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The NEGP WEEKLY for November 9, 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 - November 9, 2000 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 79
*************************************************
CONTENTS
**STATE POLICY
1.) PEER ASSISTANCE: WAY TO GO IN CALIFORNIA (Goal 4)
2.) ITEM ANALYSIS: THE "JEWEL" OF TESTING (Goal 3)
**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
3.) HARTFORD BLUES: TOO MANY RESIDENTS FAIL POLICE ACADEMY
ENTRANCE EXAMS (Goal 6)
4.) CUTTING DOWN ON SUSPENSIONS: ONE SCHOOL'S APPROACH (Goal 7)
**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
5.) MATH QUESTIONS?: GO TO NCES (Goal 5)
6.) IN THE KNOW: EDUCATION SECRETARY'S PRIORITIES (All Goals)
**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE
7.) SMALL CLASS SIZE: ECONOMIC BENEFITS (Goal 3)
8.) INCLUSION: HOW IT'S WORKING IN MASSACHUSETTS (Goal 3)
**FEATURE STORY
9.) WRITING RUBRICS: BLESSING OR CURSE? (Goal 3)
***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
http://www.negp.gov/reports/99rpt.pdf
********************
STATE POLICY NEWS
********************
1.) ******** PEER ASSISTANCE: WAY TO GO IN CALIFORNIA
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)
A new teacher evaluation program underway in California is winning praise
from many teachers
and administrators. Governor Gray Davis' peer evaluation program, which
stresses teacher
accountability, is a "key element" of his education reform package (Gorman,
L.A. TIMES, 10/22).
The program began this year in most districts throughout the state.
The law grants flexibility to teacher unions and districts that can decide
how to structure the
program. However, districts must begin the program this year if they want
to collect their portion
of the $136 million in state funds earmarked for peer review.
For more information, visit the L.A. TIMES at www.latimes.com.
2.) ******** ITEM ANALYSIS: THE "JEWEL" OF TESTING
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)
Individual student test scores from the Massachusetts Comprehensive
Assessment System (MCAS)
were released to schools and districts late last month. While the release
of the "item analysis
reports" met with little fanfare, Deputy Education Commissioner Alan Safran
calls them the "jewel
of the MCAS program, because it gives classroom teachers a wonderful tool to
improve
instruction." (Greenberger, Boston GLOBE, 10/20)
The student item analysis can help teachers detect where the gaps are in
student learning. "This is
the information teachers can use to diagnose the problems and go to work,"
added Safran. Students
take the MCAS in grades 4,8 and 10. Passing the test will be a requirement
for graduation for the
class of 2003.
For more information on the MCAS, visit the Massachusetts Department of
Education at
www.doe.mass.edu.
*************************
COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
*************************
3.) ******** HARTFORD BLUES: TOO MANY RESIDENTS FAIL POLICE ACADEMY
ENTRANCE EXAMS
(Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning)
The Hartford, Connecticut, police department has been understaffed and
officials have waived the
city's residency requirement in order to attract candidates who can pass the
entrance exam.
However, city officials note the tension that has risen since the police
department is predominantly
white in a city where the black and Hispanic population hovers around 75
percent (Gottlieb, THE
HARTFORD CURRENT).
The policy academy test's reading level is at the 10th-grade level. An
activist group "trying to force
the city's compliance with a 1973 federal consent decree is demanding that
the city freeze police
hiring until it can help graduates of Hartford schools meet the hiring
standards through remedial
courses." Others argue that remedial courses are not enough. A former New
Haven policy chief
suggests an apprenticeship program that targets high school students and
guides them through an
associate degree in college.
Sargent Neil Dryfe explained the importance of being able to read and write.
"Everything we do -
you have to write it, you have to be able to express it," he said. "The
police officer is the most
important part of the judicial system - he's the one who writes the report."
For more information, visit THE HARTFORD CURRENT at
www.digitalcity.com/hartford/news/provider.dci.
4.) ******** CUTTING DOWN ON SUSPENSIONS: ONE SCHOOL'S APPROACH
(Goal Seven: Safe Schools)
A new suspension-reduction discipline program underway at Lyons Township
High School in La
Grange, Illinois was featured at a meeting of public and private schools in
DuPage and Kane
Counties. Students at Lyons Township High School who are suspended for
physical violence have
a chance to reduce their suspension time by participating, with their
families, in eight hours of one-
on-one conflict training with a therapist from The Family Institute at
Northwestern University.
If the family completes the program, the suspension can be cut in half, from
the typical 10-day
suspension to five. The families also are responsible for paying for the
cost of the program, which
is arranged on a sliding scale based on income up to $125.
For more information, visit the CHICAGO TRIBUNE at www.chicagotribune.com.
*********************
FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
*********************
5.) ******** MATH QUESTIONS? GO TO NCES
(Goal Five: Math And Science)
National Assessment of Education Progress sample math questions are
available at the Sample
Questions Tool (SQT) at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/lTMRLS/lTMRLS.HTM. Nearly
300 math questions are posted at the site, including scoring guides, actual
student responses and
performance data. Civics, reading and writing questions also are posted in
the SQT.
For math, an advance search is available where you can select by:
>grade (4, 8, 12)
>content area (six areas in the NAEP math framework)
>question type (multiple choice to extended constructed response)
>math ability (three abilities in the NAEP framework)
>difficulty (three levels)
For more information on the NAEP math framework, visit
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/math/math_about_frame.asp
6.) ******** IN THE KNOW: EDUCATION SECRETARY'S PRIORITIES
(ALL GOALS)
The U.S. Department of Education's web site features a biweekly look at
progress made on
Secretary Riley's priorities for education. Currently, a selection of 15
projects and programs are
available to search. Topics includes several reports, such as Getting Ready
for College: A Report
for National College Week, Third Annual Report on School Safety and 21st
Century Community
Learning Centers: Providing Quality Afterschool Learning Opportunities for
America's Families.
Also included are several grant programs, such as technology grants to
improve math and science
teaching and media literacy grants. The satellite town meeting on
high-quality preschool and
Riley's testimony on IDEA funding are featured at the site.
For more information, visit www.ed.gov and visit publications.
*********************************
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES
*********************************
7.) ******** SMALL CLASS SIZE: ECONOMIC BENEFITS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)
The economic benefits of reducing class size in grades K-3 are greater than
the costs, since students
in smaller classes will perform better and enjoy higher future earnings,
according to a report
released late October by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
In Understanding the Magnitude and Effect of Class Size on Student
Achievement, Princeton
University Professor Alan Krueger conducts a cost benefit analysis using
existing data. He projects
that a ten- percent increase in expenditures per students, financing a class
size reduction of 22 to 15
students, will result in higher lifetime earnings. Krueger's research finds
a strong relationship
between student performance and future earnings.
For more information, visit EPI's web site at www.epinet.org.
8.) ******** INCLUSION: HOW IT'S WORKING IN MASSACHUSETTS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)
Along with standards and testing comes pressure to find ways to help
special-needs students meet
the same expectations as "regular-education students," reports the BOSTON
GLOBE (Vaishnav,
10/10).
At the same time, special education has moved from "integration" to
"mainstreaming" and now to
"inclusion." According to the paper, inclusion takes mainstreaming a step
further. From the
GLOBE: "It requires schools to design curriculums with special-education
students in mind, not
create an entirely separate curriculum." Underlying inclusion is the
philosophy that special-needs
students can learn the same material as other students, only at a different
pace and in different
ways.
In Massachusetts, some officials are concerned because special needs
students drop out faster and
fail the state exam in greater numbers than do other students. Ten schools
in East Boston and
Charlestown are part of the National Institute for urban School Improvement,
a federal inclusion
project, which focuses on training and assisting teachers who work in
inclusion classrooms.
For more information, visit http://www.boston.com/globe
*****************
FEATURE STORY
*****************
9.) ******** WRITING RUBRICS: BLESSING OR CURSE?
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)
Rules for writing and grading essays, called rubrics, have swept English
classrooms throughout the
country - from elementary through high school. A WASHINGTON POST article
discusses the
pros and cons of writing rubrics (Mathews, 10/24).
Rubrics are a teacher's set of rules for an assignment. For example, a
teacher may demand that
students open with a topic sentence, provide three or more points, elaborate
on the points in three
paragraphs and end with a concluding sentence. The term rubric also may
refer to a teacher's
grading guide. For example, the POST reports how one teacher told his
students, who were
assigned a writing exercise on the 2000 presidential campaign, that they
would earn 10 points for
an accurate portrayal of a candidate, 10 points for use of supportive
details, 10 points for general
effectiveness, 10 points for appropriateness of material, 15 points for good
structure and flow of
argument and 5 points for grammar and use of language.
Another teacher may tell students that to earn an A, they must write a
1,000-word paper that cites
10 sources and supports its theme with at least three arguments, but they
will earn a C if the paper
is 600 words with six sources and two arguments.
According, to the paper, many teachers argue that rubrics are a far cry
better than the old-fashioned
method of assessing student writing that was more subjective. Diane Butler,
an English teacher in
South Carolina, said rubrics provide students and parents 'with a clear,
visual demonstration of
techniques to be mastered." Paul Bodmer, associate executive director of
the National Council of
Teachers of English was more cautious. "Properly used, a rubric can be
useful and helpful," he
said. "The problem is that they oversimplify a complex process. . . . Kind
of like the old paint-by-
number kits one could purchase years ago."
Kenneth Bernstein, a social studies teacher in Prince George's County,
Maryland, uses rubrics, but
has discovered that some rubrics are "dumb," writes the paper. He told of
the POST of one eighth-
grade girl "who realized that without providing a shred of meaningful
content, she could meet all
the requirements of a state writing rubric he had posted in the classroom."
Bernstein: "She had
"figured out how to beat the system - which she made clear in her essay, she
viewed as pointless."
Rubrics also are a lightening rod for critics who claim the rules turn
writing into a mechanical
process. Thomas Newkirk, an English professor at the University of New
Hampshire, argues that
rubrics promote "mechanical instruction in writing" that bypasses "the human
act of composing
and the human gesture of response," reports the paper.
The POST also highlights Butler's success in South Carolina with high school
seniors who have
failed the state writing test required for graduation. She and a colleague
developed a remedial
course based on a "rubric-heavy" curriculum. "We've never had less than a
90 percent success rate
for students" retaking the exam after the three-hour remedial class," she
said. "Even foreign
exchange students, with very little command of the English language, can
still pass. Phenomenal,
n'est ce pas?"
For more information on writing, visit the National Council of Teachers of
English at
www.ncte.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
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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;
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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