NEGP Weekly for May 11, 2000
NEGPWEEK (NEGPWEEK@westat.com)
Fri, 12 May 2000 15:14:10 -0400
****INVITATION****
Who: You are invited to join Governor Tommy Thompson (WI), Chair of the NEGP
and US Representative Matthew Martinez, Panel member Where: Alhambra City Hall,
Council Chambers, Los Angeles, California When: Monday, May 22, 9:00AM
-12:30PM What: Regional field hearing on achieving high academic standards with
minority and urban students
Why: Hear current effective practices in use in Los Angeles, CA and Texas.
This field hearing is the first of four scheduled to be held nationwide as part
of the Panel's 2000 agenda. The hearings are intended to raise public awareness
of the current best practices in helping all students achieve high academic
standards.
*******************THE NEGP WEEKLY****************
A weekly news update on America's Education Goals
and school improvement efforts across America from the
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
Thursday - May 11, 2000 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 52
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CONTENTS
**STATE POLICY
1.) UNIVERSAL PRE-K: CONNECTICUT'S GOAL, GEORGIA'S REALITY (Goal 1)
2.) NEW JERSEY STANDARDS: CHANGES IN THE CLASSROOM (Goals 3 and 4)
**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
3.) EDUCATION EMPOWERMENT ACT: IMPLICATIONS FOR PHILADELPHIA (All Goals)
4.) PENMANSHIP: THE WRITING'S ON THE WALL (Goal 3)
**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
5.) TITLE I TOP 99: RILEY HONORS SCHOOLS (Goal 4)
6.) GIRLS: EQUITY GAINS REPORTED IN SCHOOLS (Goals 2,3, and 5)
**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE
7.) HIGH-STAKES TESTING: EXAMINED AT AERA MEETING (Goal 3)
8.) VIOLENCE: WHY ARE SOME CHILDREN VIOLENT AND WHAT CAN WE DO (Goal 7)
**FEATURE STORY
9.) SCIENCE TEXTS: "LIGHT ON LEARNING" IN MIDDLE GRADES (Goal 5)
***FACT OF THE WEEK***
Between 1991 and 1996, the U.S. and 51 states (out of 54) significantly
increased the percentage of degrees earned by female students that were
awarded in mathematics or science.
--The National Education Goals Report: Building a nation of learners, 1999
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STATE POLICY NEWS
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1.) ******** UNIVERSAL PRE-K: CONNECTICUT'S GOAL, GEORGIA'S REALITY
(Goal One: Ready To Learn)
Universal prekindergarten has been underway in Georgia since 1995. It is
the only state to offer all-day, free preschool to any four-year-old
regardless of family income, writes the HARTFORD COURANT (Green, 4/1). A
state lottery pours about $220 million a year into preschool education in
Georgia, which has helped "make preschool seem as natural as kindergarten"
reports the paper.
Connecticut's goal is similar to Georgia's - preschool education for all
three- to four-year-olds. However, Connecticut is not as far along as
Georgia. So far, the state's school readiness initiative covers only about
6,500 children in the state's poorest cities, compared with about 62,000
children of all income backgrounds who are served by Georgia's preschool
program, notes the COURANT. About 70 percent of children attend some type
of preschool in both states, but in Georgia, the majority goes to the
state-regulated programs that require high standards. Beth Bye, president
of the Connecticut Association for the Education of Young Children, claims
the quality of preschool programs in Connecticut varies greatly. The paper
notes that the Connecticut General Assembly will decide if state funding of
urban preschools will be expanded from the $80 million that was allocated
over the last two years.
"It is important to universalize [preschool] because people care more about
their own children than other people's children," said Yale University
psychologist Edward Zigler, founder of Head Start. "Would we ever have had
schools in this country if we said the only ones who could go are the poor
kids?"
For more information, visit the Georgia Department of Education at
www.doe.k12.ga.us. or the Connecticut Department of Education at
www.state.ct.us/sde/
2.) ******** NEW JERSEY STANDARDS: CHANGES IN THE CLASSROOM
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Four: Teacher Education and
Professional Development)
New Jersey's four-year-old standards are cited for changing the content
presented to students in math and science classes, but not how teachers
teach those subjects, according to a new report released at the American
Educational Research Association annual meeting. The reason given for the
disconnect between content and teaching is the lack of appropriate
professional development opportunities for teachers.
In math, for example, students are not only studying whole-number facts, but
also probability and the use of data. Science classes include more focus on
chemistry, physics and investigative skills. However, William Firestone,
professor of education policy at Rutgers University, and one of the report's
authors, said that the "kind of innovative teaching that helps students
understand mathematical and scientific concepts ... has yet to take hold,"
writes EDUCATION WEEK (Manzo, 5/3).
New Jersey officials point to new professional development standards,
effective in the fall, which will require 100 hours of "rigorous
content-area training for teachers every five years," notes the paper. Jay
Doolan, director of the office of standards and professional development for
the state Department of Education, believes the professional development
standards will significantly improve instruction.
For more information, visit the New Jersey Department of Education at
www.state.nj.us/education/
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Community and Local News
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3.) ******** EDUCATION EMPOWERMENT ACT: IMPLICATIONS FOR PHILADELPHIA
(All Goals)
School districts in Pennsylvania will be allowed to convert public schools
to charters or "independent" schools, with new principals and faculty, under
a new law recently passed by the General Assembly. The legislation also
gives 11 districts identified as low achieving, including Philadelphia,
"vast new powers" to contract with for-profit corporations and other groups
to manage schools or special services (Mezzacappa and Snyder, Philadelphia
INQUIRER, 5/5).
The 11 "distressed" districts are required to establish empowerment teams
comprised of parents, teachers, community and business leaders and at least
one board member and the superintendent, to develop an improvement plan.
Secretary of Education Eugene Hickok must approve each plan.
For more information, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Education at
www.pde.psu.edu/
4.) ******** PENMANSHIP: THE WRITING'S ON THE WALL
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)
Elementary schools across the country vary considerably on how much
instruction is focused on proper penmanship. While some schools continue
to drill students on the cursive writing, others have de-emphasized
instruction, with the notion that most students eventually will compose on
the computer keyboard. "Society doesn't demand it," William Huber,
principal at Pattie Elementary in Prince William County, Virginia, said of
his decision to give handwriting classes a low-priority status at his school
(Samuels, WAHSINGTON POST, 4/4).
Tamara Plakins Thornton, author of the book, Handwriting in America, informs
readers that handwriting instruction peaked 90 years ago with the popular
"Palmer method" that required students to "push and pull their pens across
the page before moving up to actual letters and words," reports the paper.
However, the lessons waned in the 1970s when advocates of whole language
argued that "harping on the way students form their letters would stifle
their impulse for self-expression," writes the POST.
"Really all children need to do is learn how to write well enough," said
Thornton. Some schools are opting for a simplified cursive curriculum,
Handwriting without Tears, created by Jan Olsen.
For more information, visit the WASHINGTON POST at www.washingtonpost.com.
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Federal Policy News
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5.) ******** TITLE I TOP 99: RILEY HONORS SCHOOLS
(Goal Four: Student Achievement and Citizenship)
U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley earlier this month recognized 99
elementary and secondary schools for having outstanding Title I programs.
The U.S. Department of Education presented the awards in partnership with
the National Association of State Title I Directors. This year, the Title I
Recognition Program focused on schools that use schoolwide programs and
targeted assistance projects to provide effective instruction and
challenging academic content for all students.
For example, Adair County R-II Elementary in Brashear, Missouri, was honored
for its schoolwide project aligned with the state's "Show-Me Standards."
The school's program integrates extended professional development, parent
education and involvement, computer-assisted instruction and character
education. It also improved the student-teacher ratio with the addition of
a second certified teacher.
Adair also boasts a "Storm Readers" before-school reading club, as well as
an after-school tutorial for students needing extra help.
For more information and a list of recognized schools, visit www.ed.gov.
6.) ******** GIRLS: EQUITY GAINS REPORTED IN SCHOOLS
(Goal Two: School Completion, Goal Three: Student Achievement and
Citizenship
Goal Five: Math and Science)
In most cases, gender gaps in schools "have ... been eliminated and, in
others, have significantly decreased," according to a new report, Trends in
Educational Equity of Girls and Women. The report was released late last
month by the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of
Education.
Findings from the report include:
> Girls encounter fewer problems in the early grades than do boys and they
consistently outperform boys in reading and writing.
> Girls who are seniors in high schools have higher educational goals than
boys and are more likely to enroll in college in the fall following high
school graduation.
> However, girls continue to lag behind boys in math and science
achievement in high school and are less likely to major in those subjects in
college.
> Girls in grades 1 through 12 are less likely than boys to be identified
as having learning disabilities.
> Female high school students are more likely than males to take AP exams.
> Boys and girls drop out of school at similar rates.
For more information, visit www.nces.ed.gov.
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Research and Education Practices
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7.) ******** HIGH-STAKES TESTING: EXAMINED AT AERA MEETING
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)
Challenges facing states and school districts over high-stakes testing was
the "dominant theme" at the American Educational Research Association (AERA)
annual meeting held last month, reports EDUCATION WEEK (Viadero, 5/3). Some
researchers argued that high-stakes tests narrow the curriculum and
"stultify" teacher instruction, notes the paper.
Others argued that policymakers misunderstand the purposes for which
high-stakes assessments were designed. These tests should be aligned with
what students have been taught throughout the year, not how students "stack
up against students across the country on a set of general, unrelated
skills," reports ED WEEK.
Lorrie Shepard, professor of research methodology at the University of
Colorado at Boulder, said schools need newer forms of assessment that are
more clearly tied to how students learn. "Our goal should be to find ways
to fend off the negative effects of externally imposed tests and to develop,
instead, classroom assessment practices that can be trusted to help students
take the next steps in learning," she added.
For more information on the AERA meeting, visit www.aera.net
8.) ******** VIOLENCE: WHY ARE SOME CHILDREN VIOLENT AND WHAT CAN WE DO
(Goal Seven: Safe Schools)
A new discussion guide discusses key public policy choices to be made that
could help children and teens turn away from violent behavior. Violent
Behavior: Can We Change the Trend, published by the National Issues Forum,
defines three choices that, in turn, offer direction for public action. The
choices are:
> Kids need a nonviolent popular culture.
> Kids at risk of violence need more help.
> Kids need more discipline.
According to the authors, the three approaches include ideas and proposals
that are drawn from across the political spectrum. While some elements of
the choices can be mixed, most cannot because each choice has its own set of
priorities and agenda.
To order Violent Kids: Can We Change the Trend, call Kendall Hunt Publishing
at (800)228-0810, or visit the National Issues Forum at www.nifi.org.
*****************
Feature Story
*****************
9.) ******** SCIENCE TEXTS: "LIGHT ON LEARNING" IN MIDDLE GRADES
(Goal Five: Math and Science)
Not one of the middle grades science texts evaluated by Project 2061 rated
satisfactory. The study by Project 2061, part of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), examined how well textbooks for the
middle grades help students learn key ideas in earth science, life science
and physical science based on AAAS's Benchmarks for Science Literacy and the
National Research Council's National Science Education Standards. The
analysts included middle school teachers, curriculum specialists and
professors of science education. Nine textbooks were reviewed.
The analysts found that the textbooks - both widely used ones and texts that
are relatively new to the market - covered too many topics and did not
develop any of them well. Classroom activities described in the texts were
found to be either irrelevant to learning key science ideas or did not help
students relate what they were doing to the underlying ideas.
Project 2061 examiners also reviewed three stand-alone units that are not
part of any textbook: Matter and Molecules; Food, Energy, and Growth; and
Chemistry That Applies. These units, developed at Michigan State University
and the Michigan Department of Education, are "based explicitly on research
about how students learn," notes Project 2061, and across the board they
rated much higher than the textbooks.
According to Project 2061, a satisfactory textbook should have instructional
support that is designed to:
> Alert teachers to commonly held student ideas. Of the texts and
stand-alone units reviewed, only Matter and Molecules lists misconceptions
reported in student learning research, explains each one and why students
believe it, and describes what has to change for them to find the fact
credible.
> Provide students with a variety of phenomena. A phenomenon is an event
that can be scientifically described. The Project 2061 report found that
the Matter and Molecules unit and three of the texts provide a satisfactory
variety of physical science phenomena related to the kinetic molecular
theory.
> Guide student interpretation and reasoning. Only Matter and Molecules
provides excellent guidance to help students interpret and reason about
phenomena.
This is the second in a series of Project 2061 textbooks evaluations funded
by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Findings from Project 2061's
analysis of middle school mathematics textbooks were released in January
1999.
For more information, visit Project 2061 at www.project2061.org.
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The NEGP WEEKLY is a publication of:
The National Education Goals Panel
1255 22nd Street NW, Suite 502
Washington, DC 20037;
202-724-0015
NEGP Executive Director: Ken Nelson
Publisher: Barbara A. Pape
www.negp.gov
************************************
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WHAT IS THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL?
The National Education Goals Panel is a unique bipartisan body of state and
federal officials created in 1990 by President Bush and the nation's
Governors to report state and national progress and urge education
improvement efforts to reach the National Education Goals.
WHAT DOES THE GOALS PANEL DO?
The Goals Panel has been charged to:
* Report state and national progress toward the National Education Goals.
* Work to establish a system of high academic standards and assessments.
* Identify promising and effective reform strategies.
* Recommend actions for state, federal, and local governments to take.
* Build a nationwide, bipartisan consensus to achieve the Goals.
WHAT ARE THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS?
There are eight National Education Goals set for the year 2000. They are:
1) All children will start school ready to learn.
2) The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90%.
3) All students will become competent in challenging subject matter.
4) Teachers will have the knowledge and skills they need.
5) U.S. students will be first in the world in math and science achievement.
6) Every adult American will be literate.
7) Schools will be safe, disciplined, and free of drugs, guns and alcohol.
8) Schools will promote parental involvement and participation.
WHO SERVES ON THE GOALS PANEL AND HOW ARE THEY CHOSEN?
Eight governors, four state legislators, four members of the U.S. Congress,
and two members appointed by the President serve on the Goals Panel. Members
are appointed by the leadership of the National Governors' Association, the
National Conference of State Legislatures, the U.S. Senate and House, and
the President. The number of Republicans and Democrats are made even by
appointing five governors from the party that does not control the White
House.
The current Panel Members are Governors Tommy G. Thompson, WI (Chair, 2000);
John Engler, MI; Jim Geringer, WY; James B. Hunt, Jr., NC; Frank Keating,
OK; Frank O'Bannon, IN; Paul E. Patton, KY; Cecil H. Underwood, WV;
Secretary of Education Richard Riley; Michael Cohen, U.S. Assistant
Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education; U.S. Senator Jeff
Bingaman, NM; U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords, VT; U.S. Representative William F.
Goodling, PA; U.S. Representative Matthew G. Martinez, CA; Representative G.
Spencer Coggs, WI; Representative Mary Lou Cowlishaw, IL; Representative
Douglas R. Jones, ID;
Senator Stephen Stoll, MO.
The annual Goals Report and other publications of the Panel are available
without charge upon request from the Goals Panel or at its web site
www.negp.gov. Requests can be made by mail, fax, e-mail, or Internet.
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