Taking the Bully By the Horns

Some stories are tough to read. But that doesn't make them any less valuable. One example is Rebecca Golden's recent piece on Salon.com, about trying to make peace with her childhood bullies.

Golden's first-person account is effective for the naked honesty and bravery it took to even attempt such a reconciliation, never mind write about it. But where the story rings most true is in her minimal lack of success -- both at getting her past tormentors to talk to her, and her ability to fully let go of her past pain.

I've blogged about my own history as a "mean girl", as well as my experiences being the one who was picked on. If any of the kids I pushed around were to seek me out now, I think I would have enough respect for the situation to sit down and talk about it. I wish Golden could have gotten the same opportunity.

Her story is valuable to education reporters, as school districts and states nationwide are putting new regulations in place to curb bullying. (I'm not sure how effective it will be to make every student take an anti-bullying pledge, as states like Maryland are now requiring, but I appreciate the intentions behind it.)

Much of the push toward anti-bullying legislation comes in the wake of several high-profile cases of students committing suicide.There have been some questions raised about the Phoebe Prince case, a girl in South Hadley, Mass. who killed herself allegedly after being bullied by classmates. Emily Bazelon of Slate.com has written extensively about the case and is at work on a book about bullying. I look forward to reading it.

If you are writing about bullying, or legislative policies to address it in schools, here are some resources to help you get going:

The National Association of School Psychologists has a wealth of information about bullying, including cyberbullying. You can start with an overview fact sheet here.

The Education Commission of the States has a helpful compilation of anti-bullying legislation nationally that was released in August. You can find it by clicking here.

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

College Costs Soar, But is Online Learning the Answer?

The cost of a college education continues to soar (read the Associated Press' Justin Pope's story here). In the meantime, President Obama wants to address the looming student loan debt crisis by making it easier for some individuals to pay back what they owe (Click here for the Tribune News Services' story).

I was working on a story recently about distance education, so I talked with Robert Mendenhall, president of Western Governors University. The fully accredited, nonprofit online program allows students to progress as they master specific standards, rather than requiring a set number of credit hours or courses. He told me that because students work at their own pace, and get credit for the knowledge and skills they might already have, a bachelor's degree at WGU takes an average of 30 months to complete. That's about half the time of a traditional college or university. WGU's classes are also significantly more affordable for many students, averaging less than $6,000 per year.

But distance learning isn't for everyone, and for many people it doesn't come close to the traditional college experience many parents want their children to experience. Mendenhall said about 70 percent of WGU's students are also working adults. He doesn't believe online programs will -- or should -- replace the bricks-and-mortar colleges. Rather, WGU is another way to get the necessary skills to compete in an ever-crowded workforce with too little job growth.

"There's a percentage of the population that never ends up on a campus because they can't -- either because of access issues or finances or a lack of academic preparation," Mendenhall said. "We need options for those students." 

I'm interested in hearing from readers out there who might have done their degrees through Western Governors (or another online program). Do you regret missing out on the so-called "traditional "college experience? Similarly, how many of you have student loans that will take decades to repay? Was it worth it?

Here's another question: Does anyone else find the idea of a $200,000 bachelor's degree terrifying? 

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

Teacher Evaluations: Too Much Change Too Fast?

The National Council on Teacher Quality has a new report out today, tracking teacher evaluation models and reform across the country. (For the full report you can go to the NCTQ web site.)

What is remarkable to me, as evidenced by the report's findings, is just how fast this train is moving.

Two years ago, annual teacher evaluations were mandatory in just 15 states. Today, that number stands at 24 states and the District of Columbia. Additionally, those evaluations "including not just some attention to student learning, but objective evidence of student learning in the form of student growth and/or value-added data," according to the NCTQ report.

I was surprised to learn from the report that both Indiana and Tennessee make it clear that a poor evaluation is grounds for dismissal. But neither state has specific policies as to how those low-scoring  teachers will be helped to improve their performance. To not give teachers a chance to improve -- or provide any support  for them to do so -- doesn't seem fair.

There was something else in the report that jumped out at me, and that was the section dealing with the question of categorization. How many levels should there be for teacher performance? Is "effective" and "ineffective" enough? Should there also be ratings for "partially effective" or "highly effective"?

The NCTQ report concludes that there isn't yet a "best" answer to this question. However, the report argues that the wrong answer might well be "three."

With three categories to choose from, evaluators might be tempted to lump many teachers into the middle -- or average -- and avoid actually making discriminating judgments on their performance. This is something I hadn't considered as a possibility, and I think NCTQ makes a strong argument here.

There are some aspects to this debate that still have to play out. How will the push toward evaluations affect the teachers themselves? Will it result in a measurable improvement in student achievement? The answers to these questions might take more time than some policymakers -- and the public -- are willing to commit.

Here's another aspect of the debate that I've been thinking about this week: Given that numerous studies have validated that the quality of classroom instruction is one of the single biggest factors in student achievement, it makes sense that the push for evaluations started with the teachers. But how long until states require similar evaluations of the principals?


Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

Tuesday Round-Up: Remediation, Civil Rights and NAEP

The New York Times' Michael Winerip has a hugely effective column in Monday's paper, about a spike in remediation rates among community college students. This is an issue that doesn't get enough attention, despite being a central plank on the bridge from K-12 to higher education.

If you want more information on how remediation affects college completion rates as well as post-graduate success, start with Getting Past Go. This organization has a wealth of data (the news isn't good) and recommendations for policymakers (are the ones in your state following them?).

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Earlier this month, I wrote a blog about suggested shortfalls in public education when it comes to teaching the history of the Civil Rights Movement.

On the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as "the Nation's Report Card," only 2 percent of high school seniors could identify the relevance of Brown vs. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision which determined separate school facilities for black and white children were inherently unequal.

On Monday's Los Angeles Times opinion page,  Professor Sam Wineburg, who teaches history and education at Stanford University, questioned the validity of the Civil Rights Project's study. (You can find his column here.)

Wineburg makes a strong case that the students might know more than we're giving them credit for, and that includes on the NAEP exam. He's right to urge us to be a little more thoughtful before drawing conclusions based on a single answer.

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Speaking of NAEP, the Nation's Report Card in mathematics and reading will be released next week. Click here to sign up for the webinar.

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

NCLB: Things Get Ugly

The Senate's markup session of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was suspended yesterday by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, much to the dismay of many. Although, after four years of assorted delays, could a few more days really make a difference?

While Congress does its work, not everyone is waiting for federal regulations to change before taking big steps toward reform. The Boston Herald had a nice piece Thursday about states revamping education policies regardless of whether they're getting a slice of the Race To The Top pie.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education announced that 35 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico are all in the hunt for the early learning grant challenge. (Click here to read what I wrote about the initiative in a prior blog post.)

As someone who spends quite a bit of time obsessing over whether my tax return was filled out correctly, I find stories like this one particularly distressing. The Washington Post reports that "According to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration set for release Thursday, 1.7 million taxpayers received $2.6 billion in education credits that appear to be erroneous based on IRS records."

I'd like end this week with some good news from the education front. Got any to share?

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

NCLB Required Reading Roundup

Will No Child Left Behind be rewritten? Revised? Or scrapped outright in favor of some bold new plan to fix the nation's public schools?

Senate hearings got underway Wednesday, a mere four years late. The law took effect in 2002, and was supposed to be put up for review every five years after that date. Instead, Congress put off having the tough conversation and approved school funds on an annual basis.

Here's a few of the headline stories (and opinions) to consider:

The Christian Science Monitor asks if the proposed changes can make it through the political grist mill before the 2012 elections. This story gives a solid overview of what's at stake, as well as some of the more controversial proposed changes.

Speaking of controversial proposed changes, a move to tie teacher evaluations to the law's reauthorization was scrapped, and that didn't please the Washington Post's editorial board. It's worth noting that D.C. Public Schools, for all the complaints about low achievement despite massive per-pupil spending, is well ahead of the pack when it comes to tackling the sticky wicket of teacher evaluations. One of the most interesting stories of the past year on the issue came from Washington Post, in which a reporter actually sat in on a session between a teacher and his evaluator.

While the more familiar aspects of NCLB are understandably getting the most attention this week, there are other issues to consider. On the Huffington Post, advocate Daniel Heimpel makes a strong argument that nation's education law doesn't do enough to meet the needs of students who are also in foster care. It's hard to argue with him that the issue has been overlooked by many of us in the media, as well.

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

Story Idea to Steal: Remember Persistently Dangerous Schools?

With Senate hearings underway today to discuss the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it's a good time to look back at one of the quirkier aspects of No Child Left Behind.

Since the law took effect in 2002, states have been required to produce annual reports on school safety, including identifying campuses that are "persistently dangerous". But like much of the law, states were given tremendous flexibility in setting the bar.

In that first year of the mandatory reporting I was working in Las Vegas. There was utter amazement among Nevada journalists at the findings of the school safety report. How was it, exactly, that our state could have nine persistently dangerous schools -- all of them in Washoe County with 50,000 students -- while neighboring California had not even one?

Were California schools really that much safer? Or had the Golden Gate simply written a "persistently dangerous" threshold that required such a drastic level of violence that no school would ever conceivably qualify?

California was hardly alone. In 2007, a report by the Office of the Inspector General found just 46 schools out 94,000 nationwide had been identified as "persistently dangerous." The report called for the law's reporting requirements on school safety, as well as the required corrective measures,  to be strengthened and better enforced.

The "persistently dangerous" provision hasn't gotten much attention in recent years as schools -- and policymakers -- have moved on to the more pressing requirements of NCLB and its effects on the business of schooling.

But I find myself wondering -- when was the last time you asked your district for the names of the schools on the "persistently dangerous" list? What extra support, funding or programs are students at those campuses receiving as a result of the designation? How many students have transferred, on the district's dime, to "safer" campuses?

I'm interested to hear what other elements of NCLB have simply fallen by the wayside in your districts, either bureaucratically or in terms of public scrutiny or interest. Drop me a line at erichmond@ewa.org and I'll include your answers in a round-up blog post.


Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily. 

New York Needs Money to Catch Test Cheaters

A story in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend caught my eye. Education officials in New York are asking for state funds to examine student score sheets for evidence of cheating.

The story is notable for several reasons. First, it's an example of yet another state where -- surprisingly -- this type of post-test monitoring isn't already in place. Second, the story points out that of the $2.1 million the officials say is needed, $1 million would be used to look for what's known as erasure anomalies -- evidence that that an incorrect answer was erased and the correct answer put in its place.

Last year, I interviewed an Atlanta Public Schools spokesman in the wake of the cheating scandal that had swept through his district.

I asked him about a report that had found significant evidence of erasure anomalies. The spokesman told me that nearly 80 percent of Atlanta's K-12 students qualified for free and reduced-price meals, and that many of them "are not confident test takers." Atlanta's district policy had been to tell students if they had time at the end of an exam, to go back and reconsider questions where they weren't sure of the answer.

"Now we find out that one of our testing strategies might send up a flag as a potential cheat situation," he said. "So, we'll have to find another way."

Let's be clear about Atlanta: Erasure anomalies aside, there is plenty of compelling evidence that there was a coordinated and widespread effort to cheat. The fine work of Heather Vogell at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is rife with depressing details of outright malfeasance by public school teachers, principals and even area superintendents.

That brings me back to the Wall Street Journal's story. In it, "officials stressed that they believe 99 percent of teachers are honest, but they said preventing teachers from scoring their own students' tests would take away the temptation to beef up scores."

I'm as a big a fan as anyone of optimism. But it's not enough for New York education officials to "believe" that cheating is confined to 1 percent of their teachers. Additionally, if there's a lesson from Atlanta -- or the cheating scandals in Texas, Baltimore, New Jersey and elsewhere  -- it's that the cheating problem isn't confined to students peeking over each other's shoulders, or teachers changing answer sheets. The stakes are just as high, and the incentive to cheat potentially just as great, for principals and central office administrators, as well.

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily. 

In D.C.: A Pep Rally and Prize for a Teacher

There's quite a bit of talk about big changes taking place in Washington, D.C.'s public schools. On Thursday I got a glimpse of a campus that seems to be very much on the right track.

 The location was McKinley Technology High School in northeast Washington, D.C., and the occasion was the "Oscars of Teaching," which involves the Milken Family Foundation, a check for $25,000 and one very surprised educator.

 In this case it was Shira Fishman, chair of the high school's mathematics department, and a 2011 Milken Education Award recipient. Lowell Milken -- who co-founded the foundation with his brother, financier and philanthropist Michael Milken -- made the presentation at McKinley.

The United States does many things well, Milken told the crowd, but celebrating teachers isn't one of them.

 That's where the foundation comes into the picture.

 Milken will have handed out as many of 40 of these awards by the end of the year -- totaling more than $63 million and 2,500 recipients since the program's inception in 1985. The criteria is "exceptional educational talent as evidenced by effective instructional practices" that has resulted in direct "student learning results," according to the foundation.

There is no direct nomination process, and each state's department of education appoints its own blue-ribbon committee to serve as "scouts."Recently, the foundation has shifted the award's focus to recognize more educators who are in the earlier years of their careers, in an effort to not only recognize excellence but to encourage them to stay with the profession. Teaching is Fishman's second career -- she has a degree in mechanical engineering from Tufts University and was an engineer for three years after graduation. 

There was quite a bit to like -- and admire -- at McKinley. There was the respectful way the crowded gym of students watched the procession of the Army JROTC Color Guard, the rowdy reception for the district champions cheerleading squad, and what seemed like a genuinely enthusiastic learning environment.

Following the presentation, I spoke briefly with some of Fishman's students. When I asked them describe their teacher, they were lightening-quick in their responses: "She listens to us." "Ms. Fishman makes sure we really understand the material." "She has high expections." "Failure is not an option. Neither is giving up."

 As Milken prepared to open the envelope that held the name of McKinley's winning teacher, I was close enough to Fishman to see a student next to her touch her on the shoulder. "It has to be you," the student told Fishman.

 I would call that fairly impressive independent validation.

Perhaps the most telling moment came when Fishman thanked Milken and her colleagues at McKinley but saved her highest praise for her "incredible" students. "You are smart, funny and sometimes crazy," Fishman said. "But I love you all."

 Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

STEM Has A (Facebook) Friend In 'Arne'

From the start, part of Education Secretary Arne Duncan's public persona has been to make good use of his folksy charm. The sleeves rolled up, the casual references to his diverse childhood and adolescence experiences growing up in Chicago -- it works. It's still a little disconcerting to read on the U.S. Department of Education's web site about "Arne" answering questions posed on his Facebook page by "Laura" and "Nils." It feels a little bit like a shout-out to the fan club presidents. What's next? Davy Jones will sing at the prom? Yes, that Brady Bunch reference dates me, alas (although I watched it in reruns, OK?).

However, that doesn't mean Duncan's approach isn't an effective one, or inappropriate for this day and age of instant and constant information. To be sure, it seems as though he's visibly engaged with the people actually doing the daily business of schooling, rather than simply engaging in policy discussions with the decision makers. I respect that.

As for that Facebook discussion, Nils' comment was that we need to give successes in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) the same rousing reception we typically reserve for athletic accomplishments. Duncan agreed, and pointed to a new federal initiative to add 100,000 highly qualified and effective STEM teachers to public schools in the next 10 years.

I recently had the chance to talk to Talia Milgrom-Elcott, an urban education program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, about their support of that initiative. Carnegie is calling it 100Kin10, and their outreach to public and private partners is well underway. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the Carnegie program is the involvement of the University of Chicago.

As Milgrom-Elcott told me, the University of Chicago's Urban Education Institute is vetting potential participants to make sure they meet specific and rigorous criteria. So far only about half of the applicants have been approved, and Carnegie expects to meet its first goal of 100 partners by January.

"The university has also developed an entire research apparatus that it will deploy to drive learning for the participating organizations and the effort as a whole," Milgrom-Elcott said. "Not only will those groups have access to the research experts, but in turn the researchers will be learning from our partners. We don’t want to wait five years to find out if this is working. We want to know what is working, and why, as soon as we can, and push that out to partners so that they can improve their practice and adapt new solutions from each other."

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

When Digital Schools Don't Add Up

There's a terrific three-part series on shortfalls and broken promises in digital schools by the dynamic duo of Burt Hubbard and Nancy Mitchell for Education News Colorado.

As Education Sector's managing director Bill Tucker pointed out so trenchantly in his Education Next blog, the most distressing news is the very real harm being done to individual students and their academic careers.

A few years back I interviewed a Las Vegas student who had the distinction of being the first Nevada public high school graduate to have never set foot in a bricks-and-mortar classroom. He told me it was unlikely that he would have graduated on time had he been required to take a more traditional approach to his studies. I've met dozens of students balancing work and family obligations who also say that online classes have literally been the only reason they didn't have to drop out of school entirely.

At the same time, I know plenty of high school students thoroughly disenchanted with their online programs -- which are often provided through charter schools or for-profit vendors. The hype and promises of one-on-one tutoring sessions with highly qualified teachers never materialized, and they were left largely to fend for themselves.

But how different is that really from the experiences of so many kids at overcrowded public high schools, where guidance counselors are responsible for anywhere from 200 to 400 students, and class sizes routinely top 35? I spoke with one student who had recently transferred to an online high school offered by his public school district. I asked him if he didn't get lonely at home, and miss the face-to-face interaction with his friends and classmates.

He said that at his traditional high school, he could go entire day without speaking a word or having his presence acknowledged.

"I don't see that a virtual high school is any more impersonal," the student told me. "It's easy to say that this program should add some sort of required social interaction, but the kind of people it attracts most likely don't want that anyway."

I agree that students should have options, and that online learning might well be the best route for some of them. But I also believe the decision to make the switch should be one that requires more consideration than just a shrug of the shoulders and signing a transfer form. As Tucker writes, "a system that offers little guidance and no safety nets for ill-informed high school students making big educational decisions is almost certain to produce many more stories of seventeen-year-olds wasting a semester of school at the worst possible time."

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

Elite College Model: Time For an Overhaul?

The financial model for elite colleges comes under scrutiny by Inside Higher Ed, which raises some good questions about its viability.

As reporter Kevin Kiley explains, some high-ranking colleges are concerned that "small classes, relatively rigid schedules, limited course and major offerings, and intense academic rigor" isn't as much of a draw for students it once was. Kiley got this quote from Richard Kneedler, former president of Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, who is now a consultant with a private firm:

"The model - if it's not breaking - it's showing signs of age ... The price has been pushed up at a number of the top institutions. It's gotten to the point where people are asking a lot of questions about it, and this high price is creating a sense in part of the public that higher education is becoming a commercial exercise."

The idea of colleges as commercial enterprises -- with students as consumers, and not just participants -- is definitely gaining traction. Much of the recent debate over whether higher education is "worth" its price tag is premised on exactly this type of business-consumer relationship.

Elite colleges are in a unique category, because -- fairly or not -- there's always been a perception that graduating from a top-name school somehow gives students an inside track on future opportunities. When even the best collegiate connections can't guarantee a recent graduate an unpaid internship, never mind a paying job, it's harder to justify astronomical tuition.

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

Teacher Evaluations: Testing the Limits

New requirements for on-the-job evaluations having Tennessee teachers fleeing the classrooms, according to this story from the Tennessean.

I think we can all agree that it's not an unreasonable request to have public employees face some form of professional scrutiny. But teacher evaluations are particularly swampy territory.

A few weeks ago I had an interesting conversation with Dale Ballou, associate professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University, where he specializes in the role of regulations and incentives in teacher training and retention. I asked him people were putting too much stock in teacher evaluation models as a means of improving the quality of instruction. Here's what he said:

"You’ve got to recognize these are not flawless instruments. Anytime you try to evaluate an individual based on this kind of data, there’s a possibility you’re going to make a mistake. People are overselling these methods and portraying them as if they represent the answer to all kinds of problems, and that they give you the truth. What do they do give us is an estimate, which is subject to error."

I also asked Ballou about a publication put out by the National Education Association, outlining the union's concerns about teacher evaluation models, In it, the NEA argues that hiring practices and preparation -- steps taken before a teacher even enters a classroom -- are the most productive ways of ensuring instructional quality. Ballou said he disagreed with that argument:

"There just aren’t enough good signals people send prior to the actual experience of becoming a teacher that reliably predict their performance. That goes for teacher education programs, as well. There’s only so much you can do in advance to get people ready for teaching."

He made another important point, noting that "much of becoming an effective teacher is what you start learning when you actually do the job. You’re talking about a career where people don’t have much advance information as to how well they’re going to do. It’s also hard for any third party to identify who is going to be effective. When you have two or three years of classroom performance data, you’re really getting information on who is–and isn’t—having success."

Ballou's comments seem particularly relevant given Education Secretary Arne Duncan's announcement last week that the feds plan a host of new initiatives aimed at improving teacher preparation programs nationally, including giving states incentives to identify (and even shut down) those that are falling short.

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

Of Apple and Apricots: Remembering Steve Jobs

By reader request, I'm reposting my Aug. 26 blog about Steve Jobs, who died Wednesday.

I used to live not too far from Steve Jobs’ house. This was during the height of the tech boom, and I was covering Silicon Valley, venture capitalism and politics for the Palo Alto Daily News. (I was also responsible for cops and fire, the courthouse beat and the local schools. No, I’m not kidding.) In 1997, word got out that Steve Jobs had bought a rustic cottage next door to his own relatively modest one-level home. What fantastic structure was he planning to build on his new double-lot acreage? At that time, teardowns were commonplace. Tech kings were building palaces throughout the Peninsula–one guy actually had a Japanese temple dismantled, shipped to the States and then reassembled on his mammoth estate in nearby Woodside. We waited eagerly to see what behemoth Jobs would construct. A permit request to the city’s public works department soon answered that question. What he had in mind were apricot trees. Jobs demolished the old cottage and planted a grove of apricot trees. He wanted to give his house a measure of privacy that would also be aesthetically pleasing. Here was the simple solution to the problem. It’s hard not to admire that kind of thinking. Like many journalists, the newsrooms I’ve worked in run on Macs. We use Apple software for pagination and design. I am writing this now on an Apple desktop. The iPhone (and now the iPad) made it easier than ever for us to file our stories from the road … or live blog from a school board meeting. When I heard yesterday that Jobs was stepping down as chief executive of Apple, I thought about those apricot trees. I hope he knows how much we appreciate his simple solutions. Have a question, comment or confidential concern for the Educated Reporter? Drop me a line at erichmond@ewa.org. I’m also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

Mid-Week Reading List: Parents Are Tired in Nor Cal

The Los Angeles Times thinks California deserves a waiver from the most stringent testing requirements of No Child Left Behind, while few Minnesota students are taking advantage of the school choice options the law already provides, according to the Star-Tribune.

Meanwhile in Colorado, the state's "adequate yearly progress" results show a sharp drop in achievement, the Education News Colorado blog reports. Education officials blame an increase in the testing requirements for proficiency, a moving target that's tripped up dozens of states this year.

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Last week I wrote about an op-ed piece on a new digital learning initiative co-authored by Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. I've been catching up on my reading, and came across this column from Esther J. Cepeda of the Washington Post.

She makes some important observations, including that it's unlikely the countries that are outscoring the U.S. on international exams are doing so simply because they have more computers.

"Our schools desperately need to teach students the appropriate use of technology, but let's not allow business-minded educational advocates to romance us out of reality," Cepeda writes.

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In San Carlos, Calif., San Jose Mercury News reporter Kristen Marschall sets the scene in the middle school gymnasium: a blustery, rainy night, aggravated parents, and education officials trying hard to rally public support.

By the end of the evening many of the attendees had signed petitions pledging support, and even made donations to help the district's programs.

Marschall's story includes a remarkable statistic: the parent-organized San Carlos Education Foundation has raised $11 million to help local elementary and middle schools since 1982, with the money going toward staff salaries, smaller class sizes and extracurricular programs.

Crystal Brown, president of the the parent group Educate Our State, was at the community meeting, intended to give the public a better idea of the challenges facing local schools in the midst of statewide budget cuts.

"I hear parents say, `I'm volunteering at my kid's school, I'm baking brownies until midnight, I'm reading to them, I'm driving them to school. What else are we supposed to do?" Brown is quoted as saying.

This is a good example of where parental involvement (including the kind that comes with cash) isn't always enough.

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I just loved this ESPN story out of Hawaii, where surfing is now an officially sanctioned high school sport. My only questions: What took so long, and do long-boarders earn Advanced Placement credit?

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

Much Left to Learn About Civil Rights

Education about the Civil Rights Movement is "dismal," according a new study by the Southern Poverty Law Center, NPR reports.

Alabama, New York and Florida received the only "A" grades, while 35 states were branded with an "F." On the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as "the Nation's Report Card," only 2 percent of high school seniors could identify the relevance of Brown vs. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision which determined separate school facilities for black and white children were inherently unequal.

That students had little or no knowledge of such a landmark event in the history of American education raises some interesting questions. Is it that they haven't been taught about it? Or is it so far removed from their own experiences that the lesson doesn't stay with them?

I've talked to black students who tell me they find it difficult to believe that their grandparents attended segregated schools. One seventh grader told me she wouldn't have accepted being put in a different classroom from her white peers -- she would have demanded equality.

On the one hand it's encouraging that students today find such circumstances difficult to conceptualize. But that doesn't mean many of America's public schools, particularly in major metropolitan areas, are not suffering from a form of de facto segregation.

Just ask the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, which has been studying the issue for a decade. In a 2009 report, the Civil Rights Project determined that U.S. schools were actually more segregated than they had been in the 1950's. In addition to be separated by ethnicity, students are increasingly divided by socio-economic status.

How segregated are your district's schools? I'm interested in hearing from you.

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.

Teacher Training Programs: The Missing Link in Student Achievement?

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced Friday a new federal initiative to improve teacher training programs across the country, including $185 million to reward teachers for superior student test scores.

As the Wall Street Journal reported, the federal program would require states to make teacher licensing exams more challenging, and require sub-par teacher training programs to be shut down.

While announcing the new initiative Friday at a Washington, D.C. event sponsored by the Education Sector policy think tank, Duncan had some zingers:

*Close to two-thirds of new teachers say they feel unprepared for their jobs. What would happen if a similar percentage of doctors had a similar lack of confidence?

*In the past 12 years, over half the nation's states haven't rated even one teacher preparation program as inferior. That statistic is "laughable," Duncan said.

The feds' new plan has signifiant support from a wide circle of the education community. At Friday's event Teach for America founder and CEO Wendy Kopp praised Duncan's plan as having "so much promise" to move the conversation beyond "the blame game." Also on board is the National Education Association. The teachers' union president Dennis Van Roekel (also a featured speaker at Friday's event) called it "a good day ... we're talking about building the profession instead of tearing it down."

This might mark a new shift in the conversation, to how teachers are being trained and whether the bar is high enough for those pre-classroom expectations. In Louisiana, which Duncan praised as an example of a state aggressively tackling the question of teacher quality, studies have found significant differences in student outcomes based on where their teachers trained.

Elena Silva, a senior policy analyst with the Education Sector, said at Friday's event that the think tank encourages states to be more accurate and honest when evaluating teacher training programs. For more on Education Sector's take on the issue, click here.

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email me at erichmond@ewa.org. I'm also on Twitter @EWAEmily.