The National Education Goals Panel

--- Wednesday --- June 18, 1997 --- Vol. 1 --- No. 7 ---

NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL

NEGP Weekly

THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS

============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"We need to take assessments to see and understand in every case
why it is children don't meet the standards we're suggesting,
what the cause is, and how we can live up to our responsibility
to help each and every child be a productive citizen."
Paul O'Neil, chair of a Pa. task force on standards. (#3) _______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
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| EPN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
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| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|

============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============

GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Voc ed and dropout prevention. (#1)

GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
STANDARDS STALWART: College Board unveils new division. (#2)
STANDARDS IN PA.: Ridge commission makes recommendations. (#3)

GOAL SIX: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING
SKILLS STANDARDS: A call for uniform workplace standards. (#4)

GOAL SEVEN: SAFE SCHOOLS
EXAMINING EXPULSION: Too lenient in Montgomery County? (#5)

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===== GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION =====

*1 MAKING A DIFFERENCE: VOC ED AND DROPOUT PREVENTION
The 28 May 1997 "NEGP Weekly" featured a new report issued
by the American Youth Policy Forum, "Some Things DO Make a
Difference for Youth: A Compendium of Evaluations of Youth
Programs and Practices." Several programs covered in the report
will be highlighted in the "NEGP Weekly," including today's
article on "Strategies for Keeping Kids In School: Evaluation of
Dropout Prevention and Re-entry Projects in Vocational
Education."
The U.S. DoEd program, under the department's office of
vocational and adult education, was begun in 1989 as a three-year
project to demonstrate the effectiveness of vocational education
components in 12 dropout prevention programs," writes the report.
The program was evaluated by the Research Triangle Institute and
the American Institutes for Research.
Grants were directed to 12 communities exhibiting high
dropout rates: Woodside and Carlmont, Calif; Cushing, Okla.;
Oconee County, S.C.; Anne Arundel County, Md.; Broward County,
Fla.; Portland, Ore.; Detroit, Mich.; Turtle Mountain, Fort
Totten, Fort Berthold and Fort Yates, N.D. School districts,
universities and other organizations in these communities were
awarded grants to "replicate dropout prevention programs with a
proven vocational education component," writes the report.
While the sites represented a variety of strategies to
prevent dropping out, 7 of the projects used the Cooperative
Federation for Education Experience (COFFEE) model. COFFEE
programs feature a shortened school day in an alternative school
setting that intertwines academic and vocational instruction,
notes the report.
Project COFFEE also includes small class size, a highly
structured environment, strong personal counseling, physical
education and intense monitoring and evaluation of student
progress.
An evaluation of the grantees found:
10 of the 12 projects showed an increase in students' grade-
point average; 7 showed a reduction in the number of courses
failed by the target students; 7 showed an increase in students'
perception that the school is safe; 5 showed an increase in the
number of credits earned; 5 showed a reduction in the umber of
absences; but, only 4 showed a reduction in the incidence of
dropping out.
Researchers concluded that the following were the most
critical components of a successful dropout prevention program:
vocational education integrated with the academic curriculum and
leading to a good entry-level job or post-secondary education;
counseling that incudes attention to personal issues along with
career counseling, employability development and life skills
instruction; and personal, supportive attention from adults.
For more information, contact Ricky Takai, director post-
secondary adult and vocational education. U.S. Department of
Education; 600 Independence Avenue, SW; Room 4103; Federal
Building 10; Washington, D.C. 20202; 202/401/3630. For
information on the evaluations of the programs: Becky Jon
Hayward; Research Triangle Institute; P.O. Box 12194; Research
Triangle Park, N.C. 27709; 919/541-6811 and Donald McLaughlin;
American Institutes for Research; P.O. Box 1113; Palo Alto,
Calif. 94302; 415/493-3550.
Copies of "Some Things DO Make a Difference for Youth: A
Compendium of Evaluations of Youth Programs and Practices" is
available from the American Youth Policy Forum; Suite 719; 1001
Connecticut Avenue NW; Washington, D.C. 20036. The report must
be prepaid and costs $10.00, including postage. Bulk discounts
are available.

===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====

*2 STANDARDS STALWART: COLLEGE BOARD UNVEILS NEW DIVISION
College Board President Donald Stewart recently announced
the group's new effort to help raise standards and student
achievement in the nation's schools (College Board press release,
6/97). The new Teaching and Learning Division of the College
Board is charged with helping school districts and states to
establish higher standards and to face future challenges of
educating America's children.
"The new division will gather the expertise and experience
of several current College Board programs and services into a
single area to address educational improvement in a more
systematic and integrated manner," explained Stewart.
Howard Everson, who has been appointed vice president of the
Teaching and Learning Division, commented on the College Board's
unique position to encourage coalitions of educators around the
standards agenda. "Our partnership of school and college
educators provides the vital resources to promote world-class
standards for teachers and students," he said. "The Board's
reputation for high standards, its ability to attract faculty
from around the nation, and its commitment to consensus-building
will help provide solutions to many difficult educational
problems," he added.
Initially, the new division will focus on expanding current
College Board programs, including pacesetter, AP courses and end-
of-term assessments in algebra and geometry. However, Everson
anticipates that the College Board initiative eventually will
lead to a whole new series of assessments that are designed to
measure individual performance and predict future achievement.
Delivery of courses via the World Wide Web, distance-learning
opportunities and remote scoring of assessments also may be on
the horizon, accordoing to Everson.
Teachers will benefit from new forms of professional
development, including workshops that focus on the use of
portfolios in the classroom, and performance-based assessments.
Stewart: "The effort to develop national standards has
stalled on account of political controversies, the lack of
coordination among states involved in the process, and opposition
by some members of Congress to support any form of national
standards. Yet, our Advanced Placement Program is providing
college-level instruction to over half of the nation's high
schools, and we now have the opportunity to promote high
standards for secondary schools and middle schools across the
country. We have broken new ground with our Pacesetter and
EQUITY 2000 programs that we can share more broadly to expand
innovative learning environments for all students."
The release describes several College Board programs that
will be handled by the new division, including:
Advanced Placement Program: "A 40-year-old program in more
than half of the nation's high schools ... AP allows students to
complete college-level studies while still in high school and
obtain placement or credit."
EQUITY 2000: "A district-wide K-12 program located in six
sites across the country that seeks to redress the gap in success
rates and college enrollment between advantaged and disadvantaged
youth by eliminating tracking at all grade levels and in all
subjects, beginning with a requirement that all students complete
Algebra I and geometry by the end of the 10th grade.
Pacesetter: "An initiative located in nearly 300 high
schools nationwide ... the program integrates teacher
development, high academic standards, course frameworks, rigorous
curricula and related assessment in high school courses in
English, mathematics and Spanish."
For more information, visit the College Board's web site at:
www.collegeboard.org.

*3 STANDARDS IN PA.: RIDGE COMMISSION MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS
An advisory commission established by Pa. Gov Ridge (R) has
recommended academic standards in reading, writing and math, with
assessments to support them (Mezzacapa, Philadelphia INQUIRER,
6/17). Ridge, while supporting the standards and assessments,
acknowledged that he remains undecided over requiring students to
meet the standards in order to graduate from high school.
"We all need to demand more and better from our education
system," said Ridge. "Right now, we have children who graduate
... who can't distinguish fractions and have difficulty doing
basic, minimally competent academic things." Ridge added that he
will not force local school districts to adopt the standards; but
his plan calls for districts to be judged by the results of new
tests based on the standards. From the paper: "Whether the
standards will be mandatory is a matter of 'semantics,'" said
Ridge.
The governor's Advisory Commission on Academic Standards
presented their recommendations to Ridge, who then forwarded them
to the state Board of Education. Board members will draft
regulations to put the standards in effect. According to the
paper, the board will begin to hold public hearings on the
standards and assessments recommendations in the fall.
The INQUIRER also reports that the board must tackle several
tough questions, including whether to tie the standards to
graduation and what to do about school funding inequities that
some claim will impede standard implementation in disadvantaged
districts.
On the latter point, Ridge is on record denying that money
has anything to do with increasing student achievement, writes
the paper. Instead, Ridge calls on school districts to use the
standards to help them do things differently. However, the paper
observes that "the vast spending inequities in the state's 600
districts -- currently the subject of four different lawsuits --
are likely to get renewed attention."
Paul O'Neill, chairman of the advisory committee and
president of Alcoa Inc., said the assessments are a critical part
of the recommendations. "We need to take assessments to see and
understand in every case why it is children don't meet the
standards we're suggesting, what the cause is, and how we can
live up to our responsibility to help each and every child be a
productive citizen." Under the commission's plan, assessments
should be more performance based, featuring open-ended questions
"in which students must solve problems and explain their
reasoning, rather than just choosing answers from a list," writes
the paper.
The commission report argues that the standards must be
rigorous, unlike the outcomes-based education plan adopted by the
state five years ago, reports the paper. Specifically,
commission members recommend abolishing the outcomes from the
school code, substituting the new academic requirements based on
standards.
According to the paper, the standards were written for
grades 3, 5, 8 and 11. Science standards will be released later
this summer, since commission members were not able to reach
consensus.

===== GOAL SIX: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING =====

*4 SKILLS STANDARDS: A CALL FOR UNIFORM WORKPLACE STANDARDS
National Skill Standards Board Executive Director Edie West
earlier this month at a Washington, D.C. meeting described the
board's plan to urge an industry-led effort to develop a
voluntary national system of skill standards.
West: "Right across the river in Virginia, high-tech
companies are enjoying a boom, but many positions remain unfilled
because companies cannot find adequately skilled workers. Unless
employee training keeps pace, growth cannot be sustained for the
long-term. This is true not just locally and in high-tech, but
in every industry in every region across the country."
The NSSB also released a timeline establishing target dates
of specific achievements and eventual widespread use of voluntary
standards. According to an NSSB release, the timeline, which
runs from 1997 to 2015, shows that within the next year
development of skill standards will be well underway for
industries representing nearly 50% of the American workforce."
The board is an independent, non-partisan body created by
Congress in 1994 with the passage of the National Skill Standards
Act. It is charged with identifying an industry-led, voluntary
system of skill standards transferable across various sectors of
the economy.
For more information, visit the NSSB's website at
www.nssb.org, or call 202/254-8628.

===== GOAL SEVEN: SAFE SCHOOLS =====

*5 EXAMINING EXPULSION: TOO LENIENT IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY?
Only a fragment of the number of students recommended for
expulsion are meted out that punishment in Montgomery County,
Md., public schools. A report issued by the school system's 23
high school principals complains that administrators overturn the
vast majority of petitions made by school principals to expel
problem students (Beyers, WASH POST, 6/17).
However, the expulsion rate in the district's schools may
surge since school Superintendent Paul Vance recently ordered a
"broad review of expulsion practices," writes the paper. Vance:
"The schools are mirroring society, and if its' necessary, we'll
have to take harsher actions."
Vance called on his staff to review the principals' report
and develop recommendations on a new disciplinary code for the
upcoming school year, notes the paper. Recommendations from his
staff would be forwarded to the school board this fall.
Vance conceded that the school district's past policy has
been to use expulsion sparingly, and instead focus on giving
students a second chance. Lately, he has come around to the
principals' position, given the ever increasing violence of
society, writes the paper.
From the principals' report: "Students have taken knives,
guns, and pipe bombs into schools and have not been expelled from
[school] regardless of their principals' recommendations. ...
Students who have assaulted staff, committed arson, and thrown
students through plate glass windows have either been returned to
the same school or moved to a neighboring school. Hearing
officers comment on the lack of remorse shown by violent
offenders as they 'plead' their cases."
The principals recommend that administrators more carefully
review out-of-town student applications to the district's schools
(Barrett, MONTOGOMERY JOURNAL, 6/16). They are concerned that
"transfer students with criminal records elsewhere are given
tuition waivers to attend Montgomery County schools at no cost,"
writes the JOURNAL.
The principals also urge the district to place more
disruptive students in alternative settings. While Vance pointed
out that the district has 10 alternativae programs for students
with emotional problems, are addicted to drugs or who have caused
trouble at school, the principals claim that too few of these
students are sent to the alterantive program and too many are
sent back to their regular school too soon, notes the paper.
The principals clearly state that their goal is to expel
only the chronic, serious offenders, not to open the floodgates
of expulsion for most students, reports the paper.

THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS

* GOAL 1: READY TO LEARN
All children in America will start school ready to learn.

* GOAL 2: SCHOOL COMPLETION
The high school graduation rate will increase to at least
90 percent.

* GOAL 3: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
All students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having
demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter including
English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and
government, economics, arts, history, and geography, and every
school in America will ensure that all students earn to use their
minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship,
further learning, and productive employment in our Nation' modern
economy.

* GOAL 4: TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Nation's teaching force will have access to programs for
the continued improvement of their professional skills and the
opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to
instruct and prepare all American students for the next century.

* GOAL 5: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
United States students will be first in the world in
mathematics and science achievement.

* GOAL 6: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING
Every adult American will be literate and will possess the
knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and
exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

* GOAL 7: SAFE, DISCIPLINED, & ALCOHOL- AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS
Every school in the United States will be free of drugs,
violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol
and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning.

* GOAL 8: PARENTAL PARTICIPATION
Every school will promote partnerships that will increase
parental involvement and participation in promoting the social,
emotional, and academic growth of children.

_______________________________________________________________
| National Education Goals Panel |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Suite 502; Washington, D.C. 20037 |
| 202/632-0957 (Fax); e-mail: negp@goalline.org |
| Web site: www.negp.gov |
|_______________________________________________________________|

tudents recommended for expulsion are meted out that punishment
in Montgomery County, Md., public schools.

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John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org