Today’s Top Picks:

D-News looks at the UPD/KSL poll on the Common Core.
http://goo.gl/rHYBx (DN)

Will dynamic fiscal notes help the Utah Legislature?
http://goo.gl/GTKgz (UPD)

Ogden’ contract negotiations apparently went much better this year.
http://goo.gl/bC2q9 (OSE)

Mitt Romney proposes a “voucher-like” education overhaul.
http://goo.gl/ohHkW (AP)
and http://goo.gl/gqLD4 (Ed Week)
and http://goo.gl/k0wYC (Wash Times)
and http://goo.gl/pYEb3 (TPM)
or a copy of the Romney ed plan
http://www.edweek.org/media/romney-ed_plan.pdf
or a copy of the Romney speech
http://goo.gl/Q4qBD (WaPo)

Times may be tough, but men still aren’t turning to the teaching profession.
http://goo.gl/iHnDi (Ed Week)
or a copy of the report
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.pdf

What do you mean there’s no “borrowing” in subtraction? ENR grew up with new math, but there’s even newer math now.
http://goo.gl/E1a2U (WaPo)

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TODAY’S HEADLINES
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UTAH

New survey shows support for Common Core among local politicians

Dynamic Fiscal Notes Debated at Utah Taxpayer Association Meeting

Ogden District teachers agree on new contract with administrators

Dee Elementary School test scores up by nearly 40 percent

Class of 2012 finding solutions to rising college costs

Teen mothers balance parenting with trying to finish high school

Tooele Junior High seen as a “school to watch”
Education » National recognition after a four-year push to re-envision learning.

Utahn makes top 10 in U.S. geography bee for third year Geography » Cheng makes his third appearance in the finals.

Utah teen’s video calls for an end to cyber-bullying Education » Spencer Agren, 17, is a finalist in national film contest to encourage students to end bullying.

North Layton Junior High pays tribute to ninth-grade golfer who died from cancer

Utah students find common ground with peers at school for the blind in India

Springville children reach out to children in Africa

Student at the helm, USU pulls off 2012 Physics Day at Lagoon

Payson High graduates its 100th class

Tuacahn graduates finish as winners

Desert Hills grads give thanks, move forward

Pine View High bids farewell to graduates

Hurricane honors seniors

Drawing up a life of her own: West Side graduate will start at USU as sophomore

Sanpete High School Graduations

ICSD closes year with recognitions

First Wind Awards Scholarships to Delta and Milford High School Students

More than 70 bats captured inside Centerville elementary school Animal Control » Fear there may be more of bats in the school.

Parents, students need additional education on cyberbullying

Ogden School District holds 14th Annual Math Olympiad

Five Utah High Schools on List of Top-1,000

Fillmore students rewarded for reading

OPINION & COMMENTARY

Hazing and humiliation

Teaching to the right test

Romney could win with pledge to put God in schools

What about the ‘war on kids’?

New Science Standards: Bound for Glory, or Running Behind?

Designing Common Core Tests For All Proving a Challenge

Tax credit scholarships need a critical, not hostile, eye

Education and Military Rivalry: More Closely Tied Than You Think.

Interactive Learning Online at Public Universities: Evidence from Randomized Trials

NATION

Romney to propose voucher-like education overhaul

Despite Downturn, Few Men Sign Up to Teach Gender gaps widen a bit among teachers

Today’s math vocabulary exposes generational divide

Pocket-Size Revolution
How one district is leveraging smartphones and other forms of BYOD to disrupt its learning model.

Core Changes
Tools to help you and your staff stay up-to-date on Common Core curricula changes.

U.S. schools with single-sex classrooms may face ACLU lawsuit

Miami teachers union calls for tax amnesty

Official: 122 girls, 3 teachers poisoned at Afghan school

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UTAH NEWS
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New survey shows support for Common Core among local politicians

SALT LAKE CITY — In the latest sign that the Common Core curriculum debate is winding down, a recent non-scientific survey of Utah political insiders shows most Republicans and almost all Democrats agree with supporters of the new educational standards for public schools.
The UtahPolicy.com/KSL Political Insiders Survey questioned 100 Republicans and 75 Democrats who are lawmakers, lobbyists, or activists within Utah’s political scene. It found that 87 percent of Democrats and 46 percent — a plurality — of Republicans support the Common Core standards.
http://goo.gl/rHYBx (DN)

Dynamic Fiscal Notes Debated at Utah Taxpayer Association Meeting

One reason it’s tough to cut taxes in the Utah Legislature is that it takes money to reduce taxes, says one of the body’s premier tax-fighter, Sen. Howard Stephenson.
It’s a fiscal note process that for years has driven Stephenson, R-Draper, “crazy.”
At the annual Utah Taxes Now conference held Tuesday, Stephenson, president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, said that a new way of drafting and presenting legislative fiscal notes could be an answer to the always sticky political battle over reforming and/or cutting taxes.
http://goo.gl/GTKgz (UPD)

Ogden District teachers agree on new contract with administrators

OGDEN — Teachers and administrators in the Ogden School District may be able to breathe easier this summer than they did last year.
District teachers on Monday voted to approve a new contract and the Ogden School Board on Tuesday ratified that contract.
That’s a major contrast from last July, when the board presented teachers with a non-negotiated 2011-2012 contract that many felt stripped them of key benefits. Teachers were advised to sign or be replaced. Teachers’ representatives held rallies, and petitions were signed to ask the district to reconsider the contract and ultimatum. The district didn’t budge.
This year, negotiations ran smoothly, according to representatives of both sides.
http://goo.gl/bC2q9 (OSE)

Dee Elementary School test scores up by nearly 40 percent

OGDEN — Dee Elementary is moving up.
The school has raised its end-of-level test scores by nearly 40 percent and is no longer the worst elementary school in the state.
Odyssey Elementary also significantly improved its scores and state officials noticed.
State Superintendent of Education Larry Shumway visited the teachers and staffs of both schools at Dee Elementary Wednesday morning for breakfast and a celebration.
Shumway mingled and visited with teachers as they ate breakfast. He congratulated them on their hard work and asked them what their needs were. Many quickly responded with more resources and money to work with the students. For others, the need is for more time.
http://goo.gl/YVgnB (OSE)

Class of 2012 finding solutions to rising college costs

SALT LAKE CITY — June 6 will be Rachel Telladira’s last day as a student at East High School. She’ll then spend a large part of the summer bagging groceries at Harmons in City Creek, hoping to earn enough money to pay for her first full year at Salt Lake Community College.
Telladira, who plans to study film, said she chose SLCC after its film program was recommended by a friend. Cost for a year: $2,759, up 76 percent from 10 years ago.
She plans to eventually transfer to the University of Utah. Cost: $6,201, a 126 percent jump in the past 10 years.
“I’m not going to let something that small get in the way of my dreams,” Telladira said of the cost.
Her attitude is upbeat at a time when tuition continues to rise, student debt has reached all-time highs and the cost of that debt has become a part of the national conversation in academic, business and political circles. But there is money to be found and Utah students looking ahead to summer have a solution to rising costs: work hard.
http://goo.gl/25Pak (DN)

Teen mothers balance parenting with trying to finish high school

SOUTH JORDAN — In Utah, 32 out of 1000 girls between 15 and 19 get pregnant every year. Some admit they wanted to have a baby at such a young age but the reality now gives them a whole new perspective.
FOX 13 talked with several teen mothers who attend Valley High School. The school caters to adolescent mothers who aim to finish their high school education while getting free daycare.
http://goo.gl/JZbKB (KSTU)

Tooele Junior High seen as a “school to watch”
Education » National recognition after a four-year push to re-envision learning.

Tooele Junior High has closed the textbook on tradition, turned “the way it is” into a wrong answer on every test and changed the priority from teaching to learning.
In April, the school received national recognition for the bold moves.
Tooele became the 10th Utah school in 13 years to be named a National School to Watch by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle School Reforms. The national recognition was the culmination of a four-year project initiated by principal Larry Abraham to put students first.
http://goo.gl/k8c3w (SLT)

Utahn makes top 10 in U.S. geography bee for third year Geography » Cheng makes his third appearance in the finals.

Washington • Third time’s the charm.
That’s what Utah’s geography bee champion hopes as he heads into the Top 10 of the National Geographic Bee in Washington this week.
Anthony Cheng, a 13-year-old from Midvale Middle School, is in the final round of the national competition for the third time in as many years. This is the last year he will be eligible to compete, and “all cards are on the table,” he says.
“The key is to be calm, focusing on the questions and not on losing,” Cheng said.
Cheng earned his spot in the finals Tuesday morning after he gave eight of nine correct answers in a preliminary round. He and the other finalists placed above 44 other students representing each state in the country, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.
http://goo.gl/JCNTe (SLT)

http://goo.gl/izx1h (DN)

http://goo.gl/8eB1H (KUTV)

Utah teen’s video calls for an end to cyber-bullying Education » Spencer Agren, 17, is a finalist in national film contest to encourage students to end bullying.

Spencer Agren still remembers the anonymous e-mails that appeared in his in-box when he was a middle school student.
The messages made hurtful quips about the now 17-year-old’s looks, personality, and interests.
Never one to dwell on the negative, the senior at Gunnison Valley High School ignored the comments and changed his e-mail address.
But the experience stuck with him, especially during the month he spent this year producing a video about cyber-bullying. Agren’s video is one of 15 selected for the 2012 national “Great American No Bull Challenge” and the “No Bull Teen Video Awards” that will be held in California this summer.
http://goo.gl/vYQOk (SLT)

North Layton Junior High pays tribute to ninth-grade golfer who died from cancer

LAYTON — Green ribbons tied around signposts and poles outside of North Layton Junior High School paid tribute to ninth-grader Tyler Smith, who died Sunday from liver cancer.
The North Layton Junior High marque flashes in green the words, “We love you Tyler and we will miss you,” to all those who drive by the school on 2000 North.
Tyler, who was 15, was a member of the Northridge High School golf team.
http://goo.gl/F9pKL (OSE)

Utah students find common ground with peers at school for the blind in India

KULLU, India — The young man steps before a crowd of Utah high school students. Someone hands him a guitar. He strums it a couple times to get a feel for it.
“I wrote this myself,” he said by way of introduction.
The students were silent as he played. At the end they broke into applause and a smile spread across the performer’s face. He could hear their clapping but couldn’t see the amazed expressions. He’s a student at Chander Abha Memorial School for the Blind in Kullu, India.
It’s moments like those that the 18 students from Utah County with the Utah-based nonprofit Youth Making a Difference will remember for years to come. They’re the ones no one can predict or schedule into an itinerary.
http://goo.gl/jj8hT (DN)

Springville children reach out to children in Africa

Three girls came into the principal’s office at Cherry Creek Elementary upset about a news story in Africa. Instead of dismissing their concerns, the school had a shoe drive to reach out to children there.
“First we talked to the principal and we told him there was a bad man stealing kids and giving them guns in Africa,” Brinn Rockwood, age 7, explained. “We didn’t know what to do about it but we were sad.”
Her sister Meg Rockwood and her friend Mackenna Mitchell came with her. Meg and Mackenna are fifth-graders and wanted to know what they could do to stop the man who was hurting children and families in Africa. Administration at the school suggested they direct their concern toward something positive to help the children there.
“We wanted to stop it but we couldn’t stop one man so far away, so we talked to Ms. Ferguson who said we could have a shoe drive to earn money,” Meg Rockwood said. “She goes to Africa every summer and she knew what to do.”
The three children made posters, made announcements every day and encouraged their classmates to bring shoes to donate. The shoe drive was held from May 7-11 and was a success.
http://goo.gl/PxN2j (PDH)

Student at the helm, USU pulls off 2012 Physics Day at Lagoon

LOGAN – When he attended Utah State University’s Physics Day at Lagoon in 2004, Alta High School student Milo Maughan gave little thought to the logistics of carrying out such an event. The Draper, Utah native was delighted to enjoy a day off from school at the state’s celebrated amusement park, hanging with friends as they dared each other to jump on the latest thrill rides.
Now a USU graduate student, Maughan was tapped by his faculty mentors to lead this year’s annual event on Friday, May 18. The aspiring physics teacher checked – and double-checked – details for Physics Day 2012, when more than 5,000 teens and nearly 500 teachers from Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada transformed Davis County’s über playground into a giant laboratory to explore such basic physics concepts as gravity, projectile motion, centrifugal force and energy.
http://goo.gl/BChqD (CVD)

Payson High graduates its 100th class

About 300 Payson High School seniors donning graduation caps and gowns filled the hallway at Utah Valley University’s UCCU Center in Orem on Tuesday prior to the start of the school’s 2012 commencement ceremony. This year’s graduating class is the 100th class to graduate from Payson High School.
http://goo.gl/T0h9J (PDH)

Graduates reach a milestone
Tuacahn graduates finish as winners

IVINS — It was a night of celebration and triumph Tuesday for the 2012 graduating class at Tuacahn High School.
http://goo.gl/hcoCu (SGS)

Desert Hills grads give thanks, move forward

ST. GEORGE — There were many words used to describe the class of 2012 at Desert Hills High School during the school’s graduation ceremony Tuesday at Dixie State College.
http://goo.gl/R9NTr (SGS)

Pine View High bids farewell to graduates

ST. GEORGE — Pine View High School bid farewell to its senior class Tuesday afternoon with graduation ceremonies that warned its departing students that “it’s now or never” when it comes to making choices about how they’ll live their lives.
http://goo.gl/eJxEt (SGS)

Hurricane honors seniors

ST. GEORGE — During Hurricane High School’s 86th annual commencement ceremony Tuesday night, 216 seniors marched to “Pomp and Circumstance” before accepting their diplomas and officially becoming the graduating class of 2012.
http://goo.gl/lL9Ml (SGS)

Drawing up a life of her own: West Side graduate will start at USU as sophomore

DAYTON — West Side High School senior and budding artist Merik Creager will have one parent less cheering her on as she walks across the stage, donning a cap and gown, to receive her diploma today.
That’s because Merik is in a situation not many — if any — of her peers at West Side High can relate to. Her father, Jon, is serving his third tour of duty in Afghanistan. And during that time, Merik has prevailed, garnering many extracurricular activities on her resume and gaining acceptance into Utah State University’s art program.
http://goo.gl/n28ln (LHJ)

Sanpete High School Graduations

Manti – High school graduations will be taking place this week throughout Sanpete County. Manti High School will hold commencement ceremonies at 5:00 PM on Thursday May 24th at the High School with a graduating class of 129 students. Gunnison Valley High School will also hold commencement on Thursday at 7:00 PM with 76 seniors receiving diplomas. The North Sanpete High School will hold graduation ceremonies at 7:00 PM on Friday May 25th at the North Sanpete High School. And Wasatch Academy will hold commencement on Saturday May 26th at 12:00 noon on the Wasatch campus.
http://goo.gl/iJZgu (MUR)

ICSD closes year with recognitions

As the 2011-12 academic year for the Iron County School District draws to a close this week, the school board hon ored 14 district employees who are retiring this year during its Tuesday meeting.
The district administration and several schools also recog nized the accomplishments of teachers and other employees as well as students.
http://goo.gl/cf43p (SGS)

First Wind Awards Scholarships to Delta and Milford High School Students

Boston, MA – First Wind, an independent U.S.-based wind energy company, announced Tuesday the 2012 recipients for their First Wind Scholars program include two Utah students. Scholarships are awarded to college-bound students from communities where the company currently has a project in operation or in an advanced stage of development. Two of this year’s sixteen national recipients are from Utah. Colin Christensen from Delta High School and Juan Madrigal from Milford High School each received $3,000 scholarships through the First Wind Scholars program.
http://goo.gl/ggZZt (KCSG)

More than 70 bats captured inside Centerville elementary school Animal Control » Fear there may be more of bats in the school.

Stewart Elementary School is in the migratory flight path of bats, said Vonzaa Hewitt, the school’s principal.
But lately, the bats seemed to have been making a home inside the Centerville school.
“We have removed approximately 70 to 75 bats from the school in about a month’s time,” said Jamie Stell, lead animal control officer for Davis County Animal Care and Control.
No children have come in contact with the bats, school officials said.
http://goo.gl/szPU2 (SLT)

http://goo.gl/00iRf (OSE)

http://goo.gl/y4Tih (KTVX)

Parents, students need additional education on cyberbullying

Acting out of what the judge called “colossal insensitivity,” former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail on Monday for spying on and invading the privacy of his roommate.
The roommate, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide after Ravi intimidated him for being gay and used a webcam to spy on his date, along with encouraging others to spy, according to a recent ABC News article.
http://goo.gl/qmzPh (DN)

Ogden School District holds 14th Annual Math Olympiad

OGDEN — Lamar Whited wants to be a meteorologist when he grows up, so he’s doing everything he can to be a top mathematician in school.The Taylor Canyon Elementary School fifth-grader was at the Ogden School District’s 14th Annual Math Olympiad, Tuesday at the school district campus at 1950 Monroe Blvd., competing in everything from measurements and egg drops to Frisbee mines and tangrams.
“It’s been so much fun,” he said. “I really liked competing in the quiz. They ask a lot of questions about area and perimeters and it really helps you learn math in a fun way.”
During the school year, every elementary school in the district practices for the olympiad. The winners at the school level move on to the district competition.
http://goo.gl/HB7l5 (OSE)

Five Utah High Schools on List of Top-1,000

The Daily Beast ranks the top-1,000 in the nation based on graduation rate, college matriculation rate, AP tests taken and SAT scores.
Skyline High School is the highest ranking at #303 with a 99% graduation rate 80% of their students heading to college.
Others that made the list include Itineris Early College High (#891), Bountiful High School (#915), Davis High School (#944) and Lone Peak (#961).
http://goo.gl/Ebiv3 (UPD)

Fillmore students rewarded for reading

FILLMORE — Few things get kids to hit the books like a chance to put the principal in a dunking tank.
KSL News had to see this, so Chopper 5 flew to Fillmore Elementary School Tuesday, where the students surprised us with a playground welcome.
http://goo.gl/cW5Ko (KSL)

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OPINION & COMMENTARY
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Hazing and humiliation
(Ogden) Standard-Examiner editorial

When hazing practices, whether in high school, college, or other organizations, moves from mild embarrassment to humiliation or worse, it ceases to be a so-called “rite of passage” that bonds individuals in a group and instead becomes abuse, sometimes dangerous, and more often an infraction of someone’s personal rights.
Hazing needs to be reported and anyone guilty of the practice swiftly disciplined. We’re pleased that recent hazing incidents have been spotted and the violators punished.
Nine Ogden High students have been suspended for violating the district’s rules against hazing. What occurred was clearly out of bounds. New members of the Ogden High School cheerleading squad were subjected to taunts, insults and had liquid and food thrown on them while blindfolded and doing exercises at a local park. The recruits were told earlier that they were to be photographed in cute outfits. Later, they were taken to a home, told to strip to underwear, and were hosed off.
Clearly, what occurred was cruel behavior that was sadistic rather than inspiring. It follows an incident at a local junior high school where a ninth grader was hazed by older Ogden High student athletes.
http://goo.gl/cwCiH

Cal Grondahl editorial cartoon
http://goo.gl/reQsC

Teaching to the right test
Deseret News commentary by columnist Mary McConnell

I wanted to share one of the best articles I’ve read recently on the vexing issue of “teaching to the test.”
Admittedly, I probably like this Washington Monthly article so much because it defends a point I’ve made repeatedly in this blog. Opponents of teaching to standardized tests should not rejected testing. They should insist on better tests.
http://goo.gl/mMdLb

Romney could win with pledge to put God in schools
(Ogden) Standard-Examiner letter from Darrell Stoddard

Romney could win the favor and the vote of most Christians and Jews (Republicans and Democrats) if he would pledge to support legislation or an amendment to put God back into history books, the Ten Commandments back in public places, Christian crosses back on the sides of highways to honor patrolmen who were killed, and voluntary prayer back in public schools.
The First Amendment of the Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of Religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Permitting expressions of religious faith does not constitute the establishment of religion.
Supreme Court decisions, beginning in 1947, to enforce the “Separation of Church and State” (a phrase that is not even in the Constitution) have taken God out of America and have violated our inalienable rights (See: “Separation of Church and State” opinions of Justice Clarence Thomas and William Rehnquist).
http://goo.gl/AL97Y

What about the ‘war on kids’?
USA Today op-ed by Bruce Kluger, co-author, with David Slavin, of the upcoming book “Dog on the Roof!: On the Road With Mitt and the Mutt”

As in most presidential election years, noisy battles have been raging as the nation’s political armies gear up for what promises to be an even noisier fall. This means we’ll continue to hear the familiar clatter about the many “wars” America is currently engaged in — from “the war on terror” to “the war on Wall Street” to the new and nasty “war on women.”
Even President Obama acknowledged this quadrennial tradition in his shtick at last month’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, taking a light-hearted swipe at that most dependable of political wars, the “war on Christmas.” And he got his yuletide laugh — in April, no less.
What’s not so funny to me, however, is a real and credible war that’s been brewing just below the radar this election season, and it is as subtle as it is dangerous: the war on children.
http://goo.gl/bT6cP

New Science Standards: Bound for Glory, or Running Behind?
Education Week op-ed by Arthur H. Camins, director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at Stevens Institute of Technology

Physics teaches us that speed, acceleration, direction of movement, and time are all relative to a reference point. This principle, related to objects and motion, is worth considering as a metaphor for education policy. It is particularly poignant in thinking about the promise and challenges of the National Research Council’s framework for K-12 science education and the just-released draft of the voluntary Next Generation Science Standards, or NGSS.
The metaphor struck me while riding the train to work recently. Glancing to my right at the passing scenery, I was confident that my train was rapidly moving toward my destination. But then, I experienced a moment of perturbation. My attention was drawn to my left with the passage of a faster train headed in the same direction. Suddenly, I had the brief sense of moving backward. Relative to the station I left behind, I was still making progress. However, relative to the faster-moving train, I was losing ground.
As a nation, we remain highly focused on performance on current high-stakes accountability tests. For the most part, they tend to measure progress with respect to what is behind us: mastery of a fixed body of information that is easily tested. Even growth measures are about increasing the distance from the past, i.e., prior achievement levels. The higher the stakes, the more we tend to look over our shoulders and the more we fail to look ahead to new destinations, or even to notice whether those moving more quickly are using very different education strategies.
http://goo.gl/DnB8V

Designing Common Core Tests For All Proving a Challenge Education Week commentary by columnist Nirvi Shah

Washington – Although more students with disabilities than ever are included in state testing programs, the task of giving these students high-quality assessments in the future that measure how adept they are at mastering the Common Core State Standards seems to have an endless number of hurdles to overcome before students face these new assessments in the 2014-15 school year.
And one of them has less to do with the test than with instruction, said Stephen N. Elliott, a professor of education at Arizona State University. Elliot spoke Tuesday at a U.S. Department of Education meeting addressing the challenges that remain in preparing new tests that all students are scheduled to take in 2014. This was the fourth meeting about the assessments.
In his research looking among several states, Elliott found that the most time any state was able to spend on teaching the standards was 81 percent of the time students were in school, and special education teachers covered even less of the content and standards.
http://goo.gl/NBEm3

Tax credit scholarships need a critical, not hostile, eye Fordham Institute commentary by President Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Adam Emerson

It’s hard to get past the New York Times’s animus toward anything “private” or profit-seeking in the realm of K-12 education, particularly when investigative reporter Stephanie Saul applies her own biased and acidic pen to the topic. And Tuesday’s interminable “expose” of state-level tax-credit scholarship programs certainly deepens one’s impression that the writer (and, presumably, her editors) is in love with anything that smacks of “public dollars” or “public schools” and at war with anything that might be seen as diverting even a penny from state coffers into the hands of parents to educate their kids at schools of their choice. Never mind whether the public schools they are exiting are good or bad, nor whether the dollars being spent by those schools are well-targeted on high-quality instruction or frittered away on over-generous benefits for underemployed custodians and their retired pals.
Having gotten that out of the way, it’s also worth learning that while some of these state programs (especially Florida’s) are models of sound policy, efficient administration, and careful targeting of available resources, some others appear to be burdened by dubious practices on the part of schools, donors, elected officials, and maybe parents, too.
http://goo.gl/9NtTw

Education and Military Rivalry: More Closely Tied Than You Think.
Wall Street Journal commentary by columnist Christopher Shea

Joel Klein, Condoleezza Rice, and other worthies have just published a book titled “U.S. Education Reform and National Security.” At first blush, this might seem like an odd angle from which to approach the topic of education. Can’t we discuss the merits of various teacher-incentive programs without bringing al Qaeda into the discussion?
But the authors may be onto something. Coincidentally, a new study affirms that military threat is an underappreciated driver of investment in primary education.
Increasing investment in education is often viewed through the lens of democratization. But after examining data from 137 countries, since 1830, the Harvard economists Philippe Aghion and Dorothee Rouzet, and Stockholm University’s Torsten Persson arrive at the counterintuitive conclusion that, absent the threat of war, democracies tend to invest less in education than non-democracies — yet the gap shrinks when there is a military threat. (That’s because democracies increase their investment in education, in the presence of a rivalry, to a greater degree.) http://goo.gl/acICK

A copy of the paper
http://www.nber.org/papers/w18049

Interactive Learning Online at Public Universities: Evidence from Randomized Trials Ithaka S+R analysis

Online learning is quickly gaining in importance in U.S. higher education, but little rigorous evidence exists as to its effect on student learning outcomes. In “Interactive Learning Online at Public Universities: Evidence from Randomized Trials,” we measure the effect on learning outcomes of a prototypical interactive learning online (ILO) statistics course by randomly assigning students on six public university campuses to take the course in a hybrid format (with machine-guided instruction accompanied by one hour of face-to-face instruction each week) or a traditional format (as it is usually offered by their campus, typically with 3-4 hours of face-to-face instruction each week).
We find that learning outcomes are essentially the same—that students in the hybrid format “pay no price” for this mode of instruction in terms of pass rates, final exam scores, and performance on a standardized assessment of statistical literacy. These zero-difference coefficients are precisely estimated. We also conduct speculative cost simulations and find that adopting hybrid models of instruction in large introductory courses have the potential to significantly reduce instructor compensation costs in the long run.
http://goo.gl/hABw9

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NATIONAL NEWS
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Romney to propose voucher-like education overhaul Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Shifting from the economy to education, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was proposing a voucher-style system that could significantly alter the public school system and revive the debate over school choice.
Romney, who has been reluctant to stray far from the economic issues at the core of the presidential campaign, was outlining the proposal during a speech Wednesday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
A Romney aide who previewed the speech for reporters said the candidate would let low-income and disabled students use federal funding to attend public schools, public charter schools and, in some cases, private schools. Federal funds could also be applied to tutors or digital courses.
http://goo.gl/ohHkW

http://goo.gl/gqLD4 (Ed Week)

http://goo.gl/k0wYC (Wash Times)

http://goo.gl/pYEb3 (TPM)

A copy of the Romney ed plan
http://www.edweek.org/media/romney-ed_plan.pdf

A copy of the Romney speech
http://goo.gl/Q4qBD (WaPo)

Despite Downturn, Few Men Sign Up to Teach Gender gaps widen a bit among teachers Education Week

The economic downturn seems to have worsened an already-vast gap between the numbers of men and women teachers, particularly in the early grades.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2011 Current Population Survey, men make up only 18.3 percent of elementary and middle school teachers and 2.3 percent of preschool and kindergarten instructors—a dip from the 2007 prerecession proportions of 19.1 percent in grades 1 to 8 and 2.7 percent in preschool and kindergarten. The numbers of men and women on high school teaching staffs are more evenly divided but still off parity; 42 percent of high school teachers in 2011 were men, down from 43.1 percent in 2007.
A panel of researchers and former elementary teachers at the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia last month argued that the diminishing status of teachers generally, coupled with continuing sexism against men working with children, is helping tamp down the number of men willing to enter the field.
http://goo.gl/iHnDi

A copy of the report
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.pdf

Today’s math vocabulary exposes generational divide Washington Post

Interested in helping your child with math homework? You might need a math-English dictionary.
There’s not a lot of “borrowing” in subtraction these days. Instead there’s “regrouping” or “decomposing.” “Reduced” fractions are now “simplified” or simply “equivalent” fractions. And let’s call a “diamond” what it really is, please: a “rhombus.”
As the nation strives to increase the rigor of math instruction, educators are cleaning up their math vocabulary. Gone are those friendly, metaphorical words — squares don’t have “corners,” they have “vertices.” And we’re not talking about “number sentences”; these are “equations.”
The updated vocab is more technical and specific. The point is to use words that are closer to their mathematical meanings and better able to translate into higher math.
Terms long used at the secondary or graduate level have been trickling into lower grades over the years by way of updated learning standards.
http://goo.gl/E1a2U

Pocket-Size Revolution
How one district is leveraging smartphones and other forms of BYOD to disrupt its learning model.
Scholastic Administr@tor

To learn about decimals and dollar amounts, Lauren Blum’s fifth graders in Katy, Texas, wandered around their classroom clutching smartphones and zapping bar codes on various products, which they then looked up online to compare prices. Another day, they pulled out their phones and found websites to study the War of 1812. Other times they used their phones to take photos of lab experiments, so they could refer to them when writing their summaries later on. In fact, a day rarely goes by that the phones-Droid Incredibles, purchased by the school district-aren’t incorporated into lessons.
“I don’t know what I would do without them,” says Blum, whose first year teaching, 2009-10, also happened to be the year that the district launched a pilot program to give smartphones to fifth graders at her school, Cimarron Elementary.
“It’s normal for me.” With every student holding his or her own “computer,” learning is more self-guided, says Blum. “Students at a lower reading level can find sites suitable for them. They’re choosing their information and their avenue.” Far from viewing devices as nuisances or banning them, Katy Independent School District, situated west of Houston, embraced cell phones and other handheld electronics as integral to learning.
http://goo.gl/mcTZo

Core Changes
Tools to help you and your staff stay up-to-date on Common Core curricula changes.
Scholastic Administr@tor

Like it or not, Common Core is here. The new set of standards for math and English language arts is designed to get students across the country on the same page as they prepare for college and beyond. It’s an ambitious undertaking, and now’s the time to start thinking about how it will affect your district.
Implementation started in several districts around the country this fall, and most states should have the standards in place by the 2014-15 school year, when assessment tools tailored to the new requirements are rolled out. So far, 46 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the standards (although one, Minnesota, has done so only for English language arts).
What, exactly, does Common Core mean for administrators and teachers? And how can districts prepare for the changes? Here’s a short primer on how to prepare for-and keep track of-all the changes as they roll out.
http://goo.gl/xb0cv

U.S. schools with single-sex classrooms may face ACLU lawsuit Reuters

LITTLETON, New Hampshire – The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening legal action against as many as a dozen school districts from Maine to Mississippi unless they stop programs the group says illegally segregate boys and girls into single-sex classes and promote stereotypes.
The group also was demanding that Florida’s Department of Education launch an investigation into widespread single-sex teaching in that state, where 32 schools in 16 districts offer single-gender classes. A spokeswoman for the department said they had not yet received the demand, which is posted on the ACLU’s website.
Single-sex education has expanded into as many as 300 public schools in recent years — helped in part by a 2006 decision by the U.S. Department of Education that relaxed restrictions on the practice.
That decision, under President George W. Bush, allowed schools to offer voluntary single-sex classes so long as programs did not violate Title IX, a federal law that outlawed gender discrimination in education.
http://goo.gl/9MLmB

Miami teachers union calls for tax amnesty Associated Press via Miami Herald

MIAMI — The teachers union in Miami-Dade County has proposed what could be an innovative way to raise extra money for education: A tax amnesty program that would go after homestead exemption cheats.
At a news conference Tuesday, the United Teachers of Dade announced plans to push for a pilot program that would encourage residents to come clean that they are illegally claiming homestead exemption – a tax break of up to $50,000 for those whose Florida property is their full-time residence.
UTD President Karen Aronowitz said the amnesty would be accompanied by an advertising campaign linking tax evasion with the negative effect on school funding, and would be followed up with higher penalties.
“Teachers hate cheaters,” Aronowitz said. “If people pay their taxes we can pay our teachers.”
Exactly how much a tax amnesty could raise is debatable.
http://goo.gl/9YA8N

Official: 122 girls, 3 teachers poisoned at Afghan school CNN

Kabul, Afghanistan — More than 120 girls and three teachers were admitted to an Afghanistan hospital Wednesday after being poisoned in their classes with a type of spray, a Takhar provincial official said.
The incident occurred in the provincial capital of Talokhan, in the Bibi Hajera girls school, said Dr. Hafizullah Safi, director of public health for the northern Afghanistan province.
Forty of the 122 girls were still hospitalized, he said, with symptoms including dizziness, vomiting, headaches and loss of consciousness.
http://goo.gl/1fSWl

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