Texas Education Chief: Stop Hiring Dropouts

Board revising standards over objection of minorities

(NEWSER) - The Texas Board of Education has decreed that future curriculum standards will have a more conservative bent. The board's 10 right-leaning members say they're simply "adding balance" to left-leaning academia. The five minority members say they're whitewashing history. Among the changes, expected to formalized in May, as rounded up by the Dallas Morning News and the New York Times :

• Students will learn of the "conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s, including Phyllis Schlafly, the Contract With America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority, and the National Rifle Association."
• When learning of Martin Luther King Jr., the students will also study the violence of the Black Panthers.

New textbooks could challenge theory, shape US curriculum

(NEWSER) - Texas’ Board of Education votes this week on whether to teach a science curriculum that challenges evolution—and the result could affect schools across the US, the Wall Street Journal reports. Because Texas is such a huge market, textbook writers often design national material based on state standards. “This is the most specific assault I’ve seen against evolution and modern science,” said a science-education advocate. More»

Prez to push teacher merit pay, lower dropout rates

(NEWSER) - In a speech today before the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, President Obama will lay out his plan for American schools, reports the Wall Street Journal. Most controversially, the president aims to expand merit pay for teachers, a measure that Democratic teacher unions are traditionally leery of. If teachers develop new skills, he said last summer, “that work can be valued and rewarded.” More»

Curriculum may allow for Darwin's 'strengths and weaknesses'

(NEWSER) - Evolution opponents are adapting. Now that “intelligent design” and “creation science” have failed in court, the new catch phrase, the New York Times reports, is “strengths and weaknesses.” It might seem innocuous, but critics say it’s yet another tactic to undermine the teaching of evolution in schools. Evolution opponents are insisting that curriculum discuss the flaws in Darwin’s theory. More»

They send 1 set of numbers to DC, keep another set at home

(NEWSER) - Many states report rosy high school graduation rates to Washington but publicize much lower figures at home, the New York Times reports. The higher rates often fail to account for the nation's growing legion of dropouts, but states are leery to give the feds bad numbers in part because of penalties associated with the No Child Left Behind Act. The education chief is considering a single federal formula to settle the issue. More»