Welcome to The EdGate Observer!

Greetings everyone,

In this month's newsletter, we focus on the most recent educational news pertaining to President Obama's Education Blueprint (Hot Topic), Has the Increase in Spending for Technology Initiatives Improved Student Scores? (Burning Question), Electronic Textbook News (Client Solutions), Advanced Reporting (EdGate Services) and following up with new additions to the EdGate Standards Repository (Standards Update).

As always, EdGate is your source for staying abreast of any new developments in education and specifically the impact of educational standards.   

Regards,

Sandra Schugren, EdGate General Manager

Hot Topic

President Obama Urges Governors to Do Their Part

At the National Governors Association conference on February 27, President Obama, pointed out that a quarter of a million educators have been lost due to budget cuts in the last four years and that a majority of states cut funding for elementary and secondary schools in 2011. President Obama urged America's governors to make education a priority so that American students and workers will be prepared for college and 21^st century employment.

The White House also released President Obama's Education Blueprint: An Economy Built to Last. The document outlines the effects of budget cuts in education, the challenges ahead, and new and ongoing programs designed to ensure quality education for all students and a well-prepared work force. Among the latter are:

ESEA Flexibility-offers states flexibility from NCLB requirements in exchange for a "commitment to implement higher standards, enhance accountability, improve outcomes for students, and develop better systems of teacher evaluation and support."  As of February, the following states have taken advantage of ESEA flexibility: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Each of these states have adopted or are transitioning toward adoption of Common Core State Standards.

Strengthening Community Colleges through the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training fund, The Skills for America's Future initiative and the Community College to Career Fund.  These programs seek to partner business with community colleges for the benefit of students through targeted programs, to train workers in health care, logistics, transportation, and advanced manufacturing and more.

By: Lisa Waugh 

Project Manager

Electronic Textbook News

The good news:

Digital-book revenue has been growing by leaps and bounds and Apple's recent January announcement that they would sell digital textbooks for $14.99 or less definitely contributed. In the first three days of sales, over 350,000 textbooks were downloaded from Apple. EdGate Correlation Services has correlations available for 7 of the 9 introductory textbooks now. To add these correlations to your interface, please contact your project manager or sales executive.

The not-so-good news:

The brilliance of Apple's move could be tarnished by the U.S. Justice Department. They have warned Apple and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books according to the Wall Street Journal.  Simon and Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group, Macmillan, and Harper Collins are named. Publishers have denied acting jointly to raise prices.

To read more about this hot topic, visit the following articles:

Apple's Textbook Sales Reaches 350,000 in First Three Days 

U.S. Warns Apple, Publishers

U.S. reportedly warns Apple, e-book publishers about price-fixing

By:  Rich Street   

Burning Question 

Has the Increase in Spending for Technology Initiatives Shown that it Improves Student Scores?

With schools spending millions in response to the White House initiative known as the National Education Technology Plan, is there a correlated increase in student performance?  To date there is no compelling evidence that the added technology has improved student performance.

The Kyrene School District in Arizona was the focus of an article last fall in the New York Times. With its investment of more than $30 million in technology that transformed the nature of the classrooms from traditional to technology driven learning, students are engaged; however test scores in reading and math have remained the same over the last six years.  Yet overall in the state of Arizona, there have been gains in reading and math scores.

Critics point out that the added technologies are tools to enhance learning and that curriculum and instruction should not be replaced by but rather enhanced with the use of technology.  There needs to be balance and districts should be careful to utilize their resources for the improvement of student learning and not merely the classroom setting.

By: Kathleen Ideguchi 

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