Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin

.

NAEP GRADE 12 READING AND MATHEMATICS NATIONAL AND PILOT STATE RESULTS

.

The performance of 12th graders nationwide in reading and mathematics has improved since 2005, according to new results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), or The Nation's Report Card. However, the average score for reading was lower compared to 1992, and significant achievement gaps among major racial/ethnic groups remain in both subjects. For the first time, the 2009 results also show the performance of 12th-grade public school students in the 11 states that volunteered to participate: Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Dakota, and West Virginia. States were not selected based on geography or size, and are also not representative of the nation. The 2009 NAEP, which is test is administered and analyzed by the National Center for Education Statistics, tested representative samples of 12th graders from 1,670 schools across the nation. About 52,000 students were assessed in reading and 49,000 in mathematics. Mathematics results were compared only to 2005, when a new framework was adopted, and were based on students' responses to questions designed to measure their knowledge and skills across four content areas: number properties and operations; measurement and geometry; data analysis, statistics, and probability; and algebra.

The average mathematics score for 12th graders overall was 3 points higher than in 2005. About one-quarter of students performed at or above Proficient, and two-thirds performed at or above Basic. Students who took more advanced mathematics courses scored higher on average than students who took lower-level courses, with those taking calculus scoring highest. In mathematics, all racial/ethnic groups made gains since 2005. The average score for Asian/ Pacific Islander students was up 13 points from 2005-14 points higher than the average score for White students-and the average score for American Indian/Alaska Native students was up 10 points over the same period. Students attending suburban schools scored higher on the mathematics assessment than those attending schools elsewhere. Higher average scores were also associated with students who expected to attend four-year colleges and with students whose parents had higher levels of education. Regarding the results, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan commented that the "report suggests that high school seniors' achievement in reading and math isn't rising fast enough to prepare them to succeed in college and careers. Math scores also show only incremental gains over four years ago."    

.

.

PANEL CALLS FOR TURNING TEACHER EDUCATION 'UPSIDE DOWN'

.

The Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical Preparation and Partnerships for Improved Student Learning, convened by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), has released a report, "Transforming Teacher Education Through Clinical Practice: A National Strategy to Prepare Effective Teachers," that calls for U.S. teacher education to be "turned upside down" by revamping programs to place clinical practice at the center of teacher preparation. This new vision of preparation also will require the development of partnerships with school districts in which teacher education becomes a shared responsibility between P-12 schools and higher education. The new approaches will involve significant policy and procedural changes in both the state higher education and P-12 education systems and entail revamping longstanding policies and practices. The changes called for will require state higher education officials, governors, and state P-12 commissioner leadership working together to remove policy barriers and create policy supports for the new vision of teacher education. Eight states (California, Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Tennessee) have already agreed to implement the panel's recommendations, including these:

* There must be an intense focus on developing teaching practice and P-12 student learning, making clinical practice the centerpiece of the curriculum and interweaving opportunities for teaching experience with academic content and professional courses.

* Higher education and school districts must share accountability and responsibility with P-12 schools playing a more significant role in designing preparation programs, selecting candidates, assessing candidate performance and progress, and placing them in clinical experiences.

* Teacher-training programs must attract more academically prepared and more diverse cohorts of students.

* The reward structure in academe and P-12 schools' staffing models must shift to value learning to teach, and to support placing clinical practice at the center of teacher preparation.

* States and accreditation agencies must strengthen their scrutiny, and preparation programs must become more accountable for meeting school needs and improving P-12 student learning.

* States should help ensure that future teachers are prepared to fill the staffing needs of P-12 schools by creating disincentives for schools of education that prepare teachers in specialties that are not in demand.

* Federal agencies should support a clearly defined research agenda to document and provide evidence of the impact of practices in clinical preparation on teacher effectiveness.

Making these changes, the report says, will go a long way toward improving how the nation delivers, monitors, evaluates, oversees, and staffs preparation to incubate a whole new form of teacher education. Commenting on the release of the report, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, said "the NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel report calls for ending the insidious practice of accrediting university-based preparation programs in the absence of rigorous evidence of the impact that graduates have on student learning in the classroom. For decades, teacher preparation programs have had little to no accountability for turning out effective teachers. Today, the accountability gap begins to close."

.

.

ALBERT EINSTEIN DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR FELLOWS TRAVEL TO CHINA

.

Several Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellows traveled to Shanghi, China (NEED DATES) as part of a larger group of science educators from around the United States for a week-long forum co-hosted by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the China Association of Children's Science Instructors (CASCI). Representing the Fellows Program were Mark Greenman (2009-2011 Fellow at the National Science Foundation) Laura Lukes (2010-2011 Fellow at the National Science Foundation), Sue Whitsett (2009-2011 Fellow at the National Science Foundation), John Moore (2009-2011 Fellow at the National Science Foundation), and Eduardo Guevara (2009-2011 Fellow serving on Capitol Hill), and Art Lebofsky (1990-1991 Fellow serving on Capital Hill). During the event, educators from both countries met to share information on science education trends in the United States and China, and discussed professional development for science educators, the design and implementation of science curriculum and lessons, educator training, informal science education, and science education resources. The group also visited local schools and nearby historic areas.

According to John Moore, the trip "was a great opportunity to engage in discussions and forge new collaborations that will encourage me to share resources and exchange ideas. These interactions will promote the study of the geosciences and related issues on an international scale creating unique opportunities for students to participate in their science education." Laura Lukes added that "there are certain perspectives that can only be exchanged through a face-to-face experience such as the Sino-US Forum. I came away from the experience with a new perspective on both the Chinese and American science education systems." The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program offers current public or private elementary and secondary mathematics, technology, and science classroom teachers with demonstrated excellence in teaching an opportunity to serve in the national public policy arena. Fellows provide practical insight in establishing and operating education programs. Fellowships increase understanding, communication, and cooperation between legislative and executive branches and the science, mathematics, and technology education community. More details are at www.einsteinfellows.org.      

.

.

UNITED KINGDOM EMBARKS ON CHANGES TO EDUCATION SYSTEM

.

The United Kingdom has released "The Importance of Teaching - The Schools White Paper 2010," a whole-system education plan with a goal of making the U.K. one of the world’s top performers. Like the U.S., the U.K. has seen its rankings in math and science drop when compared to other countries. According to the new white paper, "the most successful countries, from the Far East to Scandinavia, are those where teaching has the highest status as a profession; South Korea recruits from their top 5 percent of graduates and Finland from the top 10 percent." With specific regard to science, the report noted to that every university offering Education Sciences in Finland is closely linked to a school, in which prospective teachers undertake classroom teaching practice under the constant guidance and supervision of experienced teacher trainers. These schools act as a link between teaching and the latest academic research and innovation. The report outlines many changes to the current system, including reforming initial teacher training, to increase the proportion of time trainees spend in the classroom, focusing on core teaching skills, especially in teaching reading and mathematics and in managing behavior. The UK will also participate in the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) for the first time, opening up important aspects of teachers’ professional development to international comparison. The TALIS survey looks at teachers’ beliefs, attitudes and practices, processes for teacher appraisal and feedback, and school leadership.

According to Education Secretary Michael Gove, "Many other countries in the world are improving their schools faster than us and have smaller gaps between the achievements of rich and poor. The very best performing education systems have a rigorous focus on high standards, a determination to narrow attainment gaps and have stretching curricula. The countries that come out top of international studies into educational performance recognize that the most crucial factor in determining how well children do at school is the quality of their teachers." The report identifies a second lesson of world class education systems: they devolve as much power as possible to the front line, while retaining high levels of accountability. The OECD has shown that countries which give the most autonomy to head teachers and teachers are the ones that do best. Finland and South Korea -- the highest performing countries in PISA -- have clearly defined and challenging universal standards, along with individual school autonomy. The white paper is available online. 

.

.

NASA FUNDS NATIONWIDE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT ROBOTICS PROGRAM

.

NASA is providing up to $20 million over the next five years to support a national program to inspire student interest in science, technology, and mathematics with a focus on robotic technology. The funding is part of a cooperative agreement with the Foundation For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a nonprofit organization in Manchester, NH. FIRST provides students the opportunity to engage with government, industry, and university experts for hands-on, realistic exposure to engineering and technical professions. "This is the largest NASA-funded student program geared toward robotics activities," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "For the next five years, approximately 25,000 students across the country will not only learn from our nation's best and brightest, but also compete and have fun at the same time."

The centerpiece of the program is the annual FIRST Robotics Competition. During more than 45 regional competitions, teams of high school students have six weeks to build a robot using an identical kit of parts. There are dimension and weight limitations and other technical restrictions, but teams can determine the look and function of the robots. The regional competitions culminate with an international championship in April. The competition is structured like an athletic event. Teams compete in an area the size of a small basketball court. The robots must have offensive and defensive capabilities. Each team's robot works to accomplish a task, while preventing its opponent from doing the same. The robots must be sturdy because of frequent contact between the machines. Triangle Coalition member, NASA, is the largest organization involved with FIRST and has participated since 1995. In 1999, NASA and First signed a memorandum of agreement to cooperatively expand the availability of technology development, education, and inspiration programs to students throughout the country. U.S. entrepreneur Dean Kamen founded FIRST in 1989 to encourage youth to become leaders in science and technology. For more information about NASA's Robotics Alliance Project, visit http://robotics.nasa.gov; more details on FIRST are also online.  

.

.

FREE WEBSITE GATHERS GOVERNMENT TEACHING RESOURCES

.

FREE is among the most popular K-12 websites maintained by the U.S. Department of Education because of the many great resources being offered by contributing federal agencies. More than 1,500 federally supported teaching and learning resources are included from dozens of federal agencies. New sites are added regularly. There are over 150 resources focused on math, and many hundreds focused on science. Find out more at http://free.ed.gov.

.  

.

---

TCEB Sponsors

This issue of the TCEB is made possible by a grant from:

3M 

3M is a diversified technology company committed to providing practical and ingenious solutions to help customers succeed.

.

To find out how your organization can sponsor the TCEB or support the Triangle Coalition in other ways, visit www.trianglecoalition.org/support.htm

__________________________________________________________________________

The TCEB is a newsletter provided to members of the Triangle Coalition. Triangle Coalition members may forward individual articles or the issue in its entirety to internal member lists, providing that credit is given to the Triangle Coalition, and contact information is included in any republication.
Member organizations that choose to redistribute the TCEB internally must provide an electronic method for these additional recipients to be removed from the member organization's mailing list.

For TCEB subscription or membership information, contact:
Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education
1840 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 201
Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: 800-582-0115
Fax: 703-516-5969
E-mail: tricoal@triangle-coalition.org
URL: www.trianglecoalition.org
To submit information for possible inclusion in TCEB, contact tcebeditor@aol.com

.

Previous Issues

.

.