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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
If you were hoping that the release of test scores on “The Nation’s Report Card” would spur any notable discussion of K-12 policy at the Republican presidential debate Wednesday night, you got just a few scraps. (Education Week)
As the U.S. continues to reckon with a widening income gap between the wealthiest Americans and marginalized communities, politicians and advocates have often cited education access as one of the greater contributors—and potential solutions—to the problem. (The Atlantic)
Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Tuesday soft-pedaled the “not great news” that scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress (i.e., the “nation’s report card”) declined this year for the first time since 1990. We once hoped that education would be a bright spot of the Obama Presidency, but it appears that student learning has stalled. (The Wall Street Journal)
Since its launch in 1992, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as the FAFSA, has suffered from two key flaws. The document, which currently includes 108 questions total (more than three times that of a standard federal income-tax form), takes some students over 10 hours to complete, even though the government estimates that it only requires 55 minutes to submit the initial application. Additionally, its deadlines are ill-timed considering the purpose it serves: It requires that students apply for college before they apply for aid, effectively forcing them to choose schools without knowing how much financial support they could be getting from the government. (The Atlantic)
Persistent school violence across the U.S. has led to a proliferation of “school resource officers,” or cops whose job is to keep students safe and help support teachers and administrators. But a video showing a white South Carolina sheriff’s deputy throwing a black high-school girl to the floor during a math class Monday raised questions about the role these officers are meant to play and the training they receive. (The Wall Street Journal)
Defunct for-profit college chain Corinthian Colleges Inc. violated federal law by using false job placement rates to deceive 115,111 former students into taking out student loans, a federal district court judge ruled on Tuesday. (Huffington Post)
In this suburban election, lawn signs are being stolen and minivans vandalized. One candidate says she received an email telling her to get cancer and die. Money from the billionaire Koch brothers is funding one side’s commercials and fliers, and upset parents, teachers and labor unions are pouring in cash for the other. (The New York Times)