On pushing the ESEA boulder up the hill

Michael J. Petrilli , Chester E. Finn, Jr. / April 21, 2011

Along with paralysis over the budget (and so much else), there’s enduring paralysis on Capitol Hill over federal education policy. While 2011 has brought a flurry of promising reform activity at the state level, we detect barely a heartbeat in Washington when it comes to updating the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, currently NCLB), even though an overhaul is at least four years overdue and just about everyone agrees that it's not working very well.

A year ago, the Obama Administration offered a decent “blueprint” for reauthorization; but in Congress there are major fissures within each party—and little evidence of desire to cooperate across the aisle. Most commentators agree—and staffers privately admit—that chances are slim for an update before the 2012 elections. Sadly, they are probably right. It’s a major abdication of responsibility by our nation’s lawmakers.

And what makes it especially painful is that there's a pretty obvious path forward, not too different from the Administration’s proposal. We sketch it out in a new ESEA reform proposal released this week. It capitalizes on some key realities:

First, NCLB has done a pretty good job of sensitizing the country to the value of detailed student-achievement data—by district, school, state, and subgroup. To really have traction, however, those data must be linked to rigorous standards, decent tests (and other measures), and interstate comparability. On those points, NCLB faltered—it mandated that states aim for universal “proficiency” by 2014 but allowed them to define proficiency however they

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On pushing the ESEA boulder up the hill

Warm and fuzzy in the Windy City?

April 21, 2011

Whereas other noisy Midwestern states have been audibly discordant of late, the education buzz emanating from Illinois has been positive—from both sides of the education-reform divide. That’s because the Land of Lincoln is currently advancing a negotiated education-reform bill, painstakingly constructed to reflect the desires of both traditional education groups and reformers. In fact, both Stand for Children and the Illinois Education Association (IEA) endorse the measure—and all fifty-nine out of fifty-nine state senators signed it. At first glance, this new legislation seems to be a wholesale win for Illinois’s reform community: It rewards teachers for good performance, eases the process for dismissing poor performers, ties tenure to performance evaluations, and removes seniority as the sole basis for determining layoffs. Maybe Illinois reformers—who unleashed an avalanche of political donations last fall—backed the IEA into a corner, sending the message: Either join us or get steamrolled. But dive a little deeper and other features emerge that ought give reformers pause. For example, when budget cuts force teacher layoffs, though seniority can no longer be the sole determinant, proxies for it such as certification and relevant experience can take its place. Regarding teachers’ performance evaluations, they’re to be locally approved, with neither a state-based student-achievement requirement nor a deadline for implementation. We’re all for consensus, but sooner or later Kumbaya has to yield to some butt-kicking if real change is to

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Warm and fuzzy in the Windy City?

Takeaways from teachers in turnarounds

April 21, 2011

Successful school turnarounds have long been elusive—if not downright impossible to find. Yet a newly piloted model out of Boston shows some promise. The Teacher Turnaround Teams (T3) program, a Teach Plus and Boston Public Schools (BPS) joint venture, recruits and places groups of effective, experienced teachers in select BPS buildings, infusing these struggling schools with both a “critical mass” of accomplished teachers and a teacher-leader cadre ready to up the abilities of their peers. At the two pilot schools participating in the program, T3 teachers—who have been chosen through an intense application process—make up about 25 percent of the teacher force. And it seems to be working. Eight months into the program’s inaugural year, T3 schools are seeing marked student improvement. But that’s not all. Along with catalyzing achievement gains, T3 offers standout teachers the chance to lead, while remaining in the classroom—a “career ladder” if you will. T3ers run weekly team meetings with teachers in their grades and subject matters, debriefing, mentoring other teachers, and vetting team concerns. “It’s where the profession needs to move,” explains elementary school teacher Callie Liebmann. Kinks remain to be ironed out, but the concept is compelling: Recruit a cohort of high-caliber folks, place them in leadership roles within the teaching profession, and offer them the school-based autonomy needed to make smart shifts. Now if someone could work through just how to scale this all up.

“Teacher-Leader Corps Help Turnaround Schools,” by Stephen Sawchuck, Education Week, April 18, 2011.

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Takeaways from teachers in turnarounds

School Choice and School Improvement

Marena Perkins / April 21, 2011

In this ambitious compendium, authors pull together school-choice research as it pertains to student outcomes; parent choice; and competition and segregation effects. Through its chapters, the volume does a mighty fine job answering some tough questions relating to school choice: Do charters cream? Do vouchers in D.C. work? What criteria do parents use when choosing a school? Do students availing themselves of choice programs experience greater achievement in their new schools? Researchers of various stripes, including Paul Peterson and John Witte, pull data from Indianapolis to the Netherlands. The bottom line: We’re headed in the right direction—but there’s a lot we could do better. To that end, School Choice and School Improvement calls out some of the hang-ups in the school-choice movement (the underwhelming effects of intradistrict transfer being one and high school application processes that derail some would-be school-choice students being another). It also gives some practical advice (e.g.: how to disseminate school information to parents). This volume offers a balanced, above-the-fray look at look the current realities and future possibilities of choice in our schools.

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School Choice and School Improvement

Workplaces That Support High-Performing Teaching and Learning: Insights from Generation Y Teachers

Janie Scull / April 21, 2011

A joint production of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the American Institutes for Research (AIR), this report compiles data from eleven previous surveys, seven focus groups, and three case studies to gauge how Generation Y teachers—those born between 1977 and 1989—view their profession. Overall, it paints Gen Y teachers as optimistic and progressive, concluding that they crave more feedback on their effectiveness, more peer sharing and learning, recognition and rewards for strong performance, meaningful evaluation systems, and technology in the classrooms. Interestingly for an AFT publication, it paints these young teachers as more reform-minded than they probably are. For example, the study cites the Retaining Teacher Talent survey and reports that near 61 percent of Gen Y teachers think stellar colleagues should be rewarded. But it fails to showcase another finding from the same survey: Sixty-seven percent of Gen Yers would themselves prefer a school with a guaranteed annual raise of 3 percent and no opportunity for merit pay, as opposed to a school with opportunities for merit pay but no set tenure and salary structure. At the end of the day, Gen Y teachers may well be slightly more reformy than their older colleagues, but it would be folly to think that reformers looking to tear down tenure and implement performance-based pay will find droves of allies in the younger generation of classroom practitioners.

Jane D. Coggshall, Ellen Behrstock-Sherratt, and Karen Drill, “Workplaces That Support High-Performing Teaching and Learning: Insights from Generation Y Teachers” (Washington, D.C.: American Federation of Teachers; Naperville, IL: American Institutes for Research, April 2011).

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Workplaces That Support High-Performing Teaching and Learning: Insights from Generation Y Teachers

The Effect of Evaluation on Performance: Evidence from Longitudinal Student Achievement Data of Mid-career Teachers

Jamie Davies O'Leary / April 21, 2011

As states and districts seek to overhaul teacher-evaluation systems, this NBER paper answers a salient question: Do evaluations actually improve a teacher’s performance? That’s one hope of reformers and unions alike—that clear and regular feedback will help instructors improve their craft. Based on eight years of data from Cincinnati’s Teacher Evaluation System (TES), the answer is yes—in math, anyway. TES is an evaluation system that uses periodic, unannounced classroom observations coupled with student-work portfolios. For this report, researchers examined data from 2003-04 to 2009-10 to ascertain the impact of TES on mid-career teachers (those in the system for five to nineteen years). Building on performance-evaluation research, these analyses looked not just at any immediate improvements incurred during a teacher’s evaluation period, but at the long-term impacts resulting from participation in TES itself. They do this by comparing achievement of students taught before teacher participation in TES with student achievement during or after TES participation, while also controlling for students’ prior achievement, teacher experience, and relevant demographic variables. Though there were no significant differences found in reading, teacher performance in math improved both during the evaluation period and afterwards. For example, a teacher whose pupils had typically scored in the 50th percentile on math tests before being evaluated begins to see results in the 55th percentile range in the years after evaluation. Teachers who scored in the lowest quartile on their evaluations showed the greatest improvements. As we rethink teacher evaluation, these are promising findings indeed. But be forewarned: A system like TES comes with a lofty price tag—roughly $7,500 for each teacher evaluated

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The Effect of Evaluation on Performance: Evidence from Longitudinal Student Achievement Data of Mid-career Teachers

The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World???s Most Surprising School System

Daniela Fairchild / April 21, 2011

Since the 2000 PISA and TIMSS test results catapulted Finland’s education system to international acclaim, scholars around the globe have been debating the sources of that success. This film, produced by Robert Compton (of Two Million Minutes fame) and starring Tony Wagner (author of The Global Achievement Gap), weighs in on this saturated debate. Through classroom visits, interviews with students and teachers, and statistics that roll across the screen, it showcases Finland’s myriad educational idiosyncrasies. It explains that the country has no high-stakes testing (save at the end of secondary school) or teacher-evaluation system, and students do little homework. This system creates a “culture of trust,” which Wagner heralds as the magic bean of Finland’s success. What is most interesting about the film, though, is its depiction of Finland’s rigorous, intense, and competitive teacher-training programs—a more probable explanation for the nation’s academic strength. These programs accept a mere 10 percent of applicants (akin to Ivy League acceptance rates in the U.S.)—and kick out teacher trainees who aren’t up to snuff. Candidates observe veteran teachers, co-design and execute lesson plans, and receive feedback from peers, mentors, and even students. The film provides a first-hand view of Finland’s classrooms, and is worth viewing in that regard. Pay particular attention to the segments on teacher training, and please don’t be hypnotized by Wagner’s fluffy thoughts on the “culture of trust.”

Robert Compton, The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World’s Most Surprising School System, (Washington, D.C.: Broken » Continued The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World???s Most Surprising School System Announcements March 25: AEI Common Core Event March 21, 2013 While most discussion about the Common Core State Standards Initiative has focused on its technical merits, its ability to facilitate innovation, or the challenges facing its practical implementation, there has been little talk of how the standards fit in the larger reform ecosystem. At this AEI conference, a set of distinguished panelists will present the results of their research and thoughts on this topic and provide actionable responses to the questions that will mark the next phase of Common Core implementation efforts. The event will take place at the American Enterprise Institute in D.C. on March 25, 2013, from 9:00AM to 5:00PM. It will also be live-streamed online. For more information and to register, click here. Read more announcements Archives Month January February March April May June July August September October November December 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 Sign Up for updates from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute    Please leave this field empty Gadfly Podcast The World is Phat play pause stop mute unmute National         About Us Our Mission Board of Trustees Staff Fellows EEPS Funding and Financing Partners Careers Contact Us Subscribe to the Education Gadfly Online Policy Priorities Standards-Based Reforms Quality Choices A Reform-Driven System Commentary Education Gadfly Weekly Education Gadfly Daily Flypaper Ohio Gadfly Daily Common Core Watch Choice Words Videos Podcasts Publications Standards, Testing & Accountability Talented Tenth Charters & Choice NCLB School Finance Governance Ohio Policy Curriculum & Instruction Digital Learning Teachers Additional Topics Events Upcoming Events Past Events Ohio Policy Ohio Education Gadfly Ohio Publications   Ohio Charters Fordham-Sponsored Schools Applying for Sponsorship Resources for Schools © The Thomas B. Fordham Institute Privacy Policy Usage Agreements 1016 16th St NW, 8th Floor Washington, DC 20036 (202) 223-5452 thegadfly@edexcellence.net nonprofit software