The NEGP Weekly for December 8, 2000
Negpweek (NEGPWEEK@WESTAT.com)
Mon, 11 Dec 2000 09:16:58 -0500
> *****************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 - December 7, 2000 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 82
> *************************************************
>
> CONTENTS
>
> **STATE POLICY
> 1.) TEXAS' TEACHER RECRUITMENT EFFORT: A NEW PERMIT FOR TEACHING (Goal 4)
> 2.) MARYLAND: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IMPROVES (Goal 3)
>
> **COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
> 3.) A HIGH-TECH HIGH SCHOOL: BUILD IT AND KIDS WILL STAY IN IDAHO (Goals 2
> and 6)
> 4.) HOW TO SUCCEED IN SCHOOLS?: HOUSTON'S HIRING BUSINESS MANAGERS (Goal
> 4)
>
> **FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
> 5.) SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS FUNDS: HOW EFFECTIVE ARE THEY? (Goal 7)
> 6.) THE BENEFITS OF KINDERGARTEN: GAINS IN READING AND MATH (Goals 1 and
> 3)
>
> **RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE
> 7.) TEACHING TEACHERS AND STANDARDS: THE ROLE OF TEACHER PREP (Goal 4)
> 8.) TEACHER-PARENT BONDS: A HARVARD PROJECT (Goals 4 and 8)
>
> **FEATURE STORY
> 9.) PURSUING EXCELLENCE: AN INTERNATIONAL STUDY OF EIGHTH-GRADE MATH AND
> SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT (Goal 5)
>
>
>
> ***FACT OF THE WEEK***
> Between 1990 and 1997, the U.S. and 50 states (out of 54) significantly
> increased the percentages of mothers who began receiving prenatal care
> during their first trimester of pregnancy.
>
> --The National Education Goals Report: Building a nation of learners, 1999
> http://www.negp.gov/reports/99rpt.pdf
>
>
> ********************
> STATE POLICY NEWS
> ********************
>
> 1.) ******** TEXAS' TEACHER RECRUITMENT EFFORT: A NEW PERMIT FOR TEACHING
> (Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)
>
> Early last month, the Texas State Board for Educator Certification voted
> to consolidate three temporary teaching credentials into one "transitional
> permit" aimed to attract people who want to switch careers. The new
> permit targets individuals who are not graduates of traditional or
> alternative teacher-preparation programs nor certified in other states
> (Blair, EDUCATION WEEK, 11/29). Instead, these recruits would be rated
> based on life experiences and scores on a test they would take once they
> had entered the classroom.
>
> John Cole, president of the Texas Federation of Teachers, argued against
> the new policy, which must be approved by the state school board, saying
> the permit would open the floodgates to untrained teachers who could end
> up teaching outside their field. The proposal would require administrators
> to notify parents if their child's teacher is teaching outside of their
> field only if the teacher failed the state exam, which would be scheduled
> after the first year of teaching.
>
> For more information, visit the Texas State Board for Educator
> Certification at http://www.sbec.state.tx.us.
>
>
> 2.) ******** MARYLAND: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IMPROVES
> (Goal Three: Student Achievement)
>
> Baltimore was among the 19 of 24 school systems in Maryland to show
> overall improvements in student achievement over the past year, according
> to the results of the Maryland School Performance Report. Noting that "we
> are steadily realizing our vision for accountable, high-performing public
> schools in Maryland," State Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick
> reported that Howard County topped the state in grades 5 and 8, while Kent
> County on Maryland's Eastern Shore had the overall highest performance.
>
> The state's annual report card measures how well schools are able to teach
> students basic skills and the application of those skills and knowledge in
> real-world problem solving exercises. Maryland's 2000 composite statewide
> test score jumped to 45.3 percent, up 1.5 percentage points over last year
> and 13.6 points since the scores were first compiled in 1993. That means
> that 45.3 percent of students statewide scored at or above the
> satisfactory level on the 2000 exam.
>
> However, performance gaps exist: girls outperform boys in reading and math
> and white and Asian students outperform African-American and Hispanic
> students. Economically disadvantaged students fall behind their wealthier
> peers.
>
> Ninety-three schools across the state currently are on the state's list of
> "reconstitution-eligible" schools, a probationary program that calls for
> school improvement plans and additional resources while schools work with
> the local system and state on overall school improvement. These schools
> have shown strong gains this year, with about two-thirds of the schools on
> the list since 1994 boosting their scores by 1999.
>
> For more information, visit the Maryland State Department of Education at
> http://www.msde.state.md.us.
>
>
> *************************
> COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
> *************************
>
>
> 3.) ******** A HIGH-TECH HIGH SCHOOL: BUILD IT AND KIDS WILL STAY IN IDAHO
> (Goal Two: High School Completion, Goal Three: Student Achievement And
> Goal Six: Adult Literacy And Lifelong Learning)
>
> An emerging high-tech industry led Idaho school leaders to build a
> cutting-edge, high-tech high school in Boise. Their goal is to halt the
> exodus of non-college-bound students to the "greener economic pastures" of
> other states, according to EDUCATION DAILY (Learner, 11/15).
>
> The Dehryl A. Dennis Professional-Technical Education Center is a joint
> effort of Boise's two high school districts. About 600 high school
> students attend class at the center. All of the instructors are certified
> in their fields and come from industry. Students can specialize in auto
> technology, auto-body repair, welding and construction. There are labs
> for each of these concentrations and smaller labs that contain electronics
> diagnostic equipment. Students have good opportunities to head
> immediately to the world of work, but are encouraged to pursue higher
> education. Students can earn up to 15 credit hours for college due to
> articulation agreements arranged between the high school and area
> colleges.
>
> For more information, visit the Boise school district at
> http://www.sd01.k12.id.us
>
>
> 4.) ******** HOW TO SUCCEED IN SCHOOLS?: HOUSTON'S HIRING BUSINESS
> MANAGERS
> (Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)
>
> The Houston school district is recruiting and training more school-based
> business managers in an attempt to "ease the increasing managerial burdens
> placed on its principals (Learner, EDUCATION DAILY, 11/27). Principals
> today must deal with more litigation and the standards movement has added
> a layer of accountability that holds the principal responsible. Adding a
> business manager will free up principals to focus on instructional issues,
> explained Cathy Mincberg, Houston's chief of staff for business services.
>
> Michael Carr, a spokesman from the National Association of Secondary
> School Principals, predicts that soon schools may have co-principals - one
> to handle managerial duties, the other for instruction. The trend to hire
> one principal from the business community is not one recommended by Carr.
> He argues that while people trained in business may be able to run the
> school they do not have the instructional background to help provide an
> education for students.
>
> For more information, visit the Houston public schools at
> http://www.houston.isd.tenet.edu
>
>
> *********************
> FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
> *********************
>
>
> 5.) ******** SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS FUNDS: HOW EFFECTIVE ARE THEY?
> (Goal Seven: Safe Schools)
>
> Problems exist at the school district level in using federal funds from
> the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program, according to a new report to be
> released by the U.S. Department of Education. EDUCATION DAILY writes that
> the examination of Safe and Drug-Free Schools funds are applied
> haphazardly and spread too thin at the local level (Cardman, 11/22).
>
> For example, only half of the 600 local education agencies surveyed have
> developed a measurable goal for their prevention activities. Another
> problem is that few districts (9 percent) put in place a prevention
> program that is grounded in research.
>
> In 1998, the Department of Education issued "Principles of Effectiveness,"
> a document that discussed the use of program funds and "emphasized
> accountability and research-based practices," notes ED DAILY. Yet, the
> report concludes that it is "questionable" whether districts are in
> compliance with the regulations.
>
> For more information on the report, Progress in Prevention: Report on the
> National Study of Local Education Agency Activities Under the Safe and
> Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act," visit the Department of Education
> at http://www.ed.gov. The report soon will be available at the web site.
>
>
> 6.) ******** THE BENEFITS OF KINDERGARTEN: GAINS IN READING AND MATH
> (Goal One: Ready To Learn and Goal Three: Student Achievement)
>
> Children from all economic backgrounds improve their reading and math
> performance during kindergarten and increase their readiness for future
> learning, according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of
> Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). However,
> significant gaps in more advanced skills continue to exist between at-risk
> children and their peers.
>
> U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley said the report brings rise to
> numerous questions, including: "Would universal pre-school reduce the
> gaps in skills that appear before children even enter kindergarten? Would
> all-day kindergarten make a difference? Would after-school programs in
> elementary and middle schools be especially beneficial to at-risk students
> in closing the gap? What can parents do long before their children enter
> kindergarten?
>
> The Kindergarten Year found that after a year of kindergarten:
> > those children who could recognize their letters increased from 65
> percent to 94 percent;
> > children who could understand the letter-sound relationship at the
> beginning of words rose from 29 percent to 72 percent;
> > those who could understand the letter-sound relationship at the end of
> words increased form 17 percent to 52 percent
>
> For more information, visit NCES at http://www.ed.gov.nces
>
>
> *********************************
> RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES
> *********************************
>
>
> 7.) ******** TEACHING TEACHERS AND STANDARDS: THE ROLE OF TEACHER PREP
> (Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)
>
> In a paper for the Council for Basic Education's (CBE) BASIC EDUCATION
> publication, Diana Rigden writes that standards have not only "raised the
> stakes for what elementary and secondary students need to know and be able
> to do," but also have "raised expectations for what teachers need to know
> and be able to do." In her paper, Rigden, a vice president at CBE, argues
> that a "thorough grounding in the core liberal arts is essential for every
> elementary and secondary teacher." It is essential for teachers to
> possess a "deep understand of the subjects they will teach and the
> intellectual curiosity to continue learning throughout their teaching
> careers," she adds.
>
> Her paper introduces the November 2000 issue of BASIC MONTHLY, which
> focuses on Liberal Arts and Teacher Training.
>
> For more information, visit CBE at http://www.c-b-e.org.
>
>
> 8.) ******** TEACHER-PARENT BONDS: A HARVARD PROJECT
> (Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development and Goal Eight:
> Parental Involvement)
>
> The Family Involvement Network of Educators (FINE) is a new project of
> Harvard University's graduate school of education. FINE grew out of a
> research report authored by Elena Lopez, senior consultant at the Harvard
> Family Research Project, that found teachers lacked training and skills to
> build productive relationships with families and community members. The
> research concluded that "a serious discrepancy existed between pre-service
> preparation and the family-involvement activities that teachers were
> increasingly being expected to perform in schools."
>
> FINE's goals include:
> > strengthening the visibility of promising family involvement prep
> courses and curricula;
> > exercising leadership in knowledge development and strategies to meet
> professional and state standards in family and community relations; and
> > developing assessment methods for continuous innovation and improvement
> in family involvement training.
>
> For more information, visit FINE at Harvard University's web site:
> http://www.gse.harvard.edu.
>
>
> *****************
> FEATURE STORY
> *****************
>
>
> 9.) ******** PURSUING EXCELLENCE: AN INTERNATIONAL STUDY OF EIGHTH-GRADE
> MATH AND SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT
> (Goal Five: Math and Science)
>
> Compared to students in 37 participating nations, American eighth graders
> are above the international average in math and science performance,
> according to the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat
> (TIMSS-R). TIMSS-R compares the performance of fourth-graders in 1995
> with the performance of eighth-grade students in 1999.
>
> "Our students are successfully learning more math and science every year
> they're in school," said U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley, "but we
> can do even better." He pointed to the recommendations of the Glenn
> Commission that called for improving the professional development of K-12
> teachers, "widening the pipeline of people going into math and science
> teaching, to retaining those teachers once we get them in the pipeline."
>
> The report, Pursuing Excellence: Comparisons of International Eighth-Grade
> Mathematics and Science Achievement from a U.S. Perspective, 1995-1999 was
> sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics and the National
> Science Foundation in the U.S. and by the International Association for
> the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. Among the report's findings
> are:
>
> > In science (1999), the average score of U.S. eighth-grade students was
> higher than the international average in earth science, life science,
> chemistry, environmental and resource issues, and scientific inquiry and
> the nature of science.
> > U.S. eighth graders scored at the international average in physics.
> > In math (1999), U.S. students performed better than the international
> average in fractions and number sense, data representation, analysis and
> probability and algebra.
> > U.S. eighth-grade students performed at the international average in
> measurement and geometry.
> > The performance of eighth-grade students in math and science was about
> the same in 1999 as in 1995.
> > In both math and science, U.S. students reported more often than did
> students in other nations that they use class time to begin homework.
> > Seventy-four percent of U.S. eighth-grade math students reported often
> beginning homework in class compared to the international average of 42
> percent; 57 percent of science students reported often beginning homework
> in school compared to the international average of 41 percent.
> > U.S. eighth graders were more likely than students in other nations to
> be taught by teachers who majored in education, as likely as others to be
> taught by teachers who majored in math education, and less likely than
> their international peers to be taught math by teachers who majored in
> math.
> > U.S. eighth-grade students were more likely to be taught by a science
> teacher with a degree in education, as likely as their international peers
> to be taught science by teachers with a college major or main area of
> study in biology, chemistry or science education, and less likely to be
> taught science by teachers with a degree in physics.
>
> "It's apparent that we need to make a major investment in upgrading
> teacher skills in math, science and other subjects," said Riley.
>
> TIMSS-R examines information on math and science achievement, schooling,
> curricula, instruction and the lives of teachers and students from 38
> nations.
>
> For more information or a copy of the TIMSS-R results visit
> http://www.nces.ed.gov.
>
>
> ************************************
> 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
> http://www.negp.gov
> ************************************
>
> The NEGP/ Daily Report Card (DRC) hereby authorizes further reproduction
> and
> distribution with proper acknowledgment.
>
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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
> http://www.negp.gov. Requests can be made by mail, fax, e-mail, or
> Internet.
>
> -- 30 --
>
>
>