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--- Wednesday --- July 1, 1998 --- Vol. 1 --- No. 48 ---
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THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
www.negp.gov
HIGH COURT'S
HARASSMENT HARANGUE
In a 5-4 decision the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that school
districts cannot be forced to
pay damages to a student who
was sexually harassed by a
teacher unless officials were
aware of the abuse and failed
to put a halt it.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor,
who wrote for the court: "No
one questions that a student
suffers extraordinary harm when
subjected to sexual harassment
and abuse by a teacher and the
teacher's conduct is reprehen-
sible." However, she added
that the teacher be held
accountable, not a school
district unaware of the
teacher's behavior.
The case emanated from a suit
filed by a Texas mother whose
daughter was "lured" into a
sexual affair with a teacher
(Savage, L.A. TIMES, 6/23).
The decision disputed charges
brought by the Clinton adminis-
tration and women's rights
groups who argued that school
districts should be forced to
pay damages, regardless of
whether officials know of the
teacher's activities.
__________ __________
| SPOTLIGHT |
| |
| FIREWORKS |
| |
| Mass.'s education |
| commissioner quit in a huff |
| over the fireworks that |
| ensued after nearly 60% of |
| the state's prospective |
| teacher candidates failed a |
| first-time certification |
| exam. |
| |
| Commissioner Frank Haydu |
| accused Gov. Paul Cellucci, |
| who publicly railed against |
| the low scores, with making |
| literacy a political issue. |
| Cellucci wants current |
| teachers tested as well. |
| He also called for the |
| school board to reconsider |
| its decision to lower the |
| standard so more teachers |
| could pass the test. (#3) |
| |
| Despite the outcome in |
| Mass., the brouhaha sparks |
| intense interest in teacher |
| training -- a hot potato |
| in Md., a state grappling |
| over how to improve reading |
| instruction. (#4) |
| |
|_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"At some point you have to say, 'Is this realistic?'"
Thomas Mills, Philadelphia school board member, on the price tag
associated with the city's new "Reaching Higher" plan. (#2)
_______________________________________________________________
| (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 TWO: HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION
NEW CENSUS DATA: Closing the graduation gap. (#1)
GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
"REACHING HIGHER:" Philadelphia's new standards. (#2)
GOAL FOUR: TEACHER ED/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
TEACHER STANDARDS: They're up, they're down in Mass. (#3)
PUTTING ON THE BRAKES: Teacher training on hold in Md. (#4)
GOAL SEVEN: SAFE, DISCIPLINED AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS
"REALITY CLOCK:" Resources for at-risk youth. (#5)
===== GOAL TWO: HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION =====
*1 NEW CENSUS DATA: CLOSING THE GRADUATION GAP
More young blacks are completing high school, closing the
gap between white and black graduation rates, according to new
Census Bureau data (AP/WASH POST, 6/29). Last year, more than
86% of blacks age 25 to 29 were high school graduates, compared
to more than 87% of whites.
"The educational attainment of young African Americans
indicates a dramatic improvement by groups who historically have
been less educated," said Jennifer Day, a Census population
expert.
While Hispanic youth also have experienced educational gains
compared with a decade ago, they still lag behind other groups,
notes the paper. In 1987, the proportion of Hispanics age 25 to
29 who were high school graduates was 51%. By 1997, that figure
increased to 55%.
The data also found that the proportion of women earning a
college degree has topped that of their male colleagues. Nearly
30% of women age 25 to 29 had completed four years or more of
college in 1997, compared to 26.3% of men.
The Census report is called "Educational Attainment in the
United States, March 1997." For more information, contact:
Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census; 4401 Suitland Road;
Room 2705; FOB 3; Suitland, Md. 20746; 301/457-3030;
www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educ-attn.html
===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*2 "REACHING HIGHER:" PHILADELPHIA'S NEW STANDARDS
In a unanimous vote, the Philadelphia Board of Education
earlier this week approved new promotion standards and more
rigorous graduation requirements (Jones, Philadelphia INQUIRER,
6/30). The five-year plan will end social promotion, institute
citywide exams and require students to participate in community
service projects.
One school board member abstained, not because he disagreed
with higher standards, but because he questions how the city will
pay for the reforms. "We're already spending far above our
expected revenue right now," said Thomas Mills, of the district's
projected $55.2M deficit. "And at some point you have to say,
'Is this realistic?'"
Pa. Gov. Tom Ridge (R) applauded the higher standards, but
cautioned district leaders not to expect additional funding from
the state. School Superintendent David Hornbeck remains
optimistic that the funds will be forthcoming to institute the
new requirements, called "Reaching Higher."
The district's current policy of limiting to only once the
number of times a student can be retained was abolished, under
the new plan. At the high school level, seniors now will need
23.5 course credits to graduate. Currently, the requirement is
21.5. Seniors also must complete two years of a foreign language
and take extra math and science courses. A community service
requirement also would be enforced. "Creating good citizens is
one of the fundamental missions of public education," said
Hornbeck. "Service learning has been shown to raise achievement
levels, and ... has demonstrated its ability to motivate students
to stay in school. ..."
One caveat exits: "None of the requirements will be
enforced unless a series of academic supports ... are put in
place," reports the paper. Hornbeck has proposed: a class size
of 17 for kindergarten through third grade students; summer
school for students in six key grades -- three, four, seven,
eight, 11 and 12 -- initially, expanding to all grades by 2000-
2001; pre-K programs for 3- and 4-year-olds; year-round school
and smaller classes for fourth and eighth graders who fall
several years behind; and a more extensive school-to-career
program that would place seniors in paid work positions.
===== GOAL FOUR: TEACHER ED/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT =====
*3 TEACHER STANDARDS: THEY'RE UP, THEY'RE DOWN IN MASS.
The Massachusetts Board of Education last week voted to
lower the passing score on the state's first teacher
certification test, after members discovered that 59% of would-be
teachers had flunked the test. Board Chairman John Silber cast
the tie-breaking vote, after his board voted 4-4 to lower the
standard.
According to the Boston GLOBE, the lower passing rate means
that instead of nearly 60% of candidates flunking the test, only
44% would not pass the test (Wong, 6/23).
Mass. was one of only seven states that did not require
teachers to pass a test to gain certification, notes the WASH
POST (AP, McMillan, 6/23). Silber surprised many when he voted
in favor of lowering the standard, according to the GLOBE. While
expressing regret over the number of failing candidates who would
be in the classroom, Silber said the first-time certification
test is "a very big step toward improving the qualify of
education in Massachusetts," and lowering the standard is one way
to ensure the reform "sticks."
Silber also pointed out that lawyers had advised that
lowering the standard could be a safeguard against lawsuits.
Some teachers were in an uproar over the test because they had
been told that the test was being used to establish a baseline,
not to judge their merit, writes the POST. "It's a political
year, and generally in a political year taking potshots at
teachers becomes great sport," quipped Kathy Kelley, president of
the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers.
State Education Commissioner Frank Haydu concurs with
Kelley, and yesterday offered his resignation effective 1
September. "Our teachers -- because of the governor -- are being
tarred and feathered with being incompetent and illiterate," he
stated.
Gov. Paul Cellucci was "outraged" by the Board's decision to
lower the standard, and said the board will meet this week to
reconsider its decision (AP/WASH POST, 6/1). Cellucci also has
called for testing current teachers as well as prospective
teacher candidates.
The state DoEd released a sample of the exam, which Silber
said was at about the eighth-grade level. The POST reports that
some test-takers "misspelled words a 9-year-old could spell --
even though the words were right in front of them. Some wrote at
the fifth- or sixth-grade level. Some wrote sentences lacking
verbs."
Cambridge-based FairTest Director Monty Neill challenged the
nature of teacher assessments. "Students and their parents had
the community have a right to expect competent, caring teachers.
The question is if this test has anything to do with that," he
said.
Robert Schaeffer, also of FairTest, questioned that the
state set the passing score after candidates took the exam, which
he claims "demonstrates that it was arbitrary, based on politics
rather than merit," writes the GLOBE. Schaeffer noted that an
Ala. teacher-certification test was defeated in the courts during
the 1980s because it had set cut-off scores in a similar fashion.
Candidates who failed the teacher test can schedule to re-
take the test on 11 July free-of-charge.
*4 PUTTING ON THE BRAKES: TEACHER TRAINING ON HOLD IN MARYLAND
Md. state school Superintendent Nancy Grasmick was
frustrated, but not defeated, last week when her plan to make
instruction in reading more rigorous for teacher candidates at
the state's schools of education was put on hold (Athans,
Baltimore SUN, 6/25). "It's an extremely critical decision and
it will make a powerful statement about reading as a fundamental
skill," Grasmick said of her plan.
However, State Board of Education members were more
hesitant, delaying a vote on the matter until the July meeting.
Grasmick's plan calls for boosting the number of reading courses
required for elementary school certification from one to four,
and doubling the number for middle and high school certification
from one course to two, writes the paper.
Grasmick unveiled her proposal in December, with the goal of
improving reading performance "in a state where nearly two-thirds
of third-graders don't meet the state standard in reading and 45
percent of fourth-graders couldn't do basic grade-level work on a
national test in reading in 1994," reports the paper.
Recently, the International Reading Association issued new
reading standards that called for more course work for teachers
than is prescribed in Gramsick's plan. Supporters of the
Grasmick proposal include many school system leaders, the Johns
Hopkins University, parents and teachers who testified that their
preparation to teach reading was inadequate.
Staunch opponents of the plan include college deans and
teacher union leaders, notes the paper. The deans complain that
a state should not be in the business of prescribing courses.
Instead, the deans urge the state to give a performance exam and
let colleges decide the curriculum that would enhance a teacher
candidate's chances of passing the test.
Robert Moore, an educational reform specialist for the
Maryland State Teachers Association, while in favor of boosting
teachers' reading expertise, prefers a more "collaborative
solution" designed by "stakeholders," including schools, colleges
and parents. Moore also recommends that the state tell each
school to review its own reading scores to decide whether it has
a problem. "I'd hold them absolutely accountable for diagnosing
and fixing it, "he said.
===== GOAL SEVEN: SAFE, DISCIPLINED AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS =====
*5 "REALITY CLOCK:" RESOURCES FOR AT-RISK YOUTH
The Bureau for At-Risk Youth is offering a new on-line
service and a multi-media drug education program for educators,
prevention specialists and others working with troubled youth.
The "Reality Clock" is an information feature of The Bureau
For At-Risk Youth's website (www.at-risk.com) that provides hard-
to-find statistical information for policy makers, legislators,
advocacy groups, educators and others involved in issues such as
school violence, teen pregnancy, underage smoking and drug and
alcohol abuse (The Bureau For At-Risk Youth press release, 6/18).
DALE 2000 is an updated, interactive multimedia version of
the DALE program written by Purdue University Research
Foundation. The program, designed for educators who work with
youth, provides young people with "critical and current
information regarding the serious health and social consequences
of substance abuse" so they can make "smart" decisions about drug
use and misuse, writes the release.
Two grade levels are available -- grades 4-6 and grades 7-
12. Each area focuses on five topics: Drugs and Your Body;
Drugs and You; Drug Dependency; Drugs and the Law; and Drug
Information. A short quiz for students concludes each section.
For more information contact The Bureau for At-Risk Youth;
135 Dupont Street; Plainview, N.Y. 11803-0760; 800/99-YOUTH;
www.at-risk.com.
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