Education & Pedagogy

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "The High Cost of High School Dropouts": New Alliance Brief Says Dropouts from the Class of 2009 Represent $335 Billion in Lost Income; (2) Free Fallin': United States Falls to Number Two in World Competitiveness Rankings, Number Thirty-Six in Health and Primary Education; (3) "Achieving a Wealth of Riches": New Alliance Brief Examines How Teachers Can Use Data to Transform Teaching and Learning; and (4) "International Lessons about National Standards": New Report Calls for an Independent Organization to Lead U.S. Standards Effort. (Contains 1 footnote.)

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Standards Movement Gaining Steam": Duncan Announces Plan to Commit Up to $350 Million for Assessments Linked to Common Standards; (2) "Meaningful Measurement": Collection of Essays Published by the Alliance for Excellent Education Examines the Role of Assessments in Improving High School Education; (3) "The Second Derivative": Student Math Proficiency in States and Districts Fails to Measure up to Global Benchmark; and (4) "The Opportunity Equation": In Effort to Raise Math and Science Levels of American Students, Report Says that the Nation Must "Do School Differently." (Contains 1 footnote.)

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Duncan Makes $44 Billion in Education Funding Available to States: Education Secretary Says Stimulus Money Must Go Toward "Real and Lasting Reform"; (2) Meaningful Measurement: Alliance Conference Examines the Role of Assessments in Improving High School Education in the Twenty-First Century; and (3) "Creating What's Next": New NCTAF [National Commission on Teaching and America's Future] Report Warns of Teacher Retirement Wave About to Hit America's Schools, Calls for Change to Traditional Staffing Model.

This paper focuses on issues which affect the capability of technical and further education (TAFE) providers to meet their clients' and stakeholders' needs and draws extensively on the reports of the consortium research program which examined ways to help build vocational education and training (VET) provider and workforce capability. The paper puts this research, most of which was completed in 2006 and 2007, into a contemporary framework. It suggests that TAFE providers need to be free of unnecessary central constraints to help them meet their strategic business needs. This includes more direct control of human resources matters and industrial relations. (Contains 8 footnotes.)

This issue of "Legislative Review" takes a look at the news in higher education from March 23 to 27, 2009. It is reported that during this week: (1) work continues on SB 2003, the North Dakota University System (NDUS) budget bill, in the House Appropriations, Education and Environment Division; (2) HCR 3016, a concurrent resolution urging school districts to offer a financial literacy course, was heard in the Senate Education Committee Monday, March 23, and received a unanimous "Do Pass" recommendation from the committee; (3) SB 2062, the Opportunity Grant bill, was heard in the House Appropriations, Education and Environment Division, Monday, March 23; and (4) work on SB 2020, the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Research and Extension appropriation bill, continues in the House Appropriations, Education and Environment Division. Lists of bills passed this week and bills that failed this week are reported.

This issue brief is focused on state efforts to improve education in science, technology, engineering, and math--collectively known as the "STEM" disciplines. The brief is largely based on a March, 2009 American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) field trip to Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, and describes Ohio's success in advancing STEM education across the state. This issue brief frames the overall issue of STEM education and describes the elements of Ohio's STEM strategy, including building a statewide STEM agenda; creating the capacity to advance a STEM agenda; the role of communication and visibility in advancing STEM education; a regional approach to STEM education; approaches and challenges to STEM education at the school level; and the lessons to be learned from Ohio's work. The brief concludes with state policy recommendations for advancing STEM education. (Contains 9 endnotes.)

The focus of this brief is to reconcile "what we know" with "what we hear" to inform what we can do to address the realities facing Latino students in a manner integrated into the broader policy agenda and discussions in higher education. This brief takes stock of the current higher education environment and integrates the perspectives of elected officials, students, and service providers from interviews and focus groups with data to better understand the role of Latinos in the future access, persistence, and completion of higher education in the United States and puts this information together to articulate what we can do to address critical policy issues affecting Latino students in the current higher education context. (Contains 2 tables.)

To raise the achievement of every student, Maryland designed "Achievement Matters Most," a plan for public schools that sets goals in the areas of achievement, teaching, testing, safety, and family involvement in schools. Achievement Matters Most supports Maryland schools' efforts to meet the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. This guide for parents of Maryland school students discusses: (1) Maryland's state testing and reporting processes; (2) Programs available to support student achievement; (3) Ways parents can be involved in their child's education; (4) Help for children with disabilities and special needs; and (5) Programs to help plan for a child's future. Online links for additional information are included. [For previous edition of this document, see ED497759.]

Without appropriate education, American workers are hampered in their ability to have the requisite technical skills needed to participate fully and effectively in the modern workforce. Higher education as a system must develop programs and infrastructures that ensure adult learners receive postsecondary education, including at the baccalaureate degree level. This report is part of a larger research initiative funded by Lumina Foundation for Education to provide federal, state, and local leaders and policymakers with up-to-date, detailed information about the applied baccalaureate phenomenon in the United States, including the extent to which applied baccalaureate programs are targeting adult learners' educational needs. Appended are: (1) Advisory Committee Members; and (2) State Profiles (constitute the majority of the report). (Contains 2 tables, 1 footnote, and 3 maps.)

The purpose of the U.S. Department of Education's online newsletter "The Education Innovator" is to promote innovative practices in education; to offer features on promising programs and practices; to provide information on innovative research, schools, policies, and trends; and to keep readers informed of key Department priorities and activities. This issue of the newsletter includes feature article, "Getting It Right, Right from the Start: Birth to Five Kindergarten Readiness," highlighting how one educator's vision helps children statewide and similar emerging national networks address zero to five children. A list of key resources is provided. Regular sections of the newsletter include: (1) What's New?; and (2) Innovations in the News. [For "The Education Innovator. Volume VII, No. 4," see ED505146.]

The authors express reservations about additional federal funding for the National Science Foundation, including new funding for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs, provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. For more than 50 years, American political, business, military, and academic leaders have emphasized the need to improve performance in STEM education, but U.S. students continue to underperform in these subjects. The authors advocate that, rather than focusing on federal solutions and increasing federal spending, policymakers and the private sector should refocus attention on systemic education reforms at the state, local, and school levels to increase the number of students who succeed in STEM fields at school and in the workforce. (Contains 38 footnotes.)

A September 8, 2006, ruling by the New Hampshire Supreme Court that the state's current education financing system is unconstitutional was the latest in a long string of court decisions, legislative responses, and subsequent court opinions that have made school funding one of the state's most contentious issues. This report summarizes how the issue of defining and funding an adequate public education reached this point in New Hampshire. It describes key legal findings and other background behind the string of court decisions defining a constitutional educational system. It examines major education funding bills proposed since the 1997 "Claremont ruling," assessing whether they would likely meet the state's constitutional requirements. Two appendices are included: (1) Key New Hampshire court decisions on education funding; and (2) Key New Hampshire education legislation. (Contains 21 footnotes.)

Today?s youths face enormous challenges: a world where most jobs require higher levels of reading, communication, math, and problem-solving skills than ever before and a world where high-skill jobs require higher levels of education and training beyond high school than in the past. Educators across America are working to create high schools that will prepare today?s students for the complexities of 21st-century life, for further education, and for careers. The U.S. Department of Education?s Preparing America?s Future High School Initiative (PAF-HSI) signifies our dedication to helping educators meet these challenges for all students. This brief brochure discusses PAF-HSI and explains its primary components. The following sections are included: The Challenge; The Promise; The New Vision; Joining a Movement for America?s Youths; and The High School Initiative in Action.

Teachers' subject matter knowledge is a particularly important issue in science education in that it influences instructional practices across subject areas and at different grade levels. This paper provides an overview of efforts to develop a unique elementary science methods course and related field experience through a partnership between Science Education and the Department of Entomology at the Pennsylvania State University. The partnership was aimed at providing prospective elementary teachers with meaningful opportunities to learn life science concepts using insects as models, engage in scientific investigations under the guidance of entomology faculty and graduate students, explore children's ideas about science, and consider implications for teaching and learning science for understanding. The program collaboration and related course experiences are described. (Contains 27 references.) (WRM)

This guide explains the process of developing an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for a student with disabilities and is based on requirements of the original Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the amended Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997. Following an introduction, the first section outlines the 10-step basic special education process under IDEA from child identification through evaluation, eligibility determination, IEP development, service provision, annual review, and re-evaluation. The second section offers a closer look at the IEP with information on: contents of the IEP, additional state and school-system content, the IEP team members, writing the IEP, deciding placement, after the IEP is written, implementing the IEP, reviewing and revising the IEP, and guidelines for situations in which parents don't agree with the IEP. Attached are a sample IEP form, a list of information resources, and the federal regulations for IEPs. (DB)