Reforming Teacher Ed

"A group representing colleges of teacher education on Thursday called for its member institutions to work with the rest of their universities, as well as schools, states and the federal government to emphasize and improve in-school preparation for teachers-to-be."

Obama Outlines Sweeping Education Revamp

"The Obama administration plans to upend how the government measures and encourages success in the country's public schools as part of a sweeping proposal to rewrite President George W. Bush's signature No Child Left Behind law."

Duncan Wants Three Ratings for Schools in Education Overhaul

"The Obama administration will ask Congress to toss out the two-tiered pass/fail school rating system of the No Child Left Behind education law and replace it with one that labels schools one of three ways: high-performing, needs improvement or chronically low-performing, according to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan."

Many Nations Passing U.S. in Education, Expert Says

"One of the world’s foremost experts on comparing national school systems told lawmakers on Tuesday that many other countries were surpassing the United States in educational attainment, including Canada, where he said 15-year-old students were, on average, more than one school year ahead of American 15-year-olds."

Tougher New National Math, English Standards Drafted

"Math and English instruction in the United States moved a step closer to uniform — and more rigorous — standards Wednesday as draft new national guidelines were released."

Scholar Diane Ravitch: 'We've Lost Sight' of Schools' Goal

"In her new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Ravitch blasts No Child Left Behind, which she says promotes 'a cramped, mechanistic, profoundly anti-intellectual definition of education' — as well as virtually every other recent reform effort that has sought to inject more free-market competition and accountability into education. She finds much to dislike: charter schools, high-stakes tests, corporate-style school management teams and the rising influence of foundation-funded reforms."

Teach Self-Control, Improve Kids' Behavior

"Children taught skills to monitor and control their anger and emotions improved their classroom behavior, U.S. researchers found. The study, published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, found children in a school-based mentoring program were about half as likely as others to have any discipline incident during the 3-month period of the study."

School Drink Deal Has Cut Sugar By 95 Percent

"An initiative by The American Beverage Association --including The Coca-Cola Co, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and PepsiCo -- the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association has helped cut shipments of full-sugar soft drinks to schools by 95 percent compared with 2004, Clinton said."

Schools' New Math: the Four-Day Week

"A small but growing number of school districts across the country are moving to a four-day week, in a shift they hope will help close gaping budget holes and stave off teacher layoffs, but that critics fear could hurt students' education."

Teachers Share Their Views on How to Improve Education

"In one of the largest national surveys of public school teachers, thousands of educators agreed that today’s students aren’t college-ready when they graduate from high school. Teachers’ suggestions for solving this problem include clear, common standards; multiple measures of student performance; and greater innovation, including differentiated instruction and more use of digital resources."

No Child Left Behind Could Get a Makeover

"Senior House Republicans and Democrats plan to announce Thursday that they will team up to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/18/politics/washingtonpost/main6219771.shtml?tag=cbsnewsSectionsArea;cbsnewsSectionsArea.3, a rare show of bipartisanship in the polarized Congress."

Fire the Teachers? When Schools Fail, it May Work

"No one keeps firm numbers on how often wholesale firings have been used. But William Gunther, president of the Boston-based Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, estimates that mass teacher firings are tried in about 20 to 30 schools annually. Many more schools adjust other elements, such as curriculum and teacher training, to boost performance without substantially changing the staff."

Principal Succession in a Fast-Growing District

"As Delaware's fastest-growing school system, Appoquinimink has learned firsthand the necessity of succession planning. With about 500 additional pupils enrolling each year, the school district since 2004 has constructed two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. . ."

Report: African Schools' Money Mismanaged

"A study of education in seven African countries finds financial mismanagement and poor accountability are hurting children, a report released Tuesday said."

Muslims Turning to Home Schooling in Increasing Numbers

"Although three-quarters of the nation's estimated 2 million home-schoolers identify themselves as Christian, the number of Muslims is expanding 'relatively quickly,' compared with other groups, said Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute."

The Unknown World of Charter High Schools

"Charter schools have become a popular alternative to traditional public schools, with some 5,000 schools now serving more than 1.5 million students, and they have received considerable attention among researchers as a result."

Banning School Junk Food Slows Obesity

"Banning sugary beverages and junk foods from schools appears to slow childhood obesity, U.S. researchers found."

High School Guidance Counselors Get 'Poor' Score

"Sixty percent of young adults who pursued college say the advice they got from high school counselors was poor or fair at best, a survey shows."

Charter Public Schools Dashboard

A helpful site where one can search on a specific charter school or statistics for a larger grouping of them.

2009 MetLife Survey of the American Teacher

"Sixty-nine percent of teachers do not believe their voices are heard in the debate on education, according to the latest MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Collaborating for Student Success. Now in its 26th year, the MetLife Survey, conducted by Harris Interactive®, examines the views of teachers, principals, and students on their respective roles and responsibilities, current practices and priorities for the future. MetLife will release the full results over the next two months."

Routine Heart Tests for Athletes Would Save Lives

"A new study suggests that routine electrocardiogram testing of young American athletes would save lives and be cost-effective."

Homeschooling Limitations in Other Countries

"The ruling is tricky politically for Washington and its allies in Europe, where several countries — including Spain and the Netherlands — allow homeschooling only under exceptional circumstances, such as when a child is extremely ill."

Why Paying Kids To Study Works In Texas

"According to the report, Texas high-school students who earned cash for passing Advanced Placement exams showed not only better GPAs, but also bumps in college attendance, performance, and the likelihood of earning their degrees. The effects were most pronounced among minorities, with African--American students 10 percent more likely to enter college, and 50 percent more likely to persist through graduation."