[Ohiogift] Public Education NewsBlast — Oct. 1, 2013

Tue Oct 1 13:52:24 EDT 2013

                October 1, 2013 - In This Issue:
       Long odds in Michigan
  Rhee vs. Ravitch
  From 3rd World to 1st, every morning
  Limited English proficiency, by the numbers
  Cyber schools: high earning, poor learning
  Does testing affect teaching?
  Fixing the teacher pipeline
  Students with disabilities: We still don't know what works
  BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
  BRIEFLY NOTED
  GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Long odds in Michigan

Three years after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed race-based admissions at the University of Michigan in 2003, Michigan voters blocked them at state schools through a ballot initiative, with a result that black enrollment is currently down 30 percent, reports Greg Stohr for Bloomberg. The constitutionality of Proposal 2 is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, and even affirmative-action supporters predict the court will uphold it. Michigan is one of 10 states where race-conscious admissions are barred as a matter of law. In most of these states, top universities have maintained racial diversity through increased socioeconomic affirmative action or admissions based solely on class rank, which gives slots to top students at predominantly minority high schools. At Michigan State University in East Lansing, black enrollment was already falling when Proposal 2 kicked in. Blacks represented 10.5 percent of the entering class in 1999, 8.8 percent in 2006, and 6.2 percent in 2012. A federal appeals court ruled the measure put racial minorities at a political disadvantage compared with other groups, pointing to decades-old Supreme Court decisions that bar government actions that restructure the political process along racial lines. But the Supreme Court has grown more skeptical of affirmative action since upholding it in 2003, largely because Justice Sandra Day O'Connor retired in 2006 and Justice Samuel Alito replaced her.?More

Rhee vs. Ravitch

In an article in The New York Review of Books, Andrew Delblanco discusses new books by Michelle Rhee and Diane Ravitch, one epitomizing the prevailing education reform movement, the other largely critical of it. Delblanco distills Rhee's book and message thus: (1) Students should compete for test scores and their teachers' approval; (2) teachers should compete for "merit" rewards from their principal; (3) schools should compete for funding within their district; (4) school districts should compete for budgetary allocations within their state; and (5) states should compete for federal funds. To read Rhee and Ravitch in sequence, Delblanco writes, is like hearing a too-good-to-be-true sales pitch followed by the report of an auditor who discloses mistakes and falsehoods in the accounts of the salesman. Poverty, Ravich says, is central to low academic achievement, and we must work both to improve schools and to reduce poverty, not prioritize one over the other. Tonally, Rhee is incredulous at the stupidity and irresponsibility of those who disagree with her, while Ravitch imputes bad motives and a grand design where there may simply be good intentions but overblown confidence. Delblanco agrees with Rhee that our schools could use shaking up, and with Ravitch that "the wounds caused by centuries of slavery, segregation, and discrimination cannot be healed by testing, standards, accountability, merit pay, and choice."??More

>From 3rd World to 1st, every morning
Nearly three out of four students at Columbus Elementary in Luna County, New Mexico live in Palomas, Mexico and were born to Mexican parents, writes Lyndsey Layton in The Washington Post. The Palomas children are American because of a long-standing state and federal policy that allows Mexican women to deliver babies at the nearest hospital: 30 miles north of the border in Deming, New Mexico. Students don't need to live in Luna County. In New Mexico, school funding is largely paid by the state, which spent an average of $10,203 per student in 2011-12, 66 percent from the state and 17 percent from local and federal governments. About 94 percent of children at the school live in poverty, and nearly all 570 students are English-language learners -- classifications that entitle the school to extra federal dollars but create intense challenges in the classroom. Some children must learn how to use an indoor bathroom. Others need eyeglasses, shoes, and dental care. Many live in unheated homes with dirt floors. Columbus Elementary uses a dual-language immersion model, teaching the children all subjects in Spanish one day and in English the next. "We're here to teach children," says Harvielee Moore, the school superintendent. "They're American citizens, and we want them to be literate. If they're literate, they get jobs. And they pay taxes."??More

Limited English proficiency, by the numbers

The U.S. Department of Education has issued its fourth biennial report to Congress on the implementation by states of the ESEA's Title III State Formula Grant Program, which provides funds to ensure all limited-English-proficient (LEP) students attain English proficiency and achieve at the same level set for all students. Not all states provided all data requested. Since the first biennial report in 2002-03, the number of K-12 LEP students identified in the United States has increased 7 percent, to 4.65 million in 2009-10. The number of K-12 LEP students served under Title III has increased by 22 percent, to 4.45 million. In both 2008-09 and 2009-10, the native language of about 80 percent of LEP students was Spanish. In 2009-10, 2,052,054 students under Title III made progress in learning English, and 1,144,177 students attained proficiency. In 2009-10, 839,434 LEP students scored at or above proficient in reading or language arts, and 1,064,628 LEP students scored at or above proficient in mathematics. In 2009-10, the range for reading or language arts was from a low of 8.6 percent to a high of 81.9 percent. In that same year, the range for mathematics was from a low of 11.5 percent to a high of 86 percent.?More

Cyber schools: high earning, poor learning

Taxpayers send $2 billion annually to cyber schools, which offer a public education entirely online to students from kindergarten through 12th grade, writes Stephanie Simon for Politico.com. The schools, many run by for-profit companies, excel at driving up enrollment, lobbying, and donating generously to campaigns. Yet in state after state, they post dismal scores in math, writing, science, and reading. Scores are so bad, especially at the largest and highest-profile cyber schools, that even advocates now worry. Online schools serve 275,000 full-time students nationwide, and offer flexibility because students move through curricula at their own pace. Students can email or call teachers for help or log in to lectures, but there's little personal interaction. Many assignments to check for understanding are multiple choice, with no safeguard against cheating. And the schools, which get additional funds for each student enrolled, have incentives to keep families happy, which some teachers say pressures them to give passing grades regardless of effort. Last month K12, the largest cyber-education provider, reported its operating income jumped 58 percent in FY 2013, with total revenue at $848 million, much of that from state and federal funds. In 2012, K12 contracted with 45 lobbyists in state capitols across the country and donated $625,000 to politicians of both parties, ballot initiatives, and political associations such as the Republican Governors Association.?More

Does testing affect teaching?

A new report from the RAND Corporation examines research on the influence of testing on instructional practice, and what conditions for testing promote a positive impact on instruction and deeper learning. The authors focused on literature about high-stakes testing and performance assessment in U.S. public education, large-scale educational assessment in international settings, formative assessment and teachers' use of test results, military and occupational testing, and professional certification and licensure testing. The studies suggest a range of effects, including changes in curriculum content and emphasis, allocation of time and resources across different pedagogical activities, and teacher-student interactions. At the same time, wide variability in how educators responded to tests across studies and within individual studies suggests that impacts depend on teachers and on their contexts. Several conditions affect impact: test attributes, such as purpose, technical quality, and format; background, beliefs, and knowledge of teachers and administrators; characteristics of a school and students; and district/school policies related to professional development, teacher collaboration, and curriculum. The report asserts that tests of deeper learning can promote desirable changes when content and format mirror high-quality instruction. Score reporting should foster instructional improvement, and teachers should receive training and support for interpreting and using test scores effectively; important consequences should not follow directly from scores alone. Externally mandated, high-stakes tests should be part of an integrated assessment system that includes formative and summative components, and accountability metrics should value growth in achievement and be sensitive to change at all levels of student performance, not just a single cut point.?More

Fixing the teacher pipeline?
A new report by the Education Trust finds too many educator-preparation programs inadequately train teachers for real-world challenges in the classroom or for districts' hiring needs. It stresses that federal policy could improve educator quality by requiring more useful information on teacher- and leader-preparation programs, promoting meaningful action to improve low-performing programs, and sparking innovation in how districts and states manage educator pipelines. Through reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), the federal government can bolster state efforts to assess principal and teacher preparation and help states redesign both the teacher-talent pipeline and incentive systems that are currently dysfunctional. Ed Trust recommends that states be required to assess the performance of teacher and principal preparation on a range of output metrics, which should include tying student learning to graduates. This should be done as a condition of receiving federal student-aid funding. The federal government should also re-imagine the use of federal competitive dollars currently allocated in Title II -- and supplement those with additional resources from ESEA Title II -- to enable a select number of states each year, in coordination with districts and programs, to design and implement comprehensive redesigns of pipeline and advancement systems.?More

Students with disabilities: We still don't know what works

A group of researchers has concluded that nearly four decades after the?Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), we still don't know how best to educate disabled students so they can lead productive lives, writes Jill Barshay on The Hechinger Report website. The team examined 43 studies of interventions for disabled students and found no studies were designed well. Many lacked control groups, and others tested a treatment only once and could not replicate results. Others lumped together children with different disabilities, making it unclear what disabilities responded to the treatment. The studies covered a range of disabilities, including?ADHD; ataxia; cerebral palsy; deafness, visual impairment, Down syndrome; emotional or behavioral disability; epilepsy; intellectual disability; learning disability; physical disability; seizure disorder; sensory impairment; Tourette syndrome; and traumatic brain injury. In an effort to offer some guidance to policymakers, parents, and educators, the team saw potential in further study of these hypotheses: participation in career and technical education may be important for promoting employment outcomes; employment in at least one job before students with disabilities leave high school may be integral to transition support; inclusive education settings may be key in transitioning to postsecondary education; and computer-based instruction may help students with intellectual disabilities live more independently by increasing their functional skills.?More

BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
Dubious Distinction
Campuses in five Los Angeles County school systems were stripped of their scores on the California's Academic Performance Index over claims of?cheating, other misconduct, or mistakes that affected the handling of standardized tests; in all, 27 California schools this year lost their academic rating, an increase from 23 last year.?More
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Dimming enthusiasm?
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing reports that 26,446 students were enrolled in teacher-preparation programs in 2011-12 -- a 24 percent reduction from the previous year's total of 34,838 students.?More
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Surprise, surprise
Less than a week after Los Angeles Unified School District issued iPads to its students as part of a $30 million deal with Apple, students have hacked past almost 200 of the districts' software blocks on the devices that limit what websites students can use.?More
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Hail the queen
A transgender teenager was crowned homecoming queen at Marina High School in Huntington Beach -- the first in Orange County.?More
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Critical revisions
The California Healthy Kids Survey -- a massive survey of student behavior and a key resource for schools -- has unveiled extensive revisions that put a stronger focus on students' emotional health.?More
BRIEFLY NOTED
Same old same old
SAT scores remained flat for students in the class of 2013, with just 43 percent performing well enough to be considered college-ready -- the same proportion as last year.?More
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Test run
Seventeen Minnesota districts are piloting a new teacher-evaluation system that ties educators' scores to classroom work, student achievement, and surveys designed to measure student engagement in classroom lessons.?More
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A marginal increase
The state board of education in Delaware, by a 6-0 vote, adopted the Next Generation Science Standards, bringing to seven the number of states to do so since they were finalized in April.?More
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Welcome news, for change
Chicago Public Schools has announced that funding will not be cut for schools whose enrollment on the 20th day of classes was lower than projected.?More
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See ya
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has told U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan that the state will curtail its role in the?Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.?More
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What's in a name?
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has ordered her agencies to stop using the term "Common Core'' when referring to new education standards, dictating they instead be called "Arizona's College and Career Ready Standards.''?More
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Kudos
Houston was presented with its second Broad Prize at a ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.?More
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Conundrum
A Missouri law that permits students to transfer out of an unaccredited district -- at the home district's expense -- has caused thousands of students to switch schools this fall, raising the specter of bankruptcy for at least two school systems.?More
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First steps
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that the 17 teacher-education programs at SUNY schools will require a minimum 3.0 grade point average for admission to teacher- and principal-preparation programs, as well as high scores on the GREs.?More
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Good idea
The College Board has begun a nationwide outreach program to persuade more low-income high school seniors who scored high on standardized tests to apply to select colleges.?More
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Pay up
Arizona schools and voters scored a major victory when the state Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers must pay for inflation funding for the state K-12 system as mandated in a 2000 ballot initiative approved by voters.?More

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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IRA: Regie Routman Teacher Recognition Award
The International Reading Association Regie Routman Teacher Recognition Award honors an outstanding elementary teacher of reading and language arts dedicated to improving teaching and learning through reflective writing about his or her teaching and learning process. Maximum award: $2,500. Eligibility: regular classroom elementary teachers of reading and language arts grades K-6; must be IRA members. Deadline: November 15, 2013.
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NSTA: Wendell G. Mohling Outstanding Aerospace Educator Award
The National Science Teachers Association Wendell G. Mohling Outstanding Aerospace Educator Award recognizes excellence in the field of aerospace education. Maximum award: $3,000, as well as $2,000 in expenses to attend NSTA's national conference. The recipient of the award will be honored during the Awards Banquet and the Aerospace Educators Luncheon at the NSTA Conference. Eligibility: educators in informal education settings (e.g., museums, government, science centers). Deadline: November 30, 2013.
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AAPT: Barbara Lotze Scholarships for Future Teachers
The American Association of Physics Teachers Barbara Lotze Scholarships offer funds for future high school physics teachers. Maximum award: $2,000. Eligibility: U.S. citizens attending U.S. schools as undergraduates enrolled, or planning to enroll, in physics teacher preparation curricula, and U.S. high school seniors entering such programs. Deadline: December 1, 2013.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"There are so many cases in which people think, 'If I keep my child safe and healthy, I'll be good.' But those days are over. If you wait until kindergarten to start learning, they will be playing catch up from the beginning." -- Marco Davis, the White House's deputy director of the educational initiative for Hispanics, at the National Summit for Hispanic Early Learning.

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