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March 27, 2009 Teaching to tests that are worth teaching to In an op-ed in The New York Times, E. D. Hirsch writes that as lawmakers consider reauthorizing NCLB, they must "find a way to maintain accountability while mitigating the current tendency to reduce schooling to a joyless grind of practice exams and empty instruction in 'reading strategies.'" President Obama has called on states to assess students differently, but Hirsch says: not so fast. "These much maligned, fill-in-the-bubble reading tests are technically among the most reliable and valid tests available." Their problem, in his view, is that their content is de-contextualized and random. "Children are asked to read and then answer multiple-choice questions about such topics as taking a hike in the Appalachians, even though they've never left the sidewalks of New York, nor studied the Appalachians in school." He urges a different testing scenario: "If the reading passages on each test were culled from each grade's specific curricular content in literature, science, history, geography and the arts, the tests would exhibit what researchers call 'consequential validity' -- meaning that the tests would actually help improve education." Test prep would focus on content rather than "the fruitless attempt to teach test-taking." This would bolster the comprehension skills of disadvantaged students, since the tests aren't knowledge-neutral. "We do not need to abandon either the principle of accountability or the fill-in-the-bubble format. Rather, we need to move from teaching to the test to tests that are worth teaching to." Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/opinion/23hirsch.html Despite teasing, Michelle Obama still got her As As the First Family continues to recast the country's identity politics both directly and indirectly, First Lady Michelle Obama met with students at Anacostia High School in the southeast section of the capital, ABC reports, where she told them there was "no magic" to how she had gotten to where she was today. In response to a question from a student, Mrs. Obama recounted, "I remember there were kids around my neighborhood who said, 'Oooh, you talk like a white girl.' I was like, 'I don't even know what that means, but I'm still getting my A.'" Anacostia High is predominantly African-American and lower-income, which Mrs. Obama stressed was much like her own origins. The visit, which included knee slaps and hugs for students from the famous guest, was part of a tour she organized for D.C.-area public schools in honor of Women's History Month. Twenty-one other high-profile visitors to schools included singers Sheryl Crow and Alicia Keys; the former astronaut Mae C. Jemison; Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody of the Army, the first female four-star general; the actor Alfre Woodard; and makeup magnate Bobbi Brown. Read more: http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=7130988&page=1 New recognition for multiracial children Beginning in 2010, multiracial children enrolling in public school can check all boxes that apply in a two-step questionnaire with reshaped racial categories, The Washington Post reports. Since the 1960s, students have been designated as one of five racial and ethnic groups: American Indian or Alaska native; Asian or Pacific Islander; Hispanic; non-Hispanic black; or non-Hispanic white. Now, parents can indicate whether a student is of Hispanic/Latino origin, then specify one or more of the following: American Indian or Alaska native; Asian; black or African American; native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander; or white. The change is federally mandated for new students, but urged for everyone. In schools with diverse populations, such as those with many immigrants, demographic shifts, at least on paper, are likely. This will reconfigure educational metrics and reroute funding for reforms, but also make it harder to monitor progress of groups that have traditionally trailed in school. "If we don't know that some multiracial Hispanic and black students are doing worse," said Melissa Herman, a sociologist at Dartmouth College, "we can conveniently ignore that they are doing worse." On the other hand, families long felt forced to deny their children's heritage will now feel acknowledgement. Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/22/AR2009032202211.html A snapshot of American literacy In a research précis on reading development in American schools, The Center for Public Education examines "Reading beyond grade three" in its At-a-glance series. Students who are strong readers by the end of third grade still need more advanced reading skills to succeed in middle and high school, and progress in reading achievement appears to stall in the upper grades. In 2004, average reading scores for nine-year-olds on the Long Term National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) rose to their highest level in the 33-year history of the assessment (11 points). For thirteen-year-olds, scores rose only four points between 1971 and 2004, and average scores for 17-year-olds stayed virtually the same. At each grade level, white students outperformed their black and Hispanic classmates by more than two grades. The synopsis also indicates that some American adults lack even the most basic reading skills. In 2003, five percent of U.S. adults were not literate in English, about 11 million adults nationwide. On the positive side, just seven of 44 countries -- including three Canadian provinces -- outperformed U.S. fourth graders in 2006 in literacy. Read more: http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/site/c.kjJXJ5MPIwE/b.5022325/k.D46B/Ataglance_Still_learning8212reading_beyond_grade_three.htm Despite disparities, no complaints over stimulus funds for schools Within weeks, the federal Department of Education (ED) will administer the bulk of the $97 billion allocated under the recent stimulus bill, but not equitably, according to The New York Times. In some instances, more money will go to wealthy districts, which don't need it, than to poor districts that do. The department's calculus, writes The Times, is "a tangle of well-worn federal formulas, some of which benefit states that spend more per pupil, while others help states with large concentrations of poor students or simply channel money based on population." Utah, where a yawning budget deficit has threatened deep education cuts, will get about $1,250 per student. Neighboring Wyoming, with no deficit and no cuts in many years, will get $1,684 per student. North Dakota, also without budget problems, will receive $1,734 per student, while California, essentially bankrupt until recent drastic measures, gets just $1,336 per student. "These formulas were the best vehicle for getting these emergency economic recovery funds out to school districts as quickly as possible, to help them immediately stave off layoffs," said Rachel Racusen, spokeswoman for Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said he, too, was aware of the disparities, but no formula was perfect. "People are just extraordinarily thankful for these unprecedented resources," Mr. Duncan said in an interview. "We've received zero complaints." Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/education/22schools.html?hp Inside the bicoastal upheaval at two KIPP schools The Washington Post's Jay Mathews weighs in on separate controversies at Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) schools, one in Fresno, Calif., and one in Brooklyn, NY. Mathews, who recently published a favorable book about the charter school network, had excellent access to KIPP sources to analyze the situations. Both schools yield excellent academic results, Mathews writes, but both suffer shaky leadership. In his view, KIPP results live and die by the strength of their principals, who hire teachers that work with them to produce perennial student achievement. Fresno's KIPP principal has resigned amid allegations of excessive discipline of students, charges he denies or claims have been misinterpreted. The Brooklyn KIPP is embroiled in a labor struggle, with teachers moving to unionize, then recanting, all during a transitional school leadership period. "Can their remarkable record be sustained under such pressure?" Mathews asks. "Can KIPP weather times of trouble as the network swells to 84 schools this summer?" What happens in the next few months at the two schools will provide "interesting answers." Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/class-struggle/2009/03/turmoil_at_two_kipp_schools.html Pre-K nationally: middle-class kids left behind An avowed goal of President Barack Obama is universal preschool, but the economic crisis may stymie state-level efforts, writes The Wall Street Journal. The recent stimulus bill includes $5 billion for Head Start and related early-childhood programs, but a "universal" preschool system would take greater funding and orchestration, given the patchwork system that currently exists. Nationwide, there are about eight million three- and four-year-olds. Three million don't attend preschool, and roughly the same number attend private preschools, some of which offer little more than day care. The remaining preschool-age kids go to publicly funded schools, where money and programs vary. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research, 12 states spend nothing on preschool. For the 38 that do, funding ranges from $1,600 per child in South Carolina to nearly $10,500 per child in New Jersey. Because some research indicates that gains from preschool for middle- and upper-income children are modest, state and federal efforts have largely targeted disadvantaged students, making middle-class families feel left out. According to a recent study by advocacy group Pre-K Now, families earning more than about $40,000 a year are ineligible for free preschool in most of the 20 states that use income to determine eligibility. Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123785557084820327.html Using touch as an aid to literacy Results from a study published in the journal PloS One may improve methods for teaching reading, writes Science Daily. The study from the Laboratoire de Psychologie et Neurocognition in Grenoble, France, finds that touch facilitates a better connection between sight and hearing, aiding literacy acquisition. To read unfamiliar words, we must associate a visual stimulus (a letter, or grapheme) with its corresponding auditory stimulus (the sound, or phoneme). When stimuli can be explored both visually and tactilely, researchers found that 30 French-speaking adults learned arbitrary associations between auditory and visual stimuli more efficiently. These results support those from work done with young children by the same research team. At issue are specific properties of the haptic, or tactile-kinesthetic, sense in the hands, which play a "cementing" role between sight and hearing. Brain function during this process remains to be explored, as does the neuronal mechanism. Researchers plan to develop a protocol that uses functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify areas of the cortex that are activated during the "multisensory" learning process. Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090318112937.htm BRIEFLY NOTED Corruption in Russian schools cited as impediment to reform Parents complain that widespread bribery for good grades is eroding standards. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102353828 Voucher and public school test scores are similar Students enrolled in Milwaukee's voucher program are doing no better in reading or math than students in the city's public schools, according to a study. http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/41868652.html More high-wattage kudos for Chancellor Rhee NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof writes a largely positive profile of D.C. Chancellor Rhee and the reform agenda she has come to represent. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/opinion/22kristof.html Student suspended from school bus for passing gas A bus driver has accused a 15-year-old teen of passing gas on the bus, creating a stench so bad that it was difficult to breathe. The teen said he wasn't the one passing gas. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090324/ap_on_fe_st/odd_stench_suspension Need a professional school librarian? Don't go to Portland Libraries, librarians, and research-skills education are sorely under-funded in the Portland, Oregon public school system. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/03/most_portland_schools_dont_hav.html Florida student rally at state capitol yields disillusionment Students' perfunctory treatment by legislators was a disappointment, they report. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/education/story/963005.html NEW GRANT & FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Driver's Edge: Driving Instruction for Teens Driver's Edge empowers young drivers through a combination of classroom discussions and behind-the-wheel defensive driving instruction to erase the "Fast and the Furious" and video-game mentality that many of today's young drivers have and that has skyrocketed automobile fatalities. The program is free. Eligibility: students between the ages of 15 and 21 who have a learner's permit or driver's license. Deadline: see tour schedule for relevant dates. http://www.driversedge.org/ Nokia/YouthActionNet: Global Fellows YouthActionNet Fellows are social entrepreneurs who participate in a week-long capacity-building workshop whose key focus is facilitating peer-to-peer learning and networking opportunities. Participants develop a customized learning plan based on individual leadership learning needs and focused on six dimensions of leadership: personal, visionary, political, collaborative, organizational, and societal. Eligibility: youths 18-29 as of November 1, 2009; applicants should be founders of existing projects/organizations, or leading a project within an organization. Maximum award: all-expenses-paid retreat, November 1-8. Deadline: April 15, 2009. http://youthactionnet.org/index.php?fuse=aboutfellowship Student Awards for Creative Nonfiction The Norman Mailer Writers Colony and the National Council of Teachers of English is sponsoring the Norman Mailer High School and College Writing Awards, which in 2009 will be given for creative nonfiction. Maximum award: $5,000; travel and lodging to the Norman Mailer Writers Colony's National Awards Ceremony. College winner will also receive a scholarship to the Norman Mailer Writers Colony for 2010. Eligibility: high school students who will be seniors in fall 2009; college students who will be seniors, juniors, or sophomores in fall 2009. Deadline: May 1, 2009. http://www.ncte.org/awards/student/nmwa Rosetta Stone: Communicate and Connect The Rosetta Stone Communicate and Connect Scholarship invites high school seniors that have learned English as a Second Language to write about discovering the world of possibilities that learning the English language opened up to them. Sample essay topics include how learning English enabled excellence in other courses, such as mathematics or science; a personal memoir about how getting cast in a play because of English-speaking abilities awakened a desire to perform and to create; and an examination of how learning English transformed your perspective of life in the United States. Maximum award: $3,000 scholarship for continuing education purposes. Eligibility: high school seniors graduating in spring of 2009 that learned English as a second language. Deadline: May 15, 2009. http://www.rosettastone.com/scholarship Youth Award for Outstanding Activism in Environmental and Social Justice The Earth Island Institute Brower Youth Award recognizes young people for their outstanding activism and achievements in the fields of environmental and social justice advocacy. Maximum award: $3,000, a trip to California for the awards ceremony, and a wilderness camping trip. Eligibility: youth ages 13-22. Deadline: May 15, 2009. http://www.broweryouthawards.org/article.php?list=type&type=12 QUOTE OF THE WEEK "The successful strategies of the modern movement for civil rights were litigation, organization, mobilization and coalition, all aimed at creating a national constituency for civil rights. Sometimes the simplest of ordinary acts -- sitting at a lunch counter, registering to vote, going to a new school, applying for a marriage license -- can change the way we think and act. That's why when I am asked, 'Are gay rights civil rights?' my answer is always, 'Of course they are'. Civil rights are positive legal prerogatives -- the right to equal treatment before the law. These are rights shared by everyone; there is no one in the United States who does not -- or should not -- share in enjoying these rights. Gay and lesbian rights are not 'special' rights in any way. It isn't 'special' to be free from discrimination -- it is an ordinary, universal entitlement of citizenship. The right not to be discriminated against is a commonplace claim we all expect to enjoy under our laws and our founding document -- the Constitution. That many had to struggle to gain those rights makes them precious -- it does not make them 'special' and it does not reserve them only for me or restrict them from others. When others gain these rights, my rights are not diminished in any way. My rights are not diluted when my neighbor enjoys protection from discrimination -- he or she becomes my ally in defending the rights we all share." -Julian Bond, chairman, NAACP http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2009/03/naacp-national-chairman-julian-bond-it-isnt-special-to-be-free-from-discrimination/ The PEN Weekly NewsBlast, published by Public Education Network, is a free electronic newsletter featuring resources and information about public school reform, school finance, and related issues. The NewsBlast is the property of Public Education Network, a national association of 79 local education funds working to improve public school quality in low-income communities throughout the nation. Please forward this e-mail to anyone who enjoys free updates on education news and grant alerts. Some links in the PEN Weekly NewsBlast may change or expire after their initial publication here, and some links may require local website registration. People wishing to add a NewsBlast subscription can go to PEN's website (http://www.publiceducation.org) and follow the instructions in the lower left-hand section of the homepage. Current subscribers can unsubscribe by clicking the appropriate link near the bottom of the NewsBlast mailing. If you use spam filters to protect your inbox, you may wish to take a moment right now to add PEN@publiceducation.org to your e-mail address book, spam-software whitelist, or mail-system whitelist. Adding the address will help ensure that you receive the NewsBlast and that your e-mail software displays HTML and images properly. |
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