In praise of information

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / December 5, 2002

The federal Department of Health and Human Services recently unveiled a new website where one can obtain comparative data on U.S. nursing homes - thousands and thousands of them. Check out http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Home.asp and follow the steps to locate a county, city or state that interests you. It's fascinating. You can get factual information about individual nursing homes. You can also get quality measures (e.g. percentage of patients with "pressure sores") and can compare these with state and national averages. You can learn how many "deficiencies" a nursing home had during its most recent inspection, how serious these were and when (and if) they were corrected. You can determine the average "nursing staff hours per resident per day," and lots more. You can comparison shop - at least begin to narrow the field - in the locale of your choosing. For example: Montgomery County, Ohio has 38 nursing homes in this system. (So, it turns out, does Montgomery County, Maryland.)

If I were hunting for a nursing home for a loved one, this would be an immensely valuable and efficient way to get started. In the end, of course, it won't provide sufficient basis for a complicated decision. Picking a nursing home isn't like ordering a book or shirt via the internet. But how terrific to be able to start by specifying a geographic area and then doing basic investigations of the options without leaving one's desk. Instead of 38

» Continued

In praise of information

Calling the ACLU!

Diane Ravitch / December 5, 2002

In its issue of November 27, 2002, Education Week described the efforts being made by public schools to accommodate the religious needs of Islamic pupils. This includes, in some schools, setting aside a room where students can pray together during school hours and making special arrangements for students who are fasting during Ramadan.

Public schools across the nation, to the extent that their enrollment includes Muslim students, are facing similar issues. In New York City, for example, a number of schools have designated a room in which Muslim students can worship.

As one reads about these accommodations, one is reminded of the Sherlock Holmes story about the dog that didn't bark. In this instance, the dog is the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU has traditionally been vigilant in taking legal action against any acknowledgement of religion in the public square and, specifically, in the public schools. Civil liberties lawyers have sued to remove all religious activities and symbols from schools and to ensure that they remain resolutely secular.

Thus it is indeed surprising that the ACLU has not voiced a peep about public schools that set aside special prayer rooms for Muslim students. Would they be equally silent if public schools set aside special rooms where Catholic students could say the Rosary, where Protestant students could pray together, or where Jewish students could study the Torah? One hopes that the ACLU will one day soon take a position on the most

» Continued

Calling the ACLU!

ASBJ examines teacher induction, urban school leadership

December 5, 2002

In the December issue of American School Board Journal, Harry Wong and Christina Asquith make the case for a comprehensive, multi-year "induction" program for fledgling educators that goes beyond assigning a mentor and passing out copies of the discipline code ("Supporting New Teachers"; not available online). In the same issue, a five-article special report on "Leading City Schools" looks at whether mayoral efforts are improving urban schools; why the pool of "qualified" superintendents is depleting [hint: it excludes many successful professionals with non-education backgrounds]; why school boards must take charge of reform; where city schools are succeeding; and how private support for public schools is growing. You'll find the special report at http://www.asbj.com/specialreports/1202.html.

» Continued

ASBJ examines teacher induction, urban school leadership

Georgia offers teacher "warranty"

December 5, 2002

The Peach State's public university system will retrain graduates of its fifteen teacher ed programs if they prove ineffective within their first two years on the job. The extra training - possibly the country's first large-scale attempt to guarantee teacher quality - will be provided at no cost to the teacher or school district. "Georgia teachers now guaranteed," by Rebecca McCarthy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 4, 2002

» Continued

Georgia offers teacher "warranty"

Massachusetts approves alternative to MCAS diplomas

December 5, 2002

After months of heated debate, the Massachusetts Board of Education has voted to allow Bay State school districts to award "certificates of attainment" to students who, despite solid attendance and acceptable grades in their academic courses, thrice fail to pass the MCAS exam required for high school graduation. Districts are not required to issue such certificates, and it is uncertain whether employers, the military and the federal government will view the new credential as equivalent to a full diploma. "Fail safe?: Sparks fly over plan for non-MCAS 'diplomas'," by Ed Hayward, Boston Herald, November 27, 2002

» Continued

Massachusetts approves alternative to MCAS diplomas

NEA updates education indicators

December 5, 2002

The National Education Association has released an 8-page update to its annual Rankings & Estimates: Ranking of the States and Estimates of School Statistics, which will now be compiled semi-annually. (For a review of the most recent edition, see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=61#881.) The update - a thinly veiled attempt to re-inject the issue of "low" teacher pay into the news - notes that teacher salaries grew more slowly than the economy in 2001-02. "Rankings & Estimates: A Report of School Statistics: Update," National Education Association, Fall 2002

» Continued

NEA updates education indicators

New perspectives on "public" education and value-added testing

December 5, 2002

The Progressive Policy Institute recently released a pair of brief policy reports that deserve your attention. Noting that the establishment has long protected the status quo by labeling change-agents "anti-public education," Frederick Hess advances a framework for thinking and talking about ways whereby schooling can preserve our "shared heritage of liberty and community" while focusing on what's best for kids, not the public education system. Jonathan Crane offers a plug for value-added testing, explaining why it's likely to make NCLB more effective, boost teacher quality, and help determine which school reform models actually work. Hess's "Making Sense of the 'Public' in Public Education," is available at www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=110&subsecid=134&contentid=251034; Crane's "The Promise of Value-Added Testing" can be found at http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=110&subsecid=136&contentid=251035.

» Continued

New perspectives on "public" education and value-added testing

Which comes first: good schools or vibrant cities?

December 5, 2002

In last month's Governing, Alan Ehrenhalt argued that politicians' grandiose promises to turn around failing schools - which reveal a lopsided emphasis on the condition of education at the expense of other pressing issues - are harmful and misleading. In addition to inflating hopes, the school reform crusade perpetuates the dangerous notion that cities can't be healthy until their schools are "fixed," he wrote. Judging by the revival of such metropolises as Boston and Chicago (but not those cities' schools), Ehrenhalt contends that better schools are one of the last stages of urban renewal, following safe streets, bustling commerce and efficient transportation. "The School-Renewal Fallacy," by Alan Ehrenhalt, Governing, November 2002

» Continued

Which comes first: good schools or vibrant cities?

Why the Blob hates charter schools

December 5, 2002

In a ringing endorsement of charter schools, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter recently explained why "mindless boards of education and reactionary teachers unions" are trying to smear them. He claims charters are a "workable and often inspiring form of public school choice" halfway between vouchers and the status quo - and, as such, they threaten the establishment's power. "Attack of the Blob," by Jonathan Alter, Newsweek, November 27, 2002

» Continued

Why the Blob hates charter schools

Bringing Evidence-Driven Progress to Education: A Recommended Strategy for the U.S. Department of Education

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / December 5, 2002

Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy and U.S. Department of Education
November 2002

The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy is a worthy group of prominent social scientists and other thinkers (including our own Diane Ravitch) that undertook this report in collaboration with the federal Education Department. It argues that future education interventions should be based on high-quality scientific research, which it equates with randomized field trials. This would not even be newsworthy in many fields, but in education it amounts to a revolution. The report urges the Department (which is a bit like the Department urging itself) to devote its discretionary dollars to such research, not only within explicit research programs but also in "discretionary" programs and those where money is set aside for "national" activities. It cites several examples (reading, pre-school, substance abuse) where randomized trials have produced significant findings about particular interventions. (It does not, however, mention the voucher programs that have been subject to similar research.) Perhaps just as important for the education research world, the report is highly critical of the "pre-post" and "comparison group" (or "quasi-experimental") studies that are widespread but often yield biased results. You can download a copy of this provocative document at http://www.excelgov.org/usermedia/images/uploads/PDFs/coalitionFinRpt.pdf.

» Continued

Bringing Evidence-Driven Progress to Education: A Recommended Strategy for the U.S. Department of Education

Freedom from Failure

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / December 5, 2002

Conor Ryan, Centre for Policy Studies
2002

Written by Conor Ryan, a freelance writer who previously served as special adviser to David Blunkett, England's minister of education in the Blair government, this 32-page mini-book argues that all the education reforms of the past 15 years, consequential as they've been, leave some very important steps untaken. In particular, "A quarter of 11 year olds still cannot read properly. It takes two and a half years to sack a bad teacher. And there are too many bad schools." To solve these problems, he recommends "radical solutions." These include wider use of "synthetic phonics"; big changes in teacher training; an overhaul of vocational training; more use of "value-added" data to spot schools that are "coasting"; the expansion of good schools and the faster closing of bad ones; and more outsourcing of troubled schools to private operators (with freedom to replace staff). Much of this is familiar stuff but it's interesting to see these issues examined through British lenses. You can download a copy (in PDF format) at http://www.cps.org.uk/conor.pdf.

» Continued

Freedom from Failure

Title I Regulations

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / December 5, 2002

U.S. Department of Education
November 2002

As everyone surely knows, the federal Education Department recently issued final regulations for the Title I program under No Child Left Behind. It's a 185-page document joined by a 190-page appendix, in which the Department explains the changes that it did or didn't make in the draft regulations published last summer. Everyone also knows that some state officials are voicing dismay at the supposed inflexibility of these regulations, and that - in a wonderfully ironic twist - some prominent Democrats are lamenting the damage that the Republican administration is doing to states' rights and local control, particularly with respect to "adequate yearly progress" and the (limited) choice provisions of NCLB. (Others complain that the regulations don't crack down hard enough on the states.) For the most part, it looks to me, the regulation-writers were faithful to the letter and spirit of the No Child Left Behind act, insisting that its provisions will be complied with even in spheres (such as public school alternatives for children stuck in failing schools) where states and communities have ignored the law or asserted that compliance is unrealistic To understand the agency's reasoning, examine the appendix. While some issues addressed there are highly technical or limited in impact (e.g. is it meaningful to talk about "adequate yearly progress" for youngsters enrolled "in a juvenile justice alternative education program for less than a full academic year"?), others deal with major disputes. On

» Continued

Title I Regulations

What Research Says about Small Classes & Their Effects

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / December 5, 2002

Bruce J. Biddle and David C. Berliner, WestEd
Winter 2002

The tag-team of Bruce J. Biddle and David C. Berliner is at it again, trying to settle the class-size dispute in favor of those who want to shrink the number of kids in a given classroom. It's published as a "policy perspective" by WestEd, the regional lab, but the fine print notes that Messrs. Biddle and Berliner supervise that whole series of reports. Although this one purports to be a meta-analysis, in fact, as the authors note, there's been only one true class-size reduction experiment of any scale or duration, the much-discussed Tennessee STAR venture. Everything else is either a "pilot" program or, as in California's massive class-size reduction effort, a universal policy. To their credit, they acknowledge that California's venture has worked badly, but they ascribe its problems to poor implementation and meager funding, not erroneous theory. They're obviously sold on the theory. They offer no alternative theories, such as the hypothesis (by Lakdawala and others) that America's fixation on smaller classes has more to do with compensating for WEAK teachers - and with the many powerful interests arrayed on behalf of MORE teachers. Nor do they mention the planet's many nations that have (by U.S. standards) huge classes but continue to best us in every international assessment. You can see for yourself at http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/small_classes.pdf.

» Continued

What Research Says about Small Classes & Their Effects