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Snap Schott:
Illinois: Education Finance Ruling |
NGA, CCSSO Launch Common Standards Drive
By Michele McNeil After years of debating the idea of national content standards, representatives from 37 states are set to convene in Chicago today in what organizers hope will be a first, concrete step toward common guidelines in mathematics and English-language arts. The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers—the Washington-based groups that are co-sponsoring the meeting—want to build a prototype of high school graduation standards by summer, and grade-by-grade academic standards in math and language arts by the end of the year. The undertaking would start with rigorous math and language arts standards that are aligned with college- and career-ready expectations and made available for states to adopt voluntarily. Following the meeting, states ready to support common standards are to be asked to put their commitment in writing within weeks. “I’ve been in education for more than 35 years, and we’ve had major meetings that have called for progress before, but I see [this] meeting as the first step to really taking aggressive action,” Eric J. Smith, Florida’s education commissioner, said in an interview Thursday. It remains to be seen how significant a milestone the meeting will prove. The long path to national standards is often dated to 1983, with the release of A Nation at Risk, a report that warned the American education system was slipping into mediocrity and losing ground against international competitors. Over the past quarter century, the push has advanced in fits and starts. For example, while then-President George H.W. Bush was in office, an advisory panel on education recommended national standards and national tests. That fizzled. In 1997, President Bill Clinton proposed creating national tests in 4th grade reading and 8th grade mathematics. Congress stopped that in its tracks. More recently, at the state level, Washington-based Achieve has been working to improve and align standards in 34 states that are participating in its American Diploma Project. In December, the NGA, the CCSSO, and Achieve released a report urging states to start pursuing an agenda of common standards. ("Common Academic Standards Get Influential Push," Jan. 7, 2009.) Then in March, the governors at their annual winter meeting adopted a policy endorsing common standards. ("National Standards Gain Steam," March 4, 2009.) At the federal level, common standards have been declared a priority by the Obama administration and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. In fact, Mr. Duncan has said he wants to use part of the $5 billion in “Race to the Top” incentive funds included in the economic-stimulus package to help fuel the drive for common standards. ("To Duncan, Incentives a Priority," Feb. 4, 2009). A representative of the Education Department is slated to attend the Chicago meeting. Commitment Varies The 37 states that plan to take part in the meeting—which the organizers declined to name in advance—are to be represented by their state schools chiefs, the governor’s education adviser or policy staff, or all such parties. Not all 37 states are ready to fully embrace common standards, said Gene Wilhoit, the executive director of the CCSSO. But some states—including Arkansas and Florida—are prepared to take the lead, and with their governors’ support. Mr. Smith said he has the support of Florida’s Republican governor, Charlie Crist, to actively pursue common standards. T. Kenneth James, the Arkansas education commissioner and the president of the CCSSO, said his state is postponing a planned revision of the English-language arts standards pending the outcome of the standards effort. Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, is sending two of his policy staff members to today’s meeting. “It’s time we come together and take this to a higher level,” Mr. James said. Other states that are likely to sign on would be Minnesota, where Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, has been supportive of common standards and international benchmarking, and Georgia, where GOP Gov. Sonny Perdue helps lead the NGA’s task force examining those two issues. “It’s important to be clear about what the problem is: We have 50 different versions of what standards are, ... and that has led to a thick stack of standards that sit on teachers’ desks,” said Dane Linn, the director of the education division of the NGA’s Center for Best Practices. “The goal of this work is to bring states together in the hope that we are able to use the evidence to narrow that list of standards so that we have both higher expectations and a focused set of expectations.” Even with this meeting, it’s clear there is a long way to go. Mr. Wilhoit said the chiefs’ and governors’ staffs will work with groups already active in crafting rigorous, college-ready standards, such as Achieve and ACT, the Iowa City-based organization that administers the college-entrance test. The chiefs’ and governors’ groups also will convene “respected individuals” outside the two groups to comment on the standards as the process continues, Mr. Wilhoit said. States that agree to go forward will then have to figure out how to get those new, common standards adopted—a process that can vary from state to state. Some may need to work with their legislatures, others through their state boards of education. Finally, states will have to get those standards down to the district level and then onto teachers’ desks and into lesson plans. “Some states will take a little bit longer than others,” Mr. Wilhoit said. “The question they’ll be wrestling with is: What will it take to put this in place?”
Illinois: Education Finance Ruling
By KAREN ANN CULLOTTA An Illinois judge has ruled that a lawsuit alleging that the state’s education financing system violates the civil rights of African-American and Hispanic students living in poor communities has merit and should be heard in court. The lawsuit, which was filed in August by the Chicago Urban League, other urban leagues representing suburban and central Illinois communities, and several families, alleges that the state’s financing system, which relies on local property tax levies, leads to disparities in the quality of education received by minority students in poor districts and is in violation of the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003. Lisa T. Scruggs, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Illinois is currently rated 49 out of 50 states in contributing to its public schools. “The way the state funds our schools is really disheartening,” Ms. Scruggs said, “but now there is reason for optimism.”
By DIANE RAVITCH Actually, the record on mayoral control of schools is unimpressive. Eleven big-city school districts take part in the federal test called the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Two of the lowest-performing cities — Chicago and Cleveland — have mayoral control. The two highest-performing cities — Austin, Tex., and Charlotte, N.C. — do not. Mr. Duncan came to New York City last week to urge the New York State Legislature to renew the law that grants control of the New York City public schools to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. That law, passed in 2002, will expire at the end of June. Mayoral control of the schools is not a new phenomenon in the city’s history. From 1873 to 1969, the mayor appointed every single member of the Board of Education. The era of decentralization from 1969 to 2002 was an aberration, because the mayor had only two appointees on a seven-member board. Yet no mayor has exercised such unlimited power over the public schools as Mr. Bloomberg. Previous mayors respected the independence of the board members they appointed. The present version of the board, the Panel on Education Policy, serves at the pleasure of the mayor and rubber-stamps the policies and spending practices of the Department of Education, which is run by Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein. Mr. Bloomberg’s allies say that the results of the current system are so spectacular that the law should be renewed without change. Secretary Duncan agrees: “I’m looking at the data here in front of me,” he said while in New York. “Graduation rates are up. Test scores are up ... By every measure, that’s real progress.” It sounds good, but in fact no independent source has verified such claims. On the federal National Assessment of Educational Progress — widely acknowledged as the gold standard of the testing industry — New York City showed almost no academic improvement between 2003, when the mayor’s reforms were introduced, and 2007. There were no significant gains for New York City’s students — black, Hispanic, white, Asian or lower-income — in fourth-grade reading, eighth-grade reading or eighth-grade mathematics. In fourth-grade math, pupils showed significant gains (although the validity of this is suspect because an unusually large proportion — 25 percent — of students were given extra time and help). The federal test reported no narrowing of the achievement gap between white students and minority students. The city’s Department of Education belittles the federal test scores and focuses on the assessments given by New York State. And, indeed, the state scores have soared in recent years, not only in the city but also across New York State. However, the statewide scores on the N.A.E.P. are as flat as New York City’s. Our state tests are, unfortunately, exemplars of grade inflation. The graduation rate is another area in which progress has been overstated. The city says the rate climbed to 62 percent from 53 percent between 2003 and 2007; the state’s Department of Education, which uses a different formula, says the city’s rose to 52 percent, from 44 percent. Either way, the city’s graduation rate is no better than that of Mississippi, which spends about a third of what New York City spends per pupil. Moreover, the city’s graduation rates have been pumped up with a variety of dubious means, like “credit recovery,” in which students who fail a course can get full credit if they agree to take a three-day makeup program or turn in an independent project. In addition, the city counts as graduates the students who dropped out and obtained a graduate-equivalency degree. To further raise the graduation rate, the city does not include as dropouts any of the students who were “discharged” during their high-school years. Some discharges are legitimate, like students who moved to another school district. But many others are so-called push-outs, students who were ejected from school even though they had a legal right to be there, often because their grades and test scores were bringing down their schools’ averages. The Department of Education refuses to disclose how many students are in each of these categories. We do know, however, that more than one-fifth of the members of the class of 2007, or 18,524 students, were discharged and not counted as dropouts. Even those who manage to graduate from our high schools are often not ready for college. Three-quarters of the graduates fail their placement examinations at the City University of New York’s community colleges and require remediation in basic skills. These are students who presumably passed five Regents examinations to graduate yet cannot read or write or do mathematics up to the standards of a two-year community college. This reflects as poorly on the Regents examinations as it does on the city’s promotional policies. This is not to say that Albany should eliminate mayoral control — nobody wants to return to the status quo of the ’90s. However, as legislators refine the law, they should establish clear checks and balances. The mayor should be authorized to appoint an independent Board of Education, whose members would serve for a set term. Candidates for the board should be evaluated by a blue-ribbon panel so that no mayor can stack it with friends. That board should appoint the chancellor, and his or her first responsibility must be to the children and their schools, not to the mayor. The board should hold public meetings to review decisions before they are made final. Local school boards composed of parent leaders should oversee the schools in their districts, although they should not have any financial authority. Moreover, the school system needs a professional auditing agency to evaluate test scores and graduation rates. Claims of improvement are not credible without independent scrutiny. Not every school problem can be solved by changes in governance. But to establish accountability, transparency and the legitimacy that comes with public participation, the Legislature should act promptly to restore public oversight of public education. As we all learned in civics class, checks and balances are vital to democracy.
City struggling to find room in kindergarten for 3,000 kids - even with bigger classrooms
BY RACHEL MONAHAN Three times as many city schools won't have space for all their kindergartners next fall - even with larger classes, the Department of Education says. The DOE proposed increasing class size to a maximum of 25 students at schools that will have to accommodate the 3,448 students from city day care centers, which are slated to close their kindergartens. "This is totally unacceptable to me," City Council Education Committee head Robert Jackson (D-Manhattan) told reporters. "I did not work for almost 20 years pushing the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case to get extra money to reduce class size to sit idly by and watch us move backward." DOE officials cautioned the projections for next fall's kindergartens were preliminary and based on the maximum students expected from the day care centers. "We will be able to accommodate all of the children from [city day care centers] - and most of them will be able to attend their zoned school," DOE spokesman Andy Jacob said. Several Manhattan schools have waiting lists for their kindergartens, though education officials have said schools will likely accept more students before the fall. "Our office is inundated with calls from parents who live within a block or two of [PS 234] whose kindergartners were turned away," said Councilman Alan Gerson (D-Manhattan). The proposal to move all the Administration for Children's Services kindergartners into city schools was designed to save that agency $15 million. But the move will cost taxpayers an extra $7 million, the Daily News reported last month. City leaders and parent advocates called for rethinking the plan - particularly in light of the class size increases. "We know from research that class size reduction in the early grades is the most effective way to narrow the achievement gap and increase student performance overall," said Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters executive director. The city missed this year's target for reducing the number of students per class, which the agency set in exchange for $400 million in state funding. The average class size target was 20.5 students for kindergarten through third grade. The average class size is 21.3. DOE officials have said the city would have to abandon some of its class size goals because of the economy.
Massachusetts plots strategies to improve student skill levels
Thursday April 16, 2009 SPRINGFIELD - State officials hope to reform education soon by combining small school districts into one region, increasing preschool, expanding learning time and developing education think-tanks. Educators also want to work more with business leaders to discuss how to ensure students are learning the wide range of skills they need to become productive employees. In a morning forum with local educators and business leaders, State Secretary of Education S. Paul Reville discussed his agenda of how to improve and modernize education for preschool through college and asked for input on skills students need as they enter the changing job force. The forum held at the Big Y headquarters was sponsored by organizations including the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation and the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education. It attracted about 100 teachers, high school principals, college officials and business leaders interested in discussing changes that need to be made to better suit education. "The successful student can put together a resume that can be understood," said Philip B. Ernst, director of human resources, global operations for Hasbro Games in East Longmeadow. "They have basic skills in math and technical skills." But Ernst said he finds more young people do not know basic work skills such as how to dress appropriately and do not have a solid work ethic. Trish Robinson, senior vice president for MassMutual Financial Group, said students need basic math, science and English skills but many are lacking communication skills that give them the ability to sell themselves and their ideas. "It is about the ability to work together," she said, adding many do not know how to work as a team. After listening to concerns, Springfield Superintendent Alan J. Ingram outlined some challenges he faces leading the state's third-largest school district. Now 80 percent of students live in poverty, 13 percent do not speak English well and in some schools the most modern computers use software programs from 1995. One of Ingram's biggest concerns is just 54 percent of Springfield students graduate. "I don't know how we can possibly talk about 21st century skills, we are leaving too many kids behind if they don't graduate high school," Ingram said. Reville said some of the items on his agenda address that. One is to ensure more children, especially those from poor families, have access to pre-school so they enter school with the same basic pre-reading skills and some advantages middle-class children have. One low-cost move the administration is making in the near future is to open "Readiness Centers," to be located at colleges and other spots. "We will have people from pre-kindergarten to college who will talk about how do you improve curriculum to prepare kids," he said.
Nearly 1,500 fewer students quit school in Mass. last year than in 2007, state reports
Thursday April 16, 2009 Nearly 1,500 fewer students quit school last year than the previous year, leaving the new state dropout rate at 3.4 percent for 2008. "It is good news," said Jonathan W. Considine, spokesman for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. "It is a small change but any change statewide is a positive number." While officials lauded the rate and Gov. Deval L. Patrick praised dropout prevention programs, they acknowledged there were disappointments. Hispanic, black, special education, low-income and limited English speaking students continued to quit school at a higher rate than the statewide average. In Western Massachusetts, the rates dropped in some districts by 2 percent or more, but others saw increases by the same amount. As is usual, urban districts had higher rates and most were well above the statewide average. Springfield saw a 1.2 percent decline in its overall rate bringing it to 9.7 percent, but Holyoke schools stayed the same with an 11.6 percent dropout rate. Holyoke Superintendent Eduardo B. Carballo joined many superintendents to say his dropout rate has gone up and down, reaching a low of 7.6 percent in 2002. It has been rising slowly in recent years. Holyoke created programs to reduce the dropout rate, but found at least one was unsuccessful and it was eliminated. a few years ago, he said. "There are ones that worked better for us, starting a freshman academy and restructuring the ninth grade worked ... and work we are doing in middle schools is working," he said. He praised the Enlace initiative run with Holyoke Community College that shows students avenues to go to college. Carballo said it is difficult to measure the dropout rate accurately in a lot of cities such as Springfield and Holyoke where students tend to be very transient and they may leave high school for another school without telling anybody. If staff cannot find them, the students are considered drop-outs. A recent study showed 53 percent of Holyoke high school students have moved at least once. Carballo also noted his district has more low-income, Hispanic, special education and students who are not proficient in English, all of whom quit more frequently. In places like Ware, a small number of students who quit can skew the rates because there are barely 300 students in the high school. Last year the dropout rate climbed to 10.2 percent from 7.3 percent, said Lucille L. Brindisi, principal of Ware Junior-Senior High School. "I do think it was an anomaly," she said. "We had a good number of kids with babies and for some it wasn't their first baby and it was really hard for them to do both. This year it isn't that big of an issue." Ware High School had 31 students who quit last year, but Brindisi said she expects no more than eight this year. In Chicopee the dropout rate has stayed relatively steady hovering between 5 and 6 percent at the two main high schools. This year Chicopee High School's rate increased slightly while Comprehensive High's rate decreased a small amount. To keep more students in school, all ninth-graders believed to be struggling meet with a guidance counselor at least once every 10 days. Chicopee Academy, the alternative high school, which has a higher rate, has piloted several new programs which may expand to the main high schools, said Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. While relatively happy with the figures, Rege said school officials formed a dropout task force two years ago. It analyzes data and tries programs that will entice students to stay in school. Westfield and Agawam each saw their dropout rates decline between 2 or 3 percent and officials attributed some to new programs. Agawam began an on-line program for students lost credits by failing a class or because of poor attendance. If they re-take the course on computer they can recapture credits, said Superintendent Mary A. Czajkowski. The program also allows a student who is struggling in a course to use it as a tutorial. Often the extra time helps them understand the material so they can earn a passing grade and do not fall behind in credits, she said. In Westfield, guidance counselors have been working with students who are behind to show them different ways they can make up failed classes, including in night school, said Raymond K. Broderick, Westfield High School principal. "We have been focusing on career choices and show them the value of their education is appreciated and it will be even more so once that start seeing current economic trends," he said. But Broderick worries his 2.3 percent dropout may increase as the recession continues and more students leave school to find jobs to help support their families.
Mayors blast budget cuts, push for broad-based tax increases
“It is a pass-the-buck budget riddled in hypocrisy,” Melrose Mayor Robert Dolan said at a press conference attended by nearly 40 local officials at the Parker House in downtown Boston. “They have called for no new taxes, but tell that to the families in our working cities that are going to be paying increased bus fees, increased kindergarten fees, sports fees for their children, trash fees, business permit fees.” Mayor Joseph Curtatone of Somerville said, “You’re going to see decimation.” William Scanlon of Beverly added that the cuts would “destroy the fabric of our entire civilization in this state.” “Enough is enough,” said Jeff Nutting, town administrator in Franklin. “It’s time that the Legislature finally comes to the plate and helps us. We need a broad-based tax.” House lawmakers yesterday released a $27.4 billion budget proposal that includes steep cuts in nearly every area touched by state government and would impose the greatest reduction in year-to-year spending in recent memory. Cities and towns, which are still reeling from emergency cuts Governor Deval Patrick made earlier this year, would see their funds decline even further. While education aid would remain at this year's level, the portion of state aid dedicated to public safety, road maintenance, and other local services would be slashed an additional 25 percent. Local officials said today that the cuts would cause them to close libraries, lay off police officers and firefighters, and impose new local fees. “Communities are facing a firestorm, the deepest fiscal recession of our lifetime,” said Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. “It cannot stand. It is imperative that the Legislature not pass this budget.” The cuts would bring local aid to levels it hasn’t seen since 1987, Beckwith said. “In 26 years as mayor, I have never seen such a lack of leadership on Beacon Hill,” said Mayor John Barrett of North Adams. “When times are tough, we need leadership. Any fool can cut budgets.”
Highlighted below are some of the exciting projects of the Schott Foundation’s grantees. Please visit the Schott Foundation website at www.schottfoundation.org to see a listing of current grantees.
Announcing the 2009 Nellie Mae Education Foundation Early Care and Education Policy Forums
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