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--- Wednesday --- May 27, 1998 --- Vol. 1 --- No. 44 ---
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THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
National Education Goals Panel WEEKLY (www.negp.gov)
GROUP THINK
"Groupwork in Diverse
Classrooms: A Casebook for
Educators" is the fifth in a
series of teacher-written
casebooks developed at WestEd,
the regional education lab
serving Ariz., Calif., Nev. and
Utah. The casebook presents 16
first-person accounts of using
the groupwork concept in the
classroom.
"Groupwork is a radical shift
from a pedagogy in which
teachers have all the control,"
said Judith Shulman, one of the
book's editors, who works for
WestEd's Institute for Case
Development. "It turns the
notion of the teacher as the
carrier of all knowledge on its
head," added Stanford U's
Rachel Lotan. "It changes the
roles for student and teacher,
and it changes the way we
define real learning."
Besides case studies, the
publication explores "thorny"
questions such as: How and
when a teacher should inter-
vene; and how do you handle
students who dominate?"
For more info, contact WestEd
at 415/565-3000; or
www.WestEd.org.
__________ __________
| SPOTLIGHT |
| |
| PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT |
| REQUIRED |
| |
| Far more teachers than in |
| the past seek parental |
| involvement in the schools, |
| according to the |
| "Metropolitan Life Survey |
| of the American Teacher |
| 1998." (#4) |
| |
| More than 80% of teachers |
| surveyed said they want |
| parents to be active in |
| school. About 70% of those |
| surveyed said they would |
| like to see more parents |
| perform volunteer work at |
| schools. |
| |
| The big payoff: Active |
| parents is linked to high- |
| achieving students, |
| according to the survey. |
| Nearly 80% of students |
| earning an A or B average |
| reported that their parents |
| were active in school. A |
| higher percentage of top |
| students said their parents |
| often assist them with |
| homework. |
|_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"If every parent spent just 30 minutes a day being involved in
their children's learning, it would revolutionize education in
America."
U.S. Ed Sec Richard Riley. (#4)
_______________________________________________________________
| (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
AP: Financial help is on the way. (#1)
BETTER THAN EVER: Texas state reading test scores. (#2)
GOAL FOUR: TEACHER ED/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
MICROSOFT: Opening the gates for teacher training. (#3)
GOAL EIGHT: PARENTAL PARTICIPATION
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT: Teachers want more. (#4)
IN THE NEWS
NEWS BRIEFS: Vouchers and mergers. (#5)
===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*1 AP: FINANCIAL HELP IS ON THE WAY
For the first time, the U.S. DoEd has announced state grants
to pay Advanced Placement test fees for low-income students.
Thirty-two states applied for the grants and will share in
$2,824,843.
"This is the first year that we've been able to offer
students this additional help, to make sure that everyone has a
chance to demonstrate his or her academic ability and move
forward into college," said U.S. Ed Sec Richard Riley. "I want
every student to know that college is possible. The funds will
be available -- if you do the work and prepare for college-level
courses."
States interested in applying for the AP grants were asked
to provide the following information to the DoEd:
a description of the fees the state will pay and how many
students they expect to benefit;
how low-income students will be identified and deemed
eligible;
how the state will promote the availability of test fee
payments through high school teachers and counselors;
how the state will gauge the effectiveness of the program.
The AP fee payment grants to states are authorized under the
Higher Education Amendments of 1992. Grant funds per state were
made based on Census Bureau counts of disadvantaged children age
5-17 used under the Title I program for disadvantaged children.
*2 BETTER THAN EVER: TEXAS STATE READING TEST SCORES
Third- and fourth-grade Texas students have posted an
increase in the reading portion of this year's Texas Assessment
of Academic Skills (TAAS) test (Walt, Houston CHRONICLE, 5/22).
The 1998 statewide passing rate of 86% for third-graders
represents a 5 percentage point increase from last year's scores.
This year, the statewide passing rate for fourth-grade students
of 89% is 7 percentage points higher than the 1997 scores.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Moses said the state's
focus on early reading achievement led to the higher scores.
Gov. George Bush agreed, and added: "They are especially
impressive because more students than ever are taking the TAAS
test and they are showing greater improvement than ever before.
I will continue to insist on high standards and high expectations
for every child because I know every child can learn to read."
Moses also announced that the gap is closing between
achievement scores of white and minority students. The trend is
"particularly evident" in eighth-grade math scores, writes the
paper. A 40% difference in the percentage of African-American
and white students passing the test and a 32% difference between
Hispanics and whites existed in 1994. This year the gap between
black and white student was cut in half, while the gap also
closed between Hispanic and white students.
Moses: "We are seeing remarkably strong gains. This is
particularly exciting because success on the eighth-grade TAAS
test is a key predictor of success on the exit level TAAS exam,
given in the 10th grade."
The paper also notes that about 30,000 more students took
the exam this year than last, and nearly 4,000 fewer students
were exempted from the test this year.
Earlier this month, school officials announced that a
"record number of high school sophomores had passed this year's
exit-level test ... with 72 percent of first-time test-takers
passing all three portions of the exam," writes the paper.
Students must pass the test to graduate from high school.
===== GOAL FOUR: TEACHER ED/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT =====
*3 MICROSOFT: OPENING THE GATES FOR TEACHER TRAINING
Microsoft Inc. is seeking applications from state education
agencies and certified regional training centers to receive
software and other materials to provide school-district-wide
technology training to K-12 teachers.
The training, which helps teachers better integrate
technology into the classroom, is free. Microsoft's grant
program, called teacher.training@microsoft, will provide eligible
groups with software licenses to train up to 30 teachers.
Training sessions will occur throughout the year, with times,
schedules and dates varying according to each center's schedule.
Lessons will be taught on both Windows and Macintosh
applications.
Interested parties should contact their SEA or refer to the
frequently asked questions page of Microsoft's Web site:
www.teachertraining.com/faq.htm. The application deadline is 30
June for training during the 1998-1999 school year.
==== GOAL EIGHT: PARENTAL PARTICIPATION ====
*4 PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT: TEACHERS WANT MORE
Contemporary teachers are far more open to parental
involvement than they were a decade ago, according to a survey of
teachers conducted by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The
17th annual survey of teachers sought their views on parental
involvement in schools.
More than 80% of teachers surveyed said they want parents to
be active in school. While 97% of teachers surveyed said parents
should serve on teams that set school policies, 55% said parents
simply should be consulted about changes in curriculum and
homework policies. About 70% of teachers would like to see more
parents perform volunteer work at schools.
U.S. Ed Sec Richard Riley was pleased with the survey
results. "If every parent spent just 30 minutes a day being
involved in their children's learning, it would revolutionize
education in America," he said. "When parents are involved
children get better grades and test scores, are more likely to
graduate high school and go on to college, and are better behaved
in class."
Survey results support Riley's conclusions. About 80% of
students earning an A or B average acknowledged they had parents
active in school. A higher percentage of top students reported
that their parents often assist them with homework. However,
about 50% of students who had a C average or lower said their
parents usually do not pay attention to their schoolwork.
The survey also found that students who have at least one
parent with a college degree or who come from families that have
more than enough money to meet basic needs noted that their
parents expressed a higher level of interest in their education.
Other findings: nearly 95% of teachers found parent
involvement lacking; however four of five suburban teachers said
parent support was either excellent (29%) or good (50%).
A summary of major findings of "the Metropolitan Life Survey
of the American Teacher 1998" can be found at www.metlife.org.
Or, get a free copy from MetLife Survey; P.O. Box 807; Madison
Square Station; New York, N.Y. 10159-0807; 212/578-4072.
==== IN THE NEWS ====
*5 NEWS BRIEFS: VOUCHERS AND MERGERS
IF IT WALKS LIKE A VOUCHER ...: In a 5-4 vote, Houston
school district board of trustees last week approved a plan to
let failing students from low-performing schools opt to attend a
district-approved private, non-religious school at school
district expense (Markley, Houston CHRONICLE, 5/22). While
school Superintendent Rod Paige said the plan is "merely an
expansion of the district's contract services" provisions, which
includes charter schools, alternative education, relief from
overcrowding and private schools for special education students,
others claim the vote was for a voucher program.
Opponents include the Parents for Public Schools of Houston,
the PTA, the Texas Federation of Houston and the Texas Freedom
Network. "The only people who support this are people who do not
see this as a voucher plan," said trustee Gabriel Vasquez.
Current law allows children who attend low-performing
schools to transfer to another public school. The new law would
allow any student who has failed the Texas Assessment of Academic
Skills in math and reading and who attends a school that has been
classified academically low-performing by the Houston school
district or the Texas Education Agency to also choose among
certain private schools. The private schools must agree to meet
state accreditation standards, be nonreligious and willing to
accept $3,575 per student per year as full tuition, notes the
paper.
JUST SAY NO: AND CLINTON DID -- TO VOUCHERS
President Clinton last week vetoed a bill that would have
provided vouchers for disadvantaged children in Washington, D.C.
to use to pay tuition at private or religious schools. Clinton:
"We must strengthen our public schools, not abandon them.
Although I appreciate the interest of the Congress in the
educational needs of the children in our nation's capital, this
bill is fundamentally misguided and a disservice to those
children."
The voucher bill passed the House earlier this month by a
214-206 vote. It was embraced by Republicans whose "election-
year message of repairing public education by reducing direct
federal involvement, expanding local control and giving parents
more choice," runs counter to Clinton's proposals of allocating
federal funds to hire teachers and build schools to reduce class
size (Ross, AP/Philadelphia INQUIRER, 5/21).
ON THE WAY TO UNITY: AFT/NEA MERGER
The Executive Council of the American Federation of Teachers
voted overwhelmingly to recommend approval by the AFT Convention
of a set of guidelines for merger with the 2.3-million member
National Education Association. The vote was 20-0 with two
abstentions, in support of the guidelines, called Principles of
Unity.
AFT President Sandra Feldman: "This is an historic vote,
which moves us significantly closer to a strong organization that
will better meet the needs of our members and the institutions
they serve. There's a growing excitement throughout the AFT at
the prospect of joining forces with our NEA colleagues to work
together on behalf of America's children, teachers and public
schools."
AFT delegates will vote on the Principles during the AFT
Convention this summer, held 16-21 July. NEA delegates will vote
at the NEA Representative Assembly, held 2-5 July.
The merger of the two teacher unions could have "a major
impact both on the nation's schools and on the broader fortunes
of the American labor movement," writes Peter Schrag, author of
"Paradise Lost: California's Experience, America's Future, in
the 25 May 1998 NEW REPUBLIC. Schrag: "Most particularly, if
the hopes of its proponents are realized, the new union would
assume a major role in turning around under-performing schools,
upgrading the skills of the profession and leading all of
education to higher standards."
However, he cautions that the merged union also could
"easily loses as much in brains and energy as it gains in bulk.
It could become an even bigger and less accountable obstacle to
reform than many state and local affiliates often already are.
It could, as its many conservative critics claim, act like just
another monopoly."
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