The NEGP WEEKLY for April 12, 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 - April 12, 2001 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 97
*************************************************

CONTENTS

**STATE POLICY 
1.) SOCIAL PROMOTION: LOSING GROUND IN GEORGIA AND TEXAS (Goal 3)
2.) PRINCIPAL SHORTAGE: MARYLAND OFFERS ENTICEMENTS (Goal 4) 

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) SCHOOL TIPS: INDIANAPOLIS' HOTLINE (Goal 7) 
4.) CHESTER-UPLAND:  A THREE'S-COMPANY TOWN (All Goals)

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) YOUTH OF PROMISE: PROGRAM FOR AT-RISK GIRLS (Goals 2, 3, and 6) 
6.) VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: A NEW LEADER (Goals 3 and 6) 

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) SAVING OUR SCHOOLS: CRISIS PREVENTION VIDEOS (Goal 7)
8.) PREDICTING TEACHER QUALITY: A LOOK AT TEACHER TESTS (Goal 4) 

**FEATURE STORY
9.) NAEP AND NEGP: REPORTS ON READING, MATH (Goals 3 and 5) 
 

***FACT OF THE WEEK***
In half the states (18 out of 36), the performance of students in the bottom
quartile in 4th grade reading declined, and performance improved in only 3
states.  In contrast, the performance of students in the top quartile
improved in 12 states and declined in none.
-- Raising Achievement and Reducing Gaps (A report to the National Education
Goals Panel, released April 9, 2001) http://www.negp.gov/ 


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


1.) ******** SOCIAL PROMOTION: LOSING GROUND IN GEORGIA AND TEXAS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)
	
Ending social promotion gained steam in Georgia last month when 
state lawmakers passed a bill that required students in grades 3, 5 and 8 to
pass state tests in order to be promoted to the next grade (Keller,
EDUCATION WEEK, 3/28).  Students who failed the test on their first try
would qualify for extra help and take the tests again.  However, if they
failed on their second attempt, they would be held back unless a
three-member committee (parent, teacher, principal) agreed that the child
should be promoted.

In Texas, a 1999 state law that ends social promotion, while initially
challenged by the Commissioner of Education Jim Nelson and Governor Rick
Perry, eventually received their full support.

For more information, visit the Georgia Department of Education at
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us or the Texas Education Agency at
http://www.tea.state.tx.us.


2.) ******** PRINCIPAL SHORTAGE: MARYLAND OFFERS ENTICEMENTS
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

Maryland's shortage of principals is "more acute" than its teacher shortage,
commented State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick.  The State Board of Education
came up with 24 recommendations to help the state's school districts address
the principal shortage, writes the WASHINGTON POST (Johnson, 3/29).  

Plans include better compensating principals by increasing their retirement
income; provide three- to five-year contracts to those who take charge of
troubled schools; and create a salary scale that ensures they will earn more
than teachers.  The Board also called for streamlining special education
paperwork and hiring one assistant principal for every 350 students.

For more information, visit the Maryland Department of Education at
http://www.msde.state.md.us and click on State Board.


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


3.) ********SCHOOL TIPS: INDIANAPOLIS' HOTLINE
(Goal Seven: Safe Schools)

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and the city's police department are
publicizing the Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana hotline, in the wake of
the recent school shootings in California (Spalding, Indianapolis STAR,
3/23).  They are targeting primarily middle and high school students.

Students who suspect that guns or drugs have been brought into school or
have heard violent threats can anonymously warn adults by calling the
hotline (317-262-TIPS or 800-92-ALERT).  Crime Stoppers and the Indianapolis
Police Department will provide schools that participate in the hotline with
a video explaining the program and posters and flyers to post on campus.
Any tip that leads to an arrest could result in a $50 reward.

For more information on the Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana visit
http://www.crimetips.org.


4.) ********CHESTER-UPLAND:  A THREE'S-COMPANY TOWN
(All Goals)

The state board of control, in charge of Chester-Upland, Pennsylvania,
schools for the past year, hired three different private companies to run
the district's schools.  Competition is the reason for picking more than one
company, reports EDUCATION WEEK (Walsh, 4/4).  Edison Schools Inc. will
manage four elementary and two middle schools.  LearnNow will run the
district's only high school and three other schools.  Mosaica Education Inc.
will take over one elementary school.  

The companies will be required to cooperate in certain areas: joint teacher
contracts and the transfer of student records.  Otherwise they will compete
with each other over persuading parents to send their children to their
elementary and middle schools.

For more information on each of the companies, visit: Edison Schools Inc. at
http://www.edisonschools.com; Mosaica Education at
http://www.mosaicaeducation.com/Chesterupland/html; and LearnNow at
http://www.inschools.com.
	

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


5.) ******** YOUTH OF PROMISE: PROGRAM FOR AT-RISK GIRLS
(Goal Two: School Completion, Goal Three: Student Achievement And
Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning)

Tapping federal funds, Richmond, California, has created a project designed
to help at-risk girls achieve in school and gain employment (Learner,
EDUCATION DAILY, 3/28).  The Youth of Promise project is a two-year
after-school program that provides girls ages 14 to 17 with tutoring and
homework assistance, personal development courses and employment training.

The girls meet every other week during the school year and participate in a
summer jobs program.  Each girl also enrolls in a service learning program,
such as volunteering in a hospital or tutoring elementary school children.
Students who stay in the program receive a $25 weekly stipend and a $600
annual bonus for completing the three program components.

Youth of Promise began last year and enrolls 50 teenage girls.  It is funded
from the federal Workforce Investment Act.

For more information on Youth of Promise, call Richmond Youth-WORKS at
(510)235-5497.


6.) ********VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: A NEW LEADER
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Six: Adult Literacy And Lifelong
Learning)

President George W. Bush selected Carol D'Amico to serve as assistant
secretary for vocational and adult education at the Education Department.
D'Amico is the co-author of Workforce 2020, a book that details
"21st-century trends in education and the workforce," notes EDUCATION DAILY
(Learner, 3/30).  

D'Amico is known for supporting policies that de-emphasize the teaching of
specific vocational skills; instead, she stresses the need for a "strong
academic component" to vocational education.

For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Education at www.ed.gov.


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


7.) ******** SAVING OUR SCHOOLS: CRISIS PREVENTION VIDEOS
(Goal Seven: Safe Schools)

Saving Our Schools from Hate and Violence is a two-part "early warning"
video series that provides educators with a tool for preventing school
crises by building lines of communication among students, teachers,
counselors and parents.  The video series explores ways young people can
ease the social isolation some students experience by creating a caring and
inclusive school culture.  

Saving Our Schools has won several awards, including the Parents' Choice
Silver Award.

For more information about Saving Our Schools, visit the Bureau for At-Risk
Youth at http://www.at-risk.com.


8.) ******** PREDICTING TEACHER QUALITY: A LOOK AT TEACHER TESTS
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

A new report from the National Research Council examines what makes a
quality teacher.  According to the report, Testing Teacher Candidates: The
Role of Licensure Tests in Improving Teacher Quality, scores on licensure
tests are not an "adequate gauge" of teacher quality (Gladfelter, ED DAILY,
3/29).  "When screening teacher candidates, greater attention should be paid
to factors that more directly related to student learning," said David
Robinson, chairman of the NRC committee that conducted the study and vice
president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Besides test scores, the report indicates that policymakers could look at
these indicators to determine if an education school is of high quality:
student assessment data; employer evaluations; state and district
evaluations of novice teachers; and information on course requirements and
quality.

The report, Testing Teacher Candidates: The Role of Licensure Tests in
Improving Teacher Quality is available for $50 from the National Academy
Press (800)624-6242.  Visit the National Academy Press at
http://www.national-academies.org.


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


9.) ******** NAEP AND NEGP: REPORTS ON READING, MATH
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Five: Math And Science)

In reading, the nation's best students are getting better, while struggling
readers are getting worse, concludes two reports.  The Nation's Report Card:
4th-Grade Reading 2000, a report by the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) and Raising Achievement and Reducing Gaps:  Reporting
Progress Toward Goals for Achievement, a state-by-state analysis of NAEP
data by the National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) show a clear achievement
gap in our nation's schools.

While the reading performance of the nation's fourth-grade students has
remained relatively stable (the national average scale score of 217 in 2000
is similar to the 1992 score), "significant changes" are detected at the
upper and lower ends of the performance distribution, according to NAEP.
Higher performing students have made progress:  scores at the 75th and 90th
percentiles in 2000 were significantly higher than 1992.  Yet, the score at
the 10th percentile in 2000 was significantly lower than in 1992.

"The good news [in the NEGP report] is that the states are making real
progress in mathematics," said Governor Frank O'Bannon, NEGP chairman.
"But, the findings of this report really underscore the need for most states
to look again at their efforts to improve reading."

The NEGP report supports the NAEP findings.  Raising Achievement and
Reducing Gaps found that while states are making more progress in math than
in reading, only a few have reduced the achievement gap between students who
score at the top quartiles with those at the bottom.  The NEGP report also
points out that few states have begun to close the gap between white
students and their black and Hispanic peers.

Other findings from the reports include:

Reading 2000 (NAEP)
	
>  In 2000, female fourth-grade students had a higher average score than
their male peers.  The scale-score gap between males and females widened
since 1998.
>  The 2000 results by region show fourth-grade students in the Northeast
and Central regions outperform their counterparts in the Southeast and the
West.
>  Comparisons of achievement level results between locations show a lower
percentage of central city students at or above the Proficient level than
their peers in other types of locations.
>  Fourth-grade students who reported spending a moderate amount of time on
homework - one-half hour or one hour daily - had higher average scores than
students who reported that they spent more than an hour or that they either
did not have or did not do homework.
>  Students who reported watching three or fewer hours of television each
day outperformed students who reported watching more television.

Raising Achievement and Reducing Gaps (NEGP)

>  States are making more progress in mathematics achievement than in
reading.  Between 1990 and 1996, the average student achievement score
improved in 28 out of 32 states in eighth-grade mathematics, and none
declined.  In fourth-grade reading from 1992 to 1998, only seven out of 32
states improved their scores and four states actually declined.
>  Good readers are getting better at the same time weak readers are losing
ground.  In half the states (18 out of 36) the performance of students in
the bottom quartile in fourth-grade reading declined and performance
improved in only three states.  In contrast, the performance of students in
the top quartile improved in 12 states and declined in none.
>  States have not reduced the achievement gap between top and bottom
quartiles or between white and minority students.  In reading only one state
reduced the achievement gap between the top and bottom quartiles.  And only
one state reduced the performance gap between white and minority students.
In math, eight states reduced the gap between the top and bottom quartile at
fourth grade and five did so at eighth grade.  Also in math, only two states
reduced the gap between white and minority students at fourth grade and one
did so at eighth grade.

The NEGP report also provides new information about individual state
performance.  Based on the new analysis of NAEP data, four states showing
improvement in the most indicators in math and reading performance and some
evidence of reducing the gap between the best and the worst performers
and/or narrowing the performance gap between whites and minorities.  Those
states are Connecticut, Kentucky, Mississippi (no data available for
eighth-grade math), and North Carolina.

For more information on The Nation's Report Card: Fourth-Grade Reading 2000,
visit NAEP at www.nces.ed.gov.  For more information on Raising Achievement
and Reducing Gaps: Reporting Progress Toward Goals for Achievement, visit
NEGP at http://www.negp.gov.


************************************
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
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 Frank O'Bannon, IN (Chair,
2001); Jim Geringer, WY (Chair-elect); John Engler, MI; Jim Hodges, SC;
Frank	Keating, OK; Paul E. Patton, KY; Jeanne Shaheen, NH; Tom Vilsack,
IA;
U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, NM; U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords, VT; U.S.
Representative George Miller, 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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