NEGP Weekly for August 3, 2000

[Negpweek <NEGPWEEK@WESTAT.com>]

*******************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 - August 3, 2000 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 65
***************************************************

CONTENTS
**STATE POLICY 
1.) SPECIAL EDUCATION: CHANGING POLICY IN MASSACHUSETTS (Goal 1)
2.) BENCHMARKS 2000: A LOOK AT SOUTHERN PROGRESS (All Goals)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) SCRIPTS: NOT JUST FOR ACTORS IN LA (Goals 3 and 4)
4.) STUDENT CHOICE: HIGH SCHOOL IN 3, 4, OR 5 YEARS (Goal 3)

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) READING EXCELLENCE: FEDERAL GRANT BUILDS PROGRAMS (Goal 3)
6.) MIDDLE SCHOOLS: FOCUS OF NEW FUNDS FOR SAFE, DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS (Goal 7)

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) LABOR-MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP: HELPS STUDENTS LEARN (Goals 3 and 4)
8.) MAKING CONNECTIONS: CONTENT, TEACHING AND LEARNING (Goal 1)

**FEATURE STORY
9.) RAND ON REFORM: "SEEMS TO BE WORKING" (All Goals)



***FACT OF THE WEEK***
Between 1993 and 1997, 1 state (out of 24) significantly reduced the
percentage of public high school students reporting that they were in a
physical fight on school property at least once during the past 12 months.
This state was Nevada.

--The National Education Goals Report: Building a nation of learners, 1999



********************
STATE POLICY NEWS
********************


1.) ******** SPECIAL EDUCATION: CHANGING POLICY IN MASSACHUSETTS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)

Massachusetts' special education guideline has long been the strongest
throughout the country, bettering the federal standard of providing a "free,
appropriate education," as stipulated in the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA).  But lawmakers recently voted to strike the state's
"maximum feasible benefit" provision for special needs students to adopt the
federal IDEA standard (Galley EDUCATION WEEK, 8/2). A state commission
earlier this year reported that tightening special education eligibility
would save the state's schools $125 million a year.

"Our definitions and prototypes have been so broad that kids who are not
necessarily disabled are being serviced," said David Driscoll, state
Commissioner of Education.

The legislation also would:
>  Create a state-run risk-pool program that would give districts the
opportunity to join the pool in order to save some costs associated with
meeting the needs of special education students.
>  Require the state education department to prepare materials on the rights
of students with disabilities for parent workshops throughout the state.  
>  Offer parents of students with disabilities a free, independent
assessment of their children as long as the families earned no more than 400
percent of the poverty level.

Many advocates of special needs children were disgruntled over the new
policy.  Tim Sindelar, a lawyer for the Disability Law Center in Boston,
said the legislation "sends the wrong message to the school districts: that
we should be doing less, when we should be doing more."

For more information, visit http://www.doe.mass.edu.



2.) ******** BENCHMARKS 2000: A LOOK AT SOUTHERN PROGRESS
(All Goals)

Over the past 12 years, 16 Southern states have improved public education in
areas monitored by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB).  At that
time, SREB developed goals for education and a new report shows progress
made to reach those goals.  Highlights from Educational Benchmarks 2000
include:
>  In 1989, only 6 SREB states funded pre-kindergarten programs for 80,000
children.  Today, 14 SREB states fund pre-K programs serving about 400,000
children.	
>  In 1989, students from 60 percent of the high schools in only five SREB
states took AP exams, while today students from 60 percent of the high
schools in 10 SREB states took AP exams.  
>  Dropout rates in the SREB region are lower than in the 1980s.
>  The percentage of high school graduates in the SREB region who completed
a college-prep curriculum has doubled since the 1980s.

However, many challenges remain, including boosting reading scores of
vocational students in SREB's High Schools That Work program to meet
national levels and increasing the level of literacy rates among adults to
reach national levels.

For more information, visit SREB at http://www.sreb.org.



*************************
Community and Local News
*************************


3.) ******** SCRIPTS: NOT JUST FOR ACTORS IN LA
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship and Goal Four: Teacher
Education and Professional Development)

Teachers with the Los Angeles Unified School District are reading from
scripts - not for acting roles but to teach reading (Helfand, LA TIMES,
7/30).  The Open Court model, a phonics-based approach to reading, has been
adopted by 80% of primary schools in the district.  According to the paper,
low-performing schools were given the option to choose among three programs:
Open Court, Success for All and Reading Mastery.  Success for All was deemed
too expensive for most schools and Reading Mastery was unknown.  Already 28
other districts around the state have adopted Open Court, which basically
scripts daily lessons for teachers.

Some teachers approve of the new program, but others complain that it zaps
their creativity as they try to meet the diverse needs of their many
students.  Over 8,000 teachers are being trained to implement the program
this summer.

Another component of the reading initiative, part of a $45 million effort
financed by Packard Humanities Institute of northern Californian, are
literacy coaches whose mission is to help teachers teach reading.  While
some teachers appreciate the extra help, others have called the coaches Open
Court police.  Los Angeles school Superintendent Roy Romer, former governor
of Colorado stated that the coaches are sent to help not tattle on teachers,
but he had a strong message for schools:  "If I were the principal and I had
... two teachers say they're just not going to do it, I'd say, 'Fine, you
need to move out of this school.  We'll find you another place, post
haste.'"

For more information, visit the Los Angeles public schools at
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us



4.) ******** STUDENT CHOICE: HIGH SCHOOL IN 3, 4, OR 5 YEARS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)

Rochester, New York, is undertaking a unique program to give high school
students the flexibility to graduate in 3, 4 or 5 years.  The Pathways plan,
developed by school Superintendent Clifford Janey, will be effective fall of
2002.  

"We should not be prisoners to our own seduction with time," said the
superintendent.  His program would allow advanced students to finish in 3
years and in their fourth year take Advanced Placement courses, sign up for
apprenticeships or travel.  Students who plan to spend a fifth year in high
school may be in need of remedial help or they may be advanced students
looking for more options before attending college.  The goal was not to
stigmatize the fifth year as only for students who have failed.

For more information, visit http://www.rochester.k12.ny.us



*********************
Federal Policy News
*********************


5.) ******** READING EXCELLENCE: FEDERAL GRANT BUILDS PROGRAMS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)

Nine states and Washington, D.C., recently were awarded new grants through
the Reading Excellence Act (REA) to improve the reading skills of children
in pre-K through third grade.  Schools receiving the grants, totaling $198.4
million, are expected to help teachers use a balanced reading approach based
on research; provide early intervention, such as one-on-one tutoring for
children who have trouble learning to read; and organize family literacy
programs for parents to support their children's learning to read.

The states competed for the three-year grants and now will offer
competitions for eligible local school districts.  States winning the grant
are:  California, Colorado, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

For more information and summaries of the states' proposals, visit
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/REA/awardees.html.



6.) ******** MIDDLE SCHOOLS: FOCUS OF NEW FUNDS FOR SAFE, DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS
(Goal Seven: Safe, Disciplined, and Alcohol- and Drug-free Schools)

Another federal grant program targets $45 million in federal support to help
middle schools nationwide battle drugs and create a safe school environment.
"This $45 million will significantly help with intervention efforts that can
make a real difference in creating safer schools and reducing drug use by
young people," said U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley.

The 113 school districts in 35 states receiving the grants will be able to
recruit, hire and train middle school drug prevention and school safety
coordinators.

Eligible schools are those in which at least one student was, within the
previous year, suspended, expelled or transferred to an alternative school
for possession, distribution or use of alcohol, tobacco or drugs, or for the
possession or use of a weapon.  Schools also are eligible if officials had
to refer at least five students for substance abuse treatment or suspended,
expelled or transferred to alternative schools at least five students for
physical attacks.

For more information and a list of the 113 project descriptions, visit
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS.



*********************************
Research and Education Practices
*********************************


7.) ******** LABOR-MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP: HELPS STUDENTS LEARN
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship and Goal Four: Teacher
Education and Professional Development)

A unique partnership among the Saturn Corporation, United Auto Workers (UAW)
and the National Education Association (NEA) is helping local schools
improve student performance, "mirroring the success achieved by labor and
management in the automobile industry."  (NEA press release, 7/3).  Six
local partnerships of NEA local affiliates and school districts were honored
at the recent NEA convention held in Chicago.

The 2000 winners are from: Phoenix, Arizona; Loveland, Colorado; Milford,
Delaware; Chicopee, Massachusetts; Flint, Michigan; and St. Louis, Missouri.
For example, the Phoenix project, a partnership of the Paradise Valley
School District and the Paradise Valley Education Association six years ago
brought together education leaders for a Future Search to develop shared
goals and a plan to improve student achievement.  The plan is in effect
today, with teachers and curriculum leaders designing better instruction
connected with the Arizona Academic Standards.  Veteran teachers also are
part of an induction program for new teachers.

For more information, visit the NEA at http://www.nea.org.



8.) ******** MAKING CONNECTIONS: CONTENT, TEACHING AND LEARNING
(Goal One: Ready To Learn)

Weaving the widely popular pre-school Creative Curriculum into today's call
for standards even among the nation's youngest learners is the goal of a new
publication called Connecting Content, Teaching and Learning. "Teachers
don't have to choose between an academic approach and play," write the
authors in the book's introduction. Teaching Strategies Inc., published both
books.

The book's authors examined cutting edge research on the development of the
brain and teaching and learning.  They also reviewed content standards
developed by the states and by professional national organizations.
Acknowledging the importance of standards and accountability, the authors'
goal was to make the connection between the standards movement and a
curriculum that is development appropriate for pre-school age children.  

Chapter 1 presents Teaching Strategies' revised goals and objectives for
three- to five-year olds.  The second chapter is an overview of national and
state standards in the following subject areas: literacy, math, science,
social studies, the arts and technology.  Examples of teacher practice in
each area are peppered throughout the chapter and a clear picture is drawn
between the standards and the goals and objectives of the Creative
Curriculum.  The final chapter focuses on the revised goals of the Creative
Curriculum and ways teachers can individualize the program to meet the
specific needs of their students.  

For more information, visit Teaching Strategies, Inc. at
http://www.TeachingStrategies.com.



*****************
Feature Story
*****************


9.) ******** RAND ON REFORM:  "SEEMS TO BE WORKING"
(All Goals)

The education reforms established in the 1980s and 1990s "seem to be
working," according to a new RAND report, Improving Student Achievement:
What NAEP Test Score Tell Us.  Researchers analyzed data from the National
Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) tests given between 1990 and 1996 -
five in math and two in reading at either the 4th- or 8th-grade level.
Forty-four states agreed to participate in this study, and the RAND report
ranks each by raw achievement scores, scores that compare students form
similar families and by score improvements.  The report also highlights
which policies and programs account for significant differences in
achievement across states that can't be explained by demographics.

Math scores are rising across the country at a pace far beyond that of the
previous two decades, which suggests that "public education reforms are
taking hold," notes the report.  However, progress varies from state to
state.  One group of states stands out, boasting gains twice as great as the
national average.  These states include North Carolina and Texas, as well as
Michigan, Indiana and Maryland.  

A cross-state comparison of achievement by students from similar families
found that Texas also topped the list of states, with California dead last.
Dr. David Grissmer, who headed the RAND study, pointed to California's
Proposition 13, a 1978 referendum that cut state property taxes causing
class size to skyrocket, as the culprit.  "California is a premier example
of what happens when resources get frayed," he said.  Susan Burr,
California's interim secretary of education, told the WALL STREET JOURNAL
that the report is "ancient history." (Fialka, 8/1).  Under Governor Gray
Davis, she said, the state has reduced class size and increased school
funding.  

A major finding from the report is the key role of targeting money to
disadvantaged students.  "You can lift the scores of minority and
disadvantaged kids pretty significantly" if you direct funding to them, said
Grissmer.  "If you have the resources at home, you don't have to spend the
top dollar on schools.  If you don't you have to spend to make up for the
difference."

Connecticut is one state the RAND report found to have some of the greatest
gaps between wealthy schools and low-income schools, notes the HARTFORD
COURANT (Green, 7/30).  In recent years, not reflected in the RAND data,
Connecticut has increased sending resources to poor communities and has
provided key programs to improve student achievement.  "It is about focusing
on preschool and early reading and focusing the money on our urban
districts," said state education Commissioner Theodore Sergi.  "If we really
want the gap to close, we have to keep targeting.  It is not just whom we
give it to; it's what we say should be done with it.  It is probably the
single greatest issue on our plate for the next decade."

Other findings from the report include:
>  Having a higher percentage of teachers with master's degrees and
extensive teaching experience has comparatively little effect on student
achievement across states.
>  Higher teacher salaries also had little effect across states, although
they may have more important student achievement effects within states.
>  The most plausible explanation for the remarkable rate of math gains
posted by North Carolina and Texas is the alignment of standards, assessment
and accountability that both states implemented in the late 1980s and 1990s.
>  States that did well have lower pupil-teacher ratios in lower grades,
higher participation in public prekindergarten programs and a higher
percentage of teachers who are satisfied with the resources they are
provided for teaching.
"Our results certainly challenge the traditional view of public education as
'unreformable'," said Grissmer.  "But the achievement of disadvantaged
students is still substantially affected by inadequate resources.  Stronger
federal compensatory programs are required to address this inequity."

For more information, visit the RAND Corporation at http://www.rand.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
distribution with proper acknowledgment. 

To subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) the NEGP Weekly, respond to this email
or address an email message to: NEGPWEEK@westat.com and put subscribe or
unsubscribe in the message portion of the e-mail.



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.


-- 30 --