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The NEGP Weekly for August 3, 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
Friday - August 3, 2001 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 111
*************************************************
CONTENTS
**STATE POLICY
1.) MASSACHUSETTS' HISTORY EXAM: FROM THE WORLD TO AMERICA (Goal 3)
2.) CLOSING THE GAP: IT'S POSSIBLE SAYS EDUCATION TRUST (Goals 2 and 3)
**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
3.) TURNAROUND DISTRICT: UNION CITY (All Goals)
4.) URBAN DIVERSITY INITIATIVES: AN INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION
PROGRAM
(Goals 3 and 4)
**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
5.) EDUCATION AND HHS: JOIN FORCES TO IMPROVE PRESCHOOL EDUCATION (GOAL 1)
6.) THE CONDITION OF EDUCATION: NCES REPORTS (All Goals)
**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE
7.) SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY: WHERE ARE THE GIRLS? (Goal 5)
8.) MAPMAN: SCHOLASTIC'S NEW GEOGRAPHY PROGRAM (Goals 3, 4, and 8)
**FEATURE STORY
9.) READY TO READ, READY TO LEARN: WHITE HOUSE SUMMIT ON EARLY CHILDHOOOD
LEARNING (GOAL 1)
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STATE POLICY NEWS
********************
1.) ******** MASSACHUSETTS' HISTORY EXAM: FROM THE WORLD TO AMERICA
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)
The Massachusetts State Board Of Education is poised to vote to switch the
world history portion of the 10th-grade Massachusetts Comprehensive
Assessment System (MCAS) exam to focus, instead, on American history. High
school students would have to pass American, rather than world, history to
earn a high school diploma (Greenberger, BOSTON GLOBE, 7/24). According to
the paper, the exam probably will focus on the period from the Revolution
through Reconstruction.
Current policy holds that beginning with the class of 2003, students will
have to pass the English and math portions of the MCAS to graduate from high
school. State officials have postponed including history and science as
part of the MCAS, although the two subjects may be included for the class of
2008, reports the paper.
For more information, visit the Massachusetts Department of Education at
http://www.doe.mass.edu.
2.) ******** CLOSING THE GAP: IT'S POSSIBLE SAYS EDUCATION TRUST
(Goal Two: School Completion and Goal Three: Student Achievement)
A new analysis by The Education Trust shows that achievement gaps present in
many states would shrink dramatically, if poor and minority students in
those states reached the same levels of academic achievement as do their
counterparts in top-performing "frontier states."
For example, explains Education Trust:
> The white-African American gap in 8th-grade writing would disappear
entirely in seven states (Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Utah, West
Virginia, Arkansas and Hawaii) if black students in those states wrote as
well as African American 8th-grade students in Texas.
> The white-Latino gap in 8th-grade math in California would shrink by
two-thirds if California's Latino 8th graders performed as well as Latinos
in Iowa.
Education Trust's analysis is part of the group's new on-line Education
Watch report and interactive Web site. The on-line materials compare each
state's scores on the National Assessment of Educational progress (NAEP)
with achievement in top-scoring states, called "frontier states," for poor
and minority.
For more information, visit The Education Trust at http://www.edtrust.org.
*************************
COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
*************************
3.) ******** TURNAROUND DISTRICT: UNION CITY
(All Goals)
School officials in Union City, New Jersey, averted a state takeover by
relying on a "mix of proven strategies," that included comprehensive
curriculum reform, cooperative learning and educational technology (Learner,
EDUCATION DAILY, 7/20).
Test scores demonstrate the school district's success:
> from 1989 to 1997, first graders increased their California Achievement
Test scores by 45 percentage points in reading, 34 in writing and 18 in
math;
> from 1991 to 1997, fourth graders increased their California Achievement
Test scores by 25 points in reading, 14 points in writing and 15 points in
math.
"We developed our own curriculum based on state standards, using whatever
materials helped us meet a given standards," explained Fred Carrigg,
executive director of Union City's academic program.
For more information, visit Union City public schools at
http://www.union-city.k12.nj.us.
4.) ******** URBAN DIVERSITY INITIATIVES: AN INTERNATIONAL READING
ASSOCIATION PROGRAM
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Four: Teacher Education and
Professional Development)
The International Reading Association's (IRA) Urban Diversity Initiatives
Commission is planning a series of leadership academies to share information
about what is an exemplary schoolwide reading program and how to design one.
At a workshop held in Los Angeles last March, various speakers discussed not
only what makes a good reading program, but what support is needed from the
school and district level.
The Commission also is planning to provide a greater understanding of the
needs of urban children and how to help them become more effective learners.
For more information, visit the IRA at http://www.reading.org. Or, e-mail
irawash@reading.org.
*********************
FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
*********************
5.) ******** EDUCATION AND HHS: JOIN FORCES TO IMPROVE PRESCHOOL EDUCATION
(Goal One: Ready To Learn)
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human
Services Tommy Thompson launched a task force to translate research on
learning readiness into action through Head Start and other preschool
programs. The task force will identify ways that federally funded preschool
programs can be aligned with research on the development of early reading
and math skills among preschool-age children.
The task force will review and make recommendations regarding research-based
strategies that could be used in Head Start and other programs to better
prepare children for academic success. It also will seek ways for Head
Start centers to better prepare students for public school and how those
schools can make that transition effective.
For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Education at
http://www.ed.gov.
6.) ******** THE CONDITION OF EDUCATION: NCES REPORTS
(All Goals)
The National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) annual report, The
Condition of Education, provides indicators of important developments and
trends in American education. Recurrent themes highlighted by the
indicators, which serve as categories for presenting the data, are
participation and persistence in education, student performance and other
outcomes, the environment for learning and society's support for education.
The report concludes that trends in the condition of American education show
"some encouraging signs." These include: higher rates of educational
participation in the overall population, increases in the math performance
of students, some increases in science performance in the 1980s (but with no
further advances in the 1990s), and increased advanced course-taking of high
school students in four major academic subject areas (math, science, English
and foreign languages).
However, international comparisons of student performance and instructional
quality continue to raise concerns about how well the American educational
system compares with the systems of other economically developed countries,
particularly at the middle and high school level. The data also show
"disturbing" gaps in academic performance and educational participation
among different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
This year, the report features data on first-generation students (students
whose parent did not attend college) and how academic preparation can
increase the likelihood of these students' access to and persistence in
post-secondary education.
For more information and a copy of the report, visit the National Center for
Education Statistics at http://www.nces.gov/programs/coe,
*********************************
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES
*********************************
7.) ******** SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY: WHERE ARE THE GIRLS?
(Goal Five: Math and Science)
In a recent study, the New York City-based National Council for Research on
Women found that while women make up 45 percent of the American workforce,
they hold just 12 percent of science and engineering jobs in business and
industry.
"Women's gains have been stalled, and in some cases eroded, in engineering,
physics and computer science," said Linda Basch, executive director of the
Council. "The pipeline for women is particularly leaky. Women drop out of
the sciences at almost every critical point."
For more information, contact the National Council for Research on Women at
(212)785-7350. Copies of the report, Balancing the Equation: Where Are
Women and Girls in Science, Engineering and Technology is $22, plus $4.50
for shipping.
8.) ******** MAPMAN: SCHOLASTIC'S NEW GEOGRAPHY PROGRAM
(Goal Three: Student Achievement, Goal Four: Teacher Education And
Professional Development, And Goal Eight: Parent Involvement)
Scholastic Inc. recently announced that its classroom magazines will launch
a comprehensive age-appropriate and fun geography education program
beginning in August for grades 4 through 6. The curriculum-based material
will include a geography feature in each issue of Scholastic News for fourth
graders and the publication of a special map skills book, MAPMAN's Map
Skills, for grades 4-6.
An online companion to Scholastic News and another Scholastic Inc.,
magazine, Junior Scholastic, is a free resource for teachers, parents and
children that can be used in the classroom or at home to discuss current
events and to develop students' understanding of how national and
international news affects their lives.
For more information, visit Scholastic at
http://www.scholastic.com/newszone.
(Goal Three: Student Achievement, Goal Four: Teacher Education And
Professional Development, And Goal Eight: Parent Involvement)
*****************
FEATURE STORY
*****************
9.) ******** READY TO READ, READY TO LEARN: WHITE HOUSE SUMMIT ON EARLY
CHILDHOOOD LEARNING
(GOAL ONE: READY TO LEARN)
More than 400 government, education, community and philanthropic leaders
from across the country attended the White House Summit on Early Childhood
Cognitive Development. Called Ready to Read, Ready to Learn, the Summit was
co-hosted by First Lady Laura Bush, Mrs. Lynne Cheney, U.S. Secretary of
Education Rod Paige and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Service Tommy
Thompson.
Mrs. Bush, a former teacher and school librarian, created the summit to
highlight the early learning activities that parents and educators can use
to prepare young children for school. "We all have a duty to call attention
to the science and seriousness of early childhood cognitive development,"
said Mrs. Bush. "The years from crib to the classroom represent a period of
intense language and cognitive growth. Armed with the right information, we
can make sure every child learns to read and reads to learn."
Secretary Paige called the summit the first step in a long range and
widespread effort to raise public awareness of the science of and need for
early childhood cognitive development. He described a new task force of
senior education and health and human services department officials as a
vehicle for putting research and recommendations presented during the course
of the summit into practice in government programs for young children (see
Federal Policy, #5).
Paige: "Together, the Department of Education and the Department of Health
and Human Services will ensure that the Head Start and preschool programs we
support are doing the right things and getting results. We also will work
to make sure every adult who cares for a child understand the methods we
have learned at this summit and will use them at home. In other words, we
will get the government's house in order, and spread the word to all the
other houses, too."
A group of national experts in early childhood education addressed the
group, which met at Georgetown University, including: Reid Lyon, chief,
Child Development and Behavior Branch, National Institutes of Health;
Dorothy Strickland, professor of reading, Rutgers University; Kathy
Thornburg, president, National Association for the Education of Young
Children; and Susan Neuman, assistant secretary of elementary and secondary
education.
Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Learning at
the University of Washington, explained to the audience how babies begin to
learn speech sounds in the first year of life. "The studies show that by
one year of age infants all over the world are sorting out which sounds
their language uses, what sounds can be combined in their language, and the
patterns of words used in that language."
Another speaker, Susan Landry, professor of pediatrics at the University of
Texas, Houston Health Science Center, described how parents and Head Start
teachers can be taught intervention skills to help the young children in
their care.
For more information on the White House Summit, visit the Department of
Education at http://www.ed.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: John Barth
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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