Summits are for mountaineers

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / October 18, 2001

Last week's 24-hour National Education Summit was surely pleasant. IBM's Lew Gerstner is a fine host and his company's conference facility is exceptionally comfortable. Though the President did not make it - there was general consensus that he had important things to do back in the Oval Office - there were almost enough governors (about 15) and journalists on hand to make it feel like an important event. Corporate tycoons jetted in on private planes. Security was tight. Secretary Paige spoke at dinner. And while some VIPs had to have their arms twisted to come (and some, such as Florida's Jeb Bush, California's Gray Davis and AOL's Steve Case, were last minute no-shows), hundreds of educators wished they could have been there.

This was the 4^th such "summit" in a dozen years. The first - the famous 1989 Charlottesville confab - consisted only of governors and President. The three subsequent gatherings, under the aegis of the organization called Achieve, have engaged governors, CEOs and educators in joint pursuit of standards-based education reform. Gerstner has been the main sparkplug - as he is at Achieve - and has co-chaired these conclaves with education-minded governors (Michigan's John Engler this time). Last week's get-together came just two years after summit #3. Some thought there was no clear need for it, which likely worsened the attendance problem. The fact that pending federal ESEA legislation, which will impact many states, has not yet been finalized also

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Summits are for mountaineers

A hard case for supporters of religious schools

Marci Kanstoroom, Ph.D. / October 18, 2001

It's getting more and more difficult to generalize about religious schooling in America.  An article in last week's Wall Street Journal reports that Catholic, Jewish, and other faith-based schools are seeing a wave of interest from students of other religions. Christian parents may pick a Jewish or Islamic school for their child (or vice versa) for a wide range of reasons. Some do it because the school has a strong academic program or is less expensive than a secular private school, some simply because they value diversity and want their children to learn about another religion. Somewhat surprisingly, most of the parents profiled in the article seem to be doing it for the religious teachings themselves.

"The basic values are more important to me than the specifics of the religion," explained one Christian parent who sends his son to a Jewish school. A Jewish parent who sends her son to a Jesuit school likes the fact that the school emphasizes "being a better all-around person rather than who is richer or who has the nicest pair of Nikes."  Often parents are seeking schools that can provide moral guidance for their children as an alternative to the "defiantly secular approach of many public schools."

Not everyone is pleased with this trend, the article notes. Traditionalists worry that schools are diluting their religious message in order to raise enrollment.  But while religious schools courting students of different faiths may have their eye on

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A hard case for supporters of religious schools

Is National Board certification worth the $200 million that's been invested in it?

October 18, 2001

In this month's issue of Philanthropy, Michael Poliakoff asks some pointed questions about the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), the nonprofit organization created in 1987 to identify and reward "master teachers."  First, do the students of board-certified teachers achieve more than students whose teachers have not achieved this "distinction"?  Second, are the board's evaluation procedures even capable of identifying "master teachers"?  Poliakoff, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), argues that the answer to both questions is likely no. Inconclusive results emerged from the only study to date that has investigated the effect of board certification on student achievement. And the Board's own guidelines instruct evaluators to "ignore errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and simply to concentrate on evidence of pedagogical skills and proper attitude."  See why it's time for a serious evaluation of NBPTS and some "hard-nosed" competition in the realm of master teacher certification in "Mastering the Basics," by Michael Poliakoff, Philanthropy, October 2001. (available to subscribers only)

For a na??ve look at how the National Board's procedures work from the perspective of a school district trying to get its teachers certified, see several articles in this month's Catalyst: Voices of Chicago School Reform.

An article in this week's Education Week describes the alternative to the National Board that Poliakoff is helping to launch: "New Organization Aims to Develop Tests for Teachers," by Julie Blair, Education Week, October 17, 2001.

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Is National Board certification worth the $200 million that's been invested in it?

Newest Bracey Report full of rotten apples

October 18, 2001

If you're a serious education reformer and want to make yourself angry, have a look at the "11^th Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education" written by none other than Gerald W. Bracey. You'll probably agree with nothing in it. It's mostly an anti-testing rant leavened by ad hominem attacks. You can find it in the October Phi Delta Kappan but your blood pressure will rise even higher if you go to the website version (not yet posted but expected soon), which will contain his despicable "rotten apple" awards. The big problem with this guy isn't just that he's wrong about practically everything. It's that he's so nasty.

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Newest Bracey Report full of rotten apples

Vindication for the MCAS: dramatic improvement in student scores in MA

October 18, 2001

Policymakers in Massachusetts have long faced ferocious testing critics wailing that the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System is harming public education and worsening dropout rates.  They endured myriad protests organized by opponents who claimed that MCAS was forcing educators to "teach to the test."  They winced at the high percentage of kids who failed each year. Then suddenly, there was something to smile about. On Monday, Department of Education officials released the results of the spring 2001 MCAS exams which showed that 82% of 10^th graders passed the English test and 75% passed the math test - increases of 16% and 20%, respectively, from the previous year. The results - which would be good news at any time - are all the more pleasing because high school students must now pass these sections of the MCAS to graduate.  (Last year's 10^th graders are the first class to face the new requirement; students who fail one or more sections are given four more tries to pass, with remediation to help them do so.)  Now that it has teeth, the MCAS is even better poised to promote reform and boost student achievement. Take that, testing critics!

"Spring 2001 MCAS Tests: Summary of State Results," Massachusetts Department of Education, October 2001.

"Dramatic Improvement in MCAS Scores," by Ed Hayward, Boston Herald, October 16, 2001.

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Vindication for the MCAS: dramatic improvement in student scores in MA

Virginia schools post record gains on SOLs

October 18, 2001

Another state whose pursuit of standards-and-accountability based reform has been doubted by testing opponents had good news this week.  According to results released on Tuesday, Virginia schools nearly doubled their rate of success on the state's Standards of Learning exams this year, with 40 percent meeting this year's state benchmarks and an additional 30 percent of schools reaching targets for annual progress. Beginning in 2007, schools in the Old Dominion will need to reach the annual-progress targets to receive accreditation. For more, see "Virginia Schools Nearly Double Passing Rate on SOL Tests," by Liz Seymour, The Washington Post, October 17, 2001.

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Virginia schools post record gains on SOLs

Changes in High School Grading Standards in Mathematics, 1982-1992

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / October 18, 2001

Dan Koretz and Mark Berends, RAND, 2001

The RAND Corporation's Dan Koretz and Mark Berends went hunting for evidence of grade inflation in U.S. high schools during the decade 1982-92. (They were only able to get data for math courses.) They found no nationwide grade inflation, but they did find some among high-income students and in urban schools. They also found general improvement in students' math proficiency. This 80-page report gets pretty technical and jargony ("after disattenuating for unreliability....") but you may want to have a look. You can find ordering information or download a (PDF) copy by surfing to http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1445/.

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Changes in High School Grading Standards in Mathematics, 1982-1992

Leadership for Student Learning

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / October 18, 2001

Larry Cuban, Institute for Educational Leadership, September 2001

Writing for the Institute for Educational Leadership, Stanford Professor (and former school superintendent) Larry Cuban has written what he terms a "politically incorrect" ten-page essay about urban school leadership. It's politically incorrect on several fronts, and possibly just incorrect as well. The author seeks to distinguish urban school reform (and leadership) from other kinds, and winds up concluding that urban schools really are different on several dimensions. He makes some good points. Unfortunately, he also uses this "diversity" to raise doubts about standards-based reform as it applies to urban schools. If you'd like to read it (it's really short!), you can download a PDF version from http://www.iel.org/programs/21st/reports/urbanlead.pdf. You could also request a copy by e-mailing podmostkom@iel.org or phoning (202) 822-8405 or writing the Institute for Educational Leadership, 1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 310, Washington, DC 20036.

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Leadership for Student Learning

March Toward Excellence: School Success and Minority Achievement in Department of Defense Schools

Kelly Scott / October 18, 2001

National Education Goals Panel, September 2001

Children of military personnel who attend schools run by the Department of Defense (DoD) resemble their peers in urban schools in many ways: 40% of students in DoD schools are minorities, half qualify for free and reduced price lunches, 80% have parents with a high school diploma or less, and 35% switch schools every year. There's one big difference: the 112,000 DoD students consistently score higher than students in nearly every state on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (and have an achievement gap between whites and non-whites that is significantly narrower than the national average).  Researchers from Vanderbilt University were asked by the National Education Goals Panel to determine why DoD students - especially African Americans and Hispanics - do so well.  Among the conditions they identified were clear, centralized standards combined with local decision-making - dubbed by the researchers as "mission, money, and measurement from the top, and methods from the bottom"; curriculum-aligned standardized testing of every student; high expectations for all kids; top-quality, competitively paid teachers; strong pre-school and after-school programs; small schools; and a "corporate commitment" to expecting and enabling parent involvement.  The report is laced with revealing comments from DoD teachers that seem right on track - for example: "Your study is looking at why minority students do better.  I think the answer to that question is that all our students do better.  There are no 'minority' students here."  It's

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March Toward Excellence: School Success and Minority Achievement in Department of Defense Schools

What Are Special Educational Needs?

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / October 18, 2001

John Marks, Centre for Policy Studies, June 2000

John Marks is a British education expert who thinks heterodox thoughts and says irreverent things when warranted. In this 46-page study for the London-based Centre for Policy Studies (published in June 2000), he probes why the United Kingdom has recently experienced such an explosion (his word) in the number of children said to have special educational needs. (According to his data, the U.K. now classifies 2-3% of its school children as having explicit, serious physical and/or mental disabilities, but almost 20% more as having other sorts of "special educational needs.") His working conclusion: "We have brought this disaster upon ourselves." The reasons are numerous, but they center on what Marks terms the "retreat from traditional teaching practices." He also offers a number of recommendations for rectifying the situation. These center, not surprisingly, on the restoration of more "traditional" practices of organizing schools and teaching children. If you'd like to read it for yourself, it seems you'll have to order (and pay for) a hard copy. (The price is ??7.50.) You might start by e-mailing mail@cps.org.uk or surfing to  http://www.cps.org.uk/sen.htm where you'll find an on-line order form. You could also write to the Centre for Policy Studies, 57 Tufton Street, London SW1P3QL. Or you could phone 020 7222 4488 or fax 020 7222 4388.

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What Are Special Educational Needs?