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Item(s) found: 343
FINAL REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMISSION ON School Safety
Date CapturedFriday February 22 2019, 7:21 AM
Mapping the Nation video
Date CapturedMonday April 28 2014, 12:00 AM
November 18, 2013 — U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Asia Society Vice President for Education Tony Jackson and other officials at the U.S. Department of Education introduce the Asia Society interactive project Mapping the Nation, which makes a case for a globally competent workforce and citizenry. (1 hr., 29 min.)
Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online Educational Services
Date CapturedTuesday February 25 2014, 2:51 PM
SHEEO NPRM FERPA MAY 2011
Date CapturedMonday August 05 2013, 10:35 PM
We have formally endorsed the suggestions from the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) and acknowledge the value of the specific comments and suggestions they have provided.
Status of the Department of Education’s Inventory of Its Data Collections
Date CapturedSaturday August 03 2013, 8:32 AM
1. What information will the inventory of Education’s data collections contain and when will the inventory be completed? 2. What process is Education using to catalog its data collections, and to what extent does that process include internal controls to ensure the accuracy of the information collected? 3. What are Education’s plans to make its data collection inventory publicly available?
National Education Data Model
Date CapturedSunday May 19 2013, 10:16 PM
he National Education Data Model (NEDM) is a P-20 data resource that provides a common framework and language for collecting, comparing, and using data to improve schools and answer important research and policy questions. NEDM is a project funded by the US Department of Education and coordinated by the Council of Chief State School Officers to: • describe relationships between and among data sets; and • create an open framework based on current standards to build education data systems.
WESTERN INTERSTATE COMMISSION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION (WICHE)
Date CapturedMonday April 08 2013, 11:39 PM
LEARNING REGISTRY screen shot
Date CapturedThursday March 07 2013, 9:08 PM
EPIC v US ED Reply
Date CapturedWednesday March 06 2013, 12:02 PM
2/15/13
EPIC vs US ED reply
Date CapturedFriday February 22 2013, 9:30 AM
FACT SHEET: UNLOCKING THE POWER OF EDUCATION DATA FOR ALL AMERICANS
Date CapturedFriday February 08 2013, 12:41 PM
EPIC V US ED Defendant Statement of ISSUES
Date CapturedTuesday February 05 2013, 11:26 AM
EPIC v US ED
Date CapturedMonday January 21 2013, 1:46 PM
PLAINTIFFS’ CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND MEMORANDUM OPPOSING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS AND MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Data De-identification: An Overview of Basic Terms
Date CapturedWednesday January 16 2013, 1:35 PM
PTAC-GL, Oct 2012: In addition to defining and clarifying the distinction among several key terms, the paper provides general best practice suggestions regarding data de-identification strategies for different types of data. The information is presented in the form of an alphabetized list of definitions, followed at the end by additional resources on FERPA requirements and statistical techniques that can be used to protect student data against disclosures
State and District Receipt of Recovery Act Funds
Date CapturedFriday September 21 2012, 3:09 PM
A Report From Charting the Progress of Education Reform: An Evaluation of the Recovery Act’s Role; SEPTEMBER 2012: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or the Recovery Act) of 2009 provided an unprecedented level of funding designed to “stimulate the economy in the short-term and invest wisely, using these funds to improve schools, raise achievement, drive reforms and produce better results for children and young people for the long-term health of our nation.”1 The distribution of Recovery Act funds was intended to reflect these multiple goals. Nearly $97.4 billion were allocated to the U.S. Department of Education (ED), of which $70.6 billion were awarded by ED for primary and secondary (K-12) education through existing and new federal programs.2 These funds were distributed to states and districts using formulas based primarily on population and student poverty and through competitive grants. In return for grants, Recovery Act recipients were required to commit to four core reforms or assurances: 1. Adopting rigorous college-ready and career-ready standards and high-quality assessments, 2. Establishing data systems and using data to improve performance, 3. Increasing educator effectiveness and the equitable distribution of effective educators, and 4. Turning around the lowest-performing schools.
EPIC v US ED : MOTION TO SUPPLEMENT THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD AND CONSIDER EXTRA-RECORD EVIDENCE
Date CapturedMonday July 23 2012, 6:23 PM
EPIC’S MOTION TO SUPPLEMENT THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD AND CONSIDER EXTRA-RECORD EVIDENCE
EPIC v US ED Scheduling Order
Date CapturedWednesday June 27 2012, 4:35 PM
SCHEDULING ORDER: In light of the joint report submitted by the parties, it is ORDERED that: 1. The administrative record will be due June 29, 2012. 2. Defendant’s dispositive motion will be due on July 27, 2012, with plaintiffs’ opposition and any cross-motion due on August 27, 2012; the reply and opposition to any cross-motion due September 26, 2012; and reply to any cross-motion due on October 10, 2012.
EPIC v US ED (US ED answer)
Date CapturedFriday May 04 2012, 2:53 PM
Learning Registry Index Solution – RFP Guidance SLC Project Document January 31, 2012 Copyright
Date CapturedSunday April 29 2012, 3:33 PM
The Learning Registry is a joint technology effort of the US Departments of Education and Defense, supported by public, private and nonprofit members who participate in various roles as educational content publishers, indexing and search providers, and content consumers.
Applications for New Awards; Carol M. White Physical Education Program
Date CapturedWednesday March 21 2012, 4:55 PM
Federal Register/Vol. 76, No. 60/Tuesday, March 29, 2011/Notices
EPIC v US Department of Education
Date CapturedThursday March 01 2012, 9:08 AM
EPIC has filed a lawsuit under the Administrative Procedure Act against the Department of Education. EPIC's lawsuit argues that the agency's December 2011 regulations amending the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act exceed the agency's statutory authority, and are contrary to law. The agency issued the revised regulations despite the fact that “numerous commenters . . . believe the Department lacks the statutory authority to promulgate the proposed regulations."
New York State Race to the Top Subgrants to Participating LEAs NOV 2010
Date CapturedTuesday February 14 2012, 12:08 AM
Race to the Top Subgrants to Participating LEA's (50% of Total) Based on Receipt of Letters of Intent total $348,323,000 in 2010.
“We’re From the Government and We’re Here to Help You”
Date CapturedWednesday January 25 2012, 12:29 PM
Speakers: Kathleen M. Styles, Chief Privacy Officer, U.S. Department of Education and Michael B. Hawes, Statistical Privacy Advisor, U.S. Department of Education The Department of Education administers the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and recently established a Chief Privacy Officer position to coordinate federal technical assistance on privacy and confidentiality to the education community. Kathleen will discuss ED’s privacy initiatives, both in schools and in connection with student longitudinal databases. The presentation will cover recently issued and forthcoming guidance documents and regulation changes. She and Michael Hawes will also discuss the difficult balance in releasing student data, about the need to both be transparent and protect privacy through disclosure avoidance.
NEW YORK: RACE TO THE TOP ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT
Date CapturedFriday January 20 2012, 2:57 PM
New York faces the ongoing challenge of communicating and collaborating with its various stakeholders. Similarly, the complexity of reviewing and approving Scopes of Work, budgets, expenditures, and evaluation plans for all of the State’s participating LEAs presented a formidable task that required a high level of strategic planning and logistical coordination by NYSED leadership. The State is working to overcome these challenges by investing in communication tools and leveraging other quality-control methods (such as a new online expenditure reporting tool) in order to increase its responsiveness and efficiency in the future.
APPENDIX A: FERPA Guidance for Reasonable Methods and Written Agreements
Date CapturedThursday January 05 2012, 5:57 PM
FERPA represents the floor for protecting [student] privacy, not the ceiling. PAGE A-5 Federal Register/Vol. 76, No. 232/Friday, December 2, 2011/Rules and Regulations.
FERPA: Guidance for Reasonable Methods & Agreements
Date CapturedTuesday December 20 2011, 4:45 PM
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 34 CFR Part 99 in the Federal Register (76 FR 19726)
Date CapturedMonday December 05 2011, 11:20 AM
SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education (Secretary) amends the regulations implementing section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), which is commonly referred to as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). These amendments are needed to ensure that the U.S. Department of Education (Department or we) continues to implement FERPA in a way that protects the privacy of education records while allowing for the effective use of data. Improved access to data will facilitate States’ ability to evaluate education programs, to ensure limited resources are invested effectively, to build upon what works and discard what does not, to increase accountability and transparency, and to contribute to a culture of innovation and continuous improvement in education.
US Education Department Model Notice for Directory Information
Date CapturedMonday September 05 2011, 12:21 PM
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a Federal law, requires that [School District], with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child's education records. However, [School District] may disclose appropriately designated "directory information" without written consent, unless you have advised the District to the contrary in accordance with District procedures. Directory information may include: Student's name; Address; Telephone listing; Electronic mail address; Photograph; Date and place of birth; Major field of study; Dates of attendance; Grade level; Participation in officially recognized activities and sports; Weight and height of members of athletic teams; Degrees, honors, and awards received; The most recent educational agency or institution attended; Student ID number, user ID, or other unique personal identifier used to communicate in electronic systems that cannot be used to access education records without a PIN, password, etc. (A student's SSN, in whole or in part, cannot be used for this purpose.)
Stolen Futures: A Forum on Child Identity Theft July 12, 2011
Date CapturedMonday July 25 2011, 5:26 PM
Session 3 TRANSCRIPT - Securing Children’s Data in the Educational System: Steven Toporoff - Federal Trade Commission. PANELISTS: Kathleen Styles, U.S. Department of Education; Michael Borkoski, Howard County Maryland Public Schools; Larry Wong, Montgomery County Maryland Public Schools; Richard Boyle ECMC, Denny Shaw i-SAFE, Inc. [This panel will explore the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and initiatives to protect children’s personal information in school systems. We will also explore lessons learned from a high-profile data breach involving student information. Finally, the panel will discuss outreach efforts to teach children, teachers, youth counselors, and school administrators about privacy and securing children’s personal information.]
Balancing Student Privacy and School Safety: A Guide to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act for Elementary and Secondary Schools
Date CapturedMonday July 25 2011, 1:51 PM
Many school districts employ security staff to monitor safety and security in and around schools. Some schools employ off-duty police officers as school security officers, while others designate a particular school official to be responsible for referring potential or alleged violations of law to local police authorities. Under FERPA, investigative reports and other records created and maintained by these "law enforcement units" are not considered "education records" subject to FERPA. Accordingly, schools may disclose information from law enforcement unit records to anyone, including outside law enforcement authorities, without parental consent. See 34 CFR § 99.8. While a school has flexibility in deciding how to carry out safety functions, it must also indicate to parents in its school policy or information provided to parents which office or school official serves as the school's "law enforcement unit." (The school's notification to parents of their rights under FERPA can include this designation. As an example, the U.S. Department of Education has posted a model notification on the Web at: http://www.ed.gov /policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/lea-officials.html.) Law enforcement unit officials who are employed by the school should be designated in its FERPA notification as "school officials" with a "legitimate educational interest." As such, they may be given access to personally identifiable information from students' education records. The school's law enforcement unit officials must protect the privacy of education records it receives and may disclose them only in compliance with FERPA. For that reason, it is advisable that law enforcement unit records be maintained separately from education records.
Addressing Emergencies on Campus June 2011
Date CapturedTuesday June 28 2011, 6:32 PM
United States Department of Education (USED) : Summary of two applicable Federal education laws administered by the Department of Education (Department): the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended. This Federal component is only one piece of what is necessary to consider in ensuring the safety of our Nation’s students, faculty, and school staff. A comprehensive and effective campus policy must incorporate all Federal and State policies regarding health and safety emergencies, education, student privacy, civil rights, and law enforcement, as well as specific local community needs.
Education New York comments re Student Privacy submitted to FERPA NPRM - May 23, 2011
Date CapturedMonday May 23 2011, 9:22 PM
Document ID: ED-2011-OM-0002-0001: Family Educational Rights and Privacy. The proposed changes to FERPA do not adequately address the capacity of marketers and other commercial enterprises to capture, use, and re-sell student information. Even with privacy controls in place, it is also far too easy for individuals to get a hold of student information and use it for illegal purposes, including identity theft, child abduction in custody battles, and domestic violence. Few parents are aware, for example, that anyone can request -- and receive -- a student directory from a school. Data and information breaches occur every day in Pre-K-20 schools across the country, so that protecting student privacy has become a matter of plugging holes in a dyke rather than advancing a comprehensive policy that makes student privacy protection the priority.
DQC: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Support for State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS)
Date CapturedFriday April 22 2011, 5:06 PM
Data Quality Campaign - The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides federal support to states to further build and promote the use of statewide longitudinal data systems. This document includes: 1. ARRA Overview and Data Systems; a. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; b. America COMPETES Act; 2. State Stabilization Funds and Assurances 3. Institute of Education Sciences State Longitudinal Data Systems Grants: a. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – IES Funding; 4. U.S. Department of Education Guidance on Implementation of ARRA : a. Fact sheet: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Saving and Creating Jobs and Reforming Education; b. Letter to Governors from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan c. Implementing the American Recovery Act – Letter from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
New York State Race to the Top Application
Date CapturedWednesday March 16 2011, 10:54 AM
New York State submitted its Phase II Race to the Top application to the U.S. Department of Education on June 1. On August 24, the U.S. Department of Education announced that New York State had been awarded $696,646,000 as a winner in the second round of the federal Race to the Top competition. The application and related documents are posted below: Selection Criteria and Competition Priorities (4.05 MB) Appendices (28.88 MB) Participating LEA Memorandum of Understanding and Preliminary Scope of Work (Exhibit I) (63 KB) Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (57 KB) The Regents Education Reform Plan and New York State's Race to the Top (RTTT) Application Summary | PDF (41 KB) Legislation in Support of Race to the Top Application
GAMMILL v USED - USA Merit System Board documents
Date CapturedMonday March 14 2011, 1:14 PM
Proposed regulatory (not statutory) change vastly expands term authorized representative well beyond these four 3 entities: Comptroller General of US, Secretary, Attorney General, and state or local education authorities. (See pages 10 and 11)
PAUL GAMMILL v U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Date CapturedMonday March 14 2011, 12:44 PM
Whistleblower Retaliation lawsuit filed by Gammill against USED for retaliation of sharing an illegal attempt to circumvent FERPA. Case Number: 1:2011cv00409; Filed: February 18, 2011; Court: District Of Columbia District Court; Office: Washington, DC Office; County: 88888; Presiding Judge: John D. Bates
The Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting
Date CapturedFriday March 11 2011, 7:35 PM
FERPA does not preclude an institution’s compliance with the timely warning provision of the campus security regulations. FERPA recognizes that information can, in case of an emergency, be released without consent when needed to protect the health and safety of others. In addition, if institutions utilize information from the records of a campus law enforcement unit to issue a timely warning, FERPA is not implicated as those records are not protected by FERPA. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, The Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting, Washington, D.C., 2011.
Basic Concepts and Definitions for Privacy and Confidentiality in Student Education Records
Date CapturedThursday March 03 2011, 1:21 PM
NCES 2011-601 This first brief discusses basic concepts and definitions that establish a common set of terms related to the protection of personally identifiable information, especially in education records.
Recommendations on Data Security and Privacy Protections
Date CapturedSaturday February 19 2011, 11:00 PM
Excerpted from the Data Protections Report submitted to the U.S. Department of Education’s Performance Information Management Service by Highlight Technologies on June 16, 2010. (Where is original report and comments?)
Campus Attacks:Targeted Violence Affecting Institutions of Higher Education
Date CapturedTuesday January 18 2011, 1:53 PM
The report included a recommendation that the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Department of Education, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation explore the issue of violence at institutions of higher education. Accordingly, the three agencies initiated a collaborative effort, the goal of which was to understand the scope of the problem of targeted violence at these institutions in the United States. In total, 272 incidents were identified through a comprehensive search of open-source reporting from 1900 [their typo] to 2008. The incidents studied include various forms of targeted violence, ranging from domestic violence to mass murder. The findings should be useful for campus safety professionals charged with identifying, assessing, and managing violence risk at institutions of higher education.
NCES 2011-602 Data Stewardship: Managing Personally Identifiable Information in Electronic Student Education Records
Date CapturedTuesday January 04 2011, 9:55 PM
SLDS Technical Brief - Guidance for Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) [A privacy and data protection program for student education records must include an array of rules and procedures for protecting PII held in the record system. It also must include a full set of public disclosures of the existence and uses of the information included in the data system, a description of all parents’ or eligible students’ rights to review and appeal the contents of an individual education record and of their rights and the procedures to appeal a violation. ]*****[A school directory may include PII such as a student’s name, grade level, and contact information. Taken by itself, the release of this information is not harmful to a student. However, when combined with the student’s Social Security Number or another identifier and the student’s education record, this information has the potential for violating a student’s right to privacy. The release of this combined record could lead to harm or embarrassment. Thus, the privacy and data protection program should focus on PII that will be maintained in the electronic student record system with its likely wealth of student data.2}
Directory Information Part 2 (This file is an audio 'wav' file)
Date CapturedSunday December 26 2010, 5:23 PM
Part 2 of EDNY comments on Data Quality Campaign webcast with US ED response.
Clash Over Student Privacy
Date CapturedTuesday March 09 2010, 5:05 PM
This document should not be shared due to copyright. Inside Higher Ed - [WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Education Department has fired the top federal official charged with protecting student privacy, in what the dismissed official says was a conflict with the agency's political leaders over their zeal to encourage the collection of data about students' academic performance. Paul Gammill says he was physically escorted out of the department's offices on a Friday morning last month after he refused to resign as director of the agency's Family Policy Compliance Office. Administration officials said that "[p]rivacy laws require us to keep certain employment matters confidential, so we cannot comment on Mr. Gammill. But Gammill, not so encumbered, maintains that he was dismissed because, on several occasions, he argued in internal meetings and documents that the department's approach to prodding states to expand their longitudinal student data systems violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which protects the privacy of students' educational records.]
Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)
Date CapturedFriday October 30 2009, 11:00 AM
Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232h; 34 CFR Part 98) applies to programs that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education (ED). PPRA is intended to protect the rights of parents and students .
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 CapturedThursday 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.
Huge Databases Offer a Research Gold Mine — and Privacy Worries
Date CapturedTuesday June 03 2008, 8:14 PM
By DAVID GLENN from the issue dated May 9, 2008 Chronicle of Higher Education, "Researchers have used the new databases to study many issues, including which high-school math courses are most important for college success and how exposure to adjunct instructors affects student retention. But the new education databases create obvious challenges for protecting student privacy — which is one reason most states have been slow to build them. Florida's education department takes elaborate steps to 'de-identify' its information before handing it to outside researchers. Despite those efforts, nervous officials in other states look at a system like Florida's and worry about potential violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or Ferpa. In March the U.S. Department of Education proposed new Ferpa regulations that might clarify the ground rules for the use of such databases, but it is far from certain that the new rules will make states more comfortable with the projects." http://chronicle.com -- Section: The Faculty -- Volume 54, Issue 35, Page A10
Student information found in recycle bin
Date CapturedThursday August 30 2007, 12:57 PM
Deseret Morning News reports, "Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), addresses, phone numbers and names of students fall into the category of 'directory information' and generally may be released by a school district unless the parents have objected in writing, said Jim Bradshaw, in the U.S. Department of Education. However, that doesn't release schools from the responsibility to dispose of records safely to protect student education records. 'That includes disposing of documents in a way that guards against unauthorized disclosure, such as shredding or burning,' Bradshaw said. 'Banks don't throw records in Dumpsters and schools are also obligated to protect the confidentiality of student records.'" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com 1 commentRecent comments Why indict the school on such a non-issue? Your article even cites... Owen | Aug. 30, 2007 at 8:54 a.m. Add your comment Stuart Johnson, Deseret Morning News Folders with student names and other information at Centennial Middle School in Provo are found in a recycling bin Wednesday. Most Popular Most Commented Detmer remains humble Cougs finalizing plans for Arizona Rocky says Buhler would be a 'disaster' Thursday Night Lights: Questions aplenty as Utes open at Oregon State tonight Bombard Comcast, not the dish folk Cousin is willing to risk his life Chinese victims of forced abortion are fighting back U.S. busts brazen ID theft ring in Utah Is there a 'workplace princess' at your firm? Mtn. woes? Try contacting Comcast direct 'Dawn' is an embarrassment 132 Utah mine owner Murray says Gov. Huntsman is jeopardizing 700 jobs 128 Cougar linebackers lead 'D' 96 At odds: Murray says Huntsman endangers jobs 94 The mtn. working for better exposure 90 Going independent not the solution to BYU's problems 89 Cougs counting down to rematch 88 MWC TV situation frustrating 87 Kirilenko praises Utahns, LDS to media in Russia 83 Ex-member of LDS choir pleads guilty in porn case 79 (Stories published in the last seven days with the most comments) Sports A & E LDS news Community Thursday Night Lights: Questions aplenty as Utes open at Oregon State tonight 29 Detmer remains humble 28 Behind the wheel — Roller derby makes women feel tough, sexy, empowered 3 Campgrounds will fill up this Labor Day weekend 0 Argentines fuel RSL victory 6 Concert review: Groban delights Salt Lake audience 0 Sirius channel to play Dead all the time 0 DVD reviews: 'Blades of Glory' tops DVD pack 0 Auditions 0 Wilson drops out of movie after his hospitalization 0 Anti-religion documentary includes visit to Salt Lake City 1 Idaho provides cash crop for Romney 0 Provo firm to produce movie on Emma Smith 6 Concert review: 'White Star' debuts at BYU 1 BYU Ed Week classes to air 0 Above the Rim — At Cloud Rim, Girl Scouts learn about outdoors and more 0 Touching nature — Syracuse park offers urban fishing, trails, wetlands 1 Helping hand 0 Artists to strum tunes at acoustic fest 0 Cherry Hill is celebrating 40 years 1 Columnists Contests Daily Index Education Family & Life Food & Dining Health & Fitness Help Line Home & Garden LDS Church News Local Births Marathon Mobile Politics Religion & Ethics Science & Tech Travel & Outdoors deseretnews.com: Home | Subscription services | Contact us | FAQ | Feedback | Jobs | Purchase photos | RSS | Privacy policy
Privacy issues curb teen-driver rules
Date CapturedWednesday August 29 2007, 8:24 PM
Chicago Tribune reports, "The law would have required school districts to submit information to the State Board of Education, detailing whether a student had been expelled, truant or who had dropped out of school. That information would then have been passed to Secretary of State Jesse White's office, which would have flagged the affected students and barred them from driving privileges. State education officials said they decided to delay enforcing the law after the U.S. Department of Education notified them that it violated the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, said Matthew Vanover, a spokesman for the state board. 'They told us it would be a violation ... for that information to be shared with the secretary of state's office,' he added."
Creating Critical Linkages between Education and Other Vital Services to Improve Child Welfare
Date CapturedTuesday August 21 2007, 6:59 PM
Tuesday, September 18, 11 am-1 pm (EDT) **Join us in person or via an interactive webcast** As part of the Data Quality Campaign's goal to provide a national forum for conversations about the power of longitudinal data, this Quarterly Issue Meeting will focus on states and communities that are building bridges between longitudinal education data systems and other public systems that track child outcomes, including not only a student's academic performance but also the child's overall quality of being. Featured presenters will include: Jay Pfeiffer, Florida Department of Education; Michelle Lustig, San Diego County Office of Education; Amanda Singer, Utah Department of Human Services.
Persistence and Attainment of 2003-04 Beginning Postsecondary Students: After Three Years
Date CapturedMonday August 20 2007, 2:42 PM
Findings showed that among the beginning students who were recent (2003) high school graduates, enrolled full time in the fall of 2003, and had bachelor’s degree plans, 70 percent were still enrolled at their first institution without a degree, 4 percent had attained a degree or certificate at their first institution, and 20 percent had transferred elsewhere without a degree by June 2006. Berkner, L., He, S., Mason, M., and Wheeless, S. (2007). Persistence and Attainment of 2003–04 Beginning Postsecondary Students: After Three Years (NCES 2007-169). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC. Retrieved August 20, 2007 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
US Department of Education -- Office of Inspector General (OIG) Perspective on the Unsafe School Choice Option
Date CapturedFriday August 10 2007, 8:14 AM
We suggest that the Department and Congress, in considering legislative changes, require states to ensure that their USCO policies meet the following basic requirements: 1) All violent incidents, according to state code, are factored into the PDS determination, without the use of disciplinary action qualifiers; 2) Benchmarks for determining PDS are set at reasonable levels that are supported by objective and reliable data; and 3) PDS are identified based upon the most current year of data. These suggestions are intended to affect immediate improvement of the USCO in its current state. However, based on our audit work and further research, there is an apparent reluctance to fully comply with the USCO provision. Therefore, we are also offering our perspective on more in-depth changes to the provision that should help USCO to be better received by the education community, and therefore, encourage more willing compliance. The lack of incentive to comply with USCO will need to be addressed and resolved in order for the provision to realize its full potential as a tool for improving the level of safety in our nation’s schools.
Engaging Parents in Education: Lessons From Five Parental Information And Resource Centers
Date CapturedThursday August 02 2007, 12:31 PM
The purpose of this guide, "Engaging Parents in Education: Lessons From Five Parental Information and Resources Centers," is to explain "how to" strategies that the Parent Information Resource Centers (PIRCs) use to improve or expand their parental involvement programs in public schools.
New York State ranks 44th in graduation rate
Date CapturedThursday August 02 2007, 8:15 AM
Times Union reports, "'We're a lot more honest, I think, than others,' said Education Department spokesman Tom Dunn. But he conceded that 'expectations must be much higher.' Yet the report found that New York, like many states, actually exaggerates its graduation rate in some instances. The report says the state told the U.S. Department of Education that 77 percent of its high school freshmen graduated in four years. But by what the report says is a more accurate measure, the figure was 12 points lower."
To Teach or Not to Teach? Teaching Experience and Preparation Among 1992-1993 Bachelor's Degree Recipients 10 Years After College
Date CapturedWednesday August 01 2007, 10:42 AM
The report provides an overview of teachers’ job satisfaction and, for those not teaching in 2002-03, the main reason for not teaching. The second section looks at graduates’ preparation for teaching, including the key steps of completing a teacher education program, serving as a student teacher, and earning certification. Finally, the report examines the main reasons graduates who never taught gave for deciding against teaching. Alt, M.N., and Henke, R.R. (2007). To Teach or Not to Teach? Teaching Experience and Preparation Among 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients 10 Years After College (NCES 2007-163). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts: School Year 2004–05
Date CapturedWednesday July 25 2007, 9:25 AM
This NCES brief publication contains data on revenues and expenditures per pupil made by school districts for school year 2004-05. Median per pupil revenue and expenditure data are reported by state, as well as values at the 5th and 95th percentiles. Data for charter schools are reported separately. There are also discussions on the different types of school districts, and other resources that may be helpful in analyzing school district level data. Revenues and expenditures for the 100 largest school districts are included, as well as federal revenues by program. Zhou, L., and Gaviola, N. (2007). Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts: School Year 2004–05 (Fiscal Year 2005) (NCES 2007-355). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 25, 2007 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=200735
Forum Curriculum for Improving Education Data: A Resource for Local Education
Date CapturedThursday July 12 2007, 7:00 PM
This curriculum supports efforts to improve the quality of education data by serving as training materials for K-12 school and district staff. It provides lesson plans, instructional handouts, and related resources, and presents concepts necessary to help schools develop a culture for improving data quality. National Forum on Education Statistics (2007). Forum Curriculum for Improving Education Data: A Resource for Local Education Agencies (NFES 2007-808). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Raymond Simon Offers Commencement Address at Brighter Choice Charter Schools 4th Grade Graduation
Date CapturedThursday July 12 2007, 9:47 AM
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Raymond Simon today highlighted the efforts of our nation's charter schools to empower parents and improve access to quality education for all students during a visit to Brighter Choice Charter Schools in Albany, N.Y. Offering the keynote address at the school's 4th grade commencement ceremony, Secretary Simon congratulated the students and teachers for their hard work to achieve the top ranking among Albany schools in English and math assessment scores. Additionally, Secretary Simon underscored the importance of No Child Left Behind reauthorization this year and touted President Bush's proposal to expand the availability of charter schools and provide more options for families.
Schools Move Toward Following Students’ Yearly Progress on Tests
Date CapturedFriday July 06 2007, 10:02 AM
NY Times reports, "Concerned that the traditional way amounted to an apples-to-oranges comparison, schools in more than two dozen states have turned to growth models. Now a movement is mounting to amend the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which is up for reauthorization this year, to allow such alternative assessments of student progress. Many urban educators contend that growth models are a fairer measure because they recognize that poor and minority students often start out behind, and thus have more to learn to reach state standards. At the same time, many school officials in affluent suburbs favor growth models because they evaluate students at all levels rather than focusing on lifting those at the bottom, thereby helping to justify instruction costs to parents and school boards at a time of shrinking budgets"
Dropout Rates in the United States: 2005
Date CapturedThursday June 28 2007, 9:02 PM
This report builds upon a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988. It presents estimates of rates for 2005, and provides data about trends in dropout and completion rates over the last three decades (1972-2005), including characteristics of dropouts and completers in these years. Among other findings, the report shows that in students living in low-income families were approximately six times more likely to drop out of high school between 2004 and 2005 than of their peers from high-income families. Laird, J., DeBell, M., Kienzl, G., and Chapman, C. (2007). Dropout Rates in the United States: 2005 (NCES 2007- 059). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 28, 2007 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
Evaluation of D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts After One Year
Date CapturedFriday June 22 2007, 8:56 AM
The report studies five key outcomes of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program: school differences; academic achievement; parental perceptions of school satisfaction and safety; student reports of school satisfaction and safety; and the impact of using a scholarship. The analysis estimates the effects of the program approximately seven months after the start of the students' first school year in the program and finds no statistically significant difference in test scores overall between students who were offered a scholarship and students who were not offered a scholarship. Wolf, Patrick, Babette Gutmann, Michael Puma, Lou Rizzo, Nada Eissa, and Marsha Silverberg. Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts After One Year. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2007.
Harpursville schools cleared of discrimination charges
Date CapturedWednesday June 06 2007, 9:24 AM
Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "The Harpursville Central School District has been cleared of charges that it discriminated against its female athletes. In a decision dated June 1, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights concluded there is insufficient evidence to support any of the three allegations filed against the rural Broome County district."
Ten States Awarded Grants to Help Expand School Choice
Date CapturedWednesday June 06 2007, 9:21 AM
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced today that ten states have been awarded a total of $284 million to help create new charter schools and increase the school choices that parents have to provide to their children.
With lawsuit looming, Spellings discusses No Child Left Behind
Date CapturedTuesday May 29 2007, 5:15 PM
AP reports, "U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings vigorously defended the No Child Left Behind Act Tuesday in Connecticut, which has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the education law." Additionally, "The Department of Education plans to approve growth models for up to 10 states in a pilot program, with five already approved and two others approved conditionally."
Secretary Spellings Approves Additional Growth Model Pilots for 2006-2007 School Year
Date CapturedSaturday May 26 2007, 8:44 AM
The Department intends to gather data to test the idea that growth models can be fair, reliable and innovative methods to measure student improvement and to hold schools accountable for results. Growth models track individual student achievement from one year to the next, giving schools credit for student improvement over time. The pilot program enables the Department to rigorously evaluate growth models and ensure their alignment with NCLB, and to share these results with other States.
Secretary Spellings Delivers Remarks at Manhattan Institute Education Conference
Date CapturedTuesday May 22 2007, 3:17 PM
Today in New York City, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings spoke at the Manhattan Institute Education Reform Conference to discuss the need to reauthorize No Child Left Behind (NCLB) this year. Following are her prepared remarks:
Secretary Spellings on U.S. Education
Date CapturedThursday May 17 2007, 6:34 PM
All Things Considered, May 17, 2007 · Michele Norris talks with U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. Spellings has been on the defensive this month amidst an ongoing scandal about the student loan industry and accusations from Congress that her department has not provided sufficient oversight. Spellings has been highly focused on higher education during her tenure, and will talk with us about how she is responding to the recent investigation.
U.S. Education Official Testifies Before House Homeland Security Committee
Date CapturedThursday May 17 2007, 6:26 PM
Today, Holly Kuzmich, deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Education, testified before the House Homeland Security Committee to discuss ways the federal government can help keep our nation's schools and college campuses safe learning environments.
U.S. Department of Education Awards $1.6 Million to Help Students Develop Strong Character and Good Citizenship
Date CapturedSaturday May 12 2007, 9:15 AM
The Partnerships in Character Education Program awards grants for up to four years to eligible state and local education agencies to design and implement character education programs that teach students core ethical concepts, such as: civics; citizenship; justice; responsibility; and respect themselves and others. Grant recipients must show how they have integrated character education into classroom instruction and teacher training. They also must involve parents, students and the community in the process. The projects are evaluated to determine their success in helping students develop positive character, reduce discipline problems and improve academic achievement. Projects also must increase parent and community involvement with the school.
Spellings Rejects Criticism on Student Loan Scandal
Date CapturedFriday 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.'”
Laptops a Bust
Date CapturedFriday May 11 2007, 8:14 AM
Post-Standard reports, "Although the number of schools with one-to-one computing is still growing - one study found that half the nation's largest school districts aim to be there by 2011 - a U.S. Department of Education study also showed other districts are abandoning the idea. The federal study concluded the laptops did not measurably improve grades or test scores."
Statement from Secretary Spellings on National Charter Schools Week
Date CapturedThursday May 03 2007, 8:34 AM
These schools [charter] are dispelling the myth that some children can't learn. By acting as laboratories for best practices, they are changing attitudes about education and they're getting great results for kids. Charters are also transforming urban education and tackling head-on our nation's stubborn achievement gap. They are proving that new approaches to education can work—that breaking tradition and taking risks can yield tremendous results for students. Through the groundbreaking No Child Left Behind Act, President Bush and I have supported a robust expansion of school choice options for students and parents, helping to pave the way for greater access to charter schools. Since 2001, the President has invested $1.4 billion in the Charter Schools Program to facilitate start-ups and spread clear information about successful schools and provided over $262 million for charter school facilities. We will continue to support charter schools as they strive to help students achieve their potential.
Secretary Spellings Seeks Public Comment on Campus and School Safety
Date CapturedSaturday April 28 2007, 10:35 AM
As part of this effort, Secretary Spellings today met with state and local leaders, educators, mental health experts, parents, students, and local law enforcement officials in Albuquerque, to determine how the federal government can best help states and localities keep students safe. Secretary Spellings announced that she is seeking public comment online at http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/dialogue.html in an effort to expand this important discussion and gather thoughts and suggestions from across the country. Secretary Spellings will consider these suggestions as she develops recommendations for a report to President Bush next month. "Nothing is more important to American parents than the safety of their children," said Secretary Spellings. "I invite all concerned Americans—parents, educators, law enforcement officials and students—to share their ideas about school safety online at safeschools@ed.gov. Together, we can strengthen our best practices, raise awareness of warning signs and help prevent tragedies."
Key Initiative Of 'No Child' Under Federal Investigation
Date CapturedSaturday April 21 2007, 9:39 AM
Washington Post reports, "Despite the controversy surrounding Reading First's management, the percentage of students in the program who are proficient on fluency tests has risen about 15 percent, Education Department officials said. School districts across the country praise the program."
Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2004-05 (Fiscal Year 2005)
Date CapturedThursday April 19 2007, 9:45 AM
This brief publication contains basic revenue and expenditure data, by state, for public elementary and secondary education for school year 2004-05. It contains state-level data on revenues by source and expenditures by function, including expenditures per pupil. Zhou, L., Honegger, S., and Gaviola, N. (2007). Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2004–05 (Fiscal Year 2005) (NCES 2007-356). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved April 19, 2007 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007356.
Education Department official's disclosure raises questions about oversight
Date CapturedFriday 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."
Govs Call for More Control Over NCLB
Date CapturedSunday April 08 2007, 6:31 PM
Infozine reports, "The NGA's [National Governors Association] recommendations include allowing states to decide the most appropriate way to test students; not requiring any new tests; differentiating consequences for schools that fail to make progress by a little or a lot; rewarding schools that perform well; and giving states grants to voluntarily benchmark themselves to international standards. Some suggestions reflect the battles individual states have had with the federal government over the law, such as alternate tests for students with disabilities, or allowing English learners more time to learn the language. Arizona and Virginia have clashed with the U.S. Department of Education for not giving the states more time to teach their foreign students English before testing them in reading. The governors also want fewer restrictions to consider a teacher 'highly qualified.'"
Building on Results: A Blueprint for Strengthening The No Child Left Behind Act
Date CapturedFriday April 06 2007, 11:04 AM
Building on Results: A Blueprint for Strengthening the No Child Left Behind Act sets forth the policy proposals of Secretary Spellings for reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act . U.S. Department of Education, Building on Results: A Blueprint for Strengthening the No Child Left Behind Act, Washington, D.C., 2007.
Secretary Spellings Announces New Regulations to More Accurately Assess Students With Disabilities
Date CapturedThursday April 05 2007, 5:01 PM
Under the new regulations released today, states may develop modified academic achievement standards based on grade-level content, and alternate assessments based on those standards, for students with disabilities who are capable of achieving high standards but may not reach grade level in the same timeframe as their peers. States may count proficient and advanced test scores on these alternate assessments for up to 2.0 percent of all students assessed when calculating adequate yearly progress (AYP) under NCLB. These regulations build on the flexibility provided for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, which allows states to count up to 1.0 percent of proficient and advanced assessment scores based on alternate achievement standards toward AYP calculation.
Effectiveness of Reading and Mathematics Software Products: Findings from the First Student Cohort
Date CapturedThursday April 05 2007, 9:16 AM
National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance study finds: "Test scores were not significantly higher in classrooms using the reading and mathematics software products than those in control classrooms. In each of the four groups of products-reading in first grade and in fourth grade, mathematics in sixth grade, and high school algebra-the evaluation found no significant differences in student achievement between the classrooms that used the technology products and classrooms that did not. There was substantial variation between schools regarding the effects on student achievement. Although the study collected data on many school and classroom characteristics, only two characteristics were related to the variation in reading achievement. For first grade, effects were larger in schools that had smaller student-teacher ratios (a measure of class size). For fourth grade, effects were larger when treatment teachers reported higher levels of use of the study product." Dynarski, Mark, Roberto Agodini, Sheila Heaviside, Timothy Novak, Nancy Carey, Larissa Campuzano, Barbara Means, Robert Murphy, William Penuel, Hal Javitz, Deborah Emery, and Willow Sussex. Effectiveness of Reading and Mathematics Software Products: Findings from the First Student Cohort, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 2007. Prepared under Contract No.: ED-01-CO-0039/0007 with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
When Schools Stay Open Late: The First Year Findings
Date CapturedTuesday April 03 2007, 6:20 PM
The first-year findings reveal that while 21st-Century after-school centers changed where and with whom students spent some of their after-school time and increased parental involvement, they had limited influence on academic performance, no influence on feelings of safety or on the number of “latchkey” children and some negative influences on behavior. [A “center” refers to after-school services operated in one school, and a “program” refers to one or more centers operated in one school district. The study measured impacts at the program level but not at the center level.] U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Under Secretary, When Schools Stay Open Late: The National Evaluation of the 21st-Century Learning Centers Program, First Year Findings, Washington, D.C., 2003.
Answering some of parents' most-asked questions about No Child Left Behind
Date CapturedTuesday April 03 2007, 10:09 AM
Arizona Republic reports, "The Arizona Republic sat down with Spellings to get answers to parents' most-asked questions about the centerpiece of the administration's education policy: the No Child Left Behind Act."
Remarks of Secretary Spellings at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference
Date CapturedSaturday March 24 2007, 8:44 AM
US Department of Education Press Release: In the last 50 years, American ingenuity has put a man on the moon, a rover on Mars, and computers in our businesses, our homes, and even our pockets. We launched the World Wide Web, mapped the human genome, and developed life-extending drugs and treatment for AIDS. Having every child on grade level by 2014 is another great goal, and it's one we can accomplish. With the right support for teachers, including new technologies, we will close the achievement gap and reach our goal of No Child Left Behind.
Reading First: States Report Improvements in Reading Instruction, but Additional Procedures Would Clarify Education's Role in Ensuring Proper Implementation by States
Date CapturedFriday 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.
Reynolds spotlights school safety programs
Date CapturedSaturday March 17 2007, 10:02 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Flanked by County Executive Maggie Brooks, Greece Supervisor John Auberger, Greece Central School District Superintendent Steve Achramovitch and other officials, Reynolds, R-Clarence, Erie County, outlined three federal initiatives in which schools may take part: The Safe School/Healthy Students initiative, a U.S. Department of Education program that provides school funding for violence and substance abuse prevention. The U.S. Justice Department's Weed and Seed program, which promotes collaboration with law enforcement, community service groups and schools to reduce community crime, weed out' criminals and 'seed' positive, proactive community groups throughout communities. The Department of Education's Emergency Response and Crisis Management Grant program, which provides money so schools can improve their emergency response plans. Reynolds also outlined the Gang Elimination Act of 2007, legislation he sponsored that is pending in the House and would require the U.S. attorney general to develop a national strategy to eliminate the illegal operations of international drug gangs in the United States."
The Mexican American Struggle for Equal Educational Opportunity in Mendez v. Westminster: Helping to Pave the Way for Brown v. Board of Education
Date CapturedWednesday March 07 2007, 11:46 AM
RICHARD R. VALENCIA, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the College of Education of the University of Texas at Austin writes, "Few people in the United States are aware of the central role that Mexican Americans have played in some of the most important legal struggles regarding school desegregation. The most significant such case is Mendez v. Westminster (1946), a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 5,000 Mexican American students in Orange County, California. The Mendez case became the first successful constitutional challenge to segregation. In fact, in Mendez the U.S. District Court judge ruled that the Mexican American students' rights were being violated under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Although the Mendez case was never appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, a number of legal scholars at that time hailed it as a case that could have accomplished what Brown eventually did eight years later: a reversal of the High Court's 1896 ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, which had sanctioned legal segregation for nearly 60 years." Teachers College Record Volume 107 Number 3, 2005, p. 389-423 http://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 11792, Date Accessed: 3/7/2007 11:44:54 AM
Three Georgia schools getting 'character education' grants
Date CapturedSaturday March 03 2007, 1:23 PM
Accessnorthga.com reports, "Each school staff will receive training, coaching and high quality professional learning from national trainers and Pioneer RESA staff. "
U.S. details funds at risk if Virginia English learners aren't tested
Date CapturedWednesday February 28 2007, 2:34 PM
AP reports, "The U.S. Department of Education has detailed how much money Virginia school divisions could lose if they disobey a law that requires children who are trying to learn English to take the same reading tests as their native-speaking peers, state officials said Wednesday."
No Child Left Behind is working because it provides accountability
Date CapturedTuesday 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."
Feds will withhold funds if Virginia English learners aren't tested
Date CapturedFriday February 23 2007, 7:33 AM
AP reports, "A top U.S. Department of Education official said Thursday that Virginia school divisions will lose federal funding if they do not comply with a federal law that requires children struggling to learn English take the same reading tests as their native-speaking peers.'
Virginia high-immigrant schools decry NCLB rule for English learners
Date CapturedTuesday February 20 2007, 8:44 AM
AP reports, "Officials in high-immigrant school districts are taking issue with the U.S. Department of Education's requirement that children still trying to learn English take the same reading tests given to their native-speaking classmates."
Sharing Information: A Guide to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and Participation in Juvenile Justice Programs
Date CapturedSunday February 18 2007, 9:00 PM
1997.Figures, charts, forms, and tables are not included in this ASCII plain-text file. U.S. Department of Education. Family Policy Compliance Office, Shay Bilchik, Administrator. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention The principal authors of this document are: Michael L. Medaris, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Ellen Campbell, Family Policy Compliance Office; Professor Bernard James, J.D., Pepperdine, University School of Law.
Households' Use of Public and Other Types of Libraries: 2002
Date CapturedTuesday January 16 2007, 10:35 AM
This ED TAB presents a series of tabulations that highlight households’ use of public libraries. Patterns of library use by household demographic, social, economic, and geographic characteristics are presented. Glander, M., and Dam, T. (2006). Households’ Use of Public and Other Types of Libraries: 2002 (NCES 2007- 327). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 16, 2007 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
The Achiever: January 2007 • Vol. 6, No. 1
Date CapturedSaturday January 13 2007, 9:12 PM
What's inside... Fifth Anniversary for No Child Left Behind, Empowering Parents, Spellings Speaks on International Education, Around the Country, Calendar, Q & A Glossary, News Show Celebrates No Child Left Behind, New Design for FREE Web Site. Source: U.S. Department of Education, The Achiever, [January 2007].
For Teachers, Being 'Highly Qualified' Is a Subjective Matter
Date CapturedSaturday January 13 2007, 10:22 AM
Washington Post reports, "Legal loopholes and uneven implementation by states and the U.S. Department of Education have diluted the law's impact on the teaching workforce, some education experts say. They say that meeting the standards of quality is more about shuffling paper than achieving two vital goals: ensuring that teachers are prepared to help students succeed and reducing the teacher talent gap between rich and poor schools."
U.S. Department of Education Seeks Nominations for American Stars of Teaching
Date CapturedWednesday January 10 2007, 6:22 PM
The U.S. Department of Education is seeking nominations for its fourth annual American Stars of Teaching project, which recognizes exemplary teachers who raise student achievement, use innovative classroom strategies and make a difference in their students' lives, Secretary Margaret Spellings announced today.
'No Child Left Behind' Law Up for Renewal
Date CapturedTuesday January 09 2007, 11:17 AM
NPR Larry Abramsom reports, "The Bush administration is using the law's fifth anniversary to urge reauthorization without changes. But the process won't be as simple as the adminstration once hoped."
Bush, Lawmakers Meet on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Education Bill
Date CapturedTuesday January 09 2007, 6:12 AM
Washington Post reports, "The No Child Left Behind law has pushed some states to weaken their standards to avoid consequences that arise when schools miss annual targets."
Spellings Celebrates Fifth Anniversary of No Child Left Behind Act with Speech to Education and Business Leaders
Date CapturedMonday January 08 2007, 8:02 PM
The address also reminded the audience of the administration's efforts over the past five years, why the law was so needed then, and why she and the President are pushing for renewal this year. "When President Bush first came to Washington back in 2001, the nation was ready for reform," Spellings said. "The President made No Child Left Behind his first priority, from his first day and his first week in office. And so did members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. Later today, we'll be back in the Oval Office with the President and Congressional leaders to talk about building on the progress we've already made. Renewing NCLB is one of the President's top priorities and I'm confident that Chairman Kennedy, Senator Enzi, Chairman Miller, and Representative McKeon will continue to be strong supporters.
NYSED Update on Limited English Proficient/English Language Learner (LEP/ELL
Date CapturedTuesday January 02 2007, 8:09 AM
New York state education Commissioner Mills has issued a field memorandum regarding the Regents and Department's efforts to advocate for change in the federal policy that requires all English language learners (ELLs) who have been in this country for more than one year to take their state's English language arts tests. Even as the Department works to change the U.S. Department of Education's policy, we must follow the law and implement the policy during this coming year. The field memorandum identifies a number of additional steps the Department has undertaken at various levels to help our ELL students.
A New Year for School Reform
Date CapturedSunday December 31 2006, 9:46 AM
NY Times opined, "With the easy achievement gains already behind us, the next level of progress will require rigorous systemic change. The states, for example, will need to adopt rigorous examinations that track the federal test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, more closely. They will have to crack down on state teachers colleges that turn out poor graduates, and devise ways — including differential pay — to persuade highly qualified teachers to work in failing schools that they have historically avoided. To move forward, the country must also find new ways to support and transform failing schools, beyond labeling them failures and presuming that the stigma will inspire better performance."
Title IX watch over at Portsmouth Rhode Island school
Date CapturedFriday December 29 2006, 11:28 PM
Newport Daily News reports, "Portsmouth High School's new gym and renovated locker rooms provide equal facilities for girls and boys, according to a recent letter from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights that ends a three-year dispute over gender equity at the school."
Postsecondary Institutions in the United States: Fall 2005 and Degrees and Other Awards Conferred: 2004-05
Date CapturedWednesday December 27 2006, 10:37 AM
This First Look presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) fall 2005 data collection, which included two survey components: Institutional Characteristics for the 2005-06 academic year, and Completions covering the period July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005. These data were collected through the IPEDS web-based data collection system. Knapp, L.G., Kelly-Reid, J.E., Whitmore, R.W., and Miller, E. (2006). Postsecondary Institutions in the United States: Fall 2005 and Degrees and Other Awards Conferred: 2004-05 (NCES 2007-167). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 27, 2006 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
21 Kentucky schools take part in literacy program
Date CapturedWednesday December 27 2006, 9:05 AM
AP reports, "The program is called the Kentucky Content Literacy Consortium. It’s part of a $17 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education."
Problem Solving in the PISA and TIMSS 2003 Assessments
Date CapturedTuesday December 26 2006, 1:38 PM
NCES: When examining the outcomes of education at local, state, national, or international levels, one of the major concerns of educators is whether students are able to employ the knowledge and skills they have acquired in formal schooling and through daily living experiences to solve problems. Students’ capabilities to solve problems are necessary not only for the demands of everyday life—personal, social, and public decisionmaking—but also for their future careers and their ability to continue learning in formal education settings. The purpose of this report is to compare and contrast features of the problem-solving tasks found in the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)." Dossey, J.A., McCrone, S.A., and O’Sullivan, C. (2006). Problem Solving in the PISA and TIMSS 2003 Assessments (NCES 2007-049). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 26, 2006 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
Report Says Poor Students Shortchanged
Date CapturedThursday December 21 2006, 3:45 AM
AP reports, "'We cannot close the education achievement gap in this country without addressing the funding gap which keeps our low-income and minority children at a disadvantage,'' Kennedy [Sen. Ted Kennedy] said in a statement Wednesday. 'States must take responsibility for ensuring access to resources for all our children, but the federal government has to do its part as well.'' Like the government, states also are failing to allocate their own school dollars in a way that targets the neediest students, the report says."
Education Study: Remake the Public Schools
Date CapturedWednesday December 20 2006, 8:26 AM
NPR interview, "New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce recommends a major overhaul of U.S. public schools. Commission member Harry Spence, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Social Services, and Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy, discuss the report."
Four New States Chosen for State Scholars Initiative
Date CapturedSaturday December 16 2006, 9:12 AM
Under the State Scholars Initiative, each state [Missouri, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Wyoming] will receive up to $300,000 during a two-year period to implement scholars programs in at least four school districts. Local business-education partnerships will work with students in those districts, encouraging them to take a rigorous course of study—one that will give them a boost no matter whether they go to college or straight to work.
Ulster BOCES job program trains disabled
Date CapturedSaturday December 16 2006, 8:55 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Ulster BOCES is one of among 100 federally funded Projects With Industry programs nationwide, coordinator Anthony Mignone said. BOCES received a $734,386 grant last year from the U.S. Department of Education to finance the program for three years. The program provides an opportunity for individuals with severe disabilities, including mental, physical and emotional, to get trained and be placed in jobs with local businesses and industries, he said."
Virginia schools superintendent asks feds for NCLB deadline extension
Date CapturedTuesday December 12 2006, 1:17 PM
AP reports, "Virginia's superintendent of public instruction made a direct appeal to federal education officials to give the state a year to implement new reading tests for children who are learning English."
Crime, Violence, Discipline and Safety in U.S. Public Schools: Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2003-04
Date CapturedTuesday December 12 2006, 11:20 AM
This NCES report provides a first look at select findings from the 2003–04 SSOCS data. Focusing on the three themes emphasized in the survey, descriptive statistics are provided on: the frequency of criminal incidents at school, the use of disciplinary actions, and the efforts to prevent and reduce crime at school. Guerino, P., Hurwitz, M.D., Noonan, M.E., and Kaffenberger, S.M. (2006). Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools: Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2003-04 (NCES 2007-302). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
New U.S. Department of Education Guide Showcases Charter High Schools Closing Achievement Gaps
Date CapturedTuesday December 12 2006, 9:29 AM
The U.S. Department of Education has released a new publication that highlights eight charter high schools that are using innovative methods to help close the achievement gap between low-income, minority, and special need students and their peers.
Charter High Schools Closing the Achievement Gap
Date CapturedTuesday December 12 2006, 9:01 AM
Prepared by WestEd for the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement. Study concludes, "Closing the achievement gaps that separate the academic performance of various subgroups of students is a central goal of current education reform efforts nationwide. Hard-earned progress has been made at the elementary school level, but high school students are not progressing nearly as well. Indeed, it is at this level that performance gains in general have been most elusive and chronic student achievement disparities among significant subgroups seem most intransigent. Yet success is not beyond reach. This guide profiles eight charter secondary schools that are making headway in meeting the achievement challenge. They are introduced here so their practices can inspire and inform other school communities striving to ensure that all of their students, regardless of their race, ZIP code, learning differences, or home language, are successful learners capable of meeting high academic standards." U.S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement, Charter High Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap, Washington, D.C., 2006.
NCES Kids Zone
Date CapturedTuesday December 12 2006, 8:39 AM
The NCES Students’ Classroom has been redesigned and renamed as the KidsZone. You'll still have the same tools to help you find schools, libraries, or colleges and the Create a Graph is still just a click away. You can find updated information on education or compare where you stack up to students from across the globe.
University of the State of New York, P-16 Education: A Plan For Action
Date CapturedMonday 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.
Arizona schools shorted millions in federal funding
Date CapturedFriday December 08 2006, 1:32 PM
Douglas Daily Dispatch reports, "Arizona schools are being shorted millions of dollars because of how federal officials parcel out funds to help students with limited English proficiency, according to a new report."
Why the Achievement Gap Persists
Date CapturedFriday December 08 2006, 3:41 AM
NY Times opined, "It’s impossible to brand No Child Left Behind as a failure, because its agenda has never been carried out. The law was supposed to remake schools that serve poor and minority students by breaking with the age-old practice of staffing those schools with poorly trained and poorly educated teachers. States were supposed to provide students with highly qualified teachers in all core courses by the beginning of the current academic year. That didn’t happen."
Dropout Rates in the United States: 2004
Date CapturedThursday December 07 2006, 10:17 AM
This report builds upon a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988. It presents estimates of rates for 2004, and provides data about trends in dropout and completion rates over the last three decades (1972–2004), including characteristics of dropouts and completers in these years. Among other findings, the report shows that in students living in low-income families were approximately four times more likely to drop out of high school between 2003 and 2004 than were their peers from high-income families. Focusing on indicators of on-time graduation from public high schools, the averaged freshman graduation rate for the 3 most recent years for which data are available shows an increase from 72.6 percent for 2001–02 to 73.9 percent for 2002–03 to 74.3 percent for 2003–04. Laird, J., DeBell, M., and Chapman, C. (2006). Dropout Rates in the United States: 2004 (NCES 2007-024). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 7, 2006 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
Statement by Secretary Spellings on the Release of Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2006
Date CapturedThursday December 07 2006, 7:57 AM
The federal government supports local efforts to improve school safety by providing assistance and lending expertise, along with $535 million this year to fund programs directly related to school safety. Other funding measures include: More than $1 billion through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant program since the grant was first awarded in 1999. $115 million over the past four years through the Department of Education's Emergency Response & Crisis Management grant program to improve and expand upon school crisis response plans, including $26 million this year for the School Emergency Preparedness Initiative to help elementary and secondary schools plan and prepare for threats, including shootings and gang-related activity. Through a partnership with the Secret Service, funding to train 74,000 local education and law enforcement personnel in threat assessment. Under Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence), $24 million since 2001 for schools impacted by violence to restore their learning environment.
The Charter State Option: Charting a Course Toward Federalism in Education
Date CapturedWednesday December 06 2006, 5:40 PM
Dan Lips, Education Analyst, Evan Feinberg, Research Assistant in Domestic Policy Studies, and Jennifer A. Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation conclude, "Beginning in 2007, policymakers should steer a course toward restoring state control of education by enacting a charter state option. Congress should allow all states to enter into an alternative contrac­tual arrangement with the federal government in which they would be freed from federal program mandates while taking responsibility for results. Such federalism would create an environment in which promising state and local education strate­gies can flourish."
State Library Agencies: Fiscal Year 2005
Date CapturedWednesday December 06 2006, 5:33 PM
This report provides a statistical profile of state library agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for fiscal year 2005. The report includes information on governance, collections and services, service outlets and staff, revenue, and expenditures. The data were collected through the State Library Agencies Survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Holton, B., Kroe, E., O’Shea, P., Sheckells, C., Dorinski, S., and Freeman, M. (2006). State Library Agencies: Fiscal Year 2005 (NCES 2007-300). U.S. Department of Education, NCES. Retrieved December 6, 2006 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
Alabama advances new way to track students
Date CapturedWednesday December 06 2006, 7:53 AM
The Birmingham News reports, "The U.S. Department of Education recently granted permission to North Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware, Arkansas and Florida to use the "growth" model - tracking each student year-to-year - as a pilot program to determine their progress toward state and federal goals."
Florida Gov. Bush vows national school reform
Date CapturedTuesday December 05 2006, 11:20 AM
"Miami Herald reports, "Flanked by Bloomberg, New York City schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein and Florida Education Commissioner John Winn, Bush said the 5-year-old federal law created by his big brother, President George W. Bush, needs to take after his A-Plus plan. The law is up for renewal by Congress next year."
Education New York Reader Writes....
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 1:00 PM
"I truly thought that an act about the school system was a great idea. I thought it was time to change the system. However the child that I was tutoring has started to fall through the cracks. Is this not what this act was in place for! I didn't think that it was when a child couldn't pass our tests that we would send them else where...? This is a frustrating process, that I really believe is not working. There should be more done for the children who work more with their right brain."
How the No Child Left Behind Act Punishes Schools with Disadvantaged Students
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 11:14 AM
This column asks whether NCLB accomplishes its objective, based on a recent study of Kansas and Missouri by William Duncombe, Anna Lukemeyer, and John Yinger, "As discussed in my previous column, a state can lower the share of its schools that are subject to federal sanctions by lowering its student performance targets. This strategy will not, however, save schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged students, which are, for reasons outside their control, the schools most likely to be sanctioned. However, a state could help to resolve the unfair treatment of schools with concentrated disadvantage by altering its own aid formulas. Existing state aid formulas do not adequately recognize the higher cost of education in these schools, but they could easily be adjusted to do so. The federal government could also encourage this type of response by revising NCLB to reward the states that do the best job of focusing their aid on the neediest school districts. Another possible reform to NCLB would be to increase both the amount of federal funds and the extent to which these funds are focused on the schools with the highest concentration of disadvantaged students."
Secretary Spellings Delivered Remarks at Federal Student Aid Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 9:17 AM
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today delivered remarks to some 3300 participants attending the 2006 Federal Student Aid (FSA) conference in Las Vegas. Attendees included financial aid officers and other officials of more than 2000 colleges and postsecondary institutions, as well as representatives of the lending industry, guaranty agencies, non-profit organizations, higher education associations, and software developers. Spellings says, "But more must be done to simplify student access to aid, to notify students of eligibility early, to target resources to the neediest students, and to minimize the risk of tuition inflation. As policymakers and legislators begin to look at this issue, we must make sure that we're offering long-term solutions that fix the system's underlying problems... without ultimately increasing the cost of higher education."
Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994-2005
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 8:55 AM
"This [NCES] report presents 11 years of data from 1994 to 2005 (no survey was conducted in 2004) on Internet access in U.S. public schools by school characteristics. It provides trend analysis on the percent of public schools and instructional rooms with Internet access and on the ratio of students to instructional computers with Internet access. The report contains data on the types of Internet connections, technologies and procedures used to prevent student access to inappropriate material on the Internet, and the availability of hand-held and laptop computers to students and teachers. It also provides information on teacher professional development on how to integrate the use of the Internet into the curriculum, and the use of the Internet to provide opportunities and information for teaching and learning." Wells, J., and Lewis, L. (2006). Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994–2005 (NCES 2007-020). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
New York City Schools hit on immigration bar
Date CapturedWednesday November 29 2006, 7:01 AM
NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "The report charges the vast majority of small schools either don't have services for so-called 'English language learners' (ELLs), who comprise almost 12% of the high school population, or exclude them altogether. It also says that immigrant families have less access to information about options for their kids. The city Education Department allows new schools to exclude both ELLs and special-ed students in their first two years because the schools are too new to properly serve those kids. It's a policy being reviewed by the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, which launched a probe after a complaint from a citywide group of high school parents. "
Taxes key to state schools' decline
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 1:56 PM
Contra Costa Times reports, "California spent $7,860 on each student in its public education system while states across the nation spent an average $8,807 per pupil in the 2003-2004 academic year, according to Ed-Data, published by the state Department of Education. By comparison, New York spent $12,408 per pupil that year. The consequences of this spending shortfall are crowded classrooms with high student-to-teacher ratios, older textbooks and facilities. California's student-to-teacher ratio is 20.6-to-1, while the U.S. average is 15.8-to-1, according to Ed-Data."
Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Students, Staff, Schools, School Districts, Revenues, and Expenditures: School Year 2004-05 and Fiscal Year 2004
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 2:21 PM
This NCES report contains information from the 5 Common Core of Data (CCD) surveys: the 2004-05 state, local education agency, and school nonfiscal surveys for 2004-05 and the state and local education agency school finance surveys for fiscal year 2004. The report presents data about the students enrolled in public education, including the number of students by grade and the number receiving special education, migrant, or English language learner services. Some tables disaggregate the student data by racial/ethnic group or community characteristics such as rural - urban. The numbers and types of teachers, other education staff, schools, and local education agencies are also reported. Finance data include revenues by source (local, state, and federal) and total and per-pupil expenditures by function. Sable, J., and Hill, J. (2006). Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Students, Staff, Schools, School Districts, Revenues, and Expenditures: School Year 2004–05 and Fiscal Year 2004 (NCES 2007-309). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Virginia Gov. Warner aids in education testing
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 9:59 AM
Dailypress.com reports, "Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings asking her to give Virginia more time to develop a new test to meet the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Warner's letter comes a month after the state board of education approved changes to the state's testing program to comply with the law."
Statement by Secretary Spellings on the 2005 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment on Science
Date CapturedFriday 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.
Bush Official Rules Out National Standard for School Testing
Date CapturedThursday November 16 2006, 5:59 PM
Bloomberg News reports, "The Bush administration has no intention of backing a single nationwide testing standard when it works with Congress to rewrite the No Child Left Behind law, a top Education Department official said today. David Dunn, the department's chief of staff and acting undersecretary, ruled out the idea one day after it was endorsed by the Council of the Great City Schools, representing 66 of the nation's largest urban school districts."
Placing College Graduation Rates in Context: How 4-Year College Graduation Rates Vary With Selectivity and the Size of Low-Income Enrollment
Date CapturedThursday November 16 2006, 5:23 PM
This NCES report shows that graduation rates dropped systematically as the proportion of low-income students increased, even within the same Carnegie classification and selectivity levels. Variations by gender and race/ethnicity also were evident. Women graduated at higher rates than men, and in general, as the proportion of low-income students increased, so did the gap between female and male graduation rates. The gap in graduation rates between White and Black students and between White and Hispanic students, on the other hand, typically narrowed as the as the proportion of low-income students increased. Horn, L. (2006). Placing College Graduation Rates in Context: How 4-Year College Graduation Rates Vary With Selectivity and the Size of Low-Income Enrollment (NCES 2007-161). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Most Students in Big Cities Lag Badly in Basic Science
Date CapturedThursday November 16 2006, 3:33 AM
NY Times DIANA JEAN SCHEMO reports, "At least half of eighth graders tested in science failed to demonstrate even a basic understanding of the subject in 9 of 10 major cities, and fourth graders, the only other group tested, fared little better, according to results released here Wednesday. The outcome of those tests, part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the nation’s report card, showed that student performance in urban public schools was not only poor but also far short of science scores in the nation as a whole."
NCLB Achieves Its Top Goal—Accountability
Date CapturedWednesday 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."
Academic Libraries: 2004
Date CapturedTuesday November 14 2006, 5:53 PM
The selected findings and tables in this NCES report, based on the 2004 Academic Libraries Survey, summarize services, staff, collections, and expenditures of academic libraries in degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report includes a number of key findings: During fiscal year (FY) 2004, there were 155.1 million circulation transactions from academic libraries’ general collection. During a typical week in the fall of 2004, 1.4 million academic library reference transactions were conducted, including computer searches. The nation’s 3,700 academic libraries held 982.6 million books; serial backfiles; and other paper materials, including government documents at the end of FY 2004. Academic libraries spent $2.2 billion on information resources during FY 2004. Holton, B., Vaden, K., and O’Shea P. (2006). Academic Libraries: 2004. (NCES 2007-301). U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 14, 2006 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
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 CapturedSunday 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.
Children Enrolled by Their Parents in Private Schools
Date CapturedFriday November 10 2006, 8:34 AM
The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was signed into law on Dec. 3, 2004, by President George W. Bush. The provisions of the Act became effective on July 1, 2005, with the exception of some of the elements pertaining to the definition of a “highly qualified teacher” that took effect upon the signing of the Act. The final regulations were published on August 14, 2006. This is one in a series of documents, prepared by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) in the U.S. Department of Education that covers a variety of high-interest topics and brings together the regulatory requirements related to those topics to support constituents in preparing to implement the new regulations. This document addresses significant changes from preexisting regulations to the final regulatory requirements regarding children enrolled by their parents in private schools.
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, Assistant Secretary of State Dina Powell to Lead Delegation of U.S. University Presidents to Asia
Date CapturedThursday November 09 2006, 8:16 AM
This historic pairing of the U.S. government and higher education leaders follows from a commitment made at the U.S. University Presidents Summit on International Education co-hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in January 2006. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is organizing high level delegations of college and university presidents, each led by a senior U.S. Government official, to key world regions to promote the value of U.S. higher education overseas and engage in discussions on the future and importance of international education.
School sports equality: Ed. Dept. ruling shows progress
Date CapturedThursday November 09 2006, 8:08 AM
The Ithaca Journal opined, "While we can debate at length about what subjects should be taught in our schools, one thing is clear: Teaching our students at an early age about equality is an important lesson that will only help them accomplish great things in life. Ensuring that lesson is communicated on our athletic fields is a solid step for everyone."
LIVE VIDEO WEBCAST --SCHOOL SAFETY
Date CapturedThursday November 09 2006, 8:07 AM
LIVE VIDEO WEBCAST: Wednesday, November 15, 2006. Live broadcast from 1:00-2:00pm EASTERN TIME.School Safety In the wake of recent school shootings and the subsequent White House Conference on School Safety, the U.S. Department of Education will present a one-hour Web cast to provide parents, educators, school administrators and local safety personnel with an opportunity to review their emergency management plans. The Department's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools will share successful strategies so that all who share the responsibility of protecting our children can learn more about how schools can help mitigate, prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from a crisis. Join the broadcast to learn how to take positive steps to prevent school violence and respond quickly and effectively if an incident does occur. The Web cast will offer many opportunities for viewers to ask questions via email and get answers from the presenters.
Institutional Policies and Practices Regarding Postsecondary Faculty: Fall 2003
Date CapturedTuesday November 07 2006, 12:32 PM
This NCES report describes recent hiring and retirement patterns as well as tenure-related changes and actions taken by public and private not-for-profit postsecondary institutions that offered an associate’s or higher degree in fall 2003 and participated in federal Title IV student aid programs. Nevill, S.C., and Bradburn, E.M. (2006). Institutional Policies and Practices Regarding Postsecondary Faculty: Fall 2003 (NCES 2007-157). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 7, 2006 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
Feds say New York misdirected $118 million in reading grants
Date CapturedSaturday 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."
Neediest schools to get helping hand
Date CapturedSaturday November 04 2006, 7:49 AM
Philapdelphia Inquirer reports, "Some Philadelphia teachers may be able to earn extra money for helping boost student achievement at schools in low-income neighborhoods under a $20.5 million federal grant announced yesterday. Part of the grant would be used to set up an experimental merit-pay program, which the Bush administration favors but unions generally oppose. The school district and its teachers' and principals' unions have now agreed to develop a pilot plan that will use the funds to reward educators at 20 struggling elementary schools who help students succeed."
Secretary Spellings Delivered Remarks at National Postsecondary Education Cooperative Symposium on Student Success in Washington, D.C.
Date CapturedFriday 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.
Group protests Title IX
Date CapturedFriday November 03 2006, 8:03 AM
Washington Times reports, "About 100 student-athletes rallied in front of the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education yesterday to demand reforms to Title IX, the oft-debated law that calls for gender-equity in college sports."
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 Nonresponse Bias Analysis
Date CapturedWednesday November 01 2006, 11:47 AM
This NCES technical report explores the extent of potential bias introduced into the U.S. TIMSS study through nonresponse on the part of schools. Data from the third cycle of TIMSS, conducted in April-June, 2003, are the basis for the analyses.The investigation into nonresponse bias at the school level for U.S. TIMSS 2003 samples for grades 4 and 8 shows that there was no statistically significant relationship detected between participation status and the majority of school characteristics that are available for analysis. Ferraro, D., and Van de Kerckhove, W. (2006). Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 Nonresponse Bias Analysis (NCES 2007-044). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 1, 2006 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
Where Are They Now? A Description of 1992-93 Bachelor's Degree Recipients 10 Years Later
Date CapturedTuesday 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.
Students In Vocational Education Classes With Enhanced Math Perform Better On Tests
Date CapturedMonday October 30 2006, 8:31 AM
Science Daily reports, "In the researchers' model for improving math skills, they simply emphasized the math already within the curriculum. Teachers worked to make math more explicit in a meaningful context. That means that the math usually found in textbooks is applied in real-life situations in their CTE classes. For example, in a building trades class, they will use the Pythagorean theorem as they construct a building. A key to the enhanced math success involved teacher professional development workshops and the partnering of CTE teachers and math teachers to create their own enhanced lessons."
Are Single-Sex Classrooms Legal?
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 7:46 AM
U.S.News & World Report writes, "But on October 24, the Department of Education announced new Title IX regulations based on the guidelines of a No Child Left Behind amendment. Old regulations allowed for same-gender classes only in rare cases like physical education and human sexuality classes. But lawmakers in 2001 wanted to make those rules more flexible, and so the new ones expand that option to any class or school that can prove gender separation leads to improved student achievement. The change could lead to a wave of single-sex classrooms and even schools in public systems across the country. But it will also likely lead to legal challenges."
New Jersey rejects federal sex ed money over abstinence rules
Date CapturedWednesday October 25 2006, 4:12 PM
AP reports, "The Corzine administration has rejected federal abstinence education money because new rules won't let teachers discuss contraception and requires them to describe sex outside marriage as potentially mentally and physically damaging. State health and education officials sent a letter Tuesday to the federal government saying such requirements contradict the state's sex education and AIDS education programs. The state had accepted the $800,000 each year since 1997, but said new rules give them little flexibility."
The No Family Left Behind Amendment
Date CapturedWednesday 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."
College aid is up, but tuitions are, too
Date CapturedWednesday October 25 2006, 7:14 AM
USA TODAY reports, "Published tuition and fee increases continued to slow, the report [College Board] says: •Public four-year university prices for in-state students rose 6.3%, to $5,836, vs. 7.1% last year, after two years of double-digit increases. •Private four-year university prices were up 5.9%, the same rate of increase as last year, to $22,218. •Public two-year college prices rose 4.1%, to $2,272, down from the 5.4% increase last year."
Federal Rules Back Single-Sex Public Education
Date CapturedWednesday October 25 2006, 3:16 AM
NY Times DIANA JEAN SCHEMO writes, "To open schools exclusively for boys or girls, a district has until now had to show a 'compelling reason,' for example, that it was acting to remedy past discrimination. But a new attitude began to take hold with the passage of the No Child Left Behind law in 2002 when women senators from both parties came out in support of same-sex education and asked the Education Department to draft guidelines to permit their growth. The new rules, first proposed by the Education Department in 2004, are designed to bring Title IX into conformity with a section of the No Child Left Behind law that called on the department to promote single-sex schools."
2003–04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04): Undergraduate Financial Aid Estimates for 12 States: 2003–04
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 2:28 PM
In addition to providing national estimates, the NPSAS:04 survey was designed to provide representative samples of undergraduates in public 2-year, public 4-year, and private not-for-profit 4-year institutions in 12 states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Tennessee. Prior NPSAS studies have not been representative at the state level. For the in-state undergraduates in each of these 12 selected states, the tables in this E.D. TAB show the average tuition and fees and total price of attendance, the percentages of undergraduates receiving various types of financial aid and the average amounts received, the average net price of attendance after financial aid, average financial need and remaining need after financial aid, cumulative student loan amounts, earnings from work while enrolled, and other aspects of financing an undergraduate education. Berkner, L., and Wei, C.C. (2006). 2003–04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04): Undergraduate Financial Aid Estimates for 12 States: 2003–04 (NCES 2006-158). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 24, 2006 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
Secretary Spellings Announces More Choices in Single Sex Education Amended Regulations Give Communities
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 10:35 AM
US Department of Education: U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced the release of final Title IX single-sex regulations that give communities more flexibility in offering additional choices to parents in the education of their children. Recognizing that some students learn better in a single sex class or school, the regulations give educators more flexibility, under Title IX, to offer single-sex classes, extracurricular activities and schools at the elementary and secondary education levels.
University at Arizona gets $3.5M to boost math education
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 7:27 AM
Tucson Citizen reports, "The National Science Foundation awarded UA [University of Arizona] a five-year, $3.5 million grant to improve the skills of would-be mathematics educators."
Massachusetts education resource center receives $3.5 million from US
Date CapturedSunday October 22 2006, 2:28 PM
Boston Globe reports, "The center's resources are not limited to four-year colleges; it also provides information about two-year technical schools, certificate programs, and other career development opportunities, according to Eisenstadt. Anyone can use the center free of charge."
Teacher Incentive Fund
Date CapturedSunday October 22 2006, 9:37 AM
US Department of Education -- The goals of this program include: improving student achievement by increasing teacher and principal effectiveness; reforming teacher and principal compensation systems so that teachers and principals are rewarded for increases in student achievement; increasing the number of effective teachers teaching poor, minority, and disadvantaged students in hard-to-staff subjects; and creating sustainable performance-based compensation systems.
NAEP State Comparisons
Date CapturedFriday October 20 2006, 2:44 PM
You can create tables that compare states and jurisdictions based on the average scale scores for selected groups of public school students within a single assessment year, or compare the change in performance between two assessment years. For example: See how the average reading score for male students in a particular state compares to the average reading score for male students in other states in 2005, or See how the change (from 2002 to the focal year) in reading scores for male students in a particular state compares to the change in reading scores for male students in other states.
Conference on School Safety
Date CapturedThursday October 12 2006, 12:24 AM
The White House: Welcome to "Ask the White House" -- an online interactive forum where you can submit questions to Administration officials and friends of the White House. Visit the "Ask the White House" archives to read other discussions with White House officials.
Bush Holding Summit on School Violence
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 9:05 AM
AP Ben Feller reports, "Compelled to respond to a spike in school violence, the Bush administration is hoping that a high-profile summit will get the word out about safety. President Bush called for Tuesday's conference after three shooting rampages in two weeks unnerved the nation. Communities in Colorado, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are still grieving."
President Bush's Radio Address
Date CapturedSaturday October 07 2006, 12:57 PM
Office of the Press Secretary, October 7, 2006: "As we work to keep our classrooms safe, we must also ensure that the children studying there get a good education. I believe every child can learn. So when I came to Washington, I worked with Republicans and Democrats to pass the No Child Left Behind Act, and I was proud to sign it into law. The theory behind this law is straightforward: We expect every school in America to teach every student to read, write, add, and subtract."
U.S. grant will fund 3 Buffalo centers
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 10:23 AM
Buffalo News reports, "A Buffalo nonprofit group that trains parents to help their children succeed in school has received a $4.5 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to open new centers in Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers. EPIC (Every Person Influences Children) estimates that the grant will allow it to work directly with more than 325,000 families in the next five years, most of them low-income and minority."
President Bush Says He'll Strengthen Education Policy
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 7:22 AM
LA Times reports, "The president said that parents are not necessarily getting information about students' progress quickly enough to switch a child's enrollment to another school if they think a change is necessary." Bush suggested school districts were not appropriate in their use of federal funds provided for tutoring.
Fact Sheet: The No Child Left Behind Act: Challenging Students Through High Expectations
Date CapturedThursday 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 CapturedThursday 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.
$11.6 Million in Grants Awarded for Highly Qualified Special Education Teachers, Early Intervention Personnel
Date CapturedThursday October 05 2006, 5:52 PM
The money will also be used to train specialists in early intervention and other aspects of services for students with disabilities, recognizing that the earlier children can be identified as being in need of services, the greater the likelihood they can reach their education potential.
75 New York School Districts Identified for Low Performance Among Students with Disabilities
Date CapturedThursday October 05 2006, 5:46 PM
New York State Education Department Press Release: The State Education Department has identified 75 school districts as “In Need of Assistance or Intervention” because of low performance among students with disabilities, Commissioner Richard Mills announced today.
Feel-good flags proposed for Nevada public schools
Date CapturedThursday October 05 2006, 12:39 PM
Las Vegas Sun reports, "The flag proposal corresponds with a request by Nevada officials - backed by no less than the state's congressional delegation - to measure the Silver State's schools differently. Rather than having to achieve hard targets, schools would be assessed by the percentage of improvement demonstrated over the prior year's test scores. The federal Education Department must approve the request."
NYSUT partners with baseball museum for education program
Date CapturedTuesday October 03 2006, 9:57 PM
New York Teacher reports, "NYSUT is a partner in the Hall of Fame's 'America Grows Inning by Inning' education program. Besides providing financial support — the program gets most of its funding from the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Museum and Library Services — NYSUT members and staff also help develop the standards-based curriculum and market the program to their colleagues."
National school violence conference set
Date CapturedTuesday October 03 2006, 12:58 AM
AP reports, "The Bush administration will host a conference next week to discuss the recent string of school violence across the country, the White House said Monday. Presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino said the conference will bring together education and law enforcement officials to talk about the nature of the problem and federal action that can help communities prevent violence and deal with its aftermath."
EDUCATION ISSUE
Date CapturedSaturday 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."
Is Your Child’s School Effective? Don’t rely on NCLB to tell you
Date CapturedFriday 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.
Is the Feds' Lesson Plan Working? YES: Expectations + Rigor = Promising Results
Date CapturedFriday September 29 2006, 12:19 AM
Op-ed by Secretary Margaret Spellings, in the San Francisco Chronicle on September 26, 2006, "Going forward, we are working closely with states to help them comply with NCLB. States that follow the 'bright lines' of the law—assessing students regularly, disaggregating data, hiring highly qualified teachers and informing parents about their options—may qualify for flexibility in measuring and reporting their results. We prefer collaboration to confrontation. Many states, including California, clearly have room to improve. But the bottom line remains the same. No Child Left Behind has added a fourth 'R' to reading, writing and 'rithmetic—results. We are beginning to see those results. And soon the world will, too."
School and Parent Interaction by Household Language and Poverty Status: 2002-03
Date CapturedWednesday September 27 2006, 3:35 PM
NCES: Language minority parents may face a number of challenges when trying to communicate or become involved with their child’s school. This Issue Brief describes school-to-home communication practices and opportunities for parent involvement at school as reported by parents of U.S. school-age students from primarily English- and primarily Spanish-speaking households during the 2002–03 school year. Among the findings: A greater percentage of students in English-speaking households than in Spanish-speaking households had parents who reported receiving personal notes or e-mails about the student; receiving newsletters, memos, or notices addressed to all parents; opportunities to attend general meetings; opportunities to attend school events; and chances to volunteer. Differences were still apparent after taking poverty status into account. This Issue Brief was prepared by Christine Enyeart, Juliet Diehl, Gillian Hampden-Thompson, and Marion Scotchmer of the American Institutes for Research.
Higher Ed Panel Calls for College Database
Date CapturedWednesday 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."
College overhaul called ‘overdue'
Date CapturedWednesday 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."
Secretary Spellings Announces Plans for More Affordable, Accessible, Accountable and Consumer-Friendly U.S. Higher Education System
Date CapturedWednesday September 27 2006, 1:13 AM
Secretary Spellings has called for a privacy-protected student-level data system—similar to what currently exists for K-12 students—that would create a higher education information system and provide transparency and ease when students and families shop for colleges. Armed with this information, the Department's existing college search website can be redesigned and made more useful to answer such basic questions as how much a school is really going to cost and how long it will take to get a degree. In recent years, the number of non-traditional students has increased as more Americans of all ages seek additional degrees mid-career or attend college for the first time. Secretary Spelling's plan would facilitate their access to information on colleges, financial aid and provide data on affordability.
Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2003-04
Date CapturedWednesday September 27 2006, 12:53 AM
NCES: The data include such characteristics as the numbers of students and teachers, number of high school completers and the averaged freshman graduation rate, and revenues and expenditures. Several findings were: These 100 largest districts enrolled 23 percent of all public school students, and employed 22 percent of all public school teachers, in 2003-04. The 100 largest districts produced 20 percent of all high school completers (both diploma and other completion credential recipients) in 2002-03. Across these districts, the averaged freshman graduation rate was 68.8 percent. In 19 of the 100 largest districts the rate was 80 percent or higher. The rate was less than 50 percent in 8 of the 100 largest districts. Three states – California, Florida, and Texas – accounted for 41 of the 100 largest public school districts. Current per-pupil expenditures in fiscal year 2003 ranged from a low of $4,413 in Alpine School District, Utah to a high of $17,652 in Newark City, New Jersey. Dalton, B., Sable, J., and Hoffman, L. (2006). Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2003–04 (NCES 2006-329). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Experts: Education plan likely won't fly
Date CapturedTuesday 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."
NCLB's flaws cast Binghamton High in bad light
Date CapturedTuesday September 26 2006, 6:33 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin contributors Donald Loewen, assistant professor of Russian and Dale Tomich, professor of sociology at Binghamton University write, "Students who move out of the area are still considered Binghamton's responsibility if they don't officially register at another school. And students who move into Binghamton are considered the school's responsibility immediately, even if they show up a week before a mandatory test and the school has no chance to prepare them."
Publishers seek recourse after audit slams federal reading program
Date CapturedMonday 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."
President Bush Reading Program Gets Failing Grade
Date CapturedFriday 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 CapturedFriday 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."
Oregon reapplies to pilot way of assessing students
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 10:53 PM
AP reports, "Oregon has some key selling points in pitching itself as a candidate for the pilot program, including the development of a statewide database that allows for the tracking of a student's academic progress, even if they switch school districts."
Single-sex schools more common
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 9:13 AM
UPI reports, "The U.S. Department of Education is expected to release guidelines soon which could cause those numbers to exploded, Stateline.org reported. Administrators are caught between conflicting laws, the No Child Left Behind Act, which allows single-sex classrooms, and the 1972 law [Title IX] that bans gender discrimination."
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 CapturedTuesday 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."
The schoolyard bully
Date CapturedTuesday September 19 2006, 12:16 PM
Dick Iannuzzi, President, New York State United Teachers writes, "President Bush and his supporters in Congress have used NCLB as a weapon to punish schools instead of as a tool to improve them. Now they've turned that weapon on children with disabilities and children trying to learn English and adapt to a new culture." Iannuzzi additionally criticizes New York State Education Department (SED).
Secretary Spellings Delivered Remarks at the White House Conference on Global Literacy
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 8:02 PM
U.S. Department of Education press release: U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today joined First Lady Laura Bush at the first-ever White House Conference on Global Literacy in New York City. Secretary Spellings hosted a panel on Mother-Child Literacy and Intergenerational Learning.
Missouri teachers’ credentials checked
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 11:35 AM
The Kansas City Star reports, "Last month, the department essentially flunked Missouri and several other states over the mandate, putting them at risk of having school aid withheld. Kansas earned high marks for satisfying all six criteria. The big challenge in Missouri is proving compliance among veteran educators who earned their certification before a 1988 state requirement that teaching candidates pass a subject-matter test before earning a license."
Maine education head to challenge ruling on SATs
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 9:26 AM
Statehouse Reporter reports, "The federal government wanted more proof that the SAT was aligned with the curriculum, in general, and found it didn’t adequately measure progress in math. A second test will be added at the high school level measuring science and math next year."
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF LA RAZA [NCLR] APPLAUDS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S POLICY ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Date CapturedSunday September 17 2006, 7:16 PM
“Getting the No Child Left Behind law (NCLB) right is critical for Latino students, nearly half of whom are ELLs,” stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “The Department’s regulations strike a balance which ensures that ELLs get the attention they deserve but have often not received, while at the same time giving states time to help ELLs learn English and improve in other important subjects.”
Feds reverse ruling on Nebraska's assessment program
Date CapturedSaturday September 16 2006, 9:46 AM
AP reports, "Two months after rejecting Nebraska’s assessment system under the No Child Left Behind law, the U.S. Department of Education has reversed itself. Federal officials told Nebraska Friday that its system for testing students met standards."
Parental consent form one of many special education changes
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 10:54 PM
The Wilton Villager reports on 2004 reauthorization of the national Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] changes, "The teacher is required to change his or her teaching style, slow down, work in small groups and work one on one with the child before having the student evaluated for special education services."
IDEA 2004 Regulations -- Schedule of Community Meetings -- Sept. 26, 2006 -- Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006.
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 8:00 PM
To provide the public with an overview of the regulations, OSERS [Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services] will be hosting a series of community-based public meetings. These public meetings will serve two major purposes. First, the meetings will provide the public with an opportunity to learn about the major concepts and principle changes in the new regulations. Second, the meetings will serve as a mechanism for the public to learn about and obtain some of the many resources and supports available from OSERS to assist in the implementation of these regulations. A list of the meetings sites, and available information on the locations and times that have been finalized can be accessed through link. Please check regularly for updates on meeting locations and times as they become available. The reception will be followed by a presentation about the regulations, which will include a taped welcome from Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, information about the regulations and the Web site, as well as an opportunity to ask questions about the regulations and OSERS' implementation plans. Meeting are scheduled between Sept. 26, 2006 and Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006.
Secretary Spellings' Prepared Remarks to the National Conference of Editorial Writers Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date CapturedThursday 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."
Projections of Education Statistics to 2015
Date CapturedThursday September 14 2006, 11:31 AM
This NCES publication provides projections for key education statistics on enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary schools, and enrollment, earned degrees conferred, and current-fund expenditures of degree-granting institutions. For the Nation, the tables, figures, and text contain data on enrollment, teachers, graduates, and expenditures for the past 14 years and projections to the year 2015. For the 50 States and the District of Columbia, the tables, figures, and text contain data on projections of public elementary and secondary enrollment and public high school graduates to the year 2015. In addition, the report includes a methodology section describing models and assumptions used to develop national and state-level projections. Hussar. W.J., and Bailey, T.M. (2006). Projections of Education Statistics to 2015 (NCES 2006-084). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
228 New York High Schools Are Identified As Needing Improvement
Date CapturedWednesday 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.
Desegregation, Test Score Mandates Leave Schools In Lurch
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 8:31 PM
WRAL.com. reports on local North Carolina schools and NCLB, "Nationwide, 293 school systems are under desegregation orders. The U.S. Department of Education said Wednesday that nothing in the No Child Left Behind Act provides a school district with the authority to violate an applicable desegregation plan. On the other hand, they said the regulation clear clearly states that the existence of such a plan doesn't permit a district to avoid providing public school choice."
Rochester area schools shorted $44M by fed
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 5:16 PM
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "The Rochester area is being shorted $44 million in federal school aid promised under the No Child Left Behind Act, Senator Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said today while announcing a report detailing statewide school funding shortfalls."
Secretary Spellings Announces Final Limited English Proficiency Regulations
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 5:11 PM
The new Title I Regulation is intended to help recently arrived Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students learn English and other subjects while giving states and local school districts greater flexibility on assessment while continuing to hold them accountable under No Child Left Behind.
Nine local Mid-Hudson school still get failing marks
Date CapturedWednesday 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."
Eleven More New York City schools Fail to Meet State Criteria
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 1:42 AM
NY Times reports, "The designations mean that students in the schools, including a Manhattan charter school, two schools for recent immigrants, in Manhattan and Queens, which are open only to students with limited English skills, and a Brooklyn school that has won wide acclaim for its work with students at serious risk of dropping out, now have the right to ask for a transfer to a better school."
Illinois state's plan to raise special ed limit questioned
Date CapturedTuesday September 12 2006, 11:06 PM
Chicago Sun Times KATE N. GROSSMAN Education Reporter writes, "A proposal to raise the limit on special needs students in general education classrooms from 30 to 40 percent under certain circumstances and to do away with special education labels is raising red flags for some advocates and the state's [Illinois] largest teachers union."
U.S. Spends More on Education, Gets Worse Results, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Finds
Date CapturedTuesday September 12 2006, 7:32 AM
Bloomberg reports, "The U.S. spent about $12,000 per student, second only to Switzerland among the 30 OECD countries based on 2003 figures, the OECD said today in its annual report on education. The U.S. outperformed only five of the 30 countries on an OECD test given to 15-year-olds, ranked 12th in high school completion rates and averaged 23 students per class, higher than the average of 21."
No Child Left Behind not 'pure'
Date CapturedSaturday September 09 2006, 9:20 AM
Poughkeepise Journal opined, "Neither Congress nor the Bush administration should gloss over the concerns raised about No Child Left Behind — and the way it has been implemented. Overall, the act gets passing marks, but it is not close to an 'A' or the 99.9 percent mark Spellings wants to give it."
Highly Qualified, Highly Confusing
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 10:41 PM
Gilroy Dispatch (California) reports on NCLB and high qualified teachers, "Here's the sticky part: an intern teacher who has yet to spend a day in the classroom but has passed the CSET is considered qualified under the law, while a woman who spent the past 20 years teaching middle school English, but has a single subject credential in history is not."
$17 Million in Grants Awarded Under the Advanced Placement Incentive Grant
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 10:37 PM
Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced the award of 33 grants totaling $17 million to boost participation of low-income students in advanced placement courses and tests. The grant is being provided to states, school districts, and national education nonprofits to help increase advanced placement access rates for economically disadvantaged students.
Secretary Spellings Announces Partnership with 100 Black Men of America, Inc.
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 10:33 PM
According to the agreement, the U.S. Department of Education will seek "to fully engage the African American community and its leaders in the successful implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act as it relates to school choice, charter schools, supplemental services, parent report cards, and all of the benefits and options provided to parents with students in schools in need of improvement."
Certification and Private School Teachers' Transfers to Public Schools
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 10:25 AM
This Issue Brief was authored by Emily W. Holt, Mary McLaughlin, and Daniel J. McGrath of the Education Statistics Services Institute (ESSI). "In three out of four time periods, higher percentages of movers who held state certification in year two of the time period only switched to public schools than did those without regular state certifications in their main assignment in either year of the time period. In all four time periods for which data were collected, higher percentages of movers with regular state certifications in both years of the time period moved to public schools than did their peers without the certification. However, regardless of certification status, 11 percent or fewer of private school teachers changed schools during any 2-year period."
Four Million Children Left Behind
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 7:26 AM
WSJ Opinion Journal Op-Ed contributor Clint Bolick, president and general counsel of the Alliance for School Choice opined on NCLB, "The Polling Company surveyed Los Angeles and Compton parents whose children are eligible to transfer their children out of failing schools. Only 11% knew their school was rated as failing, and fewer than one-fifth of those parents (just nine out of 409 surveyed) recalled receiving notice to that effect from the districts--a key NCLB requirement. Once informed of their schools' status and their transfer rights, 82% expressed a desire to move their children to better schools."
New York state schools told to reach out to at-risk kids
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 6:26 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Johnson, [assistant secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education in the Bush administration], before serving as keynote speaker for a United Way fundraiser at Rochester Country Club on Wednesday, said improving education in urban districts can happen with a rigorous curriculum that applies to all students, excellent teaching, and comprehensive and diagnostic student assessments."
Feds decrease education grants to Connecticut
Date CapturedWednesday September 06 2006, 7:07 PM
AP reports, "Federal grants for programs and services required under the No Child law are based on U.S. Census poverty figures, so many New England states have seen their grants drop because of their relative affluence compared with other parts of the country, state education officials said."
Arizona educators see NCLB as good but cumbersome
Date CapturedWednesday September 06 2006, 1:17 PM
Eastern Arizona Courier reports, "As a group, the school administrators also conveyed the message that there needs to be better communication between federal and state education agencies and between those agencies and the public schools."
Computer and Internet Use by Students in 2003
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 11:00 AM
This report examines the use of computers and the Internet by American children enrolled in nursery school and students in kindergarten through grade 12. One of the more important findings presented in the report is that schools appear to help narrow the disparities between different types of students in terms of computer use. Differences in the rates of computer use are smaller at school than they are at home when considering such characteristics as race/ethnicity, family income, and parental education. DeBell, M., and Chapman, C. (2006). Computer and Internet Use by Students in 2003 (NCES 2006– 065). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Louisiana leading in improving teacher quality
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 8:43 AM
The Shreveport Times reports, "A recent U.S. Department of Education study singled out nine states for having assembled complete plans to accomplish the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind law. A team of 31 education experts hired by the department reviewed every state's plan and found that Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina and South Dakota met all standards"
National School Testing Urged: Gaps Between State, Federal Assessments Fuel Call for Change
Date CapturedSaturday September 02 2006, 10:23 PM
Washington Post Jay Mathews reports, "The growing talk of national testing and standards comes in the fifth year of the No Child Left Behind era. That federal law sought to hold public schools accountable for academic performance but left it up to states to design their own assessments. So the definition of proficiency -- what it means for a student to perform at grade level -- varies from coast to coast."
Massachusetts charter school facts in
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 10:49 PM
The Boston Herald reports, "In 2001, 19 percent of the [Massachusetts] charter schools performed significantly better than their district schools in English and 26 percent did so in math. From 2002 to 2005, some 30 percent outperformed district schools in both subjects (60 percent performed at the same level)."
$101.6 Million in Early Reading First Grants Awarded to 25 States
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 10:29 PM
U.S. Department of Education: Early Reading First programs focus on language, cognition and early reading so that young children enter kindergarten with the oral language, phonological awareness, print awareness and knowledge of the alphabet necessary to begin to learn how to read.
Charters boost Philadelphia's schools' showing
Date CapturedFriday 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."
Education Secretary Spellings spotlights early literacy
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 8:50 AM
The Providence Journal reports on funds granted, "The $3.6-million Reading First grant will be used to train childcare workers at four Providence daycare centers: Federal Hill House, West End Community Center, Genesis Center and John Hope Settlement House. The grants will also help the centers buy books and other materials to prepare children for kindergarten and first grade. The $3.3-million professional-development grant will pay for 250 hours of training in early childhood literacy for 200 childcare workers."
Tweaking of 'No Child' Seen
Date CapturedThursday 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."
Two Monroe County schools land physical education grants
Date CapturedWednesday August 30 2006, 9:43 PM
Rochester Business Journal reports, "The funds are administered by the U.S. Department of Education through the Carol M. White Physical Education Program. The program funds a variety of education agencies and community organizations to start, expand or improve physical education programs for students in grades kindergarten through 12."
Vanderbilt University to study link between teacher incentives, student performance
Date CapturedWednesday August 30 2006, 7:31 PM
The Tennessean reports, "A national research and development center designed to answer questions such as­ 'do financial incentives for teachers, administrators and schools affect student achievement?' will make its home at Vanderbilt University."
Education Secretary Spellings: No Child act needs no changes
Date CapturedWednesday August 30 2006, 6:16 PM
AP reports, "Spellings said her job is to present Congress with good data to help lawmakers do their job. She said she is open-minded about ways to improve the law. But when asked if she meant the law is truly '99.9 percent' close to working properly, she said, 'I think it is that close.'"
$23 Million in Emergency Response Grants Awarded to 26 States
Date CapturedWednesday August 30 2006, 6:04 PM
As part of the No Child Left Behind education reforms, local school districts must provide assurances that they have plans that outline how they are working to keep their schools safe and drug free.
Age 2: Findings From the 2-Year-Old Follow-up of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort
Date CapturedTuesday August 29 2006, 10:52 AM
This report presents information on selected child and family characteristics, on children’s mental and physical skills, on children's attachment relationships with their primary caregivers, on their first experiences in child care, and on their fathers. Mulligan, G.M. and Flanagan, K.D. (2006). Age 2: Findings From the 2-Year-Old Follow-up of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) (NCES 2006-043). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Back to School: Performance data driving education now
Date CapturedTuesday 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."
Louisiana leads in quality efforts: Plan ready for No Child Left Behind.
Date CapturedMonday August 28 2006, 8:50 AM
The Daily Advertiser reports, "A recent U.S. Department of Education study singled out nine states for having assembled complete plans to accomplish the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind law. A team of 31 education experts hired by the department reviewed every state's plan and found that nine states met all standards, Louisiana being one of them."
A tally to avoid?
Date CapturedSunday 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."
Hurricane Help for Schools: Providing Assistance for Schools Serving Students Displaced by Hurricane Katrina
Date CapturedFriday August 25 2006, 2:13 PM
US Department of Education website: Many schools are accepting students who cannot attend their own schools because of Hurricane Katrina. If your school is serving students displaced by the hurricane and if you need books, clothes, or other supplies, please state what you need.
Most parents are not in conflict with special education in school districts
Date CapturedFriday August 25 2006, 8:45 AM
Times Union Op-Ed TIMOTHY G. KREMER, Executive Director, NYS School Boards Association responds to Marc Brandt's commentary, "Let's not forget that the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that parents be integrally involved in program decisions regarding their children from the outset. They bring their perspectives and insights to a meeting of the professionals who make up the rest of the district committee on special education. Together they decide on an appropriate education program for the child. IDEA forbids considerations of cost from entering into the decisions despite the fact that special education costs are rising faster than other education costs."
Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities and Preschool Grants for Children With Disabilities
Date CapturedThursday August 24 2006, 11:20 AM
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education: The Secretary issues final regulations governing the Assistance to States for Education of Children with Disabilities Program and the Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities Program. These regulations are needed to implement changes made to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (Act or IDEA). DATES: These regulations take effect on October 13, 2006.
Where's school voucher 'success' in Washington, D.C.?
Date CapturedThursday 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."
Student Financing of Undergraduate Education: 2003–04 With a Special Analysis of the Net Price of Attendance and Federal Education Tax Benefits Statistical Analysis Report
Date CapturedWednesday August 23 2006, 3:35 PM
This NCES report provides detailed information about undergraduate tuition and total price of attendance at various types of institutions, the percentage of students receiving various types of financial aid, and the average amounts that they received. Berkner, L., and Wei, C.C. (2006). Student Financing of Undergraduate Education: 2003–04, With a Special Analysis of the Net Price of Attendance and Federal Education Tax Benefits (NCES 2006-186). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Statement by Secretary Margaret Spellings on Release of NCES Study on Charter Schools
Date CapturedWednesday August 23 2006, 9:37 AM
Secretary Spellings, "Charter schools are empowering low-income parents with new educational options and providing an important lifeline for families in areas where traditional public schools have fallen short of their responsibilities."
Scrap voucher plan, fully fund No Child law
Date CapturedTuesday 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."
Majority Of State's Most Dangerous Schools Are In New York City
Date CapturedTuesday August 22 2006, 4:35 PM
NY1 reports, "Eleven of them (persistently dangerous) are schools for special education students and city sources say those schools are usually exempt from list."
Rome Free Academy joins state's 'watch list' for potentially dangerous schools
Date CapturedTuesday August 22 2006, 4:24 PM
Observer-Dispatch CARA MATTHEWS reports, "Another 17 schools, including two in Rochester, have been added to the Education Department's list of 'persistently dangerous' institutions after recording a large number of serious incidents for two consecutive years, Commissioner Richard Mills announced."
Seventeen New York Schools Named As "Persistently Dangerous" Under NCLB,
Date CapturedTuesday August 22 2006, 3:57 PM
As required by NCLB: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, AUGUST 22, 2006. Persistently dangerous list includes NYC schools, Rochester, Buffalo charter school, and Berkshire Junior-Senior High School. New York State Education Department press release, "An additional 10 schools have been placed on a 'watch list.'" NYC, Buffalo, Rome, Wyandanch, Greenburg-Graham on "watch list."
A Closer Look at Charter Schools Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling
Date CapturedTuesday August 22 2006, 10:34 AM
NCES, "The school sample comprised 150 charter schools and 6,764 traditional public schools. The report uses hierarchical linear models (HLMs) to examine differences between the two types of schools when multiple student and/or school characteristics are taken into account. After adjusting for student demographic characteristics, charter school mean scores in reading and mathematics were lower, on average, than those for traditional public schools. The size of these differences was smaller in reading than in mathematics. Results from the second analysis showed that in reading and mathematics, average performance differences between traditional public schools and charter schools affiliated with a public school district were not statistically significant, while charter schools not affiliated with a public school district scored significantly lower on average than traditional public schools." Braun, H., Jenkins, F., and Grigg, W. (2006). A Closer Look at Charter Schools Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (NCES 2006-460). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
U.S. Education Department Grants Provide Over $11.6 Million for 23 Native Hawaiian Education Programs: Improving Innovative Education Emphasized Under No Child Left Behind
Date CapturedMonday August 21 2006, 9:55 PM
US Dept of Education announces, "Nearly two dozen Native Hawaiian Education (NHE) programs on Oahu, Maui and the island of Hawaii have been selected to receive $11,609,750 to develop, assist and expand innovative programs that provide supplemental services and address the educational needs of Native Hawaiian children and adults, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced today."
Single-Sex Versus Coeducation Schooling: A Systematic Review
Date CapturedMonday August 21 2006, 5:07 PM
"This report deals primarily with single-sex education at the elementary and secondary levels. Research in the United States on the question of whether public single-sex education might be beneficial to males, females or a subset of either group (particularly disadvantaged youths) has been limited. However, because there has been a resurgence of single-sex schools in the public sector, it was deemed appropriate to conduct a systematic review of single-sex education research."U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, Policy and Program Studies Service, Single-Sex Versus Secondary Schooling: A Systematic Review, Washington, D.C., 2005.
Metro Nashville grad rates rise by technicality: Schools count summer finishes for first time
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 6:34 PM
The Tennessean reports, "Metro Schools Director Pedro Garcia said the district has ramped up efforts to reduce dropouts. Some initiatives include help transitioning from middle to high school, support for struggling freshmen and classes that allow students to recover failed classes or pick up basic skills. 'Our grad rate is our number one goal,' Garcia said. Tennessee, along with many other states, was able to get special permission from the U.S. Department of Education to insert a one-year lag in the graduation rates."
The Condition of Education in Brief 2006
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 3:46 PM
Report topics covered "include: public and private enrollment in elementary/secondary education; projections of undergraduate enrollment; racial/ethnic distribution of public school students; student achievement from the National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading, mathematics, and science; adult literacy; status dropout rates; immediate transition to college; school violence and safety; educational attainment; parental choice of schools; expenditures for elementary and secondary education, and federal grants and loans to undergraduate students." Livingston, A. (2006). The Condition of Education 2006 in Brief (NCES 2006-072). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Kansas excels at adult education and literacy classes
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 3:21 PM
AP reports, "No other state adult education program in the country distributes, as Kansas does, as much as 88 percent of its state and federal dollars based on performance, said Steven Klein, a consultant with MPR Associates, a firm commissioned last year by the U.S. Department of Education to review performance-based funding models across the country."
No child left unshuffled
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 1:21 PM
The Courier-Journal (Kentucky) editorial opined on NCLB, "It's become ever clearer that education improvement depends on looking as hard and clearly at the children who are not succeeding as at the schools that aren't -- and looking at them not as members of sociological groups but as the individual packages of cognitive, emotional, biologic and familial traits that they are."
U.S. warns Hawai'i on qualified teachers
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 9:06 AM
Honolulu Advertiser reports, "A critical federal review labels the state as "high risk" for failing to provide adequate data to show whether poor and minority children are getting equal access to highly qualified teachers as required by federal law. Hawai'i was one of four states nationally to submit such a poor report under the latest No Child Left Behind requirements that the U.S. Department of Education said it's impossible to know whether the state's highly qualified teachers have been deployed equally."
California higher education migrant program gets first grad
Date CapturedSaturday August 19 2006, 7:50 PM
The Ukiah Daily Journal reports, "The College Assistant Migrant Program, or CAMP, is a college grant program funded by tax dollars that helps enable students who come from a migrant or seasonal farm-working background, to successfully complete their first year of college and then continue to enroll and complete each academic year after that. This program helps to provide students with financial assistance and support services, with the goal in mind of preparing them to continue their education at a four-year college or university."
Montana one of many states failing NCLB teacher equity requirements
Date CapturedThursday August 17 2006, 6:23 PM
AP reports, "The Education Department is asking the Montana Office of Public Instruction to do one of two things: either provide data showing that poor and minority children are taught by teachers with similar qualifications and experience as those who instruct other children, or submit a revised plan. McCulloch said Wednesday that the state would provide the department with more information, but that her office doesn't have the technology to collect information on teacher experience levels, which the department is requiring."
Feds to audit Utah teacher data
Date CapturedThursday August 17 2006, 9:38 AM
The Salt Lake Tribune reports, "Utah is experiencing unpleasant fallout after missing a July deadline for submitting a teacher quality plan to the federal Office of Education, as required under No Child Left Behind laws."
U.S. Department of Education Releases Results of State Plans for Highly Qualified Teachers in Every Classroom
Date CapturedThursday August 17 2006, 9:31 AM
US Department of Education announces, "Nine states developed plans that were recognized by the experts as satisfying all six criteria outlined in the guidance provided by the Department. These are New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Louisiana, New Mexico, Kansas, Maryland and Nevada. Thirty-nine states submitted plans that partially satisfy the six components and will be required to improve these plans and address the peer concerns by Sept. 29, 2006."
Highlights of the NCLB’s and IDEA’s Requirements for Teachers and Title I Paraprofessionals in New York State August 2006
Date CapturedTuesday August 15 2006, 6:37 PM
This Fact Sheet contains highlights of the New York State Education Department's (SED's) implementation of requirements related to teachers and paraprofessionals in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as reauthorized in December 2004. It is based on laws, regulations, guidance and technical assistance available at the time of its publication and is subject to change in response to additional information. For more detailed information about the NCLB's requirements in New York State, please refer to the series of field memos available online at http://www.highered.nysed.gov/nclbhome.htm
Left behind: NCLB needs better accountability
Date CapturedTuesday 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."
Opportunity for all children
Date CapturedMonday August 14 2006, 10:07 AM
USA Today op-ed contributor US secretary of Education Margaret Spellings opined, "President Bush's proposed America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids would help low-income families whose schools have failed to meet state academic standards for five or more years. Parents could use the scholarship money to transfer their children to a higher-performing public, charter, or private school or enroll them in an intensive tutoring program. For those cities and districts committed to meeting No Child Left Behind's goal of every child reading and doing math at grade level by 2014, this is an additional tool to help get them there."
Statement by Secretary Spellings on the Commission on the Future of Higher Education
Date CapturedThursday August 10 2006, 10:41 PM
US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings thanks the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, "I thank the Commission members, who hail from diverse backgrounds, for their single-minded dedication to this mission, and I look forward to receiving their final report in September. I also look forward to working with the higher education community as we move forward. I will review the findings, determine appropriate actions and continue this national dialogue on how to become more responsive to the needs of students, parents, educators and the business community."
Commission on the Future of Higher Education report gets OK
Date CapturedThursday August 10 2006, 7:21 PM
AP education writer Justin Pope reports on recommendations of the 19-member higher education commission created by Secretary Spelling, "The report, which will be delivered to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings in final form next month, recommends that the federal government consolidate its more than 20 financial aid programs and ensure that Pell Grants - the main aid program for low-income students - cover at least 70 percent of in-state tuition costs. In 2004-2005, the grants covered less than half."
US Department of Education representative defends ‘No Child’ program
Date CapturedThursday August 10 2006, 10:35 AM
The Times-Tribune reports, "The United States is in the midst of an international economic competition with countries such as China and India that demands the education reforms advocated by No Child Left Behind, a federal official said Wednesday."
Transfers Threaten Florida Class-Size Balance: State, federal laws collide
Date CapturedWednesday August 09 2006, 9:56 AM
The Ledger reports, "Title 1 schools have a majority of poor students and receive federal funding aimed at helping these students catch up in their school work. Title 1 schools face more severe consequences for failing to make AYP because of the additional funding."
Some students with limited English skills face new hurdle: State-ordered exam stirs Binghamton concerns
Date CapturedWednesday August 09 2006, 8:18 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "Until now, students with less than three years of U.S. schooling were exempt from the state ELA test, which is used to gauge whether schools are making adequate yearly progress for their students under No Child Left Behind. Instead, they could take a different test, the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test. But the federal government ruled this procedure fails to comply with No Child Left Behind rules, Stevens [Deputy Education Commissioner ] said."
Proposal Adds Options for Students to Specify Race
Date CapturedWednesday August 09 2006, 7:55 AM
NY Times reports, “'We basically have a continuous way of defining these categories that’s gone on for close to 40 years, and this is going to be a big change,' said Gary Orfield, the director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard, who said the proposal would harm the ability of researchers and civil rights groups to track race on campus."
NCLB produces more failure
Date CapturedTuesday August 08 2006, 9:57 AM
Telegraph Forum opined on NCLB, "The great majority of states, including Kentucky, have failed to meet another set of deadlines of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and so have evoked from Education Secretary Margaret Spellings yet more ominous threats, including the punishment of slashing their federal funding."
More Alabama schools get good grades under No Child Left Behind
Date CapturedTuesday August 08 2006, 12:52 AM
Dothan Eagle reports, "The Alabama Department of Education released information Monday showing that more than 87 percent of Alabama’s schools met the act’s goals for adequate yearly progress, up from 53 percent last year. Also, the number of schools making AYP for two years in a row has doubled."
New York changing test requirements for immigrant kids
Date CapturedMonday August 07 2006, 7:25 AM
The Journal News reports, "Education Commissioner Richard Mills outlined the changes in a letter last week to Assistant Secretary Henry L. Johnson of the U.S. Department of Education. Immigrant students who have been enrolled in U.S. schools for at least a year, as of January 2007, will begin taking the standard English language arts test in grades three to eight."
NCLB (US Department of Education)
Date CapturedSaturday August 05 2006, 5:12 PM
LEP/ELL Student Statewide Assessment Policy/Title I Requirements
Date CapturedSaturday 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."
More Students in New York Will Take Regular English Test
Date CapturedSaturday August 05 2006, 12:58 AM
NY Times DAVID M. HERSZENHORN reports, "Ordered by the federal government to improve its testing of students who speak limited English, New York State said yesterday that all children enrolled in school in the United States for at least a year would be required to take the state’s regular English Language Arts exam. The test is given annually in the third through eighth grades.
U.S. Issues New Rules on Schools and Disability
Date CapturedFriday August 04 2006, 12:20 AM
NY Times Diana Jean Schemo reports, "In regulations issued today after changes to the law, the federal Education Department said states could not require school districts to rely on that method, allowing districts to find other ways to determine which children are eligible for extra help."
Secretary Spellings Announces New Special Education Regulations: New regulations will help children with disabilities receive the services they need
Date CapturedThursday August 03 2006, 7:49 PM
"U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced the new regulations for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The final regulations further the president's goal that no child—including each and every one of America's many students with disabilities—is left behind. By aligning the regulations with the No Child Left Behind Act, there is a new focus on ensuring that students with disabilities are held to high expectations."
Federal Grants Promote Character Education in U.S. Schools
Date CapturedThursday August 03 2006, 7:25 PM
AgapePress reports, "For example, McKay[US Dept of Ed) says a growing number of school districts are using character education in their sports programs to teach young athletes perseverance, respect, and cooperation. And, she adds, some of the grants the program has coming out include partnering relationships with faith-based groups or institutions, which cooperate with the schools to design and implement character education programs"
Changes in Staff Distribution and Salaries of Full-time Employees in Postsecondary Institutions:
Date CapturedThursday August 03 2006, 8:26 AM
This NCES study examines the changes that occurred between fall 1993 and fall 2003 in the distribution of staff and average salaries of all full-time staff— faculty, administrators, and support personnel—at postsecondary institutions. Li, X. (2006). Changes in Staff Distribution and Salaries of Full-time Employees in Postsecondary Institutions: 1993–2003 (NCES 2006-152). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
States, Feds Partner on English Testing
Date CapturedWednesday August 02 2006, 7:45 PM
Infozine reports, "Twenty-four states [including New York] are being invited to work with the U.S. Department of Education to develop acceptable math and reading tests for students with limited English proficiency (LEP). Eighteen were chosen because a review last month found their testing systems, particularly those for LEP students, did not meet standards of the No Child Left Behind law. Six states with approved systems were invited to lend their expertise."
Maine counters No Child left Behind failure
Date CapturedTuesday August 01 2006, 6:20 PM
AP reports, "State officials believe a proposed withholding of federal funds is due primarily to the state's use of the S-A-T as a high school-level assessment tool, and that federal dissatisfaction reflects a lack of appreciation for Maine's effort to promote student advancement."
Current Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2003-04
Date CapturedTuesday August 01 2006, 11:47 AM
This NCES brief publication contains data on current expenditures, by state, for public elementary and secondary education for school year 2003-04. It also contains data by state, on median current expenditure per student by school districts, and current expenditures per student by districts at the 5th and 95th percentile. State average current expenditures per student are also included in this report. Johnson, Frank (2006). Current Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2003-04 (NCES 2006-352). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 1, 2006 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006352.
Don't Write Off Other People's Children
Date CapturedTuesday August 01 2006, 11:30 AM
This letter to the editor by Secretary Margaret Spellings appeared in The Wall Street Journal on July 31, 2006.
Single-sex classes attacked; ACLU challenges Louisiana school’s gender-division plan
Date CapturedTuesday August 01 2006, 9:06 AM
The Advocate reports, "The U.S. Department of Education released guidelines on single-gender education in public schools that outline how to implement such a program. The department is tasked with overseeing the federal education law, which prohibits denying a student access to a program based on gender."
Scholarship idea is not a big opportunity for blacks
Date CapturedMonday July 31 2006, 10:18 PM
USA Today DeWayne Wickham opined, "This latest voucher scheme, if implemented, would likely give a small percentage of students in underperforming schools an escape hatch. The rest would serve as guinea pigs for conservatives' argument that such a program will pressure public schools into doing a better job of educating those who are left behind."
Community Colleges Challenge Department of Education Move to Limit Availability of New Academic Competitiveness Grants
Date CapturedMonday July 31 2006, 7:25 PM
US Newswire reports, "The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has called upon the Department of Education (ED) to modify its regulations for the new Academic Competitiveness Grants (ACG) program and extend eligibility to students enrolled in certificate programs such as biotechnology, aerospace manufacturing technology, electronics engineering and renewable energies. AACC maintains that the law creating the ACGs clearly includes these and other certificate programs."
College 'bubble' is about to burst: Schools are strategizing now
Date CapturedMonday July 31 2006, 8:49 AM
Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "The drop is expected to be about 4 percent nationwide, but far sharper in the Northeast, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In Pennsylvania, a 10 percent decline is predicted. New Jersey's larger, and growing, Latino and Asian student populations mean that state probably will fare better than most, with an anticipated drop of just 2 percent."
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Date CapturedThursday July 27 2006, 9:36 PM
"The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are 'eligible students.'" parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31): School officials with legitimate educational interest; Other schools to which a student is transferring; Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes; Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student; Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school; Accrediting organizations; To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena; Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law. Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.
Secretary Spellings Announces Partnership with States to Improve Accountability for Limited English Proficient Students
Date CapturedThursday 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 CapturedThursday 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."
Deputy Secretary Simon Announces Benefit to Students with Extension and Expansion of Pilot Programs
Date CapturedWednesday July 26 2006, 7:33 PM
US Department of Education announces, "Through these pilots, the Department of Education hopes to gain valuable information that can be shared with other states and districts to improve the quality and delivery of this free tutoring. These pilots will ensure that more eligible students receive SES and that better information is provided on the program's effectiveness in improving academic achievement."
Public vs. Private School Report Spurs Controversy
Date CapturedWednesday July 26 2006, 7:26 PM
NPR reports, "The findings counter a popularly held notion, that private schools outperform public schools. But the report has generated controversy due to what some call its overly low-key release, on a Friday evening."
U.S. Department of Education Awards $15.5 Million to Help Students Develop Strong Character and Good Citizenship
Date CapturedWednesday July 26 2006, 4:03 PM
NEW YORK STATE RECIPIENTS: Niagara Falls Niagara Falls City School District ($356,660) Buffalo Buffalo City School District ($533,913) Brooklyn Region 6/District 17 ($352,576) Utica City School District ($494,554)
Testing teachers
Date CapturedWednesday July 26 2006, 11:02 AM
JWC contributor Linda Chavez on NCLB and teacher quality, "No doubt the states that receive poor grades from the U.S. Department of Education will cry foul, but insisting that all teachers meet high standards is critical to true education reform. We're putting the cart before the horse when we insist on higher test scores for students but accept mediocrity from teachers."
Secretary Spellings Announces $19 Million in Library Grants, Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program aims to improve students' reading skills
Date CapturedWednesday July 26 2006, 9:58 AM
NY Pine Valley Central School District $300,000, NY Rochester City School District $299,502, NY Yonkers Public Schools $299,473, NY East Ramapo Central School District $290,350, NY Mount Morris Central School District $186,969. NY Jamestown City School District $296,715 NY Board of Education, Buffalo N.Y. $300,000
Special Report: ‘Deal’ inflates Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) scores
Date CapturedTuesday July 25 2006, 9:40 AM
East Valley Tribune reports, "Arizona took advantage of an off-the-books deal Horne says he struck with the U.S. Education Department in 2003 to exclude most English learners — students who are not proficient in English — from the official record of exam scores."
New Report Shows Progress in Reading First Implementation and Changes in Reading Instruction
Date CapturedMonday July 24 2006, 10:01 PM
The report shows "Reading First schools appear to be implementing the major elements of the program as intended by the No Child Left Behind legislation. Reading First respondents reported that they made substantial changes to their reading materials and that the instruction is more likely to be aligned with scientifically based reading research; they are more likely to have scheduled reading blocks and spend more time teaching reading; they are more likely to apply assessment results for instructional purposes, and they receive professional development focused on helping struggling readers more often than non-Reading First Title I schools in the evaluation."
Public School Finance Programs of the United States and Canada: 1998–99 (NEW YORK STATE)
Date CapturedSaturday July 22 2006, 10:14 PM
NEW YORK: Funding for public education in New York comes from three sources: approximately 4% from federal sources, 40% from state formula aids and grants, and 56% from local revenues. The descriptive information in this publication is designed to be useful to the education finance research community and fiscal policy analysts whose backgrounds and training are very diverse. Brian O. Brent, Warner Graduate School, University of Rochester. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Public School Finance Programs of the United States and Canada: 1998–99. NCES 2001–309; Compilers Catherine C. Sielke, John Dayton, C. Thomas Holmes, of The University of Georgia and Anne L. Jefferson of the University of Ottawa. William J. Fowler, Jr., Project Officer. Washington, DC: 2001.
Federal school grant for Yonkers
Date CapturedSaturday July 22 2006, 12:37 PM
Mid-Hudson News reports, "Numerous studies show there is a clear link between the quality of library media programs in schools staffed an experienced school library media specialists and student academic achievement."
Education Center Focuses on High-Quality Teaching Using Video and Latest Technology
Date CapturedFriday July 21 2006, 7:14 PM
Newswise reports, "The University of Virginia Curry School of Education has been awarded $10 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences to determine if a new method for training preschool teachers results in their students, especially disadvantaged children, learning language and literacy skills better."
To take the yawn out of math equations, teach the teachers
Date CapturedWednesday July 19 2006, 6:45 PM
Christian Science Monitor reports, "In an effort to boost K-12 student achievement, the US Department of Education sends star teachers on tour to share their ideas."
Bush-suppressed study dispels voucher myth
Date CapturedWednesday July 19 2006, 9:33 AM
Palm Beach Post editorial writes, "The U.S. Department of Education, meaning the Bush administration, last week turned an important study comparing public and private schools into a case study on how to bury bad news."
Republicans Propose National School Voucher Program
Date CapturedWednesday July 19 2006, 8:07 AM
NY Times (registration) Diana Jean Schemo reports, "The legislation, modeled on a pilot program here, would pay for tuition and private tutoring for some 28,000 students seeking a way out of public schools that fail to raise test scores sufficiently for at least five years."
Choices for Parents: America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids
Date CapturedTuesday July 18 2006, 7:54 PM
"Parents know what is best for their children. Expanding educational options for parents is one of the hallmarks of the No Child Left Behind Act and it remains one of the President's highest priorities." — Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings
Secretary Spellings Delivers Notre Dame Alliance for Catholic Education Commencement Address
Date CapturedMonday July 17 2006, 9:34 PM
Secretary Spellings said, "To keep the system diverse, Catholic schools reach out to low-income, minority, and immigrant communities. To keep academic quality high, they often work longer days and stretch the school year into the summertime. And to keep tuition affordable, they often set tuition rates lower than the actual cost of educating each child."
A stronger net
Date CapturedSunday July 16 2006, 7:53 AM
The Journal News editorial , "State education officials got formal word recently from the U.S. Department of Education that the testing many New York schools have been doing of students learning English — usually recent immigrants — and special-education students is not on a par with that offered general-education students."
Academic Competitiveness Grants in New York State
Date CapturedThursday July 13 2006, 3:18 PM
The U.S. Department of Education (USED) has released information on the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) Program as included in the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA). These grants are available to certain Pell-eligible college students starting with the 2006-07 academic year.
Katherine McLane Named Press Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education
Date CapturedWednesday July 12 2006, 9:53 AM
McLane joins the Department after serving two and a half years in Governor Schwarzenegger's administration, most recently as spokesperson for the governor on education, military, federal, homeland security and emergency response issues.
$31 Million Awarded to 19 School Districts to Promote Safe Schools, Healthy Students
Date CapturedWednesday July 12 2006, 9:37 AM
More than $31 million in grants have been awarded to 19 school districts in 14 states as part of a joint effort by the U.S. departments of Education, Health and Human Services and Justice to support schools in creating safe learning environments that promote healthy childhood development and prevent youth violence and drug use.
U.S. Says Language Exam Does Not Comply With Law
Date CapturedTuesday July 11 2006, 7:21 AM
NY Times registration. NY Times reports, "The federal Department of Education has found that New York State’s methods for testing the annual progress of disabled students and students with limited English proficiency do not comply with the No Child Left Behind law and that the state must correct the problems within a year or risk losing $1.2 million in federal school aid."
Standard tests set for special ed kids
Date CapturedTuesday July 11 2006, 7:16 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The U.S. Education Department rejected New York's longstanding practice of giving below-grade-level tests to some special ed students - triggering changes that could lead to lower test scores at some schools."
The Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate for Public High Schools From the Common Core of Data: School Years 2002–03 and 2003-04
Date CapturedMonday July 10 2006, 9:57 AM
Comparing the averaged freshman graduation rate among public school students in the class of 2002-03 to that of 2003-04 in each of the 48 reporting states and the District of Columbia, 32 states and the District of Columbia experienced increases in the rate, 1 state experienced no change, and 15 states experienced declines in the rate over this 2-year period. Note, a previous version of this report included unstable estimates for Department of Defense schools, which have been removed.
Most states fall short on student testing, government says
Date CapturedFriday July 07 2006, 12:20 AM
USA Today reports AP story, "The Education Department says 34 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have major problems with the tests that were supposed to be in place in the just-ended school year. They will get federal approval only if they correct the problems in the coming year."
California Schools Could Lose Aid over 'No Child' Law
Date CapturedThursday July 06 2006, 6:31 PM
NPR reports, "This week, the U.S. Department of Education threatened to withhold millions of dollars in federal school aid from California because the state has failed to help students transfer out of low-performing schools."
AZ suing feds over scoring for schools
Date CapturedThursday July 06 2006, 2:25 PM
KVOA reports AP story, "Arizona is suing the U-S Department of Education over the federal agency's refusal to give schools three years before they have to count English-language learning students' test scores in a key accountability measure used by the 'No Child Left Behind' program."
New Mexico to increase number of charter schools
Date CapturedTuesday July 04 2006, 6:13 PM
KOBTV.com reports, "New Mexico has received more than $12 million from the US Education Department to increase the number of charter schools in the state."
$790 Million in New Grants for College Students Available July 1
Date CapturedThursday June 29 2006, 7:54 PM
Secretary Spellings Delivers Remarks to the OECD Ministerial
Date CapturedThursday June 29 2006, 11:11 AM
Spellings goes overseas to tout education
Date CapturedThursday June 15 2006, 6:24 PM
$21.6 Million in Charter Schools Facilities Grants Announced
Date CapturedWednesday June 14 2006, 10:21 AM
The Local Initiatives Support Corporation in New York, N.Y., has been awarded a $8.2 million grant.
Tracking Achievement Gaps and Assessing the Impact of NCLB on the Gaps: An In-depth Look into National and State Reading and Math Outcome Trends
Date CapturedWednesday June 14 2006, 9:48 AM
By Jaekyung Lee Graduate School of Education, State University of New York at Buffalo. Foreword by Gary Orfield, June 2006. This report compares the findings from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) to state assessment results and concludes that that high stakes testing and sanctions required by NCLB are not working as planned under the NCLB. The findings contradict claims of the Bush Administration and some previous studies that showed positive results under NCLB.
The Toolbox Revisited; Paths to Degree Completion from High School Through College
Date CapturedSaturday June 10 2006, 8:03 PM
U.S. Department of Education. The Toolbox Revisited is a data essay that follows a nationally representative cohort of students from high school into postsecondary education, and asks what aspects of their formal schooling contribute to completing a bachelor's degree by their mid-20s. The universe of students is confined to those who attended a four-year college at any time, thus including students who started out in other types of institutions, particularly community colleges
Northern Cheyenne Reservation school gets $687K from feds
Date CapturedSaturday June 10 2006, 9:37 AM
$27 Million in Grants Awarded for Emergency School Repairs
Date CapturedFriday June 09 2006, 11:32 AM
Yonkers school district secures federal grant
Date CapturedTuesday June 06 2006, 9:20 AM
The Condition of Education 2006
Date CapturedThursday June 01 2006, 10:16 AM
The Condition of Education 2006 summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. The report presents 50 indicators on the status and condition of education and a special analysis on international assessments. The indicators represent a consensus of professional judgment on the most significant national measures of the condition and progress of education for which accurate data are available. The 2006 print edition includes 50 indicators in five main areas: (1) participation in education; (2) learner outcomes; (3) student effort and educational progress; (4) the contexts of elementary and secondary education; and (5) the contexts of postsecondary education.
Statement Regarding "Certificate of Completion" Hoax EMail
Date CapturedThursday May 25 2006, 10:18 AM
View the StatChat transcript on The Nation's Report Card: Results from the 2005 NAEP Science Assessment on-line discussion.
Date CapturedWednesday May 24 2006, 4:55 PM
Associate Commissioner Peggy Carr answered questions on-line & live pertaining to the results of the 2005 national and state science assessment. The report and results were released at 10:00 a.m. and the on-line discussion took place from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday May, 24th, 2006
IMPROVE STUDENT PERFORMANCE: Teachers Ask the Secretary
Date CapturedFriday May 12 2006, 6:52 PM



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