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--- Wednesday --- November 11, 1998 --- Vol. 1 --- No. 62--
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
NEGP Weekly
THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
In cooperation with the DAILY REPORT CARD
CALLING ALL JUNIOR INVENTORS
Aspiring Thomas Edisons are
wanted to compete in the 17th
annual Duracell/NSTA
Scholarship Competition. The
competition is open to students
in grades 6 through 12.
Student inventors will be
judged in two categories -- 6th
through 9th grade and 10th
through 12th grade. In each
category there will be one
first place winner, two second
place winners, five third place
winners, 12 fourth place
winners, and 30 fifth place
winners.
Prizes range from $20,000 in
savings bonds for first place
winners to $500 in bonds for
fifth place winners.
Students entering the contest
must build devices that are
educational, useful or
entertaining and powered by one
or more DURACELL batteries.
Judging is based on creativity,
practicality, energy efficiency
of the invention and clarity of
the written description.
Submissions are due at the NSTA
by 15 January 1999.
For more info, call 888/255-
4242 or visit
www.nsta.org/programs/duracell.
__________ __________
| SPOTLIGHT |
| |
| STANDARDS AND SHORTAGES |
| |
| The standards movement |
| has caught fire, with every |
| state except Iowa possess- |
| ing or developing content |
| standards for students, |
| according to a new report |
| issued by the American |
| Federation of Teachers. |
| |
| An increasing number of |
| states also have standards- |
| based exit exams tied to |
| high school graduation and |
| allocate funds to help |
| struggling students meet |
| the standards. (#1) |
| |
| However, policymakers |
| must now ask if schools |
| have the key tool to make |
| standards matter for |
| students -- quality |
| teachers? Maryland |
| officials are bracing for a |
| looming teacher shortage, |
| attempting to put in place |
| strategies to recruit and |
| retain teachers capable of |
| carrying out a standards- |
| based curriculum. (#2) |
|_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"If the folks in charge of moral guidance don't make a bigger
fuss about ethical behavior, it won't be a big deal."
Joe Krouse, associate publisher of Who's Who Among American High
School Students, on the high level of cheating reported by honor-
roll students. (#4)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the DAILY REPORT CARD |
| 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
AFT'S STANDARDS MATTER REPORT: States are moving forward. (#1)
GOAL FOUR: TEACHER ED/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
TEACHER SHORTAGE: Maryland's plan to find new recruits. (#2)
STUDENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH: Helping teachers teach. (#3)
IN THE NEWS
NEWS BRIEFS: Vouchers and Who's Who. (#4)
===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*1 AFT'S STANDARDS MATTER REPORT: STATES ARE MOVING FORWARD
Since 1995, the American Federation of Teachers has reviewed
states' content standards. The latest report, issued last week,
not only evaluates the quality of state standards in the core
academic areas, but also looks at state plans to assess the
standards, to attach consequences to those assessments and to
identify and provide assistance to students having difficulty
meeting the standards.
Overall, the AFT found that states' commitment to standards-
based reform remains strong. The District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, and every state except Iowa have set or are setting common
academic standards for students.
According to AFT criteria, the quality of the state
standards continues to improve. Despite the AFT "raising the
bar" on what constitutes quality standards, 19 states -- up from
two in 1997 -- have standards that are generally clear and
specific and grounded in particular content to meet AFT's common
core criterion.
Other findings:
Seven states have, or are developing, student promotion
policies based on standards, and 24 states -- up from four
in 1997 -- will have standards-based exit exams that
students must pass to graduate;
Twenty states offer incentives to students who exceed
standards, most by offering advanced diplomas to students
who exceed the minimum standards for graduation, with five
states offering tuition aid or stipends to students who
exceed state standards; and
Twenty states, up from seven in 1997, will require and help
fund extra assistance for students struggling to meet
standards.
"Nationally, the trends are all in the right direction, with
states making their academic standards tougher, clearer, and more
consequential for students," said Sandra Feldman, president of
the American Federation of Teachers. "We're especially pleased
that more states are requiring and funding extra academic help
for students who are struggling to meet the standards."
The AFT's criteria for rating standards are:
Standards must define in every grade, or for selected
clusters of grades, the common content and skills students
should learn in each of the core subjects;
Standards must be detailed, explicit and firmly rooted in
the content of the subject area to lead to a common core
curriculum;
For each of the four core curriculum -- English, math,
science and social studies -- particular content must be
present; and
Standards must provide attention to both content and skills.
"Making Standards Matter 1998" consists of five sections,
including judging state standards reform, major findings,
recommendations, a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of
each state's standards, as well as a report on their plans for
assessment, student incentives and academic intervention. The
final section includes letters received from states after state
officials were asked to review the AFT's findings for their
state.
"Making Standards Matter" is available for $10 prepaid from
the AFT Order Department (Item #263) by contacting the AFT at
202/879-4400. The report also is available on the AFT's Web site
at www.aft.org.
===== GOAL FOUR: TEACHER ED/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT =====
*2 TEACHER SHORTAGE: MARYLAND'S PLAN TO FIND NEW RECRUITS
Bonuses and tax breaks are part of Md. school Superintendent
Nancy Grasmick's plan to address the pending teacher shortage
(Argetsinger, WASH POST, 10/28). Her plan, recently passed by
the state Board of Education, is headed to the state Legislature
in January.
According to the paper, Md. school officials anticipate they
will need to hire more than 10,000 new teachers in 2001, which is
nearly twice as many as they hired last year. Yet, they also are
faced with a stagnant number of graduates from the state's
teacher colleges -- about 2,500 per year. Lower birth rates and
a booming economy that lures graduates away from lower paying
jobs like teaching are reasons given for the low number of
teacher graduates, notes the paper.
Grasmick's $50M package includes a $5,000 signing bonus to
entice new teachers who must promise to teach in Md. schools for
three years. It also would grant teachers a $500 credit on their
state income tax, which would cost about $25M. Grasmick concedes
that the tax credit provision is highly controversial.
Other aspects of the Grasmick plan are:
Tax credits for college courses;
10% raises for teachers who receive national certification;
Awards of up to $1,000 for teachers with advanced
certification who work in "high-risk" schools with
significant numbers of disadvantaged and academically
struggling students;
An expanded mentoring program for new teachers; and
An extension from the current two-year probationary period
to three years for new teachers.
"I know some of these will never see the light of day," said
Grasmick. "But if it generates the kind of discussion we need
about this problem, then it will have provided an important
service."
*3 STUDENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH: HELPING TEACHERS TEACH
As many states put in place more rigorous academic
standards, one group of students that typically lags behind in
achievement is limited English proficient (LEP) students (The CAL
REPORTER, Center for Applied Linguistics, October 1998). A new
federal grant is intended to address the problem by better
preparing teachers to meet the academic needs of these students.
A three-year project, funded by the U.S. DoEd's Fund to
Improve Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), is underway that unites
teacher educators and practicing teachers in N.C. The Center for
Applied Linguistics and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction
received the funds to "increase the number of teachers who are
prepared to serve LEP students in North Carolina schools," writes
the newsletter.
Teacher education faculty at eight institutions of higher
education will be paired with English as a second language and
content area teachers who have been deemed "exemplary in serving
the educational needs of LEP students," notes the newsletter.
Under the project, university professors will become more aware
of classroom practices through observations and co-teaching with
K-12 ESL and mainstream teachers in local schools.
A teacher-teaching-teacher network will be developed as
project participants train other K-12 teachers statewide. A
major goal of the project is to build long-term, collaborative
communities among professors and teachers that will support an
"environment for professional growth," reports CAL REPORTER.
New university-level methods courses in the core content
areas -- English, language arts, math, science and social studies
-- will evolve that meld concepts of second language acquisition
and methods of teaching English as a second language.
The N.C. program is expected to become a national model for
teacher professional development of teachers.
==== IN THE NEWS ====
*4 NEWS BRIEFS: VOUCHERS AND WHO'S WHO
SUPREME COURT SIDESTEPS VOUCHERS: The U.S. Supreme Court on
Monday decided not to take action in the highly charged Milwaukee
school voucher case. By an 8 to 1 vote, the justices rejected a
challenge to Wis. state policy that allows taxpayer-funded
vouchers to be used for private schools that include religious
schools.
The N.Y. TIMES reports that the court's decision "to avoid
involvement means that there is still no national constitutional
standard to judge such efforts." (Lewis, 11/10). For now, the
battle remains to be fought at the state level. Cases currently
are before the Ohio and Vt. Supreme Courts and pending in lower
courts in Ariz. and Maine.
By declining to rule in the case, the Supreme Court justices
have left stand Wis. policy that provides up to $5,000 in
vouchers to as many as 15,000 of the school district's 100,000
students, writes the TIMES. According to the paper, the
vouchers, given to disadvantaged students, have been used at 122
private schools in the city, of which 89 are religious ones.
Voucher advocates expressed satisfaction with the ruling.
"This was not an explicit endorsement of the Milwaukee program,"
conceded Clint Bolick, director of the Institute for Justice, a
pro-voucher group located in Washington, D.C. "But it means that
the highest court ruling on this is the Wisconsin Supreme Court,
which held that Milwaukee's voucher program did not violate
either the state or Federal constitutions."
New York U Professor Joseph Viteritti, who has examined the
school voucher movement, said the decision makes it "hard for
people who are against school choice programs to claim they
automatically violate the First Amendment."
American Federation of Teachers President Sandra Feldman
said that while the Supreme Court decision shed no new light on
the voucher issue, voters last week "did send a message loud and
clear ... that they want public schools improved for the millions
of students who attend them." She added: "The public wants what
works -- smaller class sizes, more qualified teachers hired, and
more schools built. It's time to get down to the business of
improving student achievement and say 'enough' to what doesn't
work."
THEIR CHEATING HEARTS: Four out of five top high school
students nationwide reported in a survey for Who's Who Among
American High School Students that they cheated to get ahead.
The survey of slightly over 3,000 students from the pages of
Who's Who also revealed a "ho-hum" student attitude toward the
cheating.
"In all likelihood, when these kids look at the examples now
being set by traditional role models -- the president, business
leaders, Hollywood stars, even the clergy -- they have an easier
time excusing their own behavior, " said Joe Krouse, associate
publisher of Who's Who Among American High School Students."
Eighty-percent of students surveyed admitted to having
cheated during their academic careers, the highest percentage in
the 29-year history of the survey. Of those who admitted to
cheating, 95% said they never were caught. Over one-third of top
students said they never heard anything from their parents about
cheating. "If the folks in charge of moral guidance don't make a
bigger fuss about ethical behavior, it won't be a big deal," said
Krouse, who chastises both parents and school authorities.
Other findings from the survey:
A 19% increase from last year in the percentage of students
expressing prejudice against homosexuals (48%);
15% of students surveyed said they are prejudiced against
African Americans and Hispanics, more than double last
year's response;
18% admitted to having had sexual intercourse, the majority
of them (84%) when they were 16 years old or younger;
47% said they have consumed alcohol, despite being underage;
only 4%, down from 10% last year, said they mix driving with
drinking;
93% said they have access to the Internet, most through
school (71%);
82% said they are happy most of the time; and
41% said a family is what they want most out of life.
For more information, see Who's Who Among American High
School Students' new on-line database at www.honoring.com.
_______________________________________________________________
| National Education Goals Panel |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Suite 502; Washington, D.C. 20037 |
| 202/632-0957 (Fax); e-mail: negp@goalline.org |
| Web site: www.negp.gov |
|_______________________________________________________________|
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