[Ohiogift] Public Education NewsBlast — Nov. 6, 2013

[Art Snyder]

                November 6, 2013 - In This Issue:
       Bolstering the odds for foster youth
  Are teachers more proficient?
  Not in math, apparently
  States and evaluations
  The assessment/technology conundrum
  Don't compromise on test quality
  Strong results for Boston charters
  Accountability and inclusion
  BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
  BRIEFLY NOTED
  GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
                                            
Bolstering the odds for foster youth

About two-thirds of foster kids never attend college, and even fewer graduate; those who do have an uncommon resilience, writes Michael Winerip in The New York Times. In a 2010 study by the University of Chicago, only 6 percent of former foster youth had earned a two- or four-year degree by age 24. In contrast, 34 percent had been arrested by age 19. Evidence indicates that extra support can make a difference. A growing number of colleges -- from U.C.L.A. to Los Angeles City College -- have created extensive support programs aimed at current and former foster youth. At U.C.L.A., this includes scholarships, year-round housing for those with no other home, academic and therapeutic counseling, tutoring, healthcare coverage, campus jobs, bedding, towels, cleaning products, toiletries, and occasional treats. Seven states have particularly strong programs: California, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. These offer more comprehensive services than the comparatively light support from some institutions. Programs for foster youth have seen considerable growth in recent years, spurred in part by the 2003 creation of the Chafee grant program, an annual $48 million federal appropriation that awards scholarships of up to $5,000. Also important: legislation in 2008 that allowed states to extend federal aid programs for foster youth from age 18 to 21.?More


 
Are teachers more proficient?

A new article in Education Next analyzes trends in teacher academic proficiency over the last two decades, and finds that in contrast to earlier cohorts in the study, graduates entering teaching in 2008-09 had average SAT scores slightly exceeding those entering other occupations -- perhaps a response to the economic downturn. An uptick in teachers who are women, from 71 percent in 1987-88 to 76 percent in 2007-08, reflects growth in female science and math teachers. The average age of teachers changed little, but the percentage over age 55 increased from 9 to 16 percent. A bump in retirement-eligible teachers in the mid-2000s has made the teaching force largely under 30 and over 55. Prospective teachers are graduating from less-selective colleges, and in the last 20 years the gap in selectivity has widened. One explanation is that selective colleges and universities have fewer undergraduate programs offering teacher certification in four years. The percentage of bachelor's degrees in education dropped from 10 percent in 1990 to 6 in 2010, while the percentage of master's stayed at 27 percent. STEM majors are 4 to 8 percentage points less likely to become teachers than non-STEM majors. New teachers in high-stakes classrooms tend to have higher SAT scores than those in other classrooms, and that differential grew by 6 SAT percentile points between 1993 and 2008.?More



Not in math, apparently

New research from Michigan State University finds that the worst-performing teacher-preparation programs are producing more than 60 percent of the nation's future middle school math teachers. Researchers analyzed data from the Teacher Education and Development Study: Mathematics, which included 23,000 future teachers in 900 programs across 17 countries; they conducted surveys with over 2,000 U.S. participants. The team found nine "core" courses were consistently taken by high-achieving prospective middle school teachers in the top 10 percent of training programs worldwide. A similar set of coursework in mathematics and math-teaching methods exists for elementary teachers. In the United States, only one in seven future middle school teachers and just over half of future elementary teachers had taken all of these courses. Once teachers begin teaching, the least-prepared graduates are more likely to teach in schools serving a high percentage of students in poverty. The best-prepared teachers were significantly less likely to work in high-poverty schools, and reported feeling more confident to teach math topics. The overall results of the study point to a possible remedy: the international benchmark for secondary teacher course-taking suggests that improvements in course requirements for teacher-preparation programs might improve the performance of both U.S. middle school mathematics teachers and their students.?More



States and evaluations

An annual paper from the National Council on Teacher Quality analyzes state policies on teacher preparation, training, retention, and compensation. As of September 2013, 35 states and the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) require that student achievement be a significant factor in teacher evaluations; only Alabama, California, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Texas, and Vermont have no formal policy. Overall, 11 states and the DCPS mandate a statewide teacher-evaluation system; 10 states offer an evaluation from which districts can opt out; and 27 states offer guidelines. Eighteen states and DCPS require tenure decisions be informed by evaluation ratings. Twenty-five states and DCPS require that teachers with poor evaluations get intervention. In 22 states and DCPS, persistent ineffectiveness is grounds for dismissal. However, the majority of districts nationally still use seniority as the sole determinant in layoffs. Only 18 states and DCPS explicitly address student achievement in non-tested grades and subjects. The paper recommends that teacher evaluations help all teachers improve, not just low-performers. States should ensure the quality of evaluators, which only 13 states and DCPS do through certification. Multiple evaluators are important, and states should adopt validated instruments or get expert help writing, testing, and implementing them. Special education cannot be an afterthought, and states must ensure that growth measures, observation rubrics, and surveys are fair to special education.?More



The assessment/technology conundrum

When millions of schoolchildren sit down at computers to take new Common Core-aligned assessments in spring 2015, many of their peers will take similar tests with paper and pencil, raising questions about comparability and equity, reports Catherine Gewertz for Education Week. Both Common Core consortia are building computer-based assessments, but will offer paper-and-pencil versions as well, as states transition to online testing. The consortia must show that the paper and computer version of tests in English/language arts and mathematics are comparable. But could children in high-poverty areas, where technological readiness is lower, lose something by not interacting with the new tests' technologically enhanced items, such as drawing and drag-and-drop functions? Or will they benefit by sticking with paper exams if they are more comfortable taking those? The consortia will not decide who takes the paper-and-pencil version of the test and who takes the computer version -- that is left to states, and in some cases, individual districts or schools. About 40 million students are in states belonging to the consortia, and large swaths of students will be using pencil and paper. Consortia leaders say they are confident that comparability and equity questions will be fully addressed by the time the tests debut in 2015.?More

     
Don't compromise on test quality

A new report from the Brookings Institution critically examines the likely costs of the Common Core assessment options available to states, but urges states to consider quality in addition to cost when choosing. The estimated costs of PARCC and SBAC tests ($29.50 and $22.50 per student, respectively) are not far from the nationwide average of what states currently pay for tests, but states have expressed concerns, likely because the consortia have announced estimates but not firm prices.? States may be worried that prices will rise if states leave consortia, but even if all states where political debate over the Common Core is intense drop out of the consortia, costs would increase by no more than $2 or $3 per test. All Common Core assessments under consideration cost less than a single textbook, and represent a tiny part of the $10,500 average annual per-pupil spending on education. The report recommends that states gather good information on test quality to justify spending, and that Congress support these efforts when reauthorizing NCLB by restricting a small amount of education funding -- $30 or $40 per student -- to be spent only on assessments. This would force low-spending states to upgrade their assessment systems or leave money on the table.?More



Strong results for Boston charters

A follow-up report from the Boston Foundation looks at charter demand, attendance, and performance in the city, and concludes that those most likely to succeed in Boston charters are the least likely to enroll, especially in middle school. Charter demand in Boston increased from 15 percent of 6th graders applying in 2009-10 to 33 percent in 2012-13. Demand for 9th graders increased from 11 to 15 percent. Boston added many charter seats over this period, mostly in middle school, but applications per student also increased, so that the increase in applications outstripped the increase in seats. The causal impact of attending a year at a Boston charter is positive in both subjects in both middle and high school. The positive per-year effect on middle school proficiency was 12 percentage points in math and 6 percentage points in English. In high school, the per-year effect was 10 percentage points in both subjects. The effect on reaching the advanced level on the standardized MCAS in high school was especially large, with increases of 18 percentage points in math and 12 percentage points in English per year of attendance. Gains were largest for minority students. In middle school, gains were larger for students who scored worse on baseline exams. At both levels, gains were particularly large for English language learners.?More



Accountability and inclusion

A new report from the federal Institute of Education Science examines inclusion of students with disabilities (SWD) in school accountability systems. The report finds that numerous provisions and regulations make it challenging to determine exactly how well SWDs have been performing. States use different tests, adopt different proficiency standards, use different methods for measuring progress, and set different minimum subgroup size for accountability, all of which lead to variation in how SWDs are included or excluded from accountability systems and how SWD performance affects AYP and school improvement status. Across 44 states with relevant data for 2009-10 and DC, 35 percent of schools were accountable for SWD subgroup performance, representing 59 percent of SWDs in those states. In the 25 states with relevant data for all 4 years, the percentage of SWD-accountable schools increased from 30 percent in 2006-07 to 34 percent in 2009-10. Eleven percent of schools in 39 states and DC missed AYP in 2009-10 because of SWD subgroup performance and other reason(s), and 6 percent missed it solely because of SWD subgroup performance. Among schools consistently accountable for the performance of the SWD subgroup across 22 states, 56 percent were never identified for school improvement during this time period.??More

BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
ED means business
Reinforcing its threat to punish California for dumping its old standardized state tests next spring, the U.S. Department of Education has said the decision could cost the state at least $3.5 billion.?More
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Olive branch
Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California, has announced $5 million will be devoted to providing special counseling and financial aid for students living in the country illegally.?More
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Deasy does it
After nearly five hours behind closed doors, the L.A. Unified school board announced it will retain Superintendent John Deasy.?More
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Progress?
A new report by the Community Rights Campaign shows that police employed by Los Angeles Unified School District issued dramatically fewer citations to students for truancy and substantially fewer citations overall this past school year, but African American and Latino students were still disproportionately cited.?More
BRIEFLY NOTED?
Amen to that
The New York State Education Department, responding to concerns that standardized exams in reading and math have become excessive and unwieldy, will seek to ease the burden of testing.?More
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We perceive a trend
About 30 school boards in Virginia have passed resolutions that call on education officials to revamp the Standards of Learning testing system, saying that there is "little research" that shows that students "will be better prepared to succeed in their careers and college" by taking the 34 standardized tests the state gives to each child between grades 3-11.?More
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Multiple choice
Mississippi education officials are considering as many as seven alternate paths to a high school diploma for students who fail one or more high school exit exams.?More
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In search of flexibility
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says schools and students should have more options when it comes to meeting the algebra II graduation requirement.?More
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Whoopsie daisy
Testing of public school students in Montclair, N.J. was canceled after someone anonymously posted several of the exams on a public website.?More
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Storm brewing
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray's administration has kicked off an effort to overhaul school boundaries and feeder patterns for the first time in decades, a politically charged and long-delayed process that could limit access to some of the city's most sought-after schools.?More

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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Fund for Teachers: Grants
The Fund for Teachers offers direct grants to teachers to support summer learning opportunities of their own design. Maximum award: $5,000. Eligibility: teachers grades pre-kindergarten through 12, with a minimum of three years teaching experience, full-time, spending at least 50 percent of the time in the classroom at the time grants are approved and made. Deadline: varies by state.
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AIA/NAR: Team America Rocketry Challenge
The Team America Rocketry Challenge is the world's largest rocket contest, sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the National Association of Rocketry (NAR). Teams of three to ten students design, build, and fly a model rocket that reaches a specific altitude and duration determined by a set of rules developed each year. The contest is designed to encourage students to study math and science and pursue careers in aerospace. The top 100 teams go to Washington, D.C. for the national finals in May. Maximum award: $60,000 in cash and scholarships split between the top 10 finishers. NASA invites top teams to participate in its Student Launch Initiative, an advanced rocketry program. Eligibility: The application for a team must come from a single school or a single U.S. incorporated non-profit youth or educational organization (excluding the National Association of Rocketry, Tripoli Rocketry Association, or any other rocket club or organization). Team members must be students who are currently enrolled in grades 7 through 12 in a U.S. school or homeschool. Teams may have members from other schools or other organizations and may obtain financing from any source, not limited to their sponsoring organization. Teams must be supervised by an adult approved by the principal of the sponsoring school, or by an officially appointed adult leader of their sponsoring organization. Minimum team size is three students and maximum is ten students. Each student member must make a significant contribution to the designing, building, and/or launching of the team's entry. Deadline: December 1, 2013.
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Earthwatch Institute: Fellowships
The Earthwatch Institute offers educators fully funded fellowships for hands-on learning with leading scientists doing field research and conservation on projects around the world. Maximum award: fully funded fellowship. Eligibility: elementary, middle, and high school educators and administrators of any discipline. Deadline: two weeks after educator-interest application is submitted; ultimate deadline May 1, 2014.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"We wouldn't want to record every conversation they are having in the hallway. The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority, but we also need for them to have the time and space to grow without feeling like we are watching their every move." -- John G. Palfrey Jr., head of Phillips Academy in Massachusetts, regarding a new trend by districts of monitoring all of students' activity on social media.


 
 
   
  

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