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NEGP Weekly for June 1, 2000
*******************THE NEGP WEEKLY****************
A weekly news update on America's Education Goals
and school improvement efforts across America from the
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
Thursday - June 01, 2000 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 60
***************************************************
CONTENTS
**STATE POLICY
1.) HIGH-STAKES TESTING: IT'S ELEMENTARY IN LOUISIANA (Goal 3)
2.) PRE-SCHOOL MATHEMATICS: RAISING STANDARDS (Goals 1 and 5)
**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
3.) MENTORING TEACHERS: DISTRICTS SET THEIR OWN PACE (Goal 4)
4.) ON THEIR OWN: CLEVELAND SETS STANDARDS (GOAL 3)
**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
5.) OUTSTANDING TEACHER PREP: A NEW AWARDS PROGRAM (Goal 4)
6.) SUMMER READING: RILEY LAUNCHES NATIONAL CAMPAIGN (Goals 3 and 8)
**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE
7.) WHAT'S THE WORD: VOCABULARY IS BACK (GOAL 3)
8.) WRITING: EDITING IS KEY (Goal 3)
**FEATURE STORY
9.) ZERO TOLERANCE: A LAWYER'S PERSPECTIVE (Goal 6)
***FACT OF THE WEEK***
Between 1991 and 1997, no state (out of 28) significantly reduced the
percentage of public high school students who reported having five or more
drinks in a row at least once during the past 30 days.
--The National Education Goals Report: Building a nation of learners, 1999
http://www.negp.gov/reports/99rpt.pdf
********************
STATE POLICY NEWS
********************
1.) ******** HIGH-STAKES TESTING: IT'S ELEMENTARY IN LOUISIANA
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)
Louisiana is expected to become the first state in the nation to retain
elementary and middle school students based on test scores (Robelen,
EDUCATION WEEK, 5/24). While some states have in place high school exit
exams, Louisiana is the first to apply high stakes at the elementary and
middle school level.
According to the paper, nearly one-third of the state's 4th- and 8th-grade
students failed new tests they took this spring. Students who failed the
exams will be offered summer school and will be able to re-take the test in
July. Students who fail to meet the "approaching basic" level will be
required to repeat their grade. Special education students who fail to meet
the criteria will be exempt from the grade retention policy and an appeals
process has been established by the state for other students.
For more information, visit the Louisiana Department of Education at
http://www.doe.state.la.us
2.) ******** PRE-SCHOOL MATHEMATICS: RAISING STANDARDS
(Goal One: Ready To Learn And Goal Five: Math And Science)
Standards for pre-school math are on the horizon, with the National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and several states leading the way
(Kronholz, WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/16). NCTM recently released new math
standards that, for the first time, include benchmarks for three-,four- and
five-year olds. Connecticut, California and Texas already have or are
drafting math standards that include the preschool set.
According to the paper, "this is happening because more children than ever
are in preschool - 4.4 million of them in 1997." The paper also notes that
39 states fund preschool programs for at least some of their four-year-olds,
with 13 states funding preschool programs for three-year-olds.
The JOURNAL reports on a math gap between wealthy and disadvantaged
preschoolers. "You already see a gap between middle class and disadvantaged
preschoolers," said Alice Klein, a University of California/Berkeley
researcher engaged in testing four-year-olds in simple math.
For more information, visit the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
at http://www.nctm.org.
*************************
Community and Local News
*************************
3.) ******** MENTORING TEACHERS: DISTRICTS SET THEIR OWN PACE
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)
Some school districts have developed lead teacher programs to help
struggling colleagues improve their classroom management and teaching skills
(Mathews, WASH POST, 5/16). In Washington, D.C., the Helping Teacher
program often lures top teachers from the classroom to a new post that has
them train teachers throughout the district. Montgomery County, Maryland,
high school department heads are now called resource teachers. These
teachers have one less course to teach and are paid a $4,000 stipend to
spend an extra hour a day and an extra 20 days during the summer working to
improve their school and staff.
According to the paper, Fairfax County, Virginia, pays lead teachers an
extra $1,000 a year to help improve instructional skills of other teachers.
A lead-teacher model also is in place at schools operated by The Edison
Project, the nation's largest for-profit school management company. And the
Milken Family Foundation targets funds to a new master-teacher program in
five Arizona public schools, "with the goal of boosting the annual incomes
of the most skilled teachers to $100,000 a year and giving them much more
mentoring responsibility," writes the paper.
These programs "offer a path to really recognize excellent teachers and
confer more prestige on the profession," said Patte Barth, senior associate
with the Washington, D.C.-based Education Trust.
For more information, visit the WASHINGTON POST at http://www.washpost.com.
4.) ******** ON THEIR OWN: CLEVELAND SETS STANDARDS
(GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT)
While Ohio remains one of only two states without student standards, the
Cleveland school district is well on its way to provide benchmarks for what
students should know and be able to do (Stephens, Cleveland PLAIN DEALER,
5/24). The district's new standards for reading, writing and communicating
will become effective this fall. During the 2001-2002 school year, science
and math standards will become available, followed sometime later by
standards for social studies, history and art.
Teachers and parents established the standards. One goal of the new
benchmarks is to have the same expectations of all children, including
low-income youth.
For more information, visit the Cleveland public schools at
http://www.cleveland.k12.oh.us.
*********************
Federal Policy News
*********************
5.) ******** OUTSTANDING TEACHER PREP: A NEW AWARDS PROGRAM
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)
The deadline is July 3 to apply for a new national awards program that
recognizes outstanding teacher preparation programs - the first competition
of its kind in the nation's history, according to an U.S. Department of
Education press release (5/17).
To be considered, programs must provide "compelling evidence" that their
graduates positively affect all student learning either in reading and math
at the elementary level or math at the middle or high school level. They
also must demonstrate that their graduates have a depth of content
knowledge, have acquired general and content-specific pedagogical knowledge
and skills and have developed skills to examine attitudes and beliefs about
learners and the teaching profession. The programs need not be university
based.
For more information, visit the Department of Education at
http://www.ed.gov/inits/teachers/teacherprep/ or e-mail sharon_horn@ed.gov.
6.) ******** SUMMER READING: RILEY LAUNCHES NATIONAL CAMPAIGN
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Eight: Parental Participation)
U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley kicked off the America Reads national
summer reading campaign last week. "Students who read over the summer are
better prepared to learn when they return to school in the fall," said
Riley, who urged families to make reading a priority over the summer months.
The America Reads Challenge, a grassroots national campaign, challenges
every American to help children learn to read by the end of the third grade.
America Reads makes four recommendations to engage children in reading
during the summer:
> Read and write thirty minutes a day, five days per week.
> Read at least one day per week with an adult.
> Get and use a library card.
> Learn one new word each day.
America Reads will distribute 2.5 million Read*Write*Now! Activity Posters
in English and Spanish.
For more information, visit the America Reads web site at
http://www.ed.gov/americareads.
*********************************
Research and Education Practices
*********************************
7.) ******** WHAT'S THE WORD: VOCABULARY IS BACK
(GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT)
The Chicago SUN TIMES reports on the comeback of vocabulary classes, which
have "languished in neglect for years." According to the paper,
vocabulary is key to reading comprehension and a top predictor of
intelligence and success in life. Researchers claim it takes students up to
eight to 12 exposures to a new word to "firmly grasp it," writes the paper.
Numerous instructional strategies abound to help students acquire a larger
vocabulary. Tim Shanahan, director of the University of Illinois at
Chicago's Center for Literacy, said the only vocabulary technique that
doesn't work is writing out definitions. Isabel Beck, a researcher at the
University of Pittsburgh, finds "word lines," listing words by degree, such
as those stretching from "love" to "hate," a successful way to introduce new
vocabulary, notes the paper. Independent reading is another way to increase
vocabulary because students learn the meaning of unknown words indirectly
from context.
For more information visit the Chicago SUN TIMES at http://www.suntimes.com.
8.) ******** WRITING: EDITING IS KEY
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)
Writing programs are springing up in private and public schools nationwide,
with many stressing the importance of revising first drafts (Strauss, WASH
POST, 5/23). "It's no longer good enough to have kids read and bubble in
answers," said Lucy M. Calkins, an English professor at Columbia Teachers
College in New York. "Students have to be able to write articulate and
coherent essays."
Yet many students and employees cannot write in a coherent fashion, reports
the paper. Kay Phillips, head of the journalism school at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, blames poor writing skills on a decline in
reading literature and teaching grammar. Pesche Kurilof, director of the
Mellon Writing Project at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that low
standards are the culprit. "There is a very high tolerance for what I
consider very sloppy thinking and sloppy writing," he said. Many writing
teachers hope an emphasis on revising and editing first draft work will put
an end to sloppy writing, notes the paper.
For more information, visit the Columbia Teachers College at
http://www.tc.columbia.edu.
*****************
Feature Story
*****************
9.) ******** ZERO TOLERANCE: A LAWYER'S PERSPECTIVE
(Goal Six: Safe Schools)
Schools have accepted zero tolerance policies across the nation as an
effective means to prevent and curtail violence on campus. However, an
article in the April 2000 AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION JOURNAL examines zero
tolerance policies and their impact on students, parents, schools and the
legal system (Margaret Graham Tebo).
Many attorneys who represent and advocate for children and students are
dismayed with what they consider to be the lack of common sense that
underlies many zero tolerance policies. In one case, a child was suspended
from school for bringing a plastic knife to school in his lunch bag - put in
by his grandmother to spread butter. The school's zero tolerance policy
called for all children, regardless of motive, to be treated the same.
"Kids are not going to respect teachers and administrators who cannot
appreciate the difference between a plastic knife and a switch-blade," said
Diane Fenner, a private lawyer in Virginia.
Even the American Federation of Teachers, a strong supporter of zero
tolerance policies, argues that the severity of the punishment must fit the
offense. "We are very supportive of zero tolerance for violent offenses -
guns, drugs and the like," said Celia Lose, assistant director of public
affairs for the AFT. "But when schools start trying to use zero tolerance
to enforce all sorts of discipline issues, such as tardiness or possession
of baby aspirin, the message gets lost."
According to the article, "kids whose misbehaviors in the past would have
occasioned oral reprimands from a teacher or perhaps a trip to the
principal's office are now being labeled a threat to school safety." "Zero
tolerance does away with the entire concept of innocent until proven
guilty," said Catherine Krebs, an attorney with the Children's Law Center in
Boston. "Our job as adults is to help kids learn from their mistakes, not
to throw them out of school and say, 'That's the end of it.'" In
Massachusetts, points out Krebs, students who are expelled from public
school loose permanently their right to a public education.
The article highlights Texas' zero tolerance law as a strong model. In
Texas, lawmakers established three tiers of violations and the appropriate
consequences. The most severe level is for four
offenses that end in expulsion: bringing a gun, bringing a knife with a
blade long enough to reach the heart, bringing drugs the nature and amount
of which would constitute a felony, and aggravated assault. Second level
offenses lead to a temporary removal from school. These offenses are:
simple assault, misdemeanor drug possession, use of alcohol and a few other
violations. The lowest level is for offenses for which school officials
have discretion to determine the punishment, reports the ABA.
"School is really the safest place a kid can be, "said Lose of the AFT. "We
have a responsibility to make it as safe as it can be. But zero tolerance
can't mean zero common sense."
For more information, visit the American Bar Association at
http://www.abanet.org.
************************************
The NEGP WEEKLY is a publication of:
The National Education Goals Panel
1255 22nd Street NW, Suite 502
Washington, DC 20037;
202-724-0015
NEGP Executive Director: Ken Nelson
Publisher: Barbara A. Pape
http://www.negp.gov
************************************
The NEGP/ Daily Report Card (DRC) hereby authorizes further reproduction and
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WHAT IS THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL?
The National Education Goals Panel is a unique bipartisan body of state and
federal officials created in 1990 by President Bush and the nation's
Governors to report state and national progress and urge education
improvement efforts to reach the National Education Goals.
WHAT DOES THE GOALS PANEL DO?
The Goals Panel has been charged to:
* Report state and national progress toward the National Education Goals.
* Work to establish a system of high academic standards and assessments.
* Identify promising and effective reform strategies.
* Recommend actions for state, federal, and local governments to take.
* Build a nationwide, bipartisan consensus to achieve the Goals.
WHAT ARE THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS?
There are eight National Education Goals set for the year 2000. They are:
1) All children will start school ready to learn.
2) The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90%.
3) All students will become competent in challenging subject matter.
4) Teachers will have the knowledge and skills they need.
5) U.S. students will be first in the world in math and science achievement.
6) Every adult American will be literate.
7) Schools will be safe, disciplined, and free of drugs, guns and alcohol.
8) Schools will promote parental involvement and participation.
WHO SERVES ON THE GOALS PANEL AND HOW ARE THEY CHOSEN?
Eight governors, four state legislators, four members of the U.S. Congress,
and two members appointed by the President serve on the Goals Panel. Members
are appointed by the leadership of the National Governors' Association, the
National Conference of State Legislatures, the U.S. Senate and House, and
the President. The number of Republicans and Democrats are made even by
appointing five governors from the party that does not control the White
House.
The current Panel Members are Governors Tommy G. Thompson, WI (Chair, 2000);
John Engler, MI; Jim Geringer, WY; James B. Hunt, Jr., NC; Frank Keating,
OK; Frank O'Bannon, IN; Paul E. Patton, KY; Cecil H. Underwood, WV;
Secretary of Education Richard Riley; Michael Cohen, U.S. Assistant
Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education; U.S. Senator Jeff
Bingaman, NM; U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords, VT; U.S. Representative William F.
Goodling, PA; U.S. Representative Matthew G. Martinez, CA; Representative G.
Spencer Coggs, WI; Representative Mary Lou Cowlishaw, IL; Representative
Douglas R. Jones, ID;
Senator Stephen Stoll, MO.
The annual Goals Report and other publications of the Panel are available
without charge upon request from the Goals Panel or at its web site
http://www.negp.gov. Requests can be made by mail, fax, e-mail, or Internet.
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