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--- Wednesday --- June 25, 1997 --- Vol. 1 --- No. 8 ---
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
NEGP Weekly
THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS
__________ __________
THE SOUND OF MUSIC | SPOTLIGHT |
... will continue to be heard | |
in N.Y. City schools thanks to | FIRST IN THE WORLD |
a $1M grant from VH1, Time | |
Warner Cable and the Music | Twenty suburban Chicago |
Industry. The campaign, "VH1 | school districts have |
Save The Music," was launched | joined forces to help their |
in Jan. 1997 as a joint venture | students become first in |
that "encompasses a musical | the world in math and |
instrument drive and fund- | science. And their hard |
raising to restore and sustain | work is paying off as the |
in-school music programs," | students, who have posted |
writes an American Music | top test scores, have been |
Conference press release. | heralded nationwide. |
In announcing the grant, John | |
Sykes, president of VH1, | Officials from the |
referred to research from the U | district concede that their |
of Calif., Irvine that found | students hail from advan- |
children who learn to make | taged families and that |
music dramatically increase | their districts' average |
spatial reasoning skills needed | per-pupil expenditure is |
for success in math and | $8,922, compared to a |
science. The College Board | statewide average of |
also found that students | $5,922. A consortium of |
involved in music programs | school, business and |
consistently achieve higher SAT | government officials |
scores. | dedicated themselves to a |
According to the release, the | complex planning process to |
NYC announcement is part of a | ensure world-class status. |
trend by major cities, | However, some lessons can |
including Los Angeles and | be learned from their |
Nashville, to bring music and | efforts, especially on |
arts education back to the | using TIMSS tests at a |
public schools after several | local level. (#4) |
decades of decline. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"It is intended to be a very loud and strong signal to a
community that there is something terribly wrong with the
school." -- Michelle Easton, president of the Virginia Board of
Education, on a proposal to take away a school's accreditation if
it does not meet tough, new standards. (#3)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Washington, D.C. 20010; 202/632-0952 |
| EPN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION
FOR YOUR SUMMER READING LIST: What works for at-risk youth.(#1)
GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
FINALLY: Mass. approves history/social studies standards. (#2)
MAKE MY DAY: Virginia's threat to failing schools. (#3)
GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
FIRST IN THE WORLD: Becoming a reality in Illinois. (#4)
FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE
BYE MOBILE VANS: Court rules on religious schooltutors.(#5)
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===== GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION =====
*1 FOR YOUR SUMMER READING LIST: WHAT WORKS FOR AT-RISK YOUTH
After examining the prevailing research, Robert Barr, dean
of the college of education, Bosie State U, and co-author WIlliam
Parrett, a professor at the U of Alaska, Fairbanks, found that
schools can identify which third-grade student will drop out
later by noting the presence of four variables: the child is
poor, attends school with other poor children, has been retained
at least one grade level, and is not reading up to grade level by
the end of third grade.
Barr notes that perhaps the single most important thing a
school can do to prevent future incarceration and encourage a
productive life is to teach all children to read well. Barr also
points to new research that suggests schools can overcome the
barriers of poverty and dysfunctional home life faced by many
disadvantaged children. "A landslide of research on effective
schools has now identified the essential components of successful
schools, and documented that these components can be widely
replicated in other schools," according to information from the
dean's office.
In one of their latest books, "Hope At Last for At-Risk
Youth," Barr and Parrett present findings on what works for at-
risk youths in schools. Effective programs from the elementary
through high school years are described in several chapters. For
example, a section on alternative schools features the
Philadelphia Parkway School, a school without walls. From the
book: "Students attended classes not in a school building, but
up and down the Philadelphia Parkway, their courses scheduled in
banks, businesses, newspapers, museums, governmental agencies,
hospitals, etc." A host of professionals joined certified
teachers to help students gain new skills.
According to the book, the program was replicated in school
districts nationwide, including the Chicago Metro School. The
Metro school graduates over 90% of its students, compared to 50%
for the average Chicago high school, reports the book.
Barr and Parrett also discuss three successful approaches
for restructuring schools for at-risk youth. An extensive "Where
to Find Help" section provides practitioners with a plethora of
information on organizations involved with at-risk students,
sources for funding, and research on a variety of topics.
From the book: "'Hope at Last' presents a precise, step-by-
step set of descriptions and options that should guide schools
toward the development of successful programs for at-risk youth."
"Hope at Last for At-Risk Youth," written by Robert D. Barr
and William H. Parrett, was published in 1995 by Allyn & Bacon, a
Simon and Schuster Company, Needham Heights, Mass.
===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*2 FINALLY: MASS. APPROVES HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS
The Mass. state Board of Education in a 6 to 3 vote approved
content standards for history and social studies, after months of
"wrangling" over several versions, writes the BOSTON GLOBE (Hart,
6/17). Critics continued to complain that the new standards
placed too much emphasis on world history in grades 9 and 10 and
dwelt too much on negative aspects of our nation's past.
Others were dissatisfied with the treatment of economics,
reports the paper. Several board members said the standards did
not call on students to know enough about basic concepts such as
supply and demand. Their criticism was based on strong
opposition waged by economics professors, who claim board members
refused input from the economics profession, writes the paper.
"We can't do everything, consequently no advocate for a
single discipline will be satisfied," commented Board chairman
John Silber. Silber's goal was to pass the framework so tests
could be developed and other improvements made at the school
level, according to the GLOBE.
Board members also agreed to have the standards undergo a
review process periodically and they called on a consultant to
review the curriculum framework for possible reorganization.
In 1993, the Legislature passed the Education Reform Act,
which mandated that the state develop a core curriculum for all
grades and assessment tests in core subjects in grades four,
eight, and 10, writes the paper. The English curriculum was
passed in January, with standards in math, sciences, arts, health
and languages also approved. An impasse had developed over the
history and social study standards, which finally was broken last
week.
*3 MAKE MY DAY: VIRGINIA'S THREAT TO FAILING SCHOOLS
A proposal being considered by the Virginia Board of
Education that would mandate the loss of state accreditation to
any school in which fewer than 70% of its students pass new state
tests is hailed by some as the toughest standard-setting proposal
in the nation (Benning, WASH POST, 6/23). "In a lot of ways,
Virginia is way ahead of the curve, " said Patricia Sullivan,
director of education legislation for the National Governors'
Association. "What they're proposing, that a school lose
accreditation -- that's not something I've heard before."
According to the paper, several states already rate their
schools on several criteria. For example, Md. uses a 70% pass
rate on its state tests -- but it is one of only several
indicators of a school's situation. The state also considers
attendance and dropout rates. Md. schools that do not pass
muster are forced to devise a restructuring plan and can receive
additional state funding to implement changes, reports the paper.
However, schools that do not make progress face a state takeover
by a third party, such as a college or private company.
"Our process is arbitrary but not capricious," explained
Ronald Peiffer, a spokesman for the Maryland Board of Education.
The paper notes that 52 schools in Md. are under orders to draft
reorganization plans. Peiffer questioned Va.'s interest in
decertifying schools. "The problem with decertifying a school is
that you essentially shut it down. We felt it was more important
to make sure we have a system in place for helping schools
improve."
Va.'s plan, in which a school would lose its accreditation
if for three years in a row its pass rate falls before 70%, does
call for failing schools to receive help from a committee
comprised of teachers and principals from successful schools.
However, no additional state funds would be forthcoming, writes
the paper. "The state already provides a significant amount of
money to educate children, and we feel what we are already doing
is adequate in that regard," said Richard LaPointe, the Va. state
superintendent for public instruction.
Michelle Easton, president of the state's board of
education, said the proposal's intention is to warn parents that
their child's school is not up to par. "It is intended to be a
very loud and strong signal to a community that there is
something terribly wrong with the school," she said "It will be
a clear indication of how a schools is doing academically, and I
would think a local community would rally around the school and
make the changes necessary to bring those scores up."
The American Federation of Teachers, which rated Va.'s
rigorous new curriculum as one of the best in the nation,
expressed concern in tying school accreditation to test scores
alone, writes the paper. Matt Gandal, assistant director for
education issues at the AFT, pointed to Ky. as a good model. In
Ky., the focus is on a school's "improvement over time rather
than setting one target that all schools must meet," according to
Gandal, writes the paper.
The proposal won tentative approval from the board this
month, with a final vote scheduled for September. Public
hearings will be held this summer.
===== GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE =====
*4 FIRST IN THE WORLD: BECOMING A REALITY IN ILLINOIS
A network of suburban Chicago public schools has joined
forces to help their students become first in the world in math
and science. Five individuals involved in the First in the World
Consortium recently discussed their efforts to overhaul member
schools math and science curriculum in THE AMERICAN SCHOOL BOARD
JOURNAL (May 1997).
The authors are: Mark Hawkes, evaluation and policy
information associate for North Central Regional Educational
Laboratory (NCREL) (mhawkes@ncrel.org); Paul Kimmelman,
superintendent of West Northfield School District No. 31; Marvin
Christensen, research for Midwest Consortium for Mathematics and
Science Education at NCREL; Jeri Nowakowski, director of NCREL;
and Stephanie Pace Marshell, executive director of the Illinois
Mathematics and Science Academy.
The authors admit that their students attend school in a
wealthy district and already scored well above the state average
on the Illinois Goals Assessment in math. However, reaching the
level of world class standards still required much work, write
the authors.
Initially the First in the World Consortium emerged as a
study group of suburban Chicago superintendents dedicated to
"fulfill administrative recertification requirements." At one of
their meetings, the group focused on Goals 2000 legislation and
decided to devote time and energy to Goal 5, which calls for the
nation's students to become first in the world in math and
science.
The network, which began with eight school districts, grew
to include 20 elementary and secondary districts. Member
districts agreed on three goals: benchmark consortium school's
performance on TIMSS; seek input from business and government
leaders that would help "clarify standards for being first in the
world;" and create a network of learning communities throughout
the consortium and beyond to "involve math and science staff,
research and development personnel, parents and community
leaders," writes the article.
The consortium decided on several questions that needed to
be answered including "How do students in consortium schools
perform in comparison to students in countries around the world
on international tests?; and "Does curriculum in consortium
schools 'fit' with international standards?" Consortium leaders
sought to use the TIMSS test created by the International
Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement,
reports the article. In the past, TIMSS only was used for
"research and comparative purposes on randomly selected
populations throughout the world," and scores were reported "in
terms of national averages -- not broken out, as the consortium
wanted, in terms of the individual populations of students
tested, such as by district or state," writes the article.
The consortium successfully petitioned the U.S. DoEd to use
TIMSS tests in their district. According to the article, the
department now is encouraging more districts to use the exams on
the local level. (For more information on TIMSS, visit
www.ed.gov/NCES/timss, or call the TIMSS International Study
Center at 617/552-3173).
Network planning teams, with help from the North Central
Regional Education Laboratory, a U.S. DoEd funded research
institution, involved teachers in four learning networks:
curriculum analysis; assessment strategies; instructional
practices that promoted engaged learning; technology. The
planning culminated in a network development day that "introduced
consortium activities [to the teachers] and began discussion on
topics conceived by the planning committee," notes the article.
The article concludes that school reform tends to be
fragmented and schools striving to reach world-class standards
typically work in isolation. However, the First in the World
Consortium breaks the mold, despite the difficulty inherent in
coordinating many school districts and multiple partners.
According to the article, the consortium's work highlights a
key role for federal involvement in educaiton: "... a key need
of all school districts is support from congressionally
authorized research and development institutions, such as the
U.S. Department of Education's regional R&D laboratories." From
the article: "To study and support consortium collaboration,
NCREL is taking a close look at the role of the consortium's
learning networks in identifying high-quality practice and moving
it to scale."
The state of Ill. also is examining how a consortium might
"redefine the incentives and use of Goals 2000 funding to support
district-level efforts -- and how the effort affects the state's
role in establishing high, comparable standards," concludes the
article.
===== FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE =====
*5 GOOD-BYE MOBILE VANS: COURT RULES ON PAROCHIAL SCHOOL TUTORS
In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a 1985
ruling that forbid public school teachers to enter a parochial
school to teach Title I students. "A federally funded program
providing supplemental, remedial instruction to disadvantaged
children on a neutral basis is not invalid" under the 1st
Amendment simply because the "instruction is given on the
premises" of church schools by public school teachers, wrote
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
According to the WASH POST, the high court's decision is "in
keeping with its recent trend of lowering the wall between church
and state (Biskupic and Goodstein, 6/24). While O'Connor
stressed the narrow scope of its decision in the Agostini v.
Felton case, some religious leaders said this is another feather
in the cap of school vouchers, reports the POST. "This decision
confirms that vouchers can be constitutional," said Mark Chopko,
general counsel to the United States Catholic Conference. Clint
Bolick, a lawyer with the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for
Justice, concurred, saying that the ruling "bolsters school-
choice advocates."
The L.A. TIMES provides a history of the case (Savage,
6/24). In 1965, Congress passed Lyndon Johnson's Aid to
Education Act, which allocated funds for additional tutoring for
low-income children. However, the bill required that school
districts serve disadvantaged children regardless of their school
setting -- public or private. For 20 years, public school
teachers worked with public and parochial school children.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision (Aguilar
v. Felton) ruled in 1985 that publicly funded teachers entering a
religious school amounted to "an excessive entanglement between
church and state." Since then, parochial schools have spent
enormous sums of money purchasing or renting mobile units so
publicly funded remedial teachers did not have to enter religious
school buildings to teach Title 1 students. From the TIMES: "In
the wake of that ruling, school officials joked that the line
separating church and state had become the curb. It was legal if
children walked into a mobile van parked on a city street for
reading and math lessons, but it was illegal if the teacher
walked into a parochial school classroom for the instruction."
O'Connor noted in her opinion that not much has changed
since the 1985 ruling except the composition of the high court.
The TIMES notes that "staunch liberals," such as William Brennan,
Thurgood Marshall and Harry Blackmun, "who championed a strict
separation of church and state" are no longer on the court.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia,
Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas joined O'Connor. Justices
John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen
Breyer were in dissent. In his dissent, Souter wrote:
"Constitutional lines have to be drawn, and on one side of every
one of them is an otherwise sympathetic case that provokes
impatience with the Constitution and with the line. But
constitutional lines are the price of constitutional government."
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 |
|_______________________________________________________________|
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