Quick Hits

Study - Lessons in social, emotional skills boost achievement: Students who learn social and emotional skills outperform their peers who do not, according to a new report. Researchers said students who were taught lessons in social and emotional skills scored 11 percentile points higher on exams and benefited in other ways, such as having less stress, better behavior and improved attitudes. The report's findings suggest a teacher-led social-emotional curriculum with step-by-step instruction, active learning, sufficient time for lessons and specific learning goals. (Education Week)

How school boards are changing their focus: School-board members are reporting an increased interest in student achievement over bureaucratic or management tasks, according to a nationwide survey. The study -- written by the American Enterprise Institute with contributions from several groups -- found that school-board members also consider professional development and school leadership as more critical for boosting student achievement than teacher performance pay, charter schools or alternative school calendars. (Education Week)

What types of technology are educators using in the classroom?: When it comes to classroom technology, teachers favor interactive whiteboards, tablet-style e-reader devices and laptops, according to a national survey on teachers' digital media use conducted by PBS and Grunwald Associates. About 62% of teachers said they frequently use digital media in the classroom, though much of what they use is free or paid for out-of-pocket. More than three-quarters of teachers also said they are using streaming video in class, up from 55% in 2007. (eSchool News)

Teacher finds students benefit from backward lessons offered via technology: A Potomac, Md., high-school math teacher has started recording classroom lessons that her Advanced Placement Calculus students can watch at home -- freeing up class time for questions and one-on-one instruction. Stacey Roshan says the approach -- which her students call the "backwards classroom" -- helps students relax and early results show it's improving student achievement. Roshan uses PowerPoint and TechSmith's Camtasia Studio to record her screen and voice, along with problems from the textbook. (T.H.E. Journal)

Survey - Teachers favor interactive whiteboards, e-readers: When it comes to classroom technology, teachers favor interactive whiteboards, tablet-style e-reader devices and laptops, according to a national survey on teachers' digital media use conducted by PBS and Grunwald Associates. About 62% of teachers said they frequently use digital media in the classroom, though much of what they use is free or paid for out-of-pocket. More than three-quarters of teachers also said they are using streaming video in class, up from 55% in 2007.(eSchool News)

California Court Allows Broadly Framed Equity Claims to Continue - Status of Adequacy Allegations Remains Unclear: Ruling on parallel claims in two major challenges to California’s system for financing public education [Robles-Wong and Campaign], Superior Court judge Steven A. Brick granted plaintiffs in both cases leave to amend their equal protection claims to frame the relevant constitutional issue, which, in the court’s view is whether: "Having legislatively established content and assessment standards, a system that does not provide an equal opportunity for all students to succeed in learning the required content may, under Serrano I and II, be viewed as violating the equal protection guaranty."(ACCESS)

PISA Scores, Broken Down by Poverty Rate, Indicate U.S. is Failing to Educate Low-Income Children: The Obama administration called the release of the 2009 PISA (the Program for International Student Assessment) results “a Sputnik moment,” lamenting the middling scores, compared to students in other countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), for U.S. students in reading, math, and science. However, some education leaders and experts have offered a more nuanced view, one that acknowledges problems raised by the scores but also reveals an astonishing underlying truth: the United States does not have a broad-based educational crisis; rather, it is failing to educate at high levels only one significant part of its student population – its low-income children.
(ACCESS)

Should Baltimore's school-choice policies be replicated elsewhere?: The school-choice movement in Baltimore has garnered attention from national groups that say it should be a model nationwide. Superintendent Andres Alonso has made competition among schools a hallmark of his administration and supporters of the policy say it empowers parents and students to make choices about education. Critics, however, say such policies promote friction among schools and the focus should be on improving standards at all schools. (The Sun)

What teachers can learn from the NFL: American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten recently compared feedback on teaching to that of professional football, saying that NFL teams constantly review video and are "deconstructing what is working and what isn't working." Tim Daly, the president of the New Teacher Project, and his brother, Brendan Daly, a former teacher and the defensive line coach for the St. Louis Rams, draw other comparisons -- and contrasts -- between football and education in this interview. (TIME)

Virginia considers ban on student-teacher texting: In Virginia, officials are considering a policy that would ban or limit teachers and students from sending text messages to each other or communicating one-on-one via social media. However, some educators say they are concerned that such a policy would harm student-teacher communication. One teacher says she exchanges about 100 text messages with students daily, asking why they are not in school or answering questions about assignments. Students are more likely to respond to a text message than a phone call, the teacher said. (The Roanoke Times)

Indiana schools begin implementing state testing online: Indiana's requirement that schools begin giving the multiple-choice portion of state tests online in some grades is drawing mixed reactions from educators. Officials in one district say the requirement necessitates the use of all available computers and interferes with the school's computer classes, while others are concerned about technological and security glitches. However, some educators who already are using online testing say students are more comfortable with the format. (The Indianapolis Star)

Should schools focus on college preparation for all students?: A focus on college preparation for all students may not be adequately serving a large number of students who need more preparation for careers that don't require a four-year degree, according to a report released today by Harvard University's Graduate School for Education. The report recommends expanding career-preparation programs and defining paths to college or certificate programs as early as middle school. However, critics of the report say placing students on career tracks could result in the channeling of disadvantaged students into watered-down academic programs.(Education Week)

Pittsburgh set to launch new teacher-residency program: A new alternative teacher-training program will open in Pittsburgh this fall, but it will serve a smaller number of incoming teachers than originally planned because of reduced grant money from the federal government. The Pittsburgh Teacher Academy Residency will train college graduates seeking certification in special education and one core subject. It also will train core-subject teachers seeking special-education certification. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

College is the expectation at a successful Chicago charter: A culture of high expectations at Chicago's Pritzker College Prep is being credited with helping all of last year's seniors win acceptance to four-year colleges, with 90% of them enrolling. The charter school is located in a blue-collar neighborhood and nearly all of the students are poor, but educators teach students that they will go on to college without exception. "What makes this kind of teaching possible is high behavioral standards," the school's principal said. "The onus of the learning is on the child." (The Hechinger Report)

New plan proposed for teacher merit pay in Florida: The chairman of Florida's senate education committee proposed a teacher merit-pay plan Monday that would tie teacher evaluations to student growth on standardized tests. Pay for teachers hired after July 2014 also would be tied to achievement and raises no longer would be offered for new teachers who earn advanced degrees, unless the degrees are in their area of certification. (Orlando Sentinel)