Children exposed to alcohol prenatally have increased risk of a range of developmental problems such as language delay, behavior problems, learning, and memory and cognitive deficits, all of which can have a negative impact on educational achievement.

The expression of learning problems varied with the dose, pattern, and timing of prenatal alcohol exposure. Test scores below national benchmarks for reading were associated with first trimester heavy alcohol exposure and for writing after late pregnancy occasional binge drinking. (Read the full article)

Obstacles to vaccine delivery, including poverty, reduced access to medical care, and incomplete understanding of vaccine safety and importance, result in suboptimal coverage rates in some populations, allowing for disease outbreaks. Multicomponent interventions are successful in increasing immunization coverage rates.

We show that collaboration with local resources, including the county health department and a large community-based organization, effectively increases immunization coverage rates in low-income, resource-poor children. (Read the full article)

Global health is of increasing interest and relevance to North American pediatric trainees. Opportunities for resident global health training and exposure are most often limited to electives or trainees in dedicated global health tracks.

A series of short, structured, participatory global child health modules improved knowledge and were well received and integrated within academic programs. Such modules enable global health learning for all residents, including those who never intend to practice overseas. (Read the full article)

Violence from school staff toward children is anecdotally widespread, but there are few empirical data on prevalence and health consequences, especially in low-income settings.

Despite a ban on corporal punishment, just over 52% of children in Luwero District experienced physical violence from school staff members in the previous week. This was associated with poor mental health in boys and girls and poor educational performance in girls. (Read the full article)

Increasing numbers of hospitals are instituting 24/7 in-hospital pediatric intensivist coverage. Data regarding patient outcomes are mixed and the impact on housestaff education remains unknown.

This study quantifies the perceived impact of in-hospital attending coverage on pediatric resident and critical care fellow education and also investigates the growing concern that increasing supervision may contribute to housestaff being less well prepared for independent clinical practice. (Read the full article)

Young children have multiple upper respiratory infections (URI) annually. Limited health literacy regarding URI can place families at risk for emergency department (ED) visits, inappropriate use of over-the-counter medications, and medication measurement errors.

Few educational interventions for URI have targeted groups with limited health literacy. Integrating an educational intervention into Early Head Start is a novel approach to increasing parental health literacy regarding URI and decreasing ED visits, with potential for wide dissemination. (Read the full article)

Children born very preterm (VPT) are at high risk of educational delay. School readiness has been identified as a potentially useful clinical framework for early detection of those at greatest risk. However, evidence to support its predictive validity is limited.

VPT preschoolers are at risk of impairment across the 5 American Academy of Pediatrics school readiness domains. The number of domains affected predicted likelihood of later learning problems, supporting the utility of schoolreadiness frameworks for identifying children needing surveillance and/or support. (Read the full article)

Sleep deprivation is a worldwide problem in adolescents. The effectiveness of sleep education in enhancing sleep knowledge with consequent modification of sleep habits remains uncertain, in view of small sample sizes and lack of control groups in previous studies.

This large-scale, cluster randomized controlled study found that a school-based sleep education program was effective in enhancing sleep knowledge and improving behavioral and mental health, but it had no significant impact on sleep duration or pattern among adolescents. (Read the full article)

In response to growing demand from trainees, many pediatric residency programs offer global health (GH) experiences for their residents. There is diversity in what is offered at programs across the country.

This is the most comprehensive assessment of US pediatric residency training opportunities in GH. These opportunities are prevalent and increasingly formalized as tracks. However there remain gaps in universal pretravel preparation and coordination across GH partnerships nationally. (Read the full article)

Poor neurocognitive outcomes are associated with some types of congenital heart defects (CHDs). Guidelines for developmental screening for children with CHDs have been published. Population-based information on special education services needed among children with CHDs is limited.

Children in metropolitan Atlanta with congenital heart defects (CHDs) received special education services more often than children without birth defects. These findings highlight the need for special education services and the importance of developmental screening for all children with CHDs. (Read the full article)

Better mathematics screening procedures may help schools choose students for 8th grade Algebra 1 classes who will be able to successfully complete the course, according to a study by the Regional Educational Laboratory West.

High school math classes should be broadened to focus on goals beyond college and careers, including teaching the math students will need to be literate participants in civic life.

I regularly receive invitations to participate in essay contests devoted to rethinking American education. These competitions, I fear, are the worst way to spur real change.

Are education leaders spending too much time chasing the latest tech trends rather than trying to maintain what they have? Benjamin Herold explores the innovation trap.

Even the most promising education innovations often struggle to gain traction. In a new paper, New Classrooms CEO Joel Rose identifies three barriers to innovation and what to do about them.

Rick talks with Larry Rosenstock, education icon, the founder and CEO of High Tech High, and recent recipient of the WISE Prize for Education, about what he's learned after a half century in education.

If I've learned anything after hanging out at a think tank for close to two decades, it's that dreaming up education innovations is easy. Number 12 in our countdown is my take on the goofy contests that talkers seem to be so fond of.

The rule requires states to use a standard method in determining if districts are biased in how they identify minority students, discipline them, or place them in restrictive settings.

When can schools use federal funds to help students with disabilities prepare for life after special education? A new resource from the federal education department offers a road map.

Advocates for increased federal funding for special education cheered Thursday when the issue was raised on the Democratic presidential debate stage in Los Angeles.

The Government Accountability Office finds that parents often have a hard time initiating complaints about special education services, but that these barriers don't affect all parents in the same way.

For decades, special education advocates have urged the federal government to "fully fund" the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Here are some examples 'ripped from the headlines' of how the funding gap is affecting school districts.

Several of the already existing restrictions on U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' authority to waive federal education law deal with school funding.

Congress should not grant flexibility from the federal special education law's key components due to the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has told federal lawmakers.

Education Week reporters Alyson Klein and Sean Cavanagh discuss the races to watch.

Education Week takes a close look at the obstacles and opportunities for American Indian children in finding success in school and beyond.

Texas has become the first state to have its "alternate assessment aligned to modified academic-achievement standards" pass the U.S. Department of Education's peer-review process.

The Education Week Research Center looks at student scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress from 2003 to 2015, a period overlapping with the No Child Left Behind Act.

News.

A new paper sketches out the landscape and tensions in civic education as philanthropies look for ways to support the field.

In number 10 in our countdown, I tried to offer a few thoughts to funders as they embraced new agendas and looked to avoid repeating yesterday's missteps.

Around the world, education is the largest recipient of philanthropic giving by a large margin, but in the United States, funders are moving away from investing in K-12 schools in favor of early childhood and higher education.

Funders have been both fast and thoughtful about how to work with national and local partners to listen to needs from the field, identify best practices, and deploy resources quickly, says Celine Coggins.

"Folks in some foundations are quietly expressing frustration that they've been cautioned to stay in their lane and only fund things aligned with their pre-COVID strategy," says Stacey Childress.

Deep and lasting learning can best come from the relationship between teachers and their students.

Although educational apps for preschoolers abound, many don't include sound teaching strategies, says a new study in the journal Learning, Media and Technology.

The lack of access to technology and internet connectivity at home is especially severe among poor, rural, and minority students, according to a new survey from ACT's nonprofit Center for Equity in Learning.

One-to-one technology programs may boostmath scores over time, finds a new study in the Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis journal.

More than two-thirds of districts are very confident in their networks' ability to support a digital device for every student, and nearly a quarter of districts now average two devices for each student, finds the latest annual report of the Consortium for School Networking.

A massive international analysis finds more screen time is associated with a lower sense of well-being among teenagers, but the effects are too small to require policy changes, according to a study in the journal Nature Human Behavior.

When it comes to a key international test, there's little evidence that technology use benefits student scores and some evidence that it could drag them down, according to a new report by the nonprofit Reboot Foundation.

From blended learning to computerized testing, digital and online technologies are reshaping the classroom experience for millions of students.

Emilee Yaeger, an undergraduate student in the Science BS/MBA accelerated joint degree program, has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Eberly College of Science Cooperative Education Student of the Year Award. The award recognizes the student’s academic achievements and contributions to the participating employer, the University, the community, and the field of cooperative education.

For the first time, guest bloggers share analysis from 20 years of math and science international assessment data.

Despite a push for greater STEM instruction, students and teachers continue to experience inequitable access to STEM-related classes and resources, according to a new survey of 1,200 schools and 7,600 teachers.

The most popular special education stories of the year examined the broken promises of special education, the aftermath of the lead crisis in Flint, Mich., and how educators lack confidence in their ability to meet the needs of children with disabilities.

The Government Accountability Office finds that parents often have a hard time initiating complaints about special education services, but that these barriers don't affect all parents in the same way.

A new guide from the National Center for Learning Disabilities and Understood.org offers advice on how school leaders can best serve students with disabilities and support special education teachers.

Delaware is among three states using federal grants to develop school and district leaders who understand the complexities of special education.