July 19, 2012
Local News
The News Journal
Previewing college life
UD’s Summer College program returned this summer a year after many expected it would be eliminated following a state funding cute. Rising high school juniors and seniors – most of them from the local area – take college freshman-level courses and familiarize themselves with life on UD’s campus.
National News
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Wisconsin sets new, tougher standards for student tests
About half as many Wisconsin students achieved what amounts to a passing score under a new, tougher grading system applied to reading and math tests, according to state education department data. Only 35.8% of students were rated proficient or advanced in reading, instead of 81.9%. In math, the percentage dropped from 78% to 48.1%. The new standards reflect college and career readiness skill levels.
Education Week
States’ costs skyrocket on master’s degree pay for teachers
Despite little research supporting the practice, paying teachers for earning advanced degrees continues to cost states billions of dollars—in 2008-09, an estimated $14 billion, according to a Center for American Progress report. The report contends that the funding could be better spent on offering more to teachers in shortage fields; higher salaries to retain the best teachers; or incentives to teachers who take difficult teaching assignments.
Six more states, District of Columbia get NCLB waivers
Six states—Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon, and South Carolina—and the District of Columbia are the latest to be approved for waivers from many mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act, the U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday. That brings the total of approved applications to 33.
Chicago school board, union reject recommended teacher raises
A fact finder’s recommendation to give Chicago teachers a double-digit raise was rejected Wednesday by both the city’s teachers union and the governing board of the Chicago public school system, paving the way for a teacher strike. The 6-0 vote by the school board came about an hour after the union vote. The union cited classroom quality issues in its vote, while school board officials cited the district’s financial difficulties.”Quite simply, the board does not have the resources to accept the fact finder’s recommendation,” Chicago Board of Education President David Vitale said.
Media Shift
Teaching innovation is about more than iPads in the classroom
An opinion by Aran Levasseur
We can’t just buy iPads (or any device), add water, and hope that strategy will usher schools to the leading edge of 21st century education. The critical questions for integrating technology into education are: “What are the educational goals of technology integration?” and “Do the current systems and processes support the integrative and innovative goals?”
Related Topics: Education Technology, Higher Education, NCLB, next generation learning, school board, Teacher Compensation, Teacher Effectiveness