The NEGP WEEKLY for January 26, 2001

[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 - January 26, 2001 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 88
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CONTENTS

**STATE POLICY 
1.) ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: INDEX POINTS UP IN CALIFORNIA (Goal 3) 
2.) COMMUNITY COLLEGES: DOES PENNSYLVANIA FUND THEM ADEQUATELY (Goal 6)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) NEW YORK MAYOR: CALLS FOR EXTENDING THE SCHOOL WEEK (Goals 3 and 5)
4.) PRINCIPAL POWERS: STRUGGLING FOR AUTHORITY IN ARIZONA (Goal 4)

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) E-RATES AND LEARNING: DISADVANTAGED KIDS GAIN (Goal 3)
6.) TITLE ONE AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: PERPLEXING RESULTS (Goal 3)

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) HIGH-STAKES TESTING: AERA STAKES OUT A POSITION (Goal 3)
8.) EARY HEAD START ENROLLMENT: BENEFITS CHILDREN (Goal 1)

**FEATURE STORY
9.) BUSH ON EDUCATION: LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND (All Goals)


***FACT OF THE WEEK***
Between 1992 and 1998, 8 states (out of 44) significantly increased the
percentage of public school 4th graders who scored at or above Proficient in
reading.  These states were: Colorado, Connecticut, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, and the Virgin Islands.

--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.) ******** ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: INDEX POINTS UP IN CALIFORNIA
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

The statewide median Academic Performance Index (API) score is up in
California at the elementary, middle and high school levels.  Results of the
Stanford 9 test, given in spring 2000 as part of the state's Standardized
Testing and Reporting (STAR) program, were used to calculate each school's
API for 2000.

The purpose of the API is to measure the academic performance and progress
of schools.  It is a numeric index that ranges from a low of 200 to a high
of 1,000.  The 2000 API establishes this year's baseline for a school's
academic performance and sets an annual target for growth.  The state has
set 800 as the API score that schools should strive to meet.

The API score for 2000 results are:
>  elementary schools statewide median API of 675 is up from 629 in 1999;
>  middle schools statewide median is 657, up from 633
>  high schools median of 636 is up from 629.

For more information, visit the California Department of Education web site
at http://api.cde.ca.gov


2.) ******** COMMUNITY COLLEGES: DOES PENNSYLVANIA FUND THEM ADEQUATELY
(Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning)

Last fall, the Keystone Research Center, located in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, released a report that urged state leaders to more adequately
fund the community college system.  The non-partisan think tank argued in
its report, Does Pennsylvania Invest Adequately in Its Community Colleges?
that community colleges nationwide are becoming more critical as higher
education institutions "from the perspectives of employers, workers and
regional economies" because of the systems emphasis on workforce education
and training.

The report provides a state-by-state review of funding for community
colleges, and found Pennsylvania to be at the bottom on numerous indicators.
Researchers point out that two neighboring states, Ohio and New Jersey, in
recent years boosted community college appropriations by about 20 percent,
compared to only a 10.6 percent increase for the Keystone state.

For more information and a copy of the report, visit the Keystone Research
Center at http://www.keystoneresearch.org.



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COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
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3.) ******** NEW YORK MAYOR: CALLS FOR EXTENDING THE SCHOOL WEEK
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Five: Math and Science)

In his state of the city address last week, New York City Mayor Rudy
Giuliani has called for extending the school week to include Saturdays and
Sundays in an attempt to help student struggling to learn English and
science.  

In his address, Giuliani also urged for the expansion of summer school,
suspension centers at every school for disruptive students and libraries in
21,000 classrooms citywide that accommodate K-8 students.

For more information, visit the Mayor Giuliani's web site at
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us   Click on major addresses.



4.) ******** PRINCIPAL POWERS: STRUGGLING FOR AUTHORITY IN ARIZONA
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

Last November's election ushered in a new state referendum in Arizona that
calls for making principals "operationally and financially independent" of
their districts.  The law, set to take effect in June, is being challenged
by some and even supporters question whether the law is workable, writes
EDUCATION WEEK (Stricherz, 1/17).  

According to the paper, the law's authors wanted to go beyond the state's
"expansive systems of charter schools" to further decentralize school
authority by "cushioning designated principals from district bureaucracies."
Senator Tom Smith (R), a co-sponsor of the law, explained that his
motivation for sponsoring the bill was Arizona's near-bottom ranking of
sending money directly to the classroom.

For more information, visit the Arizona Legislature at
http://www.azleg.state.az.us.


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


5.) ******** E-RATES AND LEARNING: DISADVANTAGED KIDS GAIN
(Goal Three: Student Achievement) 

The E-rate program has been found to provide new learning opportunities to
the nation's most disadvantaged students, according to two reports released
by the U.S. Department of Education.  The first study found that schools
located in Empowerment Zones, low-income communities targeted for economic
development are taking advantage of the E-rate program at rates 16 percent
higher than similar schools in other communities.

A second study revealed that Bureau of Indian Affairs schools raised their
participation in the program from 35 percent in the first year to more than
95 percent in the program's second year of operation.

The E-rate is a federal program designed to improve access to the Internet
and telecommunications services to schools and libraries by providing
discounts.

For more information on both of these studies, E-Rate and American
Indian-Service Schools:  Who Applies and Who Gets Funded? and Empowerment
Zones and E-Rate Application Rates can be obtained at the U.S. Department of
Education's web site http://www.ed.gov/Technology or at the Urban
Institute's web site at http://www.urbaninstitute.org.


6.) ******** TITLE ONE AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: PERPLEXING RESULTS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

Researchers are perplexed over findings from a study examining Title I
students' achievement on both state assessments and the National Assessment
of Educational Progress (NAEP).  More than half of the nine states reporting
three years of assessment data on math and reading showed increases in the
number of disadvantaged students performing at or above state-set
proficiency levels.  Yet, NAEP found few gains in performance and a widening
gap in student performance since the late 1980s between high- and
low-poverty schools.  According to NAEP data, students' scores remained flat
in reading and were slightly improved in math.

According to the report, some of the explanation for the inconsistent
achievement findings may be attributed to Title I law.  Under the law,
states may set their own standards and decide how the standards are assessed
and at which grade levels.  This makes it difficult to meaningfully compare
states on how well their students are doing.  

For more information and a copy of the report High Standards for All
Students:  A report from the National Assessment of Title I on Progress and
Challenges Since the 1994 Reauthorization visit:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/eval/ed_for_disadvantaged.html#titlei
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)


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


7.) ******** HIGH-STAKES TESTING: AERA STAKES OUT A POSITION
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) recently released a
12-point position statement on high-stakes tests.  AERA's position statement
describes a set of conditions "essential to sound implementation of
high-stakes educational testing programs."  Under the AERA policy, testing
programs should meet all of the following conditions:
>  Protection against high-stakes decisions based on a single test
>  Adequate resources and opportunity to learn
>  Validation for each separate intended use
>  Full disclosure of likely negative consequences
>  Alignment between the test and the curriculum
>  Validity of passing scores and achievement levels
>  Opportunities for meaningful remediation
>  Appropriate attention to language differences
>  Appropriate attention to students with disabilities
>  Explicit rules for which students are to be tested
>  Sufficient reliability for each intended use
>  Ongoing evaluation of effects of testing

For more information and a copy of the position statement, visit the
American Educational Research Association at http://www.area.net.



8.) ******** EARY HEAD START ENROLLMENT: BENEFITS CHILDREN
(Goal 1: Ready to Learn)

Children enrolled in the Early Head Start program performed significantly
better in cognitive, language and social-emotional development compared to
children not participating in the program, according to a study released
last week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services'
administration for children and families.  Early Head Start provides child
and family development services to pregnant women and infants and toddlers
from birth to age 3.

Major finding of the evaluation of two-year-old children in the program
include higher scores in standardized tests of infant and toddler
development and reports of larger vocabularies and the ability to speak in
more complex sentences.

For more information on the report and the Early Head Start program visit
the Department of Health and Human Services' administration for children and
families at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov.  Click on ACF Press Room.


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


9.) ******** BUSH ON EDUCATION: LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND 
(All Goals)

President George W. Bush launched his term in the White House by making
education the first initiative he brought before Congress.  The WASHINGTON
POST reports that Bush's proposal calls for giving states more flexibility
and funding, while calling for more accountability by annually testing of
students (Milbank, 1/24).

"We share a moment of exceptional promise - a new administration, a newly
sworn-in Congress - and we have a chance to think anew and act anew," Bush
told education experts gathered in the East Room of the White House earlier
this week as he introduced his education plan called Leave No Child Behind.
Bush, who released his plan on the same day Senator Joseph Lieberman
(D-Conn.) unveiled a somewhat similar education proposal, added:  "Both
parties have been talking about education reform for quite a while.  It's
time to come together to get it done."

According to Bush's document Leave No Child Behind, the White House is
calling for:
>  Increased accountability for student performance: state, districts and
schools that improve achievement will be rewarded, while failure will be
sanctioned.  Parents will know how well their child is learning and schools
will be held accountable with annual state reading and math assessments in
grades 3-8.
>  Focus on what works: federal dollars will be spent on effective,
research-based programs and practices.  Funds will be targeted to improve
schools and enhance teacher quality.
>  Reduce bureaucracy and increase flexibility: additional flexibility will
be provided to states and school districts and flexible funding will be
increased at the local level.
>  Empower parents: parents will have more information about the quality of
their child's school.  Students in persistently low-performing schools will
be given choice.

Numerous policies are outlined in the Bush plan, which overall stresses
accountability and high standards, closing the achievement gap, expanding
flexibility to the states and reducing bureaucracy, improving teacher
quality and promoting informed parental choice.

Bush also underscores the importance of developing early literacy skills.
His program introduces a new Reading First initiative, in which states that
establish a comprehensive reading program "anchored in scientific research
from kindergarten to second grade" would be eligible for grants.   

The reading plan has an early childhood component, the Early Reading First
initiative.  States participating in the Reading First program would have
the option to receive funding from the new Early Reading First program to
implement research-based pre-reading methods in preschools, including Head
Start programs.