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--- Wednesday --- February 4, 1998 --- Vol. 7 --- No. 31 ---
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
NEGP Weekly
THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS
www.negp.gov
__________ __________
EDUCATION EXCELLENCE | SPOTLIGHT |
A potpourri of education | |
articles is provided in the | SIZING UP CLASS SIZE |
latest publication from the | |
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. | A first-ever national |
The articles include full- | effort to reduce class size |
length reprints from news | is the linchpin to Presi- |
sources including "The | dent Clinton's education |
Economist," "Chicago Tribune," | agenda. In his State of |
and "The Weekly Standard." | the Union address last |
Issues tackled range from | week, Clinton called for |
teacher professionalism to | hiring 100,000 new teachers |
charters. | in order to reduce class |
Copies are available free-of- | size to an average of 18 |
charge, while they last, by | students in grades 1-3. |
contacting the Thomas B. | |
Fordham Foundation "Publica- | "To have a class size of |
tions Line" at 1/888-TBF-7474; | 18 would be Utopia," sighed |
or at www.edexcellence.net. | one Fla. teacher. |
| Enthusiasm from |
CHILDREN AND WELFARE | administrators is less |
While welfare reform | sanguine. "Where are we |
dominated the news in 1996- | going to put them," queried |
1997, few accounts reported on | a Fla. school official. |
the new law's effect on | |
children. Children NOW | Clinton also has called |
examined the content of sundry | for federal funds to |
news sources and developed | accelerate school building |
recommendations for improving | construction. And he |
discussion of children in news | intends to target funds for |
about welfare reform. | professional development. |
Copies are available by | Smaller class size without |
contacting Children NOW at | qualified teachers is a no- |
800/CHILD-44; | win situation. (#5) |
www.childrennow.org. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"You can't reduce class size if you don't have any buildings."
Henry Fraind,
spokesman for the Miami-Dade County school district. (#5)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Washington, D.C. 20010; 202/724-0015 |
| EPN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL ONE: READY TO LEARN
CLASSICAL KIDS: More than Georgia on their mind. (#1)
GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
NATIONAL TESTING?: Not before 2001. (#2)
READING IN THE NEWS: Baltimore SUN's "Reading by 9". (#3)
HELPING CHILDREN ACHIEVE: Hornbeck releases guidelines. (#4)
WHITE HOUSE WATCH
CLINTON ON EDUCATION: Focus on class size. (#5)
NEWS BRIEFS
COURT BRIEFS: Sex, drugs and equity. (#6)
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===== GOAL ONE: READY TO LEARN =====
*1 CLASSICAL KIDS: MORE THAN GEORGIA ON THEIR MIND
One of the more innovative responses to research that
suggests listening to classical music at a young age can increase
a baby's intelligence is Ga. Gov. Zell Miller's (D) call for
providing every newborn Georgian a classical tape or CD (Stanley,
L.A. TIMES, 1/22). Miller urged state lawmakers to approve
$105,000 in his 1999 budget to distribute classical music in
hospital packets given to new parents.
Some taxpayers immediately barraged Miller's office with
complaints of taxpayer waste. But Miller's call -- and budget --
was heeded by private sector leaders, including major recording
companies, who offered to pick up the tab. "I can do this and
not even involve any taxpayer money," said Miller.
Yoel Levi, conductor of the Atlanta Symphony, has agreed to
select the music, reports the paper.
Miller said he was made aware of the effects of classical
music on the brain development of infants at a meeting sponsored
by the Denver-based Education Commission of the States. He also
cited research conducted by Gordon Shaw, physicist and
neuroscientist at the U of California at Irvine. According to
the paper, Shaw performed two studies: one to determine how
Mozart influenced the spatial reasoning of college students; the
other on a group of 3-year-olds, to see how piano training
affected their reasoning ability.
Shaw hopes Miller's plan will provide the "perfect
opportunity" to study the effects of classical music on infants,
notes the paper. He has requested that a sample of parents
provide anecdotal reporting on their child's responses to the
music.
Mother-to-be Averil McDowell, whose first child is due in
August, said the idea is "lovely." "I don't know if it will make
a difference, but it is a nice gesture on the governor's part.
It would probably be nice to have some soothing music during
those first two week," she added.
===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*2 NATIONAL TESTING?: NOT BEFORE 2001
During last year's State of the Union address, President
Clinton unveiled his plan for national voluntary reading and math
tests. His proposal received a setback last week when the
National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees test
development, voted to delay until after Clinton's second term
national testing (AP/WASH POST, 1/23).
Clinton had proposed that the national voluntary tests for
fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math be given in 1999.
Congress agreed last fall to push the earliest date to 2000.
However, the NAGB reported that it would be "technically
impossible to have a test ready before 2001," writes the paper.
While stating that a delay is unnecessary, U.S. Ed Sec
Richard Riley said he is "pleased that we are on track to having
the first-ever national tests in the basic skills and to giving
parents and communities the tools they need to make sure children
master the basics."
House Republicans were pleased with the delay, since they
had battled against the tests "on grounds they would lead to a
national curriculum," reports the paper. Jay Diskey, spokesman
for the House Education and the Workforce Committee: "We're
happy to see any development that further delays any national
testing, because we've always seen this national test proposal as
a bad idea."
*3 READING IN THE NEWS: BALTIMORE SUN'S "READING BY 9"
The Baltimore SUN is moving forward on its "Reading by 9"
program, a five-year initiative to help improve children's
reading skills. Besides publishing frequent articles on "Reading
by 9" goals, the paper is undertaking a three-pronged plan.
A family interactive page for parents and children is a
regular feature of the paper, appearing on the Sunday and
Wednesday pages of the Today section on a rotating basis. The
page includes read-aloud selections from children's books,
reading snapshots, in which famous people share their reading
memories; and experts speak section, where experts answer
parents' reading questions and other information and resources.
Monday through Saturday in the Today section features
activities for children. For example, Monday's Yak's Corner
includes games, puzzles and educational stories. On Tuesday, the
paper features a guide to the worldwide Web for children
(www.4kids).
Finally, the paper plans to publish a page every Sunday in
the Maryland Section devoted to news about "Reading by 9" issues.
To order a monthly subscription to "Reading by 9" reprints
for $7.95 a month or $24.95 per year (including a binder) plus
tax, contact The Baltimore SUN's SunSource department at 800/829-
8000, ext. 6800; or sunsource@baltsun.com.
*4 HELPING CHILDREN ACHIEVE: HORNBECK RELEASES GUIDELINES
Partly in response to criticism waged by the Philadelphia
Teachers Union, Philadelphia school Superintendent David Hornbeck
last week released detailed guidelines for what children should
know and be able to do in three grade ranges: K-4, 5-8, 9-12
(Jones, Philadelphia INQUIRER, 1/21).
The guidelines, "Curriculum Frameworks," have two purposes:
to remind teachers what students must learn, and to suggest
techniques for helping to teach them, reports the paper. They
compliment Hornbeck's "Children Achieving" school reform plan,
which teacher union leaders complained was too vague. Under
"Children Achieving, teachers and schools will be rewarded or
penalized based on student performance, writes the paper.
Hornbeck: "You asked, 'Where can I find help to develop the
kinds of lessons, projects, assignments and assessments that will
help by students ...? We heard you. It's in there. You asked:
'What instructional strategies can I use ...?' We heard you.
It's in there."
Kay Lovelace, an educator who helped develop the guidelines,
said the plan is still in draft form and she is seeking feedback
from teachers about what works and what does not. She added that
the guidelines tell "you when students must know subjects, but
the strategies here are not a must. It's not restrictive, it's a
resource."
Teacher union leaders, who have battled with Hornbeck in the
past, are pleased with the guidelines. "Teachers can do anything
if there's a clear focus," said Ted Kirsch, the Philadelphia
Federation of Teacher's president. "For a long time there wasn't
a clear focus ... you had people who didn't now what they were
supposed to do, then they got blamed for it. This gives teachers
a better focus."
==== WHITE HOUSE WATCH ====
*5 CLINTON ON EDUCATION: FOCUS ON CLASS SIZE
In last week's State of the Union address, President Clinton
outlined his education agenda for the coming year. A focal point
of Clinton's education package is reducing class size.
Clinton: "Tonight I propose the first-ever national effort
to reduce class size in the early grades." He plans to provide
federal assistance to hire 100,000 new teachers to reduce class
size in grades 1, 2 and 3 to an average of 18 students a class.
Smaller class size will increase the demand for classroom
space, according to Clinton, who called for a school construction
tax cut to "help communities modernize or build 5,000 schools."
"You can't reduce class size if you don't have any buildings,"
said Henry Fraind, spokesman for the Miami-Dade County school
district.
But reducing class size may not be as easy as 1,2,3 -- even
with help from the federal government, reports the Philadelphia
INQUIRER (Mezzacappa, Philadelphia INQUIRER, 1/30). The task is
particularly daunting for overcrowded inner-city schools.
Clinton's proposal would direct funds to disadvantaged districts.
However, whether reducing class size has any impact on
improving student achievement remains up for debate, reports the
paper. A study of Calif. schools, that underwent class size
reduction in 1996, found that teachers and parents are happier.
"Teachers say they can cover more topics, teach at a faster pace,
give more attention to students having trouble and identify those
who need special education sooner," writes the paper.
The study, conducted by Dr. Michael Kirst of Stanford U, are
just beginning to assess whether students are learning more,
notes the paper. "What we don't know is whether they're doing
anything different in terms of teaching techniques," said Kirst.
Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Education Marshall Smith
said that class size reduction must be accompanied by other
reforms in order to achieve the goal of improving student
learning. "Teachers have to do something different with it,"
said Smith. "They can't just stand up in front of the class and
put things on the blackboard." Clinton plans to allocate about
$12B for teacher professional development.
Philadelphia's Superintendent of Schools David Hornbeck also
agrees that simply reducing class size will "not solve all the
city's education problems." He sees the city's "biggest
challenge" in recruiting qualified teachers and finding space to
house the new teachers and classes.
Other education proposals by Clinton:
* Creation of education opportunity zones targeted at
disadvantaged urban and rural schools;
* A call to end social promotion. During his State of
the Union address, Clinton lauded Chicago's efforts to
end social promotion; and
* Congressional support for "our effort to enlist
colleges and universities to reach out to disadvantaged
children starting in the sixth grade, to give them
guidance and hope so they too can go on to college."
==== NEWS BRIEFS ====
*6 COURT BRIEFS: SEX, DRUGS AND EQUITY
Sex Harassment -- The U.S. Supreme Court last week asked the
U.S. Solicitor General for advice on a case in which a student is
suing her school district for allegedly failing to stop a boy
from harassing her in fifth grade (Boyer, ED DAILY, 1/27). "The
Court's action indicates at least a few of the justices are
considering reviewing the issue," writes the news service.
Drug Tests -- The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
recently concurred with a district court ruling and upheld an
Ind. high school's random drug-testing of students in extra-
curricular activities, saying it does not violate the
constitution (Boyer, ED DAILY, 1/15). From the decision: "The
linchpin of this drug-testing program is to protect the health of
the students involved."
School Funding -- The N.H. Supreme Court ruled that the
state's school funding system, which relies on local property
taxes to fund nearly 90% of the cost of public education, is
unconstitutional. (Farragher, Boston GLOBE, 12/19). The court
gave state lawmakers up to 16 months to develop an alternative
way to pay for public education.
From the GLOBE: "Fixing the problem will mean the state
will have to raise and distribute about a billion dollars, and
that could mean confronting head-on what has long been anathema
to the voters of New Hampshire: a broad-based tax." (Ford,
12/23).
School Funding -- In the coming weeks, Philadelphia will
file a lawsuit waging racial discrimination against the state of
Pa., in an attempt to get more money for city schools (Goodman
and Mezzacappa, Philadelphia INQUIRER, 1/28). According to the
paper, the suit "comes on the heels of two previous suits on
school funding in state courts."
Desegregation: St. Louis -- Members of the Missouri Joint
Interim Committee on School Desegregation and Finance recently
called to continue the city-county desegregation plan for 10
years under state law rather than by court order (Singer, St.
Louis POST-DISPATCH, 12/16). Lawmakers also recommended that the
St. Louis School Board be dissolved, replacing the board and
superintendent with a chief executive officer appointed by the
mayor. A new elected board would commence in 2003.
Another recommendation: allow for the creation of charter
schools, "with the authority for granting charters that are
broader in areas where high school graduation rates are below
65%," writes the paper.
Desegregation: Little Rock -- The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals reversed a 1996 order by U.S. District Judge Susan Webber
Wright, and dismissed the Little Rock School District from it 15-
year-old desegregation lawsuit (Howell, Arkansas DEMOCRAT-
GAZETTE, 12/16). Wright claimed the district had been
"recalcitrant in implementing its desegregation plan," writes the
paper.
The appeals court ruling added that the district must remain
subject to federal court monitoring. "We're looking for the day
when all federal jurisdiction ends and control of the district
returns to the local people," said Chris Heller, an attorney for
the school district. "This is a small step in that direction."
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 |
| 202/724-0015 (Fax); e-mail: negp@goalline.org |
| Web site: www.negp.gov |
|_______________________________________________________________|
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