Entries for December 2008

Screening students for illegal drugs and alcohol is common in some parts of the country. The practice is supposed to discourage drug use among high school students. In Hawaii, it's teachers who are supposed to submit to random drug screening. Two years ago, the state's teachers union agreed that its members would be tested for drugs in exchange for pay raises. Now that the promised raises will soon kick in, state education officials are accusing teachers of not honoring their end of the bargain. The dispute could wind up in court.

The unusual agreements between the teachers union and state education officials came after the islands' residents were scandalized by a spate of drug busts involving several educators two years ago. One special education teacher pleaded guilty to selling more than $40,000 in crystal methamphetamine to an undercover agent.

The number of students getting free and reduced-price meals nationwide is on the rise, presenting a dilemma for state and local school officials struggling to plug budget shortfalls. In California, for example, the state superintendent of public instruction recently warned that the state will run out of lunch money a month before the school year ends. If that happens, local school districts will have to absorb the extra costs of feeding students even if it means cutting academic programs and jobs, the San Diego Union-Tribunte reports.

The School Nutrition Association reports that 425,000 more students are receiving free or discounted meals this academic year. The increase reflects a possible shift in family incomes. Free and reduced-price lunch is a main indicator of poverty among families. "High unemployment rates and families' proactive efforts to save money have resulted in significantly more students eating lunch at school," says the School Nutrition Association. These findings are included in a report issued by the nonprofit group this month titled Saved by the Lunch Bell: As Economy Sinks, School Nutrition Program Participation Rises.

The group recently surveyed 137 school nutrition directors from 38 states whose districts participate in the federal lunch program. Eighty percent of those districts reported serving more free lunches to students while 65 percent said they served more reduced-price meals. Nearly half of the districts surveyed saw a drop in students paying the full price for a school meal. Last year, the federal government spent nearly $9 billion to subsidize the cost of school meals. Children from families of four that earn $27,560 or less are eligible for free meals.

In Washington, everyone applauds a governor who wants to raise academic standards for all students. Back in his or her home state, a governor who proposes to do just that can get sued. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger learned this lesson not long ago when his plan to require algebra testing for all eighth graders angered the state's school superintendent and some education groups. Two organizations representing school board members and administrators filed a lawsuit to overturn the requirement, and now a judge has temporarily put the brakes on the governor's plan, the Associated Press reports. The judge in the case said the state education board that adopted the algebra mandate acted outside its authority and without public input.

In September, when local school officials sued the state, they raised concerns that the mandate was underfunded and could lead to more students dropping out. They said it would take roughly $3 billion to carry out the work of getting all eighth graders ready for an algebra test in 2011-12, when the requirement would take effect. That money would cover the cost of hiring 3,000 teachers and training an additional 1,000 teachers. Since then, the state's budget deficit has worsened, and many school districts are being forced to consider severe midyear cuts. State School Superintendent Jack O'Connell called the algebra mandate "a recipe for disaster."

The California Board of Education told the AP it plans to appeal the judge's ruling. Regardless of the outcome, the case highlights the trouble with trying to raise academic expectations, especially in a recession. (Three leading education groups recently called on federal and state education officials to adopt common academic standards—another expensive proposition.) Also, algebra for all students may sound like a noble goal, but there are serious concerns. Read about them here.

The winter holidays can be a stressful time for students who have not yet finished applying to colleges. It can be a stressful time for colleges, too, a group that also is uneasy about the worsening economy and is carefully monitoring the number of applications coming in. Earlier this fall, a survey of 2,500 prospective college students nationwide contained some unsettling findings. Among them:

• 48 percent said they are more concerned than ever about being able to afford any college at all.
• 16 percent said they are putting off college because they don't think their families will be able to afford the costs.
• 57 percent said are now considering a less prestigious college because they are worried about affordability.
• 85 percent said they are spending more time looking for scholarship money to help defray tuition costs, and just over half said they are counting on federal aid.

The survey was conducted in October by MeritAid.com, a website that offers data on colleges and scholarships. We'll be watching to see whether these findings bear out as the application process comes to a close. We also want to hear from you and how your college plans are being shaped by the economy. You can post on the comments section or write to eramirez@usnews.com.

Starting college as early as age 16 could soon be an option for students in New Hampshire. According to several recent news reports, the state is moving forward with a plan that would let students skip their junior and senior years of high school if they pass a test in the 10th grade. Afterward, they could sign up for rigorous courses at a community college.

Supporters of the plan think students who graduate with a high school diploma and an associate's degree will be more attractive to selective four-year universities. But critics, including parents, are worried that cutting two years from high school will harm the social development of students.

The Milwaukee Public School System will expand the services provided by its gay-friendly high school and apparently become the nation's first school system to create a gay-friendly middle school.

At a meeting two weeks ago, a subcommittee of Milwaukee's Board of Education unanimously approved the Alliance School's proposal to serve sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. The proposal gained unanimous approval from the full board by default when the item was not pulled for further discussion or a vote at last night's meeting. Alliance School lead teacher Tina Owen said the public charter school will begin accepting new applicants eligible for middle school in the 2009-2010 school year immediately.

Milwaukee's response to gay-friendly schools has been much different from other cities'. In Chicago, community leaders' concerns about creating a gay-friendly high school stalled plans to bring such a proposal before the city's school board. In New York City, protesters greeted students of the gay-friendly Harvey Milk High School in Manhattan's East Village on its first day of classes five years ago. But in Milwaukee, the Alliance School's birth as a high school and expansion to serve middle school students passed with no real opposition. Calls from social service organizations and parents urging Owen to create the middle school more quickly are the only responses she has received from the community, Owen said.

President-elect Barack Obama has made his pick for U.S. education secretary. His choice is longtime basketball buddy Arne Duncan, who is the chief executive of Chicago Public Schools, a troubled school system that has made notable improvement under Duncan's seven-year tenure. The announcement came today in a joint appearance at Dodge Renaissance Academy, an elementary school in Chicago.

If confirmed, Duncan will almost immediately face the daunting task of rebuilding bipartisan support for a new version of the No Child Left Behind Act, the controversial testing law that seeks to close the achievement gap by 2014. He must also decide how to fund Obama's campaign promises, which included expanding childhood education and investing in high-quality teaching programs, at a time when school districts across the country are cutting back and the education systems of other countries are outperforming America's. Additionally, Duncan will have to grapple with college affordability issues.

Need help understanding differential equations or preparing for the AP physics exam? Rather than paying for tutors, students are turning to free YouTube videos for help. In some cases, students claim that the videos have helped them better than their own teachers and textbooks to understand tough math and science concepts.

The Associated Press reports on this trend here. The story profiles a "California hedge fund manager by day and math geek by night" who has posted over 600 tutorial videos on YouTube covering math, physics, and economics. The viewers are stressed-out students, parents of home-schooled children, and even a 36-year-old dropout who is now working toward a diploma.

These videos may not be as popular as those featuring "Obama Girl" or "Chris the Britney Spears Fan." But some, like a video on calculus integrals, have been watched as many as 50,000 times in the past year. The reaction is enthusiastic from viewers who post comments. One parent writes, "My eldest kid is dancing around in my room here because she is so excited that she finally found someone that teaches like this." A student writes, "I ditched my Calculus book at the beginning of the semester and have been mainly using your videos to learn the material. I'm happy to say I've got A's on both of my midterms."

It's probably not a good idea to rely solely on these online tutorials, educators say. They recommend that students vet the videos and, if there is any doubt, ask the classroom teacher.

The Los Angeles Unified School District's Board of Education voted earlier this week to pay its superintendent more than half a million dollars to leave his job midway through his four-year contract, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Although Superintendent David Brewer publicly vowed just last week to serve the remainder of his term, he announced Monday that he would accept a buyout, avoiding what could have quickly become a racially charged battle for his job. Brewer is African-American; only one member of the L.A. school board calling for his departure is black.

Despite notable progress in mathematics, the United States has failed to raise student achievement in science over the past decade while Singapore and several other Asian countries continue to score higher in both subjects, according to a study released this week that compares math and science test scores of students from dozens of countries.

America's uneven performance in the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) immediately drew responses from policymakers and educators who are worried about how well the United States is preparing students for a global economy. Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat and chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, linked the nation's current economic troubles with the need to retool the U.S. education system. "It's increasingly clear that building a world-class education system that provides students with a strong foundation in math and science must be part of any meaningful long-term economic recovery strategy," he said in a statement. (U.S. News explores this debate in an article that accompanies the 2009 America's Best High Schools rankings.)