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--- Monday --- March 17, 1997 --- Vol. 7 --- No. 26 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
KISSING INSTRUCTIONS | SPOTLIGHT |
The brouhaha that erupted | |
over six-year-old Johnathan | TRENDS IN |
Prevette's kiss on the cheek of | ACCOUNTABILITY |
a classmate has culminated in | |
-- federal guidelines! | Southern states have |
According to the N.Y. TIMES, | become more sophisticated |
the DoEd's Office for Civil | as they strive to measure |
Rights last week released | accountability in public |
guidelines for school districts | schools, according to a |
confused over the proper way to | Southern Regional Education |
deal with sexual harassment | Board report. SREB pro- |
(Lewin, 3/15). | vides a detailed account of |
While the guidelines, which | how its states determine |
are similar to ones issued last | school accountability.(#2) |
year, "contain no hard-and-fast | |
rules about what particular | According to the report, |
behavior constitutes sexual | earlier efforts to measure |
harassment," they do offer some | accountability focused on |
"constructive" examples, writes | issues including classroom |
the paper. For example, it is | space and teacher competen- |
harassment for a group of male | cy. Today, states boast |
students to target a girl on | programs that determine |
their school bus, "making | and, in many cases reward, |
frequent sexual comments about | schools and districts that |
her body." But "a kiss on the | boost student achievement. |
cheek by a first grader does | |
not constitute sexual | Best practices are |
harassment," writes the | programs that "take a |
guidelines. | comprehensive approach and |
Perhaps now little | balance state standards and |
Johnathan's school could give | assessment with individual |
him that ice cream treat he was | school authority," says one |
denied as punishment for his | of the report's authors. |
peck on the cheek of a friend. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"Rather than improve learning, national tests would deflect
attention from concrete education reform efforts."
FairTest Executive Director Laura Barrett. (#4)
_______________________________________________________________
| 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 |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL SEVEN: SAFE SCHOOLS
"FACE THE MUSIC:" A campaign to end youth violence. (#1)
GOVERNANCE
THE "A" WORD: Accountability in southern schools. (#2)
NOT A POWER GRAB: N.Y.'s Rudy Crew visits Justice Dept. (#3)
TESTS AND TESTING
NATIONAL TESTS: Bah humbug. (#4)
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===== GOAL SEVEN: SAFE SCHOOLS =====
*1 "FACE THE MUSIC:" A CAMPAIGN TO END YOUTH VIOLENCE
The Stop the Violence Face the Music Society (STV) last week
announced plans for an "aggressive" communications effort
designed to broaden awareness of its "Face the Music" campaign
that targets young people in North America (STV press release,
3/12).
"Violence is a very serious problem, both in North American
and around the world," said Jeffrey Royce Benjamin, director and
treasurer of the Live Aid Foundation (We are the World).
"Certainly, there are many charitable organizations that do
wonderful things at the local level, but there also needs to be a
larger international effort, and STV clearly fills that need."
As part fo the campaign, STV will produce a series of Multi-
Artist Compilation CDs and a subsequent concert tour, with the
proceeds targeted to support anti-violence programs throughout
North America. According to the release, the first CD is slated
for release in June 1997 and will consist of music tracks with an
anti-violence theme. Artists and groups who already have
contributed tracks include Patrick Moraz (Yes), Ted Andreadis
(Guns & Roses,) Grammy-award winner Bunny Hall and Bif Naked (a
group signed with Sony). Songs that do not make it onto the CD
will be posted as audio files on the STV website at
http://www.stv.net.
Contributions to the "Face the Music" campaign have come
from Yamaha Corporation of America, HITS magazine, YAHOO!,
Billboard Magazine, TKO Entertainment and the Los Angeles Music
Network.
STV is a non-profit organization that relies on the support
of the entertainment and music industries, media, local and
national celebrities and others to underwrite the production and
distribution of music recordings and videos, guidebooks and
information forums, writes the release.
For more information about STV, to learn how to submit a
recording, or to make a donation, contact STV at 800/732-6366, or
visit the STV website at http://www.stv.net.
==== GOVERNANCE ====
*2 THE "A" WORD: ACCOUNTABILITY IN SOUTHERN SCHOOLS
Programs designed to measure school accountability have
grown more sophisticated over the years in Southern schools,
according to a new report issued by the Southern Regional
Education Board. While their predecessors in the 1970s and 1980s
focused on classroom space, whether texts were current and
teacher competency, contemporary accountability measures hold
district's and schools responsible for improved student
achievement, notes the report.
"The best new programs take a comprehensive approach and
balance state standards and assessment with individual school
authority and easy-to-understand public information campaigns,"
said Lynn M. Cornett, SREP vice president of state services.
Cornett also co-authored the new report titled "Accountability in
the 1990s: Holding Schools Responsible for Student Achievement."
An emphasis on local problem solving and decision making is
what distinguishes 1990s accountability from past efforts, writes
the report. From the report: "Many states have backed away from
the prescriptive rules and regulations of decades past. Now
leaders are waiting to see how well local educators respond."
The report adds that an early review reveals that many schools
and districts "are finding the transition difficult." The call
for higher academic standards carries with it a requirement to
change the way teachers teach, they way they are schooled to
become teachers, and school curriculum.
The report goes on to discuss how states are measuring and
reporting progress. A chart that details accountability programs
in SREB states concludes the report. The chart's headings are:
sanctions/assistance; criteria for financial rewards; trigger for
rewards and/or sanctions; number of schools receiving financial
rewards; number of schools receiving sanctions; and total
funding.
Gale F. Gaines, SREB associate director for state services
and co-author of the report: "Legislators and policy makers know
that to raise revenues for education they have got to show the
public and business community that increases will result in
better-prepared students. The new accountability trend is very
pragmatic. Policy makers are giving schools clear goals to meet
along with much more flexibility in how they go about meeting
them."
SREB states include: Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., Ky., La., M.,
Miss., N.C., Okla., S.C., Tenn., Texas, Va., and W.V.
*3 NOT A POWER GRAB: N.Y.'S RUDY CREW VISITS U.S. JUSTICE DEPT.
New York City school Chancellor Rudy Crew visited U.S.
Justice Department officials last week to urge them to allow a
"hard-won" state law that gives him "broad new powers over local
school districts" to take effect on 1 April (Steinberg, N.Y.
TIMES, 3/15). However, it is unclear that Justice will rule in
Crew's favor, and it is highly unlikely they will have any
decision before the 1 April deadline.
Under the old law, the city's 32 district school boards
manage all of the city's elementary and junior high schools.
That law was enacted during the 1960s, "when minority groups
demanded a leadership role in their neighborhood schools,"
reports the paper. Crew and others claim the local boards now
are ripe with patronage and corruption, which harms the
educational opportunities of minority students.
Officials with Justice's Civil Rights Division are examining
the new law, which usurps much of the local school board powers,
to determine whether it violates the Voting Rights Act.
According to the paper, the question that must be answered is
does the new law "dilute the power of minority-group voters,
including their say in the hiring of local superintendents."
The TIMES notes that contracts for all 32 local school
superintendents expire in June. The new law would strip the
local boards from being able to hire the superintendents, placing
that responsibility with Crew. Crew also would oversee
evaluations of the new superintendents he would hire.
"I think the matter is very grave," said Richard Mills, the
State Education Commissioner. "The most important early move in
implementing the law is to deal with the contracts for the
superintendents. The Chancellor has to have a free hand in
making those changes."
A Justice Department spokeswoman, Carole Florman, announced
that the department has up to 60 days to make a decision. The
TIMES also reports that some Justice Department officials have
expressed that the local school boards would be left with such
little power that the law is actually a "de facto replacement of
elected members."
==== TESTS AND TESTING ====
*4 NATIONAL TESTS: BAH HUMBUG
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest)
responded to President Clinton's call for national tests for all
fourth and eighth graders. In the words of FairTest Executive
Director Laura Barrett:
"Everyone is for raising standards, but national,
standardized tests will not help achieve that goal. Instead,
they would lead to a dumbing down of education. Teachers would
feel compelled to teach to the tests, and therefore would be
forced to de-emphasize analytical thinking and creative problem-
solving -- neither of which is measured well by multiple choice
questions.
"In addition, national tests would derail some of the
exciting education reform effort already underway at the state
and local levels. National tests would be a backdoor way to
establish national standards. The federal government should not
impose standards without a tremendous amount of input from
teachers, administrators, community leaders and parents. This
input is not being sought under the President's plan to
administer two off-the-shelf tests nationwide.
"Finally, national tests would be a waste of time and money.
American school children already take more than 100 million
standardized tests each year. We already have volumes of data
about test scores in school districts and states. The real
question is not,'How do scores in Boise stack up against scores
in Cleveland?' because we already know that answer. The real
question is: What are we as a society going to do about problems
that we know exist, including the gross disparities in school
funding that severely limit educational opportunities for so many
low-income chidlren.
"Rather than improve learning, national tests would deflect
attention from concrete education reform efforts."
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