The NEGP WEEKLY for February 22, 2001

From: Negpweek (NEGPWEEK@westat.com)
Date: Fri May 04 2001 - 18:45:41 PDT 

*****************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 - February 22, 2001 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 91
  __________________________________________________________________________


CONTENTS

**STATE POLICY
1.) NORTH CAROLINA'S HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAM: DELAYED (Goal 3)
2.) MATH AND READING TUTORS: PENNSYLVANIA PLAN TO PAY WITH STATE FUNDS
(Goals 3 and 5)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
3.) TEACHER RECRUITMENT: LOOKING FOR MID-CAREER PEOPLE IN SAN JOSE (Goal 4)
4.) TEACHER EVALUATIONS: A REASSESSMENT (Goal 4)

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
5.) PAIGE'S FIRST TOWN MEETING: KEEPING SCHOOLS SAFE (Goal 7)
6.) TURNING AROUND LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS: A DoED REPORT (All Goals)

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE
7.) DARE TO CHANGE: ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM MOVES IN NEW DIRECTION (Goal 7)
8.) UNDERSTANDING READING: NEW REPORT GUIDES FEDERAL RESEARCH (Goal 3)

**FEATURE STORY
9.) PROMISING PRACTICES: GOALS PANEL REPORTS ON PROGRESS
(All Goals)


***FACT OF THE WEEK***
Between 1992 and 1997, 13 states (out of 27) significantly reduced the
percentages of students in Grades 9-12 who left school with out completing a
recognized secondary program.

--Promising Practices: Progress Towards the Goals, 2000
http://www.negp.gov/promprac/promprac00/promprac00.pdf

  __________________________________________________________________________

STATE POLICY NEWS
  __________________________________________________________________________



1.) ******** NORTH CAROLINA'S HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAM: DELAYED
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

Earlier this month, the North Carolina Board of Education agreed to postpone
the state's high school exit exam for two years.  The goal is to allow for
more time to field-test the exam.  Beginning in 2005, the exit exam will
count in each school's rating under North Carolina's accountability program
and students will be required to pass the test to earn a high school
diploma.

North Carolina is, however, proceeding with its plan to end social promotion
of students ill prepared to enter the next grade.  This year, students in
grade 5 and next year 3rd and 8th graders, will be required to pass a test
at the end of the year to move on to the next grade (Manzo, EDUCATION WEEK,
2/14).

For more information, visit http://www.ncgov.com, click on citizen and then
K-12 education.


2.) ******** MATH AND READING TUTORS: PENNSYLVANIA PLAN TO PAY WITH STATE
FUNDS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Five: Math and Science)

State funds would be used to pay for math and reading tutors for children in
grades 3, 4 and 5 who perform below grade level in those subjects, under a
new initiative submitted by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.   "Tens of
thousands of children will get another chance to master the basic skills of
learning," Ridge said in his State of the State address.

His proposal calls for spending $23.6 million in grants of up to $500 each
for private tutoring and other support to help students achieve at least at
grade level in reading and math.

Ridge's education budget would increase state funding of K-12 education to
$6.4 billion, an increase of nearly 4 percent over fiscal year 2001 budget
(Johnston, EDUCATION WEEK, 2/14).

For more information, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Education at
http://www.pde.psu.edu.

  __________________________________________________________________________

COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
  __________________________________________________________________________



3.) ******** TEACHER RECRUITMENT: LOOKING FOR MID-CAREER PEOPLE IN SAN JOSE
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

The San Jose, California, school district is launching next month a Teaching
Fellows program aimed at recruiting mid-career professionals to teach in
impoverished schools (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 2/12).  The district has hired
the New Teacher Project, an offshoot of Teach for America, to organize the
fellows program.

While Teach for America targets recent college grads, the New Teacher
Project seeks young to mid-career professionals.  The recruits are expected
to make at least a two-year commitment in the school district.

New Teacher Programs exist in 14 school districts nationwide - from New York
to Baton Rouge.  Advertising for the program highlights "blunt slogans and
stresses how tough the job is" reports the paper.  Or, they use catchy
phrases such as, "The children of Compton deserve a Beverly Hills
education."

Michelle Rhee, CEO of the New Teacher Project points out that "people are
out there" who are inspired by the against-all-odds teaching situations.
Nationwide, the project gets about five applicants for every opening, notes
the paper.

For more information or to apply for the San Jose Teaching Fellows program,
contact Kate Folmar at kfolmar@sjmercury.com.


4.) ******** TEACHER EVALUATIONS: A REASSESSMENT
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

Teacher evaluations are being "re-evaluated" nationwide, writes the BOSTON
GLOBE (Pappano, 2/11).  Many schools are engaged in creating alternative
evaluations that move beyond the principal-conducted surprise visits or
brief observations of classroom life.  Julie Belcher, an eighth-grade
English teacher in Boston, called these traditional evaluations just "a
snapshot, a glimpse" of a teacher.

New ways to evaluate teachers include teacher portfolios and projects that
"resemble independent study projects," writes the paper.  In many cases,
teachers enter "counseling" sessions in which the principal and teacher meet
for several conversations about teaching style and instructional strategies.

Ken Peterson, professor of education at Portland State University in Oregon,
said teacher evaluations should include student work, parent surveys and
student test scores.  The paper also reports that Cincinnati's teacher's
union last fall voted to tie pay to performance.  Denver is following suit
with a pilot program that links some teacher pay to student test scores.

For more information, visit the Cincinnati public schools at
http://www.cpsboe.k12.oh.us or the Denver public schools at
http://www.denver.k12.co.us.

  __________________________________________________________________________

FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
  __________________________________________________________________________



5.) ******** PAIGE'S FIRST TOWN MEETING: KEEPING SCHOOLS SAFE
(Goal Seven: Safe Schools)

U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige's first satellite town meeting
featured strategies for keeping schools and communities safe.  The broadcast
aired February 20, live from 8:00pm to 9:00pm, EST, and presented the views
of a national panel of guests who discussed ideas to promote safe and
drug-free environments based on prevention, intervention and accountability.

Guests included: Wesley Mitchell, police chief of the Laos Angeles United
School District; Philip Grajko, associate superintendent of the Auburn, New
York school district; Kirk Dominic, government relations director of the
Atlanta-based Boys and Girls Club of America; Cathy Paine, mental health
coordinator of the Springfield, Oregon public schools; and the Rev. Sandra
Prather, executive director of Rainbow Outreach Ministries in Gaithersburg,
Maryland.

To register or find a local broadcast for upcoming satellite town meetings,
visit http://ed.gov/registerevent.


6.) ******** TURNING AROUND LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS: A DoED REPORT
(All Goals)

The U.S. Department of Education recently released a new report on
strategies for turning around low-performing schools.  The report, School
Improvement Report: Executive Order on Turning Around Low-Performing
Schools, presents state-by-state data on the numbers of schools identified
as in need of improvement through Title I and describes the factors that
account for the variance in schools identified for improvement across the
states.

The report highlights research and examples of promising practices
associated with turning around low-performing schools.  It also describes
the school district, state, and federal roles in supporting efforts to turn
around low-performing schools.

A sample of findings from the report include:
>  Flexibility measures written into Title I law allow each state to have a
different system for assessing school progress and for determining which
schools are low performing. These differences have resulted in states
identifying very different percentages of Title I schools as low performing.
Percentages range from 1 percent to 76 percent.
>  The limited research on the change process does make clear that in
order to succeed, reform efforts need to be adapted to the needs of the
individual school and involve the entire school community.  Schools that
engage in successful reform efforts also appear to share a four-step process
involving a needs assessment, a planning phase, an implementation phase, and
a period of assessment and evaluation.
>  Low-performing schools are usually the ones least likely to have the
capacity to turn themselves around.  They need critical external support to
adopt research-based strategies for creating effective schools, and they
need more information and better guidance on what it takes to turn around a
failing school. In many cases schools not only do not get the help they
need, they do not even know why they have been identified as low performing.

For more information and a copy of the report, visit the Department of
Education at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/LPS/sirptfinal.doc.

  __________________________________________________________________________

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES
  __________________________________________________________________________



7.) ******** DARE TO CHANGE: ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM MOVES IN NEW DIRECTION
(Goal Seven: Safe and Drug-Free Schools)

One of the nation's most widely used drug-prevention program is undergoing
major changes to make it more effective.  Drug Abuse Resistance Education,
popularly known as DARE, will incorporate new strategies and gear its
message to older students.

DARE was founded by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1983.  Zili
Sloboda, former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is
developing the new curriculum at the University of Akron in Ohio.  The
program's focus will shift from its current population of 5th graders to
7th-grade students, with a booster program in 9th grade.  It will continue
to use police officers, but more in the role of coach, less as lecturer.

The NEW YORK TIMES reports that the new DARE program will "work largely on
changing what are known as 'social norms' among students."  Research
suggests that traditional prevention programs could lead students to
"overestimate how many of their peers use drugs" and peer pressure could
cause students to seek out drugs, rather than stay away from them.  So, the
new DARE will be careful not to paint a picture of widespread drug use.

For more information on drug-abuse prevention, visit the National Institute
on Drug Abuse at http://www.drugabuse.gov.


8.) ******** UNDERSTANDING READING: NEW REPORT GUIDES FEDERAL RESEARCH
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

A reading study group assembled by the RAND Corporation calls on the U.S.
Department of Education's office of educational research and improvement
(OERI) to "demand rigorous quantitative and qualitative studies" to form
their reading agenda (Manzo, EDUCATION WEEK, 2/7).  The report, Reading for
Understanding:  Towards an R&D Program in Reading Comprehension stresses the
importance of comprehension in the reading process.

"The public discourse about improving reading achievement has oversimplified
the issues by suggesting that once we all have children reading at grade 3,
that is it - we're home free," said Catherine Snow, a Harvard University
education professor who headed the 14-member panel.

For more information, visit RAND at http://www.rand.org.

  __________________________________________________________________________

FEATURE STORY
  __________________________________________________________________________



9.) ******** PROMISING PRACTICES: GOALS PANEL REPORTS ON PROGRESS
(All Goals)

Promising education practices are featured in the National Education Goals
Panel's report Promising Practices: Progress Toward the Goals 2000.  Twenty
states are highlighted in the annual report, which details successful
practices and policies in place in states that have made significant
progress and demonstrated high achievement in one or more of the eight
National Education Goals.

"For too long 'success' in education has been self-proclaimed," writes
Governor Tommy Thompson (R-Wisconsin), former chairman of the National
Education Goals Panel, in the report's introduction.  "It's time to replace
rhetoric with data in determining what works.  More attention needs to be
paid to what we can learn from the 'natural experiment' of state educational
reform.  I want state policy makers to read Promising Practices, identify
successful strategies and adapt the ideas that work."

The states noted in Promising Practices are:

>  Connecticut, Florida and Massachusetts for their promising practices to
reduce the number of infants born with health risks as part of Goal 1: Ready
to Learn.
>  Iowa, Georgia and New York for their efforts to increase high school
completion as part of Goal 2: School Completion.
>  Connecticut, New York, Virginia for their promising practices in
improving Advanced Placement performance as part of Goal 3: Student
Achievement and Citizenship.
>  North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania for their promising practices in
providing teacher support as part of Goal 4: Teacher Education and
Professional Development.
>  Tennessee, Alaska and Vermont for their promising practices in providing
math resources as part of Goal 5: Mathematics and Science.
>  South Carolina, New York and California for their promising practices in
increasing participation in higher education as part of Goal 6: Adult
Literacy and Lifelong Learning.
>  North Dakota, Oklahoma and Wyoming for their promising practices in
reducing the number of classroom disruptions by students as part of Goal 7:
Safe Schools; and
>  Colorado, California and Kentucky for their promising practices in
increasing the influence of parents as part of Goal 8: Parental
Participation.

Minnesota also was singled out for its high level of achievement and
significant improvement, particularly in the area of student performance in
science.  The state's promising practices in science recently were
highlighted in another Goals Panel report called Minnesota and TIMSS:
Exploring High Achievement in Eight Grade Science.  The findings are
summarized in Promising Practices.

"Promising Practices is really a report on the lessons we can learn from the
states," said Emily Wurtz, acting executive director of the Goals Panel and
author of Promising Practices.  "We listened to state educators tell us what
works in their schools.  This kind of information sharing is becoming
increasingly important as national attention moves from setting high
standards to reaching high standards."

For more information and for a copy of Promising Practices: Progress Toward
the Goals 2000 or Minnesota and TIMSS: Exploring High Achievement in Eight
Grade Science, visit the National Education Goals Panel at
http://www.negp.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 Acting Executive Director: Emily O. Wurtz
Publisher: Barbara A. Pape
http://www.negp.gov
  __________________________________________________________________________


The NEGP/ Daily Report Card (DRC) hereby authorizes further reproduction and
distribution with proper acknowledgment.

To subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) the NEGP Weekly, respond to this email
or address an email message to: NEGPWEEK@westat.com and put subscribe or
unsubscribe in the message portion of the e-mail.



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 --

Back to Daily Report Card homepage