The NEGP WEEKLY for November 30, 2001
From: NEGPweek (NEGPWEEK@WESTAT.com)
Date: Fri Nov 30 2001 - 10:46:39 PST
*****************THE NEGP WEEKLY*****************
A weekly news update on America's Education Goals
and school improvement efforts across America from the
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
Friday - November 30, 2001 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 127
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CONTENTS
**STATE POLICY
1.) Beyond Test Scores: California Breaks Ground In College Admission (Goal
6)
2.) Virginia: Not Meeting Their Financial Goals (All Goals)
**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
3.) Ibooks: Verdict Still Out (Goal 3)
**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
4.) White House Kids: New Website Launches Freedom Timeline (Goal 3)
5.) Peer Grading: A Supreme Court Decision (Goals 3 and 8)
**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE
6.) Baby Boom Echo: Ready For College (Goal 6)
7.) Dropout Rates: Steady As She Goes (Goal 2)
**FEATURE STORY
8.) NAEP Science Scores: No Growth, Some Decline (Goal 5)
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STATE POLICY NEWS
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1.) ******** Beyond Test Scores: California Breaks Ground In College
Admission
(Goal Six: Adult Literacy And Lifelong Learning)
California's "comprehensive review" for college admission is breaking ground
in the state (Sappenfield, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, 11/19). University of
California campuses for the first time will go beyond test scores to
consider other factors for admission, including overcoming hardship and
musical talent.
While some critics charge the latest admission policy is an attempt to skirt
the state's affirmative-action ban, others observe that the policy is the
"latest gambit to ensure fairness in a rapidly changing collegiate world."
The paper notes that the trend toward "comprehensive review" is growing.
Texas already includes nonacademic criteria for several years for half its
students, while the other half are accepted automatically by finishing in
the top 10 percent of their high school.
For more information, visit the University of California Board of Regents at
http://www.ucop.edu/regents
2.) ******** Virginia: Not Meeting Their Financial Goals
(All Goals)
Virginia's quarter-century old education funding system is "profoundly
broken," according to auditors for the state's General Assembly (Timberg and
Helderman, WASHINGTON POST, 11/21). The report, conducted by the Joint
Legislative Audit and Review Commission, noted that an error eight years ago
shortchanged school districts by tens of millions of dollars a year.
Inflation and routine underestimation of the cost of teacher raises also
contributed to the poor financial state of Virginia's public schools.
"It's long overdue for the state to acknowledge the extent that it under
funds education in Virginia and the extent to which local property taxpayers
are left to pick up the slack," said Stuart Gibson, Fairfax County School
Board member.
The paper notes that many of the state's education standards are not being
met due to lack of funds.
For more information, visit the Virginia General Assembly at
http://legis.state.va.us/. Click on Legislative Agencies to find the Joint
Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
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COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
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3.) ******** Ibooks: Verdict Still Out
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)
A group of Maine educators and Apple Computer representatives discovered
that many students in Godwin High School are not enthusiastic about the use
of iBooks in their classroom (Dovi, TIMES-DISPATCH, 11/19). The group was
touring the school to view how iBooks works in the classroom. The program
operates in Maine's Henrico County schools.
"It's basically a $1,200 CD player and Game Boy," said one student. "They'd
be OK if the Internet wasn't down half the time," said another. Another
student explained the problem. From the paper: "The School Board didn't
set the infrastructure in place, supply the proper training or set defined
rules for use by students before going live the first day of school."
Henrico School Superintendent Dr. Mark Edwards remains confident of iBooks.
"I really do believe it will take two or three years to hit stride with
this,' he said.
For more information, visit iBooks at http://www.ibookzone.com.
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FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
*********************
4.) ******** White House Kids: New Website Launches Freedom Timeline
(Goal Three: Student Achievement And Citizenship)
The White House added a new feature to its web site for children: the
Freedom Timeline. The web site, www.whitehousekids.gov, was launched in
August and the new feature is related to the Lessons of Liberty effort
kicked off by President Bush, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and U.S.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi to promote learning about the
American ideals of liberty, democracy and freedom.
The Freedom Timeline is a five-part series on topics such as diplomacy and
liberty. It includes five stories, a vocabulary list, a quiz and a
teacher's guide. The timeline spans the years 1777 to 1948.
For more information, visit http://www.whitehousekids.gov.
5.) ******** Peer Grading: A Supreme Court Decision
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship and
Goal Eight: Parent Involvement)
In Owasso Independent School District v. Falvo, the U.S. Supreme Court will
hear arguments against and in support of the age-old practice of peer
grading (Walsh, EDUCATION WEEK, 11/21). According to the paper, "at issue
is whether teachers may require students to swap their quizzes, papers, or
other work with classmates for grading."
According to the lawsuit filed against the district, peer grading falls
within the protection of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA) of 1974. Teachers' unions and other educators argue that peer
grading of class work is a "traditional classroom teaching method that
Congress did not intend to prohibit under FERPA," writes the paper.
However, Kristja Flavo, mother of four children who attend school in Owasso,
Oklahoma, filed the suit because she claims that peer-grading causes undo
embarrassment for many students.
For more information, visit the U.S. Supreme Court at
http://www.supremecourtus.gov and search for Owasso.
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RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES
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6.) ******** Baby Boom Echo: Ready For College
(Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning)
A census survey shows that the population of students in grades one through
eight is slightly more than that of high schools and colleges combined,
causing concern that higher education will not be prepared to handle the
influx of students in upcoming years (Divito, AP/RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH,
11/20).
In Virginia, for example, the State Council of Higher Education projects
public college enrollment to grow 80 percent in the next decade. The
Council expects nearly 40,000 additional students to enter Virginia's
colleges by 2010.
For more information, visit the Virginia State Council of Higher Education
at http://www.schev.edu.
7.) ******** Dropout Rates: Steady As She Goes
(Goal Two: School Completion)
The nation's dropout rates have remained comparatively stable during the
19990s, according to a new report issued by the U.S. Department of
Education's National Center for Education and Statistics (NCES). "Despite
the growing investment in education at all levels, student achievement has
lagged," said U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. "The study released
today is another indicator that we have not made enough progress in recent
years to improve access to quality education and that comprehensive change
is needed."
Findings from the report include:
* In 2000, the event dropout rate for Hispanics was 7.4 percent, 6/1 for
blacks, 4/1 percent for whites and 3/5 for Asians/Pacific islanders.
* In 2000, the dropout rate for students from the lowest 20 percent of all
family incomes was six times that of their peers from families in the
highest 20 percent.
* In 2000, about three-fourths of the current-year dropouts were ages 15
through 18; 42 percent of the dropouts were ages 15 through 17.
For more information and a copy of Dropout Rates in the United States:
2000, visit NCES at http://www.nces.ed.gov.
*****************
FEATURE STORY
*****************
8.) ******** NAEP Science Scores: No Growth, Some Decline
(Goal Five: Math and Science)
High school seniors' performance in science has declined since 1996,
according to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP
report in science. The scores of fourth- and eighth-grade students remain
stable.
"The decline is not huge, but it is statistically significant and morally
significant, as well," said Education Secretary Rod Paige. "After all,
12th-grade scores are the scores that really matter. If our graduates know
less about science than their predecessors four years ago, then our hopes
for a strong 21-st century workforce are dimming just when we need them
most."
In 2000, 29 percent of fourth graders scored Proficient or better on the
NAEP science assessment, as did 32 percent of eighth graders and 18 percent
of high school seniors. Student scores are ranked as either "basic,"
"proficient," or "advanced."
The NAEP study also collected performance data on fourth and eighth graders
in states and other jurisdictions. At the state level, six states had the
highest average scores for fourth-graders in 2000: Maine, Massachusetts,
Vermont, North Dakota, Montana and Iowa. The average scores for these
states did not differ significantly from one another. At the eighth grade,
Montana had the highest average score.
The report also found that the numbers of black and white students who were
proficient in science had narrowed slightly, due to "steeper falloff" in the
scores of white 12th-grade students than black seniors.
Gender differences continue to exist, with males in grades four and eight
outscoring females. In 2000, the score gaps favoring males widened by 3
points at grade four and 5 points at grade eight.
Other findings include:
* Eighth-grade students whose teachers majored in science education had
higher scores than students whose teachers did not. At fourth grade there
was not a relationship.
* Eighth graders who took life science had lower scores than students taking
earth, integrated science, biology, chemistry or physics.
* Fourth-graders who used computers to play learning games had higher scores
than those ho did not. Eighth graders who used computers for simulations
and analysis also scored higher.
For more information and a copy of The Nation's Report Card: Science 2000,
visit http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/html.
************************************
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: John Barth
Publisher: Barbara A. Pape
http://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 Frank O'Bannon, IN (Chair,
2001); Jim Geringer, WY (Chair-elect); John Engler, MI; Jim Hodges, SC;
Frank Keating, OK; Paul E. Patton, KY; Jeanne Shaheen, NH; Tom Vilsack,
IA;
U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, NM; U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords, VT; U.S.
Representative George Miller, 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.
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