NEGP Weekly for September 21, 2000

[Negpweek <NEGPWEEK@WESTAT.com>]

****INVITATION****
Who:   You are invited to join Governor Tommy Thompson (WI), Chair of the
NEGP, and State Representative Mary Lou Cowlishaw (IL), Panel Member
Where:  Jones Academic Magnet High School Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois
When:  Monday, October 2, 1:00 - 4:00 PM
What:  Regional field hearing on Data Use and Reporting: Tools to Help All
Children Achieve High Standards 
Why:  Hear about current and effective practices in use from researchers and
practitioners on this important issue.


This is the fourth field hearing scheduled to be held nationwide as
part of the Panel's 2000 agenda. The hearings are intended to raise public
awareness of the current best practices in helping all students achieve high
academic standards.  The NEGP field hearings will be delayed broadcast on
the NEGP web site at http://www.negp.gov.  To view these webcasts you will
need the free Realplayer 7 downloaded to your computer. You can download
Realplayer 7 for free by visiting the Goals Panel's web site at
http://www.negp.gov and following the links to the webcast!  If you would 
like more information on this National Education Goals Panel event, please 
contact the NEGP at 202-724-0015.


*****************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 - September 21, 2000 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 72
*************************************************

CONTENTS
**STATE POLICY 
1.) STUDENT TALK: A CALIFORNIA SURVEY (Goal 7)
2.) TEST PREP: A PARENT'S GUIDE IN ILLINOIS (Goal 3)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) GOOD TEACHERS: RECRUITMENT EFFORTS OF POOR SCHOOLS (Goal 4)
4.) GRADE INFLATION: ABOUT TO BE DEFLATED IN CHICAGO (Goal 3)

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) COLLEGE BOUND: PREPARING MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS (Goals 3 and 6)
6.) WHOLE-SCHOOL REFORM: A LOOK AT THE COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL REFORM
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM (Goals 3, 4, and 8)
 
**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) SMALLER CLASS-SIZE: DOES IT IMPROVE LEARNING? (Goal 3)
8.) SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS: AS IMPORTANT AS THE ABCs (Goal 1)

**FEATURE STORY
9.) FAMILY LITERACY: A NETWORK OF PROMISING PRACTICES (Goals 1, 6 and 8)



***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:
Nevada.

--The National Education Goals Report: Building a nation of learners, 1999
http://www.negp.gov/reports/99rpt.pdf



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


1.) ******** STUDENT TALK: A CALIFORNIA SURVEY
(Goal Seven: Safe Schools)

A survey released by the California Office of the Attorney General revealed
sharp declines in the overall prevalence rates of drug use among young
people - declines even more dramatic than reported in the National Household
Survey on Drug Use.  However, "bucking the downward trend," was a jump in
heroin use among 11th-grade students.  In 1997-1998, 1.7 percent of
11th-graders reported using heroin in the past six months, increasing to 5.2
percent in the 1999-2000 school year.

California also integrated its California Student Survey (CSS) with the
California Department of Education's new California Healthy Kids Survey
(CHKS), which is a tool used by districts to collect representative local
data on drug use, violence and other health-related issues of students.
This combined survey is part of California's effort to meet the U.S.
Department of Education's objectives for the Safe-and Drug-Free Schools and
Communities program.

For more information, visit the California Department of Education at
http://www.goldmine.cde.ca.gov.



2.) ******** TEST PREP: A PARENT'S GUIDE IN ILLINOIS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)

Kaplan Publishing recently released a parent's guide for the Illinois
Standards Achievement Test, Grade 3, causing quite a stir among educators in
the state (O'Donnell, Chicago SUN-TIMES, 9/12).  The book includes an
overview of test objectives; test strategies; word games; test consequences
for student and school; and tips for reducing anxiety.  

"This is overkill," said Julie Woestehoff, executive director of Parents
United for Responsible Education.  "It's hysteria and we're demeaning our
children.  

According to the paper, Kaplan has produced test-prep guidebooks for
third-graders in California and Texas and for fourth-grade students in
California, Florida, Massachusetts and New York.  

For more information, visit the Chicago SUN-TIMES at
http://www.suntimes.com.


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


3.) ******** GOOD TEACHERS: RECRUITMENT EFFORTS OF POOR SCHOOLS
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

Finding and placing top-notch teachers in disadvantaged schools is a
challenge for many urban districts.  Seniority rules bargained by teachers'
unions give veteran teachers more choice in their placements, and typically
they are not choosing to work in troubled schools.  The problem led New York
State Education Commissioner Richard Mills to court to force New York City
schools to place certified teachers in low-scoring schools, despite the
teachers' intentions to work elsewhere, writes the N.Y. TIMES (Rothstein,
9/20).  

However, the paper argues that "limiting seniority is only a partial
solution."  The paper points out that pay differentials, in which qualified
teachers who agree to work in low-scoring schools are paid more, may be
necessary to entice quality staff.

For more information, visit the N.Y. TIMES at http://www.nytimes.com.



4.) ******** GRADE INFLATION: ABOUT TO BE DEFLATED IN CHICAGO 
(Goal Three: Student Achievement And Citizenship)

Chicago Schools Chief Paul Vallas recently announced that the Board of
Education will organize random "audits" of classroom performance to "guard
against 'grade inflation,'" according to the Chicago SUN-TIMES (Spielman,
9/20).  "This year, if kids don't meet the minimum test promotion standards,
but they have A's and B's and good attendance, they can be promoted to the
next grade level," explained Vallas.  "So we want to make sure that those
A's and B's are legitimate A's and B's."

The paper reports that Vallas, Mayor Richard Daley and School Board
President Gery Chico concur that the steady school-reform progress made in
the city over the past five years has hit "entrenched problems and a bit of
a plateau, demanding more creative solutions." 

For more information, visit the Chicago Public Schools at
http://www.cps.k12.il.us.


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


5.) ******** COLLEGE BOUND: PREPARING MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship and Goal Six: Lifelong
Learning)

Disadvantaged middle school students in seven states will receive assistance
preparing for and pursuing a college education this fall through the U.S.
Department of Education's GEAR UP program.  GEAR UP programs in Arizona,
Hawaii, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia
received $12.1 million in state grants today.  Another $33.5 million will
support 73 partnerships in 33 states and Puerto Rico.

Under the GEAR UP program, high poverty middle schools join forces with at
least two community and business organizations and local colleges and
universities to provide all students at one grade level and their families
with comprehensive support services to prepare for college.  Grantees must
match federal funding and partners may contribute in-kind support for their
match.

For more information, visit the GEAR UP program at http://www.ed.gov/gearup.



6.) ******** WHOLE-SCHOOL REFORM: A LOOK AT THE COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL REFORM
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship, Goal Four: Teacher
Education and Professional Development and Goal Eight: Parental
Participation)

The two-year old Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program is
helping to bring research-based, whole school reform to nearly 2,000 mostly
high-poverty or low-performing schools in all 50 states, Washington, D.C.
and Puerto Rico.  According to Early Implementation of the Comprehensive
School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) Program, CSRD schools measure favorably
against Title 1 schools in supporting the priorities of Title 1 and in a
number of areas including providing ongoing teacher professional development
in instruction areas, involving parents and providing support such as
extended learning time.  The report also found that CSRD is being used by
states as a model for restructuring their own school reform efforts.  

Thirty percent of schools use one of three models rated as strong or
promising by the American Institutes for Research, including Success for
All, Direct Instruction and High Schools that Work.  

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


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


7.) ******** SMALLER CLASS-SIZE: DOES IT IMPROVE LEARNING?
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)

Benefits of small-class size are strong for kindergarten and first-grade
students, but begin to wane for second- and third-grade students not
identified as high-poverty, according to a new study released by the
Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (Williams, AP, 9/11).  The group
examined Wisconsin's Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE)
program, which allows for no more than 15 students in one class, or pays for
two teachers per class of 30 or more students between kindergarten and third
grade.  

"We can do smaller classes," said Thomas Hruz, author of the study.  "But it
should be targeted toward low-income, kindergarten and the first grade, and
maybe African-American students who seem to benefit the most."  He added:
"It might be reasonable to just implement the program in Milwaukee Public
Schools."

The institute's study ran counter to a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
School of Education report that found students in smaller classrooms
outperform those in larger ones.  Hruz said the gains were minimal.

For more information, visit the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute at
http://www.wpri.org.  Or visit the SAGE program at
http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/oea/sage.



8.) ******** SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS: AS IMPORTANT AS THE ABCs
(Goal One: Ready To Learn)

The social and emotional skills of young children are as important for
academic success as cognitive skills, according to a new report issued by
the Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies Network (FAN).  A Good
Beginning: Sending America's Children to School With The Social and
Emotional Competence They Need to Succeed is based on two papers
commissioned by FAN that review the risk factors for early school problems
and selected federal programs that address children's social and emotional
readiness for school.  Risk factors include: ineffective parenting practices
and low socioeconomic status of the family, low birth weight, poor cognitive
functioning and early behavior problems.

"Strikingly, several of the risk factors for early school problems appear to
be related to a child's difficulty in establishing and maintaining early,
important relationships - relationships with their parents, peers and
teachers," said Lynne Huffman, assistant professor, Department of
Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, and author of the
commissioned paper, Risk Factors for Academic and Behavioral Problems at the
Beginning of School.

Research on protective factors is less developed and the report urges more
research to develop and strengthen programs that will reduce the risk of
poor early school outcomes.

For a copy of the report, A Good Beginning, visit http://www.nimh.nih.gov.


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


9.) ******** FAMILY LITERACY: A NETWORK OF PROMISING PRACTICES
(Goal One: Ready To Learn, Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Goal Eight: Parental
Participation)

The Head Start Family Literacy Project has embarked on a campaign to find
effective and successful programs that meet the family literacy needs of
families in their communities (Brown, MOMENTUM/ NATIONAL CENTER FOR FAMILY
LITERACY, August 2000).  Strategies and lessons learned from the
undertakings of eight pilot sites constitute the core of the Promising
Practices Network, sponsored by RMC Research Corporation and the National
Center for Family Literacy (NCFL).  

Researchers found that the programs underway at the sites are at different
stages in their efforts to develop comprehensive family literacy services
that range from:

>  programs that are becoming aware of different approaches to family
literacy
>  programs and services that are enhancing their family literacy approaches
and strengthening partnerships
>  established practices that are integrating their practices and expanding
services
>  comprehensive family literacy services that are looking for strategies to
refine and sustain their efforts

The eight sites are Broward County Head Start, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida;
Douglas Cherokee Head Start, Morristown, Tennessee; Emanuel County Head
Start, Swainsboro, Georgia; Friends of Children of Mississippi, Jackson,
Mississippi; LKLP Head Start, Red Fox, Kentucky; Qualla Boundary Head Start,
Cherokee, North Carolina; Telamon Corporation Head Start, Raleigh, North
Carolina; Wateree Head Start, Sumter, South Carolina.

Program leaders establish partnerships in the local community with public
libraries, local businesses, adult education providers, civic organizations,
children's literacy organizations and others to serve the learning goals and
family literacy needs of Head Start families, notes the newsletter.  For
example, the Qualla Boundary Head Start provides a cultural playground,
literacy center and Cherokee language instruction for adults and children
along with GED and other services.  

Some promising practice sites stress connecting quality early literacy
practices from the Head Start classroom to the home environment.  Broward
County Head Start children study poems through shared reading and writing in
the classroom.  Then, the poems are sent home for shared reading in the
family.  In Douglas Cherokee Head Start, children read and explore
literature in the classrooms and take book bags home with books, magazines
and a journal for parents.

According to the newsletter, RMC and NCFL intend to provide training and
technical assistance to the Promising Practices sites.  The hope is for the
network of promising practices to be shared with other regions nationwide,
providing a "rich knowledge base to the Head Start community."  The
Promising Practices Network also will distribute site-based information to
help shape the design of training and support materials.

For more information, visit the National Center for Family Literacy at
http://www.famlit.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
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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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