| Tougher road for future teachers
The state has revised what new teachers will need to learn and do before leading their first classrooms.
But some local educators worry the changes to teacher certifications could hurt recruiting efforts, students and cost taxpayers more.
The goal of the revisions is to demand specialized training (think pediatrician versus general practitioner) for the modern classroom.
The world of education is one of high-stakes testing in which teachers and schools are held accountable for the performance of all students, from all backgrounds.
"We need more focused education and that requires more focused teachers," said Michael Race, spokesman for the state Department of Education.
Michael Leichliter, an assistant superintendent in the Penn Manor School District, worries, however, the revisions will hurt his district's recruitment efforts, especially for those qualified to teach special education.
11 Lincoln Public Schools fail to meet federal standards
Eleven Lincoln Public Schools failed to meet federal No Child Left Behind targets for the second year in a row last year, a number that district officials say is likely to keep increasing."We will see more and more of our schools and more and more schools across the state," Marilyn Moore, LPS associate superintendent for instruction, told the Lincoln Board of Education Tuesday in an update on the federal accountability law.The Nebraska Department of Education plans to release the statewide numbers Monday. .
The Fergus Falls Daily Journal
After a lukewarm report card from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) in late August, Fergus Falls administrators have developed a plan to improve the school district's grades. Each year, the MDE uses test results from the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) to rate reading and math proficiencies in state schools. Schools must show they are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) by meeting a certain set of benchmarks, with the task of meeting the federal No Child Left Behind goal of 100 percent student proficiency by the 2013-2014 school year. AYP is calculated by subgroups, including students in special education, English language learners, ethnic groups and students receiving free or reduced-price lunches. A school district must make AYP among all subgroups to make AYP as a whole.
Bissell’s people
A couple of months ago a space author generously sent me a copy of his book, telling me that he had used a number of my articles in writing it. So naturally I turned to the footnotes to see which ones and cringed to learn that he had primarily cited my Internet writings rather than my print articles. The reason that this bothers me is that I view my Internet articles as first drafts, not final polished works. They lack footnotes, for instance, and the careful checking, re-checking, and editing that I (and my editors—it's always good having someone looking over your shoulder) put into works that appear in print. Usually I write the Internet articles late at night, only a day or two before they go online, rather than weeks or months (or sometimes years) before they see print. My recent article about CIA official Richard Bissell's role in developing a key aspect of the first American space policy (see "Tinker, Tailor, Satellite, Spy", The Space Review, October 29, 2007) is an example.
Opposition coalition could reverse SNP budget for university funding
LABOUR is threatening to join with the Liberal Democrats and Scottish Conservatives in an attempt to win more funding for Scotland's universities. There was anger and concern last week among university principals when higher education received only half the money it asked for in the SNP's first budget. .
Real Issues No. 279 - Exams, Youth Crime, Holyoake
Exams and why we need them Tackling youth crime Kiwi Keith. A biography of Keith Holyoake IN THE NEWS Poverty trap targets the most vulnerable The great spending debate Exams And Why We Need Them Exam season is upon secondary students, and NZQA deputy chief executive Bali Haque took the opportunity to ask students not to use text language when writing in exams. Telling the New Zealand Herald that 'good, solid traditional English' is expected, Mr Haque also reaffirmed NZQA's existing policy that text abbreviations may be accepted in certain contexts, if they demonstrate understanding of the idea being examined: 'The litmus test will be ... have they understood the concept of the idea? ... that's what it has always been and that's what it will, no doubt always continue to be.' .
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