Friday News Roundup: Week of January 26-30

Stimulus Plan Would Increase Money for Education

Teachers’ Union Says No To Testing

Massachusetts to Increase Charter School Funding

In Tough Times, States Close Rural Schools

Stimulus Plan Would Increase Money for Education
As reported in The New York Times, the proposed economic stimulus plan would add $150 billion in new federal spending over two years for education programs from PreK through college. The new spending includes $79 billion to help struggling states maintain services and programs that would otherwise face serious cuts, along with increases for Title I, disabled students, Pell Grants, and school construction. Supporters of the plan are pleased to see such an infusion of money into programs that badly need help in tough economic times. Critics claim that too much money is dedicated to ineffective programs and states can’t reasonably spend all of the funds in two years. Citing data from Ed Money Watch, the article also questions whether the formula for allocating resources to school districts effectively targets those with the greatest need. More here.

Teachers’ Union Says No To Testing
The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday that the L.A. teachers’ union has called for a boycott on district tests, claiming that they are expensive to administer and cause teachers to spend too much time testing and not enough teaching. The tests, called “periodic assessments,” are administered three to four times each school year in most core subjects and most grade levels. They are intended to let teachers know where students need additional instruction while there is still time left in the school year to adjust. The union and other critics argue that the costs are too high and the reported achievement gains on state and federal tests are not necessarily linked to the use of the tests. Independent analysis by the L.A. Times shows that the tests appear to be bumping up scores on state tests in college gateway courses like 10^th-grade English and Algebra I. More here.

Massachusetts to Increase Charter School Funding
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on Wednesday released a state budget that allows for more charter schools in low-performing districts – a break with his longstanding opposition to increasing the state cap on charter schools. Patrick hopes that the move will help shrink achievement gaps in districts with the most vulnerable students, requiring the new charters to primarily serve special education students, English language learners, low-income students, and students at risk for dropping out. The schools must admit certain percentages of these students, but critics wonder how this is possible given the lottery system for admissions into charter schools. Some critics claim that funding changes would make charters more vulnerable to future budget cuts, while others claim the changes don’t do enough to protect school districts from losing revenue. More here.

In Tough Times, States Close Rural Schools
Facing economic hard times, officials in 25 to 30 states are considering closing rural schools as a way to cut down costs. These schools are vulnerable during tough times because their per-pupil costs are high and their political power is comparatively low. Though bigger schools offer benefits like a larger selection of courses and specialists to teach elective courses, supporters of rural schools argue that big schools provide little individual attention and require students to spend hours on buses instead of in school or at home, where parents can play a role in education. More here.