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--- Thursday --- January 11, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 2 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the Education Commission of the States
and the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
IN CELEBRATION OF MLK | SPOTLIGHT |
"I have the audacity to | |
believe that peoples everywhere | IF IT WALKS LIKE A DUCK |
can have three meals a day for | |
their bodies, education and | Calif. Gov Pete Wilson |
culture for their minds, and | unveiled his plan for |
dignity, equality, and freedom | "opportunity scholarships" |
for their spirits." -- Martin | during his State of the |
Luther King. | State address. Students |
The DRC will not publish on | who attend schools that are |
Monday, 15 Jan., in celebration | ranked among the state's |
of Martin Luther King. | bottom 5% would be given |
| the opportunity to do their |
NO SPRING BREAK | scholarly work elsewhere -- |
... for Mich. students. | in another public school in |
Instead, 10th- and 11th-grade | the state, or in a |
students will be taking pen to | sectarian or non-sectarian |
paper to complete the state's | private school. |
"toughest high school | |
achievement test yet," writes | Three years ago Wilson |
the DETROIT NEWS (1/1). The | opposed a school choice |
Michigan Educational | measure on the ballot |
Achievement Tests will be | because it potentially |
replaced in the spring by the | could cost the state more |
new high school proficiency | than $2B. (#10) |
test in communication arts, | |
math and science. According to | Chinese-Americans in San |
the paper, the new test "places | Francisco may be skeptical |
a premium" on writing and | of any choice plan. They |
creative problem-solving | protest a policy that re- |
skills." Students must pass the | quires them to meet higher |
test to graduate and only | academic standards than |
schools with high enough test | other students applying to |
scores will be guaranteed state | the city's top school. (#9) |
funding. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"It is courageous, it is pioneering." -- Christopher Lambert,
chairman of a Baltimore School Board task force that proposed
evaluating teachers on their students' performance on
standardized tests. (#1)
_______________________________________________________________
| A service of the National Education Goals Panel |
| Published by the Education Policy Network |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Wash, D.C.; 20037; 202/632-0952 |
| The DRC hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
| Staff Writers: Kate Kelliher |
| Elizabeth O'Driscoll Gage |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL FOUR: TEACHER EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMEN
GRADING TEACHERS: Baltimore student test scores matter. (#1)
GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
OMAHA AND BIRMINGHAM: Grants from NSF. (#2)
RESEARCH NOTES
REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABS: Get boost from U.S. DoEd. (#3)
HIGHER EDUCATION
ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER: A virtual university. (#4)
FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE
THE COST OF EDUCATION: Disparities in Wyoming. (#5)
HEALTH AND EDUCATION
HEALTH TALK: Great city schools begins nutrition program.(#6)
EVERYTHING'S FINE
LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: Education rally in Mich. (#7)
TAKING STOCK
EDUCATION IS TOPS: USA TODAY/Gallop poll finds. (#8)
CHOOSING SCHOOLS
DIFFERENT STANDARDS: San Francisco H.S. makes change. (#9)
STATESIDE
OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS: School choice, Calif. style. (#10)
===== GOAL FOUR: TEACHER EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT =====
*1 GRADING TEACHERS: IN BALTIMORE, STUDENT TEST SCORES MATTER
Baltimore teachers soon will be judged by their students'
performance on standardized tests (Terman, WASH. TIMES, 1/6).
City school board members voted in favor of "one of the toughest
teacher evaluation systems in Maryland," writes the paper.
Teachers whose students do not demonstrate improvement on
standardized tests at the end of one year would be required to
participate in a training program provided by the school system's
professional development department, reports the TIMES. A
teacher could be dismissed if student performance does not
improve by the third year. "This is the right thing to do," said
Christopher Lambert, chairman of a task force created by the
school board and charged with recommending a rigorous evaluation
system. "It is courageous, it is pioneering," he exclaimed.
However, board member Arnita Hicks McArthur, who voted
against the plan, charged the new system is "unfair" and
"criminal." McArthur: "You say that we'll be pioneers -- we'll
be out their by ourselves."
McArthur's position is in concurrence with Phyllis Parks
Robinson, president of the Montgomery County Education
Association, the local teachers union. Robinson laments the
unfairness of judging teachers by their students' test scores
because teachers do not have control over many of the factors
that influence student work. "I would think Baltimore city needs
to look long and hard at what kind of support principals provide
and what kind of support the parents are providing to students,"
said Robinson. "You cannot evaluate teachers in a vacuum."
According to the paper, board members were up against a 15
January deadline set by the General Assembly to "improve teacher
evaluations or face the loss of $5.9 million in state education
aid."
===== GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE =====
*2 OMAHA AND BIRMINGHAM: GRANTS FROM NSF
The National Science Foundation has awarded Omaha, Neb., and
Birmingham, Ala., $3.4M in grants over the next five years to
boost science and mathematics achievement among minority students
(CGCS, URBAN EDUCATOR, Dec. 1995). Omaha and Birmingham, both
members of the Council of the Great City Schools, were two of
four grant recipients under the NSF's Comprehensive Partnership
for Minority Student Achievement program.
Omaha's Banneker Project, named for the black mathematician
Benjamin Banneker, will use systematic approaches to spark
interest and stimulate success in mathematics among elementary
and secondary students. The project also will enlist the support
of community groups and businesses to develop tutoring and
mentoring initiatives. The URBAN EDUCATOR notes that the
Banneker Project began this fall at eight public schools that
enroll the highest numbers of African American students.
The Birmingham project seeks to double the number of
minority graduates who are prepared to enter college in pursuit
of math and science degrees. The program will enlist the support
of the U of Alabama and two local community groups to carry out
its goals, writes the newsletter.
===== RESEARCH NOTES ====
*3 REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABS: GET BOOST FROM U.S. DOED
U.S. Ed Sec Richard Riley announced that the DoEd will spend
$205M over the next five years upgrading the services of its 10
regional educational laboratories (DoEd press release, 12/12).
"These educational laboratories will tackle the most difficult
educational issues facing our schools. In partnership with
teachers, local officials, parents and other community leaders,
the labs will design and conduct applied research that will
develop better ways to improve our schools, teaching and
learning," said Riley.
According to the press release, the labs will work with
hundreds of schools and districts to explore effective ways to
implement education reform and to ensure that teachers and
students benefit from the labs' efforts. The new awards will
establish a specialty area for each laboratory and allow the labs
to help coordinate field-based services for DoEd-funded technical
assistance providers, such as the new Comprehensive Regional
Assistance Centers, the Regional Technology Consortia and the
Regional Mathematics and Science Consortia. In addition, the
laboratories are being asked to link researchers and teachers to
explore ways research findings can be translated into effective
practice; provide states and localities with objective, research-
based information, training and technical assistance; develop and
experiment with innovative strategies designed to assist schools
with high concentrations of economically disadvantaged children;
and use advanced technologies as an integral part of their
operations.
The press release notes that the laboratories served more
than 3 million customers through telephone, mail, e-mail and
electronic information services and served more than 250,000
through personal interaction in 1995. The Regional Educational
Laboratories are authorized by the Educational Research,
Development, Dissemination and Improvement Act.
===== HIGHER EDUCATION =====
*4 ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER: A VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY
Governors from Western states recently outlined plans to
create a "virtual" higher education system for the region
(Western Governors' Association press release, 12/1). Colo. Gov.
Roy Romer (D): "This is a revolutionary idea. Many people can't
afford the traditional way of getting a higher education degree,
which is learning by sitting in the classroom. Technology can be
an effective and cheaper way to help people learn. The new
Western Virtual University will give us a mechanism for
certifying the learning people acquire through technology -- just
as we now have a way of certifying the learning people acquire
through more traditional means."
According to the press release, a design team for a Western
Virtual University, which will be led by Romer and Utah Gov. Mike
Leavitt (R), will begin work immediately to develop a proposal
for establishing and financing such a system. The team, composed
of governors,,, and representatives from higher education and the
business community will explore the functions of the system, its
relationship to existing functions and the role of the private
sector in delivering educational services.
===== FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE =====
*5 THE COST OF EDUCATION: DISPARITIES IN WYOMING
The Wyoming Supreme Court recently declared the state's
school finance system unconstitutional (Minorini, LEADERSHIP
NEWS, 12/15). A 1992 lawsuit, Campbell County School District v.
State of Wyoming, charged that the state's funding formula
violated the state constitution's education and equal protection
clauses.
According to the newsletter, Wyo.'s school funding formula
is based on state and local aid and guarantees minimum resources
for all school districts. State aid is distributed according to
a district's wealth and average daily membership. Education is
considered a fundamental right in Wyo., following the 1980
decision, Washakie v. Herschler. Washakie held that the school
finance formula must result in funding equity between wealthy and
disadvantaged districts and that the legislature must take into
account the specific needs of districts with higher education
costs, writes LEADERSHIP NEWS.
The plaintiffs complained that the state funding formula
failed to achieve the level of equity required under Washakie.
In particular, large school districts argued they lacked
sufficient resources to provide a quality education, especially
for low-income students. According to the newsletter, the court
found that the finance formula, because it was not based on
actual operating costs, produced disparities in funding across
the state, violating constitutional principles.
The Wyoming Supreme Court ordered the legislature to develop
a new funding formula by July 1997 that utilized actual cost
figures. In order to calculate such costs, the state will
conduct a study that considers local conditions, types of
students served and other educational cost differentials.
==== HEALTH AND EDUCATION ====
*6 HEALTH TALK: GREAT CITY SCHOOLS LAUNCHES NUTRITION PROGRAM
The Wash., D.C.-based Council of the Great City Schools, in
conjunction with the Washington Apple Education Foundation, will
sponsor a nutrition program for urban students and their families
in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Norfolk and Indianapolis (CGCS,
URBAN EDUCATOR, Dec. 1995). The "Healthy Choices for Kids"
curriculum is expected to reach about 19,000 elementary school
students and will be funded by a grant from the Kraft Foundation.
Under the program, local community groups and grocery stores
will reinforce the school-based curriculum through a variety of
activities, including "Learn-To-Shop" tours. According to the
newsletter, the curriculum is designed to incorporate nutrition
into all classroom subjects.
==== EVERYTHING'S FINE ====
*7 LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: EDUCATION RALLY IN MICH.
Countering negative publicity about public education, school
officials in Oakland County, Mich., recently staged an education
rally to showcase school success stories and blunt "the rhetoric
of proponents of a school choice measure." (National School
Boards Association, SCHOOL BOARD NEWS, 12/19). Oakland
Superintendent James Redmond: "Those who attack public education
are talking about the problems of yesterday. The schools today
are evolving and will continue to evolve to meet the needs of our
kids."
Approximately 3,000 school board members, teachers,
administrators, parents, business leaders, legislators and
students from the county's 28 school districts participated in
the rally, whose theme was "Public Schools -- Michigan's Choice."
The theme was developed to counter efforts by school choice
proponents who support a choice measure proposed by Gov. John
Engler (R) and supported by the state Board of Education, writes
SCHOOL BOARD NEWS.
"There are myths that nothing but violence happens in the
schools, that people don't care, that schools are dumbing down
the curriculum," said Bloomfield Hills parent Cynthia van Oyen.
"You don't need schools of choice," she declared.
According to the newsletter, the rally featured displays of
school projects, technology demonstrations, food from school
kitchens and performances by student musicians. Students also
unveiled the Oakland County school district's quilt, in which
each square symbolized each of the 28 school districts.
==== TAKING STOCK ====
*8 EDUCATION IS TOPS: USA TODAY/GALLOP POLL FINDS
The quality of K-12 education and the rate of violent crime
are the top two priorities that will guide Americans as they
select the next president during the upcoming election, according
to a recent CNN/USA TODAY/Gallop poll (USA TODAY, 1/9). Forty-
four percent of respondents said the state of public education
would be a top priority in determining who they will extend a
vote, writes the paper. Forty-one percent said a candidate's
position on crime is of prime consideration in choosing a
president.
According to the survey, the state of the economy and the
availability of health care tied for third on the list with 37%.
The cost of a college education was near the bottom of the list.
Other findings: half of the respondents say they are better
off than they were three years ago, and the number who say the
economy is in poor shape has dropped nearly in half since January
of 1992. However, only 29% say they are satisfied with the way
things are going in the U.S.
==== CHOOSING SCHOOLS ====
*9 DIFFERENT STANDARDS: SAN FRANCISCO H.S. MAKES CHANGE
San Francisco schools Superintendent Waldemar Rojas proposed
a new admissions policy for the city's top high school, Lowell
High School (AP/N.Y. TIMES 1/11). Currently, applicants for
Lowell are judged by their junior high school grades and test
scores on an entrance test. The policy caused an increase in the
enrollment of Chinese-American students, now at 41.3%, explains
the paper.
However, a 1983 settlement forces the district to ensure
that a single ethnic group not make up more than 40% of any
school's student body. In order not to be in conflict with the
settlement, district officials "instituted lower academic
standards for members of ethnic groups other than Chinese-
Americans," reports the paper.
Under Rojas' plan, 80% of Lowell's applicants who met the
minimum requriements would be accepted. Criteria for the
remaining 20% would include academic achievement as well as
socio-economic status, writes the paper.
==== STATESIDE ====
*10 OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS: SCHOOL CHOICE, CALIF. STYLE
Calif. Gov Pete Wilson (R) this week proposed a school
choice plan in his State of the State address (N.Y. TIMES, 1/9).
However, he gave "scant mention" of the voucher plan in his
speech, and called his proposal "opportunity scholarships."
The paper recalls that Wilson in 1993 opposed a ballot
measure, Proposition 174, that called for a statewide voucher
system. Wilson's press secretary, Sean Walsh, said Wilson's
opposition was based on the cost to the state of such a broad-
based voucher plan. Instead, Wilson offered a limited choice
plan that would apply "only to students whose schools were in the
bottom 5 percent of the state's schools as measured by national
standardized tests," writes the paper. Those students could
attend another public school in their district or in another
district, or a private school, sectarian or non-sectarian, writes
the paper.
Walsh also explained that parents of children attending
private schools would receive checks "equal to 90 percent of full
per-pupil state aid, which in the current fiscal year would be
about $4,500 per student, or the amount of tuition if it were
less," reports the TIMES.
The TIMES predicts that Wilson's plan will be favorably
received in the State Assembly, which is controlled by
Republicans. However, a "showdown" may occur in the Democratic-
controlled State Senate, notes the paper.
EWS, 12/19). Oakland
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