Deconstructing the urban NAEP results

Abigail Thernstrom , Stephan Thernstrom / January 22, 2004

In the effort to reform American education, big-city school systems are where the action is. But remarkably, until now nobody could answer with a modicum of reliability a rock-bottom question: How are students faring academically in Los Angeles relative to those in Atlanta? There just wasn't enough information to make those kinds of city-to-city comparisons.

It is thus a very welcome development that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has embarked on a "trial urban district assessment" that looks at fourth- and eighth-grade student performance in ten cities. In fact, only nine of the cities provide useful comparative data, since the tenth - Charlotte-Mecklenburg - is demographically distinct.

What does this "trial" assessment - let's hope it continues - tell us? At heart, the lesson is: schools matter. Students who appear demographically similar learn more in some educational settings than in others.

For example, compare Houston and Washington, D.C. The comparison is politically fraught: Secretary of Education Rod Paige's record as superintendent of that city is under attack,

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Deconstructing the urban NAEP results

The year of the teacher?

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / January 22, 2004

2004 could turn out to be the year of the teacher, the year that the bureaucratic, ideological, and regulatory strangleholds under which the teaching profession labors might just be broken. Last year ended with the Education Trust's stern rebuke of federal and state officials for playing fast and loose with NCLB's highly-qualified teacher requirement. (See http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=128#1608.) The new year opened with an unexpectedly bold, almost radical, "call to reform" from Lou Gerstner's Teaching Commission; a generally bullish evaluation of Denver's pilot "pay for performance" effort; and a surprising speech by New York City teachers' union head Randi Weingarten that urged decades-overdue streamlining of the "teacher discipline process." What next?

We will admit that, when former IBM CEO Louis V. Gerstner formed his 19-member blue-ribbon teaching commission, it was so exquisitely "balanced" that we assumed it would be able to recommend little more than an extrapolation of present policies and practices into a better-financed future. We're delighted to have been proven wrong. The Commission's recommendations are far-reaching and generally commendable. Yes, it calls for plenty more money, but also for linking pay to effectiveness (based on value-added measures of student achievement), to subject specialty, and to working conditions. It urges new forms of accountability for teacher-education programs, making new teachers pass demanding tests of content knowledge, and removing needless certification obstacles. And it would empower school principals as "CEOs" with control over personnel decisions. Bravo. It's 60 pages long and you

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The year of the teacher?

K-12 progress in Iraq

January 22, 2004

A counterpoint to the doom and gloom surrounding most accounts of the rebuilding of Iraq. The Hoover Institution's Bill Evers, who for five months was part of the small team of U.S. advisors working to overhaul the Iraqi K-12 education system, recounts the challenges and joys (and long hours) of rebuilding schools destroyed by war, looting, or years of neglect; purging pro-Saddamist propaganda from textbooks; and slowly turning authority for education over to the Iraqi education ministry. A couple of fascinating points: Evers notes that women make up a significant percentage of students in Iraqi schools, in contrast to Afghanistan. And Iraqi parents "love standardized testing and were fervently concerned not to let either the war in March and April, or the subsequent guerilla skirmishes, interfere with the nationwide testing programs." A heartening and well-told story.

"An Iraqi education," by Bill Evers, Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2004 (subscription required)

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K-12 progress in Iraq

No stability, please, we're a union

January 22, 2004

A Missouri circuit court judge last week ruled that a Cass County school district violated state law when it awarded "commitment" bonuses to a handful of teachers who agreed to sign two-year contracts. The Sherwood Education Association and three teachers filed suit against the district, arguing that its move violated the Missouri Teacher Tenure Act, "which requires a school board to adopt a salary schedule that applies to all teachers." Superintendent Margret Anderson argued that officials had no intention of harming the rest of the teachers, but were merely "having difficulty recruiting teachers" and thought that the "commitment fees" would help the district recruit and keep teachers for a couple of years, thereby "creating stability in the district." Sally Barker, the NEA attorney on the case, disagreed, saying, "If the school district wanted to do that, the best way to do it was to offer commitment fees to all teachers."

"Judge rules against teachers' bonuses," by Eyobong Ita, Kansas City Star, January 16, 2004 (registration required)

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No stability, please, we're a union

Voucher day!

January 22, 2004

Today is a red-letter day for parents and kids trapped in failing D.C. public schools. The Senate has just passed the much-delayed omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2004, which has language attached to it authorizing a voucher program in the District. The vote comes after several days of delay and threats of filibuster from Democrats and a handful of Republicans who objected to the pork-laden measure. In fact, a motion to close debate on the bill failed on Tuesday, 48-45. But Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle said the minority has "made its point" and has no interest in shutting down the federal government. Look for the President to sign the bill shortly. Now, more than likely, D.C. vouchers are off to the courts.

"GOP hopes to push lagging spending bill," by Alan Fram, Associated Press, January 22, 2004

"Dems' stance on omnibus spending bill hardens despite threats by GOP," by Alexander Bolton and Geoff Earle, The Hill, January 20, 2004

"Fate of $820 billion omnibus spending bill still unclear," by Peter Cohn and Jerry Hagstrom, Congress Daily, January 16, 2004

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Voucher day!

Role model, indeed

January 22, 2004

Ahh, young love. It makes the world go round, no? And faking it may also cost Randi Coy, a 23-year-old teacher in Arizona, her job. Coy is the star of the new Fox reality show, "My Big, Fat, Obnoxious Fianc??," in which she has to convince her family and friends that she is engaged to a, well, big, fat, obnoxious man. If she does, she's promised a million dollars. Sadly, though, the joke's on her: the fianc?? is an actor charged with sabotaging the staged wedding with antics like parading before Coy's family in his underwear. (We've only seen the previews, but it looks pretty funny.) Not amused, however, were authorities at Pope John XXIII Catholic School in Scottsdale, where Coy teaches first grade. It seems they object to their teachers marrying strangers for money on national television. Some kind of hang-up about the sanctity of marriage, or something like that. Coy makes recourse to her youth ("I'm young, and I did this for the experience") and hopes for the best. If she gets fired, of course, there's always "Bachelorette."

"Teacher ripped for reality TV role," Arizona Republic, January 20, 2004

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Role model, indeed

Political Education: National Policy Comes of Age

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / January 22, 2004

Christopher T. Cross, Teachers College Press
December 2003

Veteran Washington education operative Christopher T. Cross authored, and Teachers College Press published, this 190-page chronicle of federal education policy making from Truman to George W. Bush. (Paul Manna wrote the NCLB chapter.) It's a workmanlike, clearly written, and generally balanced account of the past - one that would be useful for anyone wondering how the present Rube Goldberg policy structure came to be built - and a satisfactory primer for an introductory education-policy course. Cross's account of the Education Department's creation is helpful and accurate and his mini-portraits of the tenures of several Education Secretaries are perceptive and fair. The book's shortcomings are its que sera, sera view of the current state of federal education policy and its unimaginative extrapolation of present into future. In other words, your $25 investment (the paperback price) won't leave you bowled over by the courage or incisiveness of its recommendations and prognostications, nor will you find here a penetrating critique of Washington's role in education in 2004. But you will come away with enhanced understanding of what got us where we are today. The ISBN is 0807743976 and you can find additional information at http://store.tcpress.com/0807743976.shtml.

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Political Education: National Policy Comes of Age

Evaluation of the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program

Eric Osberg / January 22, 2004

Kim K. Metcalf, Stephen D. West, Natalie A. Legan, Kelli M. Paul and William J. Boone
Indiana University School of Education
December 2003

This is the final report in a series examining the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program (CSTP), recently the star of the Supreme Court's Zelman decision (see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=19#200 for earlier coverage of this series). Using achievement data and demographic information from 1998-2002, along with telephone surveys, the analysts address two related sets of questions. First, which students use the CSTP, what types of classrooms and teachers do they experience, and how does their achievement compare to those not in the program? Second, why do parents choose to enroll their children in the program and what school characteristics do they most value? The questions, alas, are more intriguing than the results. The authors find no noticeable difference in achievement between voucher students and public school students. We also don't learn anything terribly new or surprising about parents' preferences: mostly, they want safe schools, with academics a close second. (Recall that surveys rarely uncover actual preferences, as people often say one thing and do another.) But the report does raise some interesting issues. To wit, the achievement analysis continues to show better results for students in larger classes. And the report contends that the program doesn't help the neediest, as some families said that the required contribution from their own pockets toward tuition (10 percent, or about $250) kept them from taking

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Evaluation of the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program

Jump-Starting the Charter School Movement: A Guide for Donors

Terry Ryan / January 22, 2004

The Philanthropy Roundtable
January 2004

Since 1992, the number of charter schools has exploded to around 2,700, serving more than 650,000 students. Much of this growth is attributable to the energy and drive of passionate and committed parents, teachers, and community leaders, and to a handful of committed philanthropists. This report, written by Public Impact and published by the Philanthropy Roundtable, is an account of the funders' role and a set of recommendations for other donors keen to advance the charter movement. It synthesizes the experiences and best practices of philanthropists to identify four strategic priorities:

" Building a robust supply of high-quality new schools by expanding successful, well-managed brands (KIPP, Aspire Public Schools, etc.), and supporting "enablers" (BAEO, National Council of La Raza, and quality charter incubators).
" Addressing critical operational challenges such as financing facilities, obtaining "back office" services, special education services, etc.
" Improving charter school quality controls through strong and effective charter school sponsors (those organizations that give birth to, and provide oversight of, charter schools).
" Forging charter-friendly public policies.

This report makes clear that the charter school movement is at a crossroads. Either it and its supporters will figure out how to replicate quality schools or it will remain fragmented and marginal. Academic success will make it easier for politicians to back the spread of charter schools. Conversely, a multitude of faltering charter schools with weak academic achievement will cripple, even kill

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Jump-Starting the Charter School Movement: A Guide for Donors