly can a new accountability system be implemented?

Council Assails Mayor’s Plan to Give Principals More Autonomy

Date Captured

Tuesday March 06 2007, 7:53 AM

NY Times DAVID M. HERSZENHORN reports, "At yesterday’s Council hearing, the Education Committee chairman, Councilman Robert Jackson, invoked the bus problems as part of his criticism of the department’s overall performance and as a reason for slowing down any additional widening of principals’ autonomy. 'I’m not confident in the D.O.E.’s ability to make such large-scale reform,' Mr. Jackson said. 'All we have to do is look back a month ago to the school bus fiasco.'”

Big brother is looming; $80M computer to track kids and educators in detail

Date Captured

Tuesday March 06 2007, 7:18 AM

NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "The system will combine existing data on kids - from a child's gender and race to whether he or she needs special education services to the name of his or her third-grade teacher - with new data to be generated from annual state exams and interim tests given to kids every four to six weeks. The interim tests measure whether kids havemastered specific skills, such as multiplying fractions or distinguishing fact from opinion, at different times of the year. Teachers will be able to see an entire classroom of results at once. Principals will be able to see an entire school. Parents eventually will have access to their own kids' data plus summary facts about their child's school, the results of parent, student and teacher surveys and details about how their school scored on annual reviews."

A poseur for parents

Date Captured	Tuesday March 06 2007, 6:58 AM
NY Daily News opines, "The United Federation of Teachers is orchestrating a vocal, visible campaign that casts Bloomberg's reforms as the work of inept bureaucrats. And, give her credit, UFT President Randi Weingarten has done a masterful job of pulling together a Noah's Ark of advocates and packaging them as the one true voice of city parents."

Chancellor Klein's Testimony Before the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee

Date Captured

Friday March 02 2007, 12:53 PM

EXCERPT: There is a lot in the budget proposal that we in New York City are happy about. Highlights include: significant increases in overall educational funding that take a major step toward fulfilling the promise of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity; a foundation formula that factors in student need and provides more transparency and stability to school funding; enhanced accountability that ties new education dollars to student performance; the lifting of the charter school cap; and an expansion funding for pre-kindergarten programs. (READ FULL TEXT)

New Utah law may set off charter school boom

Date Captured	Friday March 02 2007, 9:53 AM
The Salt Lake Tribune reports, "The new law funds 5,000 additional students in charter schools for the 2008-2009 school year, which would allow the system to expand by about seven to 10 schools, a 20 percent increase. More state charter school staff are funded through the bill to manage the booming schools, and administrative dollars per student sharply increase."

National chamber finds New York not getting money's worth on education

Date Captured	Wednesday February 28 2007, 12:14 PM
The Business Review (Albany) reports, "New York state has the most rigorous standards for public education in the country, according to a new study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But New York finished in the middle of the pack in terms of overall academic achievement of its students, the chamber found. "

New York City schools Chancellor Klein's boasts fail to impress Albany skeptics

Date Captured	Wednesday February 28 2007, 7:14 AM
NY Daily News Joe Mahoney reports, "In his two hours before a state legislative committee yesterday, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein tried to accentuate the positive - but the lawmakers weren't buying it. For every success story Klein spouted, legislators had a parallel horror story, questioning whether mayoral control of schools was working."

New Jersey school chief told: Cut waste

Date Captured	Tuesday February 27 2007, 9:46 AM
Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "The audits found unchecked spending and lax internal controls that resulted in millions in 'questionable expenses,' including $13 million in Camden."

No Child Left Behind is working because it provides accountability

Date Captured

Tuesday February 27 2007, 8:04 AM

Cincinnati Inquirer contributor Kristine Cohn, secretary of education's regional representative for the U.S. Department of Education, Region V (Chicago) writes, "In 1965, President Johnson signed into law the first federal aid program for high-poverty school districts. It lacked one core ingredient, however: accountability. A year later, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy asked, "What happened to the children? Do you mean you spent a billion dollars and you don't know whether they can read or not?" The No Child Left Behind Act is America's answer to that question. In five years, it has committed unprecedented new resources to public education in exchange for true accountability for results. It has given schools a reliable yardstick to measure students' progress in learning fundamental reading and math skills so that they can succeed in school and in life."

Tracking students with ID number a key step to lower the dropout rate

Date Captured

Sunday February 25 2007, 9:01 AM

AP reports, "Forty-one states have set up or are in the process of establishing a way to track individual students. The National Center for Educational Accountability said Florida is the only state to include all the elements it considers essential for a complete data system that measures where students go. Two years ago, the 50 governors signed a pact agreeing to use a common calculation method, but that, too, has been slow to develop. A bipartisan commission earlier this month submitted a list of 75 recommendations to President Bush and Congress on reforming No Child Left Behind and suggested making a common calculation method mandatory under the law, along with high-quality student tracking systems."

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania school district gets new feedback on privatization

Date Captured

Saturday February 24 2007, 9:00 AM

Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "The Accountability Review Council, an independent body monitoring school improvement in Philadelphia, yesterday agreed there was 'little evidence' that the academic gains made by the six companies running 41 city schools warranted the continuation of additional funding being paid to the managers. The companies, including the for-profit Edison Schools Inc., have gotten $90 million over the last five years."

House OKs adjustment to Utah voucher law

Date Captured	Saturday February 24 2007, 8:35 AM
Deseret Morning News reports, "HB174 would give the State Office of Education an additional $100,000 to run the voucher program, require teachers at schools where voucher students are enrolled to have background checks and require the state perform an audit of the program in five years."

A Better Answer for Education: Reviving State and Local Policymaking Authority

Date Captured

Wednesday February 21 2007, 8:45 PM

Heritage Foundation Lecturen #994 by the Honorable John Cornyn and the Honorable Jim DeMint says, "What we're asking is that states have the option to stay under the No Child Left Behind regime or choose to take the accountability and standards of that regimen but have the flexibility to accomplish the goals in a different way. This would do what welfare reform did. If you remember, welfare reform did not start at the federal level, but by giving states the flexibility to create laboratories for change. Then the federal government saw what was working, and we did some things to allow more states to do that, and we changed the system. We need to do that for education, because, first of all, what we're doing is not working."

The Pending Reauthorization of NCLB: An Opportunity to Rethink the Basic Strategy

Date Captured

Wednesday February 21 2007, 10:12 AM

By Daniel Koretz, Harvard Graduate School of Education. "This paper argues that debating possible modifications of many NCLB provisions obscures more important problems that the civil rights community cannot afford to ignore. These problems include the lack of knowledge about how to hold schools accountable, key aspects of NCLB that are inconsistent with the current accountability evidence, and the illusion of progress generated by NCLB through its reliance on state assessments."

New York City Education Department Becomes an Open Book

Date Captured

Tuesday January 16 2007, 5:37 AM

NY Post David Andreatta writes, "After four years of landmark changes to the school system, the Department of Education is preparing to turn over mounds of data related to its most radical reforms to independent researchers, The Post has learned. A list of top priorities for the new Research Partnership for New York City Schools includes examining the controversial academy for training principals, empowerment schools, and changes to the high-school admissions process."

Emotions high at hearing over schools' axing

Date Captured	Monday January 15 2007, 3:52 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Each of the targeted schools had a graduation rate below 45% - a statistic that Region 6 Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard called 'unacceptable.' Creating small schools 'is the best way to change the tide and to change it quickly,' he said. Some in the audience agreed, but opposed the decision-making process."

No Child law a tough act

Date Captured

Saturday January 13 2007, 9:10 AM

Jacksonville.com reports, "[Nassau County, Florida school]Officials said No Child Left Behind, which President Bush signed into law Jan. 8, 2002, has had a definite impact on school districts across the country, not just locally. It makes every school district accountable for students' annual progress, measures all students' progress in reading and mathematics, and requires students to be tested annually as a way of ensuring they are proficient in academic subjects when they graduate. But it also requires school districts to dissect teacher certifications annually for the subjects they teach, provide teacher training, and provide supplementary tutoring for students needing more help. Districts must take money out of their federal fund allocation to do it, shifting resources they count on to serve the vast majority of students."

New Jersey Education board 'plain language' bill is sent to gov

Date Captured

Wednesday January 10 2007, 9:23 PM

The Jersey Journal reports, "Under the bill, each local school board would be required to fill out a form provided by the state that spells out budget and salary information in plain language." Additionally, "The law would mandate the details of administrators' pay packages be spelled out in plain language, and would require school boards to hold public hearings before amending the contract of an administrator."

Complaining all the way to education successes in the nation's schools

Date Captured

Wednesday January 10 2007, 8:44 AM

Journal News opines, "A critical review of NCLB is overdue. Nationwide and locally, some schools and districts are still making sense of the accountability game (see staff writer Leah Rae's Sunday article about "erasure analysis" - a necessary tool for uncovering teachers and schools that, unfortunately, look for the easy way out on standardized tests; to whit, they cheat). And we'll have more to say later on about what specifically is right and wrong about NCLB. But we think there is more than anecdotal evidence to suggest that Congress should get behind NCLB, preferably one that is improved, better funded and up to the very hard challenges that remain."

Go beyond the New York charter school cap

Date Captured	Tuesday January 09 2007, 6:31 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "The answer is to create a separate funding stream so charters are supported adequately but not as offshoots of the district. That mingling has created problems that need not persist. And if the funding tension goes away, so might district antipathy to charters. [Gov] Spitzer should also endorse tougher state oversight of charters."

Next round begins for No Child Left Behind

Date Captured

Sunday January 07 2007, 10:59 PM

Christian Science Monitor reports, "One change that seems likely to get traction is a shift toward a "growth" model of assessing schools, in which schools with students who come in far below grade level get credit for helping them make big strides, even if they still fall short of proficiency - so long as, the Department of Education emphasizes, they do get students to a proficient level eventually. The department has already approved pilot programs in five states, and wants Congress to include such a model in NCLB. Still, some critics want far more sweeping changes. A coalition called the Forum on Educational Accountability now has more than 100 groups - including the NAACP and the National Education Association - which have signed a list of 14 requested changes to the law. They include lowering the current proficiency targets, providing more assistance to failing schools, getting rid of sanctions with less record of improvement, and encouraging testing designed to measure higher thinking skills and performance throughout the year."

Grading Spitzer's new school ideas

Date Captured

Sunday January 07 2007, 7:47 AM

Times Herald-Record reports, "It's time for a new start for schools and students, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said last week. The changes include: More money — but more accountability and better results come with the bucks. Proven programs — smaller class sizes, a longer school day and longer school year, more after-school programs and improved teacher quality, especially in the neediest schools. Pre-kindergarten programs for all 4-year-olds in the state. More charter schools. A Commission on Public Higher Education to recommend improvements in the higher ed system. Here is some reaction:"

California child care rating system needed

Date Captured

Friday January 05 2007, 9:57 AM

San Francisco Chronicle reports, "California licenses about 58,000 child care facilities serving 1.2 million children, but little information is readily available to parents about their safety and quality of care. To fix the problem, California should adopt a uniform ratings system, the state Legislative Analyst's Office urged in a report released Thursday." Approximately 13 states have detailed ratings systems while 30 others have partial ratings systems.

News from The School Administrators Association of New York State: State of State Offers Educational Opportunities

Date Captured

Thursday January 04 2007, 7:36 AM

The School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS) applauds Governor Elliot Spitzer's commitment to increase funding and opportunities for all of New York's schools as outlined in today's State of the State message. SAANYS supports the governor's efforts to provide universal pre-kindergarten, smaller class sizes, after school programs, and increases in school funding. SAANYS also supports Spitzer's recognition for strong school accountability measures. SAANYS does not support raising the charter school cap, as the charter school experiment has yet to produce the positive results necessary to validate such an expansion. SAANYS is encouraged by the recognition of the need for transitional aid for districts of existing charter schools.

4 Keys to Real School Reform

Date Captured

Thursday January 04 2007, 4:40 AM

NY Post contributor Thomas W. Carroll, president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability and founder and chairman of the two Brighter Choice Charter Schools in Albany writes, "Spitzer's State of the State message underscored his commitment to 'a vibrant education system that demands accountability and rewards excellence.' He promised more funding, too, so that 'the debate will no longer be about money, but about performance.'" Excellent rhetoric, but the rubber meets the road in his first executive budget, due Feb. 1. Spitzer and his new budget director, Paul Francis, should consider some crucial reforms:"

'No Child' Law on Track, Spellings Says

Date Captured	Thursday January 04 2007, 3:35 AM
The Washington Post reports, "The Forum on Educational Accountability -- a coalition that includes education, religious, civil rights and disability rights groups -- said yesterday that the law overemphasizes standardized tests and arbitrary academic targets. The coalition also criticized penalties the law imposes on schools that fail to meet standards."

Spitzer promises no taxes, more ‘investment’

Date Captured

Wednesday January 03 2007, 2:55 PM

AP reports, "Most of Spitzer's address underscored his campaign promises, including a $6 billion property tax cut over three years and billions of dollars more for schools. Wednesday's proposals include: --Longer school days and school years, after-school programs and better teachers as well as greater accountability for school spending. 'There will be no more excuses for failure,' Spitzer said. 'The debate will no longer be about money, but about performance; the goal will no longer be adequacy, but excellence; the timetable will no longer be tomorrow, but today.'"

Wichita, Kansas district's tutoring bill so far tops $400,000

Date Captured	Tuesday January 02 2007, 8:23 AM
Wichita Eagle reports, "The Kansas State Department of Education's application for providing supplemental services requires that tutoring firms 'have a demonstrated record of effectiveness in increasing student academic achievement' and provide services that are 'high quality and researched based.'"

Discord at Suffolk County, New York funding hearing

Date Captured	Tuesday January 02 2007, 5:21 AM
Newsday reports, "The grand jury, she [McCormick, Suffolk district attorney's office] said, called for contracts to be posted on school district Web sites in advance of board votes 'to make the information more easily accessible to the public - not to force them to go through a FOI request when to just get through your day, you might not have the time. '"

Long Island, NY reader writes....

Date Captured	Monday January 01 2007, 11:15 AM
Long Island reader writes, "I run my business by acting within the scope of my duties with customer service as priority number ONE. If school districts made their number one priority as customer service (the taxpayer and the educational investment of their MONEY), all else would take care of itself." READ MORE

Paterson New Jersey schools may be monitored

Date Captured	Saturday December 30 2006, 8:19 AM
NorthJersey.com reports, "Other findings in the audit include incomplete or outdated personnel and special education student files, missing receipts in student activity money and a need for enhanced computer technology security measures."

Yonkers school officials promise new testing safeguards

Date Captured

Saturday December 30 2006, 8:04 AM

THE JOURNAL NEWS reports, "School officials are promising new testing safeguards after determining that staff members in four elementary schools erased and fixed multiple-choice answers on last year's state English exams. A six-month district investigation looked at answer sheets from more than 4,500 students in 29 elementary schools. Last week the district concluded that cheating took place at the Cedar Place School and School 21, along with two schools initially cited by the state Education Department for suspicious 'erasures.'"

Audit: Room for change

Date Captured

Friday December 29 2006, 9:17 AM

Newsday reports, "The audits, 30 of which were of Long Island school districts, examined all areas of financial oversight and made recommendations to district officials. The summary report found common themes, including: superintendents paid more than their contracts allowed; improper division of oversight duties; inadequate controls over computer access and equipment inventory. Auditors also found that many school boards had already arranged for new training for their members and reformed their policies and oversight, as mandated by the new law. Most established audit committees and set rigorous standards for their own outside audits."

Glut of e-mails, documents muddy efforts to review Lansing construction plan

Date Captured

Friday December 29 2006, 5:47 AM

Ithaca Journal reports, "In July, David Dubin made his first request using the state Freedom of Information Law for information on the Lansing Central School's construction plans. By year's end, he has filed a third request, an exercise in citizen persistence that can be required when using the state's records access law. So far Dubin has received 120 e-mails, 50 attachments on the school district's project, but after five months, he still hasn't received the information he believes belongs to the public and is necessary to determining the future of the Lansing Central School District facilities."

Sticking taxpayers with the check: School officials need to curb their appetites when billing the public for their meals

Date Captured	Friday December 29 2006, 4:49 AM
Times Herald-Record opines, "Because when it comes to eating off the taxpayers' dollar, a little belt-tightening shouldn't hurt anyone."

Colleges may have something to prove

Date Captured

Tuesday December 26 2006, 8:51 AM

Express-News reports, "Gov. Rick Perry [Texas] has said he wants more scrutiny of university budgets and has floated the idea of an exit test for college students, and possibly tying funding incentives to the test and other performance measures. That kind of talk has some educators fearing that a kind of No Child Left Behind, President Bush's sweeping public school overhaul that stresses standardized testing, will be imposed on colleges. It's an approach critics say could end up rewarding universities for pushing out students, many of them low-income, who don't perform as well on standardized tests as more affluent students do."

Draft audit questions grant spending by Valhalla schools

Date Captured

Monday December 25 2006, 6:06 AM

The Journal News reports, "A $6.5 million grant program between the town and the Valhalla schools - funded by the WestHELP homeless complex - violates state law because towns can't give gifts to districts for activities that serve students in only part of the town, a draft report from the state Comptroller's Office says. In addition, the report questions a $50,000 payment to Kensico School Principal Sal Miele, who was to devote the majority of his time to administering the grant under the program agreement."

New York City Makes Charters '2nd Class' Citizens

Date Captured

Monday December 25 2006, 4:19 AM

NY Post David Andreatta writes, "Since the mayoral takeover of the school system, the department has had multimillion-dollar agreements with courier services to shuttle interoffice mail and deliveries between its schools to keep them from having to dip into their administrative budgets for postage. But the destinations never included the growing number of charter schools - publicly funded but independently operated schools that the department champions and lobbies hard to support."

Web Site Allows Students to Rate Professors

Date Captured	Saturday December 23 2006, 8:53 AM
NPR reports, "A popular Web site allows college students to go online and praise or criticize them. And therein lies the rub: Critics say there's no way of knowing who's posting such comments."

Charter schools also closing achievement gap

Date Captured

Saturday December 23 2006, 8:39 AM

B. JASON BROOKS, Senior Research Associate , Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability, in a letter to the Times Union writes, "Unfortunately, it is the traditional education establishment that more often than not stands in the way of expanding and replicating such successful schools. Just look at the effort put forth this very week by the state teachers' union as a last-ditch attempt to prevent new, successful charter schools from opening anywhere in the state. While people make excuses for why an achievement gap persists and continue to stand in the way of expanding successful schools, the demand for high-quality charter school options -- schools that are closing that gap right now -- continues to grow."

Cheating Scandal

Date Captured	Friday December 22 2006, 3:32 AM
NY Times reports, "At least a dozen city educators were involved in an effort to help students at a Flatbush high school cheat by giving them answers to questions on science laboratory reports, city investigators said yesterday."

Top Grades, Without the Classes

Date Captured	Wednesday December 20 2006, 3:35 AM
NY Times opines, "The deeper and more alarming lesson is that the unethical behavior often associated with big-time college sports doesn’t always end with athletes. It can easily seep outward, undermining academic standards and corrupting behavior in the university as a whole."

Audit: Long Island residents not told of total tax hike

Date Captured

Tuesday December 19 2006, 5:19 AM

Newsday reports, "Auditors found that the district had all the information to calculate an estimated tax increase but chose not to. It found that the district provided this information in all previous years examined by auditors - 2001-2002 through 2004-2005 - even though it had faced similar uncertainties. The district [Center Moriches], in a prepared statement, said that while it disputed the report's contention that it deliberately misled voters, it accepted its conclusions."

Jeb Bush leaving a tumultuous mark on Florida's schools

Date Captured

Monday December 18 2006, 6:35 PM

"AP reports, "Others now are measuring the governor's education performance as he prepares to leave Tallahassee. There's little consensus but even his critics concede Bush put a laser focus on education in Florida like never before. 'I really believe he has a sincere desire to help kids who are in schools that are not performing at the level they should be,'' said Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association. `'You've got to give the guy credit for that. He did something that we've neglected in this state for far too long.' The union leader, though, faulted the governor for expanding private school vouchers instead of adopting proven solutions and for fighting against class-size reduction by claiming it was too expensive while still cutting taxes. The governor also missed opportunities to improve schools because he refused to include the union in policy decisions, Ford said."

Report on the Cost of Education

Date Captured

Monday December 18 2006, 10:05 AM

The primary purpose of this report is to calculate the costs New Jersey school districts face in meeting state performance and accountability standards. Costs addressed include: 1. A per-student “base” cost (which reflects only the cost of serving students with no special needs); and 2. Adjustments to the base cost that reflect the added cost of serving special need students (including special education students, at-risk students and English language learners). To identify these costs, the report used two nationally recognized study approaches. The Department weighed the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, and then selected one – the Professional Judgment Panel (PJP) approach – whose results form the basis of the report’s findings.

Tough truancy rules sought

Date Captured

Monday December 18 2006, 7:41 AM

Baltimore Sun reports, "Board members [Howard County, Maryland] were told that truant students could face consequences that include community service, counseling, substance abuse evaluation and treatment, mental health evaluation and treatment, a curfew and loss of driving privileges. The Howard County truancy court would be based on a model used in Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties. However, unlike that model, which applies only to students 15 and younger, the Howard County court would apply to students 12 and older."

More higher ed 'accountability' could mean more Perry vetoes

Date Captured

Monday December 18 2006, 7:32 AM

San Antonio Express reports, "Perry [Texas Gov.] spokesman Robert Black said the governor will offer a number of other higher education initiatives, maybe even 'incentive funding' for universities or an 'exit test' for some university graduates as a means of measuring the quality of their educations. Details will come later, he said. Black said Perry also will support efforts to repeal or restrict the top 10 percent law, which guarantees the highest-ranked high school graduates admission to the state university of their choice but is excluding thousands of other qualified students from the University of Texas at Austin."

Fighting the ‘Prep School’ Scandal

Date Captured

Sunday December 17 2006, 7:22 AM

NY Times opines, "But the N.C.A.A. will need to wade much deeper into the problem if it hopes to break this scheme. For starters, it needs to make clear not just what courses high school athletes need to take to become eligible for college sports, but when they should take them. Until that happens, those who exploit young athletes will always be tempted to counterfeit the academic record at the last possible moment."

Committee to monitor district's $100M plan

Date Captured

Friday December 15 2006, 4:43 AM

UticaOD.com reports the committee will be responsible for, "•Determining and prioritizing the district's needs. •Ensuring appropriate public input is sought. •Seeking other community members with backgrounds in education, finance, construction, engineering and other areas, who will contribute to the building plan and the project's execution. •Providing advice and oversight to ensure the project is executed in a timely and professional manner."

North Carolina will study tutoring companies

Date Captured

Thursday December 14 2006, 9:33 AM

News-Record reports, "The N.C. Department of Public Instruction hopes to have some answers next year. In October, the department hired the Center for Research in Education Policy at the University of Memphis to start evaluating about 50 tutoring companies that work with schools that have repeatedly failed to meet federal testing measures. The contract, at a cost of almost $94,000, ends in fall 2007. Although the state approves tutoring providers, it has not evaluated their work as required by the 5-year-old No Child Left Behind Act."

New York encouraging ACT to challenge SAT

Date Captured	Wednesday December 13 2006, 4:26 AM
AP reports, "New York is pushing wider use of the ACT college entrance exam in the Northeast to compete with the SAT exam, which has long dominated in the region, a top state senator said Tuesday."

Sucker Punch

Date Captured

Tuesday December 12 2006, 5:11 AM

NY Post Op-Ed contributor Peter Murphy, director of policy for the New York Charter Schools Association writes, "Why is NYSUT so eager to squash the expansion of charters, even to the point of embarrassing itself with this political 'hit' masquerading as a study? Because it can't abide more competition from successful, accountable charter schools that work with less money but are free from union mandates like tenure and dictionary-length labor contracts. Thus the union has used all its political muscle to stack the deck against reform, ever since public charter schools were first proposed in New York in the mid '90s. It's shameful to see this powerful statewide organization denigrate the achievements of so many children, teachers and administrators in New York's charter schools. State legislators, who often portray themselves as standing up for the proverbial 'little guy,' should see NYSUT's bullying tactics for what they are - and do the right thing this week by allowing for more public charter schools."

Colorado state audit critical of online schools

Date Captured	Monday December 11 2006, 4:21 PM
Rocky Mountain News reports, "Online schools in Colorado are lagging behind traditional schools in a number of areas, including state exams that all students take, according to a state audit released this morning. The online schools have popped up in rural areas, especially in southeastern Colorado, in an effort to keep schools in small communities alive."

University of the State of New York, P-16 Education: A Plan For Action

Date Captured

Monday December 11 2006, 1:53 PM

We will confront the data, share it broadly, and use it to define as precisely as possible where resources and energy should be applied. We will recognize the achievements and also declare the problems as clearly as we can. We will engage everyone by listening to the people the education system is supposed to serve, to parents, to educators at every level, to the employers, and to the elected officials who must weigh enormous competing demands for scarce resources. In particular, we will engage students and their parents, and the wider community because educational institutions do not belong to the educators but to the people. We will create a communications plan to listen to, inform, and involve people statewide. We will define measurable objectives so that others can hold us accountable, and we can hold education leaders accountable for improving results. We will study the practices of high performing education systems, states and nations, and adapt the best to New York’s situation. We will examine what actions are most effective, and invite others to learn with us. We will take action focused on systematic change to effect sustained improvement. We know, for example, that closing the achievement gap for students requires correcting the unequal distribution of teaching talent. And we know that in demanding change in educational institutions to achieve better results, we must also build capacity in our own State Education Department to take on its part of this improvement strategy. We will continually renew the alignment of our actions to ensure coherence and effectiveness. For example, academic standards, curriculum, assessment, and instructional practice have to be aligned to be effective. When one element changes, all other elements must be examined to ensure that the system remains effective. We will strengthen USNY, because it has great potential to build more effective transitions for students from one level of the system to the next. We will advocate for State and federal financial resources and legislative actions that will help achieve better educational outcomes. And we will be accountable for the effective use of those resources.

Input sought for new Rochester schools chief

Date Captured

Friday December 08 2006, 6:47 PM

Rochester Business Journal reports, "The board will hold public forums at 6 p.m. Jan. 3 and 11 in different areas of the city. Locations are not final. Meanwhile, roughly 20,000 copies of a two-page survey will be sent to parents, community members and school district employees. The survey asks respondents to rate the importance of several characteristics. It will also be available online at the board’s Web site, www.rcsdk12.org/BOE/index.htm, and copies will be distributed to public libraries, community centers, recreation centers, public service agencies and churches. The survey will be available in English and Spanish."

Broken promise: How the charter school experiment is falling short, December 2006.

Date Captured

Friday December 08 2006, 4:09 PM

NYSUT study concludes, "This study of charter school performance shows charter schools have fallen short of the promise and purposes described in the legislation creating charter schools. The experiment is not working and should not be expanded by increasing the cap. Changes in the law should be made to take the financial burden off school districts where charters are located by enacting transition aid; and stronger accountability measures should be put in place to make charter schools more accountable to local communities and the state. Before any increase in the number of charter schools is even considered, a limit must be placed on the percentage of public school students enrolled in charter schools in an individual school district, as well as the percentage of public school budgets diverted to charter schools. This would help ameliorate the damaging effects of over-saturation of experimental charter schools in any one district."

Ohio charter schools must follow attendance rules

Date Captured	Wednesday December 06 2006, 7:57 AM
Tribune Chronicle reports, "Ohio Department of Education officials have instructed administrators at 11 charter schools that they need to do a more honest job of reporting attendance. Public schools are required to do that, through a complex formula intended to ensure that the numbers they report are meaningful."

Bricks or Professors? A University’s Choice

Date Captured

Wednesday December 06 2006, 3:55 AM

NY Times contributor Samuel G. Freedman, professor of journalism at Columbia University writes, "After T. K. Wetherell was appointed president of Florida State in early 2003, and as the building costs escalated, the university decided to drop the endowed positions and to construct a more general kind of chemistry center. So Professor Holton sued in state circuit court to get his money back. This fall, a judge ordered Florida State to return $11 million plus interest — $13.5 million in all — to the professor’s foundation, while permitting the university to keep and spend the $18.5 million from the professor’s lab account however it wishes."

Roosevelt scrutiny intensifies

Date Captured

Tuesday December 05 2006, 5:45 AM

Newsday John Hildebrand writes, "In addition to outdated textbooks, state officials report that some students at Roosevelt High weren't assigned to the correct classes or lacked proper class schedules as recently as the fourth week of October. Those officials add that the problem seemed to stem from glitches in a new computer system, and that it was corrected after parents alerted them to it. Academics and finances also continue to pose problems. The district continues to show a budget deficit for the 2005-06 school year, though state monitors recently lowered estimates of the amount from $4.3 million to $3.4 million. The district's total budget this year is $61 million. And while Roosevelt's test scores are strong on the elementary level, they lag in the middle grades."

Regents poised to adopt strict rules on for-profit schools

Date Captured

Tuesday December 05 2006, 4:48 AM

AP reports, "The Regents plan will require a transition period before the schools are granted final authority to award degrees. The state will make sure the programs are rigorous enough. Remedial classes will be clearly differentiated from credit-bearing courses and stronger admissions policies will make sure students have accurate information about each school, the job market and their job placement programs, according to Johanna Duncan-Poitier of the state Education Department."

Now Class Must Tackle Cheating at Columbia

Date Captured

Sunday December 03 2006, 7:57 AM

NY Times KAREN W. ARENSON writes, "As Columbia University continues to grapple with allegations of cheating on a final exam in a journalism ethics course, students have been assigned to write an essay on an issue that parallels the one faced by their own professors. The topic: What should a newspaper’s executive editor do after receiving 'a tip from a credible source that one or more unspecified articles in recent editions of the newspaper contain fabricated material'?"

California poll finds support for posting public schools' data on the Web

Date Captured	Friday December 01 2006, 8:26 AM
LA Times reports, "[Gov.]Schwarzenegger wants large amounts of data — from enrollment numbers and school test scores to reports on the quality of textbooks and individual school budgets — to be posted online in a user-friendly way."

New rules for Massachusetts school contracts

Date Captured

Thursday November 30 2006, 9:31 AM

Boston Globe reports, "Under a law passed in 2004, school building committees will be required beginning next year to hire independent project managers approved by the authority to oversee construction projects costing more than $1.5 million, a step Craven [executive director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority] said she expects will significantly improve accountability and quality. A second step scheduled to take effect in June aims to weed out bad architects, whom contractors have sometimes blamed for construction problems. A new state review board will scrutinize bidders on each school design contract and provide a short list of reputable candidates to local school building committees."

Comptroller Says District on Long Island Is Slow to Enact Safeguards

Date Captured	Thursday November 30 2006, 7:25 AM
NY Times reports, "In the scandal’s aftermath, there was renewed scrutiny on school spending throughout the state, reinvigorating audits of districts statewide, touching off the rejection of school budgets by angry voters and delaying such things like union contract negotiations and changes in bus routes."

At Ease: Hey! Leave those teachers alone

Date Captured	Wednesday November 29 2006, 9:34 AM
Gaylord Herald Times writes, "Teacher accountability and performance cannot be completely and accurately measured by student performance, for a litany of reasons which I don't have the space to get into. But there's a lot going on in those 16 other hours of the day that affect test results."

Education Leaders Speak on Schools

Date Captured

Wednesday November 29 2006, 8:32 AM

Columbia Spectator reports, "Klein [New York City schools chancellor] focused on charter schools that have been successful in bringing students who were behind up to grade level, describing as politically driven the state-wide charter school cap that prevents New York City from opening any more charter schools. 'I'm a big fan of charter schools,' he said. "They are built on accountability." He also stressed the importance of good teachers over small class size, citing his own experience at Columbia as an example. 'There were people here at Columbia who were wasting my time,' he said. 'One of the reasons those classes were so small is because everyone else had realized that those teachers were a waste of time.'"

Indiana's high school graduation rate plummets under new formula

Date Captured

Tuesday November 28 2006, 10:12 AM

The Times (Indiana) reports, "A 2003 law allowed the state to assign a tracking number to every student that entered high school in 2002. Having tracked that class, the education department now reports that the statewide graduation rate -- estimated at 89.8 percent last year -- is actually 73.7 percent." Previously, students who dropped out over the summer simply vanished from the equation using the older state formula.

American Higher Education In Urgent Need of Reform, State Legislators Say

Date Captured	Tuesday November 28 2006, 8:59 AM
National Conference of State Legislatures writes, "The report, Transforming Higher Education: National Imperative—State Responsibility, says state legislators must: be at the center of a nationwide movement to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current system, determine a public agenda for higher education, set clear goals, and hold institutions accountable."

N.Y. Schools Get Passing Grade

Date Captured

Tuesday November 28 2006, 7:43 AM

The Post-Journal reports, "According to a study by the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a conservative think tank, when it came to student achievement in the state’s schools, the education system received a D grade. Educational reform efforts graded slightly better, earning a C+. States nationwide received grades based on the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading, mathematics and science for minority students, with graduation rates factored into the average. Not all states provided information for the study."

NY Watchdog: `Serious problems' at state-run Gossett youth center

Date Captured

Tuesday November 28 2006, 7:26 AM

AP reports, "'This report raises larger societal issues about why we are seeing an increase of serious mental illness among these disadvantaged and troubled teens, and what we should be doing to address this,' said state Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, an Ithaca Democrat, who called for the investigation. Gossett is one of the state's 10 limited- or medium-security youth centers. It serves up to 150 teenagers with 130 workers. The state owned and operated center was named for the actor who has been an advocate for troubled youths."

Donors and Princeton clash over donation

Date Captured

Tuesday November 28 2006, 7:01 AM

AP reports, "Relatives of Charles S. and Marie Robertson said the couple wanted their gift to be spent solely to educate graduate students for careers in government, especially as diplomats for the United States. But the family now says the university has not churned out many diplomats and large portions of the gift -- now worth more than $750 million -- have been used for other purposes. The family wants to take the money back so it can give it to a school that will carry out its mission."

Schools need choice, not vouchers

Date Captured	Sunday November 26 2006, 6:30 PM
News-Leader.com reports, "Those who believe the public schools aren't doing their job suggest vouchers will be the ultimate accountability tool. Parents who are dissatisfied can take their money and go elsewhere. The problem is, vouchers provide no accountability at all."

School aid vows fail arithmetic

Date Captured

Sunday November 26 2006, 6:24 PM

Columnist Jay Gallagher writes on CFE and school funding, "Shazam! Add money to New York City schools, but don't subtract any from anywhere else. What could be better? That sounds like a good math problem for the next Regents' math exam, which some New York students have so much trouble mastering. The problem goes something like this: take a pot of money. Divide it up into sections. Then take the same pot of money, and make some of the sections bigger, but don't reduce any of the others."

school's comeback formula: Expel cynicism, stress reform

Date Captured

Sunday November 26 2006, 1:28 PM

Boston Globe reports, "Randolph Community is one of 57 Massachusetts schools now in "restructuring" under the state's school accountability system, and its attempts to improve student performance underscore the urgency, and the difficulty, involved as low-performing schools demand previously unattainable results . The school's reform campaign, though unusual in its scope, illustrates how the pressure to raise test scores is forcing many schools to adopt new strategies to get students up to speed. In Randolph, school officials blamed a culture of low expectations and mediocrity for students' weak performance, and set out to destroy it. By making students feel more connected to the school, educators hope to instill a sense of purpose and responsibility that will improve focus and behavior."

State to monitor school districts

Date Captured	Sunday November 26 2006, 9:33 AM
The Post-Standard reports, "This year, the department developed a 'physical education profile' for schools to use to assess student achievement in meeting the state's physical education standards, Dunn said. The profile intends to provide an outline to use in teaching physical education."

Day one, item one

Date Captured

Sunday November 26 2006, 8:08 AM

Newsday opined, "First, Spitzer must propose a dollar amount for helping not just the city but also poor suburban and upstate districts - without cutting existing funds for any community. Then he has to craft a new formula, based on need and not political clout, for distributing all school aid. Then there's the issue of accountability. Although the court said the state doesn't need a new system of oversight, Spitzer must make sure both the education department and school districts have the resources to ensure that aid money is well spent. How much more should be spent? Based on authoritative studies, public and private, it's clear the court's $1.9-billion minimum for the city is too little. A more reasonable sum is $6 billion - with most going to the city - on top of the $15 billion-plus the state now spends annually. Who should come up with the money? Primarily the state, which has failed to give the city a fair share. But it would be fair if city taxpayers - who also have a history of shortchanging schools - ponied up as much as one-third of the new funds. How should aid be distributed? Most should go to the districts with the neediest students, who tend to be the most expensive to teach."

Study aims to educate on Trail of Tears

Date Captured

Saturday November 25 2006, 8:15 AM

AP Bill Poovey writes, "The study called for by Congress would better define the routes taken by more than 15,000 members of the Cherokee, Creek and other tribes who were forced from their homes in 1838 to make way for white settlement. Untold hundreds and perhaps thousands of American Indians died during the removal to Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. The Trail of Tears dates to 1830 when President Jackson submitted a plan to Congress to remove the tribes from the Southeast."

List for Schools Seems to Grow More Wishful

Date Captured

Saturday November 25 2006, 7:44 AM

NY Times DAVID M. HERSZENHORN reports, "The sum at issue is substantial: $2 billion a year translates to roughly $1,887 per student, or about $943,500 annually in a school with 500 students. While the amount ordered by the court is still huge, a leading critic of school financing lawsuits that have been filed across the country said the focus on the money had distracted from the work of actually fixing the city schools. 'For five years, people have looked to the courts and argued about the money without thinking seriously about what to do,' said the critic, Eric A. Hanushek, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution."

Iowa Grade: Incomplete

Date Captured

Friday November 24 2006, 9:22 AM

The Quad-City Times reports, "Hoover said Iowa’s charter law makes it more difficult to monitor the schools because it does not require them to set annual goals. Also, a majority of the state’s charter schools submitted applications with vague goals. For example, every school said it would increase student achievement on state reading, math and science tests. But only a handful specified by how much. The wide range of types of charter schools also makes it difficult to set up a common way to measure their progress because their goals vary."

Count truants or lose Ohio state aid, 11 charters told

Date Captured	Friday November 24 2006, 9:16 AM
Columbus Dispatch reports, "The department [Ohio Department of Education] is requiring 11 charter schools in that situation to change the way they take attendance. Nine of the 11 are Internet schools, including the state’s largest, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow."

New York City Schools Figure 'Wrong'

Date Captured

Friday November 24 2006, 4:00 AM

NY Post David Andreatta reports, "In a recent letter to the schools chancellor, Comptroller William Thompson Jr. noted that the steady climb began following a change in the way the city Department of Education defined discharged students in its annual reports beginning in 2002. The change involved omitting a disclaimer that said a student could be considered discharged only after the student was confirmed to have been admitted to a new school outside the city public school system."

Students are benefiting from single-sex classes

Date Captured	Thursday November 23 2006, 3:49 PM
Buffalo News contributor B. Jason Brooks , Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability writes, "Thanks to the revised federal regulations, districts now have the green light to embrace this innovative public school reform, which holds great promise."

Pol slams 'outrageous' school consulting deals

Date Captured

Wednesday November 22 2006, 7:45 AM

NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "School officials last year awarded a record-breaking $121million worth of contracts without the public review required of most city agencies, a Daily News analysis found. One of the largest and most controversial contracts put the city-based Alvarez & Marsal in charge of school finances for 17-1/2 months to find ways to cut bureaucracy. The contract - which was initially posted publicly for $17 million but later modified to $15.8million - includes 19 consultants billing at rates ranging from $275 to $450 an hour, including seven whose total bills will top $1 million."

NYSUT blasts court decision on CFE; looks to Spitzer to do the 'right thing'

Date Captured	Tuesday November 21 2006, 6:13 AM
NYSUT PRESS RELEASE: "For more than a decade, the court has repeatedly supported the premise of the CFE case: Every child must receive a sound basic education," Iannuzzi [New York State United Teachers President ]said. "Now, in addition to stripping away accountability measures, the court has basically said to every student in New York, 'Let them eat cake.'"

TOP NEW YORK COURT SUBTRACTS $3.7B FROM SCHOOLS

Date Captured

Tuesday November 21 2006, 5:57 AM

NY Post Kenneth Lovett and David Andreatta report, "The school-funding ruling yesterday by the state Court of Appeals: * Requires state to increase operating aid to city schools by a minimum $1.93 billion annually. * Leaves final decision on spending above $1.93 billion with governor and Legislature, not courts. * Rejected state argument for a new office to monitor spending. * Tossed a lower court's order requiring $9.2 billion in additional school capital spending."

Extra school money is cut in CFE school funding court case

Date Captured	Tuesday November 21 2006, 5:10 AM
Times Union Rick Karlin reports, "The court's majority also found that Pataki's method of calculating education costs -- which led to the $1.93 billion figure -- was valid. CFE had used a different method that resulted in a higher price tag. The governor's method included a "filter" that excluded some of the highest-spending districts for comparison purposes."

The No Child Left Behind Act: Have Federal Funds Been Left Behind?

Date Captured

Monday November 20 2006, 1:57 PM

"The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) imposes new requirements on state education systems and provides additional education funding. This paper estimates education cost functions, predicts the spending required to support NCLB standards, and compares this spending with the funding available through NCLB. This analysis is conducted for Kansas and Missouri, which have similar education environments but very different standards. We find that new federal funding is sufficient to support very low standards for student performance, but cannot come close to funding high standards without implausibly large increases in schooldistrict efficiency. Because of the limited federal funding and the severe penalties in NCLB when a school does not meet its state’s standards, states have a strong incentive to keep their standards low. NCLB needs to be reformed so that it will encourage high standards." *The authors are Professor of Public Administration, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University; Associate Professor of Public Administration, University of Nevada at Los Vegas; and Professor of Public Administration and Economics, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University, respectively. We are grateful to David Sjoquist for helpful comments. 1 1. Introduction The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) both imposes mandates on states and gives them more federal education funding. The authors are William Duncombe, Anna Lukemeyer and John Yinger, Professor of Public Administration, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University; Associate Professor of Public Administration, University of Nevada at Los Vegas; and Professor of Public Administration and Economics, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University, respectively.

How the No Child Left Behind Act Undermines Education Standards

Date Captured	Monday November 20 2006, 1:36 PM
EFAP Director John Yinger, in a monthly column writes, "The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has brought unprecedented federal involvement in elementary and secondary education. More specifically, NCLB imposes strict new requirements on state education systems and provides additional education funding."

COLUMBIA'S STONEWALL

Date Captured	Monday November 20 2006, 8:03 AM
NY Post opined on Columbia University, "If Columbia no longer holds freedom of speech in the highest regard, its neighbors surely can be forgiven for wondering if the university can be trusted on more mundane matters."

Second thoughts

Date Captured

Monday November 20 2006, 5:20 AM

Times Union opined on charter schools, "A more rigid process for approval of charter schools would keep the failure rate lower, though, and spare families the firsthand experiences of such schools. The state Legislature -- yes, the same one that approved charter schools eight years ago, as a condition for a pay raise, of all things -- should keep that in mind before it buckles to pressure again and raises the limit of 100 charter schools allowable in New York."

An Education Gov?

Date Captured

Monday November 20 2006, 4:45 AM

NY Post contributor Thomas W. Carroll, president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability and chairman of the Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls and the Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys, the top elementary public schools in Albany writes, "To start with, we need to get over the artificial distinction between public and private schools. As Rev. Floyd Flake is fond of saying, we should focus on educating the public, not public education. With literally hundreds of thousands of students now attending schools that the state Education Department designates as failing, the territorial and exclusive focus of some on public district schools is misguided. Our focus should be creating more good schools and fewer bad schools, regardless of whether these happen to be organized as private, religious, public charter or standard district schools."

In West Harlem Land Dispute, It’s Columbia vs. Residents

Date Captured

Monday November 20 2006, 4:00 AM

NY Times reports, "When Columbia University announced plans three years ago to expand by building on 17 acres in West Harlem, the university stressed that it would work with its neighbors rather than risk stirring up long-held animosities. Jordi Reyes-Montblanc, chairman of the local community board, says Columbia University has done little to gain residents’ trust. But before the release of an environmental report for the $7 billion project, opponents say Columbia has antagonized Harlem residents by insisting that it has the right to seek eminent domain to force property owners out. 'On a scale of 1 to 10, Columbia is a minus 5 in terms of trust,' said Jordi Reyes-Montblanc, chairman of the local community board. 'I honestly believe that Columbia has made a tremendous effort to overcome its history, but in the process, they’ve made so many snafus that it hasn’t really helped them.'”

After 4 Years of Roosevelt School Takeover, Debate on Its Effect Still Rages

Date Captured	Saturday November 18 2006, 6:49 AM
NY Times reports, "The state’s [New York] ultimate success or failure in turning around the district will have implications far beyond this small suburb on Long Island, since troubled districts throughout New York State and beyond face the prospect of takeovers prescribed by the federal No Child Left Behind Act."

Statement by Secretary Spellings on the 2005 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment on Science

Date Captured	Friday November 17 2006, 3:19 PM
Excerpt: While urban school districts are making good progress, much work remains before all students perform at grade level. The results point to the need for states to add science assessments into accountability for NCLB for the 2007-08 school year.

GAO eyes abstinence programs

Date Captured

Friday November 17 2006, 8:22 AM

AP reports, "Most no-sex-before-marriage programs escape the type of scientific scrutiny required to show whether they work, a government watchdog said yesterday in a report on the federally funded abstinence education efforts. Also, the materials used by the programs face limited review for scientific accuracy, the Government Accountability Office said. The abstinence programs receive about $158 million a year in public money from the Health and Human Services Department."

Syracuse coaches top salary list, make more than $1 million

Date Captured	Friday November 17 2006, 4:47 AM
AP reports, "Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim and his gridiron counterpart Greg Robinson each made more than $1 million last year in total compensation, according to university tax records. Both men earned more than Syracuse Chancellor Nancy Cantor - who actually was the school's fourth-highest paid official."

NCLB Achieves Its Top Goal—Accountability

Date Captured

Wednesday November 15 2006, 4:52 AM

This op-ed excerpt by Secretary Spellings appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal on November 14, 2006, "Accountability is NCLB's first pillar of reform. The law represents the latest renewal of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was intended to ensure a quality education for all in exchange for increased federal funding. For 40 years, however, few paid much attention. There was no accountability for student achievement and virtually no consequences for not following the law. Today, thanks to NCLB, Wisconsin and 49 other states have accountability plans in place, holding schools responsible for improved student achievement. Every state measures student performance annually in grades 3-8 and once more in high school. And every state separates student information by student group so parents and teachers can learn who is falling behind and needs extra help. This is especially critical when it comes to reading. Reading is the key that unlocks every other subject."

Charter school losing support

Date Captured

Tuesday November 14 2006, 4:53 AM

Times Union reports, "New Covenant's [Albany charter school]situation is not unique. Two other charter schools are shrinking their enrollments this year, prompting some observers to speculate the declines could be a factor in legislative debates next year about raising the current cap of 100 charters. Such schools are publicly funded but free of many rules and regulations that apply to traditional public schools. A number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say the cap should be increased; however, the majority of Assembly Democrats opposed that move in the past."

Johnny got a raw deal

Date Captured	Sunday November 12 2006, 8:23 AM
NY Daily News contributor Joe Williams writes on the New York City teachers contract deal, "By cutting such a deal so early rather than keeping pressure on, Bloomberg has made a statement loud and clear: Only contract nips and tucks are needed from here on out. Major new work-rule changes are unnecessary."

Report spells tighter controls for public colleges

Date Captured	Sunday November 12 2006, 8:03 AM
New York Teacher reports, "Another sorely received agenda item in the Spellings report is a 'No Child Left Behind' approach to higher education that could lead to standardized testing similar to that already mandated by NCLB in elementary and middle grades."

A TEST OF LEADERSHIP: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education, A Report of the Commission Appointed by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings

Date Captured

Sunday November 12 2006, 7:52 AM

Pre-Publication Copy September 2006. CONCLUSION: In short, the commission believes it is imperative that the nation give urgent attention to improving its system of higher education. The future of our country’s colleges and universities is threatened by global competitive pressures, powerful technological developments, restraints on public finance and serious structural limitations that cry out for reform. Thid report has recommended strategic actions designed to make higher education more accessible, more affordable, and more accountable, while maintaining world-class quality. Our colleges and universities must become more transparent, faster to respond to rapidly changing circumstances and increasingly productive in order to deal effectively with the powerful forces of change they now face. But reaching these goals will also require difficult decisions and major changes from many others beyond the higher education community. The commission calls on policymakers to address the needs of higher education in order to maintain social mobility and a high standard of living. We call on the business community to become directly and fully engaged with government and higher education leaders in developing innovative structures for delivering 21st-century educational services—and in providing the necessary financial and human resources for that purpose. Finally, we call on the American public to join in our commitment to improving the postsecondary institutions on which so much of our future—as individuals and as a nation—relies.Working together, we can build on the past successes of U.S. higher education to create an improved and revitalized postsecondary system that is better tailored to the demands, as well as the opportunities, of a new century. U.S. Department of Education, A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education. Washington, D.C., 2006.

From the Desk of Jean C. Stevens, Interim Deputy Commissioner, New York State Education Department

Date Captured

Friday November 10 2006, 8:08 AM

ELA and Mathematics Results on the New York State Testing and Accountability Reporting Tool (nySTART): Beginning November 14, authorized users in schools and districts will be able to access parent reports for the grades 3-8 State assessments in mathematics using nySTART. Beginning November 13, files containing the mathematics parent reports will be distributed to Regional Information Centers and the Big 5 school districts. If your district has contracted with a Regional Information Center or BOCES to print the reports, please contact them for information about the printing and distribution schedule. Information about interpreting student scores, particularly the standard performance indices, is available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/nystart/2006/InterpretingStudentScores_files/frame.htm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Accountability Verification: On November 14, school districts and charter schools will have access to two sets of reports allowing them to verify student data that will be used to determine each district’s and school’s accountability status at the elementary and middle levels for the 2006-07 school year. Each school superintendent, school principal, and staff member with account administrator privileges can access these reports through nySTART, using their personal UserIDs and passwords. The deadline for submitting data changes to your district’s Regional Information Center or Level 1 Repository operator is November 20. More information about the verification process is available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/nystart/. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Essential Elements Schools to Watch: New York State is one of 14 states that has joined Schools to Watch, a national recognition program developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. In New York, seven schools were selected for the 2006 group of Schools to Watch by distinguishing themselves in academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity and organization and structure. A list of the schools is available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/mle/news/schools2watch.htm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reminder of Annual AHERA Notifications to Employees and Parents: The federal Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) requires all schools to provide public notification regarding inspections and other activities related to asbestos. Schools must also make its asbestos management plan available for public inspection. For more information, go to http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/facplan/AHERA/aheranotifyreminder.htm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VESID Update: National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) and National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC): Guidance regarding NIMAS and NIMAC, as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, is now available at http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/persprep/nimas.htm. NIMAC is designed to streamline access to instructional materials that meet the NIMAS standard for students who are blind or have other print disabilities. Please review and share as appropriate; a response is needed no later than November 30, 2006. Provision of Special Education Services to Parentally Placed Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary School Students with Disabilities: This memorandum, available at http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/ nonpublic.htm, informs school districts of their responsibilities to provide special education services to parentally placed nonpublic school students with disabilities for the 2006-07 school year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Previous News and Notes: 10/27/06 10/20/06 10/6/06 11/09/2006

Klein's Principal Focus

Date Captured	Friday November 10 2006, 5:00 AM
NY Post opined, "Schools Chancellor Joel Klein's laser-like focus on the Council of Supervisers and Administrators - the union that represents both school principals and their administrative underlings - continues. As it should."

NCLB education law punishes honesty

Date Captured

Wednesday November 08 2006, 10:26 AM

The Bulletin (Idaho) reports, "Thus, if a school expels more than one student per 100 student body members for violent crimes and the like, it earns the 'dangerous' list. Jefferson County expelled a dozen kids out of 675 in the last school year, including three for possession of weapons other than guns. Like school districts across the state, the district headquartered in Madras has a zero-tolerance policy where violence and weapons are concerned. It's a good policy, too, if what you care about is student safety. It's less helpful when being used as a measure of educational quality under NCLB, for it's not the policy being used across the nation."

Ap-parent Snub

Date Captured	Wednesday November 08 2006, 6:00 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Overall, just 1,189 schools [New York City], or 82 percent, have an operational association, despite rules set by the chancellor that require schools to hold elections for parent officers in June and for each school to have an association in place within a year of its existence."

New York City Mayor Bloomberg Could be Big Winner in UFT Deal

Date Captured	Wednesday November 08 2006, 5:51 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Sensitive issues championed publicly by Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, like establishing pay differentials for teachers based on competence and more instructional time for students, were not part of the latest deal - although the city won significant concessions on those fronts in the last contract."

Philadelphia district hires auditor to review finances

Date Captured

Tuesday November 07 2006, 8:23 AM

Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "In the wake of the Philadelphia School District's surprise $73.3 million deficit announced last month, the School Reform Commission announced yesterday it had appointed an internal auditor to serve in part as a financial watchdog. The commission has hired James P. Doosey, a former vice president and interim chief financial officer of the district, to the new $110,000-a-year post. He starts Nov. 20. 'We must bring our financial house in order so that we can focus our attention and efforts to the main business of the school district - to educate our children,' commission chairman James Nevels said in a prepared statement. 'Hiring an internal auditor is a necessary step to ensure that the SRC has the capacity to act as well-informed stewards of the district's budget.'"

College Sports Get a Warning

Date Captured

Monday November 06 2006, 3:28 AM

NY Times opined, "Only a handful of high-end college sports programs earn more than they spend. Among the rest, many struggle to balance their budgets and can do so only through subsidies from their universities. Sports budgets are growing two to three times faster than higher education as a whole. The N.C.A.A. report calls on college presidents and administrators to rein in the campus sports machines and dial back spending. But the facts suggest that many college administrations have been outflanked by athletic departments that are deeply invested in the bad old ways. If that doesn’t change, the N.C.A.A. can expect more scrutiny from Congress."

Schools attempt to improve through contract with parents

Date Captured

Sunday November 05 2006, 9:35 AM

Myrtle Beach online reports, "'The contract to me is very condescending," said 'Reid. 'It reads as if CMS is the parent and the parents at West Charlotte are the children.' A meeting last week drew about 350 parents to West Charlotte to talk about the school's turnaround plan. Everyone who spoke agreed that parents and students must be part of the solution. But Reid's husband, Norbert, raised questions about the tone of the contract and why CMS is singling out parents at the four schools. All of them have high poverty levels and serve mostly black and Hispanic students. A handful of others approached Principal John Modest afterward and agreed with the criticism."

CITY SCHOOL EXAMS FAIL THE 'TYPO' TEST

Date Captured

Sunday November 05 2006, 7:35 AM

NY Post reports, "A total of 1.2 million booklets went out to the 600,000 students taking the exams. One English and one math booklet was given to each kid. Of the 1.2 million booklets, between 10,000 and 20,000 of them had problems, testing officials said yesterday. Some 90 different exams were created for the empowerment schools - though some questions were the same on all the tests. Each of the tests contained about 25 to 30 questions, testing officials said. Empowerment schools are allowed to set their own curricula but must prove their kids aren't falling behind."

Private schools wary of vouchers

Date Captured

Saturday November 04 2006, 1:43 PM

The Greenville news reports, "McCreary [director of research, evaluation, accountability and testing for Greenville County school district] says the simple fact that parents have chosen to pay for private school education is a statistically significant indicator of academic achievement. 'If you have the means to afford a private education, then normally things at home are different than they are with some public school students,' he said. 'When parents choose, they're usually more involved in their children's education,' he said. 'There's more reading, more books, more opportunities for learning at home.' There's no reason why people of disadvantaged backgrounds shouldn't be able to avail themselves of the opportunity to choose, however, said Thomas Simuel, president and CEO of the South Carolina Center for Grassroots and Community Alternatives, a school-choice group focusing on low-income black communities. 'I totally disagree with the assessment that vouchers would rob public schools,' Simuel said. 'I think public schools are already robbing from too many children who aren't cutting it in the public education system.' His group is holding 'town meetings' across the state to encourage parents in black communities to seek school choices, whether with publicly funded magnet or charter schools, or in home schools or virtual schools, or religious and secular private schools."

Feds say New York misdirected $118 million in reading grants

Date Captured

Saturday November 04 2006, 8:05 AM

AP Michael Gormley reports, "The state Education Department was wrong to direct $118 million in federal grants to New York's neediest schools because the money for reading programs was supposed to be broadly applied, according a federal audit issued Friday. The state Education Department 'inappropriately awarded approximately $118 million in Reading First subgrants, of which the nine (school districts) had drawn down approximately $70 million,' according to the audit by the federal Inspector General's Office. Those nine school districts received money intended for other school districts, according to the audit."

Educators React to Shift in Leadership at Gates Fund

Date Captured

Saturday November 04 2006, 7:35 AM

NY Times KAREN W. ARENSON reports, "The results have been mixed. Some Gates schools have showed gains. Others have not. The foundation and Mr. Vander Ark have been applauded for focus and willingness to innovate, but criticized for moving too quickly and not paying enough attention to results, especially at first. Jay P. Greene, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and a professor at the University of Arkansas who has received Gates money, praised Mr. Vander Ark’s focus but said the foundation 'was slow to commission rigorous evaluations of their efforts.'”

Secretary Spellings Delivered Remarks at National Postsecondary Education Cooperative Symposium on Student Success in Washington, D.C.

Date Captured

Friday November 03 2006, 12:36 PM

PRESS RELEASE: You can find plenty of rankings and college guides, but you're out of luck if you want to find an answer to the question that matters most: How much are students learning? A recent report showed that instead of gauging student success, the most popular college rankings are "almost entirely a function of three factors: fame, wealth, and exclusivity." That's certainly of little or no help to the 2 million lower income students who will not be able to attend college this year because they can't afford it... or to millions more who are discouraged by skyrocketing sticker prices that often don't reflect the actual cost of attendance. The lack of data also hurts institutions.

Author of No Child Left Behind defends its impact

Date Captured	Friday November 03 2006, 7:46 AM
The Brownsville Herald reports, "Kress, the author of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, points to 13 years of progress since the accountability system was built into the education system and a handful of other statistics to prove his point."

Test scores under investigation at New York City high school

Date Captured	Friday November 03 2006, 3:45 AM
AP reports, "City and state education officials are investigating claims that a high school tampered with students' scores on key state tests. Teachers at Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island say administrators pushed to raise some students' scores on Regents science, English and history exams last June, teachers' union spokesman Stuart Marques said Thursday."

Youth center cited again

Date Captured

Thursday November 02 2006, 7:53 AM

Times Union reports, "Berkshire Farm residential center, the target of a 2005 investigation into staff beatings, sex abuse and drug dealing, is back under a microscope after an inspection found youngsters were allowed to fight each other and that their adult supervisors sometimes didn't show up for work. Among other things, the August review by the state Office of Children and Family Services found a 'five minute rule' in effect -- under which young boys were allowed five minutes to beat each other up before an adult intervened."

School Bigs Eyed in S.I. Kid-Test 'Cheat'

Date Captured	Thursday November 02 2006, 4:48 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Seventeen teachers at a Staten Island high school claim that administrators ordered them to bump up scores on Regents exam given in June, officials said yesterday."

Where Are They Now? A Description of 1992-93 Bachelor's Degree Recipients 10 Years Later

Date Captured

Tuesday October 31 2006, 1:18 PM

This NCES overview addresses the following questions: • How much education beyond a bachelor’s degree had 1992–93 graduates completed by 2003? • What were graduates’ patterns of labor force participation in 2003? • How satisfied were they with their college education, and how did they evaluate it 10 years later? • What percentage of cohort members in 2003 were married or had children? • What was their level of civic participation 10 years after college? Bradburn, E.M., Nevill, S., and Cataldi, E.F. (2006). Where Are They Now? A Description of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients 10 Years Later (NCES 2007–159). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

New York City Education Bigs Eye 'Rebel' Parents

Date Captured	Tuesday October 31 2006, 5:42 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "A department spokeswoman said auditors had been trying to review the group's books for weeks, since the principal complained the organization had not filed paperwork with her detailing its fund-raising."

The Second-Century Imperatives — Presidential Leadership and Institutional Accountability,”

Date Captured

Monday October 30 2006, 5:55 PM

NCAA REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE ON THE FUTURE OF DIVISION I INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS: "The Task Force has developed a series of 'dashboard indicators' that can be customized for each campus and that will allow comparisons with specific peer groups. The indicators will show where each program is compared to the norm.The goal is to moderate the growth of athletics budgets. How this is done will vary from campus to campus, but that it must be done on most campuses is the consensus analysis of the Task Force. The reality for effective reform of spending and revenue-generating behaviors for college sports is this: Each college and university must hold itself accountable for exercising its independent will as an institution of higher education. And it will do that best through well-informed, value-driven presidential leadership."

In New Jersey, System to Help Poorest Schools Faces Criticism

Date Captured

Sunday October 29 2006, 11:59 PM

NY Times WINNIE HU writes, "Garfield is a so-called Abbott school district, one of 31 poor districts that have received a total of $35 billion in state aid since 1997 as part of an ambitious court-ordered social experiment to narrow the achievement gap between rich and poor students, whites and minorities. In a decision that set a precedent for school equality cases nationwide, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the poorest urban school districts should be given the resources to spend as much on their students as the wealthiest suburban districts do. Now a growing number of New Jersey elected officials, educators and parents are calling for sweeping changes to this school financing system, saying that it has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars in the Abbott districts. For every success story like Garfield, where fourth-grade test scores have risen to the state average, there are chronic problems, like those in Newark, Camden and Asbury Park."

DODEA seeks parents’ opinions in online survey

Date Captured

Saturday October 28 2006, 6:45 PM

Stars and Stripes reports, "The survey, which is based in part on the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, helps DODEA identify areas that need improvement. Teachers, parents and students in grades four and five, six through eight and nine through twelve are given separate surveys. Questions focus on areas such as curriculum, instruction, standards, assessment, technology and student support, according to a DODEA statement."

COLUMBIA: A DUBIOUS NEIGHBOR

Date Captured

Saturday October 28 2006, 8:24 AM

NY Post opined, "More than three weeks have passed since Columbia University hosted one of the most brazen attacks on free speech and academic freedom in recent memory. Since then, not a word of apology has been offered to those whose rights were trampled, nor an ounce of punishment meted out to the offenders. The only thing, in fact, that Columbia's administrators have done is to assure students, alumni, faculty and others who care deeply about the university that an 'investigation' is under way. But with weeks gone by and a public relations office deflecting calls on the matter, it's starting to look like the term 'investigation' may be a euphemism for 'cover-up.'"

School Board is supporting exceptions to Tennessee’s open meetings law

Date Captured

Friday October 27 2006, 9:44 AM

The City Paper reports, "The board is asking to exempt meetings to consider employee dismissal, compensation, discipline or performance, as well as collective bargaining matters, from the law. This could effect certain aspects of union negotiations. Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee coalition for Open Government, said these meetings should be held in public to hold the board accountable."

Rhinebeck school trustee wants accounting of field trips

Date Captured

Friday October 27 2006, 9:03 AM

Daily Freeman reports, "Trustees are concerned that under new state Education Department requirements, there is no way to account for use of the funds. New controls over fiscal paper trails and use of equipment have been developed in response to the state Comptroller's Office's 2004 audit of the Roslyn Union Free School District in Nassau County, which found $11.2 million in district funds were used by school employees, their friends and families for personal benefit. 'I think the primary problem ... is transparency,' Burns [trustee] said. 'It's not how much is raised, but where it goes, precisely, hasn't been made quite clear.'"

The No Family Left Behind Amendment

Date Captured

Wednesday October 25 2006, 7:59 AM

Seattle Times contributor Richard Slettvet, a special-education teacher working in the Edmonds School District opined, "Acknowledging the role that families play in the educational success of their children, Congress today enacted the No Family Left Behind (NFLB) Amendment to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. The NFLB will increase standards of accountability for Congress and the president to ensure that all families achieve high socioeconomic status (SES). Congressional districts that fail to achieve adequate yearly progress (AYP) will be subject to corrective action."

The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children?

Date Captured

Tuesday October 24 2006, 7:51 AM

The Thomas B. Fordham writes, "The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children? appraises each state according to thirty indicators across three major categories: student achievement for low-income, African-American, and Hispanic students; achievement trends for these same groups over the last 10-15 years; and the state's track record in implementing bold education reforms. In this, the inaugural edition, just six states can claim even moderate success over the past 15 years at boosting the percentage of their poor or minority students who are proficient in reading, math or science. The study also finds that California, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, New York, and Texas are national leaders in education reform--leading the nation with a dedication to solid standards, tough accountability, and greater school choice can yield better classroom results." READ THE REPORT BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK.

Research says Texas incorrectly reports dropouts

Date Captured

Monday October 23 2006, 8:18 AM

Terrell Tribune reports, "Lawson [director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University] emphasized that while Texas has the most accurate system of reporting dropout rates, there is a problem with the quality of the data. 'Texas is a leader as far as reporting,' Lawson said. 'They have the most accurate system in recent years because they identify the student individually and have the capacity to track them, theirs is a the 'gold standard.' Unfortunately, because of the way they manipulate the data, it turns into fool's gold.' Lawson said the problem is that Texas inflates its graduation reports. In the construction of the report, many students go unaccounted for."

A+ for Mike, Joel

Date Captured	Monday October 23 2006, 4:08 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The Bloomberg-Klein tandem was lauded for improving public schools by stamping out 'cronyism and entrenched interests' and putting the focus back on students since the mayoral takeover of the education system."

Sullivan West, where the buck stops nowhere

Date Captured

Sunday October 22 2006, 8:07 AM

Times Herald-Record reports, "A new high school for your district. Renovations to make your old schools seem new. Better education for your kids. At virtually no cost to you, since the state picks up 95 percent of the tab. That's what folks in western Sullivan County were promised when they voted to merge three school districts. Back then, in 1999, the future seemed as bright as the summer sun glistening on the Delaware."

Charter School Supporters Respond to Falling Scores

Date Captured	Friday October 20 2006, 3:39 PM
by Larry Abramson. NPR: Morning Edition, October 20, 2006 · "With test scores falling behind in some states, charter school supporters are calling for greater scrutiny."

School Lunch Crunch

Date Captured

Thursday October 19 2006, 9:14 AM

NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Claiming that students who con their way to a free lunch cost the DOE as much as $5 million annually in federal reimbursements, the agency on Monday will begin requiring more students to pay cash before getting served. The policy is aimed at students whose household income disqualifies them from receiving a free lunch, but who finagle one by preying on compassionate cafeteria cashiers and lax enforcement of eligibility rules."

New York State comptroller’s audit alleges school district wasted $12 million in taxpayer money

Date Captured

Tuesday October 17 2006, 8:19 PM

Mid-Hudson News reports, "The audit charged the district wasted $12.5 million in taxpayer money because the district did not property address building occupancy levels and declining enrollment, which led to the closure of the Delaware Valley and Narrowsburg school buildings. The audit also said the district did not realize $2.1 million in savings due to economies of scale in staffing levels because it did not have a comprehensive strategic plan in place."

Improving student achievement is key to future

Date Captured

Tuesday October 17 2006, 8:36 AM

AP reports, "[Gov. Jeb] Bush said that while stricter accountability standards are still being debated in Florida, other countries are surging ahead in the global market because of their higher standards. 'You think the Chinese are debating whether or not to have a 10th-grade-level aptitude test to determine whether someone is qualified to graduate from high school?' he said. 'They are way beyond that. And so is India and so is Singapore and so is southeast Asia. Many countries all around the world have figured that out before we have.'"

Don't invade student privacy

Date Captured

Tuesday October 17 2006, 7:29 AM

USA TODAY contributor David Shi, president of Furman University and chairman of National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities opined, "We oppose a new individual tracking system because we fear a larger, more intrusive government bureaucracy. Greater transparency and accountability in higher education can be achieved without threatening privacy. To their credit, some proponents of a student unit-record system are willing to try to address our concerns. Yet more needs to be done. My colleagues and I are eager to work with the department to find ways for colleges to provide more useful and accessible data for applicants while protecting parents' and students' fundamental privacy rights."

Merit system won't pay off

Date Captured	Monday October 16 2006, 2:29 PM
Statesman Journal contributor and mother of eight children, Karen Utley writes, "Public education is expensive. The rate of student failure is deeply depressing. Policy makers and budget-keepers search for simple solutions, but complicated problems require incremental adjustment and no progress will be made until they stop hoping they can fix the schools by blaming the teachers."

Arizona college leaders' trips scrutinized

Date Captured	Sunday October 15 2006, 9:24 AM
Arizona Republic reports, "Critics contend international programs are a waste of money and distort the traditional mission of a community college. That mission was to serve as a transition for high school students to four-year universities and provide continuing education. Sixty-five percent of Mesa's students are part-timers."

Waning voter confidence in Buffalo city's schools

Date Captured	Sunday October 15 2006, 9:07 AM
Buffalo News reports, "Buffalo voters have been losing confidence in the city's once highly acclaimed public schools, according to a Buffalo News poll conducted earlier this month. More than half of respondents - 54 percent - have an unfavorable opinion of the school district, and only 32 percent have a favorable opinion."

It's hard to ax the boss

Date Captured	Sunday October 15 2006, 7:47 AM
NY Daily News reports, "But despite the tough talk, Klein's [New York City Schools chancellor] ability to fire a principal - even one who has signed a 'performance agreement' to become an empowerment principal - is severely limited by labor law, civil service rules and contractual agreements."

No Undergrad Left Behind

Date Captured

Thursday October 12 2006, 8:27 AM

Heritage Foundation fellow and former deputy secretary of education during President Bush’s first term, Eugene Hickok writes, "One of No Child Left Behind’s hallmarks is transparency. Today parents know more about the performance of their children’s schools than ever before. This same principle needs to be applied to higher education. Colleges and universities need to be able to explain why they charge the tuition they charge, what their graduation rates are, what they feel constitutes an educated person and how they propose to get first year students from here to there. The various college rating systems and publications are entertaining and interesting to read, but they don’t provide the sort of objective data tuition payers need to make informed decisions."

School Grades May Get F: Gov. Jeb Bush

Date Captured	Wednesday October 11 2006, 6:00 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Under the city's plan, each of the 1,450 schools would be graded on student progress, performance on standardized exams and school environment."

Florida's Gov. Bush joins New York City mayor to push education changes

Date Captured	Tuesday October 10 2006, 10:44 PM
AP reports, "Bush and Bloomberg are also campaigning for measures that connect teacher pay with performance, with rewards for progress. Bush noted that Florida will begin rewarding its teachers next year with merit bonuses, and Bloomberg said New York City is considering the idea."

School Financing Case Plays Out in Court, and in Classrooms

Date Captured	Tuesday October 10 2006, 3:21 AM
NY Times reports, "Geri D. Palast, the director of the fiscal equity group, said it had asked the court to impose strict controls to make sure the money was spent wisely. 'Accountability is at the core of this,' she said."

Nashville Tennessee Chamber chair: Key to work force is education

Date Captured	Sunday October 08 2006, 9:56 PM
The Tennessean reports, "This year, we're going to hire a high-profile education leader who will coordinate efforts in Nashville (among) the different nonprofits that help the school system. We want education to be on the minds of everyday citizens — how important education is. So we want to bring in a person with a strong personality that has the ability to sell that."

FOR THE CHILDREN

Date Captured	Sunday October 08 2006, 8:59 AM
NY Post opined, "Klein [New York City schools chancellor] is to be applauded for looking to breathe fresh air into a stale system. For years, he's been hoping to shake up school management through such promising ideas as charter schools - only to be stymied by the educrats and their puppets in Albany. Clearly, he's not giving up."

New agenda for Texas education

Date Captured

Sunday October 08 2006, 8:19 AM

Chron.com contributor Jim Windham, Texas Institute for Education Reform writes, "During the 1990s, Texas became a national leader in education reform when a bipartisan group of Texans joined together to establish academic standards and accountability as the framework for transforming public schools. The reforms began in 1993 when the state adopted a new accountability system that linked school accreditation with success in meeting academic standards."

Camden, New Jersey schools get monitor

Date Captured	Saturday October 07 2006, 8:29 AM
Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "Citing a magnitude of problems, the state Department of Education yesterday appointed a fiscal monitor to oversee the Camden school system."

The Accuracy and Effectiveness of Adequate Yearly Progress, NCLB's School Evaluation System

Date Captured

Friday October 06 2006, 7:06 PM

William J. Mathis writes, "Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is the key element of the accountability system mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This report reveals that AYP in its 2006 form as the prime indicator of academic achievement is not supported by reliable evidence. Expecting all children to reach mastery level on their state’s standardized tests by 2014, the fundamental requirement of AYP, is unrealistic. The growth model and other improvement proposals now on the table do not have sufficient power to resolve the underlying problems of the system. In addition, the program, whether conceived as implementation costs or remedial costs, is significantly underfunded in a way that will disproportionately penalize schools attended by the neediest children. Further, the curriculum is being narrowed to focus on tested areas at the cost of other vital educational purposes." Mathis, William J., Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union, University of Vermont.

Experts claim Texas graduation rates inflated

Date Captured	Friday October 06 2006, 8:25 AM
Houston Chronicle reports, "The dropout and graduation rates that Texas reports for black, Hispanic and poor students in urban districts are even further from reality, researchers assert."

8 mid-Hudson schools on notice

Date Captured	Friday October 06 2006, 6:19 AM
The Times Herald-Record reports, "The state [New York] has promised to provide special-education experts to help local districts. School districts stand to lose federal funds if they fail to make progress."

Spota backs Sen. LaValle on schools czar

Date Captured	Friday October 06 2006, 5:09 AM
Newsday reports, "LaValle said he was especially aggrieved that his bill is opposed by the state School Boards Association. 'The very people we want oversight over are the ones blocking the legislation,' he said."

New York City Schools Find Millions in the Bus Rides Not Taken

Date Captured	Friday October 06 2006, 3:17 AM
NY Times reports, "To halt the waste, officials said, the city is requiring for the first time that the children who are eligible for bus service must register for it. In addition, bus companies would be paid only for children who actually ride buses. Children who receive free public transportation must also register to receive MetroCards."

Call For School Spending Oversight

Date Captured	Thursday October 05 2006, 6:52 PM
AP reports, "It is not unusual for homeowners in suburban New York school districts to pay $500 to $800 a month in school taxes alone."

Fact Sheet: The No Child Left Behind Act: Challenging Students Through High Expectations

Date Captured	Thursday October 05 2006, 6:03 PM
The No Child Left Behind Act Is A Historic Law - It Is Working, And It Is Here To Stay. When he came to Washington, President Bush worked with Republicans and Democrats to pass the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and he was proud to sign it into law. Today, President Bush discussed the progress made under NCLB and areas where we can look to improve.

President Bush Discusses NCLB Reauthorization at the Education Department

Date Captured	Thursday October 05 2006, 6:00 PM
We strongly believe in setting high standards for all students and we strongly believe that in order to make sure those standards are met we must measure to determine whether or not the schools are functioning the way we expect them to function, and the way the parents expect them to function, and the way the taxpayers expect them to function.

New Jersey questioning charter schools' results

Date Captured	Thursday October 05 2006, 10:29 AM
Star-Ledger reports, "One new proposal would require charter-school applicants to document the need within the community for their proposed school. Justification could include public school performance or interest within the community, officials said."

North Rockland meetings on TV

Date Captured	Thursday October 05 2006, 6:50 AM
The Journal News reports, "He [North Rockland Schools Superintendent ] said he couldn't guarantee how many people would watch North Rockland's school board meetings, but he wanted them available to the public. 'Under the circumstances, it seems the more information people have, the better for everybody,' he said."

Group wants e-mail records:Mason schools says destroying them OK

Date Captured

Wednesday October 04 2006, 6:37 PM

Cincinnati.com reports, "In the latest dispute between a tax-accountability group and Mason's [Ohio] school district, Mason Citizens for Accountability and Results in Education says the Mason City School District is trying to destroy e-mail records before the group can obtain copies. But district officials say according to their records retention policy e-mails can be destroyed as they are read and that the group's latest lengthy records request is too general to fulfill."

D.C. Charters on Rise; Quality Unequal

Date Captured	Tuesday October 03 2006, 8:42 AM
The Washington Post reports, "The number of District charter schools has grown dramatically in the past 10 years, but the quality has been uneven, and officials should consider closing low-performing schools, according to findings in a study to be released today."

Create Inspector General for schools

Date Captured	Monday October 02 2006, 6:14 AM
Newsday opined on IG for schools, "Taxpayers and even insiders often find the budget and bureaucracy to be impenetrable. And they may feel reluctant to bring their concerns of wrongdoing to the very school officials they suspect. An inspector general would be the place to go."

Belts and Suspenders

Date Captured

Sunday October 01 2006, 11:39 PM

NY Times opined on accountability in schools, "The lapses in accountability have taken a harsh toll in public confidence, increasing taxpayers’ hostility to otherwise worthy school budgets and fostering an unhealthy mix of anger and apathy. For the sake of robustness and transparency in public education, the State Legislature should look closely at the recommendations coming out of Suffolk County."

No favorable statistic left behind in federal law

Date Captured	Sunday October 01 2006, 7:33 AM
Columnist George Will writes, "No Child Left Behind supposedly promotes education accountability by mandating reliable data to measure progress. But Washington looks like an untrustworthy manipulator of data when it uses the phrase 'instruction-related activity' to draw a bull's-eye around the status quo."

EDUCATION ISSUE

Date Captured

Saturday September 30 2006, 10:16 AM

The Washington Post Michael Grunwald reports on Reading First, "The centerpiece of the new research-based approach [NCLB goal] was Reading First, a $1 billion-a-year effort to help low-income schools adopt strategies 'that have been proven to prevent or remediate reading failure' through rigorous peer-reviewed studies. 'Quite simply, Reading First focuses on what works, and will support proven methods of early reading instruction,' the Education Department promised. Five years later, an accumulating mound of evidence from reports, interviews and program documents suggests that Reading First has had little to do with science or rigor."

Let's Really Throw Open Doors to Higher Education

Date Captured

Friday September 29 2006, 8:39 AM

The Houston Chronicle Op-Ed contributor Margaret Spellings, a former Houstonian and U.S. secretary of education writes, "Higher education is a public as well as a private good. Parents, students and taxpayers pick up the vast majority of the tab for higher education. Over the years, we've invested tens of billions of dollars and just hoped for the best. It's time to ask what we are getting for our money."

Is Your Child’s School Effective? Don’t rely on NCLB to tell you

Date Captured

Friday September 29 2006, 8:10 AM

Hoover Institute Education Next writes, "It must also be admitted that most states could not have used growth scores when NCLB was enacted, simply because most states had not constructed the tracking system Florida has put together. Congress may have done all that it could in 2002. But since other states are now beginning to build their own warehouses of data that follow the progress of individual students, the time has arrived when a legislative fix should be feasible." Paul E. Peterson, professor of government at Harvard University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and Martin R.West, assistant professor at Brown University both serve as editors of Education Next.

September 28, 2006 Press Release - Closure of Taylor Business Institute

Date Captured

Friday September 29 2006, 12:01 AM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SEPTEMBER 28, 2006: “We identified several areas of consistent non-compliance at Taylor. These areas include inadequate rigor, level and content of coursework that could impact a student’s ability to transfer credits to other degree-granting institutions; inadequate investments in critical educational services, such as faculty, library resources, equipment and support services; rapid turnover of staff and faculty; understaffed student support services; and hiring of staff and faculty who lack requisite skills and experience. In short, the students at Taylor are not receiving the college-level education that they are paying for,” said Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Deputy Commissioner for Higher Education and the Professions. "The State Education Department will directly contact all Taylor students to inform them about the school’s closure and detail all options for continuing their education at other institutions. The Department has arranged a College Transfer Fair for the Taylor students on October 18th from 2-7 p.m. at the CUNY Graduate Center. Representatives of other educational institutions will be there to discuss transfer opportunities. Information and guidance about State and Federal student financial aid will also be provided. “We want the transition to go smoothly so that students will choose to continue their education and graduate,” said Duncan-Poitier. "The Department has also created a page on its Web site for Taylor students."

State orders commercial school in NYC closed, citing poor quality

Date Captured	Thursday September 28 2006, 4:08 AM
Newsday reports, "Their [group of educators] report stated that 'the institute operates more as a high school equivalency preparation enterprise than as a college.' The report also questioned whether the public investment in the school is worth it."

Higher Ed Panel Calls for College Database

Date Captured	Wednesday September 27 2006, 8:49 AM
NPR reports, "The panel says students and parents would benefit from a common database that explains what different schools offer."

Data Proposals Threaten Education and Civil Rights Accountability

Date Captured

Wednesday September 27 2006, 8:14 AM

The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University concludes, "Data tracing trends over time is, of course, a central requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act, essential for judging compliance with various civil rights court orders, and required by the special education law. In some states, the change will make it appear that individual racial groups suddenly are performing substantially better or worse on some achievement tests even when nothing has changed about actual test results. One must not confuse the increases and losses in proficiency levels with actual achievement. In fact, policymakers would do well to be wary that the proposed guidelines do not result in unfair and arbitrary sanctions on schools and districts since the changes do not reflect actual improvements or losses in achievement levels."Lee, C. and Orfield, G. (2006). Data Proposals Threaten Education and Civil Rights Accountability. Cambridge, MA: The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University.

College overhaul called ‘overdue'

Date Captured

Wednesday September 27 2006, 7:07 AM

USA TODAY Mary Beth Marklein reports, "Proponents of a database that tracks students, including the State Higher Education Executive Officers, say federal data on graduation rates gives an inaccurate picture because it doesn't account for transfers to other schools. And though many schools keep their own records, they don't necessarily make the data public. About 35 states have systems in place, but they operate as 'islands unto themselves,' Spellings said. Spellings said her plan would make information available to parents, policymakers and others in an easy-to-understand format. Data could include students' majors, costs after student aid and how quickly they graduate. To protect privacy, the commission recommended that the database use anonymous identification numbers, not Social Security numbers."

Experts: Education plan likely won't fly

Date Captured	Tuesday September 26 2006, 8:18 AM
The Houston Chronicle reports on the Commission of the Future of Higher Education's 62 page report, "The commission did not recommend mandatory testing, but encouraged institutions to measure learning and make the results available to students and tuition-paying parents."

They’re All Federal Educators Now

Date Captured

Tuesday September 26 2006, 8:11 AM

Neal McCluskey, policy analyst at the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom writes, "As Congress moves inexorably closer to next year's scheduled reauthorization of NCLB, conservatives must reject calls for federal standards and tests, and remember the principles that they once held dear. Politically compromised, big-government policies will simply never provide the education our children need and deserve. Only pulling government out of education, and empowering parents and families with school choice, will do that."

Suffolk County Court Special Grand Jury

Date Captured	Tuesday September 26 2006, 5:52 AM
September 19, 2005; Term 1E. Grand Jury Report, CPL 190.85(1)(c). READ REPORT ON EDUCATION NEW YORK ONLINE.

Calling for a watchdog: Suffolk County grand jury urges New York state to create monitor of schools' spending

Date Captured	Tuesday September 26 2006, 4:57 AM
Newsday reports on Suffolk County's grand jury's recommendation to create a new state office of Inspector General for Education and a "New state law requiring school boards to post on their Web sites, or provide copies in libraries and district offices, all employment contracts and any amendments at least one month before any board vote."

New York City Schools Even Odds for Gifted Kids

Date Captured	Tuesday September 26 2006, 4:49 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports on a uniform application procedure for gifted children, "Citing an unreliable hodgepodge of selection criteria that varied from school to school and district to district, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said that a standardized system would ensure equity."

Publishers seek recourse after audit slams federal reading program

Date Captured	Monday September 25 2006, 5:45 AM
USA TODAY Greg Toppo writes, "Their [publishers] requests come in the wake of an Education Department internal review that found federal officials mismanaged the Reading First program, forcing schools to buy materials the administration favored, including a few to which federal advisers had financial ties."

Late for schools: It took state four years after takeover to appoint monitor for Roosevelt district, now $4M in the red

Date Captured

Monday September 25 2006, 4:38 AM

Newsday JOHN HILDEBRAND writes, "A review of Roosevelt's records reveals numerous early warning signs. During the summer, for example, the district laid off teachers and cut services including full-day kindergarten, after local voters twice rejected its budget. The second 'no' vote followed a state audit's revelation of irregular spending, sloppy bookkeeping and loose financial controls. At the time, the district's business office was in turmoil. It had undergone three changes of leadership in four months."

Flap Over New York City School Computer Dump

Date Captured	Monday September 25 2006, 4:31 AM
NY Post DAVID ANDREATTA and JANA WINTER write, "Administrators at Walt Whitman Intermediate School in Flatbush trashed scores of computer monitors, keyboards, hard drives, printers and desks, leaving them outside like high-tech gravestones."

Save the kids caught in the middle

Date Captured

Monday September 25 2006, 4:24 AM

NY Daily News opined on middle schools, "Klein [chancellor] is all too aware of the middle-school miasma. It is one of the reasons why he is establishing school-by-school accountability measures, pushing to expand the number of charter schools and seeking to empower principals. If anything, these dismal test results should give him more muscle in a fight to stop teachers and principals from treating kids as if they naturally become dull at the age of 12."

TEST-SCORE BLUNDER PUTS NEW YORK CITY CHILDREN IN LIMBO

Date Captured	Sunday September 24 2006, 7:17 AM
NY Post reports, "Educators (New York City) admitted Friday they overestimated how many fifth-graders should not be promoted - after basing their estimate on preliminary, rather than actual, statewide exams scores from January."

Ohio probing absence rates

Date Captured	Saturday September 23 2006, 6:29 PM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH reports, "The attendance numbers for many Internet charter schools look good. In fact, the number with perfect scores are a little too good, prompting the Ohio Department of Education to give them a second look later this month, said Todd Hanes, executive director of the department’s Office of Community Schools."

NAACP urged to help Tennessee schools aim high

Date Captured	Saturday September 23 2006, 6:04 PM
The Tennessean reports, "School accountability and community involvement are key to ensuring that all children, regardless of their race, economic background or physical condition, are getting a fair shot at a good education, a panel of educators told NAACP members Friday."

President Bush Reading Program Gets Failing Grade

Date Captured	Friday September 22 2006, 11:51 PM
AP Ben Feller writes, "The new report from the Office of Inspector General - an independent arm of the Education Department - calls into question the program's credibility."

The No Child Left Behind Act: Are We Saving or Ruining Our Public Schools

Date Captured

Friday September 22 2006, 9:25 AM

Law.com contributor Danielle Holley-Walker, assistant professor of law at the University of South Carolina School of Law writes, "With NCLB the federal government took on the daunting task of increasing student achievement. While the law has wrought change, the ongoing question is whether this or other federal government initiatives are effective in assisting schools in the day-to-day struggle to improve a child's reading level, math skills and scientific knowledge. Thus far, NCLB has provided more questions than answers, and it is up to Congress to take the next step."

Accountability in Syracuse

Date Captured	Friday September 22 2006, 6:05 AM
The Post-Standard reports Syracuse's $900 million school renovation project's website will allow people to "easily access information on the project and monitor progress." The website address is: http://www.syracuse.ny.us/jscb.us/.

Should Philadelphia schools leave Pennsylvania control?

Date Captured	Thursday September 21 2006, 8:42 AM
Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "Mayor Street's office is creating a task force and hiring a consultant to look at the state of education in the city - including whether it's time for the school district to leave state control."

'Dangerous' special ed controversy

Date Captured	Thursday September 21 2006, 4:57 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Parent leaders and educators are steamed about a state list that labels three special education schools in Queens 'persistently dangerous.' They charge the report is inaccurate and has needlessly upset parents."

Why We Need a National School Test

Date Captured

Thursday September 21 2006, 3:55 AM

Washington Post Op-Ed contributors William J. Bennett, education secretary under President Ronald Reagan and Rod Paige, education secretary under President George W. Bush write, "As both of us have long argued, Washington should set sound national academic standards and administer a high-quality national test. Publicize everybody's results, right down to the school level. Then Washington should butt out."

A transformation for special ed: Need to account for language and cultural differences

Date Captured	Wednesday September 20 2006, 11:00 PM
The Arizona Republic reports, "The push for accountability in public schools, coupled with increasing numbers of English-language learners, has put a squeeze on those who work in one of the most demanding, stressful career fields."

New York charter school eyes sanctions over hazard

Date Captured	Wednesday September 20 2006, 9:43 AM
Newsday JOHN HILDEBRAND writes, "State monitors are urging that a Roosevelt charter school acclaimed for its academic prowess be put on probation, after the school allowed 150 students to start classes in a building that has no fire-sprinkler system."

Community needs to analyze bond requests

Date Captured

Wednesday September 20 2006, 7:50 AM

Ithaca Journal guest columnist Allen Lambert, former member of the Ithaca City School District Board of Education writes, "Of what use is a public hearing when citizens do not have details to comment on, or when it is too late to influence a decision? No information was available to the public until the evening of Sept. 7. And little detail has been published in newspapers so citizens can begin to examine particulars. Yet, the board of education is expected to make a huge decision without adequate time for itself or the community."

Ithaca Central School District bond project: Focus on discussion, not false deadlines

Date Captured	Wednesday September 20 2006, 7:48 AM
Ithaca Journal opined, "With no pressing crisis to resolve, district officials, board members and ICSD residents must spend the time needed to thoroughly analyze options and build community consensus on how to proceed — and let the timeline assemble itself as it may."

Area New York BOCES play key role in ensuring no child is left behind

Date Captured

Wednesday September 20 2006, 6:18 AM

The Journal News reports on changes at BOCES, "The biggest changes began about five years ago, when the federal education law dubbed 'No Child Left Behind' took effect. The law, among other things, required that schools provide highly qualified teachers, demanded that states create English and math accountability tests for all children from third through eighth grades and insisted that special-needs students be given the same academic tests as other students."

Texas school district receives superior achievement rating

Date Captured	Tuesday September 19 2006, 6:59 PM
The Brownsville Herald reports on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) financial accountability system, “'We are very pleased with BISD’s Schools FIRST rating,' said Hector Gonzales, BISD interim superintendent. 'This rating shows that Brownsville’s schools are accountable not only for student learning, but also for achieving these results cost-effectively and efficiently.'”

Highlights of the Final Report of the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education: A Test of Leadership-Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education

Date Captured

Tuesday September 19 2006, 5:24 PM

U.S. Department of Education press release: "Secretary Spellings formed the Commission on the Future of Higher Education to launch a national dialogue on the need to strengthen higher education so that our students and our nation will remain competitive in the 21st century. As a college diploma becomes more critical, higher education must be accessible to all Americans and meet the needs of America's diverse and changing student population. The Commission found that: College access, particularly for low-income and minority students, is limited by inadequate academic preparation, a lack of information and persistent financial barriers; The current financial aid system is confusing, complex and inefficient, and is therefore frequently unable to direct aid to the students who need it most; and There is a shortage of clear, comprehensive, and accessible information about the colleges and universities themselves, including comparative data about cost and performance."

Board's goal: Raise its grade

Date Captured

Tuesday September 19 2006, 8:30 AM

The Detroit News reports, "Jennifer Rogers of the Michigan Association of School Boards in Lansing said school boards can set the tone for entire districts and the communities in which they operate. 'It is important for boards to improve the culture of the schools,' she said. 'The board is responsible for improving how it is perceived by the community.' The process of self-evaluation can be difficult for school board members, Janulis [boardmember] said. Only about half of the state's 600-plus school boards evaluate themselves, according to the school boards association."

State audits Port Jervis schools and finds $27,000 food tab

Date Captured	Tuesday September 19 2006, 6:55 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "According to a state comptroller's audit, the Port Jervis School District has lacked written policies on items such as district food expenses, cell phone usage and employee contracts."

Higher Standards Don't Lead Every Student to Success

Date Captured

Tuesday September 19 2006, 4:02 AM

The Washington Post reports, "Twelve states have business-sponsored State Scholars programs to encourage students to take college-preparatory courses. All 50 states and the District of Columbia offer incentives for students to take Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or dual enrollment courses in cooperation with local colleges, the center [National Center for Educational Accountability] said." Fewer than one in four low-income Texas students in the graduating class of 2002 who took AP exams passed.

Special ed poses a challenge

Date Captured	Monday September 18 2006, 12:18 PM
Buffalo News opined on special education, "The problem is this: While virtually all students in special ed need help, not all of them need this help. Some may merely need remedial instruction, for example - help that should certainly be provided, but not in the expensive, bureaucratic context of special education."

Law firm targeting California schools on vital data

Date Captured	Monday September 18 2006, 9:18 AM
Mercury News reports, "Having up-to-date and complete report cards as required by law can help parents and others make informed decisions about schools and make campus comparisons easier, according to lawyers with Public Advocates, the San Francisco-based law firm that conducted the survey."

Regional office of Illinois education says its has a right to check on homeschool students

Date Captured

Sunday September 17 2006, 11:57 AM

The Southern reports, "'According to the Regional Office of Education, they do have the right to check on home-schooling parents,' Garnati [Williamson County State's Attorney] said. A Marion resident was recently sentenced to 48 hours in the Williamson County Jail after she was convicted of allowing her child to remain truant from school. She claimed she was home-schooling her child, but Williamson County Judge Ron Eckiss ruled that she was not home-schooling and was rather allowing her child to remain truant from school."

Funding error may be costing Texas schools

Date Captured

Sunday September 17 2006, 11:08 AM

Daily Light reports, "Numbers put together by JR3, a consulting firm, indicate WISD received only $1,056 per new student during the 2004-2005 school year. The district should have received about $6,585 for each of the new students, according to JR3’s calculations. The formula glitch is believed to have affected those districts experiencing high student growth and high increases in property values in the same year."

Volunteers sought to research school configuration

Date Captured	Friday September 15 2006, 6:48 PM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "The Susquehanna Valley Board of Education is still looking for volunteers to research a possible reconfiguration of the school district's two elementary schools. The volunteers will study having one of the schools house kindergarten through second grade students, and the other school house third through fifth grade students, district officials said."

Charter schools help improve public education

Date Captured

Friday September 15 2006, 7:34 AM

Times Union Op-Ed contributor Peter Murphy, NY Charter Schools Association policy director writes, "The fact is that most charter schools in the state now outperform district-run schools as measured by results on state exams, yet the Times Union continues to cloud this fact with its incessant campaign against New Covenant Charter School. The reality is that struggling charter schools will have one of two outcomes: improve or be closed. Such has been the record of charter school accountability in New York state."

Secretary Spellings' Prepared Remarks to the National Conference of Editorial Writers Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Date Captured

Thursday September 14 2006, 11:04 PM

"When I [US Department of Education Secretary Spellings] hear people say things like some children just can't learn, I say, 'Whose child are they talking about?' Not mine, I hope, because as a mom, I don't think it's too much to ask that my child leave the third grade reading and doing math at the third grade level. And I'm pretty sure almost all parents feel that same way—regardless of where they live or how much money they make."

Education Policy Should Not Be Based on Programs that Cannot be Replicated

Date Captured

Thursday September 14 2006, 12:06 PM

Education Finance and Accountability Program at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University (EFAP) Director John Yinger writes, "The use of additional funds does not, of course, guarantee success. Many schools undoubtedly use policies and practices that cost more than equally effective alternatives. But one cannot identify these alternatives simply by looking at a few successful schools. Instead, we need to continue evaluating a wide range of programs to determine which ones can raise student performance under what circumstances and at what cost."

Buffalo special education program a "major problem'

Date Captured

Thursday September 14 2006, 11:04 AM

Buffalo News reports, "Williams [superintendent] said his staff is preparing to seek bids from outside consultants to assess the system and make recommendations for reform. He did not set a timetable, but called special education his "No. 1 priority" now that a three-year academic improvement plan is taking hold. About 20 percent of Buffalo's students have special education designation, far more than other local school districts and one of the highest rates in the state."

Kentucky home educators required to teach rigid curriculum

Date Captured	Thursday September 14 2006, 8:41 AM
Pioneer News reports, "Kentucky law recognizes home schools as private institutions. The laws that apply to state private schools apply to home schools as well."

Educate us about violence, New York City Chancellor Klein tells schools

Date Captured	Thursday September 14 2006, 7:51 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The directive came more than a week after the teachers union accused the Education Department of inaccurately recording school crime and began testing an online system that will allow teachers to report violence. The union's criticism was prompted by a state report that classified only 14 of the city's 1,400 schools as 'persistently dangerous.'"

$3.4M Study of New York City Schools

Date Captured	Thursday September 14 2006, 4:51 AM
NY Post DAVID ANDREATTA reports, "The city [NYC] has agreed to pay the Rand Corp. roughly $3.4 million to study its effort to end social promotion from the third and fifth grades, The Post has learned."

228 New York High Schools Are Identified As Needing Improvement

Date Captured

Wednesday September 13 2006, 9:25 PM

A total of 228 high schools have been identified by the State Education Department as needing improvement under federal and state rules. Of these, 18 high schools were newly identified this school year. In addition, 29 schools have been removed from the list because they have made Adequate Yearly Progress for two consecutive years in all areas for which they were identified. An additional 75 high schools made AYP last year and will be removed from the list if they make AYP in 2006-2007.

University of Hawai'i athletics to review privacy policy

Date Captured

Wednesday September 13 2006, 10:55 AM

The Honolulu Advertiser reports, "Manin [sports information director] said the department, faced with some athletes who requested privacy and some who agreed to waivers, wanted to adopt a uniform approach. She said the policy was 'implemented to protect the privacy of student-athletes in accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).'"

Nine local Mid-Hudson school still get failing marks

Date Captured

Wednesday September 13 2006, 7:00 AM

Times-Herald Record reports, "The list is more than name-calling. Districts have to pour resources into the problem areas — resources that local taxpayers often have to pay for. In the long run, teachers and principals might be fired if the failures continue. The federal No Child Left Behind Law sets the rules. It covers not only scores but the performance of various racial, ethnic, and other special groups."

The Not-So-Public Part of the Public Schools: Lack of Accountability

Date Captured	Wednesday September 13 2006, 3:22 AM
NY Times reports, "Their [Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein] reinvented school system has many more private components than ever before, which come under very little outside scrutiny. This not-so-public part of the public school system has received more than $330 million in grants and donations from private sources over the past three years, according to Education Department statistics."

Reforming Education in Florida: A Study Prepared by the Koret Task Force on K-12 Education, Hoover Institution 2006

Date Captured

Tuesday September 12 2006, 2:04 PM

By Paul Peterson. This assessment by the Koret Task Force identifies reforms that have been undertaken and Florida's education policies related to accountability, curriculum reform, effective teaching, school choice, and organizational change, including voluntary preschool education, class-size reduction, and more effective resource management. Contributors include John E. Chubb, Williamson M. Evers, Chester E. Finn Jr., Eric A. Hanushek, Paul T. Hill, E. D. Hirsch, Caroline M. Hoxby, Terry M. Moe, Paul E. Peterson, Diane Ravitch, and Herbert J. Walberg. Additional contributors include Paul Clopton, Elena Llaudet, Sonali Murarka, and Marguerite Roza. (Chapters of the book can be viewed.)

New York City's No-Bid Deal for Schools

Date Captured

Sunday September 10 2006, 10:59 AM

NY Times opined, "As they’ve tackled a myriad of education problems, Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Klein — who both lack previous education management experience — have frequently shown a lack of respect for the education department’s own experts. While both men clearly have the schools’ best interests at heart, it’s sometimes hard to tell whether their eagerness to reach outside for help is based on real need or a simple impatience with people who don’t fit the corporate model. And in the past they have not always been right."

United Federation of Teachers (UFT) chapter leaders excited, but skeptical, about New York City Empowerment Schools

Date Captured	Friday September 08 2006, 10:52 PM
New York Teacher reports, "Several chapter leaders wondered if the sink-or-swim method of success imposed on the principals — and therefore on the entire school — wasn’t a way for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 'the accountability mayor,' to dodge accountability."

New York Education Department unveils new student database

Date Captured	Friday September 08 2006, 6:58 AM
Times Record reports, "Teachers are all for the new system if it is used to help students learn, said Ron Simon, president of the New Paltz Teachers union. But he has concerns. 'Are we using it to hold students accountable for their learning, or are we using it to pinpoint teachers?' Simon asked. 'We would hate to see this one day being used to promote things like merit pay'."

New York schools test scores made easy for parents

Date Captured	Friday September 08 2006, 5:22 AM
Times Union Rick Karlin wites, "'These reports are designed to be parent-friendly,' Martha Musser, coordinator of information and reporting systems for the Education Department, said Thursday as the agency unveiled the new reports. They also will allow parents to track how their children are doing on standardized tests over time, said Acting Deputy Commissioner Jean Stevens."

NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT UNVEILS NEW SYSTEM TO TRACK AND REPORT STUDENT DATA, SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE NEW TOOLS TO IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Date Captured

Thursday September 07 2006, 6:10 PM

Beginning this fall, test results will be delivered directly to schools in an electronic format, giving authorized school administrators and teachers instant access to data regarding individual student performance, performance by groups of students (including breakdowns by race, ethnicity, disability status, gender, English proficiency, economic status, and migrant status), and overall performance by school and school district. This electronic system will give schools interactive reports on all this information. Parents will receive more detailed printed reports explaining their children’s performance on the tests. The reports will not only give the overall score but will also give a more detailed breakdown of a student’s performance on several indicators of achievement. All individual student information will be protected during every phase of data collection and reporting.

New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) on charter schools

Date Captured

Thursday September 07 2006, 2:25 PM

Letter from NYSSBA executive director Timothy Kremer to New York State Board of Regents Chancellor Robert Bennett on charter schools accountability, "Article 56 off the Education Law compels the Board of Regents to review 'the educational effectiveness of the charter school approach and the effect of charter schools on public and nonpublic schools systems.' Regrettably, the State Education Department’s recently released annual report on the status of charter schools fails to illuminate whether this strategy is working."

Back to School in a System Being Remade

Date Captured

Tuesday September 05 2006, 3:23 AM

NY Times reports on NYC schools reform, "Chancellor Klein said last week that he was intent on moving the school system 'from a culture of excuse to a culture of accountability.' 'Our parents will come to see that the information they’re getting, the quality education their kids are getting, the sense of what it’s like at the school, is going to change,' he added. 'And I think our parents will insist on sustainability.'”

NCLB Title III Institute Part I: Ensuring Academic Success for English Learners

Date Captured

Monday September 04 2006, 4:58 PM

December 4-6, 2006, Sacramento, CA. Robert Linquanti, Project Director for WestEd's English Learner Evaluation and Accountability Support (ELEAS) services, Linda Carstens, Senior Research Associate for WestEd's ELEAS services, and Ivannia Soto-Hinman, Assistant Professor at Biola University, will lead a three-day institute on ensuring success for English learners. They will be joined by California Department of Education Consultants Cathy George, Judy Lambert, and Marcela Rodriguez.

NCLB Title III Institute Part I: Ensuring Academic Success for English Learners

Date Captured

Monday September 04 2006, 4:55 PM

November 27-29, 2006. Fresno, CA. Robert Linquanti, Project Director for WestEd's English Learner Evaluation and Accountability Support (ELEAS) services, Linda Carstens, Senior Research Associate for WestEd's ELEAS services, and Ivannia Soto-Hinman, Assistant Professor at Biola University, will lead a three-day institute on ensuring success for English learners. They will be joined by California Department of Education Consultants Cathy George, Judy Lambert, and Marcela Rodriguez.

NCLB Title III Institute Part I: Ensuring Academic Success for English Learners

Date Captured

Monday September 04 2006, 4:51 PM

November 13-15, 2006. The Mission Inn , Riverside, CA. Robert Linquanti, Project Director for WestEd's English Learner Evaluation and Accountability Support (ELEAS) services, Linda Carstens, Senior Research Associate for WestEd's ELEAS services, and Ivannia Soto-Hinman, Assistant Professor at Biola University, will lead a three-day institute on ensuring success for English learners. They will be joined by California Department of Education Consultants Cathy George, Judy Lambert, and Marcela Rodriguez.

Data on New Jersey and Pennsylvania school safety lacking

Date Captured

Sunday September 03 2006, 9:03 AM

Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "Many Pennsylvania districts did not report common offenses, such as bullying or fighting. Philadelphia left out thousands of incidents, including those in which no one was caught or the offender was not a student. In New Jersey, one in five districts reported no violence. The state became suspicious when 19 districts, including Camden and Trenton, reported dramatically lower in-school violence. It is conducting an investigation to verify the numbers."

“Slow migration” towards more ACT test takers, Princeton Review says

Date Captured	Sunday September 03 2006, 8:54 AM
Boca Raton News reports, "But why are so many students taking the ACT? Deutsch [Vice President of the Princeton Review] stated many reasons. One in particular affected students nationwide when The College Board mis-graded hundreds of SAT test scores. Another is the largest decline in SAT scores in more than 30 years. 'Students are looking for alternatives,' he said."

CITY'S SCHOOL-SAFETY MATH PROBLEM

Date Captured

Sunday September 03 2006, 8:15 AM

NY Post David Andreatta reports, "John Feinblatt, the city's criminal-justice coordinator, explained that the city depends not only on the NYPD to shape school safety policy but also on random inspections of school security procedures. 'We think that when you combine that with crime data, you have a pretty surefire way of judging the health of a school.' He added that staff reports are important but 'just like I would never ask a police officer to grade a paper, I would never ask a teacher to report a crime according to FBI definitions.'"

Back to school, on to the future ... AND ... with smart new leaders (2 editorials)

Date Captured

Sunday September 03 2006, 8:02 AM

NY Daily News opined on New York City schools Chancellor Klein and school reform plans, "Even more ambitious, a new computer system will let teachers and administrators check whether a child has improved by a full performance level, or gone down by half a level, and compare results by classroom, by demographic group and by individual student. Success will become readily apparent, as will failure. Performance will finally count."

Standing by their principals: 'Empowerment' bigs win freedom from educrats

Date Captured

Sunday September 03 2006, 7:56 AM

NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, ""The thing people are really concerned about is where they go if there's a problem,' said Tim Johnson, head of a citywide parents group. 'There doesn't seem to be a clear path of accountability like there is in the current system.' Empowerment principals say they understand the concerns, but they argue that the consequences of failing will drive the schools toward success."

Costly defeat for LAUSD

Date Captured

Saturday September 02 2006, 10:05 AM

LA Daily News reports, "Los Angeles Unified has spent more than $350,000 in taxpayer money in its unsuccessful bid to defeat Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's school-takeover legislation, documents obtained by the Daily News show. The expenses include lobbying and consulting contracts, nearly $10,000 to bus hundreds of parents to Sacramento, and thousands of dollars to house school board members in pricey hotel rooms. They also include more than $2,000 for T-shirts for supporters and hundreds of dollars to fly parents opposed to mayoral takeover in from New York and San Francisco."

New York unsafe schools cited

Date Captured	Saturday September 02 2006, 9:42 AM
NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "The union [teachers] is testing an online system that allows teachers to report violent incidents and crimes into its central computer."

Where's the courage in education reform?

Date Captured	Saturday September 02 2006, 9:07 AM
Scrippsnews contributor Star Parker writes, "According to NCLB, students in failing schools must be notified and permitted to transfer to another school. We have found that 250,000, about 30 percent, of the students in the LA system are eligible for such transfers, yet notification is not being given and there have only been only slightly more than 500 transfers."

COLOR NEW YORK CITY'S SCHOOLS ROSY

Date Captured	Saturday September 02 2006, 8:47 AM
NY Post DAVID ANDREATTA writes, "Beginning this month, high-schoolers will be issued glossy cards outlining the number of credits and Regents exam standards needed to graduate. The cards will be color coded in accordance to the year they entered high school and will date to 2001, for those starting their sixth year of high school."

Get a job or get out

Date Captured	Friday September 01 2006, 10:38 AM
NY Daily News opined on AP positions, "But union boss Jill Levy rejects the thought of empowering the city's school chiefs. Why? Because assistant principals make up most of her union, and she insists on preserving the job security even of lemons that no one wants. In fact, she takes great umbrage at Klein's characterization of her desk jockeys in the making."

Charters boost Philadelphia's schools' showing

Date Captured

Friday September 01 2006, 9:04 AM

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on charter schools, "Five of the 22 schools run by Edison made the goal, down from seven last year. One Victory school qualified, down from three. Overall, 11 of the 43 schools run by Edison, Victory, Foundations Inc., Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Universal Companies met goals, down from 15. Only Foundations added a school. Vallas said the district would consider the test results as part of an internal evaluation of the outside managers."

KLEIN BLOWS THE WHISTLE

Date Captured	Friday September 01 2006, 8:20 AM
NY Post opined, "Surely the public would like to hear why these people have to be given "make-work" jobs . . . rather than be let go. Surely the public would like to know why a union would be organized to permit - indeed, encourage - one part of its membership to undermine the efficiency of another."

CALIFORNIA API AND AYP SCORES RELEASED TODAY HIGHLIGHT API’S FLAWS AS A SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY MEASUREMENT

Date Captured

Thursday August 31 2006, 7:36 PM

California Business for Education Excellence (CBEE) again denounced the state’s Academic Performance Index (API) today as failing to accurately report student academic achievement and hold schools accountable. “The API growth targets are minimal, the scoring is confusing, and worst of all there is no accountability linkage to subgroup API scores making it much more likely that ethnic minority students, disadvantaged students and English Language Learners will continue to fall through the cracks,” said Jim Lanich, Ph.D., president, CBEE.

Financial aid records of college students examined in terrorist search

Date Captured

Thursday August 31 2006, 6:52 PM

USA Today Greg Toppo writes, "Project Strike Back is virtually unknown within the higher education community, even among top financial aid and admissions officials. The program was mentioned in a September 2002 Education Department report to Congress, noting that it had been initiated. And a May 2004 Government Accountability Office report on data mining noted that the program compares Department of Education and FBI data 'for anomalies. Also verifies personal identifiers.'"

No cure-all seen in bonus for principals

Date Captured

Thursday August 31 2006, 12:26 PM

The Baltimore Sun reports, "In education, principals' positions are becoming harder to fill, particularly in low-performing schools. As hundreds of principals in Maryland approach retirement, the federal No Child Left Behind Act is requiring states to impose penalties on schools that don't make adequate progress on standardized tests. That means principals could be putting their jobs at risk for taking on the toughest assignments."

Reminder: School chief serves board

Date Captured	Thursday August 31 2006, 9:45 AM
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Op-Ed contributor Cynthia Elliott, member of the Rochester Board of Education writes, "All the district goals should be developed by the board in conjunction with the superintendent, and any assurances that our long-term and strategic goals are achieved should emanate from those elected representatives."

Tweaking of 'No Child' Seen

Date Captured	Thursday August 31 2006, 8:57 AM
The Washington Post reports on NCLB, charter schools, and a national student "unit" tracking system, "Saying that the federal government has 'done about as much' as it can in many ways, Spellings [US Department of Education Secretary] noted that states need to do much of the remaining work on NCLB in order to meet the goal of reading proficiency by 2014."

NEW YORK CITY SCHOOLS AX 328 JOBS

Date Captured	Thursday August 31 2006, 8:39 AM
NY Post DAVID ANDREATTA reports, "The spokesman [NYC schools], David Cantor, said that $87.5 million has been trimmed from jobs related to teaching, counseling and administrative functions."

Late exam results test city parents' patience

Date Captured	Thursday August 31 2006, 8:22 AM
NY Daily News ERIN EINHORN and CARRIE MELAGO report, "'When the data are finally released, schools will get the information electronically, which Dunn [state Education Department spokesman] argued would make it 'more useful to them in helping children.' Parents also will be given user-friendly reports that explain how their child fared, he said."

New York City Chancellor Klein: We gotta keep the rejects

Date Captured

Thursday August 31 2006, 8:12 AM

NY Daily News reports, "Although the city's 1,400 schools still need to hire 22 assistant principals, none of the 44 administrators will be sent to schools where they aren't wanted. At a cost of $5.2 million, they will get paper-pushing jobs, Education Department officials said. The union contract prohibits administrators from taking teaching positions. The contract and state law also allow administrators to bump less-senior colleagues from their jobs."

Citizens must join call for education aid change

Date Captured

Wednesday August 30 2006, 11:53 AM

The Ithaca Journal guest columnist Cosimo Tangorra Jr. writes, "As superintendent of the Trumansburg Central School District, I join the Statewide School Finance Consortium in calling on the State to: * Provide an equitable school aid formula that addresses the disparities between wealthy and poor school districts. * Make the new formula easy to understand and manage. * Bring real fairness to school taxes. * Find a new method for funding education that relies less on property tax. * Make school funding more predictable, so school districts can plan long term."

SAT scores fall by largest margin in 31 years: Changeover to lengthier exam cited as national average drops 7 points

Date Captured

Tuesday August 29 2006, 8:45 PM

AP reports, "The new exam has been expanded from three hours to three hours, 45 minutes, and can take more than a full morning counting prep time and breaks. Some parents and fair-testing advocates predicted the longer exam would cause scores to decline, but the College Board said its research showed no drop-off in student performance as the test goes on. Still, the results will spark debate over whether the College Board -- also facing criticism over 4,000 incorrectly scored exams last year --was able to deliver a new test that is comparable to the old one."

Back to School: Performance data driving education now

Date Captured	Tuesday August 29 2006, 10:17 AM
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on data-driven education, "While the use of data can help to improve instruction, an ongoing problem is getting data quickly enough that it can be used effectively. State test results, for example, aren't available until well after the school year ends."

Rev. Al weighs protests: Upset over no-bid Ed deal

Date Captured	Tuesday August 29 2006, 8:32 AM
The NY Daily News reports, "'They're privatizing public education in New York without even telling anybody,' Sharpton said. 'If you're going to award something like this to people that have had controversy in the past, you at least want some kind of public discussion.'"

A helping hand, Brand: Time has come for NCAA to help prep athletes

Date Captured	Monday August 28 2006, 8:52 PM
AP reports, "At a time when the NCAA is stepping up accountability for poor academic performance with colleges and universities using data tied to academic progress and graduation rates, Brand said it's unfair to schools and student-athletes when the students arrive at college without the academic background to take college-level courses."

Audit finds sensitive data vulnerable at Arizona education agency

Date Captured

Monday August 28 2006, 8:20 PM

AP reports on the vulnerable systems, "The systems are used for a variety of purposes, ranging from teacher certification to tracking student attendance that is used to allocate state funding to school districts and charter schools. Confidential information kept on the department's computer systems include teachers' names, birth dates and Social Security numbers and students' names and birth dates, the audit report noted. Many of the security flaws have been noted previously but the audit found that only some of them had been fixed, the department said."

Alabama teacher coaches students, teachers

Date Captured	Monday August 28 2006, 11:27 AM
The Dothan Eagle reports, "In recent years the Alabama Reading Initiative and the No Child Left Behind Act have popularized the reading coach concept in schools."

Private 'whys' in school consults

Date Captured	Monday August 28 2006, 7:55 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The city's decision to dish out millions of school dollars for financial consultants without public scrutiny is the latest reason mayoral control of the education system must be reexamined, the teachers union boss charged yesterday."

A tally to avoid?

Date Captured

Sunday August 27 2006, 9:31 AM

The Journal News opined, "The violence-reporting process is more than five years old in New York, and wrought with problems — challenges complicated by the added federal performance requirements of No Child Left Behind, instituted three years ago. Still, New York remains only in a 'training' phase, with its Education Department continuing to clarify criteria and teach local administrators how properly to report violent incidents. Even the state Comptroller's Office is involved now, looking anew over shoulders because random audits of schools earlier this year found reporting compliance abysmal."

Schools hired guns' fat checks: No-bid contract doles out $17M in cost-cutting bid

Date Captured	Sunday August 27 2006, 8:31 AM
NY Daily News exclusive, ERIN EINHORN and MICHAEL SAUL report, "Seven of the high-powered consultants hired by City Hall to cut fat from the school bureaucracy are charging taxpayers more than a million dollars each for work over the next 18 months, the Daily News has learned."

Shed light on exams: New York should be more parent-friendly in explaining tests

Date Captured

Sunday August 27 2006, 8:02 AM

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opined, "A lot of this information is now available on the Education (New York) Department's Web site. But getting to it requires weeding through a lot of dense education-speak. The site, which should be regarded as a prime information source for literally millions of New Yorkers, lacks clarity and readability — two standards, by the way, of writing that the state purports to measure."

New York City Mayor Bloomberg and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush discuss accountability in public schools

Date Captured	Thursday August 24 2006, 12:51 PM
The Association for a Better New York will host a breakfast meeting on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 where New York City Mayor Honorable Michael R. Bloomberg and Florida Governor Honorable Jeb Bush will discuss increasing accountability and results in public schools. Register today.

Where's school voucher 'success' in Washington, D.C.?

Date Captured	Thursday August 24 2006, 8:28 AM
USA TODAY Op-Ed contributor Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, U. S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. writes, "Education Secretary Margaret Spellings claimed an administration 'success' with publicly funded private school vouchers in Washington, D.C. There is no factual basis for her claim."

Education Department working to fix web site glitch after data breach

Date Captured	Wednesday August 23 2006, 9:54 PM
AP reports, "The Web site program includes names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers and in some cases account information for holders of federal direct student loans. It does not involve those who have loans managed through private companies."

3 local Syracuse schools still on state list

Date Captured	Wednesday August 23 2006, 9:11 AM
The Post-Standard reports, "No local schools landed on the state's new list of 'persistently dangerous schools,' but 17 schools elsewhere in the state did, Education Commissioner Richard Mills announced Tuesday. But three Syracuse schools that went on the list a year ago - Fowler High and Shea and Grant middle - remain there, the state said."

ROSY REPORT ADDS UP TO NONSENSE

Date Captured	Wednesday August 23 2006, 7:53 AM
NY Post columnist Ryan Sager writes, "The answer is to give all parents - the people who know whether or not they feel their kids are safe enough at school - a choice. Open more charter schools, give parents vouchers and/or tuition tax credits, open up public-school choice to all families. Then persistently dangerous (and persistently incompetent) schools will be held accountable."

Scrap voucher plan, fully fund No Child law

Date Captured

Tuesday August 22 2006, 5:01 PM

USA TODAY Op-Ed contributor E. Jane Gallucci, President, National School Boards Association writes, "And contrary to Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings' assertion that vouchers 'complement' the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, they actually would render the law obsolete because private schools receiving tax dollars at the expense of public schools would not face the rigid public accountability standards to which public schools must adhere."

Schools' audit finds corruption

Date Captured	Tuesday August 22 2006, 8:20 AM
The NY Daily News reports on misuse of school funds in NYC and Long Island, "Kickbacks. Phantom payments. Using school funds to buy computers and cell phones for private use. Those are some of the more frequent examples of how local educators have mismanaged taxpayer dollars in recent years."

Ed contracts will be eyed after no-bid report

Date Captured	Tuesday August 22 2006, 8:14 AM
Daily News reports, "'The fact that the [Department] of Ed is now doing $120 million in no-bid contracts without any form of public review or vote or scrutiny by any outside body is outrageous.'" [Assemblyman James Brennan ]

California student tracking system receives a failing grade: Millions spent, yet state can't calculate dropouts

Date Captured	Monday August 21 2006, 5:20 PM
Union Tribune reports, "California has fallen far behind other large states with sophisticated student tracking systems, such as Texas and Florida, and cannot accurately calculate a basic fact about school performance: the dropout rate."

When it comes to schools, Texas parents know best

Date Captured

Monday August 21 2006, 9:08 AM

Chron.com contributor Dr. James Leininger funds private scholarships for low-income children and advocates enactment of school choice programs in Texas. Leininger writes, "Giving all parents the same ability to find the best school for their child gives power to parents to fulfill to the needs of their children. Under such choice programs, schools are no longer able to take students for granted, but instead must compete to convince parents that they will do the best job in educating their children."

Plattsburgh State requests teacher-education program extension

Date Captured	Monday August 21 2006, 8:30 AM
The Press Republican writes, "Under the Regents amended guidelines, after a college has been reviewed for accreditation and deficiencies have been found, it can apply for an extension by submitting an action plan to the state Education Department, which determines how much longer the school gets."

OL' COLLEGE PRY: POL PROBES SCHOOL PORK

Date Captured

Monday August 21 2006, 7:19 AM

NY Post correspondent GEOFF EARLE reports, "A powerful U.S. senator is demanding five New York colleges justify millions in federal pork-barrel funds sent to their campuses and reveal whether they've hired political muscle to get more taxpayer money. Among the schools getting a letter from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) are New York University, the State University of New York and Columbia University." Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Charles Schumer boasted last year about getting funds for Cornell University's Center for Grape Genetics.

New Hampshire outside school plan too outside the box

Date Captured	Sunday August 20 2006, 6:46 PM
The Herald opined on non-traditional for credit courses, "The program would allow students to substitute outside-the-school learning for classroom work to gain high school credit. For example, a student could get high school science credit for taking an Internet course on astronomy or get physical education credit for running in a road race."

Illinois Students’ 1st task: Prep for March testing -- mounting pressure has area school districts implementing a yearlong focus on standardized exams

Date Captured

Sunday August 20 2006, 8:11 AM

Rockford Register Star , “'No Child Left Behind has brought a form of accountability to public education it never had before,' Rockford Superintendent Dennis Thompson said. 'It has forced educators to look closely at what and how I am doing it, teaching it and assessing it. There are many positive points to NCLB, but it does need some tweaking.' For instance, it’s forced more-focused teaching — educational jargon for what can amount to fewer electives. In Belvidere, there’s been a de-emphasis for some students on such courses as art and music as they focus more on the tests’ cores of reading, writing and math."

Albany charter school hires new manager

Date Captured

Saturday August 19 2006, 9:48 AM

Times Union reports, "New Covenant has been plagued with academic performance and accounting problems. This spring, the State University of New York board of trustees placed New Covenant on probation for being chronically tardy with annual audits of its finances. It was the latest in a line of problems for the school. In 2004, the state forced the school to close its seventh and eighth grades, citing poor test scores and chaotic classrooms. SUNY trustees also placed New Covenant on probation between 2000 and 2002 because of concern over finances. That probation limited the school to 400 students."

Charter Schools and a Good Education

Date Captured

Saturday August 19 2006, 8:31 AM

Washington Post letter to the editor by NELSON SMITH, President, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools responding to DC schools superintendent on charter schools, "Mr. Janey [superintendent] was right when he said that we should focus on quality public schools. That's why charter schools are subject to greater scrutiny than other public schools and why competent overseers act on the results, even closing a school that does not reach its goals. Someday all D.C. public schools will be subject to those stringent standards. In the meantime, interrupting the supply of promising new charter schools is hardly the right move."

Illinois State achievement tests delayed, board of education says

Date Captured

Tuesday August 15 2006, 7:34 PM

AP reports, "The test results help schools develop or change curriculum. Schools have preliminary data, enabling them to do some analysis, but they don't have the details many rely on to fully assess their performance, Minton said. A state board of education official sent an e-mail to school administrators Friday saying 'it is very unlikely' they would receive complete results by the start of the school year, Minton said."

D.C. School Superintendent Janey calling for new charter schools moratorium, pending evaluations

Date Captured	Tuesday August 15 2006, 11:34 AM
The Washington Post reports, "Charter schools have proliferated in the District since they were authorized by Congress a decade ago. Last year, they enrolled more than 17,500 students. Enrollment in the traditional public school system, meanwhile, has plummeted from about 80,000 students to about 58,000."

Left behind: NCLB needs better accountability

Date Captured

Tuesday August 15 2006, 10:27 AM

Tallahassee Democrat opined on Washington Post Op-Ed written by NYC Mayor Bloomberg and Florida Gov. Bush, and Harvard University's Civil Rights Project study, "With growing concern about America's academic competitiveness, it's crucial that No Child Left Behind become more than a political tool for Washington and an inconvenient headache for states and educators. When even its supporters acknowledge the need for reform, it's time for Congress to act."

NO MORE EXCUSES FOR SCHOOL FAILURE

Date Captured	Tuesday August 15 2006, 8:43 AM
NY Post op-ed adapted from speech given by Joel Klein, New York City schools chancellor, "OUR reform strategy, which we call 'Children First,' is premised on the core belief that strong school-level leadership will result in high-functioning schools. Our aim is to accomplish three fundamental cultural shifts."

Kansas school districts spent millions to sue state

Date Captured

Monday August 14 2006, 11:57 AM

AP reports, "Kansas school districts have given more than $3 million to a nonprofit organization that funded a lawsuit against the state for more education funding, but it is unclear how the money was spent. Since 1998, 19 Kansas school districts reported contributing $3.2 million to Schools for Fair Funding, a nonprofit that sued the state after the Legislature approved only small funding increases to the education budget."

Arizona panel urging better auditing of school figures

Date Captured	Monday August 14 2006, 11:47 AM
AP reports, "A report issued by the Auditor General's Office [Arizona] said limited audits and reviews already conducted indicated the possibility of widespread inaccuracies in attendance figures reported by school districts and charter schools."

Don't pay kids to flee schools

Date Captured	Monday August 14 2006, 10:29 AM
USA Today opined on NCLB and America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids, "Federal accountability rules snagged struggling schools such as Rockefeller, which means Washington has a responsibility to lend a hand. That requires doing something more effective than handing out vouchers that encourage the most motivated families to abandon those schools."

'Dangerous' not always unsafe

Date Captured	Monday August 14 2006, 8:23 AM
The Dallas Morning News reports on NCLB school safety label, "Want an idea of how bad incident reporting is? In 2003 and 2004, TEA named 11 Texas schools as persistently dangerous. All 11 appealed their cases. And TEA eventually agreed to take all 11 off the list because of reporting errors."

Oklahoma senator asks University of Rochester: Retrace funding

Date Captured	Monday August 14 2006, 8:15 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "A U.S. senator [Tom Coburn] is demanding that University of Rochester and dozens of other top research universities across the country explain where federal funds earmarked for research went."

Mike joins 1st Bro Jeb to propose school fixes

Date Captured

Monday August 14 2006, 7:44 AM

NY Daily News reports on co-authored Washington Post opinion piece, "Florida and New York City are leaders when it comes to accountability in education," they [Bush and Bloomberg] wrote. The two listed several ways Congress should change the act as it faces reauthorization: Make standards meaningful, encourage student gains, recognize degrees of progress and reward and retain high-quality teachers."

How to Help Our Students: Building on the 'No Child' Law

Date Captured

Monday August 14 2006, 7:18 AM

Washington Post op-ed contributors Florida Gov. Bush and NYC Mayor Bloomberg opined on NCLB, "The opponents of accountability have seized on the problems with the No Child Left Behind Act in an effort to do away with the law altogether. That is wrong. A little common sense could go a long way toward making sure that the nation's accountability system is realistic, tough and fair. Incorporating these four basic lessons will allow us to realize the law's full promise and help children realize their dreams."

Indiana educators question value of school labels

Date Captured

Sunday August 13 2006, 12:02 PM

Journal Gazette reports on NCLB and state accountability systems, "The federal system compares grade levels with one another, year after year, and those not meeting the established passing rate – either as an entire school or one subgroup with as few as 30 students – are placed on a list and labeled as not making adequate academic progress. Indiana’s accountability system considers how students performed on the ISTEP+ over time and ranks schools in five categories: exemplary progress, commendable progress, academic progress, academic watch and academic probation. Other states with two systems have run into problems when one system lists the school as a good school and the other lists it as failing."

325 Arkansas schools not meeting NCLB standards

Date Captured

Thursday August 10 2006, 11:03 PM

Arkansas News Bureau reports on NCLB, parent involvement and accountability, "James [state Education Commissioner Ken James] urged parents whose children attend a school on the list to ask why the school failed to meet guidelines. 'Parents should always look at what has triggered a school to be in school improvement,' James said. 'While the level should raise some level of concern, there's a difference when the school has failed to sufficiently raise test scores for the entire population in both literacy and math as opposed to one subgroup of students missing AYP in one subject by a narrow margin.'"

Auditors reproach California charter schools

Date Captured	Thursday August 10 2006, 8:47 AM
AP reports, "A chain of charter schools overcharged the state more than $57 million over three years, reimbursed its top executives for expensive SUVs and paid thousands of dollars for employee parties at Disneyland, a state audit released Wednesday found."

Arrogance unaffordable

Date Captured	Wednesday August 09 2006, 2:51 PM
The Journal News opined on accountability, "Warning: In the current climate of a growing taxpayer rebellion against high property taxes, particularly in the suburbs, no school board can react to scrutiny of its books with defensiveness. That's just plain offensive — and could lead to contagious doubting of all districts' fiscal management."

Utica City School District denies request for records on after-school programs

Date Captured

Tuesday August 08 2006, 8:17 AM

Observer Dispatch reports, "'The regulations issued by the Committee on Open Government, which have the force of law, require that a denial of a request include the reasons,' Freeman [Committee on Open Government] said. 'All records maintained by or for the city school district fall within the coverage of the Freedom of Information Law. From there, the law requires that all records be made public unless an exception to rights of access can properly be asserted. No exception was referenced in the letter addressed to the O-D.'"

Official Response from the Board of Education to the Comptroller's Audit (including Appendices)

Date Captured

Monday August 07 2006, 11:35 PM

William Floyd UFSD response to State of New York, Office of the State Comptroller draft Audit Report of Examination dated May 16, 2006, "Given the extraordinary time and money that was invested in improving its practices, the Board, the administration and the taxpayers of the District looked forward to your office conducting a neutral, objective, impartial and constructive audit of our current practices. Specifically, we looked forward to knowing - - in accordance with your stated purpose - - what current practices should be corrected or improved. We hoped to rely on your considerable expertise in following your recommendations as they pertained to 'current and emerging fiscally related problems.'"

New government taking shape in Rochester: Huge city schools upgrade requires vigilant oversight

Date Captured	Sunday August 06 2006, 9:01 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opined, " A school construction inspector general may be needed to help audit these local programs. This is a historic overhaul of the city's public schools. The money is huge. The process must be right."

Illinois community college, state spar in court

Date Captured

Saturday August 05 2006, 1:20 PM

Pentagraph.com reports, "In November, the executive inspector general began investigating the community college. By March, the office issued subpoenas to the college's auditing firm, Kerber, Eck and Braeckel LLP, as well as the institution's board of trustees to produce audio and/or video recordings of most executive sessions held since May 2004. A recording of a November 2004 closed session was destroyed."

No Child Left Behind Act: Education Actions Needed to Improve Local Implementation and State Evaluation of Supplemental Educational Services (full study)

Date Captured	Saturday August 05 2006, 10:36 AM
GAO-06-758 August 4, 2006. "GAO examined (1) how SES [supplemental educational services] participation changed between school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005; (2) how SES providers are working with districts to deliver SES; (3) how states are monitoring and evaluating SES; and (4) how the Department of Education (Education) monitors and supports state implementation of SES."

Mount Vernon puts school bus line on warning

Date Captured	Saturday August 05 2006, 10:24 AM
The Journal News reports, "Over the past two years, parents and school staff members have registered numerous complaints, according to documents released to the parents under a Freedom of Information request."

Worker evaluations aid schools, taxpayers

Date Captured

Saturday August 05 2006, 10:12 AM

Poughkeepsie Journal op-ed contributors Doug Hieter and Stephen Hughes, trustees of the Hyde Park Central School District opined, "School boards generally recognize the public's frustration with ever-increasing budgets and struggle to balance the cost of education with the community's ability to pay. Not all decisions are popular or readily understood with a casual knowledge of the system. In the long run, individual steps a district takes are important in the context of the direction a district is heading and progress toward its goals. Tying pay to performance is fiscally responsible. Evaluating performance is academically responsible. This is the direction Hyde Park is headed."

LEP/ELL Student Statewide Assessment Policy/Title I Requirements

Date Captured

Saturday August 05 2006, 1:34 AM

New York State Education Department press release from Jean C. Stevens reads, "New York has been notified by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), based upon USDOE’s NCLB standards and assessment peer review process, that NYSESLAT can no longer be used for Title I accountability purposes, except as described below for students newly arrived in the United States. USDOE determined that New York’s use of NYSESLAT for ELA accountability was not consistent with the requirements of NCLB and directed New York to come into compliance with NCLB by the end of the 2006-07 school year. As a result, New York must administer its ELA assessment to LEP/ELL students who, as of January 3, 2007, have been enrolled in school in the United States (excluding Puerto Rico) for one year or more."

Plattsburgh city residents still fuming over rude, noisy college students

Date Captured	Thursday August 03 2006, 9:19 AM
The PressRepublican reports, "Residents are calling for stricter enforcement of city ordinances and increased accountability by landlords, some of whom seem more than willing to rent slums to students who, in turn, treat them as such."

Analyst warns against Los Angeles Unifed School District plan

Date Captured	Wednesday August 02 2006, 10:50 AM
Daily Breeze reports, "The city of Los Angeles' own legislative analyst has recommended that the City Council oppose Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plan to gain some control of the Los Angeles Unified School District, saying it threatens the balance of power in local government."

Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability

Date Captured	Wednesday August 02 2006, 9:43 AM

Hundreds protest 'waste' in North Rockland schools

Date Captured	Wednesday August 02 2006, 7:15 AM
The Journal News reports, "More than 200 people rallied yesterday to express their frustration over the North Rockland school district's handling of its budget."

Indiana state to help ease test language gap; To allow dictionaries, reading directions

Date Captured

Tuesday August 01 2006, 8:54 AM

The Journal Gazette reports, "Statewide, more than 35,000 LEP students attended Indiana schools during the 2005-06 school year – an increase of 364 percent in the last decade. And while the number of students has grown, lawmakers have done little in the way of additional financing to address the this population. Many states recently sought permission for alternative testing for LEP kids – including Indiana – but the federal government turned them all down. That means the LEP students who took a proposed alternative test called ISTAR last year will count as failures for the schools as far as the federal No Child Left Behind accountability program is concerned."

FIGHTING POVERTY; WHAT N.Y.C. NEEDS TO DO

Date Captured

Monday July 31 2006, 7:35 AM

NY Post contributor Richard D. Parsons, chairman & CEO of Time Warner Inc. and co-chair of Mayor Bloomberg's Commission on Economic Opportunity writes, "We know that poverty rates decrease when education rates increase. That is why the mayor and city schools Chancellor Joel Klein have worked so hard to bring accountability to our public schools and improve high-school graduation rates. While much progress has been made, much more needs to be, and can be, done at all levels. We need to give particular focus to preschoolers, and we need to make it easier for more of our young people to go to college."

School district protest organized

Date Captured	Sunday July 30 2006, 12:19 PM
The Journal News reports, "One issue, he [Cole-Hatchard] said, was that when members of the public ask the school board questions during their meetings, no answers are provided. He said even if the answers need to be researched, the school board should provide a response at their next meeting, or on the district's Web site."

All work & less pay for school nurses

Date Captured	Saturday July 29 2006, 6:33 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Due to a summer payroll glitch, the Department of Education says that 30 occupational and physical therapists at Public School 37 in Staten Island and 65 nurses working at schools around the city were not paid for hours worked in July."

REPORT-CARD REVOLUTION

Date Captured	Friday July 28 2006, 8:07 AM
NY Post columnist Ryan Sager writes, "The broad, squishy ideas of 'standards' and 'accountability' have been all the rage in education reform for some time. They were the basis for President Bush's No Child Left Behind law, which theoretically requires all public schools in America to make all students 'proficient' in English and math."

Secretary Spellings Announces Partnership with States to Improve Accountability for Limited English Proficient Students

Date Captured	Thursday July 27 2006, 5:10 PM
Washington, D.C. — "U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced a partnership with states to improve and develop fair and accurate testing designed for limited English proficient (LEP) students."

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT: Assistance from Education Could Help States Better Measure Progress of Students with Limited English Proficiency

Date Captured

Thursday July 27 2006, 9:57 AM

GAO July 2006 study, "The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA) focused attention on the academic achievement of more than 5 million students with limited English proficiency. Obtaining valid test results for these students is challenging, given their language barriers. This report describes (1) the extent to which these students are meeting annual academic progress goals, (2) what states have done to ensure the validity of their academic assessments, (3) what states are doing to ensure the validity of their English language proficiency assessments, and (4) how the U.S. Department of Education (Education) is supporting states’ efforts to meet NCLBA’s assessment requirements for these students."

School audit results in

Date Captured	Thursday July 27 2006, 9:03 AM
The Press Republican reports on Saranac Lake schools audit, "What criticisms the auditors did have were focused on the district's fixed-asset policy — how it accounts for what it owns, especially computer hardware and software. The district has about $1.3 million worth of computer equipment."

Fulton-Montgomery Community College moves to address concerns of accreditation group

Date Captured	Wednesday July 26 2006, 5:42 PM
The Business Review (Albany) reports, "One is in 'outcomes assessment,' which is the college's process of determining how well students meet the standards F-MCC has set for those earning degrees in various programs. The other is in how well the college is doing at meeting its overriding goals in areas such as student success and economic development."

Board Pulls Charter for Struggling D.C. School

Date Captured	Wednesday July 26 2006, 10:12 AM
Washington Post reports, "The D.C. Public Charter School Board revoked the charter of a 239-student school on Capitol Hill yesterday, saying that its history of poor financial management would not improve if it stayed open another year."

$17M Ed Dept. job set without bidding

Date Captured	Wednesday July 26 2006, 7:40 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said the contract 'seems to be part of a pattern' of no-bid deals handed out by the Bloomberg administration. Gotbaum argued that city contracts should only be awarded after a "strenuous" review process."

Investors Say Flaws at School Are Deeper

Date Captured	Monday July 24 2006, 7:50 AM
NY Times reports, "The problems at Interboro Institute, one of the largest, fastest-growing profit-making colleges in New York State in recent years, were deeper even than those outlined by the State Education Department last year, according to papers filed late on Friday in a class-action securities fraud complaint against Interboro’s parent, EVCI Career Colleges Holding Corporation."

SAT Group Can Do Better, Says Report It Commissioned

Date Captured	Thursday July 20 2006, 11:40 PM
NY Times KAREN W. ARENSON reports, "The College Board should acquire better scanning software, increase training for test center personnel and make other improvements in its procedures to help prevent errors in scoring SAT exams, according to a report released yesterday."

College Board Releases SAT Answer Sheet Processing Report

Date Captured	Thursday July 20 2006, 1:57 PM
Read the College Board SAT Report. (Requires Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer)

DC public schools auditors fault special-ed data

Date Captured	Wednesday July 19 2006, 9:17 PM
THE WASHINGTON TIMES reports, "Auditors had sought to determine whether foster children were getting the required amount of special education during the 2004-05 school year. They concluded that shoddy record keeping by the CFSA and the school system made the task nearly impossible."

Education Law Center sues NJ over access to information

Date Captured	Wednesday July 19 2006, 6:54 PM
AP reports, "An education advocacy group is suing New Jersey, claiming the state is illegally withholding information about how much it costs to adequately educate a child in the state's public schools."

'INSPECTORS' TO GRADE EACH SCHOOL

Date Captured	Wednesday July 19 2006, 7:17 AM
NY Post reports, "The educational watchdogs will write five-page, 1,500-word "quality reviews" rating the schools based on their two-to-three day observations of classroom instruction, data analysis and building safety."

N.C.A.A. and SEC Await Auburn’s Inquiry on Suspect Courses

Date Captured	Tuesday July 18 2006, 7:48 AM
NY Times (registration) reports, "In some cases, the courses in sociology and criminology involved no class time and little work."

Push becomes shove

Date Captured	Monday July 17 2006, 8:48 AM
The Journal News editorial, "A state senator rightly flexed an underused muscle last week, prevailing upon the College Board to release a report on scoring errors in the SAT college-entrance exam."

Teachers use data to tailor education

Date Captured	Monday July 17 2006, 8:00 AM
The Arizona Republic reports, "The Arizona Department of Education is not allowed to collect student data beyond what state and federal law requires. Student grades, discipline records and the names of teachers who taught them are among the things that cannot be legally tracked."

Let Principals Lead

Date Captured

Friday July 14 2006, 8:33 AM

New York Times (registration required) editorial writes, "City officials are understandably optimistic about the new principals who have replaced the leavers. But the newcomers cannot simply be told they’re accountable and turned loose. The city needs to provide them with the training, the support and especially the resources that are needed to tackle the gargantuan tasks that lie before them. And while the city is nurturing the new principals on one hand, it must stand firm in its struggles with the union on the other."

Commission proposes federal tracking of students to improve colleges' accountability

Date Captured	Thursday July 13 2006, 8:42 AM
Gainesville Sun reports, "A plan to track college students throughout their academic careers, and perhaps well into their time in the workforce, has some fearin