Teaching News and Events (7/6/12) Posted: 07 Jul 2012 02:00 AM PDT Here are links to some of this week’s education-related news: Schools: - England is neglecting its brightest children, leaving them lagging far behind their peers overseas in top level maths scores, a report says.
- All 11 year-olds will be tested on the proper use of apostrophes and the difference between nouns, verbs and adjectives under government plans to raise literacy levels in primary schools. Find some examples of the types of questions in the test here.
- The government reintroduced Level 6 national tests in English and Maths this year to stretch the most able pupils. But education expert John Bangs, of the Institute of Education, says the tests will be used to identify elite primaries.
- One of Britain’s top private schools is devising its own qualifications in a series of key subjects amid claims that "dull" GCSEs no longer prepare teenagers for the demands of the sixth-form.
- The government has been urged to reconsider whether sponsored academies are the best way to boost weak schools.
- Pupils will be given national rankings according to their exact scores in the new O level-style exams being planned by Michael Gove, TES has learned.
- Trainee teachers will be taught to stand up straight and look troublemakers in the eye under new guidelines to help improve discipline in the classroom.
- Two founders of a restaurant chain have been asked to carry out a review of school food in England.
- Millions of workers are being urged to visit state secondary schools and talk about their jobs and career history in a drive to help young people gain better insight into the world of work.
- Girls are outperforming boys in traditionally "masculine" subjects such as engineering and construction, despite repeated attempts to close the education gender gap, it has emerged.
- The reading gap between boys and girls in England is widening but there is no official strategy to address it, a report says.
- Children love their new teaching assistants, says Clover Stroud, as classroom canines make reading a great adventure.
 Other News:  Next week's Teaching Events include:  
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