Stars by which to navigate?

Chester E. Finn, Jr. , Amber M. Winkler, Ph.D. / October 8, 2009

It might actually happen. Planets and stars are beginning to align. Some sort of national education standards may actually become a reality.

It’s a heavy lift, to be sure, but the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, in partnership with Achieve, ACT, and the College Board, have embarked on just such an undertaking.

Known as the “Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI),” the goal of this state-led initiative is to develop academic standards in reading/writing/listening/speaking and mathematics for grades K-12. (Science may eventually follow). On September 21st, they released their first public draft of “college and career-ready” standards for the end of high school. 

How good are these? How do they compare with other widely respected standards, frameworks and benchmarks at the national and international levels? We at Fordham resolved to find out. The result is our new report, Stars By Which to Navigate? Scanning National and International Education Standards in 2009.

Its judgments are those of four top-notch experts. W. Stephen Wilson and Sheila Byrd Carmichael led the mathematics and English language arts reviews, advised by Richard Askey (math) and Carol Jago (ELA).

Briefly, here’s what they found:

• PISA strikes out. Neither in reading (literacy) nor in math does its content deserve better than a grade of “D.” This is no promising benchmark for American K-12 education.

• NAEP fares better, with a “C” for its math framework and “B” grades in reading and writing. But it ought to

» Continued

Stars by which to navigate?

TFA's Western Front

October 8, 2009

The Boston Teachers Union offensive against Teach For America continues. Earlier this year, the union sent a letter to TFA essentially saying, "Thanks, but no thanks” for the twenty or so teachers in its first Boston corps. The teachers got hired anyway. Now, the union’s complaints have sparked a Division of Labor Relations investigation into whether the district’s agreement with TFA violates the BTU contract. Two provisions are at issue: The TFA contract guarantees corps members a job for two years (BTU new hires only get one) and if a TFA teacher is laid off, he or she is to be placed in a rehiring pool (BTU teachers do not have such a pool) presumably for the two years of the program. It seems that these stipulations simply mirror TFA’s two-year commitment, rather than being gross or underhanded attempts to circumvent the BTU; TFA has similar agreements with the many other cities in which it places teachers. What is clear, however, is that the union is not worried that a two-year commitment might keep subpar teachers in the classroom or a rehiring pool might privilege less effective teachers over more effective ones; no, they’re concerned about parity. BTU president Richard Stutsman confirms that the union would be fine with the “enhancements” if they were extended to all employees. Yeah, that’s what we thought. The district (and TFA) should fight this onslaught tooth and nail.

"Teachers union's

» Continued

TFA's Western Front

Poor extrapolation

October 8, 2009

The tragic and violent death of Chicago honors student Derrion Albert raced across YouTube and internet news. Just weeks after Chi Town announced a $30-million initiative to curb school violence, Albert’s death was yet another reminder that there’s much work to be done. But what about his school, Fenger High? According to teacher Deborah Lynch, there is an explanation: Fenger was a “turnaround” school, recently stripped of its faculty and staff and opened under new management. According to Lynch, turnarounds are literally the “deadliest reform of all” because “no one at Fenger this year [had] known their kids for more than three weeks.” Teachers didn’t know families and siblings, or about problems at home or other issues that might have been roiling under the surface. She makes a good point, of course--teachers do form relationships with students during the course of daily interactions with them, something that cannot be done in three weeks. And maybe those terminated teachers, despite failing in the academic realm, could have used this familiarity to spot danger before it exploded. But she goes too far when she recommends that Chicago stop spending money on teacher development and instead use it to reduce class sizes and add personnel. What a simple, unproven, and short-sighted solution to a tragic challenge.

“Safety at Fenger yields to 'reform,'” by Deborah Lynch, Chicago Sun-Times, October 2, 2009

» Continued

Poor extrapolation

Positive tracking

October 8, 2009

At Sam Placentino Elementary School in Holliston, Mass., a significant number of parents enroll their kids in programs that are basically guaranteed to reduce their child’s state test scores. In an interesting twist on the idea of parental choice, the school offers three separate pedagogical tracks: traditional, Montessori, and French immersion. With mounting data from state MCAS tests, though, the school found that the traditional track outperformed the other two. Rather than shut those tracks down, the district chose to let parents make the choice: The school continues to offer the other tracks, while frankly admitting that they may not see test score improvements, at least in the earlier years. They offer anecdotal evidence that the alternative pedagogy instills a love of learning and that students’ scores will catch up in middle school. While there doesn’t appear to be any hard data to back up those claims, the school’s decision to offer the alternative programs is at least innovative and honest: Be transparent, and let the parents choose what they want. In a small, homogeneous suburb like Holliston, this program gives us a potential glimpse into how parents value tests versus other education desiderata.

“Three to Choose,” by Lisa Kocian, Boston Globe, October 4, 2009

» Continued

Positive tracking

Sweet tooth police

October 8, 2009

Step away from the snickerdoodles. Banish the brownies--and the blondies. This is the Big Apple, not the Big Glazed Apple Cinnamon Fritter. In a nod to healthier living, the New York City Department of Education has effectively banned bake sales--that ubiquitous fundraising staple of soccer teams, debate clubs, and school bands. The change is part of the city’s new wellness policy, which also regulates vending machine products and student-run school stores items. “We have an undeniable problem in the city, state and the country with obesity,” explains DOE office of school support services chief. “During the school day, we have to focus on what is healthy for the mind and the body.” And he means that literally. Bake sales are still allowed after 6 pm and once a month by parent associations, but never during lunch. See no evil, there is no evil? We shouldn’t be surprised by these efforts from a municipal administration that has gone to great lengths to publish calorie counts, ban trans-fats and additives, and encourage healthier living. But will walk-a-thons fly as the next fundraising trend? 

“A Crackdown on Bake Sales in City Schools,” by Jennifer Medina, New York Times, October 3, 2009

» Continued

Sweet tooth police

Toward a Research Agenda for Understanding and Improving the Use of Research Evidence

October 8, 2009

Steven R. Nelson, James C. Leffler, and Barbara A. Hansen
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
2009

With politicians calling daily for more “evidence-based” policies, “data-driven” performance tracking, and other uses of statistics, this report is particularly timely. And for producers and funders of research, this report addresses two central dissemination questions: How does research evidence factor into politicians and educators’ decision making? And how do they choose which research to look at? The authors conducted focus groups and personal interviews with sixty-five teachers, administrators, school board members, state legislators, congressional staffers, and deputy state superintendents. Recognizing the small size and selectivity of their sample, they do not offer grandiose conclusions, but they did find some interesting anecdotal material. Decision-makers want research to be more accessible (easier to read, find, and digest) and more specific and practical (e.g., location-based case studies with actionable recommendations--a tall order!). And politicians tend not to trust research, knowing that statistics can be manipulated. But here’s a bit of a surprise: Policymakers are most likely to get their research through intermediaries. In other words, when faced with a policy decision about which they want to find out more, they’ll go to a source they trust, an organization or individual who points them in the right direction or interprets the evidence for them. This report leaves the research-producer with much to ponder: How to make one’s work more accessible? What intermediaries will recast it for decision makers? Can the

» Continued

Toward a Research Agenda for Understanding and Improving the Use of Research Evidence

Projections of Education Statistics to 2018 (Thirty-seventh Edition)

Janie Scull / October 8, 2009

William J. Hussar and Tabitha M. Bailey
National Center for Education Statistics
September 2009

This, the latest in a long-running NCES series, projects America’s education future based largely on its past. The number crunchers forecast increases in nearly every sector, from Pre-K to graduate school, between now and 2018. Elementary and secondary enrollment will swell 9 percent. The bulk of these increases will occur in southern and western states--due to migration, legal and illegal immigration, and a 1990s-2000s high birthrate--while enrollment will decrease in the northeast. These additional students also mean that we’ll have more high school graduates (though perhaps not an improved graduation rate)--3.1 million in 2018 compared to 2.8 million in 2006. The number of teachers will grow, too, to 3.7 million from 3.2, further reducing the teacher-student ratio (from 15.2 to 14.2 students per teacher). Of course with more students and teachers comes more spending; despite recessionary burdens, school spending will reach $626 billion in 2018, compared to $461 billion in 2006, while per pupil expenditures will jump to $11,600. Will this really happen? Or will other pressures on the public fisc produce a different trajectory from what one sees when basing the future on the past? You won’t get an answer to that here. But you’ll get a lot of numbers. Read them here (pdf).

» Continued

Projections of Education Statistics to 2018 (Thirty-seventh Edition)