The many ways of identifying which students are English-learners and when they reach proficiency in the language could meld into a more uniform process as a result of the move to common standards and assessments, a profound shift that could drive changes in instruction and provision of resources, experts say. As two big groups of states work to…

The price tag to win a seat in this week's primary election for the Los Angeles school board climbed to unprecedented levels, as a massive influx of outside cash has turned a local campaign into a national showdown pitting the long-standing influence of teachers' unions against the expanding imprint of deep-pocketed education activists. The high…

Kelvin Adams, who takes over next week as the St. Louis schools' seventh superintendent since 2003, will arrive already familiar with the dynamics of a district under state supervision. Still, the leadership and management challenges he faces are daunting. The St. Louis schools have been run since June 2007 by an appointed, three-person Special…

In an environment of tight resources, tough academic challenges, and increasingly stiff competition from new education providers, smart leadership may matter more than ever for the success of America's school districts. Against this backdrop, "Education Week" introduces the first of what will be an annual "Leaders To Learn…

When 16 finalists come to Washington next week to make their final pitches in the $4 billion Race to the Top competition, most can expect to go home empty-handed. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, in announcing the finalists last week, said that no more than $2 billion will be divided among "very few winners" when the awards are…

Dozens of schools are slated for aggressive interventions over the next three years under a new, multistate effort that aims to clear hurdles that have hindered previous attempts to improve underperforming schools. Education officials in Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and New York have agreed to partner with Mass Insight…

A report from a high-powered education task force called last week for states and school districts to overhaul how they recruit, prepare, evaluate, and compensate teachers. Released by Strategic Management of Human Capital, the series of 20 policy recommendations for state and district policymakers is aimed primarily at improving the teaching…

Following a push to make "the nation's report card" better reflect the academic performance of all children in America's schools, most states boosted the numbers of students with disabilities and English-language learners who participated in the 2011 reading and math tests that are part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).…

In the final sprint to polish Race to the Top applications, hundreds of school districts shunned a shot at a share of $4 billion in grants by refusing to sign on to their states' plans for the federal competition. California officials had secured the signatures of 790 local education agencies (leas) late last week, including most of the state's…

The central office isn't being overlooked in the movement to find and develop top talent for school districts. Although ways to recruit, groom, and keep top teachers and strong principals tend to dominate discussions of "human capital" needs in education, a handful of nonprofit organizations and foundations also see providing smart managers as…

Over the next few weeks, dozens of schools will open across New Orleans for the second full academic year since Hurricane Katrina. As many as 33,000 children are expected to report to one of the campuses in the city's patchwork of charter and traditional public schools. Unlike last fall--when many schools opened without textbooks, functioning…

Corporations have been striving to perfect the "people side" of their operations for decades. Most hunt aggressively for the right talent, train workers to produce at high levels, and reward top performers with promotions and higher pay. In public education, though, school districts have been more passive in managing this vital asset. Most rely on…

Michelle A. Rhee, the chancellor of the public schools in Washington D.C. since June 2007, has become a favorite of the school reform set due to her bold efforts to remake the public schools in the nation's capital. For Rhee, exposing mismanagement, incompetence, and wide disparities in teaching quality has been a deliberate tactic as she builds…

In rebuilding public schooling in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, education reformers have managed to hire energetic teachers, break ground on a few new school buildings, raise public confidence, and show progress on test scores. But fundamental questions remain as the 2007-08 academic year draws to a close, including how the city's…

The final rules for the $4 billion Race to the Top competition give states and districts more leeway in how they intervene in chronically underperforming schools, a subtle but important change that raises new questions about whether the push to turn around struggling campuses will succeed in rehabilitating large numbers of them. Under the…