Education News: February 3, 2006

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending February 3, 2006.

Immigration issue plays out in Arizona education fight
(Source: New York Times, 02/03/06) Following a lawsuit by the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, a federal court ordered that Arizona provide adequate English Language learning instruction for the states’ 154,000 students whose native language is not English.  The Democratic governor and the Republican legislature are at a standstill as to how to pay for the increased instruction, causing the state to be fined $500,000 a day until a plan is instated.

New exam to measure tech savvy
(Source: The Detroit News, 02/03/06) The ICT Literacy Assessment tests traditional skills, such as analytical reading and math, but now will have a technological twist.  Test-takers may be asked to search a database for information, compose an e-mail based on their research, or seek information on the Internet and decide how reliable it is. ICT stands for “Information and Communication Test” and a version is already used by some colleges. Educational Testing Service (ETS) plans to announce details on Friday of the new version that some high school and first- and second-year college students will begin taking this spring. ETS also owns and administers the SAT, but clarifies that the ICT Literacy Assessment is not designed as an admissions test. Rather, the purpose of the test is to show schools if their students know how to use technology effectively and responsibly.

Businesses cater to home-school families
(Source: CNN, 02/03/06) Services aimed at home-schooled children are becoming increasingly available. The number of children receiving home-schooling has been rising steadily for the last several years. As of 2003, 1.1 million children aged 5-17 were being home-schooled, a 29% increase from 1999, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The services now available to home-school families include magazines, curriculum planners, tutors and specialized class programs.  Eduventures, a research and consulting firm, estimates that the home-school market is around $650 million, and has been growing at around 8 percent in the last few years.

36 more small schools due in September, NYC Mayor says
(Source: New York Times, 02/02/06) Thirty-six small schools, many with specialties ranging from mathematics and technology to hospitality and tourism, will open in September, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced yesterday. It is a key part of Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to improve New York’s high school graduation rate, which for many years has just been slightly over 50%. The news schools, located mainly in Brooklyn and the Bronx will be opened by the mayor with the help of non-profit groups, colleges, and funding from philanthropic organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 13 of the new schools will be high schools; 13 will serve students in grades six through 12; and ten will be middle schools.

The US needs to focus on Education
(Source: The Buffalo News, 02/01/06) In order to reduce the level of technological outsourcing and to create more American jobs, president of the Business roundtable, John Castelini, urges the US to place a greater emphasis on teaching math and science.  Castelini hopes to achieve greater numbers of engineers, mathematicians, and scientists, by creating mandates for teachers, from k-12, to have a degree in these subjects.  He also urges creating incentives to teach math and science such as the reduction of student loans. 

Sex education bill stirs controversy
(Source: (Boston) MetroWest Daily News, 02/01/06) Some Massachusetts lawmakers are hoping to pass a proposal that will make health education a core subject beginning in elementary schools.  Supporters argue that their opponents are focusing too much on the sex module, and ignoring other aspects such as nutrition, mental health and substance abuse.  Opponents of the bill argue that the current voluntary comprehensive sex education curriculum is working. 

Mass. district envisions money in foreign exchange
(Source: Education Week, 02/01/06) Nate Levinson is a superintendent of Arlington schools, a suburb outside of Boston.  He is hoping to increase cultural understanding, as well as revenue, by having Foreign exchange students pay the school district, instead of a cultural exchange agency, to attend their high schools.  The proposal would help to alleviate the district’s budget cuts and allow their students better understanding of the global marketplace.     

First Amendment no big deal, students say
(Source: Associated Press, 01/31/06) A large-scale survey conducted by the John S. and James L. Knight Center and the University of Connecticut announces that high school students are indifferent to the importance of the Bill of Rights.  Students were unable to explain the rights that the first 10 amendments protected.  Researchers claim that the fault lies within schools for not stressing the importance of civics and journalism.  The study showed that students who participated in student media programs were more likely to have a command of the bill of rights.  Ninety percent of principals interviewed agreed with the findings but acknowledged that lack of funds prohibit their schools from incorporating student media into its programs.

High scores fail to clear obstacles to KIPP growth
(Source: Washington Post, 01/31/06) It is a crucial moment for one of the most closely watched educational models, the Knowledge Is Power Program, a way of teaching 5th-8th  graders that has produced some of the best math and reading scores in low-income neighborhoods across the country. Despite its impressive record, administrators and policymakers are responding slowly to KIPP's desire for more support, and therefore KIPP is struggling to expand. The original schools in Houston and New York City are doing well after 10 years, and the founders are supervising new schools in those cities with impressive initial results. However, experts say that it will take more time for KIPP to prove its merits.