[Weekly EdNews Round Up] Breaking Down PISA 2018 Results

No one knows better than educators about the importance of staying up-to-date. In Edmentum’s Weekly News Round Up, you’ll find the latest and most interesting education news, all in one place.

The results of the 2018 PISA, a test of reading, mathematics and science administered every three years to fifteen-year-old-students around the world, are finally here. While the U.S. scores are slightly improved, there are many factors to consider when looking at the country’s results, and how the American education system compares to the rest of the world. Read about the PISA scores and more in this week’s EdNews Round Up.

PISA 2018: Slight U.S. Progress, But What Do The Results Really Tell Us?
NEA Today
It's no secret, says NEA President. Top-performing countries invest heavily in their students, educators, and schools regardless of socio-economic standing.

Sharp Nationwide Enrollment Drop in Teacher Prep Programs Cause for Alarm
U.S. News
Declining enrollment in teacher prep courses is a harbinger of a crisis in America’s schools.

How Classroom Political Discussions — Controversies, Too — Prepare Students for Needed Civic Participation
MindShift
Students who participate in well-planned discussions about controversial issues at school are better prepared for civic participation than those who stay unchallenged within echo chambers.

New Education Doctorate Focused on Social-Emotional Learning is One of the First of its Kind as Experts Call for Better Teacher Training on the Whole Child
The 74
A doctorate in #SEL? New program from @sacredheartuniv aims to train school leaders in dealing with student trauma and regulating emotions

Improving Reading Is a Teaching and Culture Shift
EdWeek
Flawed methods for teaching reading are often passed down through cherished mentors, popular literacy programs, and respected professional groups.

What is it like to be a male teacher in early ed?
The Hechinger Report
Nationwide, only about 3 percent of early childhood teachers are male, which experts say can have an impact on young children whose conceptions of gender roles and identity are rapidly forming. A recent survey and the resulting study are an attempt to determine what influences men to enter the female-dominated early childhood education field--and the challenges they face once there.

How to Create a Classroom That's a Safe Space for Failure
EdSurge
This isn’t a new idea, but we still struggle with the idea that failure is a necessary component of success. Embracing failure can seem counterintuitive to students. If we have always taught our kids that every test must be an A+, then how do we support them when it isn’t?

Education policy is often a topic of conversation in state and federal legislatures. Stay in-the-know with this week’s top stories regarding education reform at the state and national level.

Preschool-Age Kids Don’t Fully Grasp Federal Immigration Policy — but for Some It’s Causing Toxic Stress, Report Argues
The 74
A new trend amid heightened fears over immigration enforcement: Undocumented parents are asking preschool teachers to care for their kids if they’re deported

Suburban Pa. school districts see green in propane buses
WHYY PBS/NPR
Propane buses are quieter, have fewer emissions, and save districts money.

NC sees decline in teachers passing exams and decline in teachers from colleges of education
WRLA
Increased air pollution threatens students' academic success more than you might think, warns physician and former classroom teacher Kunal Sindhu.

Education Department Admits to Major Mistake
U.S. News
The agency admitted in a compliance report that it incorrectly collected student loan debt from an additional 17,000 borrowers defrauded by for-profit colleges.

Rhode Island right-to-education lawsuit to be heard in federal court
Education Dive
An attorney for the plaintiffs says the case could have an "electric effect" on public schools if it ultimately makes it to the U.S. Supreme Court.