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NAEP Plan for Students With Disabilities Criticized
The governing board for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is concerned that testing accommodations and exclusion rates for English-language learners and students with disabilities vary widely among states and districts, possibly jeopardizing the fairness and validity of comparisons made with NAEP data. Particularly controversial is a proposal that students with disabilities be permitted to receive only accommodations approved by the governing board and not all of those that may appear in their individual education programs, or IEPs. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 11/10/09)
The continuing debate over extended class time
Finding ways to give kids more classroom time through longer hours, a longer school year, or both is getting renewed attention, according to The Christian Science Monitor. Many reformers agree that more time at school is key, and the administration has endorsed the idea. A number of charter schools have made student gains in part through expanded schedules, and school systems have begun to experiment with the measure as well. "If you want to look at schools where [the achievement gap is narrowing], they're saying they couldn't do it without the added time," says Jennifer Davis of the National Center on Time & Learning in Boston. "Even when you get good teachers into schools, you need added time." Studies have shown that low-income students lose more than two months of reading skills over the summer, with researchers positing that more than half the achievement gap can be accounted for by the differential in summer learning opportunities. Parents who themselves didn't succeed in school and aren't highly literate will probably not cultivate these skills at home. But skeptics say adding hours and days is hugely expensive, and alone will accomplish little. Without good teachers and curricula, the problem is actually worsened. http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1110/p23s01-usgn.html
*Some of the items are from: the Public Education Network (PEN) - NewsBlast http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_current.asp and ECS e-Clips http://www.ecs.org/e-clips.
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Adolescent Health Services: Missing Opportunities
This policy-oriented report from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine provides a review and offers major recommendations for strengthening the health system for adolescents in the United States.
To view the report online go to: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12063#toc Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities
A review, analysis, and recommendations – also from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
To view the report online go to: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12480#toc The Educational Testing Service Policy Information Report "Parsing the Achievement Gap II" Late High School Dropouts: Characteristics, Experiences, and Changes Across Cohorts |
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Center for Mental Health in Schools
WebMaster: Perry Nelson (smhp@ucla.edu)