NSTA - Education News

New U.S. Research Center to Study Education Technology
Aug 21 2008 - Education Week (requires registration)
Congress has authorized a new federal research center that will be charged with helping to develop innovative ways to use digital technology at schools and in universities. The National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies was included as part of the latest reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, approved last month.

Six in 10 Minnesota Kids Come Up Short in Science
Aug 21 2008 - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Minnesota has long enjoyed a reputation as a nationwide leader in science education, but the results of a new test could cast a shadow on that image. Only about four out of 10 Minnesota students can be labeled "proficient" in science, according to results released by the Minnesota Department of Education.

NYC Cash-for-Tests Program Shows Mixed Results
Aug 21 2008 - The Boston Globe
A privately funded initiative that pays students in some New York City high schools up to $1,000 for passing Advanced Placement tests is not making the grade, critics say. Students at the 31 schools participating in the program called Rewarding Achievement, or REACH, took 345 more tests this year than last year. But the passing rate dropped slightly, from 35% in 2007 to 32% this year.

Could Bumpy Economy Lead to Slumping Education?
Aug 19 2008 - USA Today
Harder times and higher fuel prices are following kids back to school this fall. Children will walk farther to the bus stop, pay more for lunch, and study from old textbooks. Bills are mounting for air conditioning and heating, for cafeteria food and for classroom supplies. The extra costs present a tricky math problem: Where can schools subtract to keep costs under control?

"Bravest" Students Do Not Cheat
Aug 18 2008 - BBC News
Students who are bravest are least likely to cheat, say researchers. Two studies of more than 400 students at Ohio State University found those who did not cheat scored highest in tests of courage and empathy. They also, perhaps unsurprisingly, scored higher than cheaters on tests of honesty.

President Bush Signs Legislation to Renew the Higher Education Act
Aug 15 2008 - The Chronicle of Higher Education
President Bush signed legislation to renew the Higher Education Act, the major law governing federal student aid. Among its provisions, the law creates dozens of grant programs for colleges and students while imposing hundreds of new reporting requirements on institutions. It cracks down on conflicts of interest in student-loan programs, presses institutions and states to rein in tuition, and makes it easier for for-profit colleges to become, or to remain, eligible to award federal student aid.

Report Fuels Four-Day Week Debate
Aug 15 2008 - Advocate Capitol News Bureau
The trend of the four-day school week is growing in Louisiana and nationwide—especially in rural areas—but the concept is not catching on in larger areas such as Baton Rouge, local and state education officials agree. A new Southern Regional Education Board “Focus on the School Calendar” report released this week explores the pros and cons of the four-day school week and essentially concludes that the known outcomes are inconclusive.

Four-Day Week on the Rise in Education
Aug 14 2008 - eSchool News
School districts and universities are taking cues from the business world and instituting four-day weeks, a trend that some say could become the norm as gas prices and energy costs continue to rise.

Firebomb Attacks Anger, Worry UC Scientists Who Use Animals in Research
Aug 14 2008 - Los Angeles Times
Two recent firebomb attacks on UC Santa Cruz scientists who conduct animal research have angered and worried academics throughout the UC system, who said their work has broad public support and that they will not be intimidated by bombers who crossed the line by targeting families.

ACT Scores Show 3 in 4 Need Some Remedial Help for College
Aug 13 2008 - USA Today
Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam dipped slightly for the high school class of 2008 as the number of students taking the exam jumped by 9% compared to last year. This year's results, released Wednesday, reveal that more than three in four test-takers will likely need remedial help in at least one subject to succeed in college.

Outdoor Educators Pushing for "No Child Left Inside" Funding
Aug 11 2008 - USA Today
Outdoor and environmental educators across the nation are ramping up pressure on Congress and their state lawmakers to add funding for nature learning. The effort dubbed "No Child Left Inside" could mean millions more for environmental education—and a major windfall for nonprofits hoping for more federal help getting kids outside.

Schools Move to Eject Cars from Campuses
Aug 8 2008 - USA Today
High schools and colleges are steering students away from cars to save money on gas, save the environment and promote physical fitness.

Fun and Games and Academics, Too
Aug 8 2008 - The Boston Globe
Dozens of the recreational camps based at community centers across Boston have been incorporating academics into the regular routine, the first step in a broad community learning initiative meant to link programming at community centers, libraries, and schools. The idea is to improve test scores and decrease youth violence by getting all of a community's resources lined up behind student success.

Congress: Schools Must Clamp Down on File Sharing
Aug 7 2008 - eSchool News
Colleges and universities soon will be required to take measures to combat illegal file sharing on campus and ensure that students enrolled in online classes are the ones taking their tests, according to a bill passed by Congress July 31.

Virgina OK'd for Educational Services Pilot Program
Aug 7 2008 - Richmond Times Dispatch
Virginia is one of seven states that will be able to offer extra help for its students before moving them out of their schools. The U.S. Department of Education announced a pilot program that allows Virginia and the six other states to provide supplemental services to students—before offering an option to move to a better school—in schools that have not met federal adequate-yearly-progress requirements.

Teacher Finds New Cosmic Object
Aug 6 2008 - BBC News
A new class of cosmic object has been found by a Dutch schoolteacher, through a project that allows the public to take part in astronomy research online.

Maharishi University Plans Ultimate Green Building
Aug 6 2008 - The Boston Globe
Solar panels and wind generators will produce the heat and electricity, rainwater will be purified for drinking, and sunshine will light most of the building. In Fairfield, Iowa, the Maharishi University of Management's new sustainable living program building will be greener than any structure of its kind.

Arizona Educators Embrace Trend of Technology in Their Curriculum
Aug 6 2008 - The Arizona Republic
Just two decades ago, many schools had only a few computers and taught lessons about typing. But Monday marked a drastic change for Arizona schools as one of the first K-5 technology academies opened its doors to students.

To Teach Genetics, Zebra Fish Go to School
Aug 5 2008 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Steven A. Farber heads a nonprofit organization that aims to bring science to inner-city schools. Their tool of choice is the zebra fish.

Costs, Concerns Push Schools to Use Eco-Friendly Elements
Aug 4 2008 - USA Today
Classrooms are slowly going green, prodded by rising energy bills, public health concerns, and a general desire to adopt eco-friendly principles. Green schools cost a little more to build (generally 1% to 2% extra) than conventional schools but promise payback through lower utility bills and, some studies suggest, better student achievement.

Some States Said to Share "Core" Standards
Aug 4 2008 - Education Week
States that have worked individually to set rigorous academic standards for high school students have inadvertently subscribed to a “common core” of expectations in English/language arts and mathematics, an analysis has found. The apparent agreement among a “critical mass” of states on the kinds of complex knowledge and skills students need to master in those subjects suggests, according to the report, that a state-led effort toward creating common standards is feasible.

Earthquake Lecture on Riverside Campus Is Interrupted by the Real Thing
Jul 31 2008 - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Science educators are constantly searching for ways to make their lessons more relevant to students, so a professor at the University of California at Riverside must have felt particularly fortunate on Tuesday when his lecture on earthquake waves was disrupted by a 5.4-magnitude temblor.

Fuel Prices Force Schools to Weigh Class, Staff Cuts
Jul 30 2008 - USA Today
Fuel and energy costs are rising so quickly for the USA's public school districts that nearly one in seven is considering cutting back to four-day weeks this fall. One in four is considering limits on athletics and other extracurricular activities, and nearly one in three is eliminating teaching jobs.

City Leaders Back Stronger Accountability
Jul 29 2008 - Education Week (requires free registration)
In the debate over the future of the No Child Left Behind Act, many educators say the federal government should ease the law’s accountability requirements by setting achievable goals and imposing reasonable sanctions on schools that don’t meet them. But urban leaders, whose schools are most likely to struggle to reach the law’s current goals and most apt to face such sanctions, are urging Congress to be more aggressive in holding their schools accountable in the future.

Copyright Fight Looms over College Textbooks
Jul 29 2008 - eSchool News
The high cost of college textbooks has spawned a new battleground in the fight to keep students from downloading copyright-protected materials over the internet: textbook file sharing.

A New Frontier for Title IX: Science
Jul 28 2008 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Until recently, the impact of Title IX, the law forbidding sexual discrimination in education, has been limited mostly to sports. But now, under pressure from Congress, some federal agencies have quietly picked a new target: science. The National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Department of Energy have set up programs to look for sexual discrimination at universities receiving federal grants.

CSU Program to Turn All Majors "Green"
Jul 25 2008 - The Denver Post
Colorado State University has launched a School of Global Environmental Sustainability that will eventually touch all academic disciplines and push even English majors to learn about technology that could clean up the Earth. The university will spend $350,000 in the first year to develop the new school, which will eventually have its own majors and offer certificates in environmental sustainability.

"Turning Point" Arrives as U.S. Community Colleges' Purview Grows
Jul 25 2008 - USA Today
Community college leaders insist that their institutions, created to serve their local communities, have grown even more important on a larger stage.

Transcending Boundaries
Jul 24 2008 - National Science Foundation
From understanding climate change to predicting infectious disease outbreaks to engineering solutions to address disability, scientific research is increasingly crossing the boundaries between disciplines.

Bible Course Standards Approved for Texas Schools
Jul 24 2008 - Austin American-Statesman
The State Board of Education adopted Bible course curriculum standards Friday that critics say provide little guidance on how to teach the course without running afoul of the U.S. Constitution.

ECS Responds to National Demand for Science and Math Workforce
Jul 22 2008 - Education Commission of the States
The Education Commission of the States has launched two key resources for policymakers. The first focuses on increasing the workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The second responds to a projected, growing national demand for students with advanced skills in career and technical fields.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Jul 22 2008 - Inside Higher Ed
Institutional researchers, champions of data-driven assessment, seek to balance interests of policy makers who often want facile, external measures--and faculty who sometimes want none.