“A majority of U.S. high school students say they get bored in class every day, and more than one out of five has considered dropping out, according to a survey released Wednesday. The survey of 81,000 students in 26 states found two-thirds of high school students complain of boredom, usually because the subject matter was […]
“America’s governors are facing up to some harsh realities: Their states’ schoolchildren are not ready for the 21st century, their workers are not trained for the new jobs created every day, and their businesses are not competing as strongly as they must to keep ahead. The only way to thrive amid globalization is to change, […]
“Parents should not be forced to hire a lawyer to sue public school districts over their children’s special education needs, the lawyer for parents of an autistic child told the Supreme Court Tuesday. ‘What we’re advocating here is access to the courts,’ said Jean-Claude Andre, who represents Jeff and Sandee Winkelman, and their son, Jacob, […]
“On December 4, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases, Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education. The Court’s ruling, which could come as early as this spring, could have a major impact on the cultural makeup of the nation’s schools. The […]
“The House voted 56-40 today to pass a bill barring the federal No Child Left Behind educational standards from being used as a basis for accrediting schools or hiring teachers in Indiana. Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, told her colleagues that two schools in her district were deemed failing schools because of issues involving special education […]
“Improve high school math and science instruction is fast shaping up as a big priority. It’s attention that’s as overdue as it is welcome. Most states have long shortchanged their gifted students, paying only lip service to the need to challenge them with rewarding, rigorous courses. And many students shy away from math and science. […]
“Reforming special education has been one of the District’s most daunting challenges. Indeed, decade-old litigation spelled out two commonplace practices. The first was that school authorities repeatedly failed to provide students with timely status hearings and individual education plans. The other was that transportation authorities consistently failed to get students to school on time if […]
“In his letter on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reforms, reader Robert Grossman compared evaluating teachers with evaluating workers in businesses where the product is backed by a warranty (’Grading teachers,’ Letters, Feb. 20). He argues that teachers miss this critical distinction, which is necessary for competitive compensation. However, Grossman fails to note one monumental […]
“You think you hate your job? Imagine working for the National Assessment of Educational Progress at the U.S. Department of Education, which releases periodic reports on the state of education in the U.S. Another day, another statistic — and not just any statistic but another sad, despair-inducing statistic, the kind that, piled one on top […]
“American high schools is not good. The most recent test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly known as the national report card, finds that American 12th graders are actually performing worse in reading than 12th graders did in 1992, when a comparable exam was given. In addition, 12th-grade performance in reading has […]
