Still dissing Darwin

Paul Gross / March 22, 2012

Despite pressures to upgrade the teaching and learning of “STEM” subjects (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), state standards for science, although often revised, remain, on average, mediocre—undemanding, lacking crucial science content, and chockablock with pedagogical and sociological irrelevancies. That’s the conclusion of Fordham’s most recent review of state science standards to which I contributed. To be sure, there are outliers: A handful of states have done justice to the importance and economic urgency of real science, to the needs of teachers as well as students. But a dreary low-C average for fifty states reveals their continuing failure to deal satisfactorily with standards for K-12 science.

America's state standards continue to disrespect Darwin's contribution to science.  Photo by Kevan Davis.

There are, of course, multiple reasons for the low marks. Among these, the saddest and least justifiable is what the authors call “Undermining Evolution.”

Evolution science (grown over 150 years far beyond geology and biology) is by no means the whole of natural science. But it is a very important topic among the thirty or so that must be taught and learned in a school science program. It is central to all life science and one of its most active fields. Yet the reviewers find that, in many

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Still dissing Darwin

A nation at risk redux

Adam Emerson / March 22, 2012

In language that tried to capture the sweep of 1983’s A Nation at Risk, a Council on Foreign Relations task force warned this week that the nation’s poor educational outcomes represent a threat to national security, in addition to dampening America’s competitiveness in the global economy. The panel, chaired by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former New York City schools Chancellor Joel Klein, blamed the “innovation deficit” and the very structure of an ailing system of public education that de-emphasizes the values of choice and competition so prized in nearly every other sector of American life. While calls for common standards, school choice, and foreign language skills aren’t unusual today, what matters here is who is doing the calling. As the Wall Street Journal noted, it’s a testament to how far the choice movement has come that such recommendations are endorsed by so-established a group as the CFR. Dissents from task force members, especially those from American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, cheered the report’s embrace of national standards but complained that choice and competition have undermined public education and haven’t worked “in a scalable and sustainable way.” But we can provide high-quality public and private options if Weingarten were to step aside and allow statehouses to experiment with some of the report’s bolder suggestions.

"Panel Says Schools’ Failings Could Threaten Economy and National Security," Associated Press, March 20, 2012

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A nation at risk redux

From SIG to surveys, a little skepticism is in order

The Education Gadfly / March 22, 2012

• Arne Duncan was only missing a "Mission Accomplished" banner on Monday when he announced that the Administration’s School Improvement Grants program is succeeding. CEP's latest reports find that state officials tend to agree (expect a full review in two weeks) and Duncan's data are certainly encouraging, but it is far too early (and potentially costly) to suspend skepticism of a $3 billion program that still shares many traits with a "black hole."

• The nation's graduation rate edged upwards by 3.5 percentage points from 2001 to 2009 according to a new report released by the Alliance for Excellent Education, America’s Promise Alliance, Civic Enterprises, and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins. An encouraging statistic—assuming that the recent boom in credit recovery programs doesn’t mean that many of those diplomas aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.

• A new survey of teachers brings both good and bad tidings for the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Bad news first: More than 1 in 5 teachers have never even heard of the standards. The good news? Only 22 percent report feeling "very prepared" to teach to them. Bear with us: That’s a positive because it means teachers know they have more to learn before their Common Core-aligned lessons are ready for prime time—and might be getting the message that these standards represent a real step

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  From SIG to surveys, a little skepticism is in order

Redesigning teacher compensation

March 22, 2012

The Harrison (CO) School District’s compensation plan, profiled in a recent Fordham report, represents another of yet a few compensation plans that totally redesign the actual teacher salary schedule. In this way, it joins Denver and Washington, D.C. in designing and implementing complete overhauls in how teachers are paid. These three districts are different from the dozens and dozens of other teacher compensation changes, most supported by the federal TIF program, which simply left the old schedule in place and added bonuses on top of them for teachers who worked in high poverty schools, in subjects where there are shortages (e.g., math and science) or for improving student achievement. Though such bonuses programs are needed and represent augmentations to how teachers are paid, the real breakthroughs will come when the overall salary schedule is redesigned, as Harrison has done.

The real breakthroughs will come when the overall salary schedule is redesigned, as Harrison has done.

The Harrison plan reflects the kind of new teacher salary schedule I have been recommending for nearly two decades—one that drops the current years of experience that trigger the bulk of salary increases and replaces them with metrics that reflect a teacher’s instructional expertise and impact on student learning (see my new book, Improving Student Learning When Budgets Are Tight, Corwin, 2012). Cincinnati was the first district to try such a new schedule, but the program collapsed as glitches in the new evaluation system emerged. It

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Redesigning teacher compensation

Better Schools Through Better Politics: The Human Side of Portfolio School District Reform

John Horton / March 22, 2012

Over the past half-decade, the Center for Reinventing Public Education has emerged as the premier expert on (and proponent of) “portfolio” districts—those that manage an array of school options, some run by the district, others by external entities. The latest on this topic from CRPE focuses on the political dynamics behind decisions to close underperforming schools within a district’s portfolio (as well as how each individual stakeholder group is affected by closures, whether done right or wrong). Using New York City, Chicago, Denver, and Oakland as case studies, the report offers smart recommendations based on actual examples of what works—and doesn’t—when executing school closures. Among them: Remember that school reform—and school closure—is inherently political; districts must have a savvy leader (think Michael Bennet in Denver rather than Cathie Black in New York City). And remember that closures must engage the community. To win stakeholders over, show them data about the school’s finances, student achievement, safety, facility use, and more. Bring them on field trips to high-performing schools to illustrate what their school could become (a tactic used with success in Oakland). District officials or charter authorizers struggling with the decision to shutter low-performing schools—and the inevitable political fallout that comes with it: Give this report a thorough read. It offers objective and thoughtful ways forward.

Sam Sperry, Kirsten Vital, Cristina Sepe, and Paul Hill, Better Schools