First Bell 5-24-13

yes Pamela Tatz / May 24, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

Yesterday, the House passed legislation—mainly along party lines—to stop a doubling of student-loan interest rates by tying rates to prevailing market trends and ending federal subsidies. (Politics K–12 and New York Times)

Rhode Island has become the first state to officially adopt the Next Generation Science Standards. (Curriculum Matters)

After Chicago announced that it would close fifty public schools, the CTU renewed its promise to oust Mayor Emanuel. (Huffington Post)

The Hechinger Report profiles the transition to Common Core in Washington, D.C.

A team of MIT researchers report that Boston’s charter school students perform better than their traditional public school peers. (Charters & Choice)

A study finds that minority students are less likely to be diagnosed with autism. (On Special Education)

Politics K–12 takes a closer look at the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011 school-finance data on per-pupil spending.

» Continued

First Bell 5-24-13

First Bell 5-23-13

yes Pamela Tatz / May 23, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

In the largest mass school closure in any major U.S. city, Chicago officials have officially voted to shutter forty-nine public schools this year and one next year. (Washington Post, New York Times, Huffington Post, and Chicago Tribune)

ACT Inc. has jumped into the Common-Core-assessments arena, announcing that they are an alternative to the Smarter Balanced and PARCC tests. (Curriculum Matters)

A new report finds that while two-year colleges enroll more poor and minority students, they receive lower levels of federal resources. (New York Times)

Kansas lawmakers have dropped from a state budget bill a measure that would have blocked spending on Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. (Curriculum Matters)

The U.S. Department of Education reports that even as more Americans than ever are earning bachelor’s degrees, the nation’s international lead is slipping. (Hechinger Report)

A new report finds that schools are flooded with data that

» Continued

First Bell 5-23-13

First Bell 5-21-13

yes Pamela Tatz / May 21, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

On Monday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced that three more states—Alaska, Hawaii, and West Virginia—will be granted NCLB waivers, bringing the total to thirty-seven. (Politics K–12 and Associated Press)

Chiefs for Change, a group of state education leaders, are pushing back against calls for a moratorium on the use of standardized tests in student or teacher evaluations. (Curriculum Matters, Washington Post, and Education Gadfly Show Podcast)

Khan Academy—with a little help from a $2.2 million Helmsley grant—plans to develop online, Common Core–aligned mathematics tools for teachers and students. (Curriculum Matters)

The D.C. charter board has approved two new schools and rejected seven more. (Washington Post)

Today, most New York residents will vote on their school districts’ budgets. (Wall Street Journal)  

With the successes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and David Karp on the mind, the Wall Street Journal wonders: When is it okay for a high flyer to drop out of

» Continued

First Bell 5-21-13

First Bell 5-20-13

yes Pamela Tatz / May 20, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

In response to Democratic mayoral candidates’ bashing of Mayor Bloomberg’s education agenda, Dennis Walcott, New York City’s schools chancellor, has begun a campaign to remind voters of the administration’s accomplishments. (New York Times)

CREDO found that 42 percent of Michigan’s charters are outperforming traditional public schools in math, with similar results in reading, while just 6 percent of the charters underperform their traditional counterparts in math. (Wall Street Journal)

Anger has erupted in New York City and beyond over “field tests,” standardized exams intended to assess not students but future tests. (New York Times)

The Hechinger Report profiles a virtual classroom simulator that allows teachers-in-training to practice managing a classroom.

Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs’s widow, has quietly begun to assert philanthropy goals in education, global conservation, nutrition, and immigration policy. (New York Times)

A federal report finds that forty states have looked into allegations of cheating by school officials on tests in the last two years. (Curriculum Matters)

A Pew study

» Continued

First Bell 5-20-13