Education News: March 30, 2007

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending March 30, 2007.

Texas House Votes For $800 Educator Pay Raise
(Source: The Houston Chronicle, 3/30/07): A proposal to increase educator pay across the board by $800 passed in the Texas House legislature on Friday. The proposal would take money from incentive programs and use it for a general salary increase instead. The proposal, made by a House Democrat, passed despite the fact that the house is controlled by Republicans.

Many Illinois Schools Dodge Federal Warning List
(Source: CNN, 3/29/07): 53 Illinois schools that would have been listed on the NCLB warning list have not been added because of a change to testing guidelines that the state implemented in 2006. Under the new guidelines, test results for students who attended the school as of May 1st the previous year were the only ones counted. The Illinois Board of Education says the new guidelines were recommended by a panel of education experts.

Rewards For High Scores?
(Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune, 3/28/07): The San Marcos Unified School District in California is considering increasing grades by one letter for students who excel on the state assessment tests. Proponents of this change believe that students need incentives to perform well and point to students who do not take the test seriously. Opponents believe that increasing grades by a letter will introduce a new set of problems.

CPS Expects to Cut 270 Teachers
(Source: The Chicago Sun-Times, 3/28/07): Expecting enrollment to fall by 4,000 students this upcoming fall, the Chicago school district is planning to let 270 teachers go after this year. The past five years have seen a sharp decrease in enrollment in Chicago public schools, owing to a declining birthrate in the windy city.

Governor Crist Makes His Pitch To Put PE Back in Schools
(Source: The St. Petersburg Times, 3/27/07): Governor Charlie Crist of Florida proposed a return to daily physical education classes in school this week. The governor recently formed the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness to examine ways to keep Floridians in healthy shape.

Governor: Fight School Funds Cuts
(Source: The Detroit News, 3/27/07): Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and the Michigan State Senate are engaged in a struggle over proposed budget cuts and tax increases. Faced with a nearly billion dollar deficit for the year, legislators are looking for ways to trim fat from the budget. This week, the governor urged teachers not to allow the senate to cut education funding.

Many Teachers See Failure in Students’ Future
(Source: USA Today, 3/26/07): A study released by the National School Boards Association finds that a significant percentage of teachers have a gloomy outlook on the possibility of future success for their students. Over 20% of urban school teachers interviewed believed their students would not succeed. Many also complained of a lack of work ethic in their students.

Poor Behavior is Linked to Time in Day Care
(Source: The New York Times, 3/26/07): The most comprehensive day care study in the United States to date released findings showing a correlation between time spent in daycare centers and behavioral problems in elementary school. This correlation played out across all socio-economic and racial lines. Critics of the report say unexamined factors largely influence these results.

To Be AP, Courses Must Pass Muster
(Source: The Washington Post, 3/25/07): The College Board has issued a mandate that every AP teacher in the nation submit a course syllabus to be audited. With 130,000 AP classes across the nation, the board hopes to tighten up on lax courses and make sure that AP classes are using a rigorous curriculum.