Education Week - October 5, 2016 - 1

Education WEEk
VOL. 36, NO. 7 * OCTOBER 5, 2016

edweek.org:

BRE AKING NEWS DAILY

High Court
Again Takes
School Cases
2016-17 Term May Prove
Consequential for K-12
By Mark Walsh
Washington

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Brandon Thibodeaux for Education Week

in such male-dominated fields.
"Single-gender was a big highlight for me-along with the social and
emotional component," Markey said, explaining why she chose to send
Orlaith to a school outside her neighborhood.
Single-gender schools have long held appeal for students and parents who believe they provide a learning environment with fewer
distractions and devoid of biases about what academic pursuits are
best for boys or girls, but their numbers are relatively small. Several
urban districts, however, opened new single-gender public schools this
school year, including three in Dallas, as a way to provide more options

The U.S. Supreme Court opened its
new term Oct. 3 still feeling the effects
of the February death of Justice Antonin Scalia. With the nomination of
Merrick B. Garland stuck in political
limbo, the eight members of the court
have adopted a cautious approach to
their docket for the new term, many
legal experts say.
But for K-12 education, the new term
may be the most significant in years.
For example, the justices have agreed
to hear two cases involving students
with disabilities and another that
could be significant for government
aid to religion, include private religious schools.
And the court could soon add to its
docket a case that would plunge the justices into the national debate over the
rights of transgender students.
"This is a very interesting time in
the Supreme Court, to put it mildly,"
said John G. Malcolm, the director of
the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal
and Judicial Studies at the Heritage
Foundation, a right-leaning think tank
in Washington. "The court appears to
be reluctant to tackle too many conten-

Second graders at Solar Preparatory School for Girls in Dallas prepare for a nature walk around campus for a class assignment. The
district has sought to expand its options with specialty schools, including five that provide a single-gender environment.

Dallas Expands Choices With Single-Gender Schools
By Denisa R. Superville
Dallas

At Solar Preparatory School for Girls here, there is no presumption that
boys are better at science than girls. In fact, dispelling such stereotypes and
nurturing science, math, leadership, and other skills often deemed to come
more naturally to boys is central to the mission of the K-8 public school.
That kind of environment is what Brandy Markey wants for
her daughter, Orlaith. The bubbly 6-year-old, her mother believes,
might be more apt to gain confidence and interest in STEM subjects
in a school where the clear message is that girls can, and do, excel

By Daarel Burnette II
Indianapolis

High-stakes testing has roiled Indiana's political
scene for years, pitting business leaders, parents,
educators, and politicians against one another and
playing out in Shakespearean-like power grabs,
scandals, and high-profile resignations.
In the wake of botched test scores last school
year, Hoosiers revolted, and soon the state
ME legislaWI
MI

ture placed a moratorium on the entire statewide
testing operation.
Now, the anxieties, confusion, and anger over the
future of ISTEP, as the exam is known, have spilled
over into this year's election cycle.
Candidates for governor and state superintendent are debating whether to reel back the
weight test scores have on student grades, teacher
evaluations, and district score cards, or junk the
exam and replace it with a new one-which would
be Indiana's third standardized test in as many
years.
And in an election year in which education is a
lower-tier topic on the national stage, testing is at

VT
NH
MA

DATA SNAPSHOT

In most states, more
than 10 percent of the
teaching force is made
of up educators in their
first or second year in
teaching. See data,
Page 14.

Student Debaters
No Easy Audience

Isaac Brekken/AP for Education Week

Indiana's Testing Woes
Fuel Electoral Battles

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As the presidential
nominees squared off,
debate team members
in Nevada cast
a critical eye on
their performance.
See article, Page 21.

New Teachers Make Significant Segment of Profession
By Stephen Sawchuk
& Anthony Rebora
Everybody involved in K-12 education
knows that new teachers tend to need a
lot of extra support. What they may not
fully grasp, however, is just how many
new teachers are out there.
As a segment of the total U.S. teaching force, their representation appears
to be considerable.

Nationally, 12 percent of all public
school teachers are in their first or second year, according to an Education
Week analysis of new data from the U.S.
Department of Education's office for civil
rights. And in some states, that figure is
more than 15 percent.
The data, while still under review,
are consistent with other recent research pointing to a "greening" trend
in teaching over the past 20 years.

They also raise questions both about
the overall stability of the teaching
force and the ability of school systems
to provide adequate support to so many
novices.
"It's a really substantive and serious
issue when a district or school is dealing [with an influx of new teachers],"
said Susan Moore Johnson, a professor
of education at the Harvard Graduate
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Education Week - October 5, 2016

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