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The NEGP Weekly for February 8, 2001
*****************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 - February 8, 2001 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 89
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CONTENTS
**STATE POLICY
1.) SAGE ADVISE: STUDY OF WISCONSIN CLASS-SIZE INITIATIVE (Goal 3)
2.) "BONUS-BABY" TEACHERS: TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN (Goal 4)
**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
3.) ADMINISTRATIVE BONUSES: TIED TO STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN OAKLAND
(Goals 3 and Goal 4)
4.) TOP FORM: LOUISVILLE'S ENGELHARD ELEMENTARY (Goal 3)
**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
5.) SENIOR YEAR: A LOST OPPORTUNITY? (Goals 3 and 6)
6.) FINAL DAYS: CLINTON'S "FLURRY" OF EDUCATION ACTION (Goals 3 and Goal 7)
**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE
7.) WELFARE-TO-WORK: EFFECT ON SCHOOLING (Goals 3 and Goal 6)
8.) SCHOOL SCIENCE TEXTS: ERRORS ABOUND (Goal 5)
**FEATURE STORY
9.) MIDDLE DROP-OUTS: CONCENTRATED IN URBAN SCHOOLS (Goal 2)
***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
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STATE POLICY NEWS
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1.) ******** SAGE ADVISE: STUDY OF WISCONSIN CLASS-SIZE INITIATIVE
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)
To make the most of class-size reductions in early grades, teachers should
focus on basic skills when they meet with students in one-on-one situations,
ask children to discuss and demonstrate what they know and have a firm, but
nurturing, approach to classroom management, according to a new study of
Wisconsin's four-year-old class-size reduction initiative.
Wisconsin's Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program began
as a pilot project in 1996. The program's goal for low-income students is a
student-teacher ratio of 15-to-1.
The recent study, conducted by Center for Education Research, Analysis and
Innovation at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, also found that
teachers of higher achieving first-grade students also established routines,
set goals and provided frequent feedback.
For more information, visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
at http://www.dpi.state.wi.us.
2.) ******** "BONUS-BABY" TEACHERS: TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)
The Boston HERALD reports that one-fifth of Massachusetts' first group of
"bonus baby" teachers last only one year in the classroom (Battenfeld,
1/26). Under a state initiative launched in 1998, potential teachers are
tempted into the field by cash incentives. In the fall of 1999, 59 teachers
received $8,000 bonuses each. By the end of the 2000 school year, 12 either
quit or were not rehired. Teachers who stay qualify for bonuses of $4,000
increments for the next three years.
The program was begun to stem the tide of a teacher shortage, but, according
to the paper, has not lived up to its expectations. Out-of-state recruiting
efforts have not produced the number of teachers expected by state leaders.
For more information, visit the Massachusetts Department of Education at
http://www.doe.mass.edu.
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COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
*************************
3.) ******** ADMINISTRATIVE BONUSES: TIED TO STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN OAKLAND
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Four: Teacher Education and
Professional Development)
Oakland school chief Dennis Chaconas' new plan to boost student achievement
in the city's schools has tied top school administrators bonuses to student
achievement. Administrators already will receive a nine percent increase in
pay. But, they can earn up to an additional three percent - one percent
each for increases in reading, math and language arts, reports EDUCATION
WEEK (Stricherz, 1/24)
The paper notes several other of Chaconas' "aggressive moves" to improve the
schools including the replacement of a third of the district's 90
principals, new standards for principals' job evaluations and the
elimination of 12 top central office jobs. He also requires schools to use
phonics and called for teachers and other staff to receive a 13 percent pay
hike this school year.
For more information on the Oakland public schools, visit
http://www.greatschools.net and click on California, then type in Oakland.
4.) ******** TOP FORM: LOUISVILLE'S ENGELHARD ELEMENTARY
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)
Four in five students at Louisville's Engelhard Elementary school qualify
for free or reduced-price lunches, yet the school continues to shine
academically (AP/Lexington HERALD-LEADER, 1/26). Kentucky Education
Commissioner Gene Wilhoit last month toured Englehard and several other
high-performing, low-income schools to "glean each school's secret," writes
the paper.
According to Wilhoit, Engelhard has a dynamic principal, who is "relentless
in keeping faculty focused" on instruction and helping every child do well.
The school also has a nearly year-round schedule so there is no regression
in academic skills during summer months.
For more information, visit the Kentucky Department of Education at
http://www.k12.ky.us
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FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
*********************
5.) ******** SENIOR YEAR: A LOST OPPORTUNITY?
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong
Learning)
For many students, the senior year of high school is a "lost opportunity,"
according to the National Commission on the High School Senior Year.
Despite the evidence that secondary school is failing to prepare far too
many students for their next step in school or career, "the prevalent
assumption persists that the senior year is a time to write off rather than
a vital quarter of the high school learning experience," notes the
commission's report, The Lost Opportunity of Senior Year: Finding a Better
Way.
The Commission based their report on a review of the literature, eight focus
groups of high school graduates and testimony from experts. The Commission
now is holding regional meetings around the country with educators,
administrators, parents and community leaders to discuss the problem and to
find solutions. A final report will be released in June.
For more information, visit http://www.commissiononthesenioryear.org.
6.) ******** FINAL DAYS: CLINTON'S "FLURRY" OF EDUCATION ACTION
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Seven: School Safety)
EDUCATION WEEK reports on a "flurry of actions" by President Clinton during
the waning hours of his presidency. One action is the creation of a
Presidential Commission on Educational Resource Equity to examine
disparities in resource allocations for schools. The 13-member panel will
analyze the status of resource equity in education, determine how resource
gaps affect individuals and the nation, study the effectiveness of targeted
federal aid for low-income children and make recommendations for education
policymakers.
Clinton also announced the creation of the National Youth Violence
Prevention Resource Center, which will serve as a "central hub" for federal
information on youth-violence-prevention efforts. The Center also produced
a resource guide for parents to help them distinguish between children's
normal behavior and potential problems.
For more information on the Commission on Educational Resource Equity visit
http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/01-2001/wh-0115.html. For more information
on the Resource Center, visit http://www.safeyouth.org.
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RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES
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7.) ******** WELFARE-TO-WORK: EFFECT ON SCHOOLING
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong
Learning)
Targeting tax dollars to increase family income has a positive effect on
student learning, according to a new study on welfare-to-work programs
(Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 1/23). The study, conducted by Manpower Research
Demonstration Corporation, examined earlier research on 11 different
programs that began in the early 1990s.
Some of the programs "simply required welfare recipients to get jobs,
punishing them if they didn't," reports the paper. However, four of the
programs examined offered a financial carrot, as well as a stick. For
example, one program gave participants extra money if they worked full time.
Children of welfare-to-work participants in these programs demonstrated
improved school achievement.
"Now we ought to have a debate over what is the best way to maintain this
level of total income," said Ron Haskins, who was a lead House Republican
staffer involved in writing the welfare-to-work legislation. He now works
at the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution.
For more information, visit the Manpower Research Demonstration Corporation
at http://www.mrdc.org.
8.) ******** SCHOOL SCIENCE TEXTS: ERRORS ABOUND
(Goal Five: Math and Science)
A review of 12 of the nation's most popular middle school science texts
found the books to be rife with errors. The two-year study conducted by
researchers at the North Carolina State University and funded by a grant
from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, examined indicators including
readability, attractiveness, quality of illustrations, and whether material
such as laboratory activities, suggested home activities, exercises to test
understanding and resource suggestions are appropriate.
The review offers specific critiques of each of the texts. It also
compliments a 1999 report by Project 2061, a program of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science that found middle school science
texts did not adequately teach the fundamentals of science.
For more information and a copy of the North Carolina State University
report, visit the Physical Sciences Resource Center at
http://www.psrc-online.org. For more information on Project 2061, visit
http://www.project2061.org.
*****************
FEATURE STORY
*****************
9.) ********MIDDLE DROP-OUTS: CONCENTRATED IN URBAN SCHOOLS
(Goal Two: School Completion)
A few hundred large, inner-city schools harbor the nation's worst drop-out
rates, according to a series of studies commissioned by the Civil Rights
Project at Harvard and Achieve Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based
nonprofit group. The dropout problem is most severe in 34 cities, where
about half of the schools graduate fewer than 50 percent of 9th
grade-students by the end of their 12th-grade year.
"The solution is not that we have to fix every urban high school," said
Robert Balfanz, a researcher at the Center for Social Organization of
Schools at Johns Hopkins University. "Dropouts are concentrated in these
dropout factories."
Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City
Schools, concurred. "We've said for a long time that if you target
resources and energies more carefully, rather than general strategies across
communities, you'd be a lot more effective."
Besides finding that the dropout rate is confined to 200 to 300 high schools
in the nation's 34 largest cities, the studies also found that the dropout
problem also is more prevalent in schools with student populations over 900,
with predominantly black or Hispanic populations.
These findings caused researchers to suggest several strategies for lowering
the dropout rates, including carving large schools up into
schools-within-schools. Researchers also found that broad
dropout-prevention initiatives fail to produce benefits. Instead, policies
that target students by grade or by at-risk populations are far more
effective.
One study cited the success of Cleveland, reports the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER
(Stephens, 1/21). "It was the one major city that at least had the
appearance of improvement and where there may have been real improvement,"
said Balfanz. Three Cleveland high schools have received federal grants to
begin or continue schools-within-schools projects. One school, James F.
Rhodes High School, places freshmen in a special "success academy," that
gives them extended class periods and career counseling and "sequester[s]
them in their on portion of the building with the same group of teachers and
peers," reports the paper.
According to the PLAIN DEALER, last year only 36 freshmen at Rhodes High
School failed to advance to the 10th grade, compared with the usual number
of 150 to 200. "It creates an environment more friendly," said Clarence
Gaines, facilitator for the Rhodes project. "The dropout rate really begins
in the ninth grade. The key is to keep them on track."
"The Harvard study allows us to develop strategies exactly for those schools
in the most need of assistance," said Michael Charney, professional issues
director of the Cleveland Teachers Union. "We can change this. We cannot
retreat ostrich-like and throw up our hands and say we can't do anything."
For more information and a copy of the studies, visit the Civil Rights
Project at Harvard University at
http://www.law.harvard.edu/groups/civilrights/publications/dropout.html.
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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 Acting Executive Director: Emily O. Wurtz
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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