Limited consensus on school choice

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / November 20, 2003

Two years ago, the Gates and Casey foundations made grants to Brookings to host a group called the National Working Commission on School Choice, chaired by the University of Washington's Paul Hill and consisting of 13 other members, mainly academics, deemed to represent a reasonably wide spectrum of the informed school-choice debate. Mercifully lacking in interest-group representatives and strident ideologues, this was not your usual Noah's Ark panel whose inability to agree on even the most basic principles means nothing gets done - at least nothing of any consequence. Its charge was to "explore how choice works and to examine how communities interested in the potential benefits of new school options could obtain them while avoiding choice's potential damage." The Commission organized its work under four headings: benefits to children whose parents choose new schools; benefits to children whose families do not exercise choice; effects on the national commitment to equal opportunity and school desegregation; and advancement of social cohesion and common democratic values.

After two years of labor, the group has just issued its 42-page report, entitled "School Choice: Doing It the Right Way Makes a Difference." (A set of commissioned papers will follow.) On its own terms, this is a lucid, eloquent, fair-minded, insightful, and balanced piece of work. But it isn't apt to end the school-choice wars and may not even

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Limited consensus on school choice

New NAEP, mostly old news

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / November 20, 2003

As almost everybody knows, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) last week released - faster than ever before - summaries of its 2003 assessments of reading and math, including both national and state-specific results in grades 4 and 8. This was the first time that (per NCLB requirements) every state had to take part in the NAEP reading and math assessments, like it or not. These results can be thought of as the real No Child Left Behind "baselines." As you may recall, NCLB both requires states to set their own standards and test their own pupils in reading and math AND creates a role for NAEP as a sort of independent audit of state standards and achievement in these key subjects. When one observes, for example, that NAEP shows 4th grade reading prowess declining from 2002 to 2003, as happened in Massachusetts, or rising, as in Florida, one wants to take a closer look at the trends that those states are reporting from their own tests calibrated to their own standards. Putting it differently, when one sees that Ohio, for example, has 30 percent of its 8th graders scoring at or above the "proficient" level in math as gauged by NAEP, that other states are as

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New NAEP, mostly old news

Apathy in D.C.: It gets worse

November 20, 2003

In a surprise announcement given after a "hastily called" school board meeting, D.C. school superintendent Paul Vance announced his resignation. When pressed for details about why he was leaving so abruptly, he cited several reasons, including the move by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams to try to gain control over the beleaguered school system, the system's financial problems, and the D.C. voucher program now before Congress (and, which yesterday cleared a major hurdle and is now embedded in a omnibus appropriations bill that the Democrats have said they will not filibuster). "To be very candid with you," Vance sighed, "I just don't want to be bothered with it." Give him points for honesty. The response to his exit has been mixed, with many D.C. officials saying that he had "fought the good fight" but that the lack of progress on his watch made it time for him to go. Vance noted that his three-and-a-half year tenure was a "modern record" for the D.C. system, which has seen 16 chiefs in 36 years. But his departure will only be good news for D.C. students if the school board manages to appoint a leader "who [will stick] around for more than a brief visit" and who will "insist on real authority." Of course, since the mayor is currently vying to control the system himself, it seems more likely, as Marc Fisher of the Washington Post predicts, that there will be "a long struggle

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Apathy in D.C.: It gets worse

Supes in support of NCLB

November 20, 2003

Trying to out-sing the chorus of negativism surrounding No Child Left Behind, the Hartford Courant reports that 100 minority superintendents have signed a letter expressing support for the law. "We need to be held accountable. We should not be making excuses like, 'Oh, this kid is from a poor neighborhood,'" said Hartford school chief Robert Henry. Though many signatories say they believe NCLB funding is inadequate - a constant complaint from NCLB critics - they nonetheless agree that funding is no excuse for poor performance. Kati Haycock of the Education Trust, which organized the letter, went even further, accusing NCLB critics of a "deeply cynical" effort to kill the law by claiming, in essence, that poor and minority kids can't learn.

"Minority educators back Bush initiative," by Robert A. Frahm and Rachel Gottlieb, Hartford Courant, November 19, 2003 (registration required)

"Don't turn back the clock: NCLB not perfect, but hugely important," The
Education Trust

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Supes in support of NCLB

Affirmative action: the sequel

November 20, 2003

After the Supreme Court's recent ruling in two Michigan affirmative action cases, Gratz and Grutter, legal scholars predicted that a flurry of suits would seek to round out the Court's somewhat confusing jurisprudence on this topic. One of these cases, Doe v. Kamehameha, took its first step toward the high court this week, where most observers-including the judge in the case - predict it is likely to end up. The case concerns a private school supported by the Bishop Trust, a charitable trust founded in the 1880s by the last direct descendant of King Kamehameha I, with the goal of supporting and cultivating native Hawaiian culture. Two non-Hawaiian students who were denied admission to the school because of its policy of barring non-natives sued for racial discrimination. A federal judge dismissed the boys' claim on grounds that the remedial education provided by the school, expressly for the purpose of raising the educational and economic prospects of native Hawaiians, trumps longstanding case law forbidding racial discrimination in private education. The case now goes to a federal appeals court; you can read the judge's full decision at http://gohawaii.about.com/library/weekly/bl_doe_vs_kamehameha.htm.

"Kamehameha Schools win admissions case," by David Waitte, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, November 18, 2003

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Affirmative action: the sequel

The strong-arm of the law

November 20, 2003

This week, a New York City Council hearing intended to be a debate about the contentious, union-mandated teacher "work rules" (which limit, among other things, how long a teacher can work each day, how schools set faculty meeting agendas, and how teachers are hired and fired) devolved into a heated argument between council member Eva Moskowitz and NYC teachers' union president Randi Weingarten. In her opening remarks, Moskowitz likened the hearing "to NYPD whistleblower Frank Serpico and the 1970s hearings on corruption in [New York]." Weingarten was outraged by the claim and insisted that the union "did not strong-arm anyone not to testify" and complained that Moskowitz's comments made the union look like thugs. (That two of the three principals who agreed to testify would only do so anonymously may be suggestive.) In a slightly more substantive exchange, the city education department's director of labor and policy, Dan Weisberg, blasted the union rules governing teacher compensation and staffing, saying that "the system, as far as removing incompetent teachers, is broken." Some damning evidence in support of Weisberg's claim also came this week when a tenured Bronx teacher "with a sexual harassment record dating back to 1991" was finally fired after "asking gay students to identify themselves during class and then demanding three lesbian students be 'immediately' transferred out of his room."

"Teacher contract hearing turns into battle," by Ellen Yan, New York Newsday, November 14, 2003

"Political lesson," by

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The strong-arm of the law

Public schools under pressure in India

November 20, 2003

An "educational revolution is under way" in India, writes the New York Times, as millions of low-income parents dig deep to furnish private schooling for their children, a luxury once reserved for the well-to-do. Dissatisfaction with deteriorating public schools is driving the creation of hundreds of low-cost private schools, some charging just a few dollars a month in tuition-still a significant cost in a nation where per capita income is around $500 per year. The shift to private education is so profound that one government economist predicts that," within 10 to 15 years, government schools will be almost wiped out." James Tooley, a British researcher quoted in the Times, has been looking into these schools and others in Third World countries for several years (see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=4#42). We look forward to the findings of his massive longitudinal study of private schooling, now underway in a dozen countries.

"India's poor bet precious sums on private schools," by Amy Waldman, New York Times, November 15, 2003

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Public schools under pressure in India

Having Their Say: The Views of Dayton-Area Parents on Education

Terry Ryan / November 20, 2003

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
November 2003

Findings from this Fordham-sponsored survey - the fourth survey of Dayton parent/community attitudes toward education since 1988 - present a fascinating array of opinions about today's schools (and those who are responsible for them) and the changes that could be made tomorrow.  In particular, more than 70 percent of Dayton-area parents support the idea of allowing students in failing schools to attend other schools of their choice; most urban parents favor education vouchers; and the number of parents who feel that Dayton schools are improving is going up (from 12 percent in the last survey to nearly a quarter this year).  There's also strong support for charter schools in this city with a great many of them. For every person who would close them, four would keep or expand them. And, despite the ongoing complaint (from school-system defenders) that charters take money from traditional schools, almost two-thirds of parents say that "tax money is for a child's education, no matter what school he attends." Parents also support the use of standardized testing and think these tests should have consequences. In fact, more than three-quarters of the respondents agreed that getting promoted to the next grade or graduating from high school should depend at

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Having Their Say: The Views of Dayton-Area Parents on Education

Seizing the Day: Massachusetts' At-Risk High School Students Speak Out on Their Experiences at the Front Lines of Education Reform

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / November 20, 2003

MassInsight Education
October 2003

MassInsight Education is the source of this revealing survey of Bay State high-school students who failed the state's MCAS exams at least once. The goal was to determine, from the young people's perspective, what difference MCAS was making in their lives and what uses (if any) they are making of various forms of academic support to boost their prospects for passing this crucial test. The findings depict a half-full, half-empty situation. On the upside, 82 percent "of students who did not pass MCAS on the first try now report having participated in opportunities for extra help. . . . [Forty-seven] percent say they are increasing their level of effort in their schoolwork. . . . Nearly two-thirds . . . cite participation in extra-help programs as either a big or small reason for their success in passing the retest." On the downside: almost 9 in ten students who failed MCAS the first time around had a high-school GPA of "C" or better-and 71 percent of them plan to go to college. In other words, a chasm yawns between the reality of their performance as gauged by the state exit exam and their impression of performance as refracted by school results and life plans. Are they living in a fool's paradise? Writing about this study at Washingtonpost.com, veteran education journalist Jay Mathews described the failing students as "confused" over "what got them into this fix. The researchers interviewed about

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Seizing the Day: Massachusetts' At-Risk High School Students Speak Out on Their Experiences at the Front Lines of Education Reform

Meeting NCLB Goals for Highly Qualified Teachers: Estimates by State from Survey Data

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / November 20, 2003

Rolf K. Blank, Council of Chief State School Officers
November 2003

Rolf K. Blank of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is the author of this careful if depressing analysis of states' readiness to comply with the NCLB dictate that, by 2005-6, all teachers of core academic subjects in U.S. public schools must be "highly qualified." As readers no doubt recall, NCLB says a "highly qualified" teacher must (a) hold a bachelor's degree, (b) be fully state certified, (c) have passed "rigorous" tests of subject content and pedagogy, and (d) have majored (or the equivalent) in his/her subject (if a middle or high school teacher). Using federal "Schools and Staffing Survey" data from 1994 and 2000, Blank was able to gauge where states stood on (a) and (d) as of 1999-2000. The bottom line is that sizable problems lie ahead, particularly with reference to math and science teachers. Nationally, 88 percent of them were "fully certified" in those fields-and these rates ranged widely from state to state. (The corresponding rate for grade 7-12 English teachers was 91 percent, for social studies teachers 92 percent.) As for teachers who combine a subject-matter major with full state certification, the numbers are bleaker still: 63 percent in math (ranging from 90 percent in MN down to 38 percent in Nevada) and 67 percent in science. Moreover, the numbers worsened between 1994 and 2000. Blank's conclusion: the goal of meeting the highly qualified teacher

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Meeting NCLB Goals for Highly Qualified Teachers: Estimates by State from Survey Data

Education and Capitalism: How Overcoming Our Fear of Markets and Economics Can Improve America's Schools

Eric Osberg / November 20, 2003

Herbert J. Walberg and Joseph L. Bast, Hoover Institution Press
November 2003

This accessible book provides a wealth of information on economic principles and neatly summarizes the many reasons they might help improve America's schools - if only the powers-that-be in education were more open to such ideas and less fearful of markets and choice (i.e., capitalism). This fear is the reason "market-based school reforms poll well but fail in the political arena." The book begins with a useful summary of the many shortcomings of our schools and then transitions into an explanation of economics and capitalism that any beginner will find intelligible. In the process it debunks many of the myths and arguments that often appear in opposition to market-based reform. The book thus clearly makes the case for school choice and goes a step further by describing the specifics of an effective voucher program.  Unfortunately, it offers a purely libertarian focus, which will no doubt give critics ample fodder to attack it for suggesting that markets are a panacea. By dismissing all arguments against choice, many will wonder if this story is too good to be true. And the authors' suggestion that the complete privatization of schooling has merit will no doubt drive public-school proponents to hysterics. But this book is worth reading» Continued

Education and Capitalism: How Overcoming Our Fear of Markets and Economics Can Improve America's Schools

Education Next

November 20, 2003

Winter 2004

The new issue of Education Next is out, with a focus on school financing and the mounting debt that many districts face. Jon Fullerton identifies four underlying reasons that many school districts find themselves in financial trouble: inefficient financial oversight and a general na?vet? about how budgeting and financial planning work; constraints on how districts can manage their budget; political pressures from elected officials; but especially, a "use it or lose it" mentality that encourages districts to spend their full allocation each year and makes it hard for them to adjust to changing financial realities. In a companion article, UCLA professor William Ouchi argues for personnel and financial decentralization as a way out of these structural problems. Elsewhere, David J. Ferrero argues that choice is good for teachers, as it would allow them to band together in schools with a common educational mission instead of forcing them together in schools riven by radically different pedagogical approaches and attendant tensions. And that's just the beginning. Check it out at http://www.educationnext.org/20041/.

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Education Next