Utah Education

$6B and no improvement on reading comprehension

2008-11-20T05:06:00.001-08:00

We often hear that we must spend more money on education. I would like to see us spend money wisely first because study after study shows that more money is not the answer. Here is just one example.

No Effect on Comprehension Seen From 'Reading First'

Education Week 11/20/2008

The $6 billion funding for the federal Reading First program has not had an impact on reading comprehension among 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders in participating schools, according to one of the largest and most rigorous studies ever undertaken by the U.S. Department of Education…reading achievement was low, with fewer than half of 1st graders, and fewer than 40 percent of 2nd and 3rd graders showing grade-level proficiency in their understanding of what they read.

https://remoteaccess.csw.l-3com.com/ew/articles/2008/11/18/,DanaInfo=www.edweek.org+14read.h28.html?tmp=123707670

New Utah State School Board

2008-11-05T05:51:00.001-08:00

Like it or not it is time for a new Utah State School Board. Of the fifteen board seats seven were up for re-election this year. Of those seven only Janet Cannon will be returning. The following six will be new board members:

District 1 - Locke, Shelly

District 4 – Thomas, Dave

District 7 - Castle, Leslie Brooks

District 11 - Crandall, Dave

District 12 - Murphy, Carol A

District 13 - Bateman, Kyle

I am extremely disappointed that Mark Cluff is not returning. Mark has been a great advocate for our children.

Education Research Links

2008-11-04T12:11:00.001-08:00

• National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): nces.ed.gov
• National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST): www.cse.ucla.edu
• National School Boards Association (NSBA): www.nsba.org
• National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA): www.nspra.org
• National Study of School Evaluation (NSSE): www.nsse.org
• North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL): www.ncrel.org
• Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA): www.nwea.org
• Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL): www.nwrel.org
• Quality Leadership by Design (QLD): www.quantumlearningdynamic.com
• School Improvement in Maryland: www.mdk12.org
• Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL): www.sedl.org
• Tools for School-Improvement Planning: http://annenberginstitute.org/tools/
• U.S. Department of Education: www.ed.gov
• WestEd: www.wested.org

A Parent's Guide to Education Reform

2008-11-04T09:29:00.001-08:00

The Heritage Foundation has published A Parent’s Guide to Education Reform. Would you be surprised to know that “26 percent of 8th grade students scored “below basic” on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading exam” or that “Despite more than doubling per-student expenditures, reading scores in U.S. schools have remained relatively flat”.

Public school funding for public school kids

2008-10-29T11:13:00.001-07:00

The Jordan District has forgotten that it is the taxpayers money and not theirs… Jordan joins other school in objecting to pay for charter schools

By Ben Fulton

The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake Tribune

Article Launched:10/29/2008 12:48:04 AM MDT

The Ogden School District voiced its displeasure. The Granite School District did the same.

Now, after a unanimous vote Tuesday objecting to a state law requiring that Utah school districts help pay for charter schools, the Jordan School District brings to three the number of school district education boards protesting Senate Bill 2, also known as the omnibus education bill.

Before passing the resolution J. Dale Christensen, board president, said its purpose was "to share our thoughts and feelings with interested parties." Other board members of the Jordan School District, however, took time to voice their disapproval of the law by stating they "strongly" support the resolution.

"We are not the only ones objecting," said board member Peggy Jo Kennett, in reference to Ogden and Granite school districts' previous resolutions objecting to the new state law. "School districts are being hurt."

Since their creation about 10 years ago in Utah, charter schools have boomed in popularity. Today they comprise 66 schools educating more than 27,000 students. If the state Board of Education approves of new expansion plans for charter schools, they could enroll almost 13,000 additional students in the 2010-11 school year.

Charter schools operate under a specific mission unique to each school, and receive public funding from taxpayers. Unlike traditional public schools, however, their boards are not elected by the voting public. Because they have no geographic boundaries similar to public schools, charter schools cannot levy taxes like school boards representing traditional public schools.

School districts note that when state lawmakers approved charter schools they promised the traditional public school system that it would not lose money to those new charter schools. However, state lawmakers have found themselves scrambling to cover charter school growth. A House Bill last legislative session proposing a transfer of money from traditional public schools to charter schools failed by 8 votes. When later wrapped into one omnibus bill with several other pieces of legislation affecting education, however, it passed.

That the measure to transfer those funds to charter schools passed by what many view as legislative sleight-of-hand, coupled with the Legislature's earlier promise that traditional public school funding would remain untouched, has driven many Utah school boards' protest.

Jordan's resolution objecting to the law is significant because it is being charged $735,311 to fund charter schools, the largest amount among all state school districts.

"The state has effectively created a second level of funding for these schools," said Barry L. Newbold, Jordan School District superintendent. "It reflects a shifting of that responsibility."

School District board members from the Ogden, Granite and Jordan districts have also noted that the law makes them responsible for raising property taxes to cover these new costs and accountable to the voting public. Individual charter school boards, by contrast, waive that pressure and responsibility.

Charter school proponents, however, have said it's reasonable to expect that school districts pay money to charter schools because the traditional public school system would be educating children attending charter schools anyway if charter schools did not exist.

UEA and Accountability

2008-10-20T05:37:00.001-07:00

Utah Education Association
Author rips testing, other sacred classroom concepts
By Lisa Schencker
The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:
Rising test scores are no reason to celebrate, author Alfie Kohn told teachers at the Utah Education Association (UEA) convention on Friday.
Schools that improve test scores do so at the expense of other subjects and ideas, he said.
"When the scores go up, it's not just meaningless. It's worrisome," Kohn told hundreds of educators on the last day of the convention. "What did you sacrifice from my child's education to raise scores on the test?"
Kohn, who's written 11 books on human behavior, parenting and schools, spent nearly two hours Friday morning ripping into both established and relatively new education concepts. He slammed merit pay for teachers, competition in schools, Advanced Placement classes, curriculum standards and testing - including Utah's standards and testing system - drawing mixed reactions from his audience.
"Considering what we hear a lot, it was pure blasphemy," said Richard Heath, a teacher at Central Davis Junior High School in Layton.
Kohn called merit pay - forms of which many Utah school districts are implementing this year - an "odious" type of control imposed on teachers.
"If you jump through hoops, we'll give you a doggie biscuit in the form of money," Kohn said.
He said competition in schools destroys their sense of community. Advanced Placement classes, he claimed, focus more on material but don't do much to deepen students' understanding. He said standardized tests are designed so that some students must always fail or they're considered too easy, and often the students who do poorly are members of minority groups.
"We are creating in this country before our eyes, little by little, what could be described as educational ethnic cleansing," Kohn said. He called Utah's standards too specific and the number of tests given to Utah students "mind-boggling."
He called on teachers to explain such problems to parents and community members.
"The best teachers spend every day of their lives strategically avoiding or subverting the Utah curriculum," Kohn said.
Many teachers said they agreed with much of Kohn's talk, but disagreed on some points.
Shauna Cooney, a second grade teacher at Majestic Elementary School in Ogden, said it's important to have standards that give all children equal opportunities to learn certain concepts before they move forward.
Sidni Jones, an elementary teacher mentor in the Davis School District, agreed that current standardized tests are not as meaningful as other types of assessment, but she said it is hard to fight the current system.
"You can't just openly rebel against standardized testing because they're mandated," Jones said. "That's part of our jobs."
Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, who is also a special education teacher at Taylorsville High School, said he walked out of the speech.
"We have got to have some degree of accountability for the public," Holdaway said. "The public demands it. Sometimes we forget who our customers are in terms of children and families."
Others, however, largely agreed with Kohn.
"It was awesome," said Claudia Butter, a teacher at the Open Classroom charter school in Salt Lake City. "With little steps we might be able to effect a change."
UEA President Kim Campbell said the UEA doesn't necessarily agree with everything Kohn advocates, but chose him as the keynote speaker because of his thought-provoking ideas.
"We want our members to constantly be challenging themselves and be thinking about new ideas and what they're doing in the classroom," Campbell said.

State fertile ground for high-tech, but Utah execs warn of potential weakness

2008-06-30T13:59:00.001-07:00

By Tom Harvey
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated:06/26/2008 07:24:02 AM MDT

Utah can boast one of the top environments for high-tech companies in the nation, two reports out this week show.
    Although both measured the conditions underlying the technology and science industries, and their vibrancy, executives at Utah companies warn that the long-term health of those sectors might be in danger because of weaknesses in math and science education.
    And they say that in Utah, as well as nationally, the nation's maddening, bureaucratic post-9/11 visa system is keeping out potentially valuable, highly skilled workers and prompting foreign students to study in other nations.
    A report by the Milken Institute placed Utah in the Top 10 among states in its Technology and Science Index, which the group says is "an inventory of the technology and science assets that can be leveraged to promote economic development."
    The report, which took into account population size and other factors, ranked states in five areas. Utah was No. 1 in technology concentration and dynamism, which measured the creation of technology companies and where they were clustering as an indication of where innovation will occur.
    "That says not only is the state doing well, but that high-tech is really growing in Utah," said Kevin Klowden, a managing economist at the Milken Institute.
    A September 2007 survey by the Utah Technology Council, a trade group, showed there were 5,200 high-tech and science companies in the state employing about 66,000 workers. The number of firms was up more 10 percent from the prior year, said Richard Nelson, president and CEO of the group.
    Utah has entered into a second stage in its high-tech industry evolution after the giants of the early '80s such as WordPerfect, Novell and Iomega left or evolved into different companies, said Darren Lee, president and CEO of NextPage, a Draper software company.
    "What I've noticed the past few years is that we have a lot of really promising companies that are sort of in that early revenue stage, up to that $50 million a year stage . . . but a greater breadth of those than we've seen before have much stronger chance of being viable and stand-alone companies," he said.
    Nelson pointed to the state's creation of several programs that provide funding and other help to foster entrepreneurship as leading factors in creating a vibrant technology industry in Utah.
    Those include the Utah Fund of Funds, a $300 million state program providing capital to entrepreneurs, and USTAR (the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative), a state-funded program that invests in research through funding and recruiting top researchers at the University of Utah and Utah State University.
    Terry Pitts, a founder and CEO of the Orem software company DigitalBridge, also cited the area's lower cost of living, compared with such high-tech hotbeds as California, its outdoor activities and the number of days of sunshine as additional attractions for high-tech companies.
    A second report out this week, from AeA, the nation's largest technology trade association, said the Salt Lake City area added 2,300 high-tech jobs in 2006, the latest year for its data. That ranked the area as having the third-fastest growth rate among 60 cities. Those jobs paid $59,600, about 55 percent more than the average private-sector wage, the report said.
    But as bright as the present looks for Utah's technology industry, the future remains clouded by state and national weaknesses in producing or attracting a sufficient number of engineers and scientists.
    Nelson cited another 2007 UTC survey of 40 companies, which showed nearly 11 percent of their engineering and science positions were open. He called the quality of Utah's work force its "number one economic development issue." The state is suffering from a "lack of rigor" in its kindergarten through 12th-grade math and science programs, which aren't moving enough students into college and toward graduating as engineers or scientists, he said.
    "Now the critical issue is, how do we continue to fuel Utah's high-growth com- panies."
    Lee, the NextPage CEO, also pointed to the nation's visa system, which he said is keeping out the students and highly qualified engineers and scientists who are needed to support the nation's high-tech economy.
    "That's a national problem but it has implications here," he said.

tharvey@sltrib.com

2005 Efforts Seek Better Data on Graduates

2008-05-07T05:09:00.001-07:00

Published in Print: July 27, 2005

Efforts Seek Better Data on Graduates

State, Federal Plans Target High School Improvement

By David J. Hoff

What is a state’s graduation rate?

North Carolina says it graduates 97 percent of its high school students, while Washington state reports it gives diplomas to just 66 percent. But researchers, using methods they believe are more accurate, estimate that the two states’ graduation rates are essentially the same, at around 64 percent.

Acknowledging that such disparities in data are common, state and federal officials are taking steps to make sure that states publish figures that compare graduation rates...

http://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edweek.org%2Few%2Fsection%2Finfographics%2F34risk_timeline.html%3FlevelId%3D1000&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edweek.org%2Few%2Farticles%2F2005%2F07%2F27%2F43graduate.h24.html&levelId=2100&baddebt=false&errorMessages=4

What Utahns earn: Analysis of wages shows education pays off

2008-04-14T15:17:00.001-07:00

What Utahns earn: Analysis of wages shows education pays off — usually

By Lee Davidson
Deseret News

Published: April 13, 2008

Brian K. Smith was astounded that surveys show Utah's top-paying occupation, at an average $191,180 a year, is working as an anesthesiologist. And he is one. "I was pretty sure some other (medical) specialties pay more. They do nationally," he said.

Jen Galloway labors at Utah's lowest-paying occupation — counter help at food concession stands or cafeterias — which pays an average $14,970 a year. "I'm not surprised it's the lowest," she said. "Most people who do this are between 16 and 18, and do it while they go to school because the schedules are very flexible."

Of course, Smith and fellow anesthesiologists had to attend four years of college, four years of medical school and four years of residency for their jobs at the top of the Utah pay scale. Galloway and her co-workers required just a few minutes or hours of on-the-job training, and no degree, to start at the bottom.

It helps show that education pays, at least usually. Any additional training or education tends to bring higher wages, according to a Deseret News analysis of most-recent-available state surveys (conducted in 2006) on pay for 612 different occupations, and the education required for them.

"When you look at everyone in total, the higher the education, the higher the earnings," said Lecia Langston, an economist for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, echoing counsel often given by parents and career advisers during high school graduation season.

But data also show that exceptions exist. Some jobs that require relatively little post-high school training actually pay more than do many that require college degrees or even advanced degrees. That may give hope to those who seek to upgrade employment without four or more years of college.

For example, some of the highest-paying Utah professions that do not require college degrees include: underground mining machine operators, $72,320; real estate brokers, $70,510; locomotive engineers, $68,020; and technical/scientific sales representatives, $66,840.

In comparison, the lowest-paying jobs requiring a bachelor's degree are: survey researchers, $18,860; recreation workers, $21,670; and preschool teachers, $25,170.

And compare those to some of the lowest-paying professions that require a doctorate or professional degree, including: professional clergy, $43,250; podiatrists, $58,550; and orthodontists, $63,070.

Life at the top

Smith says he is glad he went through the 12 years of post-high school education needed to become an anesthesiologist but adds, "Nobody does this for the money. ... We do it because we have the opportunity to make a meaningful difference."

Smith, president of the Utah Society of Anesthesiologists, notes that medical school costs are enormous, and many students go into debt up to $60,000 a year for it. "Many consider it similar to another mortgage," he said. Smith said that if people are looking just to make money, other options are probably smarter.

While in medical school and residency, Smith said he saw friends from his college days starting to make big money and get ahead while he was still living like a poor student. He said most anesthesiologists age into their 40s before they work off their debt and really start to get ahead.

"But the positives are that we have the opportunity to make meaningful differences in people's lives," he said, noting an example of how he had just provided help to an older man to deal with pain from an arthritic leg, allowing the man to do more.

"Also, those we work with are just some of the best people in the community. You also get to see and take part in things that are cutting-edge. For example, historically gall bladder surgery required two or three weeks for recovery. Now they use scopes, make small incisions, and people go home in a day. It's fun, good stuff."

Smith adds, "You do miss kids' ball games and concerts all the time. And there is stress. ... But you feel like you really make a difference."

Life at the bottom

Galloway, 31, has worked for years at several theater chains as a food concessions helper or in management. She said Utah's lowest-paying occupation can be fun but is glad that it is only a secondary income for her family. "I don't have to live on it. That would be hard."

She said, "Customers are usually happy to be here. They are with their family and hanging out. So they are happy to see you — but you have to be quick." But she adds that at the bottom of the wage scale, "Sometimes people are rude to you, or you are ignored."

She said that at the theater where she first worked, she was given only a few minutes of training. "You were pretty much thrown to the wolves. They put you on a till and said, 'Good luck."' At the Megaplex 12 at the Gateway where she now works, she said new workers are trained for four days, four hours a day.

"It's fun here. You see people from every walk of life. It's fun to talk to them. You also get to see free movies," she said. Because the Megaplex is owned by the Larry H. Miller companies, she said it "adds benefits, like car discounts" at its dealerships "and things like tickets to a Buzz game, with a barbecue for employees in the outfield."

Stay in school

The Deseret News analysis shows that every step of additional education or training usually brings higher wages. It could make a difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars during a person's working years.

For example, at the bottom rung of the pay ladder, those Utah jobs that require no degree and less than one month of on-the-job training have an annual average wage of $23,318.

With a step up to jobs that require one to 12 months of on-the-job training, pay rises to an average $31,706. Pay for jobs requiring more than a year of on-the-job training (but no degree) rises to $36,396.

Those jobs requiring post-high school vocational training average a higher $36,844 a year. Jobs requiring an associate degree rise to an average $42,351.

A bachelor's degree brings jobs that have average annual salaries of $58,601. An exception to the general rule of more education bringing more money is that wages for jobs requiring a master's degree in Utah are $58,004, a bit lower than for those requiring bachelor's degrees.

Finally, a big jump in average pay comes for those with doctorate or professional degrees: $109,431. (See chart for a listing of highest/lowest paying jobs for each category of training and education. A list of salaries for all 614 occupations measured in the state study is available by clicking the graphic link at the top of this story.)

Langston said it is especially important for women to stay in school. "Many of the higher-paying jobs that do not require much school are things that women traditionally don't do as much, such as underground mining or construction. So for them, there is a bigger jump in average pay the more education they get."

Langston said any extra experience or education tends to unlock higher pay. "Some people put in the time in school, and some put it in on the job. Either way, it usually takes training to move up," she said. "The more training and the more adaptable you are even after school, the better. Willingness to learn new things is key."

Working on up

Tony Rizzuto, a career and academic adviser at Salt Lake Community College, sees people of all ages returning to school to try to qualify for higher-paying jobs. He said it can often be done with fewer years of schooling than many may think.

"I see a lot of people who come back who are in the 30-something (age) bracket, those who can't make it anymore at the jobs they have," he said. "We also see a lot in the 50-something bracket. Maybe they were laid off or just want to do something different."

Rizzuto said college career counseling offices can help such people and others by figuring out what skills they already have and how to upgrade them or add new ones to work into higher-paying jobs. He said about half of the programs at SLCC require two years or less but can lead to high pay.

"For example, nursing is a two-year program and is a $30-an-hour job," he said. But he adds that it is currently so popular that the waiting time to get into the programs at local colleges can be up to two years.

He said as people review lists of occupations for ideas, they sometimes see possibilities they never considered. "For example, our chef program has become popular" with people who like to cook but never considered it as a career.

He said many careers may be completely new, such as hologram technicians, so people have never considered them.

To help people explore new possibilities, Rizzuto has designed his own Web site called tonysgetajob.com. It has information ranging from which careers have the brightest outlook to personality tests, lists of new occupations, how to get financial aid and even how to convert degrees in one area to high-paying jobs in other fields.

For example, he discusses a page showing atypical possibilities for people with English degrees. "Most think you can just teach English with that, right?" he said. But the page shows how with some training or internships, it can be used for professions ranging from advertising to marketing, promotion, law, business management and more.

Five-star jobs

The Utah Department of Workforce Services issues regular predictions about which jobs will be most in demand in the future, and also which will pay the most. Those expected to have both the most openings and pay well for the training required are called "five-star jobs" in its rating system.

"The two occupations with the most future openings in Utah always tend to be cashiers and retail sales clerks. But they don't pay that much. Five-star jobs are the ones that pay well and have bright job outlook," said Langston, who has worked on job outlook reports.

She said good bets for plenty of openings and high wages tend to be "in technical or computer training, or in health care."

For example, the top five-star job that requires more than high school but less than a bachelor's degree is for registered nurses, who earn an average pay of $54,590 a year.

Some other five-star health occupations that also require less than a bachelor's degree include dental hygienists, $61,580 average; radiologic technologists, $44,740; and respiratory therapists, $30,710.

Some five-star technical occupations requiring less than a bachelor's include: electrical and electronic engineering technicians, $46,160 average; and civil engineering technicians, $37,350.

The state lists five-star jobs available at all different types of training levels.

Among the "best" listed for on-the-job-training (which can be long term) are: food service managers, $46,730 average; police patrol officers, $41,020 average; and supervisors of non-retail sales workers, $65,750.

Among the best five-star jobs requiring at least a bachelor's degree listed by the state are: marketing managers, $87,720 average; sales managers, $88,580; computer and information systems managers, $88,920; and financial managers, $82,280.

Where the jobs are

The state regularly predicts which occupations will have the most future openings. Unfortunately, most-recent predictions show some low-paying jobs are among those expected to have the most openings, such as in fast food or retail sales. (That and other data are available at jobs.Utah.gov).

Until 2014, the state expects 2,700 openings a year for retail sales workers; 1,900 a year for cashiers; 1,300 a year each for waiters/waitresses and fast-food workers; 1,200 for office clerks; and 1,100 each for registered nurses and janitors/cleaners.

The state also lists the highest-paying Utah occupations with at least 100 annual openings expected until 2014. Among them are general operations managers, 760 openings a year; computer software engineers, 330; lawyers, 250; chief executives, 210; mechanical engineers, 180; and pharmacists, 140.

Finally, the state also lists groups of occupations that have the most expected openings each year through 2014.

They include: office and administrative support, 9,500 a year; sales and related jobs, 8,300; food preparation and serving, 6,100; construction and extraction, 5,000; production, 4,800; transportation and material moving, 4,200; and education, training and library, 4,100.

E-mail: lee@desnews.com

Conservative givers give more liberally than liberal givers

2008-03-28T08:51:00.001-07:00

Conservative givers give more liberally than liberal givers

By George F. Will

Published: March 28, 2008

WASHINGTON — Residents of Austin, Texas, home of the state's government and flagship university, have very refined social consciences, if they do say so themselves, and they do say so, speaking via bumper stickers. Don R. Willett, a justice of the state Supreme Court, has commuted behind bumpers proclaiming "Better a Bleeding Heart Than None at All," "Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Beauty," "The Moral High Ground Is Built on Compassion," "Arms Are For Hugging," "Will Work (When the Jobs Come Back from India)," "Jesus Is a Liberal," "God Wants Spiritual Fruits, Not Religious Nuts," "The Road to Hell Is Paved With Republicans," "Republicans Are People Too — Mean, Selfish, Greedy People" and so on.

But Willett thinks Austin subverts a stereotype: "The belief that liberals care more about the poor may scratch a partisan or ideological itch, but the facts are hostile witnesses."

Sixteen months ago, Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University, published "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism." The surprise is that liberals are markedly less charitable than conservatives.

If many conservatives are liberals who have been mugged by reality, Brooks, a registered independent, is, as a reviewer of his book said, a social scientist who has been mugged by data. They include these findings:

• Although liberal families' incomes average 6 percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household ($1,600 per year vs. $1,227).

• Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.

• Residents of the states that voted for John Kerry in 2004 gave smaller percentages of their incomes to charity than did residents of states that voted for George Bush.

• Bush carried 24 of the 25 states where charitable giving was above average.

• In the 10 reddest states, in which Bush got more than 60 percent majorities, the average percentage of personal income donated to charity was 3.5. Residents of the bluest states, which gave Bush less than 40 percent, donated just 1.9 percent.

• People who reject the idea that "government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality" give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition.

Brooks demonstrates a correlation between charitable behavior and "the values that lie beneath" liberal and conservative labels. Two influences on charitable behavior are religion and attitudes about the proper role of government.

The single biggest predictor of someone's altruism, Willett says, is religion. It increasingly correlates with conservative political affiliations because, as Brooks' book says, "the percentage of self-described Democrats who say they have 'no religion' has more than quadrupled since the early 1970s." America is largely divided between religious givers and secular nongivers, and the former are disproportionately conservative. One demonstration that religion is a strong determinant of charitable behavior is that the least charitable cohort is a relatively small one — secular conservatives.

Reviewing Brooks' book in the Texas Review of Law & Politics, Justice Willett notes that Austin — it voted 56 percent for Kerry while he was getting just 38 percent statewide — is ranked by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as 48th out of America's 50 largest cities in per capita charitable giving. Brooks' data about disparities between liberals' and conservatives' charitable giving fit these facts: Democrats represent a majority of the wealthiest congressional districts, and half of America's richest households live in states where both senators are Democrats.

While conservatives tend to regard giving as a personal rather than governmental responsibility, some liberals consider private charity a retrograde phenomenon — a poor palliative for an inadequate welfare state and a distraction from achieving adequacy by force, by increasing taxes. Ralph Nader in 2000 said: "A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity." Brooks, however, warns: "If support for a policy that does not exist ... substitutes for private charity, the needy are left worse off than before. It is one of the bitterest ironies of liberal politics today that political opinions are apparently taking the place of help for others."

In 2000, brows were furrowed in perplexity because Vice President Al Gore's charitable contributions, as a percentage of his income, were below the national average: He gave 0.2 percent of his family income, one-seventh of the average for donating households. But Gore "gave at the office." By using public office to give other peoples' money to government programs, he was being charitable, as liberals increasingly, and conveniently, understand that word.

George Will's e-mail address is georgewill@washpost.com.

Utah should streamline educational governance

2008-03-17T08:37:00.001-07:00

Utah should streamline educational governance
http://deseretnews.com/article/content/mobile/0,5223,695261777,00.html
By John Florez
Published: March 17, 2008
Andy Grove, former chairman of Intel, said it well, "If you are not paranoid, you are out of business." That was his advice to business leaders who wanted to stay competitive when massive change occurs. It's advice our state elected leaders would do well to consider as they wrestle with trying to fix an archaic educational system.

It's advice successful companies have taken in restructuring their organizations to meet the needs of today's era of globalization. They quickly downsized, resized and reinvented themselves. They became lean, high-performance organizations that transformed their workplace from one rewarding loyalty and driven by process to one that is market driven.

Utah state lawmakers now find themselves frustrated in trying to prepare students with a world-class education while dealing with a bloated education governance structure. It is burdened with layers of bureaucracies, so responsibility is diffused and the status quo protected by people in the system, the "stakeholders" — state and local school boards, bureaucrats and their protectors. Missing are the parents and taxpayers, the real "stakeholders."

State and local school board members are quick to call for local control but abdicate controversial decisions to lawmakers; yet, average citizens can't name their school board representative. And, when parents try to get an answer at a school board meeting, they are given two minutes and then dismissed without ever receiving an answer. Parents, however, are not being singled out because lawmakers are given the same treatment.

The challenge lawmakers have in reforming education is to do what today's successful businesses had to do, streamline their organizations so they can meet the current market demands and build in flexibility to respond to an unknown future. The current system sets up the applicable parties for failure and conflict, where responsibility is diffused among the system so that no one can be held accountable for results. Furthermore, dedicated administrators have to answer to many bosses who often demand or give different directions. Change will require eliminating or redefining the role of school boards and defining who is responsible for assuring the legislative intent of policies is carried out.

Under the state Constitution, the State Board of Education is responsible for supervision of our public education, and the Legislature is responsible for the composition of the board and determining the state's education policy. Lawmakers, serious about renewing our educational system for the 21st century, should consider a streamlined, leaner and more responsive system, as recommended by the New Skills Commission (www.skillscommission.org), that might include the following: A three-member state school board selected jointly by the governor and the Legislature; schools operated by parents and teachers as limited-liability corporations; limiting local school boards' role to letting out and monitoring contracts; and assigning the state board to be responsible for recruiting, hiring and certifying teachers and establishing salary schedules for effective teachers and those working in shortage fields. Furthermore, the state board would be responsible for establishing a board of examiners that would create an exam on core subjects that could be given to students at the 10th grade, and students who score well enough would be guaranteed the right to go to college.

Streamlining the education governance system would focus responsibility and facilitate communications among lawmakers, the governor and state school board members; it also would eliminate the maze of bureaucracies parents must now deal with and get quicker answers from their lawmakers. The transformation of our education system would allow for lawmakers to develop a world-class education system that has the flexibility to meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's students. Remember, sometimes it's OK to be paranoid.

Open enrollment may become law

2008-02-25T13:38:00.001-08:00

Open enrollment may become law

Sunday, February 17, 2008
By LORETTA PARK
Standard-Examiner staff

State Board of Education:

Current rule should suffice

SALT LAKE CITY -- Parents in Davis School District are asking legislators to make open enrollment a law instead of an administrative rule.

The House Education Committee on Friday unanimously approved House Bill 349, sponsored by Rep. Julie Fisher, R-Fruit Heights.

The bill would allow students to transfer to another school during the school year if the receiving school's enrollment is at or below open-enrollment figures. Those figures are based on the number of teachers, Fisher said, and do not require schools to hire additional teachers.

"This bill will give parents greater options to meet the individual needs of their students," she said.

Because of boundary changes, Denise Griffiths' daughter ended up at Woods Cross High School instead of Bountiful High School with most of her friends.

Her daughter's sophomore year turned into a nightmare, said the mother, who was one of a number of parents attending the meeting.

Griffiths applied for a variance so her daughter could transfer to Bountiful High School, but was denied. After appeals were denied, Griffiths said her only option was to transfer legal guardianship over to her mother, who lives within Bountiful High School boundaries.

"I was so upset that I was going to do something that drastic that I drove over to the school district," she said.

Superintendent Bryan Bowles listened to her case and allowed her daughter to attend Bountiful High School, Griffiths said.

Davis School Board member Tamara Lowe said after the meeting she does not think the bill will cause any major changes.

"Kids change schools for a lot of reasons, and parents need that flexibility, but I'm concerned we may crowd one school."

Lowe said the bill came about because of boundary disputes that occurred last year because of the opening of Syracuse High School.

She said she doesn't think a law is needed because the state Board of Education already has a rule in place that is similar to Fisher's proposed legislation.

"The state board rule adequately covers it," said Carol Lear, director of school law and legislation for the state Office of Education.

The state Office of Education still has some concerns about the bill, Lear said. Among them are that concerned parents will request to put their children in schools for special programs, such as gifted and talented, then find out after the child is enrolled that those programs are closed, even though there is space in the school for more students.

The bill does allow Title I schools and schools with special education programs to deny students enrollment if the programs are closed.

Fisher's bill now goes to the House floor for consideration.

Education Blogs

2008-02-19T01:33:00.001-08:00

Innocents in Blogland

By Jay Mathews
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 2, 2007; 1:24 PM

I was not sure what to expect when I announced in the Nov. 14 column an education blog judging contest. May I call them edblogs? I feel like a freshman pledging a raucous fraternity (I was way too nerdy to join one in college) and wanting to be very careful not to say the wrong thing.

I leapt into this without looking, although for safety's sake dragged along champion letter-to-the-editor writer and retired teacher Walt Gardner. I realized I knew far too little about education blogs, the most vibrant and fastest growing part of the national conversation on education. Asking readers to nominate their favorite blogs would, I thought, give me a good excuse to read them -- while making a pretense of superiority by saying that I (and Gardner) would be judging them.

I suspect many bloggers were laughing at that one. Or, lol, right? One of the first things I learned was that some of the best bloggers have been judging me for some time, and finding me wanting in talent, perspective and depth. They are right, of course. The nastier they were, the higher I put them on my list.

I picked 10 favorites, and so did Gardner. It was so much fun that I am determined to make this an annual Class Struggle event, with a different and hopefully provocative approach to the blogosphere in the first column of every year. That way I can mention more blogs, since I was clearly incapable of including all that deserve notice in this first feeble attempt.

Next year, through bribery or trickery, I hope to persuade Ken Bernstein, teacher and blogger par excellence, to select his favorite blogs and then let me dump on his choices, or something like that. There is a pugnacious quality to many of these blogs that connects with that 98-pound-weakling in my soul. I always stayed out of fights in school but dreamed about pounding the big guys.

Here are my favorites, and Gardner's. Our choices overlapped in four cases, so I put them all together in one alphabetized list. I have labeled our individual comments, so you will know whom to credit or blame for each. I am at mathewsj@washpost.com and Walt is at walt.gard@verizon.net. (Notice how Gardner, the master newspaper letter writer, says so much with so few words.)

1. The Chalkboard

Gardner: Comprehensive approach to "keeping an eye on public education." A watchdog on constant duty.

2. Critical Mass

Gardner: Combines newspaper articles on education from around the globe with personal entries. A nice balance.

3. D-Ed Reckoning

Mathews: The contributors -- apparently the accepted term for people who run and write blogs -- are Ken DeRosa, a lawyer, and Catherine Johnson, who does not reveal what she does for a living. I did not realize that some of these bloggers remain anonymous, particularly the teachers, who want to be frank without being fired. D-Ed Reckoning includes very wise, inside-the-classroom postings, sophisticated discussions of topics as difficult as reading instruction and dissections of pompous columnists, like me. I found one error in the blog's critique of my Dec. 19 column on KIPP teacher Lisa Suben: DeRosa said she had no prior teaching experience, but I said she did two years in an Louisiana eighth grade. That is a minor flaw. These are smart people.

4. edspresso

Gardner: News, commentary and debate about education reform in a brew formulated to provoke debate.

5. Education Policy Blog

Gardner: Distinguishes itself from the pack by examining educational issues through the prism of social foundations. Stimulates reflective thinking.

Mathews: There are 13 listed contributors, including the above-mentioned Bernstein, and a New Jersey educator with a doctorate named Jim Horn who derided me as a KIPP cheerleader. Unlike DeRosa, however, he seemed to like what I wrote about Lisa Suben. You have to really, really love the intricate and jargon-laden grudges of the education obsessed to like everything in this blog, but I am in that group, and waded in happily. The writing is very lively, which always wins me over, and they have a lot of talent.

6. Eduwonk.com

Gardner: Penetrating analysis in a lively style on a wide range of issues.

Mathews: This is one of the few blogs I ever read before doing this column. Its contributor is Andy Rotherham, one of the most important education policy thinkers and politicos in the country, and my pick to be U.S. secretary of education someday. He is a former Clinton education adviser, a member of the Virginia state school board, and a co-founder of the Education Sector think tank. The blog is full of very lively short items and is always on top of the news. He gets extra points for skewering my high school rating system.

7. From the Trenches of Public Education

Gardner: Written from the point of view of teachers who deal with students, rather than from the vantage point of those pontificating from afar. Realistic and involving.

8. Intercepts

Mathews: This is the work of Mike Antonucci, the great independent watchdog of the teacher unions. He is a first-class writer and reporter, and looks regularly at this important topic that we mainstream press folk pretty much ignore.

9. Joanne Jacobs

Gardner: Professional commentary from a former Knight Ridder columnist.

Mathews: I have admired Jacobs' work for some time, and blurbed her book, "Our School." She is a former columnist who made the transition to blogging with great courage and confidence. I might have left her, as well as Rotherham, off of this list because I knew them so well and could be accused of favoritism. But so many readers put their blogs on their lists of favorites that I figured it was okay to have them on mine.

10. MathNotations

Mathews: The contributor, Dave Marain, is a math teacher who has attempted to correct my many flaws as a reporter of math education by sending me e-mails. Now I can look at his blog too. He tackles very difficult topics, but is clear and aggressive and well worth reading.

11. A Passion for Teaching and Opinions

Mathews: The contributor refers to himself as a 33-year-old social studies teacher and basketball coach at Ukiah High School in California, but does not give a first name, just Coach Brown. (Perhaps his first name IS Coach. You can get away with that in Ukiah.) The writing is very good and very personal, and I was drawn to his "Stupid Bastard of the Month Award," presented to the San Francisco Board of Education for eliminating Junior ROTC.

12. A Shrewdness of Apes

Mathews: This is another very personal inside look at teaching from a smart educator. She identifies herself only as "Ms. Cornelius" and says she teaches in a public high school somewhere in the United States.

13. Susan Ohanian. Org

Gardner: Pulls no punches in confronting controversial issues. Tough but fair. (Full disclosure: My letters to the editor have been cited favorably in t his blog.)

14. Teaching in the 408

Mathews: The contributor identifies himself only as TMAO. He says he was in Teach For America and now teaches language arts and also coaches at a middle school somewhere in what I assume is the 408 area code, San Jose, Calif., and environs. The writing about his coaching experiences is particularly good, and honest.

15. This Week in Education

Gardner: True to its title, provides a succinct roundup of what's transpired in the field.

Mathews: The contributors are Alexander Russo, Amanda Millner-Fairbanks and Margaret Paynich, who keep up with the news and not only do their own thinking, but their own reporting. They put educational poobahs on what they call the hot-seat, and the results are often illuminating.

16. TLN Teacher Voices

Gardner: Opens a window into the hearts and minds of practitioners.

Gardner said that "choosing the 10 best blogs out of the 74 I received was far tougher than I anticipated. I selected those that I thought were successful in achieving their stated mission. Because blogs are still in their infancy, it's impossible to know how they will evolve. If they move in the direction of persuasion, rather than pronouncement, they have the potential to advance taxpayer understanding of issues in public education. My hope is that they take advantage of the opportunity to stimulate rational debate through the use of evidence, and shun ad hominem arguments."

Gardner told me before we started that he had concerns about blogs, but afterward said his review "opened my eyes to the huge potential for allowing citizens to interact on educational issues." As usual, he said it better, and in fewer words, than I could.

HB 349 Open Enrollment

2008-02-17T08:45:00.001-08:00

Open enrollment

Rules for moving to new school may change

http://www.sltrib.com//ci_8280078?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com

The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 02/16/2008 01:14:37 AM MST

Students could have an easier time changing public schools if a bill that gained unanimous committee approval Friday becomes law.
    HB349 would liberalize open enrollment, the process by which students can go to schools outside their own neighborhoods, advocates say. Now, students who want to move must apply during a short period that ends in early February for the approaching school year. Also, only schools that have not reached capacity would have to accept open-enrollment students.
    "Some districts are doing open enrollment currently quite well," said Rep. Julie Fisher, R-Fruit Heights, the bill's sponsor. "But there are some districts that haven't done so well."
    Fisher's bill would extend the window for open enrollment, tweak the definitions of capacity and require local school boards to post some open-enrollment data on district Web sites. Several parents praised the bill, saying it would make their lives easier. Hector Ledesma said trying to transfer his daughter to another school through open enrollment was "almost impossible."
    Sarah Meier of the Utah School Boards Association spoke against the bill, saying her district, Granite, already handles open enrollment well and the changes could lead to confusion and crowding. - Lisa Schencker

   Bill would make open enrollment more open.
    Next step: Moves to the House floor.

Bill makes open enrollment more open

By Lisa Schencker
The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 02/15/2008 02:01:32 PM MST

http://www.sltrib.com//ci_8273223?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com

Posted: 1:58 PM- Students would have an easier time changing public schools if a bill that gained committee approval this morning becomes law.
    HB349 would make open enrollment, the process by which students can go to public schools outside the areas where they reside, more open, advocates of the bill say. Now, students who want to move to a different public schools have only a window early each year, ending in February, in which to apply for the following school year. Also, only schools that haven't reached capacity have to accept open enrollment students.
    "Some districts are doing open enrollment currently quite well," said Rep. Julie Fisher, R-Fruit Heights, who's sponsoring the bill.
    "But there are some districts that haven't done so well."
    Fisher's bill would extend the window for open enrollment, tweak the definitions of capacity and require local school boards to post some open enrollment data on districts' Web sites. Several parents praised the bill, saying it would make their lives easier. Parent Hector Ledesma said trying to transfer his daughter to another school through open enrollment was "almost impossible."
    Sarah Meier of the Utah School Boards Association spoke against the bill, saying her district, Granite, already handles

open enrollment well and the changes could lead to confusion and crowding.
Still, the House Education Committee approved the bill unanimously, and it now moves to the House floor.

Teacher Salary

2008-02-16T15:03:00.001-08:00

The following was an instructive comment on teacher salaries and why it is important to give a larger raise to beginning teachers. Original article can be found at:

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695253672,00.html

I'm an old teacher - | 9:44 a.m. Feb. 16, 2008

Well, maybe not old, but definitely mid career. I have a Master's degree, 15+ years of service and work for Jordan District. A case study of my compensation as a class room teacher seems useful.

My base salary is $55,772 (53272+2500). Divided by 184 work days per year my daily rate is $303. My hourly rate is $37.87. Under Jordan District's local control, I also receive the equivalent of 9 optional professional development days. That's another $2,727 - bringing the total to $58,499.

In addition, I teach an extra class (+6,816.), and serve as department chair (+$1500). That makes my total district salary $66,815.

In addition, based on my experience and years of success, I've been able to build summer consulting business. I create curriculum for schools around the country. That brings in another $18,000 or so.

$84,815 isn't a bad yearly salary for a middle school teacher.

By contrast, most of my colleagues are young, teach just as many kids, and work just as hard during the summer to earn less than $35,000.

Add to that the fact that I bought my house in the nineties for about half of what a nice condo costs now.

Because of how my salary has grown over the years and because of the rising price of real estate, I have a much better ability to provide for my family. I can afford to live in Utah and be a teacher. I might not be typical of all mid-career teachers, but I bet I'm pretty close. My wife is a stay at home mom and helps run the consulting business. Most teachers my age have a spouse with a career and separate income. When our youngest goes to school next year we'll add to our household income.

For young teachers it's not the same. A salary of $35,000 gives a person the borrowing power to buy a home worth $105,000. That means if you graduate from college in 2008, you can't afford to live in Utah and be a teacher.

Would I like a 10% raise to match the raise the young teachers are getting? Of course I would, but as a state we need to work with the resources we have. Compassion and an awareness of market forces need to guide our policy.

The statewide crisis isn't in the retention of older teachers. It's in the recruitment of young teachers. We had a massive shortage at the beginning of this school year.

We need to put our limited funding where needs are greatest.

16 year teacher to OLD teacher | 12:54 p.m. Feb. 16, 2008

Well said.

I'm in about the same boat as you minus the consulting in the summer. I agree the starting pay is where it is needed. That isn't popular to say with the UEA crowd. The whole WPU mess is a joke.

Starting salaries need to get up to at least $40,000 a year to get good candidates.

Once you are in the system and do a good job you will be rewarded for the extra work. Teaching a prep period, dept. chair etc.

I would never have become a teacher in Utah if I had live off of $30,000 a year and a house cost $300,000.

Luckily I got in when houses were $100,000 and have bought and sold several times to move up.

You just can't do that on what they are offering now.

Bountiful High 'moving on' after appeal gets rejected

2007-12-31T08:00:00.001-08:00

Bountiful High ‘moving on’ after appeal gets rejected
Scott Schulte 18.DEC.07
MIDVALE — “It’s time to move on.” That is what Bountiful High School principal Ryck Astle has said since losing an appeal to the Utah High School Activities Association on its disciplinary action toward the Braves’ basketball program.

Bountiful was found guilty by the UHSAA of using “undue influence” with regards to basketball players who attended Mueller Park Junior High School. The students in question, according to the UHSAA were swayed to attend Bountiful High rather than Woods Cross, the school in which they reside.

The UHSAA said in its initial findings that Bountiful had used undue influence because a former Bountiful High sophomore basketball coach also coached the Mueller Park team, that the Bountiful boys basketball program took junior high school students, including some living in the Woods Cross boundaries to summer camps where they participated as part of the “Bountiful ninth grade team, and that Braves coach Mike Maxwell had coached a super league team that included students who lived in Woods Cross boundaries.

“We have had only one player from Woods Cross boundaries come to Bountiful who actually played varsity basketball,” Astle said. “I have letters from nine of the 10 kids in question and all came here because they had siblings who had attended Bountiful.”

Astle is concerned about the way the ruling makes Bountiful, Maxwell and himself look to the public.

“It looks very different to people on the outside,” Astle said. “We do not recruit. We never have.”

“We work very hard to run a clean program and this gives all of us a black eye. It’s very unfortunate.”

“It hurts for sure,” Astle said. “But we have to move on.”

The UHSAA did remove the direction to Bountiful to track all students who play sports and receive a variance to attend Bountiful but live in Woods Cross boundaries.

But that doesn’t remove the tainted reputation and that’s what irks Astle.

“It’s just wrong,” he said.

As for the relationship between Bountiful High and Woods Cross High, already rivals, Astle doesn’t expect any personal relationships to change.

“I’m not holding any grudges,” Astle said. “I’m just worried about Bountiful High School and that our athletes and coaches show good sportsmanship.

The two teams play January 4th at Bountiful. That will be the first time the teams at the center of the controversy square off since the UHSAA ruling.

sschulte@davisclipper.com

Teacher retention bills

2007-12-31T07:09:00.001-08:00

Utah started '07 year down 173; legislators aim to act
As class sizes swell, schools are struggling to keep teachers
By Lisa Schencker
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 12/31/2007 06:35:23 AM

The two Utah men don't know each other, but they have at least one thing in common.
Ben Johnson is a first-year math teacher at Alta High School. He loves his job, but it's exhausting and pays well below what he could make elsewhere with his bachelor's degree in mathematics.
Marc Elgort is a University of Utah graduate student who researches cell metabolism at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. He tried teaching but found it stressful, all-consuming and riddled with bureaucratic frustrations.
Both men's stories reveal different shades of the same problem: retaining and attracting teachers in Utah, especially in math and science. Utah schools were 173 teachers short - including nearly 20 science and math teachers - on the first day of school in 2007, according to a recent report by David Sperry, a University of Utah professor of educational leadership and policy and Scholar-in-Residence with the Utah System of Higher Education. State education leaders worry Utah's students and economy could fall behind other states and nations if something isn't done soon.
"When we don't have qualified math teachers entering the system, that's a crisis," Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said at a recent legislative public education appropriations subcommittee meeting. Stephenson is proposing, among other things, a $5,000 salary boost for math and science teachers.
In coming months,

Utah legislators likely will haggle over a number of bills designed to retain teachers like Johnson and attract potential teachers like Elgort. Each man's story illustrates some of the reasons attracting and retaining teachers has been a struggle in Utah.
Plenty of openings: For Ben Johnson, 23, the decision to become a high school math teacher was easy.
The reality has been a bit trickier.
Johnson went into teaching math for two reasons: he admires math's clarity and enjoys working with people.
"There's a value in it you don't find in other professions," Johnson said.
Johnson, like 8 percent of new teachers hired to work in Utah schools this year, came from out of state. Several Utah school districts recruit from elsewhere because Utah colleges and universities trained about 1,200 fewer teachers than schools needed this school year, according to Sperry's report.
Johnson made most of his contacts at a job fair in Michigan.
"Every person that found out I was a math teacher pulled me aside," Johnson said. "You could see how desperate they were."
He said he interviewed with several school districts and received an offer from each one. He ultimately chose Jordan.
That's where the easy part ended.
On a recent school day about three months into his career, Johnson invited juniors to the board to work with polynomials.
"Let's take a look at a couple of things first. What do you see that we can cancel right away?" Johnson asked of one problem.
Several groups of students chatted and laughed among themselves.
"Guys, listen up," Johnson said. It was one of many times he had to remind students to pay attention.
"It's really tough," Johnson said earlier. "I have to be really firm. They're talking all the time."

Holding on to the dream: Johnson said classroom management has so far been his biggest challenge - his largest class has 37 students. Utah has some of the largest class sizes in the nation.
"There's no way I can keep an eye on every single student," Johnson said.
Utah Education Association President Kim Campbell said large class sizes frustrate many new teachers, sometimes to the point of leaving the profession.
"They want to feel like they're reaching every student," Campbell said.
Johnson also puts a tremendous amount of time into teaching. As a new teacher, he is building curricula for several of his courses with help from the district.
"Just building that curriculum takes hours and hours outside of the classroom," Johnson said. "So does correcting papers."
Johnson said he has about 180 students. If he gives one assignment or test per class a week, and it takes him five minutes to correct each one, that's another 15 hours of work.
Johnson makes just over $30,000 a year and estimates he works about 65 hours a week. That boils down to about $13 an hour for the weeks school is in session.
"My wife and I get by, and that's all I can expect," Johnson said.
He doesn't regret his career choice. Teaching has been overwhelming at times, but Johnson still finds it fulfilling.
"It definitely has rewards," Johnson said. "It touches the rest of the world."
He expects teaching will get easier the longer he does it. He's counting on it.
"If it were like this every year for the rest of my life, I don't think I could do it," Johnson said. "If I get through the first three years and I feel like it's just as bad as the first year, I'm not going to keep teaching."
More than half of Utah teachers who left teaching last school year had taught for five years or fewer, according to Sperry's report.
"Every sector is looking for math majors," Johnson added. "I could easily go back and start in engineering and my base salary would be 25 percent higher."
Johnson hopes it doesn't come to that. Teaching is still, in many ways, his dream come true.

More pay for teachers: Legislators are already working on more than 10 bills to address the teacher shortage, and at least two themes stand out.
One is paying more to teachers who fill shortage areas, such as science and math. The other is to pay teachers more by extending the school year.
Both propositions are somewhat controversial. Teachers are often divided on whether to lengthen the school year.
Some, such as Johnson, would welcome it. He'll likely get a job at a golf course this summer.
"If you're a really good teacher, you're working during the summer anyway," Johnson said. UEA president Campbell said she'd also support an extended school year.
Others, however, such as first-year Elk Ridge Middle School science teacher Heather Baugh, consider summers off one of the perks of teaching.
"That was one reason I liked teaching," Baugh said. "More flexibility for a family."
Many teachers are even less enthusiastic about differentiated pay.
The union opposes it and some teachers are uncomfortable with the idea of making more than their colleagues.
"I don't think it sounds fair," said Mark Abercrombie, a recent graduate who hopes to soon begin teaching high school math. "Your pay comes from how many years you've been teaching and how much schooling you have behind you."
Almost everyone - teachers, unions, legislators and the governor - agree paying teachers more is among the first steps Utah must take to ease the shortage. State leaders want to give teachers raises again in 2008, but they are unsure of how much, how to do it and whether it will be enough to attract more teachers, especially to math and science jobs.
At least one scientist isn't sure what it would take to lure him back to teaching.
"The hardest job I've ever done": Elgort, 43, worked in several fields before deciding to pursue a doctorate in oncological sciences.
He hopes to use his science degrees to eventually help write school curriculum.
"I think I can impact K-12 learning without being in the classroom," Elgort said.
In his twenties, Elgort spent a semester teaching biology under an emergency credential at the Los Angeles Unified School District.
"It's the hardest job I've ever done in my life," Elgort said, "but by far the most rewarding."
Still, Elgort said he'll never go back.
Mostly, Elgort couldn't believe how stressful and time consuming teaching was.
"It doesn't just go from 9 until 2," Elgort said. "Virtually every Sunday, I'd go through a nervous breakdown. I'd call my adviser in tears, and they'd assure me I'd come up with something [for Monday]."
Elgort said he couldn't imagine doing that now that he has a family.
Elgort's wife, Suzanne Elgort, who works as a senior laboratory specialist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, said many science majors don't teach because they prefer doing research.
Also, society generally doesn't think of teaching as a profession that attracts brilliant young people, experts say. That's despite a recent Educational Testing Service study that showed those licensed to teach high school math and science score higher on the math portion of the SAT than other college graduates.
"I graduated at the top of my class and no one told me, 'You're really good. You should become a teacher,' " Elgort's fellow graduate student Matthew Powers said. "I was told to go to medical school."
Sperry said the lack of respect for teachers might have to do with how little they make compared to professionals with similar backgrounds.
Even if Utah teachers' salaries increased to reflect a year-round schedule, they'd still make an average of about $17,000 less than engineers and information technology workers, according to a March 2007 report by the Utah K-16 Alliance's Special Task Force on Teacher Shortages. The alliance comprises state K-12 and higher education leaders.
But Elgort's reluctance to resume teaching goes far beyond pay. Another $5,000 a year is not nearly enough to change his mind. In fact, for him, it's not really about the money.
Though he enjoys teaching, Elgort doesn't want to deal with swollen class sizes, indifferent parents, rigid curricula and a lack of resources in the classroom.
"Paying teachers more obviously makes a lot of sense," Elgort said. "Institutionally, a lot of things need to be overhauled."
lschencker@sltrib.com

Teacher retention proposals

These are some of the bills aimed at attracting and retaining teachers that legislators will look at once the legislative session starts Jan. 22:
* Paraeducator to Teacher Scholarship Program: Would provide scholarships of up to $10,000 to employed paraeducators pursuing degrees to become licensed teachers. Chief sponsor: Rep. Ronda Rudd Menlove, R-Garland. (HB66)
* Extended Year for Special Educators: Would allow special educators to work up to 10 additional days a year for $200 for each additional day. They could use those extra days to work on individualized education programs. Chief sponsor: Rep. Ronda Rudd Menlove, R-Garland. (HB67)
* Educator Relicensure Initiative: Would allow educators whose licenses have expired to more easily regain licenses. Chief sponsor: Rep. Ronda Rudd Menlove, R-Garland. (HB68)
* Task Force to Study Performance Incentives for Teachers: Would establish a task force consisting of legislators and educators to make recommendations regarding performance incentives for teachers. Chief sponsor: Rep. Bradley Last, R-St. George. (HB81)
* Teacher Loan Program: Would create a $15,000 home loan program for new teachers in which $5,000 of the loan principal would be forgiven if the teacher works in a school district for five consecutive years after receiving the loan. Teachers who work for 10 consecutive years in a school district after receiving the loan would have the rest of the principal amount forgiven. Chief sponsor: Rep. Lynn Hemingway, D-Millcreek. (HB85)
* Elementary Education Co-Teaching Pilot Program: Would provide competitive grants to school districts and charter schools to help pay for costs of having two licensed teachers share responsibility for teaching one class. Chief sponsor: Rep. Jim Bird, R-West Jordan. (HB88)
* Differentiated Pay for Teachers: Would pay math and science teachers who fill positions for which there is a shortage an additional $5,000. Chief sponsor: Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper. (SB35)
* Extended School Year Incentive: Would provide competitive grants to school districts that come up with proposals to boost teacher pay by at least 40 percent by extending the school year. The idea is that teachers would work year-round and students would be staggered throughout the year so schools wouldn't have to hire as many teachers or build as many new schools. Savings could be used for teacher salaries. Chief sponsor: Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper. (SB41)
* Resolution Encouraging the Advertisement of Alternative Routes to Teaching: Would encourage school districts to advertise alternative routes to teacher licensing. Chief sponsor: Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem. (SJR1)

A call for separation of school and state

2007-12-26T12:15:00.001-08:00

A call for separation of school and state
By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist | March 4, 2007
WHATEVER ELSE might be said about it, US District Judge Mark Wolf's decision in Parker v. Hurley is a model of clear English prose.

"The constitutional right of parents to raise their children does not include the right to restrict what a public school may teach their children," Wolf unambiguously wrote in dismissing a suit by two Lexington couples who objected to lessons the local elementary school was teaching their children. "Under the Constitution public schools are entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy."

Entitled to teach anything. That means, the judge ruled, that parents have no authority to veto elements of a public-school curriculum they dislike. They have no right to be notified before those elements are presented in class. And the Constitution does not entitle them to opt their children out of such classes when the subject comes up.

As Wolf's straightforward language makes plain, it doesn't much matter what that subject might be. The parents in the Lexington case objected to "diversity" instruction that presented same-sex marriage and homosexual attraction as unobjectionable. That message contradicted the parents' "sincerely held religious beliefs that homosexuality is immoral and that marriage is necessarily . . . between a man and a woman."

But suppose instead that the facts had been reversed, with parents who passionately support same-sex marriage filing suit because the school kept emphasizing the traditional definition of wedlock -- a definition democratically reaffirmed in many state constitutional amendments and statutes in recent years. As Wolf applied the law, the result would have been the same: The complaint would have been dismissed, and the school would have prevailed. Read again the judge's words: "The constitutional right of parents to raise their children does not include the right to restrict what a public school may teach their children."

Similarly, the school would have prevailed if this had been a case about guns, with parents objecting to a curriculum that emphasized the Second Amendment and armed self-defense. Or a case about evolution, with parents outraged because their children were being taught that Darwinism and intelligent design were equally legitimate approaches to an ongoing debate. Or a case about race, with plaintiffs suing because their kids were learning that affirmative action amounts to reverse racism.

Parker v. Hurley, in other words, was not just a victory for gay-marriage advocates or a defeat for Judeo-Christian traditionalists. It was a reminder that on many of the most controversial subjects of the day, public schools do not speak for the whole community.

When school systems deal with issues of sexuality, religion, politics, or the family, there is always an overriding agenda -- the agenda of whichever side has greater political clout. Parents who don't like the values being forced down students' throats have two options. One is to educate their children privately. The other is to find enough allies to force their own values down students' throats. In Judge Wolf's more genteel formulation: "Plaintiffs may attempt to persuade others to join them in electing a Lexington School Committee that will implement a curriculum . . . more compatible with their beliefs."

Once Americans may have agreed on what children should be taught, but that day is long gone. On any number of fundamental issues, parents today are sharply divided, and there is no way a government-run, one-curriculum-fits-all education system can satisfy all sides. The only way to end the political battles over schooling is to depoliticize the schools. And the only way to do that is to separate school and state.

Parents should have the same freedom in educating their kids that they have in clothing, housing, and feeding them. You wouldn't let the government decide what time your kids should go to bed, or which doctor should treat their chicken pox, or how they should spend their summer vacation, or which religion they should be instructed in. On matters serious and not so serious, parents are entrusted with their children's well-being. Why should schooling be an exception?

Get government out of the business of running schools, and a range of alternatives will emerge. Freedom, innovation, and competition will do for education what they do for so much else in American life: increase choices, lower costs, improve performance -- and eliminate conflict. So long as education is controlled by the state, the battles and bad blood will continue. With more liberty will come more tolerance -- and more resources spent on learning than on litigation.

Jeff Jacoby's e-mail address is jacoby@globe.com.

Listen to schools, not union whines

2007-12-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

Listen to schools, not union whines

By David Harsanyi
The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 12/14/2007 02:19:51 AM MST

Permitting teachers, administrators and parents to control their own schools and, in turn, their children's destinies, is hardly controversial.

Or rather, it shouldn't be.

It's a given that Colorado teachers unions continually fight against parental school choice. We know they whine about accountability. We know they're not crazy about charter schools, either.

Now, many people are trying to offer public schools the flexibility and independence to improve and compete and guess what?

Unions still oppose reform. So what does that tell you?

"It's gotten to the point where I am tired of trying to make sure everyone is happy but students — when they should be the first ones on the list," says Peter Groff, a Democrat and the new state Senate president.

The issue of school independence was brought to the forefront recently when Bruce Randolph School in Denver, attempting to save its school from failing grades and closure, requested sovereignty from the bureaucratic muddle imposed on it by the district and the union.

The idea of allowing all Colorado schools to control their own budgets, hiring and curriculum is growing.

Groff will be bringing forward such progressive legislation this session.

Unions, naturally, already oppose the idea. Where Gov. Bill Ritter — who likes to tell us he's "fighting for children" — will fall should tell us more about where his loyalties lie.

Groff says it's something he's been thinking about for a while. "I think this idea will give the principal and teacher the ability to craft programs that will directly impact the students they have in the classroom. The principal may say, 'This is what we need to do for these kids to bring them up to proficiency and above.' Second, it gives parents the ability to pick and choose schools in the district that work for their kids."

How will Groff, who unlike many of his party's counterparts isn't beholden to the Colorado Education Association (CEA), overcome entrenched interests in the legislature?

How will Groff slide such an idea past Sue Windels, the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee?

After all, Windels' notion of an independent thought consists of slightly altering the wording of CEA talking points.

"I would hope that anyone who has the best interest of education in Colorado in mind would support autonomy for schools," explains Groff. "Listen, no one said that we're going to blow up the unions. No one said we're going to tear down agreements that were made. It just gives the district the prerogative to create 'innovative zones' and help kids."

Bipartisan support for such a bill is sure to come. Just how many Democrats in the legislature will be willing to stand up to the CEA is unclear. And those reform-minded Democrats who do stand up should be careful.

When Denver school board president Theresa Peña and vice president Bruce Hoyt got behind some mild restructuring of failing Denver schools, they soon made enemies.

Denver Classroom Teachers Association president Kim Ursetta put the organization's dollars behind two fringe candidates and challenged Peña and Hoyt. Ursetta claimed her candidates "best matched what our values are, and that includes listening to teachers."

Which tells us plenty about the DCTA's values. They stink. Values that attempt to inflate the organization's membership, coddling a broken system all the way.

Then again, Peña and Hoyt both survived.

Meanwhile, Groff and other Democrats nationwide are forging ahead with reform.

Does this mean times are changing? It's yet to be seen.

What we do know is that allowing schools to work more independently will undermine the counterproductive centralization of the No Child Left Behind Act and also weaken the teachers unions here in Colorado.

In other words, a win win.

Best of all, it may actually help some kids.

After more than three years of writing a metro column for The Denver Post, I will be moving to the editorial pages. My new op-ed column will appear Tuesdays and Fridays, and I will make regular appearances in Sunday's Perspective section.

U.S. Middle-Grades Teachers Found Ill-Prepared in Math

2007-12-19T13:23:00.001-08:00

Published Online: December 14, 2007
Published in Print: December 19, 2007
U.S. Middle-Grades Teachers Found Ill-Prepared in Math
By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo
Aspiring middle school teachers in the United States take fewer math courses and are less knowledgeable in the subject than their counterparts in South Korea, Taiwan, and other countries. That gap in teacher preparation, coupled with curricular differences, could help explain achievement disparities between American students and their peers in other industrialized nations, researchers say.

The preparation of teachers to impart high-level mathematics skills at the middle and high school levels has been gaining attention as U.S. business leaders and policymakers express worries about the ability of schools to train a globally competitive workforce.

Now, in a study released this week, researchers are offering data on teacher education that hint at the extent of the problem.

The study of those on the brink of becoming middle school math teachers in the United States and five other countries—Bulgaria, Germany, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan—concludes that American teachers are ill prepared for the task.

Course Coverage
Teacher-preparation programs in the United States covered a smaller percent of certain math topics, on average, than programs in the other countries studied.

“Our future teachers are getting weak training mathematically and are just not prepared to teach the demanding mathematics curriculum we need for middle schools if we hope to compete internationally,” said William H. Schmidt, a Michigan State University researcher who conducted the study. Another international study, released this week by the American Institutes for Research, looks in part at the intersection between math achievement and science learninghttp://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html, which experts say suggests the broader importance of good math instruction.

In Mr. Schmidt’s study, U.S. teachers scored significantly lower than those in all countries except Mexico on knowledge tests in algebra and functions, which are considered critically important for teaching middle school math.

The teacher-candidates from the United States and Mexico also reported that their undergraduate programs covered less content in advanced math, analysis, and algebra than the other countries’. The American teacher-candidates were also less equipped for the practical aspects of teaching math to middle school students than their counterparts in all but Germany.

Moreover, teachers who pursue certification specific to middle school education, as opposed to elementary or secondary programs, are the least primed of all.

“If you look at Taiwan and South Korea, whose students typically perform well on international tests, their teachers are very well prepared in terms of mathematics,” Mr. Schmidt said, noting that middle school teachers in the U.S. programs in the study took about half as many math courses as their counterparts in Taiwan and South Korea. “Then if you look further, [the Taiwanese and South Koreans] are getting quite extensive coverage of the practical aspects of math pedagogy and general pedagogy as well.”

Math-Science Connection
The study is the precursor to a larger examination of K-8 teacher education in 20 industrialized countries that Mr. Schmidt will begin next year.

Mr. Schmidt cautions that his findings are based on a small sample of students in each of the countries, including 2,500 American students in 12 colleges and universities, a group that is not considered representative of the United States’ 1,200 teacher education institutions.

The topic has also been a concern of the federal National Mathematics Advisory Panel, which highlights in its preliminary recommendations, released last month, the need for “systematically improving teacher-preparation programs, as well as professional-development strategies for teachers already in the field.” ("Draft From National Math Panel Covers Broad Scope of Topics," Dec. 5, 2007.)

An upcoming survey of the math content of teacher education programs by the National Council on Teacher Quality will look at course requirements in the subject at more than 70 teacher colleges.

The study of U.S. performance on international science tests, by the Washington-based AIR, outlines successively lower rankings of U.S. students on international assessments as they age. U.S. 4th graders, for example, were ranked higher among participating countries than U.S. 8th graders on the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study tests, while 15-year-olds were outperformed by even more countries on the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA.

The report attributes part of the decline to inadequate math skills, noting that “the United States’ consistently low international mathematics scores are one explanation for declining U.S. science performance in the upper grades.”

“As the science becomes more mathematically inclined as students move to the physical sciences and chemistry, they are going to be at a disadvantage if they don’t have the math background,” said Steven Leinwand, an author of the AIR report.

Mr. Schmidt’s study of the backgrounds, course-taking patterns, and math knowledge of teacher-candidates found that those in Taiwan and South Korea cover greater math content, similar to that required of math majors, in about the same time span as four-year programs in the United States.

Content and Pedagogy
But beefing up American teacher-preparation programs is not simply a matter of adding more math classes, some experts say. Sometimes state requirements can get in the way.

Mark Ellis, an assistant professor of education at California State University-Fullerton, said that California’s strict requirements for teacher education prevent education programs from adding more courses.With a maximum credit load and required classes in teaching English-learners and working in diverse classrooms, the Fullerton program has struggled to infuse more math for middle school teachers. A new master’s-degree program in teaching middle school math has been added to give teachers more intensive preparation, he said.

“One of our constraints is that we have to help [teacher-candidates] understand the kinds of students they are going to be working with and the kinds of strategies they’re going to need to help them be successful,” he said. “But what the study makes clear is that [math content] has to be coupled with courses in pedagogy and understanding the content in a teaching context.”

Mr. Schmidt’s findings confirm the view that more math content, as such, is not the answer
“There are people who advocate the view that all you need to do is find people who are trained in mathematics and put them in the classrooms, and they will be fine,” Mr. Schmidt said. “In these other countries, nobody leaves out math pedagogy or general pedagogy. It takes a knowledge not just of mathematics, but how you bring that mathematics to kids.”

States can design own NCLB plans

2007-12-19T07:23:00.001-08:00

States can design own NCLB plans
Utah wants to learn more before turning in its application
By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Deseret Morning News
Published: December 19, 2007
Utah school leaders have long complained No Child Left Behind focuses only on whether students achieve a certain test score instead of giving credit for the progress kids are making.

Now, the U.S. Department of Education is saying all states can apply to create a system — officials are calling it a "growth model" — that takes into account students' academic progress from one year to the next.

But State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patti Harrington is uncertain whether Utah will take up the invitation. The federal government once denied Utah's "growth model" proposal because it didn't hold schools accountable for how each group of students does on tests — No Child Left Behind's central mission.

"We're finding out the perimeters that they are going to put around approval of growth models, then we'll confer with the (State) Board (of Education) ... and move on from there," Harrington told the Deseret Morning News Tuesday. But, she added: "I will not be an advocate of allowing schools to be labeled as a failure when only one student group" falls short.

But Utah schools already are entrenched, as are those in every other state, in the federal law's all-or-nothing judgements. So why not seize an opportunity to make it more fair — and likely, let more schools make the mark every year?

"A growth model ... really gives opportunities for schools to be recognized for working with students across the continuum," said Laurie Lacy, Title I supervisor for Salt Lake City School District. "It's just better for education."

No Child Left Behind requires all students to be able to read and do math well by 2014. Schools must answer for test scores of every group of students, created by ethnicity, disability, income and English language acquisition. If one student group fails to meet standards, the whole school fails to make Adequate Yearly Progress and is identified as such in public reports.

Utah has fought the law as intruding on state rights, and once threatened to refuse to participate, a move that would have left behind more than $100 million, which largely helps low-income children.

Meanwhile, Utah firmed up its own way of holding schools accountable for student achievement. Its U-PASS system gives schools credit for students making progress, especially for kids who have come the longest way, before judging whether they need help.

But Utah, applying that U-PASS system, was not among nine states the federal department chose for its growth-model pilot a couple years back. That's partly because U-PASS, even though it reports scores for every student group, only holds schools accountable for two groups of kids: Caucasians who can afford school lunch, and everybody else.

"We like what U-PASS does better than what No Child Left Behind does as it relates to an accurate portrayal of a school," Harrington said. "To call a school a failure because of one subgroup, especially students with disabilities or English language learners, has always been a frustration point in Utah."

The U.S. Department of Education now wants to let more states use a growth model. It will take proposals through Feb. 1.

"It will allow states another effective way of measuring Adequate Yearly Progress by measuring individual student growth over time, and it will continue to expand the flexibility available to states under No Child Left Behind," U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said in a prepared statement issued last week.

It's uncertain whether Utah will seek to apply U-PASS principles to every student group, a requirement for applicant states, the U.S. Department of Education reports. Or, whether doing so would create more difference between U-PASS and No Child Left Behind at a time when Harrington says state leaders are trying to come up with a common accountability system.

But Lacy hopes Utah will act.
"We have the information, an IT system that affords us the opportunity," Lacy said. "I think we should be fairly well positioned to do it."

E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com

To improve education, we must improve educators

2007-12-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

By Walter Williams
Published: December 19, 2007
Every three years, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development conducts its Programme for International Student Assessment. PISA is a set of tests that measure 15-year-olds' performance in mathematics, science and reading.

The National Center for Education Statistics summarized the findings in "Highlights From PISA 2006." (nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008016.pdf) U.S. American students ranked 33rd among industrialized countries in math literacy, and in science literacy they ranked 27th. Reading literacy was not reported for the United States because of an error in the test instruction booklets.

How do we get out of this mess of abysmal student performance? Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has proposed an $18 billion increase in federal education programs. That's the typical knee-jerk response — more money. Let's delve a bit, asking whether higher educational expenditures explain why secondary school students in 32 industrialized countries are better at math and science than ours. In 2004, the United States spent about $9,938 per secondary school student. More money might explain why Swiss and Norwegian students do better than ours because they, respectively, spent $12,176 and $11,109 per student. But what about Finland ($7,441) and South Korea ($6,761), which scored first and second in math literacy? What about the Slovak Republic ($2,744) and Hungary ($3,692), as well as other nations whose education expenditures are a fraction of ours and whose students have greater math and science literacy than ours?

American education will never be improved until we address one of the problems seen as too delicate to discuss. That problem is the overall quality of people teaching our children. Students who have chosen education as their major have the lowest SAT scores of any other major. Students who have graduated with an education degree earn lower scores than any other major on graduate school admissions tests such as the GRE, MCAT or LSAT. Schools of education, either graduate or undergraduate, represent the academic slums of most any university. As such, they are home to the least able students and professors with the lowest academic respect. Were we serious about efforts to improve public education, one of the first things we would do is to eliminate schools of education.

The inability to think critically makes educationists fall easy prey to harebrained schemes, and what's worse, they don't have the intelligence to recognize that the harebrained scheme isn't working. Just one of many examples is the use of fuzzy math teaching techniques found in "Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social Justice by the Numbers." Among its topics: "Sweatshop Accounting," "Chicanos Have Math in Their Blood," "Multicultural Math" and "Home Buying While Brown or Black." The latter contains discussions on racial profiling, the war in Iraq, corporate control of the media and environmental racism.

If you have a fifth-grader, his textbook might be "Everyday Math." Among its study questions are: If math were a color, it would be — (blank) because — (blank). If it were a food, it would be — (blank) because — (blank). If it were weather, it would be — (blank) because — (blank). All of this is sheer nonsense, and what's worse is that the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics sponsors and supports much of this nonsense.

Mathematics, more than any other subject, is culturally neutral. The square root of 16 is 4 whether you're Asian, European, African or even a Plutonian or Martian. While math and science literacy among white 15-year-olds is nothing to write home about, that among black 15-year-olds is nothing less than a disaster.

Few people appreciate the implications of poor math preparation. Mathematics, more than anything else, teaches one how to think logically. As such, it is an important intellectual tool. If one graduates from high school with little or no preparation in algebra, geometry and a bit of trigonometry, he is likely to find whole areas of academic study, as well as the highest paying jobs, hermetically sealed off from him for his entire life.

Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

Price tag for retiree benefits: $2.73 trillion

2007-12-18T05:16:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Price tag for retiree benefits: $2.73 trillion
By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org Staff Writer

States have set aside about $2 trillion to cover the cost of pensions and health insurance promised teachers, police officers and other public sector workers, but retiree benefits are still under funded by about $731 billion, a new study released today shows (Dec. 18).

Of that shortfall, nearly half ($370 billion) is needed for future retirees’ health care and other non-pension benefits, such as dental and life insurance, the Pew Center on the States said in “Promises with a Price,” a 50-state analysis of state retiree benefits.

Pew Center on the States is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the same organization that funds Stateline.org. The full report and fact sheets for each state are available at www.pewtrusts.org.

States have always been required to publicly report their long-term pension liabilities, but starting in 2008, states also have to estimate the price-tag of health care and other non-pension benefits. States will have to identify these costs in their fiscal 2008 financial reports under a new rule from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

Pew describes its report as “a first of its kind preview of these numbers.”

Only Arizona, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin were on track at the end of 2006 to fully fund retiree benefits other than pensions for the next 30 years, Pew said.

None of the big states – California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois — had put aside enough money for retiree health care and other non-pension benefits as of 2006. New York faces long-term liabilities of $50 billion, followed by California ($48 billion) and Connecticut and New Jersey ($22 billion each), according to the Pew study.

States that don’t sock away enough money risk getting a lower credit rating from Wall Street, making it much more expensive to borrow money.

On the pension front, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Washington have consistently fallen short in recent years of meeting their future pension obligations, Pew said.

Some states got themselves in a bind when they increased their benefits during the boom times of the 1990s but then couldn’t afford to continue paying for them when the national recession hit in 2001 and their finances went into a tailspin. “While funding levels may rise and fall with the economy, once given, a defined benefit is very difficult to take away,” the Pew report said.

The report describes the “pension envy” some workers in the private sector feel for their counterparts in state government. More and more workers in the private sector have to help pay for their own health care and retirement plans, and at the same time have to foot the bill for these same benefits for state workers. “The gap between public and private sector benefits fuels the political debate, as taxpayers notice that they are contributing to government employee retirement benefits that are increasingly unavailable in the private sector,” the Pew report said.

The report comes at a time when states face rising health care costs and more state employees are hitting retirement age.

To cut costs, an increasing number of states are setting aside money and restructuring benefits, Pew said. Michigan and Alaska, for example, have moved state employees from traditional pension programs — with guaranteed payouts — to 401(k)-style programs, where the state contributes a set amount each month to an employee’s investment fund.

Among other “promising approaches” the Pew report highlights:

Adopting hybrid pension plans: Ohio, Washington and Oregon adopted plans that combine elements of traditional and 401(k) pension plans.

Closing loopholes in pension systems: New Jersey no longer gives pension credit to elected and appointed officials who work part time (earning $1,500 or less). Crediting part-time work had inflated the amount state employees could collect after retirement.

Increasing medical premiums and requiring co-pays: Pennsylvania in 2005 started requiring new retirees pay to 1 percent of their annual base salary at the time of retirement for health care costs. West Virginia now requires retirees to pay $10 co-pays for primary care, $20 for specialists and $50 for emergency room visits.

Raising the number of years of employment needed to qualify for benefits: North Carolina in 2006 increased to 20 years, from five, the time that new employees need to work to qualify for full benefits.

Setting up “irrevocable” trusts: At least 13 states have set up trusts to pay for future retirement benefits, ensuring that none of the funds can be diverted to other purposes.

Utah violating school act?

2007-12-17T06:29:00.001-08:00

Utah violating school act?
Feds say districts can't average test scores
By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Deseret Morning News
Published: December 15, 2007
Contrary to the insistence of state education chiefs, Utah school districts cannot average test scores to determine whether a school has met No Child Left Behind standards, U.S. Department of Education representatives told the Deseret Morning News Friday.

Chad Colby, the department's deputy assistant secretary for media affairs, said that state officials should be following the state's accountability workbook, a blueprint Utah set with the federal government for how it will decide whether schools are leaving children behind.

Averaging test scores over three years to see if a school meets the standard is not in it.

Patrick Rooney, policy adviser in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, said his office will contact the Utah State Office of Education over the matter.

"This is the first we heard of this. It's something we in the Department of Education are going to have to put our heads around and grapple with and reach out to the (Utah) office of education," he said.

But the matter is not clear-cut for some Utah school leaders.
Utah once had the green light to use three-year averaging. Other states apparently do it, too, and the State Office of Education has indicated it wants to put it back in the book.

That said, state associate superintendent Brenda Hales says neither the state nor districts have done anything wrong.
"Not in my opinion," she said.

She also says her office has contacted the federal government on this issue.

"I would say it just goes to the complexity of No Child Left Behind and all the issues that go along with granting states flexibility," Hales said.

"What we would rather do is err on the side of one, making sure we are not misidentifying schools because it has severe financial implications for the students," Hales said. "There's the other half of it: We don't want to not identify a school that's in need of improvement. ... Our goal is to be the steward for the state and do what's in (students') best interest. So that's where we're coming from."

No Child Left Behind, the federal education law, expects all students to be able to read and do math well by 2014. States publicly report which schools make "adequate yearly progress," or AYP, toward the goal. They also report which ones don't.

Last spring, 256 Utah schools failed to make AYP, the state reported.

Since, however, those ranks have shrunk by at least 25 schools in Granite District alone. A full report is expected next month.

Three-year averaging was conditionally allowed in Utah's 2003 workbook and was confirmed as appropriate in the U.S. department's December 2005 letter to the State Office of Education. However, that provision was not included in the 2005 workbook the federal government approved the month

before. The workbook can change every year.

State Office of Education officials past and present and federal officials aren't sure why.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patti Harrington was in meetings and did not return a message seeking comment Friday.

Three-year averaging became an issue in October when a handful of large school districts, notably Davis District, used it to overturn schools' AYP status. Davis applied it to seven schools, including those with data irregularities and huge population shifts — a big deal, considering schools are judged on the performance of each student group, based on ethnicity, disability, income and English language skills.

Officials in other districts, however, didn't know three-year averaging was possible. Some leaders said having a few districts use it rendered the state's reports inconsistent. So superintendents agreed only the state could grant appeals for a calculation error or extreme circumstance.

State school leaders, however, noted that federal law gives school districts authority to say which schools passed and which didn't. A few weeks later, Harrington told superintendents as much and that they could more broadly define what a data error or emergency is but be able to defend it in the event of a federal audit.

Harrington said in an interview last week that a data error could be reason to use three-year averaging.
Hales said the direction is rooted in legal advice from WestEd, which serves as Utah's compliance service center for No Child Left Behind.

But nowhere in Sacramento attorney Michael E. Hersher's written opinion is three-year averaging addressed. Hersher told the Deseret Morning News WestEd only asked him to look at state and district roles in appeal procedures.

The appeals issue — and who has ultimate say — is crucial.

Schools receiving Title I money because they have a lot of low-income students face sanctions — such as requiring districts to bus kids to higher-performing schools if they want to leave — for repeatedly failing to meet No Child Left Behind standards.

Of 25 schools Granite District overturned on appeal, nine were Title I schools that would have been flagged as schools that needed to improve, said Darryl Thomas, district director of research, assessment and evaluation.

"When we discovered the majority of the states are using this (three-year averaging) ... the initial (state) response was, 'Oh, yes, that's wonderful and we'll go ahead and do it ... and put it in next year's workbook,"' Thomas said. "If it's going to be in next year's workbook, why are we penalizing students this year on a technicality that's legal? We're not trying to do anything that's inappropriate.

"This has been just a roller-coaster of ups and downs — yes, we'll do it, maybe we won't, no we won't, yes we will, no you're telling me it sounds like no, we're not. Somebody needs to get their act together."

Davis Superintendent Bryan Bowles indicated the district isn't much moved by Rooney's comments.

"We have determined the status of our schools. That status is based on question in data and (or) data calculation. The (district), by NCLB law, makes the determination. We examined data and have made the determination," Bowles said in an e-mail.

And Hales believes neither the state nor the districts have done anything wrong. As to where her office goes from here, she's not certain. But she said the State Board of Education is expected to discuss some kind of rule on appeals.

"I like No Child Left Behind. I think No Child Left Behind has focused the nation's attention on those students who need the most help in a way that's never been done before. And I think it helps states and districts by giving them data they can use for real meaningful improvement. The difficulty comes in interpreting some of the minutiae of the law," Hales said.

"This isn't an effort to hide anything; it's an effort to be fair and reasonable and make sure what we're doing is to the betterment of the kids in the state."

Mom threatened with jail for teaching kids at home

2007-12-16T09:09:00.000-08:00

Mom threatened with jail for teaching kids at home
Judge gives Utah woman 1 day to finish enrollment

Posted: December 16, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

A homeschooling mom in Utah has been ordered by a judge to enroll her children in a public school district within 24 hours, and have them in class tomorrow, all because of a paperwork glitch that very well could be the fault of the district.

The mother, Denise Mafi, told WND that she already has enrolled her children in the district, under the threat from Judge Scott Johansen, who serves in the juvenile division of the state's 7th Judicial District, that he would order her children taken away from her.

As WND has reported previously, such threats are becoming more and more common in Germany, but that nation still lives by a Nazi-era law that makes homeschooling illegal.

Mafi told WND that not only is homeschooling legal in Utah, she's been at it for nearly a decade.

So what's the problem here?

It seems that an affidavit she faxed to the local school district for the 2006-2007 school year, documenting her homeschooling plans, was lost by the district. So when she went to court with her juvenile son to have the charges dismissed (under a case held in abeyance procedure) stemming from a clash among children, she suddenly was presented with four counts against her for failing to

She thought she was meeting the court's demands earlier when she enrolled her two youngest children in classes, and put her two older children in an online curriculum connected to the public school.

"Well everything fell apart in court today. I had to enroll my two oldest in public school. They start on Monday. If I didn't the judge said I would lose custody of my children. He threw out the plea and we go to trial on January 9th. I have NO CHANCE with this judge. He will find me guilty. He already has. So I will probably be spending some time in jail. Please pray for my children," she noted in an online forum connected to a "Five In A Row" homeschool curriculum she had used when her children were younger.

She said her public defender had reached a plea agreement she thought would be satisfied by her action, an agreement hammered out with the prosecutor. However, the judge rejected everything, she told WND.

"It is a long story but basically it boils down to the school district says I didn't file my homeschool affidavit last year. I faxed it to the school district office on Oct. 27, 2006. Somehow it was lost. I have my copy," she said on the forum.

"The judge is very anti-homeschooling. Stated last week that homeschool was a failure. I am a total nervous wreck," she said.

She is part of the Utah Home Education Association and she was seeking advice from that organization, but officials could not be reached Friday or Saturday by WND. She is not a member of the international organization concerned with homeschooling called Home School Legal Defense Association, but a spokesman for the organization told WND officials were reviewing the situation, and the initial reaction was that the prosecution of the woman was simply outrageous.

Mafi also told WND that the judge's other demands are that her children are not allowed to miss school unless they have a notice from a doctor, and the judge initially wanted to issue an order that she was not allowed to move out of his jurisdiction for two years.

"This is all because the school district says they never received my 2006-2007 homeschool affidavit. I have a copy of the signed affidavit. I have already received my exemption for the 2007-2008 school year," she said.

A WND call to the prosecutor in the case did not get a response, nor did other judicial officials respond to inquiries about the situation.

Mafi told WND the worst part is that because it is a misdemeanor, Utah law does not allow her to demand a jury trial. But it also carries with it a maximum penalty of six months in jail, on each of the four charges.

She said she had received a confirmation the fax to the school was received when she sent it, but likes to clean out her paperwork before the start of a new school year, and apparently had disposed of it.

She said she has asked her public defender to work on a complaint against the judge and she's trying to raise funds to have a private lawyer continue her case.

"If it was any other person in the state, they can put their children in an online public school and it's acceptable," she told WND. "I can't do it. I cannot pull my children out and put them in a private school of my choice."

"He [the judge] just does not want them under my supervision," she said.

Mafi said the state has made no allegation of education neglect, and her children are performing work at grade level. But she objects to the public schools' anti-Christian world view, she said.

Report Finds Better Scores in New Crop of Teachers

2007-12-13T08:54:00.000-08:00

December 12, 2007

The New York Times

By Sam Dillon

Teaching is attracting better-qualified people than it did just a few years ago, according to a report released Tuesday by the Educational Testing Service.

Prospective teachers who took state teacher licensing exams from 2002 to 2005 scored higher on SATs in high school and earned higher grades in college than their counterparts who took the exams in the mid-1990s, the report said.

On the other hand, the report found that those attracted to the profession continued to make up a strikingly homogeneous group — prospective teachers were overwhelmingly white and female — at a time when the proportion of public school students nationwide who are black, Hispanic or other minorities was nearly half and rising.

The finding that the academic qualifications of teachers had risen significantly was encouraging news for federal and state education policy makers after a period of hand-wringing over teacher quality in the nation's 90,000 public schools. The most successful educational systems in the world, like those in Singapore and Finland, recruit teachers from among the top third of their college graduates. By contrast, some studies over the years have found that the United States recruits from the bottom third.

"We're seeing a pretty big jump in qualifications," said Drew H. Gitomer, the researcher who led the study.

Educational researchers debate, however, whether teachers with higher academic qualifications are more effective, as measured by higher student achievement.

Dr. Gitomer said he and his colleagues at the testing service based their conclusions on a comparison of the academic profiles of 153,000 aspiring teachers from 20 states who took licensing exams from 2002 to 2005, with the profiles of about 140,000 teachers from the same states who took the licensing exams from 1994 to 1997.

The testing service, based in Princeton, N.J., produces a series of teacher licensing exams, known as the Praxis tests, which assess academic competency in more than 100 subject areas. Dozens of states have adopted the Praxis tests as their teacher licensing exams, Dr. Gitomer said.

The average SAT verbal scores of prospective teachers passing the Praxis tests to teach English, science, social studies, math and art from 2002 to 2005 were higher than those of prospective teachers in the mid-1990s — and were also higher than the average SAT scores for all college graduates, the report said.

The SAT scores of prospective teachers who took the licensing tests in elementary education and physical education, however, were significantly below the average for all college graduates, it said.

The college grades of prospective teachers has also improved. About 40 percent of the prospective teachers taking the licensing tests from 2002 to 2005 had a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on the traditional 4-point scale during college, up from 26 percent in the 1990s, the report said.

The percentage of candidates earning lower than a 3.0 G.P.A. decreased to 20 percent from 32 percent.

"By this measure, we are witnessing a dramatic improvement in the quality of the teacher pool," the report said.

Tim Daly, president of the New Teacher Project, a group that helps urban districts recruit teachers, said the report offered statistical confirmation of anecdotal information from human-resources officers in dozens of school districts around the nation.

"The quality of folks coming into the profession is rising," Mr. Daly said. "Lots of people are seeing this. There's been a bump in the overall pool."

Backing seen for abstinence education

2007-12-11T10:19:00.001-08:00

Backing seen for abstinence education
Published: December 11, 2007
Nearly 80 percent of residents in Weber and Morgan counties say it is important to emphasize abstinence in public sex-education courses, according to the results of a new survey conducted on behalf of the Weber-Morgan Health Department.

The telephone survey of 500 people was conducted in September by the Spectrum Education Group as part of a study to test public awareness of the health department's community-based abstinence program.

The Weber-Morgan Health Department recently completed the first year of a five-year, $3 million federal grant for abstinence curriculums.

Some of the findings include:
• 79.8 percent of the respondents say it is important for teenagers to participate in abstinence programs in schools and other community agencies.

• 81.6 percent say promoting abstinence is an effective way to reduce teen pregnancy and prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

• 88.6 percent believe teens are more likely to experience harmful physical and emotional consequences as a result of sexual activity.

"These numbers show that our constituency wants and values abstinence education," says Becky Tierney, program director at the Weber-Morgan Health Department.

Tierney notes that successful abstinence programs take an expanded approach, including discussions for young people on how to build successful relationships, increase self-esteem and improve their decisionmaking skills. She is encouraged by recent studies of programs in Georgia and Virginia, where studies of similar programs have shown that youths who have received abstinence training had reduced numbers of sexual partners and were more likely to delay sexual activity than those who had not been exposed to abstinence programs.

"We know we can't make the choices for them," Tierney says. "But at least we know, after attending our classes, they can make more informed choices and become aware that abstinence is still the best and safest way for young people to avoid the economic, emotional and physical results of early and casual sex."

In its first year, Weber-Morgan Health Department launched its first major ad campaign. Health educators made presentations to schools, community agencies, detention centers and various youth programs. This included classes offered in Spanish to the Hispanic population.

For more information about the Future Method Program, go to: www.futuremethod.org.

Community schools: A promising approach to education reform

2007-12-10T08:34:00.000-08:00

Community schools: A promising approach to education reform
Deborah Bayle
Article Last Updated: 12/08/2007 12:48:25 PM MST

One element of common ground that arose in the recent and very divisive debate over private school vouchers is the need for meaningful education reform.
    Though there are widely divergent views about the best approach, there appears to be growing agreement that we must strengthen our education system to better prepare our children for the future. With an expected influx of 150,000 new students over the next decade, many of whom face significant economic and social barriers to educational achievement, our school system will continue to face significant challenges.
    Improving educational outcomes for all children will require a multifaceted and comprehensive approach that unites and builds on the strengths of educators, families and the broader community.
    One proven and very promising approach to consider as part of a more comprehensive strategy, particularly for schools with high populations of low-income children, is the model of "community schools" or "community learning centers."
    Community learning centers are a partnership between schools, families and community resources. These centers, located within or near an existing school, have proven to increase educational achievement and positively affect families.
    This model, while somewhat limited in Utah, has shown very impressive results where it has been implemented on a larger scale. Across the United States, community learning centers in 32 states report improved attendance, fewer incidents of discipline and improved academic performance. In Texas, the pass rates on standardized tests more than doubled for CLC students.
    The real success of the community learning centers involves much more than increased school performance. Community learning centers strive to improve families, communities and educational achievement by combining the best instructional practices of a quality school with a broad range of youth- and family-development programs.
    Centers also provide or link to health and social services that are designed to reduce significant barriers to learning. When these barriers are removed, families become more stable and engaged in lifelong learning. Children are better prepared because they are part of a community that is supportive and engaged in the educational process.
    Past efforts to reform education have often been unsuccessful because they rely too heavily on reforming schools alone, seeking improvement through standardized curriculum, testing and teacher certification. In reality many students do not succeed because of external factors such as poverty, poor health and cultural differences.
    A community learning center recognizes these external factors and pools together resources from the public and private sectors to support children and families before, after, and during the school day. At the core of a community learning center is a lead nonprofit agency that works to tailor services to the unique needs of a community.
    Because community learning centers are a collaboration of public and private entities, and, at least initially, would not require public funding, government does not bear the burden alone to reform our school system; it is a shared responsibility.
    Many Utah schools already have elements of a community learning center including after-school and mentoring programs, but implementation of the full model is hampered by lack of awareness and resources.
    United Way of Salt Lake has teamed up with generous private sector funders and a lead nonprofit partner, Centro de la Familia, to expand and pilot this promising model. When implemented, this model will have a significant impact on student achievement, but it may also show the importance of a collaborative approach to design and implementation of other school reform strategies as well.
   ---
    * DEBORAH BAYLE is president and CEO of United Way of Salt Lake.

$5M sought to teach classroom instructors how to help the gifted

2007-12-10T08:30:00.001-08:00

$5M sought to teach classroom instructors how to help the gifted
By Lisa Schencker
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 12/10/2007 06:53:07 AM MST

For some students, school is boring, but not because they dislike academics, says Rebecca Haslam-Odoardi, Davis School District director of gifted and talented programs.

Haslam-Odoardi is part of a group, the Utah Association for Gifted Children, that wants Utah lawmakers to commit $5 million next year to training teachers how to better instruct gifted students.

"Imagine sitting in a classroom all day reviewing the things you've already mastered," she told legislators recently. "Most of the over 31,000 gifted and talented students [in Utah] are not challenged by their regular school curriculum."
Though large school districts often already have gifted programs, Haslam-Odoardi said "Project Rescue" would fill in the gaps by training regular teachers how to serve gifted students in their classrooms.

Often, she said, teachers don't get a lot of training on how to work with accelerated students, especially in this era of No Child Left Behind.

The federal law requires teachers to work toward helping students reach proficiency in reading and math, but does not credit schools for boosting students beyond proficient.

    As a result, Haslam-Odoardi said, advanced children are often the ones left behind.
    Some get so bored they act out or become indifferent about school, she said.

    Rep. Bradley Last, R-St. George, said he will help Haslam-Oboardi with legislation this session asking for funding for the program. Though legislators agreed at a recent Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee meeting on the importance of educating gifted children, Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said he'd like to see more research on the program before implementing it.

"I just want to make sure that if we're going to spend $5 million for this, it's going to make a difference," Stephenson said.

lschencker@sltrib.com

NCLB was a bad idea from the beginning

2007-12-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

NCLB was a bad idea from the beginning

By George F. Will

Published: December 9, 2007

WASHINGTON — No Child Left Behind, supposedly an antidote to the "soft bigotry of low expectations," has instead spawned lowered standards. The law will eventually be reauthorized because doubling down on losing bets is what Washington does. But because NCLB contains incentives for perverse behavior, reauthorization should include legislation empowering states to ignore it.

NCLB was passed in 2001 as an extension of the original mistake, President Lyndon Johnson's Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which became law in the year of liberals living exuberantly — 1965, when Great Society excesses sowed the seeds of conservatism's subsequent ascendancy.

ESEA was the first large Washington intrusion into education K through 12. NCLB was supported by Republicans reluctant to vastly expand that intrusion but even more reluctant to oppose a new president's signature issue. This expansion of Washington's role in the quintessential state and local responsibility was problematic for three reasons.

First, most new ideas are dubious, so federalization of policy increases the probability of continentwide mistakes. Second, education is susceptible to pedagogic fads and social engineering fantasies — schools of education incubate them — so it is prone to producing continental regrets. Third, America always is more likely to have a few wise state governments than a wise federal government.

With mandated data collections — particularly tests of "adequate yearly progress" in reading and math — NCLB was supposed to generate information that would enable schools to be held accountable for cognitive outputs commensurate with federal financial inputs. Bad data would make schools blush and reform.

Fourteen months ago, the president said, "The gap is closing. ... How do we know? Because we're measuring." But about those measurements. ...

NCLB requires states to identify, by criteria they devise, "persistently dangerous schools." But what state wants that embarrassment?

The Washington Post recently reported that last year, of America's approximately 94,000 public schools, the "persistently dangerous" numbered 46. There were none among the 9,000 schools in amazingly tranquil California.

NCLB's crucial provisions concern testing to measure yearly progress toward the goal of "universal proficiency" in math and reading by 2014.

This goal is America's version of Soviet grain quotas, solemnly avowed but not seriously constraining. Most states retain the low standards they had before; some have defined proficiency down.

So says "The Proficiency Illusion," a report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which studies education reform. Its findings include: The rationale for standards-based reform was that expectations would become more rigorous and uniform, but states' proficiency tests vary "wildly" in difficulty, "with 'passing scores' ranging from the 6th percentile to the 77th." Indeed, "half of the reported improvement in reading, and 70 percent of the reported improvement in mathematics, appear idiosyncratic to the state test." In some states, tests have become more demanding; but in twice as many states, the tests in at least two grades have become easier. NCLB encourages schools to concentrate their efforts on the relatively small number of students near the state test's proficiency minimum — the students that can most help the state meet its "adequate yearly progress" requirements.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra, a Republican who represents western Michigan's culturally cohesive Dutch Calvinist communities, opposed NCLB from the start because he thought it would "tear apart the bond between the schools and the local communities." He believes the reauthorized version of NCLB will "gut" accountability. He is gloomily sanguine about that because he thinks accountability belongs at the local level anyway, and because removing meaningful accountability removes NCLB's raison d'etre. He proposes giving states the option of submitting to Washington a "Declaration of Intent" to reclaim full responsibility for K-12 education. Such states would receive their portion of K-12 funds as block grants.

But Rep. Scott Garrett, a New Jersey Republican, warns that Washington, with its unsleeping hunger for control, steadily attaches multiple strings to block grants. He proposes to allow states to opt out from under NCLB's mandates and regulations and to give residents of those states tax credits equal to the portion of their taxes their state would have received back in federal funds for K-12 education. Garrett thinks that this could be a template for states to escape many entanglements with Washington.

NCLB intensified what Paul Posner of George Mason University calls "coercive federalism." Kenneth Wong and Gail Sunderman of Brown University and the Harvard Civil Rights Project, respectively, say NCLB "signaled the end of 'layer cake' federalism and strengthened the notion of 'marble cake' federalism, where the national and subnational governments share responsibilities in the domestic arena." Hoekstra's and Garrett's proposals would enable states to push Washington toward where it once was and where it belongs regarding K through 12 education: Out.

Should Utah revise sex ed?

2007-12-09T21:09:00.000-08:00

Should Utah revise sex ed?

Teen birthrates in 18 areas top U.S. average

By James Thalman
Deseret Morning News

Published: December 9, 2007

The country's rate of teen births took what public health experts call a disheartening but not necessarily surprising jump last year.

According to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen births increased — for the first time since 1991 — by 3 percent from 2005 to 2006.

National and local health officials say they're not necessarily expecting the numbers to indicate a coming trend. They add, however, the jump could have been foretold in the phenomenal increases in the teen rates of sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia.

The new CDC report isn't state-specific, but Utah may be contributing to that increase. Latest figures from Utah's Department of Health show that 18 of the 61 regions the agency tracks statewide have higher teen birthrates than the national average. The highest teen birthrates in the state are Rose Park, with an average rate of 96.5 per 1,000 teen girls; downtown Ogden with 83 per 1,000; and Glendale at 79.8 per 1,000, according to the health department.

The CDC report shows that between 2005 and 2006, the birthrate for teenagers aged 15-19 rose 3 percent, from 40.5 live births per 1,000 females aged 15-19 in 2005 to 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006.

This follows a 14-year downward trend in which the teen birthrate fell by 34 percent from its all-time peak of 61.8 births per 1,000 in 1991.

In Utah, public education programs are under way, funded in part by federal abstinence education grants, focusing particularly on involving parents in a public dialogue on teen pregnancy.

"I think the report highlights yet again the need for a comprehensive sex-education program and the failure of the abstinence-only approach," said Missy Larsen, executive director of Planned Parenthood Action Council, noting that $1 billion has been spent on so-called abstinence-only teen sex education movement nationwide.

The capacity of teens to get accurate information has narrowed considerably in the wake, she said.

"These kinds of statistics force us to ask ourselves if we are doing the best for our young people to help them prevent unintended pregnancies and to arm themselves against these diseases that could prevent them from ever having children," Larsen said.

She noted that research among teens is showing they want and rely on sex education information from parents.

"Kids want to talk about it and they overwhelmingly want to talk about it with parents," Larsen said. "If we can have a comprehensive approach with abstinence as the foundation and provide medically reliable information about contraception we would be doing the most we can to keep teens healthy."

Utah eases NCLB rules for districts

2007-12-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

But they'll have to back up actions if they're audited

By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Deseret Morning News
Published: December 8, 2007

District superintendents can broadly interpret rules for letting schools pass No Child Left Behind — they'll just have to back up their actions in the event of a federal audit.
That's the latest from the State Office of Education following three months of questions over whether school districts can apply certain rules that would give more schools a passing grade under the controversial federal law.

"Were not saying blow off the law," state Superintendent of Public Instruction Patti Harrington told the Deseret Morning News Friday. "Our expectation is they have sound reason (for granting appeals). It will be theirs to justify when the auditors come."

While local district superintendents praise part of the stance — federal law gives them ultimate say, anyway — at least two fear a broad interpretation for granting appeals opens the door to inconsistency at best. It also puts the state in a position to provide lax oversight, for which it was chastised in its most recent federal audit.

"I'm not sure what the reports are going to mean other than one district has the resources to appeal it ... and use different calculations until you arrive at one that allows you to classify schools how you want to classify them," Box Elder Superintendent Martell Menlove said. "I think there need to be additional guidelines."

No Child Left Behind expects all students to be able to read and do math well by 2014. States issue reports measuring "adequate yearly progress," or AYP, toward the goal. Every student group, based on race, income, disability and limited English skills, has to make progress on tests or the school fails.

Last spring, 256 Utah schools failed to make AYP, the state education office reported this fall. Schools can appeal for calculation errors or extreme circumstances affecting test-taking. Sixty-one schools in that fall state report made the mark on appeal — the highest number since the year of the law's debut.

The number since has increased by at least 25 Granite District schools, assistant superintendent Linda Mariotti said.

Here's why.

A handful of large school districts, notably, Davis, averaged seven schools' test scores over three years, as federal law allows when the district is uncertain of AYP, district director of research and assessment Christine Wahlquist said.

"We ensured we were following a reasonable, rational methodology ... and the methodology did not change school-to-school," Wahlquist said.

Davis used the three-year averaging for schools experiencing a huge shift in a group's population, Wahlquist said. The district also found that in other cases, students had been placed in incorrect groups, changing the data's validity, Wahlquist said. In all, 17 made AYP on appeal.

But when others learned of Davis' actions, some leaders worried about equal playing fields for those who didn't know about three-year averaging. So district superintendents agreed only the state could grant appeals for a calculation error or extreme circumstance.

But federal law gives districts, not the state, that authority. Harrington confirmed that authority Monday at a superintendents meeting and told districts they could more broadly interpret what is a data error or emergency to ask for appeals. The action was inspired by an opinion from an attorney working for WestEd, a policy consulting group, she said.

So a data error could be reason to use three-year averaging, she said.

"We're going to err on the side ... of not overly identifying schools" as not up to snuff, Harrington said.

Jordan Superintendent Barry Newbold said the direction is fair but said he wants to "be conservative in those kinds of decisions."

Granite School District used three-year averaging to give 25 schools passing marks. "We want to give schools every latitude to make AYP, but (with) every latitude that's available under statute," Mariotti said. "I would hope people would not choose to abuse that."

But Menlove and Salt Lake Superintendent McKell Withers fear the state's stand opens Pandora's box. Both say they won't use three-year averaging, even though it would let a handful of their schools make AYP.

"Although it's allowable under the federal law, I don't know enough to know if it's really the intention of the law that it be calculated that way. It's an interesting concept," Menlove said. "I think it's more consistent if we all play by the same rules. ... If it turns out that everybody appeals everything, and if we're going to be the only one that has anybody not making AYP, we may have to come back and reconsider."

Withers fears the practice could mask achievement of the very kids who are supposed to be spotlighted by the law because they've long been left behind by the public school system.

"All of the energy behind No Child Left Behind at the federal level, and U-PASS at the state level, is about accountability and transparency and working on real problems in proactive ways to better serve kids," Withers said.

"And so if your goal or approach is to never identify a school, then how do you focus that school's work to better serve the kids? That's why parents should care (about this) — a lot."

Utah Dropouts

2007-12-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

Each year over 5,800 students in Utah do not
graduate with their peers...

Source: http://www.all4ed.org/files/Utah_wc.pdf

• Dropouts from the class of 2007 cost the state
more than $1.5 billion in lost wages, taxes, and
productivity over their lifetimes.
• If Utah’s likely dropouts from the class of 2006
graduated instead, the state could save more
than $79.1 million in Medicaid and expenditures
for uninsured care over the course of those young
people’s lifetimes.
• If Utah’s high schools and colleges raise the
graduation rates of Hispanic, African-American,
and Native-American students to the levels of
white students by 2020, the potential increase in
personal income would add more than $781 million
to the state economy.
• Increasing the graduation rate and college matriculation
of male students in Utah by only 5 percent
could lead to combined savings and revenue
of almost $39.3 million each year by reducing
crime-related costs.

Effort for Education as Campaign Issue Fights for Traction

2007-12-06T16:11:00.001-08:00

Published Online: December 3, 2007
Published in Print: December 5, 2007
collection logo

By Erik W. Robelen and Alyson Klein

In a recent television commercial here, Sen. Barack Obama connects his personal story to his education agenda, calling for spending on early-childhood education and attracting a “whole new generation of teachers” to public schools.

“We should give every child the same chances that I had,” Mr. Obama, an Illinois Democrat seeking his party’s nomination for president, says in the ad.

TV spots like this one that home in on education policy have been rare so far in the contests for the 2008 Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, in which the candidates generally haven’t spent much time on the topic.

An unusual effort by two major philanthropies has been working to reverse the situation. The campaign, dubbed ED in '08 and announced last spring, was billed as an attempt to make K-12 education a top issue in the presidential election, and to help shape that debate.

So far, though, most analysts have seen little evidence that the campaign—financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation—is succeeding in giving education issues a high profile. Some suggest the effort was quixotic from the start.

As for influencing the tenor of the campaigns, such reach is hard to gauge, but at least some in the crowded Democratic and GOP fields have put forward plans or ideas that have echoes of ED in ’08’s three pillars: getting effective teachers into all classrooms, setting strong and uniform standards across states, and providing students with extended learning time.

“It’s fair to say that they have made very little progress in getting the voters to care about education,” Michael J. Petrilli, a vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a Washington think tank, and a former education official in the current Bush administration, said of ED in ’08 and its benefactors. “There has been some progress in getting the candidates to speak out on some of the issues they’re interested in, but none of them has graced their issues in a big, bold way.”

Marc S. Lampkin, the executive director of Strong American Schools, which is running the ED in ’08 campaign, argues that the effort is making important inroads. But, in an interview last week, he seemed to downplay the goal of making education a central theme of the 2008 presidential race.

“Making this a top issue was not the end in itself,” Mr. Lampkin said. “Ultimately, it’s not about where you stand in the polls. It’s about whether the candidates, and the next president, are adopting the right policies.”

A New York Times/CBS News poll in November found that education was the most important issue in voting for president to a relatively small percentage of likely voters in New Hampshire and Iowa, falling well below issues like the war in Iraq, the economy and jobs, and health care.

‘A Duty and Not a Passion’

Education has earned prominent attention in some past campaigns for the White House, such as then-Gov. George W. Bush’s 2000 race. But with the war in Iraq, illegal immigration, and troubling economic news sucking up a lot of political oxygen, it has not been easy to get the 2008 contenders to spend much time on the subject.

In unveiling the ED in ’08 campaign in April, the Gates and Broad foundations promised to spend as much as $60 million by Election Day 2008 to give education greater prominence, and to get candidates to focus on three core issues.

ED in ’08 calls for setting “American education standards,” though organizers say they’re not talking about mandatory federal academic-content standards or a national curriculum. The campaign seeks to ensure “effective teachers in every classroom,” promoting ideas tied to changing the system of teacher compensation, including through some forms of merit or market-conscious pay. And it calls for more time and support for learning, including extended school days and school years.

The campaign has engaged in a variety of activities, with an early emphasis on Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, the three states with some of the earliest caucuses or primaries. It has co-sponsored education events and run several TV and radio advertisements. It has also set up field offices in Iowa, where caucuses will be held Jan. 3, and New Hampshire, where the primaries are Jan. 8, and formed “leadership teams” in all three states that include politicians and education leaders.

http://www.edweek.org/media/2007/11/30/14ed.jpg
The ED in ’08 campaign has used advertising and other activities to promote education as an issue in the 2008 presidential election. Two prominent foundations have committed some $15 million to the effort so far.
—Photo Courtesy of Strong American Schools

The organization has sent volunteers to candidates’ campaign events. It’s even organizing an “Education Night” with the Manchester Monarchs, a minor-league hockey team in New Hampshire.

The campaign has worked to drum up more coverage of education issues in the election by national and local news organizations, and to make that coverage deeper.

And it’s worked directly with the presidential campaigns in both major parties to become a prime resource. It has distributed an 87-page education “toolkit” to all the candidates and has regularly reached out to encourage them to take up the organization’s core issues.

“We are doing a surround-sound campaign,” said Mr. Lampkin, a Republican lobbyist who was deputy campaign director for President Bush in 2000. Mr. Lampkin is heading up Strong American Schools jointly with former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, a Democrat, who went on to serve as schools superintendent in Los Angeles from 2001 to 2006.

Just last week, the ED in ’08 campaign co-sponsored a Manchester event where national pundits discussed how education was playing out in the campaign. At the event, which attracted some 30 people, several commentators agreed that the issue has largely remained on the back burner.

Talking about education “is a duty and not a passion for most of these candidates,” said Dan Balz, a veteran national political correspondent for The Washington Post. Mr. Lampkin, who participated in the forum at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College here, said that a number of candidates have introduced “substantial, substantive” proposals on education this year, but that few in the national media have paid attention.

“Things are being said, but no one is talking about them,” Mr. Lampkin said.

‘People Need to Stand Up’

The ED in ’08 campaign has done limited TV and radio advertising, including an Iowa ad featuring a high school student who urges viewers to “stand up and say to the presidential candidates: We want to hear about education.”

Officials of the project say they’re completing several more ads, and they plan far more advertising pegged to the general election, focusing on likely battleground states such as Florida, Missouri, and Ohio.

“We will be up on radio and TV in a more sustained way,” said Mr. Lampkin, “to impact a larger group of Americans in bigger states.”

As of early last week, the two philanthropies supporting the effort had committed a total of roughly $15 million so far to the campaign, said Marie Groark, a spokeswoman for the Gates Foundation, though she cautioned that the figure was continually in flux.

Some observers say the ED in ’08 effort’s influence appears to be limited by its legal status. As a nonprofit organization incorporated under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code, Strong American Schools is not permitted to endorse or oppose candidates, and cannot take positions on any particular legislation.

The organization does not publicly praise or criticize the plans or statements of particular candidates. Some observers say that not having a carrot or stick limits its influence with the campaigns, a point ED in ’08 organizers concede is a drawback.

Mr. Lampkin argued that the project is showing real progress in getting the candidates to focus on the core issues it’s promoting.

“A number of the major candidates of both parties have embraced our pillars of education reform, either in whole or in part,” he said.

A look at proposals and remarks by the presidential contenders shows some overlap with the ED in ’08 platform, though it is hard to discern whether the candidates were directly influenced by the effort.

Several White House hopefuls, both Republicans and Democrats, have shown support for creating new pay incentives for teachers, for instance, though that is by no means a new idea in the political sphere. Sen. Obama has called for increasing pay generally for teachers, but also for creating new supports and financial rewards for successful teachers and instructional teams. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, has also backed the idea of performance-based pay.

Extended learning time is also on the agendas for several candidates. Campaign documents of former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, a Democrat, cite ED in ’08 materials in calling for a longer school day and school year.

At the same time, when the candidates do talk about education, they promote plenty of other issues besides those being promoted by ED in ’08. Expanding prekindergarten and making college affordable are popular with some Democrats, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, as is criticizing the federal No Child Left Behind Act, a stance sure to find favor with teachers’ unions and other educators.

Joe Williams, the executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, a New York City-based advocacy group that contributes money to Democratic candidates, said he believes the ED in ’08 campaign is influencing the candidates’ agendas to some extent.

“It helps in keeping some issues afloat,” he said.

Mr. Williams said events such as a series of education forums with individual candidates in Iowa that ED in ’08 has co-sponsored hold promise. Last week, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., was the fourth candidate to participate in one. Others have included Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Edwards.

“If you get a candidate to engage for an hour about education,” Mr. Williams said, “they can’t just deliver cheap applause lines.”

ED Goes to School

Jan A. Reinicke, the executive director of the Iowa State Education Association, an affiliate of the National Education Association, said she has welcomed the efforts by ED in ’08 to make education a key issue, but she hasn’t seen much evidence of the group’s impact.

“They haven’t been very visible” in Iowa, Ms. Reinicke said. “I don’t think there’s anything going on that wouldn’t have otherwise been going on.”

In New Hampshire, the campaign seems to have drawn some notice, and the ED in ’08 brand has become familiar, some observers say. The organization recently co-sponsored an event with MTV at Manchester Central High School. John Rist, the principal, said he has seen representatives from ED in ’08 at campaign events, passing out fliers and talking to voters, but he still doesn’t think there’s been enough discussion of education in the race.

ED in ’08, he said, has had “a small impact in New Hampshire, a minor impact.”

Some teachers at Manchester Central High said they’ve recently become aware of the campaign.

“I’ve seen their stickers around,” said Gordon Behm, a science teacher. “But [at first] I thought it was short for Edwards ’08.”

Vol. 27, Issue 14, Pages 1,20

Ogden school board cracks down on comments policy

2007-12-06T12:56:00.001-08:00

Ogden school board cracks down on comments policy
December 6, 2007

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2283542

OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- Ogden's school board may change the way it accepts public comment at meetings. The board is considering a policy requiring citizens to submit questions and concerns two days in advance.

District Superintendent Noel Zabriskie says the board wants to be more responsive to citizens and can't do that when issues just pop up during meetings. State meetings laws also require the board to stick to its posted agenda.

Board members say the policy isn't an attempt to stifle speech. An existing policy requires four days notice, but hasn't been enforced in years.

No public objections to the idea have been raised so far. A final vote on the proposal is expected next week.

------

Information from: The Standard-Examiner

Reform and the Dynamics of Governance

2007-12-06T12:22:00.001-08:00

Reform and the Dynamics of Governance

Why improving America’s schools requires more than changing who’s in charge.
"a citizens’ coalition can elevate student learning above narrower interests and develop civic capacity to recognize, support, and engage promising reforms"

By Jacob E. Adams Jr. & Robert F. Sexton

American politics involves periodic regime change. Democrats and Republicans trade control of Congress, governorships, and statehouses. School board majorities shift, big-city mayors wrest control from elected boards, and states take over failing districts. From one party to the other, from one agent to the next, these changes are part and parcel of the American electoral landscape. As these shifts occur, it’s worth asking whether simply changing who’s in charge foreshadows improvements in America’s schools.

As a professor and a nonprofit director, we come at this question from different perspectives. Yet we’ve reached the same conclusion: Elections can change players and public commitments, but what they can’t guarantee is results that matter for students. The problem is larger than the ambitions, skills, or powers of individual political leaders. The problem lies in the dynamics of educational governance itself.

By governance, we mean the policymaking and public administration that define problems, articulate goals, adopt strategies and programs, raise and allocate resources, oversee service delivery, and shape accountability. In short, governance creates the conditions in which schools operate and students learn.

In this light, governance is the purview of elected officials and policy-level administrators. It also is the responsibility of the electorate, the citizens who send their representatives to office. In education, good governance means sustained support for learning-centered polices that promote continuous improvement. Unfortunately, governing bodies frequently fail to achieve this standard. Why is this so hard?

The theories, institutions, and processes that shape governance as a whole in this country—representative democracy, federalism, the separation of powers—also define the governing field for America’s schools. These arrangements are sources of strength and integrity, but they do have a cost. The dynamics they generate shape the context of schooling in ways that impede its success. Consider the following characteristics of governance in America:

• Dispersed authority, fragmented structures, and a large scale. Think: checks and balances, local-state-federal policy arenas, and the like. This division of labor often pulls the system in different directions, promulgates policies that seem incoherent from the vantage point of schools, and applies standard solutions in nonstandard circumstances. The result is uncertainty about who’s in charge, policy incoherence, and a compliance mentality at the top and bottom alike. In sum, structural dynamics impede system coordination.

• Conflicting interests, competition for resources, and bargaining and coalition-formation. These political dynamics are the bread and butter of governmental decisionmaking, but they often lead to a squeaky-wheel selection of problems, shifting agendas, and underfunded services.

What’s more, electoral politics trade responsiveness on the part of our representatives for interest-group and voter support. That’s all right as long as citizens know who is being responsive to whom and can track results. Things go awry, however, when the private interests of adults in the system trump the public interest in student learning, and the way we do business clearly stacks the deck in favor of the adults. Political dynamics ensure activity but not results.

• Dependence on individuals. Elected officials promote agendas, calculate risks and rewards, and attempt to distinguish themselves from their predecessors. These individual dynamics encourage officials to tackle problems, but also to avoid controversies. Officials may toss aside good policies and programs in order to claim credit for their own solutions. Individual dynamics favor symbolic actions, short-term fixes, and disruptions in reform continuity.

_____

Operating across regimes, these governance dynamics have changed policies and structures, but have had little impact on the core patterns of schooling or student success. Governing schools this way has accomplished less than expected.

Watching the starts and stops of education reform has taught the two of us something about these dynamics. We know that states and communities can get better results. The key is finding a way to temper the structures, politics, and incentives that impede student success, while at the same time fostering the public’s engagement with education. How?

See Also
For regular updates and analysis on the presidential candidates' stances on education, read our election blog, Campaign K-12.

We think states and communities can accomplish more by infusing the system with a dose of organized citizen participation. We have in mind long-running, nonpartisan coalitions of informed citizens that pressure governing regimes across time to focus on important results, invest wisely, and commit to effective implementation and reform continuity. These coalitions would augment governmental processes by watching closely, studying issues, disseminating information, engaging communities, and disciplining those in power. The idea fits with larger notions of representative democracy, where the onus for effective government lies with citizens, not elected officials.

Can this work? Yes, Kentucky’s Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, for one, has been playing this public-oversight role for 25 years. Its experience is instructive.

The group’s primary contribution, as an independent, nonpartisan organization of citizens working to improve education in the state, has been to sustain attention to educational needs and reforms and to stabilize educational governance enough to allow those reforms to develop. Kentucky’s comprehensive school reform has been among the most stable in the country, and the state’s students continue to improve on state and national measures of achievement.

The Prichard Committee consciously set about changing the dynamics of governance by building citizen pressure on educational decisionmakers. It did so in the following ways:

• By using community organizing, policy analysis, and legal action, the committee ignited and channeled public demand for student success.

• By modeling community activism and building citizen capacity to hold politicians accountable, it expanded public support for education and attention to reform continuity.

A citizens’ coalition can elevate student learning above narrower interests and develop civic capacity to recognize, support, and engage promising reforms.

• By engaging opinion leaders, maintaining bipartisan membership, and operating at the level of principle—more resources but not particular taxes, for instance—the committee dampened partisan conflict and kept interest-group divisiveness from breaking apart reform.

• By focusing Kentuckians on good research and achievement data, the committee fostered a culture of evidence that allows the system to learn and adapt within a coherent reform context.

• By communicating aggressively with policy and public audiences and setting priorities for political candidates, the committee enhanced system coordination and smoothed electoral transitions that otherwise might have stripped reforms of their coherence or derailed their progress.

This experience demonstrates to us that a citizens’ coalition can elevate student learning above narrower interests and develop civic capacity to recognize, support, and engage promising reforms. It can demand better information and reasoned argument, coordinate reforms across levels of government, and protect reform from regime change, even when school change runs slower than election cycles.

Is the notion of widespread, nonpartisan citizen coalitions naive? We think not. Pressure is the fundamental currency of politics. In effect, we’re proposing coalitions large enough to override narrow interests. Think of these coalitions as a citizens-based “check” on the dynamics of educational governance.

As Kentucky’s experience attests, the key idea behind accountability-driven reform isn’t just that educators will understand and respond to school achievement data; it’s also that parents and citizens will track results, too, and—here’s the hard part—do something about what they see. When accountability applies to everyone, political responsibility is enlarged.

Improving results for America’s students isn’t just about changing who’s in charge. Success also depends on our collective ability to discipline educational governance from the outside, creating conditions in which schools can succeed and students can learn. Organized citizen oversight can reach beyond the limitations of governing structures, political processes, or individual ambitions. It can temper the underlying dynamics that limit the promise of education reform. It’s time to apply these lessons more broadly.

Jacob E. Adams Jr. is a professor of education at Claremont Graduate University, in Claremont, Calif., and a former chairman of the board of the Kentucky Institute for Education Research. Robert F. Sexton is the executive director of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, in Lexington, Ky. He is also a trustee of Education Week’s parent corporation, Editorial Projects in Education.

Vol. 27, Issue 14, Pages 24-25

U.S. Students Fall Short in Math and Science

2007-12-06T12:14:00.001-08:00

Published Online: December 4, 2007
U.S. Students Fall Short in Math and Science
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/04/14pisa_web.h27.html?tmp=1250801231

By Sean Cavanagh

Teenagers in a majority of industrialized nations taking part in a leading international exam showed greater scientific understanding than students in the United States—and they far surpassed their American peers in mathematics, in results that seem likely to add to recent consternation over U.S. students’ core academic skills.

New results from the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, released today, show U.S. students ranking lower, on average, than their peers in 16 other countries in science, out of 30 developed nations taking part in the exam.

The test measures the performance of 15-year-old students, regardless of grade level, examining the skills they pick up both in the classroom and outside school, as well as their ability to apply that knowledge to a variety of situations.

In science—the main subject tested on the 2006 PISA—American students scored an average of 489, below the international average among industrialized nations of 500, on a scale of 1 to 1,000. Finland, which has shone in worldwide comparisons in recent years, notched the top science score of 563, followed by Canada, Japan, and New Zealand.

While the United States’ science score on PISA lagged statistically behind more than half the developed nations’, it ranked in the same statistical category as eight other industrialized countries, including Poland, Denmark, France, and Iceland. The United States outperformed such nations as Italy, Greece, and Mexico.

In 2003, the last time PISA measured performance in science, U.S. students tallied an average of 491, 9 points lower than the average of 500 in industrialized countries.

In math, which was tested in less depth on this PISA, American teenagers fared even worse, producing an average score of 474, 24 points below the international average of 498 among the 30 participating industrialized countries. Finland also landed on top in math.

The top-scoring American students’ averages were statistically worse than those for 23 of those nations, and equal to only those of Spain and Portugal. Just four countries—Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Mexico scored lower than the United States.

As in science, U.S. teenagers’ math performance was roughly the same as in 2003, the last time PISA was administered. The United States was 17 points behind the average score for industrialized nations then, meaning the score gap has since widened slightly.

Twenty-seven nonindustrialized nations also took part in the 2006 PISA. U.S. scores in both math and science ranked below those of several countries considered nonindustrialized, including Estonia and Slovenia.

Science Understanding Questioned

Unlike some national and international tests, which examine knowledge and skills that students are supposed to have picked up in school, PISA takes into account learning that may occur outside formal academic settings.

The test measures science literacy, as defined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, which oversees PISA. That literacy on PISA is defined as the ability to think scientifically and identify questions, gain new knowledge, explain scientific phenomena, and draw evidence-based conclusions about issues in science.

When compared with their peers from other developed nations, U.S. students scored best—meaning only 7 points lower than the international average—on questions that asked them to identify scientific issues. They were at their worst—scoring 14 points below the international norm—in “explaining phenomena scientifically,” which testing officials defined as interpreting science and predicting changes, and identifying the correct descriptions, explanations, and predictions.

Many American elected officials and policymakers in recent years have repeatedly voiced worries that the United States will gradually lose its international economic edge if students’ math and science skills do not improve, given the flourishing school systems and growing economies in a number of other countries. Business and technology leaders have argued that more U.S. students need to be encouraged to acquire, and be provided with, the necessary academic skills to enter math- and science-related professions.

Senta Raizen, who helped direct a recent revision of the science version of the National Assessment of Educational Progess, a federally sponsored testing program, said those concerns would likely echo once again with the latest PISA results. But Ms. Raizen said an equally important concern—particularly given the broad science skills PISA measures—was that U.S. students lack a strong grasp of the overall nature of science, and by extension, an understanding of its role in society.

The scores call into question American students’ “support for the enterprise of science—their understanding of the importance of the field,” Ms. Raizen said.

“It’s not just about having more people go into those fields,” Ms. Raizen said. “Can kids apply the science knowledge to problems that confront them as citizens?”

Gerald F. Wheeler, the executive director of the National Science Teachers Association, in Arlington, Va., said recent test results have carried the same message: Science is not being emphasized strongly enough in U.S. classrooms, and teachers need more resources and skills to deliver sound lessons to students.

“Why are we surprised?” Mr. Wheeler said of the scores. “It’s a sad state to be in.”

The NSTA official said he was encouraged by the urgent tone adopted by members of Congress and business leaders recently in talking about U.S. students’ science and math shortcomings. But there is far too much apathy among members of the public at large—especially parents—who can stir a passion for science among students of all ages, he said, citing recent polls.

“The policymakers do get it,” Mr. Wheeler said. The challenge, he said, is presenting the issue so that “the public gets it.”

In addition to its science and math scores, the United States was supposed to receive PISA scores in reading. But the reading results were invalidated by printing errors in the testing booklets given to U.S. students, which both American and OECD officials determined would have skewed the results. Officials at the National Center for Education Statistics, while taking partial responsibility for the mishap, said it was the primary duty of the contractor, RTI International, of North Carolina, to make sure the reading exams were printed correctly. ("Printing Errors Invalidate U.S. Reading Scores on PISA," Nov. 28, 2007.)

A Washington-based advocacy organization, the Alliance for Excellent Education, called last month for U.S. officials to readminister the reading test. But NCES Commissioner Mark S. Schneider, in a conference call with reporters this week, said that option was not feasible, considering the length of time it takes to arrange and give a PISA test.

PISA groups student test results in six categories, or proficiency levels. The United States had larger shares of students in the lowest-scoring category in science, at 8 percent, and the second-lowest group, at 17 percent, than the average for the 30 participating industrialized countries, at 5 percent and 14 percent.

Among high-achieving students, 10 percent of American 15-year-olds scored in the top two proficiency levels in science, roughly the same as the average for the other developed nations. Some nations, however, produced a far greater proportion of teenagers in the two highest categories, such as Finland, which had 21 percent reach those heights.

Vol. 27

Educators complain about improved math curricula

2007-12-05T06:29:00.001-08:00

Schools risk being unfairly labeled as failing, thus sanctioned
Math tests: Legislature's curriculum changes may not show up in state exams
By Lisa Schencker
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 12/03/2007 07:05:35 AM MST

LAYTON - On a recent school day, Heritage Elementary School teacher Lori Oliver asked her third-graders how important it is to know how to count money.
    "Really, really, really, really [important]," third-grader Carsen Potter answered for the class.
    Oliver thinks so, too. That's a big part of the reason she is teaching her third-graders how to make change even though the skill is no longer as clear a part of the state's new third-grade math core curriculum. The other reason is because the concept might still be on state third-grade math tests this school year, even though it's now part of other grades' curricula.
    It's an issue that extends far beyond counting change and just one Utah classroom. State math tests this school year probably will reflect what was taught last year, not just this year.
    Utah Office of Education officials say they didn't have enough time to write a new test aligned to what's being taught this school year. Normally, it takes about two years to write, implement and test a new math curriculum. The core curriculum dictates which concepts students should learn in each grade. But this year, legislators pushed a new math curriculum into place in less than a year after controversy over the quality of Utah's math instruction.
    The idea was to give students better math instruction as soon as possible. The consequence is that testing hasn't caught up yet. District assessment directors throughout the state are concerned students are learning one thing but will be tested on another. That, they say, could lead to less meaningful test results and more schools being unfairly labeled as failing. The state and federal governments use those test results to gauge schools' success and dole out sanctions.
    "We want the measure we're using to be both valid and reliable," said Lori Hawthorne, Davis School District assessment supervisor and president of the Utah Association of Assessment Directors. "Currently, we are seriously lacking on validity."
    Many of the test questions probably won't be a problem, because they will reflect material common to both the new and old curricula. But some questions will likely cover material only from the old curriculum - concepts teachers are no longer required to teach, such as, in third grade, reading thermometers or telling time to the quarter-hour mark.
    State education officials say they're working on the problem, but there's little they can do. It takes time to evaluate new questions, and simply throwing away test questions that don't reflect the new curriculum could invalidate the results, said Judy Park, state associate superintendent of data, assessment and accountability.
    "You can't have everything," Park said. "So we've got to do what we think is the best thing, the most psychometrically sound decision."
    Meanwhile, teachers such as Oliver are caught in the middle. They have to teach the new curriculum, fill in gaps in instruction between the two curricula and make sure their students are prepared for state tests.
    "You have to teach the old and you have to teach the new," Oliver said. "And you have to figure out how to do it in the same amount of time."

    Test frustration

    Oliver served on a Davis School District committee dedicated to just that: deciding how to teach the new math curriculum without leaving out important concepts that could be on the upcoming state test.
    The committee ultimately came up with plans for each grade that combined the new and old curricula. In third grade, the plan is a three-page document outlining which concepts teachers should cover to make sure students learn everything they need.
    For example, third-grade teachers will now have to teach the difference between isosceles, equilateral, scalene and right triangles but they no longer have to teach students how to count change, except for within the context of addition and subtraction and exploratory skills. The difference between triangles, however, is unlikely to be a scored question on the state third-grade math test, whereas counting change might be.
    In the Davis School District, the solution is to teach some of both.
    "There is still the frustration with the fact that it's the new core with the old test," Davis math supervisor Patty Norman said.
    That frustration is why the Utah Association of Assessment Directors sent a letter to state education leaders in August asking them to consider only including questions in the scored test that are common to both the new and old curricula.
    State Director of Assessment Deborah Swenson said she plans to gather a group of educators in coming weeks to look at the test to figure out how much of it is from the old curriculum. She said she'll also talk to experts about what can be done. But state associate superintendent Park said it's unlikely her office will be able to grant the assessment directors' request.
    She said certain questions must be included on tests each year so results can be compared over time.
    "We can't just arbitrarily throw out questions or not include questions because then we really threaten the validity of the instrument," Park said.
    But Norman said the current plan won't provide valid test results either.
    "If it's not testing what we taught, then it's really not an accurate reflection," Norman said.

    Not much can be done

    For the most part, state education leaders say there's not much they can do this year about the disconnect between the new curriculum and state tests.
    "We just accept the fact the results will be hard to interpret," said Kim Burningham, state school board chairman.
    The best they can do at this point is assure parents the tests should be aligned to the new curriculum by next school year. This school year state officials will pilot questions on the new curriculum so they can figure out which ones to use on the 2009 Criterion Referenced Tests (CRTs).
    Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said he still thinks pushing the new curriculum into schools quickly was worth the price of some confusion over testing. He said legislators pushed the new core early in response to constituents frustrated over the quality of the old core.
    "They came to us, almost demanding we do something about this," Hughes said. "I don't think we have the luxury to wait around. Honestly, I don't think we've moved fast enough."
    And even this new curriculum might not be the end to sudden changes to math instruction. The legislative education interim committee recently approved a proposed bill to form a task force to look into the quality of math, science and technology education.
    "We owe it to our children in Utah to get these right," Hughes said, "and I don't think we're there yet."
    In the meantime, teachers such as Oliver will continue teaching old concepts, new ones and material in between.
    "We're just miracle workers," Oliver joked. "That's what they expect us to be."
    ---
    * LISA SCHENCKER can be reached at lschencker@sltrib.com or 801-257-8999.

Keep focus on kids, ed panel says

2007-12-05T06:25:00.001-08:00

Keep focus on kids, ed panel says
Cannon says NCLB law shouldn't 'get in the way of progress'

By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Deseret Morning News
Published: December 3, 2007
WEST VALLEY — If there's a way to improve the federal No Child Left Behind Law, this would be it: Keep kids the focus.

That's the basis of recommendations made public Thursday by Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, and his Education Advisory Committee, headed by Andrea Rorrer, director of the Utah Education Policy Center at the University of Utah.

"What we're doing is impeding the ability to test and understand what testing means for individual students," Cannon said. "We don't want No Child Left Behind to get in the way of progress."

The recommendations, rolled out at Monroe Elementary, a nationally recognized Title I school, are more principles than plans. Yet it's the details on how to change No Child Left Behind that are sure to get sticky.

The law requires all children, regardless of race, income or disability, to be able to read and do math well by 2014. Schools must report their progress toward that goal every year. Those receiving special Title I money because they are in high-poverty areas face sanctions if they repeatedly miss the mark.

Utah has fought the law as too one-size-fits all and an affront to states' rights to govern schools. Legislators here twice considered opting out of the law, and the $109 million it brings largely to help low-income and disadvantaged children.

With the law up for reauthorization, Congress is looking at ways to fix it.

Cannon empaneled business and civic leaders, public and private school bosses, PTA members and community representatives to recommend ways to improve the federal education law. The group has been meeting since March. While Cannon is not on the committee examining law's reauthorization, he plans to forward recommendations to Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, who is.

The group suggests giving states some flexibility in how they hold schools accountable for student achievement. Maybe schools could require other yardsticks of school quality, such as school climate, or use other test subjects, like fine arts. Maybe they could hold schools accountable for how far students have come, not just how high they score.

Test scores need to come back faster — not so late that the school year has started and parents don't have options to transfer children to higher-performing schools, the group suggests. Maybe parents should get information about, and money for, tutors available to them under the law.

States should be able to define what highly qualified teachers are, rather than following a single model that has left some teachers scrambling for additional schooling some say they don't really need.

Money is needed to help the community better engage in schools, to attract and keep teachers at low-performing schools, and to help any low-income students, regardless of where they go to school, get outside tutoring.

"What we want to do is be fair to children as well as the system," said Rorrer, who says the recommendations mirror those of Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. and chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

But how to do these things will be tricky.

For instance, say special education students are allowed to take tests on their intellectual level as determined by their individual education plans, and kids learning English can take a test that shows their language acquisition instead of state-mandated tests until they become more proficient in English. The idea is to give more meaningful information on student progress.

But where do you draw the line? How do you hold schools accountable if you open the door to off-level testing, which could be used to game the system? How do you make it fair for kids, yet fairly assess whether a school is actually leaving kids behind?

The answers will not be easy to come by. But the suggestions nevertheless must be put out for discussion, said Charlene Lui, advisory committee member and director of education equality for Granite School District.

"Bottom line," she said, "I hope we're looking at what's best for individual students."

_____

E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com

Utah reading scores rising

2007-12-05T06:19:00.001-08:00

Utah reading scores rising

Deseret News Published: December 4, 2007
http://deseretnews.com/article/content/mobile/0,5223,695232957,00.html
Utah students are doing better on state and national reading tests despite the slipping ranking of the United States on a worldwide stage.

Still, as the Nation's Report Card showed in September, Utah's scores are climbing, but not as fast as other states', and achievement gaps between whites and ethnic minorities and those of means and those in poverty persist.

Utah has honed in on literacy by third grade — including messages through the governor's office to read 20 minutes a day to children — for the better part of a decade. Its reading program for kindergartners through third-graders lets school districts decide how to tackle the issue, such as with lower class sizes or reading specialists. It also requires they measure kids throughout the school year and adjust the way they teach along the way if need be, associate state superintendent Brenda Hales said.

"We're seeing terrific gains with individual students who start the year maybe behind, and due to interventions that take place during the course of a year, end up getting back on grade level. It's really quite exciting," she said.

All-day kindergarten programs targeted at low-income students, as well as federal Reading First Grants, aim to make sure students have a better foundation in reading before they have a chance to get behind.

NCLB: Putting Swine before PIRLS?

2007-12-04T07:30:00.001-08:00

NCLB: Putting Swine before PIRLS?

posted by Neal McCluskey
At least among education wonk-ish types, it’s well known that on national and international assessments American students perform best in 4th grade, decline by 8th grade, and do dismally in high school. Well yesterday a report was released—the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)—which hinted that even our vaunted 4th graders might be losing ground. And this despite the fact that since 2002 the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has “demanded” good results starting in the 3rd grade.

There is, it should be noted, a bit of good news in PIRLS: Our kids scored above the PIRLS average—set at a “scale score” of 500—in both 2001 and 2006. But then, one would expect our kids to perform above average since we are the world’s leading economic power and, according to the PIRLS report, our gross national income (GNI) per-capita, after adjusting for purchasing power, was surpassed by only Norway and Luxembourg among PIRLS participants.

And then there’s the bad news. It starts with our average score dropping a tad between 2001 and 2006, going from 542 to 540. Worse, several countries and territories we’d beaten in 2001, including Russia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, surpassed us in 2006. And we can’t blame poverty for our problems: None of the places that moved ahead of us, at least as measured by GNI, are as well off as we are economically.

Importantly, the analytical limitations of average scores, and the generally small changes seen between 2001 and 2006, make PIRLS far from a final word on either NCLB or the general progress (or lack thereof) of American education. However, when coupled with other recent testing results, PIRLS adds to an increasingly clear conclusion about NCLB: the law is at best having no positive impact on American education, and is very likely having a negative one.

Test results show nation has lost ground since 2001

2007-12-04T05:41:00.001-08:00

Several countries outperforming U.S. in reading

Test results show nation has lost ground since 2001

By Nancy Zuckerbrod
Associated Press

Published: December 4, 2007

WASHINGTON — U.S. fourth-graders have lost ground in reading ability compared with kids around the world, according to results of a global reading test.

Test results released last week showed U.S. students, who took the test last year, scored about the same as they did in 2001, the last time the test was given — despite an increased emphasis on reading under the No Child Left Behind law.

Still, the U.S. average score on the Progress in International Reading Literacy test remained above the international average. Ten countries or jurisdictions, including Hong Kong and three Canadian provinces, were ahead of the United States this time. In 2001, only three countries were ahead of the United States.

The 2002 No Child Left Behind law requires schools to test students annually in reading and math and imposes sanctions on schools that miss testing goals.

The U.S. performance on the international test of 45 nations or jurisdictions differed somewhat from results of a U.S. national reading test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation's report card. Fourth-grade reading scores rose modestly on the most recent version of that test, taken earlier this year and measuring growth since 2005. During the previous two-year period, scores were flat.

On the latest international exam, U.S. students posted a lower average score than students in Russia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, Hungary, Italy and Sweden, along with the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

Last time, Russia, Hong Kong and Singapore were behind the United States.

Hong Kong and Singapore have taken steps since then, such as increasing teacher preparation, providing more tutoring and raising public awareness about the importance of reading, said Ina Mullis, co-director of the International Study Center at Boston College, which conducts the international reading literacy study.

The results also showed:

• Among jurisdictions that took the test in 2001 and 2006, scores improved in Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Russia, Singapore, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.

• Average test scores declined in England, Lithuania, Morocco, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden. England, the Netherlands and Sweden were the top three performers in 2001. Sweden still outperformed the United States this time, but average scores in England and the Netherlands were not measurably different from the U.S. average.

• Girls scored higher than boys in the United States and all other countries except for Luxembourg and Spain, where the boy-girl scores were the same.

• The average U.S. score was above the average score in 22 countries or jurisdictions and about the same as the score in 12 others. The U.S. average fell toward the high end of a level called "intermediate." At that level, a student can identify central events, plot sequences and relevant story details in texts. The student also can make straightforward inferences from what is read and begin to make connections across parts of the text.

Background questionnaires administered to students, teachers and school administrators showed that the average years of experience for fourth-grade teachers in the United States decreased from 15 years to 12 years between 2001 and 2006. The international average was 17 years.

U.S. kids seem to get more reading instruction than others. U.S. teachers were more likely to report teaching reading for more than six hours per week than those elsewhere.

Transfers within Provo District up in the air

2007-12-04T05:39:00.001-08:00

Transfers within Provo District up in the air

Not all boundaries set; parents are frustrated

By Laura Hancock
Deseret Morning News

Published: December 4, 2007

PROVO — It's the time of year when parents can officially request to enroll their children in schools outside neighborhood boundaries; but in Provo, not all elementary school boundaries for next year have been set.

Still, the Provo School District staff urges parents with their hearts set on one school to complete school request forms at the district offices, 280 W. 940 North, to help staff determine boundaries and busing. Forms are available Monday through Friday during business hours.

And they hope parents will complete school request forms before Dec. 11 — the date of the next school board meeting, when the board is expected to finish drawing elementary school boundaries.

In Provo, residents in all southwest neighborhoods of town and residents of pockets such as Upper Carterville — an area of north Provo between University Avenue and State Street — do not have boundaries yet.

Melissa Garver, who lives near 400 North and 1300 West, said her neighborhood also does not have an elementary school assigned yet. Next year, her daughter could attend either Amelia Earhart or a new school in the Lakeview neighborhood.

The district's request that she sign up for a school before she knows which school will be assigned to the neighborhood is illogical, she said.

Boundaries were supposed to be decided at the October and November school board meetings, which would have made for a cleaner school request process.

While some boundary decisions were made in October, the school board never made the remaining boundary decisions in November because they spent several hours fielding complaints from people affected by the October decisions.

At the October meeting, the school board voted to close Grandview Elementary at the end of the school year. The board assigned Grandview Elementary students to new schools.

But many of the Grandview students want to follow their teachers and principal to the Lakeview neighborhood school.

In fact, about 65 of the 100 school request forms submitted Monday were by Grandview parents wanting their children to attend the Lakeview school, said Greg Hudnall, Provo's student services director.

Throughout Utah, parents are exercising what public school officials call "choice" by requesting public schools outside of their neighborhoods and even districts.

The enrollment request period began Monday and continues through Feb. 15.

In the 58,000-student Alpine School District, parents can request any schools except the following: Lakeview Junior High, Oak Canyon Junior, Willowcreek Middle, Lone Peak High, Lehi High and Pleasant Grove High.

In the 25,000-student Nebo School District, all schools are open for choice.

E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com

Equalization for school districts

2007-12-04T05:35:00.001-08:00

Equalization for school districts

Lawmakers want to ensure fairness before any splits proceed

By Amy Choate-Nielsen and Tiffany Erickson
Deseret Morning News

Published: December 4, 2007

WEST JORDAN — One word summarizes the hopes and dreams of west-side city leaders in the aftermath of November's school-split election: equalization.

Monday, lawmakers on the Legislative Equalization Task Force got behind a draft bill that would equalize the tax-collection effort by the state and counties for capital projects in school districts.

That means that regardless of the size, growth and need in a school district, they will be treated "fairly" when they need a new building, said task force chairman Sen. Dan Eastman, R-Bountiful, who drafted the legislation.

Under the measure, districts would be able to draw from a $28.5 million fund, created from both property taxes and income taxes, that would help supplement costs for capital and building projects, Eastman said.

And the measure is so critical to the Jordan district split that Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, wants to make sure the plan is on the books before the district becomes two.

The committee also signed off on legislation that would delay the implementation of a new district until 2012, or until the Legislature works out a prioritization process for new funding, whichever comes first.

"It's a backup bill in case we can't finalize equalization — we are going to prevent Jordan School District from (splitting) until we know for sure of the finances," Eastman said. "We don't want to leave the school district without funding for capital projects."

Buttars said he presented his bill in an attempt to protect the west side from the financial burden that will fall when the new east-side district is formed.

"This is just a fairness issue ... the west side has been helping to build the east-side buildings for hundreds of years and now they shouldn't be left on their own because someone wanted to split away from them," Buttars said. "That's probably the most irritating thing to us."

Buttars' amendment would not nullify November's election or stall the first steps of organizing the new district, but it would prohibit the district from providing education services until the equalization issue is resolved.

Several west-side city leaders have voiced concern over what will happen to their residents if equalization is not implemented before the east-side district starts functioning on its own. West Jordan Mayor Dave Newton said he, too, expects the issue to be resolved before any damage is done.

"This is just critical for us, and we would appreciate our legislators following through on the promises that were made," Newton said. "The leadership all indicated they would move forward with this and make equalization happen so we're not hung out to dry. They said, 'Trust us on this.' The thing that was put out there was, 'We'll take care of you, just trust us and we'll move forward.' That's what we're relying on."

The legislative Equalization Task Force was given the job of working out a plan for equalization and determining how new money will be distributed and where the money will be collected from. It has met six times since September.

Other equalization bills will most likely be heard next legislative session, but task force members opted to get behind Eastman's bill, which leaders said has a good chance of getting through.

But leaders said fine-tuning equalization legislation is going to take some time.

Herriman Mayor Lynn Crane said he is anxious to resolve equalization issues but worries about the Legislature hurrying to solve the problem in a certain time frame and neglecting major issues.

"It is my opinion that trying to put together an equalization package ... that is going to stand the test of time in one legislative session is virtually impossible," Crane said. "If they do pass a bill, there will be questions or issues that should have been addressed that will be overlooked in our anxiousness to get something done. This is a big issue that impacts everyone in the state, and I would think that it's worth a dialogue for a couple of years before we begin to finalize the details of legislation that is going to have such a tremendous impact."

E-mail: achoate@desnews.com; terickson@desnews.com

When Dollars Follow Students

2007-12-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

When Dollars Follow Students

The political viability, equity and workability of weighted funding formulas

By Timothy R. DeRoche, Bruce S. Cooper and William G. Ouchi and Lydia Segal

For more than a decade, education reformers have admired the achievements of the Edmonton Public Schools in Canada, and school districts across the United States have attempted to replicate Edmonton’s success with school-site decision making. However, most districts have stopped short of implementing one policy that is central to Edmonton’s success: a radical new method of allocating resources to schools.

Under the leadership of Superintendents Mike Strembitsky, Emery Dosdall and now Angus McBeath, Edmonton has pioneered a program called Weighted Student Formula, in which each student receives an allocation — weighted according to his or her specific needs — that follows the student all the way to the school. Families are free to choose any public school, and principals have a great deal of discretion over their school budget, which is an aggregation of all the individual student allocations.

The advantages of such a system are numerous. First, financial equity is virtually guaranteed, since every student carries funding appropriate to his or her level of need, and those resources move to the child’s school. Second, with budget control held locally, principals can tailor the school’s services to meet the needs of local families. Finally, district leaders can focus on hiring and supporting principals who understand the link between spending decisions and instructional leadership.

Following Edmonton’s lead, several districts in the United States have launched their own versions of weighted student formulas, or WSF: Houston, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati already have implemented the program, while San Francisco has launched a more limited version (see related article). Supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the John M. Olin Foundation, Peter Bing, the Frank and Kathrine Baxter Family Foundation and the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, our research team spent much of 2001-02 analyzing and comparing the WSF systems implemented in three cities: Edmonton, Seattle and Houston.

As a result, we have identified a dozen of the best practices that school districts have used to successfully implement WSF. We hope school system leaders will be able to use these lessons to design weighted student formulas that are politically viable, financially equitable and managerially workable.

Revolutionary Funding
By distributing dollars using such formulas, Edmonton, Seattle and Houston have taken a radical step away from the typical enrollment-driven allocation policies used in most large, urban school districts. Our study also included the three largest school districts in North America: New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Despite repeated attempts at decentralization, these large districts still use strict enrollment formulas to dictate what resources a given school will receive.

In Los Angeles, for example, a middle school in 2001-02 received one teacher per 39.25 students, plus $24 per student in materials and supply money. Ratios like these drive the allocation of almost every type of operating expenditure, including administrator positions, counselor and nurse time and textbooks. In these systems of enrollment-ratio formulas, principals and teachers have little control over the school’s staffing, schedule or educational program.

Our team conducted interviews with 185 principals in the six public districts and found, on average, that principals in the WSF districts have discretion over 77 percent of their school budgets. By contrast, principals in New York and Los Angeles report discretion over only 6 percent of their budgets. In Edmonton, we found principals have control over an astounding 92 percent of their budgets. We also perceived that the morale of principals was linked to their perception of flexibility and adaptability, with WSF principals appearing to have much higher levels of job satisfaction.

Weighted student formulas also are fundamentally different than — and we believe superior to — proposed allocation systems that would provide financial rewards to schools that show performance gains. Pay-for-performance schemes make local educators accountable to politicians, who determine how performance is measured.

In contrast, when combined with public school choice, WSF makes schools accountable to parents, who decide which school their child will attend, thereby determining where the education dollars will flow. Local educators then are empowered to meet the needs of the families they serve.

How It Works
While specific policies vary from district to district, WSF systems share the following key characteristics:

Dollars follow students all the way to the school.
By creating a base allocation that follows each student to his or her school, WSF guarantees financial equity among schools within a district. In our three districts, the base allocation per student ranged from $2,506 in Houston to $3,712 (Canadian) in Edmonton.

Each student allocation is weighted, based on the child’s needs.
Students with special needs — English learners, special education students or even students from impoverished families — carry a weighted supplemental allocation that allows schools to provide the extra services necessary to serve these children. This system of weights also ensures that schools have an incentive to recruit students with special needs.

In Seattle, the following types of students qualify for a supplemental allocation: (a) limited English proficient (27 percent of the base allocation), (b) special education (95 to 776 percent), and (c) low-income (10 percent). Theoretically, a student who falls in all of these categories could receive an allocation of as much as 9.6 times the value of the base allocation ($2,607), meaning that a school could receive more than $24,000 for the education of one student. (For a full comparison of weightings, see Guideline 5 below.)

Families choose the school that is right for their children.
Public school choice empowers parents to choose the school that will best meet their children’s needs, giving schools a powerful incentive to meet the needs of local families. When a child switches schools, the fully-weighted allocation follows him or her to the new school, ensuring they have access to the resources and services appropriate to their level of need.

Local educators enjoy significant budgetary discretion.
In a WSF system, principals have much more responsibility for the educational program and for the operation of the school. For example, in Houston, the superintendent waived all district mandates, requiring principals only to operate their schools in accordance with state law. These district policies create tremendous flexibility for principals and teachers, even if state laws and union contracts remain unchanged.

In WSF districts, principals have the ability to change student-teacher ratios, and schools are allowed to purchase products or services from outside vendors instead of relying solely on the school district’s central office.

District Role
Despite a radical decentralization of daily decision making, a superintendent in a district using a weighted student formula remains accountable for student achievement and financial performance. Using three key levers, a superintendent and senior staff can still exert a tremendous amount of control over the system’s behavior.

First, in a WSF system, a superintendent’s main priority is the hiring of principals. Not all educators will be capable of seeing the link between spending decisions and student achievement. Not all principals will possess the managerial skills necessary to thrive in a market-like environment in which resources, discretion and accountability are school-based. Those who can learn must be trained. Those few who cannot learn must be moved out of principal positions. By making good personnel decisions, a WSF district can ensure that school-level authority is not abused.

The second major role for the superintendent is the oversight of schools. By implementing financial systems that are transparent and easy-to-use, the central office ensures not only that principals can track their budgets and expenses but also that the superintendent can monitor schools’ spending patterns. Effective oversight is essential if system leaders are to have confidence in school-site decision making.

Finally the central office should be redesigned as a service organization. Because schools have the ability to purchase from external vendors, central-office units will need to learn to price their services competitively and adjust their mix of services to best meet the needs of schools in the field.

12 Guidelines
As a district moves toward a weighted student formula, school executives also will be asked to provide informed advice to policymakers. Specifically, policymakers need assistance in setting the key financial variables of WSF: amount of total budget in the WSF pot, level of base allocation, weightings and so forth. In addition, policymakers may require help in analyzing how specific policy decisions will affect the incentives of local educators and the performance of their schools.

Based on the experiences of Edmonton, Seattle and Houston, we have compiled the following 12 guidelines for implementing WSF successfully:

No. 1: Distribute close to 100 percent of the operating budget to schools via the weighted student formula.
For principals and teachers to feel fully empowered, they need access to adequate resources. Thus the district should distribute as much of its operating budget as possible via WSF. Of the three districts we studied, Edmonton distributes the highest percentage of total district funds to principals via its weighted formula — more than 73 percent — with the remaining expenditures devoted to a variety of school programs and central-office departments. Seattle and Houston each distribute less than 55 percent of the total district budget to principals via WSF. When principals are forced to pay for the instructional program (including teacher salaries) out of a school budget that accounts for less than 55 percent of the educational funds allocated to their students, budgetary flexibility is greatly constrained.

In an ideal world, a district would distribute 90 to 95 percent of funds through WSF, with the remainder reserved for district governance, administration and state compliance. The closer a district comes to this goal, the more successful the WSF program will be.

No. 2: Allow parents to choose the public school that best fits their needs.
Public school choice complements a weighted system by creating a financial incentive for schools to improve their educational programs, thereby attracting more students (and more dollars). Importantly, weightings ensure that schools have an incentive to recruit and serve students with special needs, limited English proficiency and other difficulties.

All three WSF districts have some form of public school choice, giving each system some market-like characteristics. Edmonton’s system is particularly effective, allowing students to apply directly to any school in the system. A system like Houston’s — in which families must apply to the central office for transfers — is less desirable since parents must justify their preferences to the district, thereby inhibiting full choice.

No. 3: Phase in the financial impact of WSF over two to three years.
While a district may be tempted to implement a pilot program for a small group of schools, this approach is likely to create conflict between schools because some schools will see declines in funding as a result of the change to the formula. These are schools that have been historically overfunded on a per-pupil basis, usually schools with special magnet programs, small schools or those with more senior teaching staff.

In Houston, the financial impact was phased in for all schools over two years, giving principals time to prepare for budgetary and managerial changes while getting all schools on the new system quickly.

No. 4: Minimize subsidies for small schools.
Initially, all three of our WSF districts implemented supplemental funding mechanisms that protect small schools, which often see their budgets decline under WSF. In Edmonton, schools are given an extra allocation when their enrollment is below 350. In Seattle, all schools are given a “foundation allocation” of $194,000 (for elementary schools) to $529,000 (for high schools).

However, these adjustments are fundamentally inequitable because, by definition, they result in the underfunding of students who attend larger schools. In effect, these districts are robbing Peter (students at large schools) to pay Paul (students at small schools). Politically, though, it may be necessary for WSF districts to provide temporary subsidies to smaller schools to ease them through the transition. Houston initially subsidized small schools but has since abolished these subsidies, improving the equity of the WSF system.

No. 5: If possible, phase in the use of actual teacher salaries over 5 to 10 years.
All three WSF districts charge each school not for the actual salary of each teacher, but instead for “average teacher salaries.” This means that, for the sake of school budgets, differences in teacher salaries are ignored. Thus a first-year teacher costs the school the same as a 30-year veteran on paper. This accounting distorts the incentives of principals, making them less inclined to hire a younger teacher when they can get a more costly one for the same average salary.

Houston has devised a 10-year plan, currently postponed, that will gradually introduce the use of actual teacher salaries. We believe this extended transition is warranted since principals cannot immediately change the make-up of their teaching staff. Schools need an extended period of time to address the complex financial consequences of their hiring decisions. Because it has the potential to influence the job market for teachers, the shift to actual salaries may generate scrutiny in some districts. But to derive the full benefits of WSF, schools need to be accountable for the financial impact of their hiring decisions.

In Boston, the district has implemented a system of per-pupil budgeting for 15 pilot schools, including the Boston Community Leadership Academy. Because the school is charged for actual teacher salaries, BCLA has been able to reduce the average class size to approximately 20 students by hiring a large number of dedicated young teachers to work under the guidance of a core group of veteran teachers.

No. 6: Establish an inclusive process for making weighting decisions.
In all three WSF districts, a formal committee of principals makes decisions about the weights with input from school business officials, educational experts and policymakers. Weighting decisions should be driven by the educational needs of different types of students, and school leaders will increasingly play a key role in providing information about the relative cost (and effectiveness) of different educational programs.

Whatever the process, it is vitally important that principals, district administrators, parents and teachers all accept the weights as valid. The table below shows the different weightings used by Edmonton, Seattle and Houston in 2001-02

No. 7: Base funding on a combination of enrollment and attendance.
If a school’s funding is based purely on enrollment, then schools have a perverse incentive to overlook or even encourage absenteeism since they will receive dollars for children who are not in the school. On the other hand, a funding formula based solely on average daily attendance will be regressive, punishing schools that serve at-risk students (who are typically absent more often).

Therefore a district’s funding mechanism should be based on a mix of enrollment and attendance. In Houston, schools receive funds based on 75-25 mix of enrollment and attendance. This ensures that principals have a financial incentive to improve attendance, while protecting those schools that serve at-risk students. Edmonton uses a special system for high schools. Schools receive funding based on the number of courses successfully completed by their students, with some compensation for schools that teach lower-income students.

No. 8: Carefully evaluate grade-level differences in funding levels.
For reasons that are unclear, all three WSF districts in our study seem to underfund secondary schools relative to historical levels. In Houston, all general education students receive the same base allocation regardless of grade level, while Seattle’s mechanism gives secondary students only 89 percent of the base allocation for elementary students. Edmonton uses a complex formula to fund high schools, but the overall effect is similar. Cincinnati, another district that has recently implemented weighted funding, has taken a hybrid approach, funding grades K-3 and 9-12 at higher rates than the middle grades.

Historically, secondary schools have received up to 25 percent more funds per student, presumably because they must provide specialized courses, programs and facilities such as science labs and workshops. However, high schools also have larger class sizes, implying the need for lower per-pupil funding levels. For this reason, we believe that more research is needed to determine the relative financial needs of different grade levels.

No. 9: Give schools information on expenditures as soon and often as possible.
To make responsible spending decisions, principals need easy access to timely financial information. District data systems should be transparent, accurate and up-to-date.

With more than 20 years of WSF experience, Edmonton has done the most in this area. Each school has one staff member — usually the school secretary — trained on the district’s web-based information systems. Via this Web system, principals have immediate access to their prior month’s spending and attendance data, allowing them to track expenditures against budgets and make necessary adjustments in staffing, programs and spending.

No. 10: Make it easy for schools to purchase from outside vendors.
Schools in a WSF system are often allowed to purchase products and services from outside vendors. Central-office units compete for the schools’ business and therefore are pushing themselves to improve services. In 2000-01, Edmonton schools spent more than $8.2 million — or 2 percent of their total budget — on external service providers.

Furthermore, Edmonton makes it easy for principals to purchase from external vendors. Credit cards allow schools to make instantaneous spending decisions, and schools can spend up to $3,000 per month without generating a purchase order through the central office. To protect against abuse, however, the financial system allows district leaders to review such school spending on a monthly basis.

No. 11: Provide appropriate training for principals and support staff.
To operate in a world of managerial discretion, new principals need more training in budgeting, information technology, decision making and management. Houston and Edmonton have implemented particularly rigorous training programs for new principals.

Under WSF, the business and bookkeeping functions of a school are greatly simplified compared to traditional schools, which are allocated resources based on complicated enrollment formulas. Complex financial requests and administrative rules are largely eliminated, and with them go the corresponding administrative tasks in the school. In Edmonton, the bookkeeping function is typically delegated to the school secretary. In a large school, the principal might assign budgetary responsibilities to an assistant principal or a comp-time teacher.

No. 12: Share information on school performance with educators and parents.
For WSF to work effectively, everyone should have access to available data on student outcomes: test scores, absenteeism, graduation rates and so forth. Edmonton, Seattle and Houston all issue some form of school report card that details the school’s performance and, theoretically, helps parents to choose the school that is right for their children.

Non-WSF districts also have made strides in this area. New York City provides clear school report cards, and Los Angeles Unified makes much school data available to the public via its website.

Ideally, test scores should be reported on a value-added basis, showing average gain score between the beginning and the end of the school year. This approach is used by the nationally acclaimed Wesley School in Houston, which serves mainly disadvantaged African-American children and boasts test scores in the top 10 percent of Houston’s schools.

Second Generation
By adhering to these guidelines for implementing a weighted student formula, school leaders can provide informed advice to policymakers, ensuring that dollars follow students all the way down to the school. Drawing on lessons from Edmonton, Seattle and Houston, we hope other school systems will implement a second generation of weighted funding policies that will be even more effective than the first.

Tim DeRoche, an independent consultant and educational TV producer, can be reached at 1624 Silverwood Terrace, Los Angeles, CA 90026. E-mail: timderoche@yahoo.com. Bruce Cooper is a professor and chair of the Division of Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy at the Fordham University Graduate School of Education. William Ouchi is the Sanford and Betty Sigoloff professor in corporate renewal at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. Lydia G. Segal is Associate Professor of Law and Public Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Her latest book is Battling Corruption in America’s Public Schools (Harvard University Press, 2005). She also co-authored with William Ouchi, Making Schools Work (Simon and Schuster, 2003).

Keep focus on kids, ed panel says

2007-12-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

Keep focus on kids, ed panel says
Cannon says NCLB law shouldn't 'get in the way of progress'
By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Deseret Morning News

Published: December 3, 2007

WEST VALLEY — If there's a way to improve the federal No Child Left Behind Law, this would be it: Keep kids the focus.

That's the basis of recommendations made public Thursday by Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, and his Education Advisory Committee, headed by Andrea Rorrer, director of the Utah Education Policy Center at the University of Utah.

"What we're doing is impeding the ability to test and understand what testing means for individual students," Cannon said. "We don't want No Child Left Behind to get in the way of progress."

The recommendations, rolled out at Monroe Elementary, a nationally recognized Title I school, are more principles than plans. Yet it's the details on how to change No Child Left Behind that are sure to get sticky.

The law requires all children, regardless of race, income or disability, to be able to read and do math well by 2014. Schools must report their progress toward that goal every year. Those receiving special Title I money because they are in high-poverty areas face sanctions if they repeatedly miss the mark.

Utah has fought the law as too one-size-fits all and an affront to states' rights to govern schools. Legislators here twice considered opting out of the law, and the $109 million it brings largely to help low-income and disadvantaged children.

With the law up for reauthorization, Congress is looking at ways to fix it.

Cannon empaneled business and civic leaders, public and private school bosses, PTA members and community representatives to recommend ways to improve the federal education law. The group has been meeting since March. While Cannon is not on the committee examining law's reauthorization, he plans to forward recommendations to Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, who is.

The group suggests giving states some flexibility in how they hold schools accountable for student achievement. Maybe schools could require other yardsticks of school quality, such as school climate, or use other test subjects, like fine arts. Maybe they could hold schools accountable for how far students have come, not just how high they score.

Test scores need to come back faster — not so late that the school year has started and parents don't have options to transfer children to higher-performing schools, the group suggests. Maybe parents should get information about, and money for, tutors available to them under the law.

States should be able to define what highly qualified teachers are, rather than following a single model that has left some teachers scrambling for additional schooling some say they don't really need.

Money is needed to help the community better engage in schools, to attract and keep teachers at low-performing schools, and to help any low-income students, regardless of where they go to school, get outside tutoring.

"What we want to do is be fair to children as well as the system," said Rorrer, who says the recommendations mirror those of Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. and chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

But how to do these things will be tricky.

For instance, say special education students are allowed to take tests on their intellectual level as determined by their individual education plans, and kids learning English can take a test that shows their language acquisition instead of state-mandated tests until they become more proficient in English. The idea is to give more meaningful information on student progress.

But where do you draw the line? How do you hold schools accountable if you open the door to off-level testing, which could be used to game the system? How do you make it fair for kids, yet fairly assess whether a school is actually leaving kids behind?

The answers will not be easy to come by. But the suggestions nevertheless must be put out for discussion, said Charlene Lui, advisory committee member and director of education equality for Granite School District.

"Bottom line," she said, "I hope we're looking at what's best for individual students."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com

Barker not the typical critic of public schools

2007-12-02T14:21:00.000-08:00

Barker not the typical critic of public schools
Voucher proponent, working mom, registered Democrat keeps fighting
By Glen Warchol
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 12/02/2007 03:48:11 AM MST
Leah Barker, right, assists Antoinette Uwanyingira in finding a... (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Though Utahns would just as soon forget the ill-fated voucher referendum's shrill debates and low-road radio and TV spots, most will long recall the flamboyant personalities who fought for the program.

When it came to extraordinary quotes, of course, no one could top millionaire entrepreneur Patrick Byrne, who outraged Utahns by comparing the referendum to an IQ test - that they failed. (He later corrected himself in print, saying it was an "insanity test" Utahns bombed.)

Then there were Richard and Linda Eyres' Oreo math, which voters never swallowed. But one voucher voice has vowed to fight on for education reform, including, just maybe, a more limited tax-funded program of scholarships to private schools for low-income families.

Leah Barker, the spokeswoman for Parents for Choice in Education, says PCE aims to keep reform - including vouchers - on the state's education agenda.

"We are just going to take a step back and try to figure out what makes sense for Utah and what we can get done," Barker says.

She is heartened by a recent interview with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on KCPW radio. Huntsman, who signed vouchers into law, but would not campaign for them, now says he is interested in state-funded "mobility scholarships" that would help struggling low-income kids attend private schools.

The mobility scholarships sound very similar to a
private scholarship program, Children First Utah, run by Barker.

Colorful comments

As spokeswoman for reform, Barker breaks the mold of most public school critics who tend to skew to the political right. She's a divorced, working mom, with roots in Puerto Rico and she's a registered Democrat. "Obviously, I'm not a conservative," she says.

In the school reform debate, with its generous share of craven politicians and sanctimonious advocates on both sides, Barker brings a shot of reality. Like many parents, she does the best she can for her kids while earning a living.

"Leah always interprets the acts and policies and ideas through the children - instead of ideology," says Byrne, who is a financial supporter of Children First. "She's a great natural leader."

As director of Children First, Barker has real-world experience in helping parents find solutions outside the public schools. The program, funded at about $1 million annually, also serves as an example of how state-supported vouchers could improve the lives of low-income families, she says. Apparently Huntsman took notice.

Finally, in a debate sluggish with educational bureaucratese and political double-talk, Barker expresses her ideas in salty language that anyone can understand - even reporters.

"Leah and I have talked about this. If we just make our arguments in normal gentle English, we don't know what will come out of the media machine," says Byrne. "If we turn each point into a colorful statement, at least we know it will be quoted accurately."

When Barker went on live television to debate vouchers, PCE sent out a press statement, "Will Barker Hold Back?" warning that its spokeswoman "is known for her colorful remarks."

For example, Barker once explained to a reporter that as the child of a public school teacher, she found it hard to criticize the public school system.

"I feel like s*** talking s*** about public schools," she said. "But the system is cracked. I won't say it's broken, but it has a serious crack."

In describing the inequities of public schools, Barker explains that the poor are getting a "crap sandwich and don't even know it."

Only most of the time she doesn't use the word "crap."

Puerto Rican values

Barker grew up in a rural area of Puerto Rico where her mother struggled to become a public school teacher. Marta Carrero had married in the United States, but after she divorced, she returned to the U.S. territory for family support in raising her children.

"She had five kids on welfare. But she went to college at night to earn her B.A.," Barker remembers. Her mother eventually also earned a master's degree in education.

"She did all that while she was raising these five satanic children who were completely and totally out of control," Barker remembers, laughing. "Needless to say we were on a first-name basis with cops and judges and everyone else."

But her mother's struggle made clear the value of education. "As we went from no-meat to hamburger meat to chicken, we saw our life improve based on her education. That's why I find it so offensive when anti-voucher people act as if poor parents are not capable of making good decisions for their kids - quite the contrary."

Shortly after Barker graduated from high school in the early 1980s, her family moved to New York where her mother earned a doctorate in linguistics.

Barker later married and moved with her husband to Salt Lake City's Rose Park neighborhood. The marriage failed after 10 years.

Though she had two young children, Barker enrolled at the University of Utah to finish her college education begun in Puerto Rico. She ultimately earned a bachelor's degree in family and consumer studies, then went on to get a master's in public administration.

Meanwhile, her son and daughter were providing her with hands-on experience in navigating the public school bureaucracy.

"I had equipped my children with basic skills at home, but they were having problems," Barker says. In visiting the schools and talking with their teachers, she said she gradually realized her kids were getting a substandard education simply because they lived on the west side.

"I was so hick, coming from Puerto Rico," Barker says. "You have a sense that there is equity in education in the U.S. I moved to Rose Park for the diversity. I had no idea the public schools wouldn't perform as well as schools on the east side. It took me some time to figure out what was happening here."

State School Board Chairman Kim Burningham, a high-profile spokesman against vouchers, says such disparities, whether between neighborhoods, districts or states, "isn't right."

"That troubles me. All our schools are important," he says. "All our schools should seek to provide equal educational opportunities."

He hopes that open enrollment and other in-district reforms will offset the inequalities of neighborhoods.
Baker calls such promises "pablum." She, like many on the West side, was trapped.

"I couldn't afford to move out of Rose Park. But I couldn't get the school to respond to me no matter how hard I tried or how much I was involved," she remembers. "The biggest lie is that if you are involved in your child's education, it ought to work for your kids. It's just not true."

Barker gambled that driving her kids to schools on Salt Lake's affluent east side under the district's then-new open-enrollment plan would arrest her son's slide.

"The district gave me the runaround until I told them I would go all the way to the Governor's Office," she says. "I should have done it sooner, but I didn't know. Open enrollment is the best kept secret in Utah public education. Unless you start bitching, you'll never hear about it."

Helping kids

When Barker, who was working for the county in low-income housing, saw an ad four years ago for director of Children First Utah, she applied. "It was like the job was created for me."

Her own kids, by the way, did not qualify for the program because it focuses on elementary school children.
Children First provides up to $1,800 annually in scholarships for low-income students to attend private schools and has placed 375 kids. Another 2,000 families are on the waiting list, Barker says.

"We have a zero marketing program," Barker says. "They find us."
Lisa Johnson, spokeswoman for Utahns for Public Education that led voucher opposition says, "Private scholarships for private schools are a great. We have limited resources when we use public funds. We have to make sure they are used wisely for all the children of the state."

As for funneling state money into "mobility scholarships," Burningham acknowledges that approach makes a lot more sense than a universal voucher system that provides money to all families, rich or poor. "It's rationally more sensible. I've often wondered why it wasn't that kind of program that got through [the Legislature] in the first place," he says.

Barker remains skeptical of arguments that the public system, with increased funding, can reform itself.
"I don't think the public school system is going to reform itself until it absolutely has to, until we choke it. Until we put our foot on its throat and say, 'Change or die!' ''
warchol@sltrib.com

Leah Barker

* JOBS: Spokeswoman, Parents for Choice in Education; Director, Children First Utah
* EDUCATION: Bachelor's, family and consumer studies; master's in public administration
* POLITICS: Pro-voucher Democrat
* FAMILY: Two children
* POST-ELECTION GOALS: Keep education reform on the agenda

test

2007-11-28T15:09:00.001-08:00

testing

_________________________
Randy C. Smith
Program Manager
L-3 Communications, CS-West
Randy.C.Smith@L-3com.com
Phone: 801-594-3352
Mobile: 801-548-3403

4th-graders losing ground on literacy

2007-11-28T15:05:00.001-08:00

4th-graders losing ground on literacy

By NANCY ZUCKERBROD, AP Education Writer

U.S. fourth-graders have lost ground in reading ability compared with kids around the world, according to results of a global reading test.

Test results released Wednesday showed U.S. students, who took the test last year, scored about the same as they did in 2001, the last time the test was given — despite an increased emphasis on reading under the No Child Left Behind law.

Still, the U.S. average score on the Progress in International Reading Literacy test remained above the international average. Ten countries or jurisdictions, including Hong Kong and three Canadian provinces, were ahead of the United States this time. In 2001, only three countries were ahead of the United States.

The 2002 No Child Left Behind law requires schools to test students annually in reading and math, and imposes sanctions on schools that miss testing goals.

The U.S. performance on the international test of 45 nations or jurisdictions differed somewhat from results of a U.S. national reading test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation's report card. Fourth-grade reading scores rose modestly on the most recent version of that test, taken earlier this year and measuring growth since 2005. During the previous two-year period, scores were flat.

On the latest international exam, U.S. students posted a lower average score than students in Russia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, Hungary, Italy and Sweden, along with the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

Last time, Russia, Hong Kong and Singapore were behind the United States.

Hong Kong and Singapore have taken steps since then, such as increasing teacher preparation, providing more tutoring and raising public awareness about the importance of reading, said Ina Mullis, co-director of the International Study Center at Boston College, which conducts the international reading literacy study.

The results also showed:

_Among jurisdictions that took the test in 2001 and 2006, scores improved in Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Russia, Singapore, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.

_Average test scores declined in England, Lithuania, Morocco, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden. England, the Netherlands and Sweden were the top three performers in 2001. Sweden still outperformed the United States this time, but average scores in England and the Netherlands were not measurably different from the U.S. average.

_Girls scored higher than boys in the United States and all other countries except for Luxembourg and Spain, where the boy-girl scores were the same.

_The average U.S. score was above the average score in 22 countries or jurisdictions and about the same as the score in 12 others. The U.S. average fell toward the high end of a level called "intermediate." At that level, a student can identify central events, plot sequences and relevant story details in texts. The student also can make straightforward inferences from what is read and begin to make connections across parts of the text.

Background questionnaires administered to students, teachers and school administrators showed that the average years of experience for fourth-grade teachers in the United States decreased from 15 years to 12 years between 2001 and 2006. The international average was 17 years.

U.S. kids seem to get more reading instruction than others. U.S. teachers were more likely to report teaching reading for more than six hours per week than those elsewhere.

___

On the Net:

Information about the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study:

What I mistakenly called a statewide IQ test was actually an insanity test

2007-11-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

What I mistakenly called a statewide IQ test was actually an insanity test
By Patrick Byrne
Article Last Updated: 11/17/2007 12:40:59 PM MST

I respond to your several readers' "deep offense" at my Election-Day assertion that Referendum 1 would be "a statewide IQ test." While it is never my goal to cause offense, I will likely cause more offense now by explaining that Utah's public schools are weak and getting worse.

Here is why I say that. For historical and socioeconomic reasons, when examining results in education, one must disaggregate ethnicities, lest one measure racial composition more than achievement.

Thus, for example, the 2007 National Assessment of Education Progress shows Utah's white eighth-graders rank 38th in the nation in math, 39th in writing and 41st in reading. That is, Utah's white kids rank at the lowest 20 percent mark of their peers in a country which is itself 25th out of 30 industrial countries. Taken together, this suggests that Utah's white children are in the bottom 5 percent internationally.

How do we do for minorities? According to the Utah State Office of Education, 49 percent of Utah's Latino and African-American children do not receive a high school diploma and 42 percent just drop out, so they are even worse off. Collectively, I think it fair to call these results "weak."

Here is why Utah's public schools will likely worsen: For 15 years costs have been expanding at 7.9 percent annually. Our schools' current enrollment of 540,000 kids will swell to 700,000 in 10 years, another 30 percent increase.
Advertisement

In real terms, the cost of Utah's public education system will double over 10 years. Therefore, simply to stay even we must double tax revenues or class sizes.

Welcome to the next 10 years of Utah politics: parents opposed to doubling class sizes fighting taxpayers opposed to doubling tax rates.

So Utah's public schools are weak and will probably worsen due to demographic pressures. Of course, I am not blaming children. I am blaming adults whose concern for their children is so minimal, or whose grasp of the global economy is so weak, that they can say, "Being in the bottom 20 percent of the nation and bottom 5 percent of the modern world is good enough for my kids!"

Most respectfully, I do not know what to make of adults who, when presented with an innovative plan to give options to Utah families, a plan heavily slanted toward low-income families, a plan which even its own detractors estimated would be limited to 0.3 percent of students and would not even be paid for out of the schools' budget, collectively said, "Innovation? No way! Let's just stick with what we have."

Nor do I know what to make of Utah's governor, who as a candidate told me that "my main purpose in running for governor is to bring vouchers to Utah," and "I want to be 'the Voucher Governor,'" and "I want my legacy to be vouchers," but who then sat out what became the most divisive political battle in Utah's living memory nursing an 80 percent-plus approval rating.

Albert Einstein purportedly defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." I did misspeak: Referendum 1 was not "an IQ test." It was (by Einstein's definition) an insanity test. I hope Utah's parents are not expecting results different from those in the national and international rankings cited above. And it's all going downhill from there to the tune of empty bromides about "commitment to our public schools" which stimulate blind loyalty instead of critical examination.

I wish this situation would "deeply offend" Tribune readers, and Utah's voters, as much as the imagery I have employed trying to awaken them to it.
---
* PATRICK M. BYRNE is CEO and chairman of Internet retailer Overstock.com. He contributed $2.6 million to the campaign to approve Referendum 1, the private school voucher law passed by the Utah Legislature that was rejected by voters statewide on Nov. 6.

There is nothing we did that was dishonest according to Superintendent Bowles

2007-11-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

Schools may not get passing grade
By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Deseret Morning News
Published: November 10, 2007

Dozens of Utah schools that squeaked through No Child Left Behind's requirements based on a couple of obscure rules likely will be red-flagged as not passing after all.

Last month, Granite and Alpine school districts were seeking to allow 34 schools to make adequate yearly progress toward achievement goals based on new federal guidance on test-score averaging and students with disabilities. Davis School District had used those rules in at least some appeals.

State associate superintendent Judy Park has been looking into whether the same opportunity should be extended to districts that didn't know about those rules. Friday, she told the state school board nobody can grant appeals based on those two rules, citing stands taken by district superintendents.

"This is a huge change in philosophy and practice at the state office," Park said.

And not all school districts are buying into it.

"I don't care what they put on that state Web site — it can say we're all flying to the moon. The reality is, the local district decides," Davis Superintendent Bryan Bowles said Friday. "I stand by the designations of our schools as we released them. There was nothing we did that was dishonest."

No Child Left Behind expects all students, regardless of race, income or disability, to be able to read and do math well by 2014. States issue reports measuring "adequate yearly progress," or AYP, toward the goal.

Last spring, 256 Utah schools failed to make AYP, the state education office reported.

The federal department allows schools to appeal AYP designations for serious calculation errors or extreme circumstances like natural disaster that affect test taking.

This year, 61 schools made AYP on appeal — the highest number in four years, according to State Office of Education data obtained by the Deseret Morning News through a Government Records Access and Management Act request. The all-time high came in 2003, when the law was new and 81 schools appealed.

Utah has more than 900 public schools.

Reasons for appeals are not all certain.

The federal government recently started allowing schools to average scores or their participation rates over the past three years to help them make AYP. It also has said students no longer needing special education services still can have their test scores count in the students with disabilities subgroup for two years.

Those changes are not in Utah's AYP plan. But Davis School District used them in some of its 17 appeals this year, more than triple last year's count and more than any other Utah district.

Alpine and Granite districts also petitioned Park's office to use the three-year average rule, which would change designations of about 35 schools.

But Park worried that smaller districts had not learned of the new rules and therefore would be disadvantaged in AYP tallies.

Twelve superintendents decided Oct. 24 not to re-run school AYP reports based on those rules and instead suggested rule changes for next year, Park told the State Board of Education Friday.

A later superintendents meeting brought other changes, including letting the state this year grant appeals only for calculation error or extreme circumstance. But Bowles says superintendents were split on those moves. He notes federal law hands responsibility for adequate yearly progress strictly to the school districts.

But a U.S. Department of Education audit also has found Utah not adhering to dozens of No Child Left Behind rules, including loose appeals oversight.

"I believe as a school board ... we've bowed out of the whole process more than we should," State Board of Education member Dixie Allen said.

The state now will determine whether any appeals should be overturned and how that might affect low-income schools facing sanctions for repeat underperformance. Reports will be made public Dec. 14.

Utah School Choice Referendum has Unions Dancing in their Pants

2007-11-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

Expresso.com
November 07, 2007
Utah School Choice Referendum has Unions Dancing in their Pants

While this is certainly a blow for families in Utah for whom the status quo is not good enough, the cold hard truth is that this initiative’s fate had nothing to do with school choice and whether or not it is right, good or popular.

A good friend of ours deeply involved with the politics of education reform says, “If you have 30 minutes to sit down with each voter – like you would with a legislator – you can make a strong case for why these reforms are important. But with voters, it’s all about five-second sound bites. The ‘this destroys public schools’ argument, no matter how bogus, rings clearer in voters minds than anything reformers can come up with.”

Every year, parents all over the country have a choice of where to send their kids to school. Every year, millions of parents (and that number is growing) choose something other than the traditional public school to school to which their family is assigned.

The proof that Americans -- and parents specifically -- want choice is incontrovertible.

But Americans are skittish about making policy at the ballot box. While they support the right to make choices for themselves, they are reluctant to do that for others. They entrust that job to their elected representatives – the very legislators who established the Utah voucher program in the first place.

Unfortunately, the parents and families working together at a grassroots level to support this program were no match for the tens of millions of dollars that poured into Utah from teachers’ unions across the country. Voucher opponents took this fight to a national level, spending $144 for every teacher in Utah to stop the program. And because PAC contributions in the Utah teachers’ union is significantly down, much funding came from the National Education Association, headquarters in Washington, D.C.

In contrast, Parents for Choice in Education raised 84 percent of their campaign funding locally in Utah. Working hard at the grassroots level, this powerful group of parents held their own against an indestructible union with deep pockets.

This defeat is a lesson in American government and the power of campaign funding, not a statement on school choice. And the victims of this defeat are the children and families who saw this program as a way to escape the educational straightjacket of failing public schools.

Romney Wants Tax Help for Home Schooling

2007-11-08T19:57:00.001-08:00

The New York Times

November 7, 2007
Romney Wants Tax Help for Home Schooling
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:16 p.m. ET

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Parents who home school their children should get a tax credit to help offset the expense of teaching, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Wednesday.

''I also believe parents who are teaching their kids at home, homeschoolers, deserve a break, and I've asked for a tax credit to help parents in their homes with the cost of being an at-home teacher,'' he said.

Romney supports giving parents more educational options, through charter schools or vouchers, but he said legislation should be done on a state level.

''I really hesitate to have the federal government become too involved in local schools,'' he said.

Romney also said teachers are underpaid and better teachers should be rewarded with more money.

''I'd like to see there be a relationship between the pay of the teacher and their performance, their career track, their ability to mentor other students,'' Romney told more than 100 people at a children's museum in this early voting state. ''We need to treat teachers like the professionals they are and not like people manufacturing widgets on an assembly line.''

Romney downplayed the news that rival Rudy Giuliani had won the endorsementt of televangelist Pat Robertson, touting his own endorsement from Bob Jones University chancellor Bob Jones III instead. The Christian fundamentalist school is located in conservative northwest South Carolina.

''I can't get all the social conservatives to endorse my candidacy,'' Romney told reporters. ''I'm really pleased with the support I've got. The people who have the ultimate say are the voters.''

Romney also said he was not surprised that former rival Sam Brownback threw his support behind colleague John McCain on Wednesday.

They ''have worked together in the Senate for a long time and that's probably to be expected,'' he said.

On teacher pay, Romney said each state should decide the compensation. He said as governor, he pushed for a $15,000 bonus package for the best teachers in Massachusetts, including $5,000 bonuses for math and science teachers and $5,000 bonuses for teachers deemed in the top third of a school.

School board agrees to tax rollback

2007-11-07T02:13:00.001-08:00

School board agrees to tax rollback
Dallin Koecher 23.AUG.07
FARMINGTON — Many pinched pocketbooks will soon find some property tax relief.

The Davis School District Tuesday approved a tax abatement plan, easing some of the sting of recently proposed property tax hikes.

After the public hearing two weeks ago, the board “seriously listened to the comments” made by the public before making a final decision, according to School Board President Marian Storey.

“We hope that we have made a responsible decision,” she said.

Bruce Williams, business administrator for the board, presented the plan Tuesday that would provide relief to tax payers of Davis County.

Back in June, the board tentatively approved the budget for the 2007-2008 school year, which would require a tax increase of about $35 on a $210,000 home, Williams said.

At the time the proposed budget originally was presented in June, the county hadn’t yet completed property tax assessments because final certified numbers weren’t available from the state. But when tax notices were mailed in July, it became clear that adjustments were needed.

“The valuation in July was significantly higher, meaning the district would receive more money than had been expected,” Williams said. As it turned out the school district would net an additional $4.5 million.

Williams broke down the numbers to show the board exactly what was happening, and how an abatement plan would use the extra $4.5 million from the school district and $1 million from the county to benefit taxpayers.

He used an actual property assessment for a family living in the county. Last year their property was valued at $245,920. This year the same property was assessed at $394,546, a 60 percent increase, making the total taxes for the family $2555.16 — $965.83 more than last year.

If the new tax were implemented this family would pay $66.86 more to the school district.

The school board voted to accept the county’s plan, which would take the surplus growth money and use it for the abatement plan.

Williams said homes where the property values went up by more than 24 percent (the county average) would receive a $100 tax credit for every $20,000 of valuation above the 24 percent line.

In Williams’ example, their home’s property value rose by 60 percent, making it eligible for the tax abatement.

The home was worth $89,000 above the 24 percent line, resulting in a $450 tax credit. This would decrease the planned tax hike from $965 to about $515.

Barbara Smith, board member, summed up the options saying if the county decided not to raise taxes it would save the example family only $66.86. But if they move forward with the tax increase coupled with the abatement plan, it would save that family $450.

Board member Bill Moore, Bountiful, said he received more negative comments from the public about taxes than changing school boundaries. He was grateful that “a compromise has been reached.”

Carol Lear on Open Enrollment

2007-10-31T14:35:00.000-07:00

Jordan school split may not cut into choice
By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Deseret Morning News
Published: October 29, 2007
School choice is dear to the Gawrych family, whose four children have special permits to attend public schools outside the boundaries of their Sandy neighborhood school.

But mother Julie Gawrych wonders what might happen to that choice, also enjoyed by 13,500 other Jordan District students, if voters decide to split the district into two, or even three, separate agencies on Nov. 6.

"There are many parents who are concerned about school choice," said Gawrych, who lives in the Copperview Elementary neighborhood but takes her children to Brookwood Elementary and Albion Middle School closer to the east bench. "If my school choice is endangered, definitely, that would be a big issue."

The chief of school law and legislation for the State Office of Education wonders if a new district would have to halt school choice until financial and boundary matters are addressed.

"Yes, of course all the school open enrollment options (under state law) would apply" in a new district, said attorney Carol Lear. "But implementing them in this new environment would be really tricky. ... (For) the students moving between districts, it's going to be difficult to figure out."

But advocates of a school district split say school choice would not be a problem should voters approve of the idea.

"To me, a new school district is going to enhance choice," said Brian Allen, vice chairman of the group, Citizens for Small School Districts. Stating otherwise "is one of those red herrings they throw out there to scare people."

Utah law generally allows students to attend public schools outside of their neighborhood or even their school district, so long as there's room.

The public school choice option apparently is popular in the state's largest school district.

Of some 80,000 Jordan District students, 7,367 elementary, 3,117 middle, and 3,043 high school students attend schools outside their neighborhood school's boundaries (including transfers outside the district and to special programs like Valley High alternative school and Itineris charter school with Salt Lake Community College), district numbers show.

That's about 13,500 students, or about 1 out of every 6, exercising school choice within the traditional public school system. About half of them live in the proposed new east-side district.

Most permit students don't cross the east-west divide.

For example, of 142 permit students at Butler Middle School, just four are from the west side, and 26 are from outside the district.

Mount Jordan Middle School has 19 west-siders, more than any other east-side middle school. That's about 23 percent of the 84 transfers into the school.

At Alta High, 19 percent of 111 permit students are from the west side.

Jordan schools also take in nearly 700 students from other school districts, 39 percent of whom attend east-side schools.

They also give up 2,662 students to other school districts. Of them, 115 are from Brighton High. Lear says students for decades have migrated north to Granite District's Skyline High.

Nov. 6, voters in Sandy, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Alta and Midvale will decide whether to secede from the Jordan School District. The new east-side district would contain 33,500 students and 45 schools. West Jordan voters also will decide whether to create a city school district, which would have 20,600 students and 23 schools.

Those opposing the splits have worried about sustaining programs such as gifted and other magnet programs and those for children with severe, multiple disabilities. Such specialty schools and property such as district offices will be divvied up by transition teams representing the old and new districts.

In the mix are school choice concerns.

Choice always is less complicated within the same school district, Lear says. If that's the case, then the majority of transfer students, including the Gawrych family, may be able to rest easy.

But "it's going to be a mess if you're going to sort out where kids have gone, where they want to go — all those things are going to be multiplied with new districts," Lear said.

When a student transfers out of a school district, leaders use a special formula to calculate how much money to give the student's new school district to cover the cost of the child's education. But will a new school district have a handle on what the local portion would be? What about being able to draw boundaries, a process that some school districts have undergone using only neighborhood enrollments, and not students attending the schools by choice? Lear believes answers are not simple.

"I think this is an area certainly people are thinking about ... it is more complex than what most people concern themselves with," Lear said. "Splits don't lend themselves to quickly letting kids go back and forth."

School districts do have the right to put a moratorium on school choice for a period of time while it aligns its schools, Lear said.

But that won't have to happen, said Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, who carried smaller school districts legislation.

School choice, she said, "will be the same with the new (east-side) school district. Those living on the west and wanting to go to school on the east can continue to do that. ... I don't see any problem or conflict. We have talked through that and that will continue with the rules as they were before."

Allen notes the split would not disrupt a single school feeder system and that boundaries probably won't have to change.

The matter really comes down to trust. There is no school board in place to bring petitions or questions about school choice, policy or governance. Cities initiating these ballot questions will not run the school districts.

Those passionate about breaking away, however, are likely to seek a school board seat. And Allen is certain those new board members will be eager to hear from and respond to their new constituents — a big reason why they're seeking to form their own agency in the first place — as they get established.

The new board will be elected in June and take office in mid-July, then have a year to create governance model, policies and other matters associated with running a school district.

"If I have any involvement in it ... I would say look, we'll allow choice; that's what's fundamental in providing parents the opportunity to get the best education for their kids," Allen said. "The vision is they're going to pull the community together. I have faith in the process, I have faith in people."

E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com
© 2007 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved