The author reports on state and independent reviews that cite shortcomings in four urban systems. According to the reviews of those school systems over the past two years, four urban districts--in Boston, Massachusetts; Buffalo, New York; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington--did not provide special help to learn English to all students…

Over the past two decades or so, a majority of states have implemented policies that link teenagers' driver's licenses to school attendance, academic performance, or behavior, but those requirements are not backed by solid research evidence. Experts trace the start of the trend to 1988, when West Virginia enacted a law linking driving privileges…

Across the country, high school graduation rates are bemoaned with regularity. Many states and districts aren't even tracking the rate for the fastest-growing population of students, or if they are, they aren't telling the public how many English-language learners (ELLs) are leaving school with a diploma. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was…

The author reports on the "restart" option in the federal school turnaround program which offer new opportunities for charter school operators. Some of the nation's largest and best-known charter-management organizations have not jumped at the opportunity to "restart" schools with federal economic-stimulus money, but a wide range of smaller…

The author reports on a review of state policies by researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, which raises questions about the validity of the use of home-language surveys as a step to identify students eligible for special help in learning English. While it's ubiquitous in schools across the country, the practice of educators'…

In the midst of an attempt by Arizona's legislature and top education official to shut down ethnic-studies courses in the Tucson Unified School District, students at Tucson High Magnet School are flocking to the courses this school year. School district officials say enrollment in Mexican-American studies in Tucson Unified's 14 high schools has…

At least four large urban school districts plan to spend a significant amount of their federal economic-stimulus money to support or improve programs for English-language learners, a fast-growing group in U.S. schools. The districts--Boston, New York City, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Seattle--have had varying degrees of success serving such students.…

A respected literacy-research organization is asking that a process be put in place to make more transparent potential conflicts of interest that writers of the common national academic standards might have, and to address them. The Literacy Research Association sent a letter Oct. 21 to the groups overseeing the development of common standards…

Educators in the Chula Vista Elementary School District determined what kind of instruction students needed through a "response to intervention" (RTI) process, which provides extra help to struggling students with an aim of reducing the number of referrals to special education. As RTI catches on throughout the country, the district is on…

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments later this month from a class action Miriam Flores, 42-year-old Mexican-born homemaker, joined on behalf of her first child in 1996. The lawsuit, Flores v. State of Arizona, contends that programs for English-language learners in Nogales are deficient and receive inadequate funding from the state.…

In a move that could prompt major changes in the way states measure the achievement of English-language learners, the U.S. Department of Education is planning to tell states they must each use a consistent yardstick in determining when a child is fluent in English and when that child no longer needs special ELL services. A proposed…

Many students at the Edward Coles Model for Excellence World Language Academy or the Rachel Carson Elementary School in Chicago--schools that takes part in the Striving Readers program--say they came to enjoy reading for the first time or became better readers through the program, now in its fourth year. The federal program supports the…

Nurta Muktar, a 17-year-old refugee of Somali heritage, learned to read this school year at East High School. It likely would not have happened if East High did not provide classes in basic reading skills for English-language learners (ELLs). And the school likely would not have such classes, some Salt Lake City teachers say, if the U.S.…

Supporters of bilingual education are hoping that the election of Barack Obama as president will lead to a thaw in attitudes toward what they consider a proven educational method that has been ignored--or worse--by the Bush administration. Advocates are encouraged by the endorsement of bilingual education by President-elect Obama in the recent…

A growing chorus of people are saying that some school districts are overzealous in categorizing students as English-language learners (ELLs) in the aim of complying with federal and state laws to ensure that children of immigrants get extra help with English. They contend that the information requested on the home-language survey that parents are…