Education Week - January 22, 2014 - 4

NEWSINBRIEF
Testing, Graduation Rates
Top Accountability Factors
Graduation rates top the list of
school accountability measures states
have undertaken since passage of the
No Child Left Behind Act, according to
an analysis by the Education Commission
of the States.
Forty-four states now use that as a
factor, in school accountability compared
with only eight in 2002, the
Denver-based organization that tracts
state policy found. But another factor
that's arguably closely related, "education
or employment after high school,"
has become a little less popular, with
the number of states using it dropping
from four to three.
Other measures of school account-
ability that have gained in popularity
over the past decade include test
scores and student-achievement
growth.
-ANDREW UJIFUSA
College Credentials Elusive
For 2002 Sophomores
Students who were high school
sophomores in 2002-at the start of
the No Child Left Behind Act's accountability
wave-ended up in dramatically
different places 10 years
later, depending on whether they continued
their education.
New federal longitudinal data
find that 48 percent of students who
started 10th grade in 2002 had not
earned any kind of college degree or
certification in the decade since. And
27 percent who did not go on to college
were unemployed or otherwise
out of the labor force a decade later,
compared with 6 percent of those who
earned at least a bachelor's degree.
The data come from the federal Ed-
ucation Longitudinal Study of 2002,
which has tracked more than 13,000
students who started 10th grade in
2002 for 10 years so far. -SARAH D. SPARKS
Ed. Department Falling Short
In ELL Support, Report Says
The Obama administration has not
paid adequate attention to the needs
of English-language learners, the
Law-enforcement personnel set up
a perimeter following a shooting at
Berrendo Middle School in Roswell,
N.M., last week. A 12-year-old boy
has been charged in connection
with the shooting, in which two
students were seriously wounded.
fastest-growing group of students in
the nation's public schools, concludes
a new report.
Published by the BUENO National
Policy Center at the University of
Colorado, Boulder, the report paints
a picture of a U.S. Department of
Education that has been indifferent
to the unique educational needs of
English-learners.
Lack of federal resources, a lag in
naming the head of the office of Eng-
lish-language acquisition, a shortage
of qualified teachers, and waivers to
No Child Left Behind requirements
are among the chief criticisms.
The department did not respond to
a request for comment. -LESLI A. MAXWELL
New Group to Examine
Corporate Ties to Education
A new advocacy group, Integrity
in Education, was launched last
week to expose connections between
K-12 public education and
for-profit education companies and
to counter arguments laid out by
groups promoting free-market reforms
for education, such as StudentsFirst
and Chiefs for Change.
The group is headed by Sabrina
Stevens, a former teacher and Amer-
Florida Officials Propose Changes to Common Core
Embroiled in uncertainty about the common core,
the Florida education department is proposing dozens
of changes to the standards for its schools, including
adding more than 50 in math focused on calculus.
Although some states have enacted legislation putting
limits, or "pauses," on the new expectations or on
tests designed for them, Florida appears to be the first
to dive into a deep review of the standards and to come
up with proposed revisions.
Among the proposed changes in mathematics are
the addition of 52 calculus standards, noteworthy in a
state that recently backed away from requiring Algebra
2 for all students.
In English/language arts, among the changes are
standards that introduce cursive writing and develop
it during elementary school.
The department also seems to have concluded that
several of the expectations for the youngest students
were too much of a stretch. Proposed changes ask that
kindergartners, for instance, name the author and
illustrators of a text and explain how each helps present
ideas "with prompting and support" from their
teacher, rather than independently.
Members of the public also sought changes to the
standards during public hearings. An analysis of the
public comments shows that about half of those expressing
views didn't take positions for or against
the standards; the other half was roughly divided between
those who supported the standards and those
who opposed them.
The standards review was undertaken in part to quell
concerns in some quarters that embrace of the standards
meant that Florida was capitulating to the priorities of
the federal government, which has made no secret of its
hope that states use them as their educational north
stars. But according to the Miami Herald, the proposed
changes to the standards haven't done much to change
the worry about federal overreach.
-CATHERINE GEWERTZ
ican Federation of Teachers staffer.
It has received start-up funding
from Deborah Sagner, the chairwoman
of its board of directors and
a philanthropist who heads up the
Sagner Family Foundation. -KATIE ASH
Districts Cited for 'Scrubbing'
Student-Attendance Data
Seven Ohio districts improperly
reported student-attendance data,
which may have led to inflated
school report cards, a state investigation
has found.
The Ohio education department
announced that employees in the
districts "scrubbed" attendance data
and test results for more than 4,000
students in the 2010-11 school year.
All licensed employees in those districts
will be investigated.
According to the education department,
Cleveland improperly
withdrew more than 3,500 students,
about 8 percent of its enrollment.
Cincinnati removed 130, a tiny percentage
of its students, while Toledo
removed 425 students, some 2 percent
of its enrollment. The four other
districts found to have reported bad
data are Canton, Campbell, Northridge,
and Winton Woods.
-L.A.M.
Katrina School Employees
Fired Improperly, Court Rules
A state appeals court has affirmed
a lower-court ruling that thousands
of New Orleans teachers and school
employees fired after Hurricane Katrina
were denied the constitutional
right of due process.
It was not a total victory for the
employees. The panel of judges for
the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals
adjusted the lower-court's damage
award, saying employees who meet
4 | EDUCATION WEEK | January 22, 2014 | www.edweek.org
certain requirements will be entitled
to two years of back pay and benefits,
instead of five.
A state judge had awarded more
than $1 million to seven lead plaintiffs
in the case. And, in testimony
before the appeals court, a school
board lawyer had said upholding
the initial ruling would put as many
as 7,500 school workers in line to receive
nearly $1.5 billion in damage
payments.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
Teachers Found to Avoid
Social Media in Classroom
Many teachers are using social
networking in their personal lives
to connect and communicate with
friends and colleagues, but have
not incorporated the technology
into their interactions with students
and parents because of concerns
about negative repercussions,
according to a survey released last
week by the University of Phoenix.
The survey asked 1,005 full-time
teachers in grades K-12 about
their social-networking usage.
Eighty percent said they use social
media for personal or professional
use, but only 18 percent said they
had integrated it into their own
classrooms.
Eighty percent of teachers sur-
veyed worried about negative outcomes
arising from the use of social
networking, and 34 percent of
teachers who use social media said
they had experienced those types
of repercussions.
-MICHELLE R. DAVIS
Mich. Appeals Court Upholds
Teacher-Benefits Law
Public school employees will
have to pay more for their pensions
and contribute some of their
Mark Wilson/Roswell Daily Record/AP
http://www.edweek.org
Education Week - January 22, 2014

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