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--- Monday --- March 25, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 30 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
IN CAPTIVITY | SPOTLIGHT |
Although prison populations | |
continue to grow, inmates are | POOF! |
not developing solid academic | |
skills, according to a recent | The core curriculum is |
study by the Educational | starring in a disappearing |
Testing Service. "Captive | act playing in the nation's |
Students: Education and | colleges and universities, |
Training in America's Prisons" | according to a new study by |
is the first comprehensive | the National Association of |
study that examines the | Scholars. (#7) |
literacy skills of prisoners in | |
state and federal prisons, the | NAS researchers examined |
training and education programs | requirements for a bacca- |
offered to inmates and the | laureate in arts degree at |
impact of these efforts on | 50 of America's top |
recidivism, writes an ETS press | colleges and found "a |
release (3/18). | purging from the curriculum |
Findings include: only 4-7% | of many of the required |
of inmates attained high lit- | basic survey courses." |
eracy levels on the National | |
Adult Literacy Survey; and the | Gone up in smoke are |
most common finding of 20 years | math, science and foreign |
of research is that inmates ex- | language requirements, as |
posed to ed programs are more | well as English composition |
likely to be employed and less | and rigorous thesis |
likely to end up back in jail. | requirements. |
The report is available for | |
$9.50 prepaid. Make check | Meanwhile, Ohio universi- |
payable to and send to ETS | ties are attempting to beef |
Policy Information Center (04- | up teacher training, while |
R); Rosedale Road; Princeton, | Minn. wants to make it |
N.J. 08541-0001. Or call | easier to get a teacher |
609/734-5694; e-mail at | license. (#1, #2) |
pic@ets.org. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"Any judge who thinks black Americans have not had a different
experience is blind." -- N.Y. TIMES columnist Anthony Lewis, on
the recent affirmative action court decisions. (#6)
_______________________________________________________________
| 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 Writer: Elizabeth Gage |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL FOUR: TEACHER EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
OHIO UNIVERSITIES: Improving teacher training. (#1)
THE WAIVE: Teacher license test. (#2)
HIGHER EDUCATION
SPLIT DECISIONS: U of Texas vs. Berkeley decisions. (#3)
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Rejected for higher education. (#4)
HE SAID, SHE SAID
WRONG DECISION: One view on U of Texas case. (#5)
SHACKLED: American higher education. (#6)
TAKING STOCK
CORE CURRICULUM: A disappearing act at colleges. (#7)
===== GOAL FOUR: TEACHER EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
=====
*1 OHIO UNIVERSITIES: IMPROVING TEACHER TRAINING
Ohio State U boasts a web of Professional Development
Schools that trains teachers and has connected at least 500
teachers in Ohio schools by e-mail (Paprocki, Cleveland PLAIN
DEALER, 3/17). Teachers are able to communicate with other
educators and learn about the important role of technology and
learning. These changes are a result of OSUs commitment to
changing professional development and training of teachers,
writes the paper.
In the mid 1980s, the Ohio State U College of Education
formed a group, originally known as the Holmes Group, that
included Kent State U, Ohio U and the U of Cincinnati in addition
to 30 other universities, public school administrators and
teacher unions charged with the mission of supporting education
reform. The group is committed specifically to changing the
standards of the teaching profession. They also want
universities and colleges to become more connected to elementary
and secondary schools, reports the paper.
According to the PLAIN DEALER, the consortium has succeeded
in achieving some of their goals. For example, at Gables
Elementary School, in northwest Columbus, 12 to 15 OSU students
spend time with teachers who encourage them to study the problems
elementary teachers encounter. The program is part of OSU's
professional development project known as the Educators for
Collaborative Change. Eight other Professional Development
School programs are linked to OSU. Each "school" is headed by an
OSU faculty member and coordinated by teachers in the field,
notes the paper.
OSU, Ohio's largest teacher training center, also is
developing a curriculum that eventually will offer only master
degrees by 1999. And the student training program will be
expanded from the current nine-week session to one that requires
an entire year of on-the-job training before graduation, writes
the paper.
The university is expected to offer fewer education degrees
than in the past, explains the paper. Kent State plans to follow
a similar course. Joanne Whitmore, dean of Kent State U's
College of Education: "We're trying intentionally to reduce
elementary-education graduates. The word has gotten out that
it's more difficult and the jobs aren't there." Nancy Zimpher,
dean of the OSU College of Education, hopes universities become
more involved with continued professional development for
teachers. "All children are capable of learning," she said.
"They deserve to be shepherded by the very best guides."
National members of the Holmes Group include the National
Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the
American Association for School Administrators, the National
Staff Development Council, and others. Columbus Education
Association President John Grossman expresses support for the
partnership. "The concept of the Holmes approach is to really
produce the teachers who need to change education and keep
ahead," he said.
*2 THE WAIVE: TEACHER LICENSE TEST
The Minn. Legislature is considering a bill that would waive
the requirement that teachers must pass the state's basic-skills
test in reading, writing and mathematics to get a teaching
license (Hotakainen, Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/19). Proponents
of the bill say it would enable schools to hire more teachers of
color. Opponents decry what they claim will be a decrease in the
quality of instruction.
The proposed bill would provide a waiver for teaching
candidates who fail the test three times, notes the paper.
School districts or colleges would help the candidates improve
their skills, and assess their skills in a different way. For
example, a school official could observe a teacher during a
classroom lesson or the state test could be administered orally,
according to the paper.
The changes could help teaching candidates who suffer from
test anxiety, dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Some non-
native candidates also could benefit from the changes, writes the
paper. These candidates tend to experience difficulty with the
reading and writing sections of the test because English is their
second language.
Since the test began in 1989 more than half of the minority
candidates who take it pass; however, every year approximately
two dozen black and Asian/Pacific teacher candidates fail the
test for the third time, reports the STAR TRIBUNE. Minn. schools
currently have a shortage of minority teachers; and some say the
pending legislation is a response to this fact. Last school year
there were only 1,256 minority classroom teachers, which account
for only 2.7% of the teaching work force. As the minority
student population increases, urban districts often are forced to
spend time and money recruiting minority candidates from outside
the state, writes the paper.
Proponents of alternative assessment methods charge that
the Pre-Professional Skills Test discriminates against minority
candidates. Some educators want to abolish the standardized test
for all candidates and replaced it with portfolio assessment.
"The whole thing should be scrapped," said Ray Nelson, a
professor at Bemidji State U. "I find it hard to believe that
one three-hour standardized test holds more weight than all of
the professors who have evaluated that student and the
requirements of the university ... We are not going to send
somebody out who can't read, write or calculate."
The Minnesota Education Association and the State Board of
Teaching have supported the bill. However, MEA leaders have
registered mixed feelings. "I can't say that we're fully
thrilled," said Cheryl Furrer, an MEA lobbyist. "When people
start talking about teacher licensure, our members are very
passionate. This has been a difficult issue ... But the bottom
line is that these individuals have to meet the same skills. We
certainly do not want to water down the standards."
Opponents of the bill argue that it will decrease teacher
accountability at a time when the state is forcing students to
prove their competency in reading, writing and math before
graduation. "It's a double standard," said Rep. LeRoy
Koppendrayer (R), senior Republican on the House K-12 Education
Finance Subcommittee.
The bill has won the first round of approval in the House
and Senate. The final vote probably will occur when the
Legislature signs an omnibus education bill. Gov. Arne Carlson
(R) is expected to sign the bill into law, according to the
paper.
===== HIGHER EDUCATION =====
*3 SPLIT DECISIONS: U OF TEXAS VS. BERKELY RULINGS
The political split over affirmative action comes to life in
the recent Federal court ruling against affirmative action at the
U of Texas and the conclusion of a seven year Federal
investigation at the U of California at Berkeley, which found
that the school's affirmative action program did not discriminate
against white students (Applebome, N.Y. TIMES, 3/22).
The U of Texas was sued by four white applicants who were
rejected by the university's law school even though their grades
and test scores were higher than black and Hispanic students who
had been admitted. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Fifth Circuit in New Orleans relied on a U.S. Supreme Court
decision to conclude that the U of Texas could not use race as a
factor in admissions. The three judges in the case all were
appointed by either President Ronald Reagan or President George
Bush, reports the paper.
A top Justice Department official criticized the Texas
decision. "I think it's wrong as a statement of how the
Constitution ought to be interpreted. More importantly I think
it's wrong as a statement of where the Supreme Court is on this
issue," said Associate Attorney General John Schmidt. Schmidt is
considering asking the Fifth Circuit appeals court or the Supreme
Court to reconsider the ruling.
The investigation at the U of California at Berkeley was
prompted by a complaint in 1989 that accused the school of
maintaining illegal quotas of blacks and Hispanics, writes the
paper. Criticism of the school's admission policies helped lead
to the California Civil Rights Initiative, a voter referendum
that would ban affirmative action in state institutions.
In contrast to the Texas conclusion, the Office of Civil
Rights of the U.S. DoEd. found that Berkeley's admission
policies, which do not employ racial quotas or set asides, did
not discriminate against whites and that the academic quality of
the student body improves as diversity increases. Test scores,
grades and student performance all increased, according to DoEd.
officials.
Michael McDonald, president of the conservative Center for
Individual Rights, which brought the Texas suit, claimed that the
Berkeley decision reflects the pro-affirmative action bias of the
Clinton Administration. "To the extent we're getting 'mixed
signals,' it's because, A, you have an Administration which is
doing what it can to circumvent court decisions and, B, you have
an educational establishment which believes diversity is the be
all and end all of their existence. It's not a question of the
courts speaking in many tongues as much as what's going on
irrespective of what they've been ruling."
*4 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: REJECTED FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
Shock waves were felt throughout American colleges and
universities by a 2-1 decision of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in an opinion that declared that the U of Texas law
school could not discriminate against four white applicants in
favor of black and Hispanic applicants (W.S. JOURNAL, 3/23).
The U of Texas suspended its admissions decision for a week
so they could review the 68-page ruling. The judges claimed that
the law school "may not use race as a factor in deciding which
applicants to admit in order to achieve a diverse student body,
to combat the perceived effects of a hostile environment at the
law school, to alleviate the law school's poor reputation in the
minority community or to eliminate any present effects of past
discriminations."
Ray Farabee, general counsel to the university, said the
ruling contradicts the university's affirmative action programs
implemented according to the U.S. Supreme Court's 1978 Bakke
case. According to the paper, Bakke established that "diversity
and redress of past discrimination justified affirmative action
in admissions."
==== HE SAID, SHE SAID ====
*5 WRONG DECISION: ONE VIEW ON U OF TEXAS CASE
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in an
affirmative action case against the U of Texas, decided that the
1978 U.S. Supreme Court Bakke decision, which declared that
affirmative action in higher education may be one of several
factors in choosing among applicants, is "no longer good law,"
editorializes the N.Y. TIMES (3/22).
In 1978, Allan Bakke, a white medical student sued to obtain
entry into a California state medical school; and the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state school. More recently,
four white law students sued the U of Texas for not admitting
them. According to the editorial, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court
of Appeals decision is "hasty, aggressively activist and legally
dubious." The paper continues: "If the Bakke decision is no
longer the law, it is for the Supreme Court to say so. We hope
the high court does not, for its basic rule is sound. Rigid
racial quotas are out, but no serious educational institution
should be forced to disregard the goal of educating a diverse
population."
The TIMES charges that the appeals judges relied on "exotic
reasoning" to support their decision. They decided that the now-
retired Justice Lewis Powell, who announced the Bakke decision,
spoke only for himself. Although four other justices supported
the decision, they used different legal grounds to support their
conclusions.
However, Justice Powell's announcement has been regarded as
the rule for almost two decades, reminds the paper. In addition,
it has been praised as the "work of a respected moderate well
grounded in experience as head of the school board in Richmond,
Va.," the editorial states.
Although Texas education officials have sought diversity,
they have not adhered to strict quotas, notes the paper. The
state population is 11.6% black and 25.6% Hispanic; while the
1992 law school class was 8% black and 10.7% Hispanic. Despite
this fact, the appeals court claimed the school can not use
"ethnic diversity simply to achieve racial heterogeneity, even as
part of the consideration of a number of factors."
The editorial cites Justice Harry Blackmun, who in the Bakke
case wrote: "In order to get beyond racism, we must first take
account of race ... And in order to treat some persons equally,
we must treat them differently ... The ultimate question, as it
was at the beginning of this litigation, is: Among the qualified,
how does one chose?"
The appeals court judges are eager to put an end to the
struggle for equal rights; however, their judgement should not
stand, concludes the paper.
*6 SHACKLED: AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION
American universities should be able to consider race as a
factor in choosing students; instead universities may be denied
that freedom, pens Anthony Lewis in a N.Y. TIMES editorial
(3/23). Lewis points to the recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Fifth Circuit decision in Hopwood v. Texas that found that the U
of Texas Law School "may not use race as a factor" in
admissions.
Cheryl Hopwood and other applicants rejected from the
university sued claiming that the system denied them "equal
protection of the laws" guaranteed by the 14th Amendment,
explains Lewis. In addition to omitting race as an admission
factor, the court "left the way open for the plaintiffs to
collect money damages for what it said was 'intentional
discrimination'," he writes.
Different races have different experiences, writes Lewis.
Many universities seek racial diversity as they strive to enroll
individuals with different experiences into the same classes.
The opinion of Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry E. Smith rejects the
assumption that a person "possesses characteristics" due to his
race, according to Lewis. But, according to the editorial,
characteristics are not the issue -- experience is. "Any judge
who thinks black Americans have not had a different experience is
blind," declares Lewis.
The presence of women on the Supreme Court illustrates this
point for Lewis. Women are "not wiser or less wise by virtue of
their gender," they just have different experiences from men, he
writes. For this reason, it is important for them to have a spot
on the Supreme Court bench.
However, the circuit court's decision does not mesh with the
reality of university decisions. For example, in Calif., Gov.
Pete Wilson (R) supported a rule forbidding the use of race or
gender as a factor in admission to the U of California; it was
pushed through by the Board of Regents. Ironically, it recently
was reported that the regents who supported "merit" admissions
recently pressured officials at the U of California at Los
Angeles to admit the children of friends, pens Lewis. According
to an investigation by the L.A. TIMES, "UCLA gave special
thought to children of politicians and the rich," the editorial
notes. To put it bluntly, affirmative action for the rich
exists; affirmative action for blacks does not, according to
Lewis.
Universities should be free to use race in admissions; and
the U.S. Supreme Court should undo the current attack on their
freedom, states Lewis.
==== TAKING STOCK ====
*7 CORE CURRICULUM: A DISAPPEARING ACT AT COLLEGES
A study examining undergraduate education since 1914 has
discovered that the country's 50 top colleges and universities
are not requiring "broad and rigorous exposure to major areas of
knowledge." (Honan, N.Y. TIMES, 3/20).
The report, "The Dissolution of General Education: 1914-
1993," was conducted by the National Association of Scholars and
claims that the core curriculum "has largely vanished" and that
"many of the required basic survey courses that used to
familiarize students with the historical, cultural, political and
scientific foundations of their society" have been omitted.
"This neglect has placed America in danger of losing the common
frame of reference that for many generations has sustained our
liberal, democratic society," stated Stephen Balch, NAS
president.
Other findings include: fewer courses are required today
than in the past; fewer courses require prerequisites; there are
fewer thesis requirements; required courses in English
composition have decreased; there are less math, science and
foreign language requirements; and the school year has been
shortened.
Researchers reviewed college catalogues of the 50 schools
designated the best in America by U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT. Teh
review covered 80 years, focusing on 1914, 1939, and 1964 as
"pivotal years for the country" and 1993 as the last year for
which data was available, notes the paper.
Lynne Cheney, chairwoman of the National Endowment for the
Humanities under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush,
applauded the report. "It made me think of how easily the movies
made by people like Oliver Stone are accepted as factual. That's
what happens when students can avoid taking a good, rigorous
course on American history. It leave them open to the Big Lie,"
she said.
Russ Edgerton, president of the American Association for
Higher Education, said, "We can't ignore the decline of
requirements, but the real agenda of higher education today is
the concern with problem solving, critical thinking communicating
and learning how to value."
Others criticized the report. "This report is a
distraction. I don't want bingo education where you pick one
course from column A and another from column B and then shout:
'Bingo! I'm educated!' We've gotten way beyond that. We're
focused on standards. We're focused on the question of whether
the student develops a real capacity to learn and to apply his
knowledge to the world," said Robert Zemsky, director of the
Institute for Research on Higher Education at the U of
Pennsylvania.
Jerry Gaff, vice president of the Association of American
Colleges and Universities, claimed the report was "20 years out
of date." Gaff also said that "most schools are actually
strengthening the core curriculum. The institutions they studied
-- the wealthiest ones -- are much less likely to be involved in
educational reform. Those faculty members don't want to teach
survey courses for non-majors, and they can get away with it,
whereas, other institutions closer to the market are changing
rapidly."
According to Lee Shulman, professor of education and
psychology at Stanford U, the report's focus on declining
prerequisites shows "a deeply flawed concept of learning. There
is no absolute, sequential highway to knowledge. It is not god-
given that you must take 14th century French literature before
you do 18th century French literature."
The National Association of Scholars is a nonprofit
education organization of professors, graduate students and
college administrators "committed to rational discourse as the
foundation of academic life in a free and democratic society,"
writes a NAS press release (3/19).
For more information, contact NAS at 575 Ewing Street;
Princeton, N.J. 08540; 609/683-7878; e-mail: nas@nas.org; url:
http://www.nas.org.
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