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--- Monday --- November 17, 1997 --- Vol. 7 --- No. 74 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
www.negp.gov
__________ __________
MORE ON STANDARDS | SPOTLIGHT |
The November 1997 Phi Delta | |
KAPPAN explores the standards | DESIGNING SCHOOLS |
movement in several articles. | |
The series leads off with the | Architects are able to |
article "Thinking About | unleash their creativity as |
Standards," by Nel Noddings, an | they team up with educators |
education professor at Stanford | in certain parts of the |
U and a professor of philosophy | country to design schools |
and education at Teachers | for learning. Gone are the |
College. Noddings argues that | brick boxes initially |
while no one would carry the | created to warehouse |
banner for low standards, the | teaching based on the |
nation is being swept away by | "factory-model." |
the siren cry for national | Underlying today's |
standards without thinking | blueprints is a teaching |
about the implications of those | method based on hands-on |
standards and without | learning, in which students |
considering some of the | often work in small groups |
underlying problems of low | to actively solve problems. |
student achievement. | Open spaces, cubicles, |
In another article, Teacher | atriums and lots of natural |
College professors Linda | light are the cornerstones |
Darling-Hammond and Beverly | for these turn-of-the- |
Falk call for a more thoughtful | century buildings. |
construction of standards to | |
support student learning. | Many of these classrooms |
Two other articles, one on | are similar in design to |
the proper construction of | the open classrooms of the |
standards and a basic skills | 1960s. And some of the |
certificate as a middle ground | complaints waged against |
in the standards debate, round | the new rooms echo the |
out the series. | past: classes are too |
For subscription info, call | noisy and distracting.(#2) |
800/766-1156. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"If three states working with one oligopoly set de facto
standards that aren't good enough, maybe, just maybe, we need a
federal call for something better."
Mark Miller, reporter for U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT. (#3)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Washington, D.C. 20010; 202/724-0124 |
| EPN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
BALTIMORE STUDENTS: On a downhill path in city schools. (#1)
PARTNERS IN EDUCATION
BUILD IT RIGHT: And they will learn. (#2)
WHO'S WRITING WHAT
STEALTH STANDARDS: Going by the book. (#3)
A SPECIAL CASE
"ENGLISH FOR THE CHILDREN:" On the Calif. ballot in June?(#4)
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===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*1 BALTIMORE STUDENTS: ON A DOWNHILL PATH IN CITY SCHOOLS
Results of the California Diagnostic tests in reading and
math found that the longer Baltimore students stay in the school
system, the further they fall behind their peers nationwide
(Bowie, Baltimore SUN, 11/12). "This is our first look at this
and things will get better," promised Robert Schiller, interim
schools chief for the Baltimore schools.
The tests, given two months ago, found that while first-
grade students were only a few months behind those of most
children nationwide when they arrived at school, Baltimore
students dropped to as much as 1 1/2 years behind in fifth grade.
According to the paper, reading scores are "particularly
startling." Nearly three-fourths of students in Baltimore public
schools performed below the grade they are in, 5% were on grade
level and 21% were above their grade.
Scores earned by the system's special education students
puzzled educators. At nearly every grade level, these students
posted scores "no wore than students in regular classrooms,"
writes the paper. "I am not sure what that means, to be
perfectly honest," said Zelda Holcomb, the district's research,
evaluation and accountability officer. "Does it mean that some
of the students don't need to be in special education? Does it
mean that the special education services have brought them up to
the level of other students? There are a lot of different
analyses to be done," she noted.
One explanation for the similarities in scores between
special education and regular classes is that severely disabled
students did not take the test and the scores of some students
who required help to take the test were not included in the
average. "I would hope that the system would not be so brazen as
to step forward and say their special education programs are
working because of these scores," cautioned Margaret McLaughlin,
associate director of the Institute of Exceptional Children and
Youth in Md.
According to the paper, "the stakes are high." Teachers and
principals likely will be evaluated based in part of test
results. The Legislature also could withhold an additional $20M
in state funds scheduled to go to city schools next year if
lawmakers are dissatisfied with results.
School officials intend to use the results to find
weaknesses in programs and to determine why some schools perform
better or worse than others. One school, City Springs Elementary
School, discovered similar results after the school tested its
students last spring. Since then, school principal Bernice
Whelchel put in place the Direct Instruction reading program to
boost reading scores. The school also has lengthened reading
periods for young children, uses small-group instruction and
added an after-school tutoring program, reports the paper.
Schiller had called for the reading and math tests to give
district educators a baseline of student performance. His
education agenda also includes reducing class size, creating
after-school academies and boosting math and reading instruction.
"The most important thing we can do with this data is use it to
identify what our children are not getting," he said. "Then we
can alter our curriculum to help them."
All city students will be retested at the end of the school
year.
===== PARTNERS IN EDUCATION =====
*2 BUILD IT RIGHT: AND THEY WILL LEARN
The growing "active learning" movement coupled with
neurological findings that bolster it have led to new designs for
school buildings that architects and educators claim will boast
student learning (Carrns, W.S. JOURNAL, 11/12). "This is rich
and fertile ground for architects," said Renate Caine, a
professor of education at California State U at San Bernardino.
Steven Bingler, an architect known for building and
designing innovative school structures, tapped the school's
community as an education resource. "Kids always tell me, 'Make
it real,'" he said. "The most powerful learning experiences
don't occur in the classroom."
The Henry Ford Academy of Manufacturing Arts & Sciences, a
Wayne County, Mich., charter school that opened in August, was
created by Bingler's New Orleans-based firm, Concordia Inc. The
school is situated in the Henry Ford Museum. From the paper:
"Their classrooms are tucked in a corner near the cavernous
museums agricultural display and feature glass walls, so students
can gaze at exhibits as they work."
Classrooms are divided by glass walls to overcome "a
professional hazard: isolation," writes the paper. "You can
look over and see other teachers, and know that you're part of a
collaboration," said Anne Jeannett Lasovage, a teaching intern.
The Zoo School, located outside Minneapolis, Minn., is
another architecturally innovative school. It is situated on the
grounds of the Minnesota Zoo. About 400 high school juniors and
seniors are enrolled in the school, which offers access to zoo
exhibits and staff. Students are divided into four "houses" of
100 students. "Computer-equipped cubicles, or "pods,' each
shared by 10 students, hug the perimeter of each house," writes
the paper. The Zoo School was constructed by Bruce Jik, an
architect and educational planner with Minneapolis's Cunningham
Group.
Despite the creative ingenuity expressed in these new
designs, several drawbacks exist, writes the paper. One
complaint made by some teachers and students: the open
classrooms are too noisy and can be distracting.
===== WHO'S WRITING WHAT =====
*3 STEALTH STANDARDS: GOING BY THE BOOK
Matthew Miller, a reporter for U.S. News & World Report,
does not understand all the ruckus over national standards. The
nation's schools already have de facto national standards "set
indirectly by a handful of publishing giants whose textbooks
guide instruction in classrooms across the country," he writes in
an editorial for the Philadelphia INQUIRER (11/14).
Miller explains the process: Five major publishing houses -
- Simon & Schuster, McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt
General and Addison Wesley Longman -- comprise 70% of the
textbook market. Three states -- Calif., Texas and Fla. --
account for 25% of book purchases. According to Miller, the
publishers create new texts "around the Big Three state's
desires, then adapt them slightly for other states."
The good news, is that "there's broad professional consensus
on what topics should be taught when," he writes. "We find a
tremendous amount of overlap in what states are looking for,"
said Roger Rogalin, McGraw Hill schools division chief.
However, critics charge that the drive to keep each state
happy "balloons texts until they cover too many subjects too
superficially," writes Miller. Another problem is the
politicized textbook-approval process used in 20 states,
including Calif., Texas and Fla., that is "marred by ideological
warfare, shoddy analysis and occasional corruption," he adds.
Miller concurs with critics who argue that today's standards
are too low. He points to U.S. student scores on both the Third
International Mathematics and Science Study and the National
Assessment of Education Progress as evidence for the need to
raise the bar.
"It would be crazy, of course, to blame texts for everything
that ails American schooling," he notes. Yet, "their influence
should push the standards debate beyond today's ideological
posturing." According to Miller, the nation should not waste
time debating whether standards are needed. Instead, the debate
should focus on "who should set them and how."
He concludes: "And if three states working with one
oligopoly set de facto standards that aren't good enough, maybe,
just maybe, we need a federal call for something better."
==== A SPECIAL CASE ====
*4 "ENGLISH FOR THE CHILDREN:" ON THE CALIF. BALLOT IN JUNE?
More than 700,000 signatures supporting a ballot to require
all-English teaching in Calif. public schools were turned in to
election officials last week (Anderson and Bailey, L.A. TIMES,
11/14). "We're advocating common sense," said Ron Unz, the
software entrepreneur who heads the anti-bilingual education
campaign. "We're advocating teaching English to the children as
quickly as possible when they start school."
According to the paper, Unz has significant funding sources
contributing to the campaign, including $270,000 he personally
loaned to the campaign. Other contributors include: Fieldstead
& Co., a group linked to Christian conservatives; Milton
Friedman, the Nobel Prize-wining economist; Jacobs Engineering
Group of Pasadena; and Fla. businessmen Harry Teasley and William
Dunn.
Bilingual education advocates concede that Unz's financial
resources will allow his initiative to be placed on the ballot.
However, the initiative's critics contend that Unz is misleading
the public by simplifying second-language acquisition programs.
"How truthful are those signatures when people have been told,
'Do you want your children to learn English? Who wouldn't sign
that?" said Maria Quezada, president of the California
Association for Bilingual Education. "I think that's fraudulent.
It's based on very false misconceptions and representations of
the program."
Quezada and others argue that some children need bilingual
education to keep children from falling behind on other subjects
while they learn English. "It's an extreme initiative," said
James Crawford, an education writer and consultant for the
National Association for Bilingual Education in Washington, D.C.
"It doesn't try to reform bilingual education or fix bilingual
education, or do anything in a moderate way."
According to the TIMES, the initiative targets the 25% of
the state's students who are not proficient in English. Most are
Spanish speakers. If the initiative is passed in June, students
who are not fluent in English would receive about a year of
special help and then be mainstreamed into regular classes,
writes the paper.
An L.A. TIMES poll found "overwhelming" support for the
initiative among registered voters.
State officials are certifying whether enough of the
petitions are valid -- the initiative needs 433,269 signatures --
and will notify all parties by 22 January.
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