News Desk (LD News: September 2006)

Symposium: Addressing Achievement Gaps: Students with Learning Disabilities Transitioning from High School to College
On October 3-4 in Princeton, NJ, Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the National Center for Learning Disabilities will co-convene a symposium focusing on educational and legal changes and how they impact college opportunities, transitions, and outcomes for students with learning disabilities. Speakers include Noel Gregg, Martha Thurlow, Jose Blackorby, Arlyn Roffman, James Wendorf and Sheldon Horowitz. The symposium is open to school administrators, guidance counselors, college admissions professionals, postsecondary disability coordinators, researchers, and members of learning disabilities advocacy groups. Registration is free, and space is limited. 

For more information, click here.

Structuring the System that Will Change Early Childhood Education
More than 20 states are adding over one billion education tax dollars to their budgets towards a Universal Pre-K System this year. This system will ensure that quality community centers stay open, that poor children get a better start, and that parents play a bigger role in the education of their children.

To read Pre-K: Shaping the System That Shapes Children, from the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, click here.

Free Webinar on Learning Supports for Students with LD
On October 3rd at 6:00 p.m. EST, the Council for Exceptional Children will offer a free Webinar on Software-Based Learning Supports for LD Students in the General Ed Classroom. The online conference will highlight strategies to meet the academic needs of students with LD through "accessible curriculum" and software-based curriculum approaches. David Rose, co-founder and co-director of CAST and member of NCLD's Professional Advisory Board, is a featured panelist for this online event.

To register, go to: http://easi.cc/ld/

George Mason University Drops SAT Entrance Requirement
After three years of research, George Mason University has decided to waive the SAT requirement for student applicants with a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher. Although dozens of private schools have decided that the SAT is not a good indicator of collegiate success, GMU is among the first public schools to drop this standardized test requirement.

For a full article, click here.

Classroom Expenses Putting a Dent in the Wallets of Parents and Teachers
This year, American families are expected to spend $86 on school supplies, up from $73 two years ago, and teachers are expected to spend an average $826 out of their own pockets for classroom supplies. On average, only 61 percent of education funds are put towards in-classroom expenses, and supplies could be nearly doubled if this percentage were raised to just 65 percent.

For a full article, click here.

Students Must Prepare for College Better, Earlier
A new policy brief from The Education Commission of the States High School Policy Center stresses the need for students to better prepare for college, by obtaining knowledge of college entrance requirements earlier and by preparing for college from the start of their high school careers.

To read Involving Families in High School and College Expectations, click here.

Study Examines Effectiveness of Passport Teachers
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., has released the first in a series of studies that examines the effectiveness of "Passport teachers," individuals who are identified through examination of subject content and professional teaching knowledge rather than through the conventional state certification process. Overall, Passport teachers seem to do as good a job as other teachers, but further assessment of teacher effectiveness is recommended.

To read the full report, click here.

New Report Analyzes Exit Exams in High Schools
The fifth annual report from the Center on Education Policy on high school exit exams indicates that no new states have adopted an exit exam requirement in 2006. The report discusses the flexibility and remediation programs of the 25 states that currently do require or are phasing exit exams into their school systems.

For more information, click here.

Prekindergarten May Be Key to Narrowing the Achievement Gap
In a recent article in the Harvard Education Letter, Michael Sadowski describes how pre-kindergarten, not just preschool, may be the key to narrowing the achievement gap for economically disadvantaged students. Sadowski encourages attention to the individual child in the classroom, rather than attention to generalizations about students from different backgrounds.

To read this article, click here.

Definite Link Between Social and Academic Development Found
A new article from The Journal of Child Development identifies a definite link between social and academic development, and explains how both aspects of development must be nurtured during the early education process in order for students to be successful later on in school and in life.

To read Contemporaneous and Longitudinal Associations Between Social Behavior and Literacy Achievement in a Sample of Low-Income Elementary School Children, click here.

Summer Learning Programs Help Students Succeed in School Year
A new study based on research from a Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL) summer academic program indicates that a well-implemented summer learning program can improve reading test scores and increase parental involvement in the next school year.

For more information, click here.

PBS Show Launches Episode on Learning Disabilities
This month, PBS stations in Washington, D.C. and New York City premiered the latest episode of Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers, entitled Reading and the Brain. The episode, hosted by Henry Winkler, explored new research that linked early brain development and reading " and the critical importance of good teaching, especially during the preschool and early school years.

To watch the episode online, click here.

To find a broadcast schedule near you, click here.

Discussion of National Assessment of Adult Literacy Now Available
The webcast discussion, Adults with Basic and Below Basic Literacy Levels: Findings from NAAL and Implications for Practice, is now available in video and transcript form through the National Institute for Literacy. The webcast discussed the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), which provided the first assessment of the nation’s progress in adult literacy since 1992. 

To view or read the webcast, click here.