Education News: March 21 & March 28, 2008

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending March 21 & March 28, 2008.

Student Agony Grows Along with Top Colleges’ Wait Lists
(Source: The Boston Globe, 3/27/08):  A surge in college applications and changes in financial aid and early admissions policies at many colleges have left students and schools alike with a great deal of uncertainty.  Usually, colleges feel confident in their estimates of what portion of accepted students will matriculate, but this year that is not the case.  In order to ensure that they do not end up with either too many or too few students, a number of top schools have greatly expanded their wait lists, leaving many students waiting anxiously in limbo.

Boston Schools Will Get a $10 Million Bailout
(Source: The Boston Globe, 3/27/08):  The city of Boston will dip into its reserves to give a one-time $10 million bailout to its cash-strapped school system.  This will allow schools superintendent Carol Johnson to avoid deep classroom cuts and school closings for now.  To make up the remainder of the district’s $30.7 million budget shortfall, Johnson will lay off some administrative employees and school support staffers, cut back on energy use, and defer building maintenance projects.

Size Alone Makes Small Classes Better for Kids
(Source: USA Today, 3/25/08):  Student achievement improves when class size is reduced regardless of whether educators adapt their teaching style, according to a new series of studies presented at the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting.  The studies used data from four countries—the U.S., England, Hong Kong, and Switzerland.  However, a recent study of Tennessee school children found that smaller class size mainly benefits high-achieving students.

Expert: Top Pay, Cars Reasonable for Dade School Officials
(Source:  The Miami Herald, 3/24/08):  In the midst of a heated debate about how Miami’s school system will resolve its budget crisis, a University of Miami business professor has weighed in to say that the district does not have an unreasonably high number of administrators making more than a $100,000 per year, given the district’s size.  The district has a $3.1 billion operating budget and 50,000 employees, 413 of whom make more than $100,000.  With big funding cuts in the pipeline and teacher benefits on the line, many school employees have come to believe the district has a top-heavy administration.

Judge Says ‘Problem Kids’ Are No Problem
(Source:  The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune, 3/23/08):  The chief judge of New Orleans’ juvenile court system has announced plans to open an alternative high school that will cater primarily to students with discipline problems and teen parents.  Students will split their time between classroom learning and working and will be paid for both activities.  The school, which will be administered by the juvenile court system, will provide on-site childcare and teach parenting skills.  Judge David Bell hopes to open the school with a pilot group of students this spring.

States’ Data Obscure How Few Finish High School
(Source: The New York Times, 3/20/08):  According to education researchers, many states keep two sets of graduation data.  Generally, states report inflated graduation rates to the federal government to avoid No Child Left Behind sanctions, but also keep a more accurate—and more grim—rate on file for state-level purposes, such as campaigning for resources to combat the drop-out crisis.  Often, the reported rate is on the order of 80 percent, while the more accurate rate is closer to 60 percent.  The discrepancy arises from different calculation methods.  For instance, New Mexico reported a rate based on the percentage of 12th-graders who received a diploma at the end of the year—a method that disregards students who drop out before their senior year.

U.S. Eases ‘No Child’ Sanctions
(Source:  The Washington Post, 3/19/08):  U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has announced a pilot program that will allow ten states some flexibility in applying sanctions to schools that fall short of the benchmarks set by No Child Left Behind.  Specifically, the program will allow states to draw a distinction between schools that miss the mark by only a narrow margin and those that truly have a long way to go.  Participating states have not yet been confirmed.

Bilingual Teachers Wanted
(Source:  The Boston Globe, 3/18/08):  Boston’s school district has recently begun sending representatives to Puerto Rico to recruit teachers who can help the city’s Latino students perform better academically.  The city discontinued bilingual education in 2002, and many Latino students, 40 percent of whom are learning English as a second language, have been struggling ever since.  Boston education officials are looking to Puerto Rico as a source of ESL teachers, as well as teachers in other shortage subject areas, including math and science.

In a Time of Distracted Ears, Teachers Ensure They’re Loud and Clear
(Source: The New York Times, 3/16/08):  In the age of iPods, attention deficit disorder, and students with limited English-speaking abilities, schools are increasingly turning to amplification systems that include speakers and microphones to ensure that students catch all of what their teachers are saying.  Early results are promising, with test scores way up in certain instances.  Some education experts oppose this development, however, on the basis that schools could reduce noise through better classroom design rather than increase the overall noise with teachers’ microphones.