Education News: May 12, 2006

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending May 12, 2006.

Schools on new SAT expected to decline
(Source: The Washington Post, 05/12/06) This is the first year that high school students are taking the new SAT. College admissions officers have noted that the longer three-part test caused scores to drop by 10-20 points. School officials, parents, and college admission officers state the reasons as anxiety over the new test, the extra hour, and harder verbal and math sections. The increased price of the exam also lowers overall scores because fewer students opt for a retake.

Bill seeks to block access to myspace.com in schools
(Source: Los Angeles Times, 05/12/06) A national bill coined as the “Deleting Online Predators Act” seeks to make it illegal for those under 18 to access social networking sites at public schools and libraries. The bill poses serious questions as to how much the federal government can regulate the Internet. In response to recent complaints, the most accessed networking site, Myspace.com, has decided to hire a former federal prosecutor to monitor the site for unsavory individuals.

Rising number of schools face serious penalties
(Source: CNN.com, 05/10/06) The number of schools under No Child Left Behind that have consistently failed minority students, shown by five years of dramatically poor test scores, is rising. Schools within this category must complete a massive overhaul of their system, which could include firing all school employees and curriculum changes. Schools have the option of deciding how to restructure their school. This worries some Department of Education officials because the changes the schools adopt may not make the requisite change in the system.

Two setbacks for exit exams taken by high school seniors
(Source: The New York Times, 05/10/06) In a preliminary hearing, a superior court judge in California stated that exit exams discriminated against low income and English-language-learning students. If this becomes the court’s decision, it will allow ten percent of the high school class who did not pass the exams to receive a diploma. Massachusetts has already begun a similar initiative by issuing diplomas to students who did not pass the exit exams. Supporters of exit exams state that they help students by raising standards, but their opposition insists that there should not be a one-size-fits-all test for graduation.

Half of teachers quit in five years
(Source: The Washington Post, 05/09/06) Citing low salaries and poor working environments, new research shows that fifty percent of the nation’s teachers leave the profession within five years. The NEA also conducted research that showed that teachers are more educated than ever with 50 percent holding at least a Masters Degree, that just 11 percent are minorities, and that one quarter are men.

Feeling ‘great,’ boy thanks teacher who gave him her kidney
(Source: The Chicago Sun Times, 05/10/06) 25-year-old Patsy Donahue did not think twice about her offer to give one of her 10-year-old students a kidney transplant that would keep him off of dialysis. Her lack of hesitation was caused by her father’s recent bone marrow transplant. She states that after this event organ donation has become an important cause for her.