Education News: January 18, 2008

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending January 18, 2008.

Extending Requirement to Advance in School
(Source:  The New York Times, 1/18/07):  New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday that the city’s eighth graders will be subjected to more stringent requirements for advancing to high school.  The new requirements include demonstrating basic proficiency on standardized math and English tests and receiving passing grades in core subjects.  If current testing patterns remain, nearly 18,000 students will be in danger of having to repeat their eighth grade year.

New Education Chief Facing a Big Task
(Source:  The Boston Globe, 1/18/08):  The Massachusetts Board of Education has chosen Mitchell Dan Chester, an Ohio education official, to be the state’s commissioner of education.  Mr. Chester’s goals for the state include increasing college preparedness and closing the achievement gap between rich and poor students.

Applications to Colleges Breaking Records
(Source: The New York Times, 1/17/08):  Many of the nation’s top colleges, including Harvard, the University of Chicago, Princeton, and other schools, reported dramatic increases in the number of applications they’ve received this year.  Some school guidance counselors say that nervous seniors are applying to more colleges than ever, a phenomenon that partially explains the increase in applications.  Admissions officials anticipate that an unusually high number of excellent applicants will be turned away.

Rejection of Math Textbook Sparks Debate on State Board’s Authority
(Source: The Dallas Morning News, 1/16/08):  The Texas State Board of Education has rejected a widely used math textbook, entitled Texas Everyday Mathematics, on the basis that it is not rigorous or traditional enough.  The move has fueled controversy because the rejection was based on board members’ opinions rather than on the book’s failure to meet established state standards.  Some worry that if the decision stands the board will receive the power to reject literature and science texts for political reasons.

Young Students Master Mandarin Quickly
(Source: The Detroit News, 1/16/08):  The Oakland Schools Chinese language and culture initiative in Oak Park, Michigan, has been surprisingly successful at teaching Mandarin to pre-schoolers.  The classes are taught by Chinese graduate students who are majoring in teaching Mandarin overseas.

Texas Sixth Graders to Get Heart Exams
(Source:  The Houston Chronicle, 1/15/08):   A $1-million pilot program will test for heart defects in 4500 Texas sixth graders using physical exams, electrocardiograms, and echocardiograms.  Due to the hot climate and the difficulty of diagnosing heart defects, approximately 60 Texas primary school students have suffered sudden cardiac death since 2001.  The exams will catch some but not all types of dangerous heart defects.

Filling the Void After High School
(Source: The Washington Post, 1/14/08):  Life is often not easy for the 65,000 illegal immigrant students who graduate from U.S. high schools each year.  In contrast to public high schools, which do not ask students to give their residency status, colleges, scholarships, and employers often do require applicants to be legal residents.  Many of the students who do go on to achieve legal status or find funding for college do so with the help of concerned high school teachers and guidance counselors.

‘Dashboards’ Provide Data on Schools
(Source: The Washington Post, 1/14/08):  In an effort to make the massive amounts of school performance data more accessible, U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has announced the launch of ‘dashboards.’  ‘Dashboards’ are two-page reports containing graphics and key education statistics.  There is one dashboard for each of the 50 states and one for Washington, D.C., as well.