Parties like it's 1999

Michael J. Petrilli / November 29, 2007

Senator Barack Obama unveiled his education plan last week, and used the opportunity to promote his presidential campaign theme of bringing people together. In classic Third Way fashion, he argued for "a willingness to break free from the same debates that Washington has been engaged in for decades: Democrat versus Republican; voucher versus the status quo; more money versus accountability."

Though Obama's ideas aren't as fresh as he suggests (more on that later), he's surely right about one thing: the parties are mired in the tired debates they've been having since the 1990s. The candidates' K-12 education proposals are, by and large, the same old same old.

First consider the Democrats' plans. They are downright Clintonian--a bit ironic, as Senator Hillary Clinton is the only major candidate yet to offer comprehensive proposals. But there they are, the 90s hit parade of smaller class sizes (Joe Biden, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards), National Board-Certified Teachers (Biden, Dodd, Edwards, Bill Richardson), higher teacher salaries (Biden, Clinton, Obama, Richardson), and of course, more money (all, in some form or another). As Biden sums it up, "We know what we need to do: First, stop focusing just on test scores. Second, start education earlier. Third, pay educators more. Fourth, reduce class size. Fifth, make higher education affordable."

Nor are the creative juices overflowing on the Republican side. Vouchers are in (Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson), federal bureaucrats are out (Thompson, Mike Huckabee). Says Giuliani, "We're going to

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Parties like it's 1999

The progress illusion

Chester E. Finn, Jr. / November 29, 2007

It's tough to view the results from the 2006 administration of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Test (PIRL), released yesterday, with anything other than alarm.

Almost six years after No Child Left Behind was signed into law, American fourth-graders are reading no better than in 2001--a very different message than the one promulgated by the states, most of whom have reported historic gains in reading over the same period of time.

That alone would be cause for concern. But students in many other lands are not treading water like our kids; they're performing better on international reading tests. In 2001, three countries scored better than the United States; last year, ten surpassed us.

One thing should be clear: America's long-term prospects are dim when kids in so many places are making solid gains while our children stagnate. Worse, we're talking here about fourth grade--the level where, on myriad domestic measures, U.S. youngsters do best. (Thus the widespread angst about "middle-school fall-off.")

Of further concern: the countries that leapfrogged the U.S. between 2001 and 2006 include two Asian economic powerhouses (Hong Kong and Singapore) and a newly emboldened Russia.

America, it seems, is being passed by others around the globe with whom we are in stiffening competition for economic primacy and political influence. 

Yet when it comes to bold suggestions for improving our education system and our international competitiveness, the current crop of presidential

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The progress illusion

AP-IB indigestion

November 29, 2007

Jay Mathews is a superb education journalist with a particular passion for the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs. He regularly scrutinizes them and their workings (and any studies, commentaries, etc. about them) with the care that an expert gastroenterologist brings to a colonoscopy. It was no big surprise, then, that he opted this week to focus overmuch on a single polyp associated with a recent Fordham report on AP and IB: the sourish behavior of one outside scholar who contributed good work to that project but, in the end, refused to make his contribution concise and reader-friendly. Having insisted that his name be removed as author of our AP-IB math reviews, said scholar subsequently decided both that he wanted the world to see his original reviews (certainly his right) and that Mathews (and the blogosphere) should be directed to this tiny tempest in a wee teapot. If you're not already nodding off, you can find more at the links below.

"Professor Says Editors Altered Review of AP, IB Courses," by Jay Mathews, Washington Post, November 27, 2007

"The Secret Gripes of Professor Klein: An AP-IB Drama," by Jay Mathews, Washington Post blog, November 27, 2007

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AP-IB indigestion

The parent problem

November 29, 2007

Suburban parents aren't buying what school reformers are selling, argues budding conservative writer RiShawn Biddle in The American Spectator. "For middle-class parents, vouchers and charters are unappealing because they have already exercised choice--in the form of buying pricey homes in suburban neighborhoods. The idea of poor students flooding their schools is therefore unappealing." Nor are these affluent parents overly concerned about academic rigor. Biddle points to this Education Next article by Brian Jacob and Lars Lefgren to demonstrate that many affluent parents want to coddle their children instead of challenge them. So what's the solution? Many choice advocates are focusing their efforts on communities where parental dissatisfaction with public schools runs high--i.e., poor, inner-city neighborhoods. Biddle instead suggests pairing academic offerings with "lifestyle" goodies such as after-school enrichment programs to woo middle-class families. Perhaps the editors at the Spectator wouldn't let him say it straight: "universal" choice--in the form of widespread vouchers and charters--just isn't appealing to many parents. With all respect to the late Milton Friedman, it might be time to accept that fact and move on.

"No Parent Left Behind," by RiShawn Biddle, American Spectator, November 15, 2007

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The parent problem

Bee still

November 29, 2007

If Rebecca Segall-Wallace is right, lots of otherwise fortunate New York City youngsters are wondering, "Who is John Galt?" Segall-Wallace writes in yesterday's Wall Street Journal that some of the Big Apple's toniest private schools, while happy to compete ferociously in athletics, disavow "thought competition" as treacherous and refuse to support students who want to engage in it. Essay contests? Out of the question. Geography bees? Fuggedaboudit. "We don't want kids to compete individually, put themselves in vulnerable positions as individuals," one administrator explains. Of course, such good intentions will inevitably backfire in the real world. Talented students shielded from expressing their skills may feel undervalued by their teachers and administrators. And the focus on self-esteem, on rewarding "participation" rather than prowess, does nothing to prepare youngsters for a rough-and-tumble society where so-called thought competition is a fact of life and the occasional stumble or failure is unavoidable. Time for a field trip downtown, kids, perhaps to Goldman Sachs.

"In Praise of 'Thought Competition'," by Rebecca Segall-Wallace, Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2007

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Bee still

Lasting impact

November 29, 2007

In an age of Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, and the Beckhams, it's nice to know there are still some people out there who understand that life is not a narcissism carnival. Principal Jim Friel of New Hampshire's Franklin Middle School is donating his kidney to one of his students--13-year-old Morgan Corliss. Corliss suffers from FSGS (Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis), which prevents her kidneys from doing their primary work. When Mr. Friel learned about Morgan's condition, and learned that he had the same blood type, he volunteered to give her one of his kidneys. The operation is scheduled for January. Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty. Gadfly salutes Friel for his courage and selflessness.

"Principal to donate a kidney to student," Associated Press, November 20, 2007

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Lasting impact

Chance Favors the Prepared Mind: Mathematics and Science Indicators for Comparing States and Nations

Coby Loup / November 29, 2007

Gary W. Phillips
American Institutes for Research
November 2007

The American Institutes for Research recently released an important paper by Gary Phillips that links the scoring scales of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). This imaginative analysis allowed him to compare the achievement levels of American students, state by state, with their counterparts in other countries (albeit only in math and science). He found that eighth graders in places like Singapore, Korea, the Netherlands, and Japan reached the equivalent of NAEP "proficiency" at much higher rates than Americans, while in Italy, England, and several Eastern European countries (among other places) they lagged behind. At the state level, Phillips found, while perennial high-performers like Massachusetts eclipse a number of countries that outperform the U.S. overall, no American state matches the performance of the top five or six countries. The worst, like Alabama, sit about 20 spots down the list. These are fairly discouraging numbers. Still, such comparisons should mute critics who complain that NAEP standards are too tough. True, no country has 100 percent of its kids achieving at the NAEP "proficient" level--but plenty of nations have a lot more kids at or above that level than we do. Download the report here.

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Chance Favors the Prepared Mind: Mathematics and Science Indicators for Comparing States and Nations

To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence

November 29, 2007

National Endowment of the Arts
November 2007

Reading for fun is on the decline (you, therefore, must be working), as are youth and adult reading proficiency rates. This new report from the good NEA draws on numerous sources to paint a dim picture of American literacy. (This is the second such study by Dana Gioia's group; the first is here.) Voluntary reading rates for teenagers and young adults are decreasing; only 5 percent of high school graduates are proficient readers, and the average American over 15 spends more than 140 minutes watching TV on weekdays versus 20 minutes reading. Yet employers still consider reading comprehension and writing skills very important, and strong readers, who typically attain higher education levels, are likelier to be employed and earn more money. The study also offers bleak numbers for college students, three-quarters of whom read four or fewer non-assigned books per year. Gioia and company cannot fully explain why Americans are reading less (although the report posits that the bevy of other entertainment options now available is detracting from books' overall appeal). The Wall Street Journal's Daniel Henninger offers some thoughts here. You can read the study here.

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To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence