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--- Wednesday --- November 5, 1997 --- Vol. 3 --- No. 22 ---
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
NEGP Weekly
THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS
www.negp.gov
__________ __________
BILL GATES: | SPOTLIGHT |
MAKING SMART LOOK GOOD | |
USA TODAY reports that 81% of | GOING FOR THE GOALS |
children age 8-17 think it's | |
cool to be smart (Henry, | America's on its way to |
10/29). The 1997 Roper Youth | reach world-class status |
Report, released last week, | in math by the year 2000, |
also found that: 67% of | according to the latest |
children surveyed look forward | update on the nation's |
to going to school; 71% of | progress toward the |
those surveyed between the ages | National Education Goals. |
of 13-17 plan to attend either | The National Education |
a two- or four-year college, | Goals Panel's 7th annual |
compared with 55% last year; | report on Goal progress |
and 60% think their friends | found that on a national |
think of them as being cool. | level, math achievement |
Joan Chiaramonte, Roper vice | has improved among students |
president, suggests that this | in grades 4, 8 and 12. |
group of students thinks it's | (#4) |
cool to be smart because they | Improvement also is |
"are the first true Internet | apparent at the state |
generation, and as such their | level, where every state |
heroes are successful | can boast of improvement in |
entrepreneurs. You've got Bill | at least two of seven areas |
Gates or the next Bill Gates." | of math and science per- |
She continued: "They provide | formance indicators analyzed|
strong role models for children | by the Goals Panel. |
today and help make 'being | Improved teacher training |
smart' cool." | is one of the Goals Panel's |
The study also asked what it | recommendations to speed |
would take to help students | progress toward goal |
learn more in school. The | attainment. A Cincinnati |
response: get rid of | program illustrates such an |
troublemakers and hire better | effort. (#2) |
teachers. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"A wonderful kindergarten is like a pot of stew. A little
teacher-directed, a little child-directed, a little rote
learning, a whole lot of hands-on problem-solving building with
blocks, speech and ideas."
Erlene Nelson, a Philadelphia kindergarten teacher. (#1)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Washington, D.C. 20010; 202/724-0124 |
| EPN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL ONE: READY TO LEARN
"MANY RICH VARIED EXPERIENCES:" Holds true over the years.(#1)
GOAL FOUR: TEACHER ED/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
CITING A GOOD EXAMPLE: Cincinnati tackles teacher training.(#2)
GOAL SIX: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING
EMPLOYER-FOCUSED TRAINING: A welfare-to-work model. (#3)
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL UPDATE
"ARE WE THERE YET?": Gaining ground on Goals. (#4)
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===== GOAL ONE: READY TO LEARN =====
*1 "MANY RICH VARIED EXPERIENCES:" HOLDS TRUE OVER THE YEARS
A popular 1958 phrase describing the kindergarten experience
is "many rich, varied experiences," noted Erlene Nelson, a
kindergarten teacher in Philadelphia. Although today's
expectations for five-year-olds has broadened, the "basic bottom
line" remains the same, she added.
The Philadelphia INQUIRER takes a peek at today's
kindergarten classes (Rhor, 10/30). While kindergarten used to
be a "bridge between home and school," it has transformed into a
"place for children to learn basic academic skills that were once
considered fodder for first grade," writes the paper. Many
educators say that more rigorous state and national standards are
the driving force behind moving academic skills to the
kindergarten level. Others point out that young children need a
"bigger challenge" because so many already have a school
experience under their belts in the way of preschool. "The
thought now is that the more time children spend in school, the
smarter they will be," explained Sandy Bagge, a 30-year veteran
kindergarten teacher. "There's much more emphasis on academics."
Bagge cautioned that the more academic kindergarten could
place too much stress on young minds and bodies. "We used to
nurture them, now we teach them," she remarked.
The paper points out that while there is no state mandate
for kindergarten, Philadelphia schools recently enacted full-day
kindergarten, as did some neighboring districts in Pa. and N.J.
Since 1985, the number of N.J. school districts offering full-day
kindergarten has more than doubled, writes the paper.
"All the research shows that full-day programs are positive
and help in the development of children," said John Patella, with
the New Jersey School Boards Association. The state DoEd
recently provided funding for full-day programs in districts
serving largely disadvantaged populations.
However, Nelson cautioned that early-childhood programs must
be designed to properly address the development of young
children. "A wonderful kindergarten is like a pot of stew," she
said. "A little teacher-directed, a little child-directed, a
little rote learning, a whole lot of hands-on problem-solving
building with blocks, speech and ideas."
The INQUIRER cites the advent of Head Start and Get Set
preschool programs in 1963 as the turning point for early
childhood education. At that time, testing and screening of
kindergartners was introduced and, for the first time, teachers
were permitted to introduce written words and numbers during
class time, reports the paper.
Many early-childhood experts concur that classes must strike
a balance between academic lessons and hands-on activities,
without pushing children to "learn beyond their developmental
level," reports the paper. "If a program is not tailored to fit
their needs, it could end up with children being unsuccessful in
kindergarten," explained Barbara Willer, with the National
Association for the Education of Young Children. "One of the
most successful lessons is to feel that they can be successful
learners. If we cause more children to fail, then we've done a
real number on kids."
NAEYC and other child advocacy groups have issued policy
statements "decrying a narrow focus on math and literacy
proficiency in early grades," writes the paper. "More academics
borrowed from the next grade is not necessarily better,"
according to a 1988 study on the learning styles of young
children, quotes the paper.
===== GOAL FOUR: TEACHER ED/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT =====
*2 CITING A GOOD EXAMPLE: CINCINNATI TACKLES TEACHER TRAINING
The nation's inner-city schools are overflowing with
inexperienced, novice teachers, most of whom have little if any
skills in classroom management. "It's always the students with
the least clout and money who get the worst teachers," said Linda
Darling-Hammond, a professor of education at Columbia U who
directed the National Commission on Teaching study. "They tell
these students they have to get their test scores up, but they
never do anything to ensure they get qualified teachers."
Cincinnati educators, university officials the teachers' union
and business leaders have joined forces to ameliorate the problem
(Goozner, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/19). The Cincinnati Initiative for
Teacher Education (CITE) has become a model for improving teacher
education, writes the paper.
Under the initiative, the U of Cincinnati has "overhauled"
its curriculum by focusing teaching courses on the "practical
problems [of teaching] such as maintaining discipline that
teachers would face in the classroom," reports the paper. The
university also elevated the role of professors who could teach
students to teach, rather than conduct research.
"The assumption was always that teachers will learn in the
classroom," said Louis Caternell, dean of the college of
education. "Yet research has shown that teachers complain they
haven't been prepared for the realities of the jobs. Nobody
wanted to be accountable for why teachers fail."
The paper highlights the career of Julie Dudley, a teacher
at Shroder Junior High School and a U of Cincinnati student.
First Dudley earned a degree in the subject she wanted to teach -
- English. She also took teaching-method courses. Dudley
participated in three mini-internships during her undergraduate
years that helped "prepare her for the Cincinnati assignment,"
writes the paper. She is now in her fifth year of college, in
which she is running an urban classroom for the entire school
year, "not the 10-or 12-week experience most student teachers
get," reports the paper. According to the TRIBUNE, Dudley
receives half the pay of a starting teacher and is "closely
supervised" by a mentor teacher.
The paper observes that the "collaboration between the
university, the union and the school district that made teacher
training reform possible in Cincinnati has so far been missing in
Illinois." However, Ted Sanders, former state superintendent of
education who now is president of Southern Illinois U in
Carbondale, has drafted recommendation to reform teacher-
certification requirements.
A consortium of foundations and the Chicago school district
is "pouring nearly $1M" into a mentoring program for first-year
teachers already on the job. "We're pouring an incredible amount
of tax dollars into teaching institutions that are supposed to be
preparing teachers that aren't set up to do the job properly,"
said Peter Martinez, senior program officer for Chicago school
reform at the MacArthur Foundation. "Then they get into the
school and you have to spend millions more to teach them how to
do their jobs in the first place. It doesn't make sense," he
added.
===== GOAL SIX: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING =====
*3 EMPLOYER-FOCUSED TRAINING: A WELFARE-TO-WORK MODEL
A community-based organization in Philadelphia operates one
of the nation's most successful job-training programs around,
writes the Philadelphia INQUIRER (10/29). The key to success is
the program's "employer-focus," or customized training programs.
Congresso DeLatinos Unidos's training program tailors
participant's training to a specific job.
"The Congresso model is the ideal," said Joe Farrell, vice
president for operations at the Private Industry Council of
Philadelphia, a nonprofit group that allocates state training
funds. "The more you get the employer involved in the training
program and involved with the students, the more likely they are
to say,'Hey this isn't what I thought a welfare recipient is
like. This is someone I can use and want to hire.'" The PIC
awarded Congresso with a $200,000 grant.
Congresso's program provides an eight-week training session,
followed by a four-week internship at Keystone Mercy Health Plan,
an HMO for welfare recipients. Last April, Congresso began to
train its first group of 19 students, who all now have jobs,
reports the paper. A second group of 22 students currently is in
training. Many are young, single women with children, who have
dropped out of high school.
The INQUIRER reports that even before the passage of a
national welfare-reform bill that requires people on public
assistance to get job training or lose their benefits, "people
were recounting frustrating experiences shuttling from one
program to another and ending up with few marketable skills." In
sharp contrast, the Congresso program works because of the close
relationship between the group and Keystone "to ensure that
students get the right training," writes the paper.
"It's working out great," said Kyna Kirkland, manager of
human resource services at Keystone. "They need the jobs; we
need the people. These training programs most definitely will
become more common."
==== NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL UPDATE ====
*4 "ARE WE THERE YET?": GAINING GROUND ON GOALS
The U.S. stands a chance to achieve world pre-eminence in
math and science achievement, according to the latest "National
Education Goals Panel Report: Building a Nation of Learners
1997." A majority of states have made significant gains in math
and science achievement and education.
"Are we there yet? No, but we have reason to believe we can
be first," said Gov James Hunt (D-N.C.), 1997 chairman of the
National Education Goals Panel.
Nationally, math achievement has improved among students in
Grades 4, 8 and 12. More students are receiving degrees in math
and science; a statistic that holds true for females and
minorities. On the state level, the report found that every
state improved in at least two, and the majority in five or more,
of seven areas of math and science performance, with five states
improving in all seven -- Colo., Conn., Ind., N.C., and Texas.
The seven areas are: math achievement grade 4, math
achievement grade 8, math/science degrees for all students,
math/science degrees for female students, math/science degrees
for minority students, number of Advanced Placement examinations
receiving a grade of 3 or higher in math, number of Advanced
Placement examinations receiving a grade of 3 or higher in
science.
This year's Goals Report features a section on "Mathematics
and Science Achievement for the 21st Century." The section
explores the historically poor performance of American students
in international studies of math and science achievement. The
latest data from the Third International Mathematics and Science
Study (TIMSS) is discussed, which shows that American students
are moving forward in the nation's quest to become first in the
world in math and science.
According to TIMSS, only Korea outperformed U.S. 4th graders
in science, and only Singapore outperformed Minn. 8th graders in
science. In one science content area, earth science, Minnesota
8th graders tied Singapore for the highest score.
"We are particularly pleased with the progress we are seeing
in math and science achievement," said Gov. John Engler (R-
Mich.). "The work of states on these issues has been ambitious,
but we are beginning now to see the fruits of that labor. It's
important that we continue this work for the sake of our students
and our nation."
However, TIMSS data also revealed that the U.S. was in the
middle of the pack of countries in 4th-grade math and 8th-grade
science, and the U.S. scored below the international average in
8th-grade math.
The Goals Panel report made recommendations for improving
math and science achievement of American students that were based
on further findings from TIMSS. These findings are: textbooks
and content of American math and science classes are not as
challenging as those of other countries; our instruction covers
more topics in less detail, which leads to students' gaining only
superficial understanding of math and science; and American
teachers of math and science do not receive beneficial training
and support provided to those in other countries. (See "NEGP
Monthly," September 1997)
A three-step plan is proposed by the Goals Panel to ensure
that American students reach world-class levels in math and
science: set and implement tougher standards in math and science
that are comparable to the best in the world; align other
components of the education system with the standards, such as
curricula, instruction, textbooks, assessments and school
policies; and strengthen teachers' subject-matter and teaching
skills and align state teacher policies with student standards.
Ken Nelson, executive director of the Goals Panel,
highlighted Minn.'s success as proof that more rigorous standards
can boost student achievement. "The Panel's recommendation to
strengthen standards and align other education components to
those standards is supported by the results of Minn.'s strong
showing in 8th-grade science on the Third International
Mathematics and Science Study from 1995," he said.
Nelson added: "In earth science Minn. tied Singapore for
the highest score. This is significant not only because of how
well the state's students performed, but because of why they did
so well. In Minn., there is statewide agreement that eighth-
grade science instruction for all students should focus on earth
science. Science teachers receive special training and they
limit the number of topics covered during the year so that each
topic is covered in depth. In addition, teachers use similar
textbooks, supplemented with science kits and other appropriate
materials."
While focusing on math and science achievement, the seventh
annual report to the nation, "The National Education Goals
Report: Building a Nation of Learners" details progress the
states and nation are making toward reaching all of the National
Education Goals. The report uses 33 state indicators selected to
measure progress toward all eight Goals. Highlights from the
report include:
21 states improved on ten or more indicators and four states
-- Ariz., N.Y., N.C. and Texas -- improved on twelve or more;
27 states had higher achievement in math in grade 8;
49 states increased Advanced Placement achievement;
40 states reduced the percentage of infants born with one or
more health risks;
54 states, territories and the District of Columbia
increased the number of mothers receiving prenatal care in
their first trimester of pregnancy;
46 states had more children with disabilities participating
in preschool.
National progress on 26 core indicators is better than the
progress reported in the 1996 report. Six areas show significant
progress:
math achievement has improved among students in grades 4, 8,
and 12;
more students are receiving degrees in math and science;
more families are reading and telling stories to their
children on a regular basis;
the proportion of infants born with one or more health risks
has decreased;
more two-year-olds have been fully immunized against
preventable childhood diseases; and
incidents of threats and injuries to students at school have
decreased.
The bad news, however, is recorded in 12th-grade reading
achievement, where performance has declined. Other areas in
which the nation has lost ground: the percentage of secondary
school teachers who hold a degree in their main teaching
assignment; the growing gap between adults with a high school
diploma or less (who need the training the most) and those with
postsecondary education and training; and an increase in
disciplinary problems and drug use among students.
The annual report to the nation originated at the first
Education Summit held in Charlottesville, Va., in 1989, when
President Bush and the nation's governors agreed to establish
national education goals. The National Education Goals Panel, a
bipartisan body of federal and state officials, was created in
the summer of 1990.
The 1997 National Education Goals Panel Report and Summary
are available free from the Panel by faxing a request to 202/632-
0957, by e-mail to negp@goalline.org, or at the Panel's Web site
at www.negp.gov.
Requests also can be mailed to the National Education Goals
Panel; 1255 22nd Street NW; Suite 502; Washington, D.C. 20037.
For more information on specific items in the 1997 report,
call the Goals Panel at 202/724-0015.
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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John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org