The NEGP WEEKLY for November 16, 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 - November 16, 2000 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 80
*************************************************

CONTENTS

**STATE POLICY
1.) STATE AID: DEPENDS ON ATTENDANCE RATES (Goal 2)
2.) STATE BALLOTS: RESULTS IN EDUCATION WEEK (All Goals)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) CHOICE: PRIVATE MANAGEMENT OF LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS (GOAL 3) 
4.) PHILADELPHIA'S LAW AND SCIENCE: FIRM HELPS STAFF LAB (Goal 5) 

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) DROPOUT RATES: NEW FIGURES FROM NCES (GOAL 2) 
6.) GUNS IN SCHOOL: ON THE DECLINE (GOAL 7)

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) "FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION": A STATE BOARDS OF EDUCATION REPORT (Goal 3)
8.) EQUITY AND EDUCATION: A NEW LOOK (All Goals)

**FEATURE STORY
9.) THE FOURTH "R": ART 
 


***FACT OF THE WEEK***
Between 1991 and 1994, 17 states (out of 51) significantly increased the
percentages of public school principals reporting that the parent
associations in their schools have influence in one or more of three areas
of school policy.

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



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


1.) ******** STATE AID: DEPENDS ON ATTENDANCE RATES
(Goal Two: School Completion)

Student attendance rates in many states, including Illinois and Missouri,
affects "a lot more than [a child's] knowledge of geography or algebra,"
reports the St. Louis POST-DISPATCH (Hacker and Sultan, 11/12).  It also
determines the amount of state aid school districts receive.  Ironically,
the districts penalized the most for low-attendance rates are those that
serve the highest proportion of disadvantaged students.

In East St. Louis, Illinois, for example, the district would add more than
$3 million to its school coffers if it raised its attendance rate to the
state average of 93.9 percent.  Currently the rate stands at 87.6 percent.

Critics of the current system argue that schools should not be penalized
financially for low attendance rates because they cannot control all the
factors that keep students from coming to school, reports the paper.   

Some schools go to great lengths to keep students coming.  Last year in the
Cahokia School district, a freshman won a new Chevrolet Cavalier in a raffle
for students with perfect attendance.

For more information, visit the St. Louis POST-DISPATCH at
http://www.postnet.com.


2.) ******** STATE BALLOTS: RESULTS IN EDUCATION WEEK
(All Goals)

The November 8th issue of EDUCATION WEEK includes a list of measures related
to K-12 education that appeared on state ballots and the results of the
election.  The list includes Arizona's Proposition 203, which would end
bilingual education for students not fluent in English and require the
students to be placed in intensive yearlong immersion programs that stress
English-language instruction and other academic subjects.

It also includes Initiative 728 from the state of Washington, which would
direct a portion of annual surpluses from state property taxes to schools on
a per-pupil basis, and devote unobligated state lottery funds to school
programs and construction.

For a copy of the results of these and other ballot measures, visit
EDUCATION WEEK at http://www.edweek.com.


*************************
COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
*************************


3.) ******** CHOICE: PRIVATE MANAGEMENT OF LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS
(GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT)

Education leaders in Philadelphia are debating different ways to improve the
city's low-performing schools, including turning them over to private
companies (Snyder, Philadelphia INQUIRER, 11/11).  Other options include
converting them into independently run charter schools and breaking up the
staffs of schools that fail.
	
Last spring, the state passed the Education Empowerment Act that requires
school systems to improve student test scores or face a state takeover.
Philadelphia and 10 other Pennsylvania districts were identified to be in
need of an overhaul because more than half of their students scored in the
bottom 25 percent on the state's standardized tests in 1998 and 1999,
reports the paper.  

For more information and a copy of the Philadelphia plan visit
http://www.philsch.k12.pa.us


4.) ******** PHILADELPHIA'S LAW AND SCIENCE: FIRM HELPS STAFF LAB
(Goal Five: Math and Science)

McCandlish Kaine, a Richmond, Virginia, law firm, is helping staff Linwood
Holton Elementary School's science lab (Wermers, Richmond TIMES-DISPATCH,
11/13).  The firm is asking area universities and corporations to donate
trained scientists to serve in the school's lab.  Only three of the
district's elementary schools have a science lab, but none of them has a
dedicated science teacher due to lack of funds.  

The firm also awarded the school $5,000 that is targeted to purchasing
"decodable books," designed to improve reading skills of young students.
The school and PTA plan to pitch in some of their own money to expand the
reading program.

For more information, visit the Richmond TIMES-DISPATCH at
http://info.timesdispatch.com.


*********************
FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
*********************


5.) ******** DROPOUT RATES: NEW FIGURES FROM NCES
(GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION)

A new report issued by NCES provides national data on high school dropout
rates and high school completion rates from 1972 to 1999.  Dropout Rates in
the United States: 1999, also includes state level information for the
1990s.  

Besides showing basic rates, the report examines the relationship between
various individual and family characteristics compared to high school
dropout on the one hand, and completion propensity on the other.

For more information and a copy of the report, visit http://nces.ed.gov.


6.) ******** GUNS IN SCHOOL: ON THE DECLINE
(GOAL 7: SAFE SCHOOLS)

Fewer students are being expelled for bringing firearms to school during the
1998-1999 school year (3,523), compared to the year before (3,658),
according to a U.S. Department of Education report.  Three years ago, 5,724
students were expelled.

The findings are published in the Report of State Implementation of the
Gun-Free Schools Act - School Year 1998-1999:  Final Report 2000.  The
Guns-Free Schools Act of 1994 requires states to pass laws mandating school
districts to expel any student who brings a firearm to school.  

For more information and a copy of the report, visit
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS/news.html.


*********************************
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES
*********************************


7.) ******** "FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION": A STATE BOARDS OF EDUCATION REPORT
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)
	
Failure is Not an Option is a report issued by the National State Boards of
Education (NSBE) that focuses on the "false choice" schools face between
social promotion and retention.  The NSBE formed a study group on
Alternatives to Retention and Social Promotion to examine the issue.  

Recommendations presented in the report include:
>  Stay the course on systemic standards-driven reform that includes
implementing credible assessment systems and effective, non-punitive
accountability measures;
>  Establish universally available opportunities for quality preschool
education;
>  Allow local districts and schools flexibility to structure curriculum,
instructional practices and classroom time so that every student is
continually engaged in learning and receives helping interventions as needed
to achieve academic standards;
>  Ensure that all teachers are well prepared and supported; and
>  Never give up on students, no matter where they are in their education.

The NSBE urges state and local boards of education to demonstrate leadership
by assembling coalitions to provide "sustained, goal-oriented direction" and
ensure policy alignment.  

For more information visit the National Association of State Boards of
Education at http://www.nasbe.org.


8.) ******** EQUITY AND EDUCATION: A NEW LOOK
(All Goals)

In the book A Notion at Risk: Preserving Public Education as an Engine for
Social Mobility, editor Richard Kahlenberg argues that since the report A
Nation at Risk was issued in 1983, the nation has focused on raising levels
of student achievement.  At the same time, equity issues fell by the
wayside.  

The purpose of the book is not only to resurrect the notion of equity in
education but also to put forth possible solutions.  Proposals offered by
some authors are:  summer school, federal aid to education, standards,
teacher enhancement, charter schools and zero-tolerance policies.  Authors
range from Richard Rothstein of the Economic Policy Institute and Professors
Linda Darling Hammond and Amy Stuart Wells.

Kahlenberg offers two approaches to tackling the challenge of equity in
education.  "In the short term," he writes, "a number of the important
initiatives outlined in this volume can begin to chip away at inequality . .
."  Or, he adds, "Should we harness the trend toward public school choice to
reduce the number of high-poverty schools altogether, striking at the root
of unequal curricula and expectations, unequal peer influences and parental
support, unequal teacher and principal quality, unequal learning
environments and unequal financial resources, in one fell swoop?

For more information and to order a copy of the book call The Century
Foundation Press at (800)552-5450.


*****************
FEATURE STORY
*****************


9.) ******** THE FOURTH "R": ART

The "Internet revolution in education" has boosted art to the head of the
class, according to Jason Ohler, director of the education technology
program at the University of Alaska Southeast.  In an article for
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP, Ohler writes, "the multimedia environment of the
Web, as well as much of what we experience through our computers, requires
students to think and communicate as designers and artists." (EDUCATIONAL
LEADERSHIP, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, October
2000)  Art, thus, is fast becoming the "next literacy."

Ohler cites anecdotal evidence to support his premise.  Over the past few
years, Ohler has observed high school students struggling to assemble
multimedia presentations for language-arts classes.  The students are
challenged not by the technology, but by their inability to "create art."
These students fumble with the media, "clumsily cramming together scads of
video clips, graphics, sounds, buttons, and a few words."  According to
Ohler, these students eventually lose sight of what they were trying to
communicate.

Ohler points to two developments that have converged, causing art to earn a
"permanent place in the common experience of life for us all."  First,
multimedia has become relatively inexpensive, allowing even the
"artistically challenged" to easily move into an art world.  Second, the Web
through its ubiquitous multimedia presentations has spread art globally.
"For that reason," Ohler argues, "art should be included in the common
experience of school for all students, not just those who plan to major in
art and design."

Over the years, numerous groups of people have advocated for more and better
art education programs in the schools.  According to Ohler, their reasons
fall primarily into three categories:  art improves a child's ability to
express herself or himself; art improves both a child's cognitive ability
and attitude toward school; and art brings multicultural awareness and
personal growth to the forefront.  Yet, these reasons have not been
successful to put more money into art programs, admits Ohler.  

Ohler argues that the burgeoning world of multimedia and the Internet gives
an added rationale to those seeking broad-based support for the arts.  He
offers several recommendations for "facilitate[ing] the coming age of art in
our schools."  First, he calls for renaming art since it comes "with too
much baggage."  Ohler would call art programs "business communication."  He
urges school officials to "roll it into the literacy portion of the school's
curriculum, and then let it evolve."

Ohler also calls for hiring more art teachers, whom he says are called for
in order to "anticipate that the shift from text-only to multimedia
environments will cause a combination of excitement and anxiety in our
schools in the short term."

Next he recommends increasing art requirements in teacher education programs
and calling for an "Art, the fourth R" day - a day in the school year when
art is integrated throughout content areas.

For Ohler, art literacy translates into real-world jobs, particularly given
the new marketplace found on the Web, cable TV, and other related
industries.  "The Internet turns out to be not just a revolution in media
and methods, but in literacy as well," he concludes.

For more information, e-mail Jason Ohler at jason.ohler@uas.alaska.edu.


************************************
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. 

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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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