Bilingual Ban Passes in Mass., Fails in Colorado
Massachusetts voters Tuesday approved an initiative to end bilingual education in the state, while Colorado voters rejected a similar measure. Both ballot measures called for replacing bilingual education with English-immersion programs for non-English speaking children.

Source: Denver Post

Poll Shows Opposition to Vouchers
A Gallup Organization survey released this week indicated that 52 percent of respondents object to using public money for children to attend private schools or schools sponsored by a religious group. But 46 percent endorse the voucher program, up from 34 percent last year.

Source: CNN.com

Survey: Cruelty Concerns Kids More Than Violence
A survey of 1,000 fifth through 12th graders in the U.S. conducted by the Families and Work Institute revealed that emotional abuse in school is a bigger concern to students than physical violence. Many youngsters said the youth culture is one of meanness. Two-thirds of the respondents said they either had been teased or gossiped about in a mean way in the past month.

Source: CNN.com

Students on Blocked Schedules Have Lower Test Scores
A study of ACT results for Iowa and Illinois high school students reveals that the scores of students in schools that instituted block scheduling decreased significantly in the first few years after switching to that type of scheduling. The scores of students in schools that maintained a traditional eight-period school day showed little change. The study was conducted by Iowa State University and the administrators of the ACT assessment.

Source: Des Moines Register

Call to Revamp Teacher Certification
Teachers do need higher pay; however, standards for teacher certification need to be higher as well, according to U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. A report issued this week by the U.S. Department of Education said that certification standards in many states are too low or, in some cases, non-existent.

Source: CNN.com

Hispanic School-Age Population Growing
The Hispanic school-age population is exploding in the United States, but spending on services for Hispanic students has not kept pace with the increased numbers, according to a report from the Senate Education Committee and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Hispanic students currently are four times more likely to drop out of school than non-Hispanic white students are, the report notes; increased funding for teacher training, bilingual education, and immigrant education programs is needed to close the gap.

Source: CNN.com

NAEP 2001 Shows Gains in U.S. Scores
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report for 2001 released today (May 9, 2002) shows a slight improvement in American history knowledge among fourth and eighth graders since the last time the test was administered (1994). The scores for 12th graders essentially were unchanged. The U.S. Department of Education National Center for Educational Statistics administers the NAEP.

Source: National Center for Educational Statistics

Study: Link Between Lack of Sleep, ADHD
A University of Michigan study suggests a connection between sleep problems and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. The study, which involved 866 children between the ages of two and 13, showed that 22 percent of the children who snored frequently scored high on an indicator scale for ADHD. The study did not conclude which condition might cause the other.

Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer

Supreme Court: Paper Swapping OK
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 9 to 0 that allowing students to grade other students' papers does not violate federal privacy law. Although it is common for teachers to have students exchange papers for grading, an Oklahoma parent challenged the practice, saying her son's right to privacy had been violated. The Supreme Court disagreed, overturning a lower-court decision.

Source: ChannelOne.com

Bush Signs 'No Child Left Behind' Act
On Tuesday, President Bush signed the reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, dubbed the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001." The act includes provisions for annual reading and mathematics achievement testing for third through eighth graders, a link between federal money and reaching performance goals, and more flexibility for states in allocating federal dollars.

Source: CNN.com