All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.
Katie Couric's Notebook: Standardized Tests
And then you had to make sure to fill in the right bubble on the answer sheet!
Well, you can put away your number two pencils. Because those tests will soon be history. 44 states are working together to design new ones set to debut in four years.
Students would take them on computers which could adjust questions based on each child's performance. Instead of being just multiple choice, these exams would be more complicated and could include research projects. They'd also be able to test a child's speaking and listening skills.
And they won't be just once a year anymore. Students would take them several times a year so teachers could better measure progress...and help kids who, like me, don't have a clue how much gas Lynn needs in her tank.
That's a page from my notebook.
I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.
"Waiting for 'Superman'" a "Wake Up Call" on Education
In an interview for @katiecouric today, Continue »
Katie Couric's Notebook: Children and Insurance
A major sticking point is a provision that says children can't be turned down for coverage because of preexisting conditions. It's prompted half a dozen big insurance providers to stop issuing child-only policies. They fear many parents will only buy insurance after a child becomes sick - an expensive proposition that could bankrupt those plans or force companies to raise rates for all customers.
But, the White House is blasting back - saying insurers are making decisions on the backs of children.
This is likely just the first of many battles as the noble goal of universal health care collides with the universal goal of profitability.
If such plans existed, there'd be a run on coverage right now for growing pains.
That's a page from my notebook.
I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.
Are Teachers Making the Grade?
Ben Tracy is a CBS News correspondent based in Los Angeles.
As kids, we all remember those dreaded tests. We read our text books, memorized key ideas and phrases, and then hoped we could remember it all when test day arrived.
But what about the teachers giving those tests? How do we know whether they are passing or failing when it comes to doing their jobs?
For the most part, in this country, we don't.
That is because for decades, teacher's unions have fought to not have their performance linked to their student's test scores. They say one day of standardized tests is not a good way to evaluate an entire year of a teacher's work. So, a teacher's job performance is generally assessed by their principal who sits in their classroom once a year (at most) and watches them teach.
Now a growing number of experts and even democrats (who generally have sided with the teacher's unions) are saying we need more accountability. They say test scores may not count for everything, but they do matter because it's one of the only ways to judge how much students are learning.
In our story for our series "Reading, Writing, and Reform," we explore this issue and the debate raging in Los Angeles after the Los Angeles Times posted rankings of teachers online based on their student's test scores. One teacher we talked to was branded a "least effective" teacher. She says the test data is unfair. One parent we talked to says ineffective teachers need to be helped or moved out of the classroom. In the end, they both agreed that it's about the kids.Continue »
Katie Couric's Notebook: Recession
The recession ended 14 months ago.
At least that's the word today from The Bureau of Economic Research. According to a panel of academics, the longest recession since World War Two is over. It lasted 18 grueling months, from December of 2007 until June of 2009...
But wait a minute. Why doesn't it feel that way for millions of families?
The Census Bureau reported last week that one in seven Americans lived in poverty last year. One in six still receive government assistance, 40 million are on food stamps and food pantries are serving families who never imagined they'd need one.
All the think tanks in the world can say the recession is over - but unemployment is still 9 and a half percent. So many people are still out of work and some have given up - not to mention the underemployed, doing what they can to make ends meet.
The recession may be officially over, and that is good news. But for so many people still struggling, nothing beats hearing, "You're hired."
That's a page from my notebook.
I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.
Looking for a Story in Cordoba, Argentina
Steve Hartman tries to find a story in Cordoba, Argentina. His translator Martina works the phones.
CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman has launched the second round of his series "Everyone in the World Has a Story," throwing a dart at a map of the world, going wherever it stuck and telling the stories of random people.
CORDOBA, Argentina - Day 2
A lot of people fantasize about throwing a dart at a map and going wherever it hits. The idea definitely sounds adventurous. But in reality, darts make pretty bad travel agents. So do astronauts aboard the International Space Station. It's not that there's anything particularly "wrong" with the place they sent me this time. All I'm saying is that there are a lot of better places to spend a holiday.
Fortunately, I didn't come here to Cordoba, Argentina to vacation. I came to this standard South American city of 3 million to select another random Earthling.
Everyone in the World Has a Story:
From a Mud Hut to a Mansion in Oman
From Latvia, with Muscles
4 Generations Under One Roof in India
Everyone in the World Has a Story, NASA
Continue »
Katherine Schwarzenegger Talks Body Image on @katiecouric
Katie Couric and author Katherine Schwarzenegger talk about healthy body images.
On @katiecouric, she said she wrote the book for "young girls saying you're not alone when you're going through all this because every other girl's going through the exact same thing."
(Scroll down to watch the full clip)
When she was 10 years old, Katherine said her mom helped her put things in perspective, with a quick little exercise. "She took a piece of paper and she drew a line down it and told me to write things that I like in the life side and things I don't like about myself in the right side." At the end of the exercise, she realized "the likes column was much longer than the dislikes column."
Katherine said it really opened "your eyes to all the positive things that you have that you always don't think about."
"It seemed like everyone In LA, every girl was having an eating disorder," Katherine told Katie Couric. But, she said she "never had an eating disorder."
She added, "seeing other people struggle with eating disorders definitely scares you away from doing anything like that. And the amount of stress that they put their bodies under and how much they torture themselves to look a certain way and to look like what society considers beautiful, and they can't really be themselves." She thinks it's "really sad, because I think that society doesn't really allow girls to be who they are. And that's what I really hope to change with this."
Katherine's mother, Maria Shriver joined the conversation via Skype. She gave her thoughts on on the gubernatorial race in California. "I think it's a tossup. I think it's a tight race."
