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Every weekday I am sharing the top education news from around the Web. Today: Education experts weigh in on community and parent involvement in education, Hawaii’s private schools raise tuition slightly this year and free athletic events tickets like the ones accepted by University of Hawaii administrators are limited but not prohibited by ethics law.

• Education experts are conversing over at National Journal Online about . Monty Neill, the deputy director for FairTest, says U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s proposal for parental involvement lacks substance and meaning.

• Hawaii’s private schools opted for another relatively modest (between $300 and $500), reported Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Mary Vorsino today. Enrollment in private school is steady, but families are feeling the financial pinch of the increases paired with a gimpy economy.

• Ian Lind followed up on on his blog about the free tickets University of Hawaii administrators were receiving to athletic events. It turns out of such tickets — but doesn’t outright ban it.

• The University of Hawaii’s medical school held a welcome ceremony for — 64 new students — last weekend, the Star-Advertiser reported. Could this be a humble beginning to relieving the doctor shortage in Hawaii?

• Waialua High School students, along with some students from California and Indiana, won a soccer tournament last weekend — , the Star-Advertiser reported yesterday. This type of hands-on learning is a good way to show students the practical application of what they are learning, and it keeps them engaged in the learning process. If more schools and classrooms implemented similar strategies in every subject, would student achievement increase? The senior projects the Hawaii State Board of Education is promoting as part of its advanced diploma attempt to do this, it seems. But perhaps we shouldn’t wait until senior year.

• The Washington Post’s Valerie Strauss reported on The Answer Sheet blog that Harvard professors their policy requiring a final exam. Speculation is flying about why and what it will mean. It will be interesting to see if other universities follow suit.

• Pittsburgh may pilot a couple of in a last-ditch effort to improve consistently low performance at some of its schools, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported today.

Weigh in on these and other school-related issues in our ongoing education discussion. To read more education news throughout the day, follow me on Twitter: .