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Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin
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This Week's Topics:
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| U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings recently delivered keynote remarks at the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and College Board Symposium. She discussed the importance of high-quality assessments in helping students and schools improve under No Child Left Behind. "Measuring student achievement is key to ensuring equal opportunity in education," Spellings said during her remarks. "You know as well as anyone what potential testing and accountability hold to help students and schools improve." She encouraged ETS and College Board officials, educators, legislators, and policymakers to take every opportunity to help guide states in developing the best assessments that serve children as effectively as possible. Spellings also discussed No Child Left Behind's data collection requirement and the need for strong accountability systems to spotlight where students stand and how best to help them improve, and to dramatically improve the lowest performing schools. The one-day symposium brought together nationally renowned testing experts, legislators, policymakers, and educators to discuss ways to improve tests and assessments in order to bridge the achievement gap between minorities and other students. Margaret Spellings also recently named 320 schools as 2008 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools. The No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools award distinguishes and honors schools for helping students achieve at very high levels and for making significant progress in closing the achievement gap. For the past 26 years, the program has honored more than 5, 800 of America's most successful schools. The schools are selected based on one of two criteria: 1) schools with at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that dramatically improve student performance to high levels on state tests; and 2) schools whose students, regardless of background, achieve in the top 10 percent of their state on state tests or in the case of private schools in the top 10 percent of the nation on nationally-normed tests. Under No Child Left Behind, schools must make Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, in reading (language arts) and mathematics. Each state -- not the federal government -- sets its own academic standards and benchmark goals. A complete list of 2008 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools is available online. . |
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| Calculators are useful tools in elementary mathematics classes, if students already have some basic skills, new research has found. The findings shed light on the debate about whether and when calculators should be used in the classroom. "These findings suggest that it is important children first learn how to calculate answers on their own, but after that initial phase, using calculators is a fine thing to do, even for basic multiplication facts," Bethany Rittle-Johnson, assistant professor of psychology in Vanderbilt's Peabody College of education and human development and co-author of the study, said. Rittle-Johnson and co-author Alexander Kmicikewycz, who completed the work as his undergraduate honors thesis at Peabody, found that the level of a student's knowledge of mathematics facts was the determining factor in whether a calculator hindered his or her learning. "The study indicates technology such as calculators can help kids who already have a strong foundation in basic skills," Kmicikewycz, now a teacher in New York City public schools, said. The researchers compared third graders' performance on multiplication problems after they had spent a class period working on other multiplication problems. Some of the students spent that class period generating answers on their own, while others simply read the answers from a calculator. All students used a calculator to check their answers. The researchers found that the calculator's effect on subsequent performance depended on how much the students knew to begin with. For those students who already had some multiplication skills, using the calculator before taking the test had no impact. But for those who were not good at multiplying, use of the calculator had a negative impact on their performance. The researchers also found that the students using calculators were able to practice more problems and had fewer errors. "It's a good tool that some teachers shy away from, because they are worried it's going to have negative consequences," Rittle-Johnson said. "I think that the evidence suggests there are good uses of calculators, even in elementary school." Rittle-Johnson is an investigator in the Learning Sciences Institute and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development. . |
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Three of the nation's leading education policy organizations have united to ensure American students in every state are receiving a world-class education. The National Governors Association (NGA), Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and Achieve, Inc. have joined to provide to states a roadmap for benchmarking their K-12 education systems to those of top-performing nations. The organizations' work will be guided by an International Benchmarking Advisory Group consisting of education experts representing education institutions, the business community, researchers, former federal officials, and current state and local officials. The Advisory Group's expertise and experience will help the partner organizations identify the need for international comparisons as well as provide guidance for benchmarking state education system practices in areas such as standards, accountability, educator workforce and assessments. The Advisory Group is co-chaired by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, and Craig Barrett who is Chairman of Intel Corporation. . |
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| Career changers may be one of the nation's best hopes to fill an anticipated 1.5 million teaching vacancies over the next decade, according to a new national survey released by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and funded by MetLife Foundation. The survey, "Teaching as a Second Career," finds that 42 percent of college-educated Americans aged 24 to 60 would consider becoming a teacher. These potential teachers are more likely than others to have a postgraduate degree, to have attended selective colleges, and to report having higher-than-average grades than other college graduates, the report finds. The survey was conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc. and based on interviews with 2,292 college-educated adults aged 24 to 60. "Career changers could help address persistent teacher shortages in hard-to-staff schools -- given the right compensation and the right preparation," says Arthur Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Findings indicate that more people would consider teaching as a second career if starting salaries were raised to $50,000 and if career changers could receive quality training and support. Three in ten of those who are not interested in teaching say that teaching has appeal, but that there are aspects of teaching that prevent them from considering it, and low pay was the factor most often cited. According to the survey, two-thirds of those interested in teaching said that they had considered the idea in the past, suggesting that a potential career switch has more than just casual appeal. Those working in engineering, science, and information technology are somewhat more likely than others to consider teaching, an important finding given the need for more teachers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. More details are online. . |
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The Boston Business Journal has honored Triangle Coalition member, Pearson, as Education Partner of the Year for its partnership with Jumpstart, a Boston nonprofit specializing in early education. The award recognizes companies who demonstrate innovation and development of best practices in specific partnerships with nonprofits. Pearson was selected by an independent panel of judges from among hundreds of nominations in recognition of its sustained commitment to a Boston organization to support civic initiatives and social change. The award-winning Pearson Jumpstart Partnership, a multi-million dollar collaboration, was initiated in 2001 with the creation of the Pearson Teacher Fellowship, a program that encourages high-achieving college students to pursue teaching careers in disadvantaged communities. . |
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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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