AM News: Big Changes In Connecticut

Schools Deal Sets Overhaul WSJ: In a sweeping education deal with lawmakers and teacher unions here, Gov. Dannel Malloy gave ground on some of his farthest-reaching proposals but contended the compromise was still a historic overhaul of public-school policy in a state that has proved resistant to change. ALSO:  Conn. education bill at a glance AP 

Senate Stumbles on Student Loan Bill Politics K12: Legislation that would stave off a proposed rate hike for student loans failed to pass a key procedural hurdle today in the U.S. Senate—even though the basic policy has the support of President Barack Obama, presumed GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and congressional Democrats and Republicans.

Conservative Groups Oppose National 'Common Core' as an Intrusion on States WSJ: The Common Core national math and reading standards, adopted by 46 states and the District of Columbia two years ago, are coming under attack from some quarters as a federal intrusion into state education matters. ALSO:  Universities, Districts to Partner on Common-Core Secondary Math Teacher Beat

MORE NEWS ITEMS INSIDE

City Freezes Hiring at 24 Struggling Schools Until Hearing Next Week NYT: Education officials say they will not make personnel decisions at 24 schools scheduled to be closed and reopened this summer, until a court hearing next week. Unions representing the city's teachers and principals claim that the city's plan to replace staff members at the schools violates their contracts, and they are seeking a restraining order so an arbitrator can have time to rule on their complaints.

All L.A. Unified students must pass college-prep courses LAT: The Los Angeles Board of Education votes to require grades of D or better in college-prep classes starting with incoming ninth-graders in the fall, raising requirements to a C for the Class of 2017.

Teacher evaluation: What it should look like Washington Post: A new report from Stanford University researcher Linda Darling-Hammond details what the components of a comprehensive teacher evaluation system should look like at a time when such assessments have become one of the most contentious debates in education today.

Puerto Rico Aims To Become Fully Bilingual By 2022 AP via HuffPost: The governor of Puerto Rico is trying to do what more than a century of American citizenship has failed to accomplish: make Puerto Ricans fluent in English.

America's Obesity Battle Begins In Schools, Report Says AP via HuffPost: Schools should be a cornerstone of the nation's obesity battle, but to trim Americans' waistlines, changes are needed everywhere people live, work, play and learn, a major new report says.

 

Comments

[Bruce]

Our APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) partners, at least the Asian ones, are typically teaching all of the maths that appear on our SAT Subject Test in Mathematics (Level 1) by the end of 9th grade, when these new, supposedly "world-class" Common Core State Standards have our students starting algebra! Something has gone seriously wrong here; all of those "best minds" gathered failed to carry out their mission. Parents of students in public schools, even supposedly good ones, will need to invest in private education if they want their children to have a chance to be globally competitive in math and science, since our politicians are such obvious impediments to academic achievement. I have to recommend, again, One World Secondary School, which we tried to start as a charter school in Irvine (and elsewhere) and are now determined to start as an independent school in California, although the model is capable of moving elsewhere because our standards really are world class and are available at a price only equal to that of the average public secondary school budget in the United States.

[Sarah]

True, but at the same time, Asian culture places a higher value on education in general, which has its pros and cons as well. In Japan, the typical school day in 10 hours long, 6 days a week. So I’m not really sure the comparison is valid.

That being said, it is entirely ridiculous that students just now are facing Algebra as a required course. There aren’t many careers I can think of that don’t involve some of it.

[Sarah]

It’s honestly embarrassing at this point, by the way, that Congress can’t do something that everyone supports. And I don’t think that anyone ever supported the rate increase for loans, at least anyone that wanted the support of the young.

[Bruce]

Sorry, but the Japanese only go to school five days a week, typically from 8-3 or 3:30. (Half days on Saturdays were formerly required, but given up around ten years ago.) They do frequently attend cram schools after the regular school hours are over, but this is more true of middle schoolers than it is for high school. But my original point was about the ambitiousness of the standards the students will be attempting to meet, whether in regular school or cram school (juku), whether there or here (we have plenty of Asian students in Irvine who attend after-school tutoring centres, and my wife will teach my son at one tonight). Similar kids, similar institutions, but if they're in America, they'll be behind. Informed families know this, and take extra steps to keep their kids competitive.