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Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin
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This Week's Topics:
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| When the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) became law in 2002, states were charged with the controversial goal of bringing all students to "proficiency" within 12 years. This year, halfway to the ambitious 2014 deadline, that challenge is about to become much more difficult for about half of all states, according to a new report from the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Education Policy (CEP). The report finds that while half of all states (25 states and the District of Columbia) have adopted incremental achievement goals that assume steady progress toward the 100 percent proficient goal, the other half of the states have taken a "backloaded" approach that will soon mean dramatically higher -- and potentially unreachable -- achievement goals. Twenty-three states have taken the backloaded approach, generally setting lower expectations for the percentages of students reaching proficiency between 2002 and 2008 in contrast to much steeper expectations later on. The higher goals are now becoming a reality for states, which in some cases will need to increase the percentage of students reaching proficiency on state assessments by 10 points or more each year between now and 2014. "Many states may have originally set lower achievement goals for the first few years under NCLB in hopes of getting systems into place or gaining some flexibility from Washington later on," said Jack Jennings, president and CEO of CEP. "But right now, they are still on the hook for the academic equivalent of a mortgage payment that is about to balloon far beyond their current ability to pay." The independent, nonprofit Center on Education Policy prepared the report based on an analysis of student achievement objectives established by states in their accountability plans for NCLB. These objectives cite the percentage of students that must score at or above the proficient level on state tests each year on the way toward meeting the law's ultimate goal of 100 percent of students achieving proficiency by the 2013-14 school year. These annual objectives are used to determine whether schools and districts have made adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the state’s accountability system for NCLB. According to the report, "it is unclear how schools in these states will be able to produce large annual gains in the percentages of students scoring proficient." The report suggests that states with backloaded achievement targets will need to prepare for dramatic increases in the numbers of schools identified as being in need of improvement under the law -- in some cases after the number of schools that have already been identified for improvement has already grown significantly. In addition, the report indicated that states which took a more incremental approach to achievement targets will also likely face difficulty in reaching 100 percent proficiency. The report is available at www.cep-dc.org. Based in Washington, D.C., the Center on Education Policy is a national, independent advocate for public education and for more effective public schools. . |
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Triangle Coalition member, the American Geological Institute (AGI), is sponsoring three national contests in conjunction with Earth Science Week 2008, titled "No Child Left Inside," from October 12-18. All U.S. residents are encouraged to enter "Earth Science Beyond your Front Door," the theme for the 2008 photography contest. Students in grades K-5 who enter the Visual Arts Contest, "Studying our Earth," should visually show themselves as an earth scientist actively studying our planet, through drawing or painting. The Essay Contest, open to students in grades 6-9, is themed "Earth Connections." Entrants are asked to discuss the interconnected geologic processes that take place in their community and how those processes in turn affect them. All entries must be either postmarked or received digitally by October 17, 2008. Everyone is encouraged to spend Earth Science Week experiencing earth science in its natural setting and developing entries based on what has been learned during the week. . |
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| The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Attrition of Public School Mathematics and Science Teachers." Using data from the Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS), this Issue Brief reports on trends in the attrition of public school mathematics and science teachers over a 16-year period and examines the reasons given by mathematics and science teachers for leaving teaching employment. Findings from the analysis indicate that the percentage of public school mathematics and science teachers who left teaching employment did not change measurably between 1988-89 and 2004-05. However, the percentage of other public school teachers who left teaching employment did increase over the same period. Differences were found between mathematics and science leavers and other leavers. For example, of those teachers with a regular or standard certification, a smaller percentage of mathematics and science teachers than other teachers left teaching employment. In addition, when asked to rate various reasons for leaving the teaching profession, greater percentages of mathematics and science leavers than other leavers rated better salary or benefits as very important or extremely important. To view, download and print the report as a PDF file, click here.
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Eighty-eight teams from 29 Colorado schools recently participated in Junior Solar Sprint and Hydrogen Fuel Cell car competitions hosted by Triangle Coalition member, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Through the competition, student teams work together building solar and/or hydrogen fuel cell cars with guidance from a parent or teacher coach to compete in race and design categories. Building of solar and hydrogen fuel cell cars for the competition requires skills in both math and science. The primary goal of the program is to generate enthusiasm for science and engineering at a crucial stage in the development of young people. The competition also helps improve students' understanding of scientific concepts and renewable energy technologies, and encourages young people to consider technical careers at an early age. NREL's Junior Solar Sprint and Hydrogen Fuel Cell car competitions are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Xcel Energy Foundation, General Motors, Jefferson County Public Schools, Dakota Ridge High School, Midwest Research Institute/Battelle, and NREL. NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle. More details about NREL educational programs are online at www.nrel.gov/education. . |
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| Market Data Retrieval (MDR) has released a new report, "America's Digital Schools (ADS) 2008: The Six Trends To Watch." The report is the second in the ADS series and explores six noteworthy technology trends that are transforming U.S. education today: online testing, Internet bandwidth capacity, student computing devices, interactive whiteboards, learning management systems, and 1:1 computing. The report, co-authored by Jeanne Hayes and Tom Greaves, is based on extensive research conducted by surveying superintendents, curriculum directors, and technology directors nationwide. The ADS 2008 Report bears out the major findings of ADS 2006, while shedding new light on pertinent subjects not covered in that earlier report or in other ed-tech surveys, such as the growth in online testing, the movement toward optical networks in place of T-1 lines, per-student cost of 1:1 computing, comparisons of popular learning management systems and different Internet services sources, plus the appeal of interactive whiteboards. The survey details some important shifts taking place in educational technology. For example, 69% of school districts are adding online assessments to their testing mix as schools become more data-driven. With online testing, teachers can get results much faster so they can more quickly adjust instruction and remediation. The report also addresses districts' growing concern about the cost and availability of Internet bandwidth due to the expansion of both online testing and online resources. In fact, 54% of U.S. districts foresee problems paying for bandwidth in the future, and 67% report that they already have policies in place to conserve bandwidth. ADS 2008 is sponsored by Pearson Education, a Triangle Coalition member, along with Advanced Micro Devices, Promethean, and Qwest Communications. Educating 100 million people worldwide, Pearson Education is a global leader in educational publishing, providing scientifically research-based print and digital programs to help students learn at their own pace, in their own way. More details are at www.pearsoned.com. For more details about the report, visit www.ADS2008.org. . |
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TCEB Sponsors
To find out how your organization can sponsor the TCEB or support the Triangle Coalition in other ways, visit www.trianglecoalition.org/support.htm __________________________________________________________________________ |
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