NEGP Weekly for July 27, 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 - July 27, 2000 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 64
***************************************************

CONTENTS
**STATE POLICY 
1.) JOHNNY CAN READ: HE JUST ISN'T INTERESTED (Goal 3) 
2.) CONNECTICUT:  HIGH STANDARDS AND TOP PAY (Goal 4)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) GIFTS FOR THE GIFTED: ONE UTAH DISTRICT'S PLAN (Goal 3)
4.) PAY FOR PERFORMANCE: COLORADO'S EXPERIMENT (Goal 4)

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) SCIENCE AND MATH FELLOWSHIPS: A NEW PROGRAM FROM THE GLENN COMMISSION 
(Goals 4 and 5)
6.) HISPANICS NOT TESTED FAIRLY: A NEW DoEd REPORT (Goal 3)

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) SCHOOL-TO-WORK PROGRAM: IN JEOPARDY (Goals 3 and 6) 
8.) TESTS OVERUSED: A NEW POLL FROM AASA (Goal 3)

**FEATURE STORY
9.) BIOLOGY TEXTBOOKS: FAIL TO MAKE THE GRADE (Goal 5)
 
***FACT OF THE WEEK***
Between 1992 and 1996, 39 states (out of 51) significantly increased the
percentages of high school graduates who immediately enrolled in 2-year or
4-year colleges in any state.

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



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


1.) ******** JOHNNY CAN READ: HE JUST ISN'T INTERESTED 
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

Reading scores for Maryland's eighth-grade annual exams are stagnant.
Surveys show  65 percent of the state's eighth graders find reading boring;
27 percent don't read on their own for pleasure (Libit, Bowler, the
Baltimore SUN, 7/16). 
"Disengagement from reading is the real crisis in middle school," John T.
Gutherie, a University of Maryland, College Park, education researcher told
100 public school principals at a three-day reading seminar in Baltimore.

At another conference, the fourth annual, "Maryland Reading Network,"
teachers and administrators from all of Maryland's 24 school districts were
told that no matter their subject expertise they needed to become reading
specialists. Social studies, science, and math is difficult to learn if a
child can not read a textbook fluently, according to conference leaders.
English literature is not the only subject that suffers.

"We now have kids raised completely in the whole language period, and these
kids don't have the capacity to sound out the names of unfamiliar
countries," said Thomas M. Stroschein, principal of Maree Garnett Farring
Elementary School in Baltimore. "That makes it difficult to teach lessons
about geography." 

"They are constantly asked to read texts beyond their emotional experience,"
said Lois T. Stover, chairwoman of the educational studies department at St.
Mary's College of Maryland. "They tend to get bored and turned off, and they
actually rebel."

But at both conferences teachers, principals and administrators began to
exchange ideas of how to remedy the lagging reading skills and ways to
improve reading instruction. They discussed everything from the use of
technology to how to tweak Maryland School Performance Assessment Program
reading scores.

For more information, visit the Baltimore Sun at http://www.sunspot.net and
the Maryland Department of Education at http://www.msde.state.md.us



2.) ******** CONNECTICUT:  HIGH STANDARDS AND TOP PAY
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

Connecticut is heralded as one of the nation's top-performing states in
several areas, particularly when looking at National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) scores, notes the WASHINGTON POST (Mathews,
7/18).  The state's tough standards and rigorous exams coupled with extra
support and high salaries for teachers makes Connecticut a model for school
reform that works, writes the paper.

Several initiatives provided by Connecticut and its local school boards
include the "highest teacher salaries in the country, mentors for every new
teacher, exhaustive checks of classroom competence, extra help for the
lowest-performing schools, early intervention with poor readers and a
patience and consistency rare since the state of education became a favorite
issue for American politicians," reports the paper.

The state's success often is attributed to the 1986 Educational Enhancement
Act that targeted more than $300 million to increasing teacher salaries and
also requiring higher expectations for new teachers plus the support needed
to meet the new goals.  

For more information, visit the Connecticut Department of Education at
http://www.state.ct.us and the National Education Goal's Panel report
Exploring High and Improving Reading Achievement in Connecticut at
http://www.negp.gov.



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


3.) ******** GIFTS FOR THE GIFTED: ONE UTAH DISTRICT'S PLAN
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

Granite School district in Utah has made it easier for schools to create
special programs and classes for students who are gifted (Everett-Haynes,
the Salt Lake TRIBUNE, 7/21). Building on its 15-year-old summer program,
Beyond the Basics, the school district will provide history and science
fairs, individual instruction and accelerated study programs for students in
kindergarten through the 12th grade who are considered gifted.

Currently, gifted students are sent to magnet schools, put in separate
classes or enrolled in the summer program. Or they may remain in their
classroom with no special services.

The district wants to highlight that gifted students have special needs.
"It's giving them an opportunity to go deeper into the curriculum," said
Barbara Green, a retired teacher and former principal. "People say they'll
do fine in a regular class, but they won't get the cure for cancer or AIDS
if they're doing fine."

A child in the Granite school district is considered gifted if his academic
performance, school work, test scores, teacher and parent assessment is
rated among the top 15 percent of his peers.

For more information, visit the Salt Lake Tribune at http://www.sltrib.com.



4.) ******** PAY FOR PERFORMANCE: COLORADO'S EXPERIMENT
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

Linking teachers' pay with student performance is not as easy as it sounds,
discovered the Denver School District (Archer, EDUCATION WEEK, 7/12).
Nonetheless, Colorado's Douglas County, the first school district in the
country to attach teacher raises to their performance, is considering
joining Denver in paying teachers based on how well students are doing
(Rouse, the Denver POST, 7/20).

"In the past, most teacher evaluation systems have been based on teacher
behaviors...Now we're looking at both -- teacher behaviors and student
results," said Ellen Bartlett, assistant superintendent for human resources
with Douglas County Schools.

First Denver's two-year experiment with "pay-for-performance: Last fall the
Denver Classroom Teachers Association and district administrators agreed to
provide raises for teachers looking at students' standardize test scores,
teacher assessments of students and how much continuing education a teacher
sought. Teachers could earn up to $1,500.

The downside of the program thus far has been that only 12 elementary
schools, out of 84, have signed up to participate, one middle school, out of
18, and no high schools, of which there are 12. As a result the program has
been extended for two more years, the Rose Community Foundation has donated
$1 million and the district is seeking ways to streamline the payroll
process, create clearer assessments of children and encourage more schools
to participate.

In Douglas County, the teachers' union and the school board have yet to
ratify the district's "pay-for-performance" plan. Yet the district has the
framework for how it would increase pay for teacher.  The guidelines are:
>  A teacher who earns a good evaluation from his or her supervisor earns a
four percent raise;
>  Teachers earning a "master teacher" designation may earn as much as
$12,500 in five years if they have outstanding reviews, are nationally board
certified and have taught in the district six years. In addition teachers
must show how they increased a student's performance on a standardized test.

For more information, view http://www.denverpost.com and
http://www.edweek.com.



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


5.) ******** SCIENCE AND MATH FELLOWSHIPS: A NEW PROGRAM FROM THE GLENN
COMMISSION
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development and Goal Five:
Math and Science)

The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st
Century, known as the Glenn Commission, is drafting a proposal for a
federally financed fellowship program to educate 6,000 to 8,000 people a
year to teach math and science (Hardi, EDUCATION DAILY,7/17). The commission
hopes these "academies" will increase the number and skill of math and
science teachers, create mechanisms for ongoing improvement in the teaching
of these subjects and change the way math and science are taught. 

For receiving a fellowship, an aspiring teacher must agree to teach in a
high-needs public school for three to five years. The academies may be run
at university education departments or at other existing teacher training
programs such as the National Science Foundation.

In the meantime, the commission should "come out with very specific action
items if there's going to be an appropriation, if this report is going to be
anything other than just a general wish-list to add to so many other
wish-lists that have gone down the drain in the past," said John Glenn,
former Democratic senator and chairman of the commission.

The commission was formed last year by U.S. Education Secretary Richard
Riley when test scores showed that American high schoolers scored below the
international average in math and science. The commission will send its
report to the Department of Education in October.

For more information, view http://www.ed.gov.



6.) ******** HISPANICS NOT TESTED FAIRLY: A NEW DoEd REPORT 
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

Hispanic students are being inadequately and unfairly tested, says the
office for civil rights of the U.S. Department of Education in a new report,
"Testing Hispanic Students in the United States: Technical and Policy
Issues," (Olson, EDUCATION WEEK, 7/12).

"State policies often require that Hispanic students be assessed in English
with tests they may not even understand or with alternative, but less
rigorous, tests in Spanish whether or not they are receiving instruction in
that language," the report says. "While neither approach produces accurate
information about student learning, the resulting data is often used to hold
students accountable for their own success, rather than the educators or the
public school systems."

Conversely, how many of the 2 million Hispanic students in the country are
doing academically is overlooked because they are exempt from any state
testing. The report states: "It is our belief that Hispanic students,
whether they are English-dominant or English-language learners, should be
tested with appropriate test instruments in order to be included at all
times in the states' accountability systems. If this does not occur,
Hispanic children will not benefit from the powerful and promising standards
movement."

The commission does not want:
>  Standardize tests translated from English into another language unless
the test represents the same degree of difficulty;
>  Interpreters used to translate the test at the time of testing or to help
administer the test.

For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Education at
http://www.ed.gov.



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


7.) ******** SCHOOL-TO-WORK PROGRAM: IN JEOPARDY 
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong
Learning)

Back in 1994, the federal government believed it knew a good way to
revitalize some parts of high school through the School-to-Work
Opportunities Act (STWOA). The program gave students a real-job experience
that related to in-class academics. Now in a recent report, the American
Youth Policy Forum says the program is in jeopardy once federal monies run
out in 2001 (Learner, EDUCATION DAILY, 7/14). 

"How can we as a nation maintain the positive momentum of the school-to-work
movement and carry on promising initiatives and best practices once the
STWOA sunsets in October, 2001," the report asks. 

More than half of the states in the country have passed laws supporting
school-to-work programs. The report lists "ten essential principles of
School-to-Work" that can help policymakers sustain the programs. The
principles support the essence of the STWOA, which is to improve the school
experience, expand work-based learning and build public and private
partnerships.

For more information and the list of principles, visit the American Youth
Policy Forum at http://www.aypf.org.



8.) ******** TESTS OVERUSED: A NEW POLL FROM AASA
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) found in a recent
poll that a majority of Americans don't agree that a single standardize test
determines how well a student did all year (Olson, EDUCATION WEEK, 7/12).
Almost half of the 800 voters polled said students should not repeat a grade
if they failed the state exam.

"Educating students for success in today's society cannot be measured by one
test alone," said Paul D. Houston, executive director of the AASA.

The poll also found:
>  48 percent did not agree that standardize-exam scores reflected what a
student knew about a subject;
>  Half of the voters believed the standardized test they took as children
reflected what they knew about the subjects; the other half didn't agree.

For more information, visit the American Association of School
Administrators at http://www.aasa.org.



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


9.) ******** BIOLOGY TEXTBOOKS: FAIL TO MAKE THE GRADE
(Goal Five: Math and Science)


The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) recently
reported that American high school biology textbooks are inadequate.
According to AAAS, they fail to convey comprehensive, coherent concepts
about biology and students have trouble grasping basic biology from the
texts. AAAS evaluated ten commonly used books and not one was well rated.

"At their best, the textbooks are a collection of missed opportunities,"
said Dr. Jo Ellen Roseman, director of the study, Project 2061, which is a
science and math education reform project. "While most contain the relevant
content on heredity and natural selection, for example, they don't help
students to learn it or help teachers to teach it. On topics such as cells
and matter and energy transformations, information is presented piecemeal.
In addition, the textbooks fail to convey the coherence among key ideas in
biology or their connections to ideas in physical science, mathematics and
technology." 

Roseman said the textbooks too often:
>  focus on technical terms and small details, things easily tested,
ignoring important ideas;
>  fail to design activities and questions that help students understand the
ideas in the book;
>  use elaborate illustrations that are abstract, too intricate and not
explained;
>  and the activities at the ends of chapters do not help to interpret
experiments and their results and how they relate to the scientific concepts
covered.

Current high school textbooks were judged on how well they met the
"Benchmarks for Science Literary" and the "National Science Education
Standards," both widely used sources for what science high schoolers need to
know. The team from Project 2061 will gather curriculum developers,
publishers, scientists, mathematicians and educators later this year to
brainstorm ways to improve textbooks.

In the meantime, Dr. George Nelson, director of Project 2061, suggests
educators:
>  employ trade books that the project recommends to augment written
material;
>  read the research on student learning in the evaluation reports to change
classroom activities;
>  seek professional development;
>  lobby the National Science Foundation to create new curriculum
guidelines.

"We have been gratified to hear from school officials around the country who
report that our previous evaluations are providing valuable information for
textbook adoption decisions," Dr. Nelson said. "We're continuing to work
with educators to create demand for effective textbooks that will, in turn,
encourage developers and publishers to respond."

For more information, visit http://www.project2061.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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