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--- Monday --- April 1, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 32 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
SPRING FEVER | SPOTLIGHT |
The DAILY REPORT CARD will | |
not publish 3 April to 10 | THE BOTTOM LINE |
April. We will be back on 12 | |
April. Enjoy the holidays! | ... is the driving force |
| behind American business |
SUPERINTENDENTS' EXODUS | leaders' more active role |
Eight school superintendents | in ed reform. It's their |
in Utah decided to call it | bottom line that is bearing |
quits this year (Groutage, THE | the burden of an ill- |
SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 3/24). | prepared workforce, they |
Ogden Superintendent James West | say. A recent U.S. DoL |
summed up his reason for | study of eight Southeastern |
leaving: "The problems are | states found that illitera- |
harder, the kids are harder and | cy cost $57.2B in lost |
society is harder as a whole | productivity, unrealized |
now. The challenges wear on | taxes, sub-standard work |
you. It wears on you that you | and unemployment. (#5) |
can't solve those things, so | |
you do the best you can." | CEOs at last week's |
| Education Summit hail |
HOW TO BETTER SERVE CUSTOMERS | higher standards as |
... is what college heads | critical to better |
discussed last week in | preparing students for the |
Pittsburgh, Pa. (Schackner, | world of work. |
Pgh. POST-GAZETTE, 3/26). And | |
the customers they are concern- | The Detroit and Dade |
ed about are businesses. Topics | County School Boards have |
discussed included: new part- | their own plan for |
nerships between corporations | producing competent |
and colleges and how high-tech | learners. They both called |
will change higher education. | for an end to social |
The forum was begun in the late | promotion and other get- |
1980s by David Kearns, former | tough measures. (#1, #2) |
Xerox Corp. chairman. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"You're not doing anybody any favors by passing children who have
not acquired basic skills." --
Helen Moore, a Detroit parent. (#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 Writer: Elizabeth Gage |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
EXIT SKILLS: Without them, students will not be promoted. (#1)
GETTING TOUGH IN DADE: School board raises the bar. (#2)
STATESIDE
RATHER DUBIOUS: Raising school taxes in an election year. (#3)
TEACHER SKILLS WAIVER: rejected in Minnesota. (#4)
HIGHER EDUCATION
REMEDIAL COLLEGE CLASSES: A path to the road to success. (#5)
MONEY MATTERS
A GOOD OMEN FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Bond issue wins in Calif.(#6)
BYTES AND PIECES
HIGH-TECH: Top dog in Minneapolis classrooms. (#7)
===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*1 EXIT SKILLS: WITHOUT THEM, STUDENTS WILL NOT BE PROMOTED
Detroit School Board members last week voted to start
failing students at every grade level who have not acquired the
skills necessary to succeed in the next grade (Hurt, THE DETROIT
NEWS, 3/27). The proposed change deviates from the practice of
"socially promoting" students, which means that, despite their
deficit of skills, students are promoted to the next grade level
to allow them to remain with their peers.
Beginning no later than the 1997-98 school year, students
from K-12 will be tested to prove that they are capable of
handling more challenging work before they are passed on to the
next grade level; the policy change is known as the Exit Skills
Initiative. In addition, schools will have to develop support
systems to help students who are behind, writes the paper.
The resolution also calls for the creation of a task force
composed of teachers, staff, parents, community members and union
leaders charged with identifying the skills necessary for
children to pass each grade. Teachers and parents then would use
the list of targeted skills to help students develop the
appropriate skills.
Helen Moore, an activist parent, said she was pleased with
the resolution, and that most parents have been opposed to social
promotion for a long time. "You can't pass them along," she said.
"You got to educate them. You're not doing anybody any favors by
passing children who have not acquired basic skills."
According to a review of school districts by the FREE PRESS,
only a few school systems nationwide have experimented with this
type of competency-based education. Detroit will be the only
district in Mich. to use the competency-based education approach,
reports the paper.
One concern is that the Michigan Federation of Teachers was
not involved in the creation of the new initiative. "My concern
... relates to not having the community involved and the
teachers' union to make sure this is possible," said board member
Margaret Betts. However, she added that the initiative will be
shaped during the next months by teachers, union leaders and
community representatives recruited to design the program,
reports the paper.
*2 GETTING TOUGH IN DADE: SCHOOL BOARD RAISES THE BAR
Tougher student standards that call for a more rigorous
grading system for high schools and make it easier for elementary
schools to flunk students were approved last week by the Dade
County School Board (Mailander, THE HERALD, 3/28). One major
change: students who are behind their classmates will be
required to attend catch-up sessions over the summer, on
Saturdays or before and after school. "I don't care what day it
is. You can include Sunday because if they need it, they need
it," said Enid Pinkney, a Dade historian and retired educator.
The county will identify third-, sixth- and ninth-grade
students who must attend the sessions based on test scores and
teacher recommendations. Parents will be notified by the school
later this year if their child is required to attend a remedial
session. However, parents also can get a clue of their child's
status by reviewing the child's report card, writes the paper.
For example, if the report card indicates that a student is
"below grade level," the child probably will need to attend the
extra classes.
The standards were adopted in response to a series of HERALD
stories published in January that indicated that "school board
policies [were allowing] thousands of children to slip through
the nation's fourth largest school system without learning basic
math and English skills," the paper writes.
Other changes mandated by the new standards include the
following: Secondary students will be required to earn at least
five points in their second semester. Presently they can earn
all 10 points in one semester. In addition to passing math,
language arts and any other two classes, middle school students
will now have to pass science and social studies before they can
be promoted to the next grade. The required grade point average
necessary for graduation will be raised from 1.5 to 2.0.
Finally, teachers will be able to fail students in kindergarten
and first grade, a practice previously banned.
Next week, the public will be given an opportunity to voice
their opinion on the proposed standards, reports the paper. The
final vote to approve the plan will occur on 8 May.
===== STATESIDE =====
*3 RATHER DUBIOUS: RAISING SCHOOL TAXES IN AN ELECTION YEAR
Ill. Gov. Jim Edgar's (R) plan for allowing voters to decide
whether to change how the state pays for public schools has
fallen apart, (Pearson, TRIBUNE STAFF, 3/28). Republicans in the
House and Senate opposed the plan because it would increase taxes
in an election year and could therefore have unpleasant
repercussions for legislators, notes the paper. "Republicans
aren't for tax increases. Nobody wants a large tax to be on the
ballot. That's how simple it is," said Senate President James
"Pate" Philip.
Edgar appointed a task force that developed the proposed
amendment, reports the paper. Under their plan, state taxes
would have increased by $19B to provide approximately $1.5B in
local property-tax relief and $400M to redistribute school
funding statewide. Edgar defended the plan as a "long overdue
solution to soaring property taxes and a dwindling state share of
financing for public schools," writes the paper.
However, some lawmakers remarked that Edgar's amendment
sounded similar to a plan supported by Dawn Clark Netsch, the
1994 Democratic candidate for governor. Edgar is on record
attacking Netsch's plan because it would raise taxes, according
to the paper.
Edgar aides accused lawmakers of election-year cowardice,
writes the TRIBUNE. They also accused suburban GOP members of
betrayal because the Republicans seek more state money for
schools to reduce property-tax bills paid by their constituents.
GOP lawmakers, who form a majority in both chambers for the
first time in 20 years, responded to the criticism by saying they
do not want to threaten their majorities by raising taxes during
an election year. Rep. Al Salvi (R), Republican candidate for
the U.S. Senate, led the protest of the amendment on anti-tax
grounds. In a surprise move, House Republicans decided to offer
their own proposal for raising $500M more for schools -- $100M
more than the Edgar plan -- without raising taxes (Pearson,
Chicago TRIBUNE, 3/31). Most of the funds would come from making
"deep cuts" in the state budget recently proposed by Edgar,
writes the paper.
The plan submitted by GOP House SPeaker Lee Daniels includes
a provision that prohibits districts from using the extra money
for raising teacher salaries. All money must be targeted to
programs for students, reports the paper. It also would impose
property-tax caps statewide. However, Daniel's amendment to the
state constitution does not cal for the lowering of local
property taxes, as does Edgar's proposal.
A controversial element of Daniel's plan is a requirement
that all public high schools offer free remedial education for
any graduate found lacking basic math and reading skills needed
to get become employed, notes the paper. "We think we have a
better idea. This is not meant to take on the governor," said
one House Republican, who wanted to remain anonymous. "But to
assume that we're going to improve education because we're going
to pass tax increases is not the answer. We have enough money in
this state to have a good educational product."
The paper reports that observers say the House GOP plan is
intended to mae a legislative election year "down payment" on
more substantial school reform initiatives next year.
*4 TEACHER SKILLS WAIVER: REJECTED IN MINNESOTA
Despite appeals from its only black member, the Minn. House
of Representatives rejected a plan that would allow minority
teacher candidates to become licensed even if they did not pass
the state's basic-skills test (Hotakalnen, STAR TRIBUNE, 3/27).
Ironically, the plan had won preliminary approval by a majority
of House members last month. The debate over the testing plan
could now delay adjournment of the 1996 session by several days,
reports the paper.
A House-Senate conference committee eliminated the testing
waiver, after the House approval. Rep. Lyndon Carlson (DFL),
chairman of the House Education Committee, said in his "24 years
in the legislature he had never seen a conference committee take
out a provision that had passed both bodies of the Legislature by
wide margins, with nearly identical language," writes the paper.
Legislators quickly responded to the committee's move,
hoping to rescue the rest of the bill because it includes money
for technology, all-day kindergarten and after school programs.
"I'm just so stunned," said Sen. Larry Pogemiller (DFL), chairman
of the Senate K-12 Education Finance Subcommittee. Rep. Alice
Johnson said she is "very, very sorry that this issue has been
brought forward ... as a provision for minorities ... It's not a
black issue. It's not a Native American issue. It's a teacher
issue. It's a school issue."
However, many supporters of the provision acknowledge the
racial implications of the bill. Proportionately more minorities
fail the test than whites. In 1995, the Legislature ordered the
State Board of Teaching to study alternative testing strategies
after hearing complaints that the test is racially biased, writes
the paper.
The proposed plan approved by the Board of Teaching would
have granted a waiver to teaching candidates who failed the exam
three times. Instead, their skills would be tested in
alternative ways, but they would still need to exhibit mastery of
basic skills.
Gov. Arne Carlson (R) registered opposition to the bill,
notes the paper. "To the general public, alternative testing
means lowering of standards," said Rep. Richard Jefferson (DFL).
Rep. Charles Weaver, one of the leading opponents, said one
standardized test should apply to all teacher candidates. "Two
plus two should equal four, no matter what you do."
===== HIGHER EDUCATION =====
*5 REMEDIAL COLLEGE CLASSES: A PATH TO THE ROAD TO SUCCESS
Nearly half of all California State U freshmen require
remedial English and over half need remedial math, according to a
recent report (Woo and Zamichow, L.A. TIMES, 3/27). The four CSU
campuses in the Los Angeles area had the largest percentage of
unprepared college freshmen.
"I think we just need to not deceive ourselves about how low
the knowledge base is in our schools," remarked David Tokofsky,
Los Angeles Unified board member. "A kid can graduate from high
school and not know how to read at the fourth-grade level and not
know algebra." He blamed the problem on the district's inability
to set and enforce clear academic standards and he called for a
rigorous testing system, reports the paper.
Low academic performance and a lack of basic skills among
the nation's students were a major impetus to last week's
Education Summit of governors and business leaders, notes the
paper. Corporate America has joined educators in demanding
higher academic standards. One reason: "Corporations spend a
growing portion of their training budgets on reteaching their
employees the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic," writes
the paper. The Washington, D.C.-based National Alliance of
Business cited a survey by TRAINING MAGAZINE that reported that
43% of American businesses provided remedial training in 1995,
more than double the percentage of what was reported in 1984.
CEOs attending the summit explained that many of the
remedial training costs are hidden. For example, supervisors at
Cincinnati Bell may have to interview 300 people to find a single
qualified candidate for an entry level job, reports the paper.
"We are not unique in that," said Dwight Hibbard, chairman of
Cincinnati Bell. Hibbard claims that raising standards in public
schools would improve the quality of the workforce, but also cut
the tax burden that results from supporting "those who can't
compete."
The TIMES writes that the "burden is enormous." According
to a Department of Labor study of eight Southeastern states in
1988, illiteracy cost $57.2B in lost productivity, unrealized
taxes, sub-standard work and unemployment claims. Louis
Gerstner, chairman and CEO of IBM and co-chair of the summit,
calculated that adult illiteracy costs American businesses $25B
to $30B a year. He added that businesses' problems with hiring a
qualified workforce go beyond basic skills; many employers also
demand that job candidates possess computer skills.
According to the paper, many students at Cal State L.A. and
Cal State Dominquez Hills are proud that they attend remedial
education classes in college because at least they have overcome
the odds of dropping out of high school. "I knew I'd have to work
twice as hard in graduating, but I wasn't discouraged," said
Bernadette Alonzo, who is the first in her family to attend
college. Christine Perot, a student at Cal State Dominguez
Hills, said remedial classes help level the playing field for
disadvantaged student who often attend elementary and secondary
schools where guns, drugs and violence are part of everyday
living.
===== MONEY MATTERS =====
*6 A GOOD OMEN FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS: BOND ISSUE WINS IN CALIF.
Educators interpreted Calif. voters' approval of Proposition
203, the $3B school and college construction bond, as a sign that
taxpayers are willing to invest in education (Colvin, L.A. TIMES,
3/28). "This is another indication that the economy is doing
better, because people are more comfortable with their ability to
pay taxes and feel things are coming back," said Joel Fox,
president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
Proposition 203 is the largest bond issue in state history,
notes the paper. It was passed in both conservative counties
like Riverside, San Bernadino and Orange and in urban counties
like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Alameda.
Elementary and secondary schools will receive approximately
$2B of the bond issue, reports the paper. The State Allocation
Board, which distributes all funds for public school
construction, already has approved $1.2B worth of projects.
However, the board will make the final allocation decisions in
May or June.
State Sen. Leroy Greene (D), sponsor of the legislation,
said the public realizes that "we have 140,000 new students every
year and we have to house them."
Despite the $2B allocated for primary and secondary schools,
the money is still not enough to meet the demand. Districts
already have requested $7B more in construction funds, according
to the paper. And Greene said he is contemplating another bond
measure for the November ballot.
Educators, enthused by the bond's approval, are preparing to
build classrooms replace roofs, remodel laboratories, install
computer networks and air conditioning systems. "It's the best
of the best of days," said Riverside schools Supt. Anthony
Lardieri, whose district will receive the largest state
allocation -- $78M.
Approximately $1B of the bond issue is targeted to higher
education to be split among community colleges and California
State University and the University of California, writes the
paper. UCLA will use the majority of its bond to make Haines
Hall seismically safe.
According to the paper, the pro-bond campaign conducted
research that found while the electorate supported public
schools, many were skeptical that the bond issue really would be
used to build schools rather than be "gobbled up" by
administrative costs, writes the paper. To nip this fear, a
$900,000 television campaign ad was launched. Ads included
specific figures for how much counties would receive, how many
students would benefit and how many classrooms would be built.
The ads were run on cable television and were targeted for areas
where statewide school bonds in past referendums had been
defeated, writes the paper.
"We worked very hard getting the message out," said Orange
County school Supt. John Dean. "Every district is jammed, and
people have come to realize that we can't keep stuffing students
into classrooms. We've reached the point that it literally
cannot happen anymore."
===== BYTES AND PIECES =====
*7 HIGH-TECH: TOP DOG IN MINNEAPOLIS CLASSROOMS
Technology is a number one priority in Minneapolis
classrooms (Draper, Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE,3/28). "It's smart,
it's sexy, and it's got the kind of glitzy futuristic appeal that
makes the electorate want to vote "yes" in multimillion-dollar
school bond referendums," writes the paper
Despite budget cuts, many educators claim computers are as
critical to today's classrooms as paper and pencils. "It's part
of being educated in the modern world," said Patience Gall,
chairwoman of the Osseo Area School Board of Education, and a
teacher at the Webster Open School Minneapolis. "You can have
slightly higher class sizes in return for having the tools
teachers need in educating students."
Two years ago, voters in the Anoka-Hennepin School District
approved an $8.3M bond issue to be used to put a computer in each
of the district's 1,500 classrooms. Hopkin school voters
approved $3.75M in 1993 for districtwide computer wiring, and to
purchase software, computers, telephones and video systems,
reports the paper
Last year, both districts returned to voters to request
millions of dollars for general operating expenses. Bond issue
allocations for technology often were tied up in larger
legislative packages with even greater expenses such as money for
renovating or constructing schools, writes the paper. "One of
the interesting things we've found in our surveys is that to make
a successful referendum, you want to have technology be a part of
it," explained Ken Corens, media and technology director for
Hopkins schools. "It's more exciting for people to vote on
putting computers in the classroom than repaving the parking
lot."
However, technology does not always guarantee success with
voters, notes the paper. Robinsdale and Minnetonka schools have
lost bond initiatives with large technology requests. Yet somehow
districts find ways to get what they want, according to a survey
conducted by the Minn. Department of Children, Families and
Learning. For example, despite the referendum failure,
Robbinsdale installed 250 computers. The same survey revealed
that St. Paul schools have purchased 1,000 computers, and
Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan installed 2,500 new computers,
writes the paper.
In response to the increased demand for technology, the
Legislature is expected to approve $11.9M for updating classroom
technology. The money would be used to wire computers for the
Internet, purchase new computers, and train teachers. Lawmakers
already have authorized schools to move technology from the
capital part of their budgets to operating funds, according to
the STAR TRIBUNE.
However, there are drawbacks to technological classrooms.
Improperly trained teachers could rely too heavily or not enough
on the used of computers, notes the paper. In addition, keeping
up to speed with new software and computers is quite costly at a
time when most school districts are facing severe budget cuts.
According to the paper, technology expenses are expected to
compete with other big-dollar items like teacher salaries. Some
educators also fear that the technology frenzy is leading to
neglect in other areas.
However, high-tech school leaders maintain that the benefits
of technically advanced classrooms outweigh the costs. Susan
Butterwick, a fifth-grade teacher, said computers have allowed
her students to produce better reports and projects and get more
information faster. She added that her students are more
enthusiastic about learning since she introduced technology in
the classroom.
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