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--- Wednesday --- January 21, 1998 --- Vol. 1 --- No. 30 ---
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
NEGP Weekly
THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS
www.negp.gov
__________ __________
CBS PULLS OFF KIDS SHOWS | SPOTLIGHT |
Educators applauded CBS this | |
fall when, in order to comply | IT'S AS EASY AS ABC |
with a new federal rule | |
requiring stations to air | Learning the sounds of |
educational children shows, the | the English language, one |
network added the critically | of the building blocks of |
acclaimed "Beakman's World" and | reading, is not as easy as |
"The Ghostwriter Mysteries" to | ABC for some young |
their Saturday morning lineup. | children. These students |
But the shows did not last. | are at-risk of not |
CBS recently canceled them | attaining reading mastery, |
because few children tuned in | according to new research. |
(Farhi, WASH POST, 1/9). | |
| Early intervention is the |
WHERE THE BOYS ARE | answer, proclaim many |
... still scoring better than | reading advocates. Eight |
girls on the Preliminary SAT, | Southern state legislatures |
despite recent revisions | have entered the reading |
(Arenson, N.Y. TIMES/HOUSTON | debate by passing |
CHRONICLE, 1/14). While the | legislation that promotes |
gap narrowed, it did not close | reading achievement in the |
among the high school students | early grades. |
who took the test in October. | |
The College Board, which | Early screening for |
administers the test, agreed | reading deficiencies and |
last year to add a writing- | comprehensive plans to |
skills section to the exam, | address the specific needs |
under a settlement with the | of children at-risk of |
government over gender bias. | reading problems are key in |
However, Fairtest officials, | several bills. Funding for |
who challenged the original | summer school and tutoring |
test, say the PSAT remains | is a popular approach used |
"gender-biased, only less so." | by the Southern states.(#1) |
|_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"It's going to say that you don't have to wear a pocket protector
or a propeller-head beanie or have an 800 on your SATs to work
with computers." --Harris Miller, president of the Information
Technology Association of America, on a tech education & training
program. (#3)
_______________________________________________________________
| (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 THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
READ ON: State legislation promotes reading & literacy. (#1)
MORE READING: Fla. school board mandates story time. (#2)
GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
SCIENCE DOLDRUMS?: No more in boston. (#3)
GOAL SIX: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING
NERDS NO MORE: Campaign to entice students into tech jobs. (#4)
GOAL EIGHT: PARENTAL PARTICIPATION
FAMILY FRIENDLY FIRMS: How to be one. (#5)
WHITE HOUSE WATCH
A NATIONAL PRIORITY: Small class size. (#6)
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===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*1 READ ON: STATE LEGISLATION PROMOTES READING & LITERACY
A Southern Regional Education Board newsletter focuses on
state legislative action that promotes early intervention and
improvement in reading achievement, during the 1997 session.
Many of the laws were inspired by research that shows children
not reading at grade level by the end of third grade are "doomed
to continued failure," writes SREB.
According to SREB, eight of its 15 member states passed
reading-related legislation. Following are brief descriptions of
the state legislation:
Arkansas: State law requires that students in kindergarten
through third grade who fail to perform at grade level
during the regular school year must attend summer school in
order to be promoted to the next grade. School districts
were given the option of requiring fourth- and fifth-grade
students who are not at grade level to attend summer school.
The legislation also encourages schools to identify students
at risk of reading problems as early as possible and "to
provide these students with intensive reading instruction
during the regular school year."
Besides summer school, the State Board of Education also is
authorized to provide funds for tutors and the hiring of
additional certified teachers.
Florida: State law directs all school district to create a
comprehensive program for pupil progress from grade to
grade. Students who fail to meet the performance standards
must be provided with additional diagnostic assessments to
determine "the nature of their difficulties and area of
academic need," writes SREB. An academic improvement plan
must be devised and implemented for each student who fails
to meet the standards. The plan must include intensive
remedial instruction that could include summer school and
tutoring.
The law also specifies that any student in grades one to
three who exhibits "substantial deficiency" in reading must
be given intensive reading instruction and the instruction
must continue until the child is no longer deficient in
reading. Second- and third-grade students who continue to
be behind in reading must be retained, although the local
school board could exempt a student for just cause.
(Implementation of this law was made contingent on either a
legislative appropriation or identification of federal
funds.)
Lawmakers also appropriated $3.5M for a pre-K to third grade
home reading program and $2.5M for start-up or expansion of
Reading Recovery programs.
Louisiana: State law allocates $30M to the state DoEd to
develop a "balanced and comprehensive approach to improve"
reading and math performance of students in grades K through
3.
For reading, the DoEd's initiative must be research-based
and include: a program for all K-3 students, including
special-needs children; a method for identifying schools
with at-risk and low performing students; a plan to
coordinate the initiative with existing programs and funding
sources; an evaluation process; and a program that includes
phonics.
Also, every public elementary school must have in place a
reading program aimed at having all students at grade level
no later than the end of first grade. Second and third
grade teachers must, within 30 days after the start of
school, report the number of students in their class not
reading at grade level.
Oklahoma: The premise of the state's Reading Sufficiency
Act is that all children will read at grade level by the end
of third grade. The law requires that all first- and
second-grade students be assessed for reading ability on an
on-going basis. Students not at grade level must be
provided with a reading assessment plan, which may include
tutoring. The legislation "strongly suggests" that the
reading program be based in phonics.
South Carolina: Lawmakers earmarked $800,000 for expansion
of Reading Recovery programs in order to improve early
intervention efforts.
Tennessee: State law mandates that the commissioner of
education and the state board of education produce a series of
recommendations to the Joint Oversight Committee on Education on
a diagnostic method for evaluating reading and other basic skills
in first and second grade.
Texas: At Gov. George Bush's (R) request, the Legislature
appropriated $32M for intensive reading programs. The funds will
be distributed to schools based on competitive grants and can be
used for: implementation of research-based reading programs;
purchase of additional instructional and library materials;
hiring additional instructional staff; and providing staff
development program in reading.
Another bill calls on the commissioner of education to adopt
a list of instruments for diagnosing problems in reading
development and comprehension by 1 August 1998. The law
also requires that every school district must have a reading
diagnosis program in place in kindergarten and grades one
and two.
The Texas Education Agency also was directed to issue specially
designed "Read to Succeed" motor vehicle license plates.
Fees collected for the voluntary plates will be directed toward the
reading diagnostic program.
Virginia: The Legislature responded to Gov George Allen's
(R) request for intervention reading funds for kindergarten or
first-grade students by appropriating $6.2M for this purpose.
Funds may be used to pay teachers or aides and to purchase
interactive computer hardware and software for reading
instruction.
For more information, contact SREB at 592 Tenth Street NW;
Atlanta, Ga. 30318-5790; 404/875-9211; www.sreb.org
*2 MORE READING: FLORIDA SCHOOL BOARD MANDATES STORY TIME
Miami-Dade public school students will be required to read
more in the classroom under a new proposal enacted by the School
Board (Farreli, MIAMI HERALD, 1/15). The new plan also calls for
parents to receive, for the first time, an annual report on their
child's reading abilities.
Specifically, the plan will require every elementary school
student to spend two uninterrupted hours a day on reading, while
older students will be required to read five books on their own
every nine weeks.
"We have to teach kids to turn off that damn television set
and pick up a book and learn how to read," said board member
Michael Krop.
Highlights of the reading plan include:
A report issued to parents that includes a reading score
based on a new reading exam called the Lexile Reading Survey
Test. The report also will recommend specific books the
child should read;
Students who do not achieve an adequate score on the Lexile
Reading Survey Test will be required to attend summer
school;
All students will be assigned two books to read over the
summer months, with lessons on the books planned for the
beginning weeks of the new school year;
Parents of kindergarteners will be asked to read the
assigned books to their the child;
Students will be responsible for maintaining one-page logs
of books read, which will become part of their language arts
grade.
According to the paper, some schools will offer a literacy
instruction course for parents called The Reading Connection.
The pilot program is sponsored by Miami Book Fair International
and Miami-Dade Community College.
The Board's new plan also includes reading benchmarks; what
elementary school students should know and be able to do in
reading and writing at each grade level.
In a separate proposal, the board approved "intensive care
units" of remedial reading instruction for students at-risk of
reading failure in grades one through three. This program will be
piloted in several schools.
===== GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE =====
*3 SCIENCE DOLDRUMS?: NO MORE IN BOSTON
Beginning next year, every science class in Boston public
schools will embark on a new, hands-on science curriculum (Daley,
Boston GLOBE, 1/13). The curriculum is partially based on a
science class offered by 20-year-veteran Jeanne McCabe, who
teaches at Clarence R. Edwards Middle School.
McCabe takes her students on a "daily 49-minute expedition
of science discovery," pens the GLOBE. Her break-the-mold
curriculum features many hands-on, innovative experiments. In
comparison, the typical Boston public school science instruction
focuses on "lecture, some blackboard, and very cookbook-type
experiments," said Ann Hamadeh, the school system's science
program director. "Now, you are going to see a unified
curriculum," she noted. "Different threads of science are being
used in each grade. [For example,] earth science will be
revisited every year -- with different topics. Students won't
forget."
According to the GLOBE, until the introduction of the new
science curriculum, science classes "seldom deviated from the
standard practice: physical science in seventh grade, life
science in eighth, and so on." The changes were spurred by
school Superintendent Thomas Payzant's five-year plan to improve
student achievement "through the introduction of districtwide
curricula," writes the paper. This year, the district initiated
a new math program, while piloting several new science classes.
"Last year it was really boring in science," said Ady Alves,
a seventh-grade student in McCabe's class. "Now, it's fun."
Bored students are the subject of debate in a Minneapolis
STAR-TELEGRAM article (Berhard, 1/12). According to the paper,
some Chicago researchers found that in a survey of 400 Chicago
fifth- through ninth-graders, students said they were bored in
school one-third of the time because of too much homework, too
many worksheets and boring teachers. The paper cites a "growing
field of research" that claims bored students are poor learners.
According to the Chicago research, "brain studies are also
showing that people less prone to boredom tend to zone in on
subjects more efficiency and with less effort. In other words,
teachers must turn off the monotony," reports the paper. David
Welsh, a psychologist in Fort Worth: "We've got a new phenomenon
here. We see a lot of educators very frustrated by what appear
to be students with the attention spans of gnats."
"The most gifted teachers are constantly processing where
the kids are, constantly reading what kids are saying their
verbals and nonverbals, if the kids act bored, if they're not
turned on," said Kathryn Harwell, assistant superintendent for
curriculum in the Grapevine-Colleyville school district. "It's
the biggest challenge of today's educator."
Author Jane Healy acknowledges that contemporary young
people are more bored, but blames their boredom on the "shock of
video games and television [that are] desensitizing children to
other stimuli," writes the paper. Healy claims in her book
"Endangered Minds: Why Our Children Don't Think," that "this
bombardment" alters neural pathways to the brain -- "and shut[s]
down children's capacity to focus for long periods of time."
===== GOAL SIX: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING =====
*4 NERDS NO MORE: CAMPAIGN TO ENTICE STUDENTS INTO TECH JOBS
In an attempt to lure more young people into technology
fields, the federal government in partnership with the
information technology industry has launched a campaign to fund
technology education and training programs. Another goal of the
initiative: change the perception that technology is a field for
"nerds." (Chandrasekaran, WASH POST, 1/12).
Clinton administration officials and industry leaders
pointed to a study conducted by Virginia Tech that shows 1 in
every 10 information technology jobs in the U.S. remains
unfilled. The survey found that about 346,000 computer
programmer and systems analyst jobs are vacant in U.S. companies
with more than 100 employees.
According to the paper, the survey also revealed that the
shortage is spreading to non-technology firms including banks,
hospitals and retailers "that depend on programmers to design and
operate large systems."
"The shortage is a fundamental threat to the economic growth
of the United States," said Harris Miller, president of the
Information Technology Association of America. "It's not just
hurting the ability of classic computer companies to grow. It's
hurting the ability of the entire economy to grow through the
productivity increases you get if you can install the latest
technology products," he added.
Kelly Carnes, a Commerce Department official, noted that
"technology represents 50% fo the nation's economic growth." She
added: "It is the most important enabling industry." Currently,
the nation is in the midst of one of its strongest economic
points in recent history, reports the POST.
Federal programs announced as part of the initiative to chip
away at the shortage include:
Labor Department -- a $3M grant program to fund efforts by
schools, businesses and local governments to provide
computer skills to laid-off workers in other industries.
Labor Department -- $8M to create an Internet site where
employers can post job openings and workers can post their
resumes.
Commerce Department -- $17M on services to bring technology
resources to low-income people.
Commerce Department -- sponsor 4 town meetings around the
country to focus on the issue.
The information technology industry also announced plans to
distribute a video to high schools and colleges that stars actor
Jimmy Smits and promotes computer-related jobs. The video,
produced by Microsoft Corp., is designed to remove the "nerd"
stigma from tech jobs. "It's going to show that it's a hip line
of work," explained Miller. "It's going to say that you don't
have to wear a pocket protector or a propeller-head beanie or
have an 800 on your SATs to work with computers."
==== GOAL EIGHT: PARENTAL PARTICIPATION ====
*5 FAMILY FRIENDLY FIRMS: HOW TO BE ONE
Effective family friendly programs can enhance a
corporation's bottom line, according to The Conference Board, a
New York City-based business group. A recent Board study found
that a growing number of companies are designing or expanding
programs to increase family involvement in the education of
children both within their companies and within the larger
community.
The increased corporate demand for information on family
friendly policies led The Conference Board to produce a "how-to"
Business Guide of effective programs in place at various
companies throughout the nation.
"Companies have increasingly asked The Conference Board to
prepare a practical guidebook showing how successful companies
are organizing, managing and measuring programs aimed at
increasing family involvement in education," said Dr. Susan
Otterbourg, author of the report.
"This first-ever Conference Board report was driven largely
by those requests. Continued restructuring, downsizing and
mergers and acquisitions are steadily challenging the notion that
work life and family life can be split into two distinctly
different parts. A large majority of leading companies now agree
that their overall success is heavily dependent on how well they
address work-life and diversity issues," she added.
Specifically, the study reports on what more than 70 major
firms are dong to increase family involvement in education. Data
found in the study include:
86% of employers agree that their ability to remain
competitive in the future was dependent upon their success
in addressing work/life and diversity issues;
35% of employees with children under age 15 would change
employers if they could find one that offered them more
flexible work arrangements;
More than 70% of employed parents who spend more than 40
hours a week on the job feel that they do not have enough
time with their children.
More than 51% of working women report worrying a great deal
about not having enough time with their children and
families -- a concern they ranked higher than crime.
About one-fifth of parents regularly attend school programs.
More than 40% never do. Only one-third of parents regularly
attend their child's extracurricular performances such as
athletic events or plays.
A Conference Board press release notes that major company
efforts that range from child care and after-school programs to
providing flexible work schedules and professional advice for
employee-parents, are highlighted in a child-care initiative
unveiled this month by President Clinton. Many firms already are
working with the U.S. DoEd's "Partnership for Family Involvement
in Education," a grassroots coalition of nearly 4,000 schools,
firms and community, education, parent and religious
organizations that are pushing efforts to strengthen family
involvement in children's learning.
Copies of The Conference Board report are available for
$50.00/members or $100.00 non/members, by calling the Board at
212/339-0345. The report also will be posted in a few weeks at
the U.S. DoEd's Web site: www.ed.gov\Family.
==== WHITE HOUSE WATCH ====
*6 A NATIONAL PRIORITY: SMALL CLASS SIZE
In his 27 January State of the Union address, President
Clinton will unveil his multibillion-dollar plan to reduce the
student-to-teacher ratio in the nation's classrooms. "The
decision has been made that the best way we can help out is
through getting more teaches into the classroom and getting
smaller class sizes," one senior administration official told the
BOSTON GLOBE (McGrory, 1/13).
While details of the plan are still in the works, the class-
size reduction proposal is expected to be one of the "most
significant items on Clinton's education agenda for the coming
year," notes the paper. The GLOBE ponders whether the
Administration's plan will resemble a Republican proposal to
reduce class size, a Democrat plan, or neither.
The GOP's $8M plan was announced earlier this month by Rep
Bill Paxon (R-N.Y.), and calls for the federal government to
develop block grants for states to pay the salaries of 100,000
new teachers over the next five years, reports the paper.
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) offered a $3.3B Democrat
alternative, which has the federal government forgiving a portion
of student loans for each of 100,000 college graduates a year who
enter the teaching profession.
While White House officials say they plan to "go their own
way," Clinton's class-size reduction plan will "have one clear
goal: to help young people meet high education standards."
Clinton, on his plan: "What I hope we will be able to do in
this session of Congress is to make education a national issue.
It would please me if it could be a nonpartisan issue."
According to the GLOBE, Clinton also will highlight school
reconstruction and education opportunity zones in his address.
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 learn to use
their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible
citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our
Nation's 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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