First Bell 4-12-13

yes Pamela Tatz / April 12, 2013

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

The New York Times investigates latest example of private contractors taking advantage of NYC’s poorly regulated pre-K special-education system.

The expansion of Indiana’s school-voucher program has hit another snag: the budget. (Huffington Post)

Educators in a Long Island school district face accusations of test fraud, this time by way of improperly assisting students with standardized tests. (Wall Street Journal and New York Times)

When police officers are stationed in schools, ostensibly for security purposes, a surge of criminal charges against children for misbehavior ensues. (New York Times)

Maryland Governor O’Malley has given Prince George’s county executive more authority to govern the county’s struggling schools. (Washington Post)

A slew of startups are tackling the gap between education-technology innovations and implementation.(Hechinger Report)

A study finds that blended learning’s impact on classrooms depends heavily on whether we have ways of interpreting its results; “technology for technology’s sake” does not work. (Digital Education)

Aside from the issue of funding the President’s pre-K proposal with tobacco taxes, the new proposed budget does not address the types of requirements it would set on teacher training. (Teacher Beat)

» Continued

First Bell 4-12-13

First Bell 4-11-13

yes Pamela Tatz / April 11, 2013

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

The New York Times highlights a study finding that students who received a simple information packet explaining college admissions processes were significantly more likely to apply to colleges matching their abilities.

Researchers are experimenting with robot teachers in some New York and California schools. (Wall Street Journal)

Analyses of the education segments of Obama’s budget proposal are out in full force. (Politics K-12, Huffington Post, On Special Education, and Huffington Post Politics)

The National Spelling Bee competition will now include an “evaluation of vocabulary knowledge,” not just spelling. (Curriculum Matters)

The latest California parent-trigger application has the LAUSD partnering with a local charter operator to reform a failing school. (Hechinger Report)

» Continued

First Bell 4-11-13

First Bell 4-10-13

yes Pamela Tatz / April 10, 2013

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

Tuesday saw the unveiling of the Next Generation Science Standards, which feature strong concentrations on climate change and evolution. Take a look at our review of the last draft, and stay tuned for our take on the final. (New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Education Week)

President Obama’s budget proposal will call for $3.77 trillion in spending for the fiscal year, up 6 percent from this year’s projected spending levels; it will include new tobacco taxes, to be used to pay for the pre-K expansion. (Wall Street Journal)

A Harvard study finds that only 16 percent of LAUSD’s Class of 2011 passed the courses necessary to attend the state’s public universities. (Huffington Post)

Education Week looks closely at the changing leadership landscape of education groups.

A new bill would allow admissions preference to neighborhood children in D.C. charter schools. (Washington Post)

A paper finds that the rise of charter schools may have contributed to the decline in private school enrollment over the past

» Continued

First Bell 4-10-13

First Bell 4-9-13

yes Pamela Tatz / April 9, 2013

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

Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady of Britain, passed away yesterday. (Wall Street Journal and National Review Online)

After changing its screening process for gifted children in an attempt to lessen the influence of test-prep programs, there are slightly fewer children eligible for New York City’s gifted classes…but the changes aren’t huge. (Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and New York Post)

A literature review finds that we don’t know enough about how student teaching affects teacher-candidates’ skills. (Teacher Beat)

An Education Week opinion piece blasts Bill Ayers’ assertion that the Atlanta scandal can be blamed solely on the testing policy. In the meantime, you can take a test to determine whether you have what it takes to teach in the Atlanta public school system. (Education Week, Answer Sheet, and New York Times)

According to a new report, the wage gap between public and private colleges is widening—and threatening academic quality. (New York Times and

» Continued

First Bell 4-9-13