Shut Out of the Military & Other National News

A new report by the Education Trust (led by EEP signatory Kati Haycock), titled “Shut Out of the Military,” finds that too few of our nation’s recent high school graduates – particularly young people of color – have the math, reading, science and problem-solving skills necessary for enlistment in the U.S. Army. This report is the first-ever public analysis of data from the Army’s Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), the test that determines if applicants qualify to enlist in the military.  MUST READ!
Newsweek asks: Can the billionaire philanthropist and the president of the American Federation of Teachers find common ground—and fix our nation’s education system? Referring to Bill Gates and Randi Weingarten, the magazine interviews the two outspoken education activists together to compare and contrast their views on repairing our broken system.
Politics K-12 reports that Secretary Arne Duncan sat down with Senate Republicans to discuss the renewal of the Elementary and Secondary School Act (ESEA), currently known as No Child Left Behind.  Senators have said that they share common ground with the Secretary, at least on the “3,000 foot level.”
EdWeek reports that Texas NAACP and Texas League of United Latin American Citizens are seeking a federal review of public school education in Texas, accusing state school administrators of violating federal civil rights laws after curriculum changes approved earlier this year by the Texas Board of Education.
Why Boys Fail author Richard Whitmire and George Mason professor William Brozo write an op-ed in the New York Daily News about the systemic failure of boys in the classroom, and why this is a global problem.  “We’re living through a fundamental international failure of schools and parents to engage boys in literacy skills.
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation has awarded $1 million to Rocketship Education, a leading network of innovative K-5 public charter schools, the foundation announced today.  The investment will support the first national expansion of a “hybrid school” model – which combines classroom instruction with online learning – helping Rocketship develop the infrastructure necessary to open 30 new hybrid charter schools nationwide by 2015.
Politics K-12 reports that after Democratic leaders failed to enact a giant spending bill that would have included a modest boost for education, the U.S. Senate has agreed to pass a temporary measure that would freeze spending at current levels for most of the federal government, including the U.S. Department of Education, until March 4.
Blogger Ben Johnson makes the case for performance-based pay for teachers in Edutopia.  “It wasn’t until recently that I understood that the real concern about performance-based pay was not about the money at all. It is about performance of the teacher.”