Education Week - June 3, 2015 - 1

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Education WEEk
With Common Core, Algebra Course Undergoes a Face-Lift
VOL. 34, NO. 32 * JUNE 3, 2015
AMERICAN EDUCATION'S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD * © 2015 EDITORIAL PROJECTS IN EDUCATION * $4
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Standards
could
challenge
trend to put
8th graders in
Algebra 1
By Liana Heitin
Under the Common Core State Standards,
Algebra 1 is a much tougher course than what
was taught previously in most states, teachers and
standards experts say, in part because many of the
concepts that historically were covered in that high
school class have been bumped down into middle
school math.
Some say those changes could complicate efforts
around the country to put 8th graders in Algebra 1-a
still-debated trend that's grown over the past two
decades.
In fact, at least a few districts are already reconsidering
their stances on Algebra 1 in middle school. The
San Francisco school system, for instance, went from
requiring all 8th graders to take Algebra 1 to just the
opposite policy under the common core-as of this
year, all students must take Algebra 1 in 9th grade.
And while that kind of move can disappoint
some parents, educators point out it doesn't mean
8th graders aren't learning algebra.
"There's big confusion between the Algebra 1 course
with a capital A and algebra, the mathematical subject,"
said William G. McCallum, a mathematics education
professor at the University of Arizona, in Tucson,
and one of the lead writers of the common standards.
"If you follow common core, there's now tons of algebra
content in the 8th grade."
"Traditionally in Algebra 1, a lot of time was spent
looking at linear functions," said Diane J. Briars, the
president of the Reston, Va.-based National Council
PAGE 17 >
New S.C. Standards
Ease Political Pushback
By Andrew Ujifusa
South Carolina was one of three states last year-along
with Indiana and Oklahoma-to require a replacement for
the Common Core State Standards, amid a volatile political
climate and challenges states have faced in implementing
the standards.
The transition is about to be complete for South Carolina:
Its new math and English/language arts standards, developed
by a team of in-state educators and adopted by the
state school board in March, go into effect in the 2015-16
school year.
That shift has led to what state officials say is a calmer
political climate for South Carolina's public schools, support
from a broad spectrum of K-12 and higher education leaders,
and new standards that the state itself says are very closely
aligned to the common core.
The state did have to craft and approve new standards on
PAGE 25 >
Brihanna Thompson, 22, fills orders at Mark's Feed Store, a restaurant in Louisville, Ky. Ms. Thompson, now in culinary school,
is a graduate of a city program that places youths in summer jobs, an experience she credits with putting her on a career path.
Summer-Job Demand Outstrips Opportunities
Cities Work to Provide Employment for Low-Income Youths
By Denisa R. Superville
While job prospects for youths have
been on the uptick recently, the employment
opportunities for many young people
in low-income urban communities are
expected to remain slim this summer.
The summer teen-employment rate,
which collapsed during the Great Recession
and has been slow to recover ever
Charters Look Anew
At Teacher Retention
By Stephen Sawchuk
After developing a strategic plan earlier this
year in part to address a dip in scores at her
school, Brittany Wagner-Friel faced a challenge.
The principal of the elementary campus of the
pre-K-12 E.L. Haynes Public Charter School in
Washington knew that teaching talent was crucial
since, is expected to rise slightly this
year, but remain well below the average
employment rate of 52 percent for the
summer months in 1999 and 2000.
The projection of a "modestly higher"
employment rate of nearly 30 percent this
summer for those between 16 and 19, up
from 27 percent last summer, comes from
the Center for Labor Markets and Policy
at Drexel University in Philadelphia,
Districts Use Student Insights
To Guide Policy, Practice
By Evie Blad
When leaders of the 63,000-student Washoe County
which tracks youth-employment trends
nationally.
But it's hardly a cause for celebration
among advocates who have long complained
that cuts in federal financial
support for summer jobs and changes in
the job market leave many youths, particularly
those in urban centers, on the
sidelines. And concerns over a dearth of
job opportunities for urban youths have
taken on greater urgency this summer
PAGE 18 >
school district in Reno, Nev., sought to bring down a high
dropout rate, they found limits in relying solely on research
and strategies used in other school systems.
What was missing, they determined, were real, unvarnished
insights of their own students who'd faced challenges
with finishing high school. So they went straight
to the source for answers, and what they got was an honest,
student-produced video that featured a series of interviews
with students who had dropped out and later
returned to school.
"I think you should try to understand your students
more than trying to control them," a sophomore girl
PAGE 20 >
to realizing the plan, but one of her star teachers
was on the fence about returning in the fall.
The key to getting the instructor to commit to
coming back, Ms. Wagner-Friel said, was promising
her more opportunities to hone and share her
expertise on project-based learning, one of the
main teaching methods in use at E.L Haynes.
It's a single example, but one that hints at a rising
theme of the charter school sector: making the
schools places where teachers want to stay beyond
a few years.
"Sometimes I think teachers need to be reinPAGE
16 >
Inside the New E-Rate
An overhaul of the federal
program will shift funds to
supporting high-speed broadband
and Wi-Fi in schools and
libraries-and away from other
services. Education Week Staff
Writer Benjamin Herold guides
readers through data that break
down the changes. See Page 13.
REQUESTS FOR
WIRELESS SUPPORT
ñ92%
Applicants for E-rate 'Category 2' funds,
FY2014 to FY2015
Philip Scott Andrews for Education Week

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Education Week - June 3, 2015

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