Building on several states’ success in raising reading achievement in the early grades, a major new report from the nonprofit Southern Regional Education Board urges states to develop comprehensive adolescent literacy policies that establish improvement in middle grades and high school reading and writing as the most immediate critical priority for public schools.
The recommendations developed by the Committee and published in the report call for states to:
* Develop statewide policies that establish improvement in reading as the top priority in all public middle grades and high schools. These policies can be set out by executive order, legislation or state board of education action. They should be embraced by all state leaders and bodies, because this work will require sustained, serious attention.
* Identify the specific reading skills students need to improve their achievement in key academic subjects. This will help more students meet each state’s academic standards.
* Change the curricula to include the reading skills identified as crucial for students in each subject.
* Help teachers share subject-specific reading strategies with students. The report emphasizes that all teachers are not expected to become reading specialists or reading teachers, but they need to understand the core reading strategies that will help students learn better in each subject. This likely will require changes in teacher preparation and professional development in most states.
* Assist struggling readers so that those who are behind can catch up before they become likely high school dropouts.
* Call for state education agencies to work with local school systems across the region to make sure these changes begin to take place and that every educator knows higher reading skills are the top priority in public education.
Complete report:
http://www.sreb.org/publications/2009/09E01_Critical_Mission_Reading_.pdf
Weighted Student Formula Produces Good Results In Some of the Country's Biggest Cities
Weighted Student Formula Yearbook offers an in-depth look at how schools and districts using "backpack" funding are improving student outcomes
Much of our education funding is wasted on bureaucracy. The money never actually makes it into the classroom in the form of books, computers, supplies, or even salaries for better teachers. Weighted student formula changes that. Using weighted student formula’s decentralized system, education funds are attached to each student and the students can take that money directly to the public school of their choice.
At least 15 major school districts have moved to this system of backpack funding. Reason Foundation’s new Weighted Student Formula Yearbook examines how the budgeting system is being implemented in each of these places and, based on the real-world data, creates a series of “best practices” that other districts and states can follow to improve the quality of their schools.
“To make schools more responsive and accountable to parents and students we need to stop wasting money in central and district offices and get the money flowing directly into classrooms,” said Lisa Snell, author of the Weighted Student Formula Yearbook and director of education at Reason Foundation. “In places where parents have school choice and districts empower their principals and teachers we are seeing increased learning and better test scores.”
The results from districts using student-based funding are promising. Prior to 2008, less than half of Hartford, Connecticut’s education money made it to the classroom. Now, over 70 percent makes it there. As a result, the district’s schools posted the largest gains, over three times the average increase, on the state’s Mastery Tests in 2007-08.
San Francisco Unified School District has outperformed the comparable large school districts on the California Standards Tests for seven straight years. A greater percentage of San Francisco Unified students graduate from high school than almost any other large urban public school system in the country. And across the Bay, Oakland has produced the largest four-year gain among large urban districts on California’s standardized tests since implementing results-based budgeting in 2004.
In 2008, Baltimore City Schools faced a $76.9 million budget shortfall. But Superintendent Andres Alonso instituted weighted student formula. He identified $165 million in budget cuts at the central office to eliminate the deficit and redistributed approximately $88 million in central office funds to the schools. By the 2010 school year, Alonso will have cut 489 non-essential teaching jobs from the central office, redirecting 80 percent of the district’s operating budget to schools.
The Weighted Student Formula Yearbook identifies key principles that improve educational outcomes as well as the transparency and accountability of our schools:
1. Funding should follow the child to the public school of their choice;
2. Per student funding should vary based on a child’s educational needs, with special education students and others receiving larger amounts;
3. Funding should arrive at individual schools in real dollars, not in numbers of teaching positions or staffing ratios.
The experience with weighted student formula also shows that one of the most important factors in the success of schools is decentralized decision-making. As such, Snell finds principals should have autonomy over their budgets and hiring teachers. This local flexibility allows principals to tailor their schools to best fit the needs of their students.
Boston Report:
http://reason.org/files/wsf/boston.pdf
Weighted Student Formula Yearbook Online:
http://reason.org/files/wsf/yearbook.pdf
Research Shows Alarming Rates of LGBT Student Victimization in Michigan
Michigan schools are unsafe places for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) youth, according to a new GLSEN research brief released as Michigan students prepare for the 13th annual National Day of Silence on April 17.
Inside Michigan Schools: The Experiences of LGBT Students, a report based on findings from 217 Michigan students who participated in the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s 2007 National School Climate Survey, shows that Michigan LGBT students face extreme levels of harassment and assault, skip school at alarming rates because of feeling unsafe and perform poorer in school when they are more frequently harassed.
Nearly nine out of 10 Michigan LGBT students experienced verbal harassment in the past year because of their sexual orientation, almost a half said they had been physically harassed and a fifth said they had been physically assaulted.
“As Michigan students prepare for the National Day of Silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT bullying and harassment, we learn just how pervasive the problem is in Michigan schools,” GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. “Despite several opportunities to pass a comprehensive anti-bullying law, Michigan has lagged behind other states in taking the simple and effective steps to begin addressing anti-LGBT bullying and harassment. Michigan and all its schools need to commit to making sure that schools are safe for all students.”
A comprehensive anti-bullying law that included a list of categories often targeted for bullying – such as race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity/expression – died last year in the Senate Education Committee, despite having passed the House. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate this year.
Enumerating categories is particularly important in protecting LGBT students from bullying. The 2007 National School Climate Survey found that having a general policy is about as effective for protecting LGBT students as having no policy at all.
"GLSEN has done a great service for all who care about the safety of our kids in school. While no student should be bullied, it is clear from their research that LGBT students are desperately in need of better school policies and practices for their basic safety needs,” Michigan Equality Co-Director Julie Nemecek said. “Michigan Equality encourages the representatives and senators of Michigan to read the research brief and act accordingly to bring clear and unambiguous protection to these very vulnerable children. No child should have to overcome constant harassment and bullying to get an education."
That sentiment is the spirit behind the Day of Silence, an annual student-led event across the country during which students take some form of a constitutionally protected vow of silence. Students from more than 329 Michigan middle and high schools registered as participants in 2008 out of more than 7,500 across the country.
Major Findings
# 97% of Michigan LGBT students regularly (sometimes, often or frequently) heard the word gay used in a negative way in school, such as “that’s so gay.” 97% LGBT students regularly heard homophobic remarks, such as “faggot” or “dyke,” from other students in school.
# 87% of LGBT students were verbally harassed, 45% were physically harassed and 21% were physically assaulted in the past year because of their sexual orientation.
# More than two-thirds (68%) of LGBT students were verbally harassed, 31% were physically harassed and 13% were physically assaulted because of their gender expression.
# 66% of LGBT students who were harassed or assaulted in school never reported it to school staff. Only 29% of students who did report incidents said that reporting resulted in effective intervention by school staff.
# 34% of LGBT students had skipped class at least once in the past month because they felt unsafe, and 32% had missed at least one entire day of school for this reason. Students who were more frequently verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation were more than twice as likely to miss days of school because they felt unsafe than students who were less frequently harassed (45% to 22%).
# The grade point average of LGBT students who were more frequently physically harassed because of their sexual orientation was a half grade lower than of students who were less frequently harassed (2.3 vs. 2.9).
# Michigan is one of 43 states that does not explicitly protect students from bullying and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Only 18% of LGBT students reported that their school had this type of comprehensive anti-bullying policy.
About the National School Climate Survey
The National School Climate Survey is a biennial report examining the experiences of LGBT middle and high school students in U.S. schools. The report, which was first released in 1999 and is the only national survey of its kind, documents the anti-LGBT bias and behaviors that make schools unsafe for many of these youth. The full 2007 sample consisted of a 6,209 LGBT secondary school students, from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, between the ages of 13 and 21.
About GLSEN
GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. Established nationally in 1995, GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes to creating a more vibrant and diverse community. For information on GLSEN’s research, educational resources, public policy advocacy, student organizing programs and educator training initiatives, visit www.glsen.org.
Full study:
http://www.glsen.org/binary-data/GLSEN_ATTACHMENTS/file/000/001/1383-1.PDF
New IIE Survey Examines Response by U.S. Higher Education to European Higher Education Area Reforms; Briefing Paper Outlines Doctoral Universities' Policies Toward Bologna-Compliant Degrees
Ten years ago, in June 1999, a group of 29 European Ministers signed the Bologna Declaration with the goal of establishing the European Higher Education Area by 2010 and promoting the European system of higher education world-wide. This week, 46 European Higher Education Area Ministers will gather for the 5th biennial EHEA Ministerial Conference, to take stock of the first decade of this initiative and jointly define goals for the coming years.
The changes in higher education policy and practices in Europe that have resulted from this initiative, collectively known as the Bologna Process, are having a global impact, stimulating significant worldwide discussion on higher education collaboration and cooperation. Recent debate in the United States higher education community has raised questions regarding whether doctoral granting universities are prepared to handle students who graduate from European universities with Bologna-compliant degrees, and how the changes will affect the flow of students in both directions across the Atlantic. The Institute of International Education has conducted a survey and published a new report, "Three-Year Bologna-Compliant Degrees: Responses From U.S. Graduate Schools," to address these issues. (Download the IIE Briefing Paper at http://www.iie.org/briefingpapers).
This ambitious effort to create transparency across diverse European national educational systems now has 46 signatory countries encompassing all of Europe, with the exception of Belarus. Collectively these countries represent nearly 25 percent of the world's nations and a large portion of the developed world, and have nearly 4,000 higher education institutions within their borders. Further, they represent 13 percent of the total international student population in the U.S., with nearly 84,000 students.
At this juncture, it is important to look at the changes that have occurred through the Bologna Process in the context of transatlantic exchange, and how they affect the way U.S. higher education institutions are approaching graduate admissions, awarding transfer credit and credit for study abroad, and advancing institutional linkages.
To this end, the Institute of International Education (IIE) conducted an online survey of U.S. doctoral-granting universities in early fall of 2008 to examine the following questions: What level of understanding of the Bologna reforms and recognition of Bologna-compliant credentials exists in the United States? More specifically, how are three-year undergraduate Bologna-compliant credentials viewed for admission to U.S. graduate study?
This snapshot survey shows relatively high levels of knowledge about the Bologna Process among survey respondents, who represented 167 programs at 120 U.S. institutions. Respondents also indicated that graduate admissions staff and graduate deans had a strong grasp of the Bologna reforms. More than half of respondents said their institutions had an official policy in place to guide the admissions response to three-year Bologna-compliant degrees; within this group, a third tended to view three-year Bologna-compliant degrees as equivalent to U.S. four-year degrees, and another third decided equivalency on a case-by-case basis. Respondents felt that the applicant's preparation for study in the specific field remained a much more important factor in academic faculty decisions than degree length. Yet despite the high levels of knowledge and formalized admissions procedures related to three-year Bologna-compliant degrees, most respondents said that at the moment, few applicants to their institutions hold these credentials. Graduate professionals commented that they are closely monitoring the evolution of the Bologna Process and that the EHEA reforms have created an opportunity on some campuses for larger discussions how international credentials are perceived and evaluated.
The Institute of International Education (http://www.iie.org/), an independent, nonprofit organization founded in 1919, is the world's most experienced global higher education and professional exchange organization. IIE has a network of 20 offices worldwide, more than 1,000 college and university members, and more than 5,000 volunteers. IIE designs and implements programs of study and training for students, educators, young professionals and trainees from all sectors with funding from government and private sources. These programs include the Fulbright and Humphrey Fellowships and the Gilman Scholarships administered for the U.S. Department of State.
IIE Briefing Papers are a rapid response to the changing landscape of international education, offering timely snapshots of critical issues in the field. They are intended as a resource for the higher education community and other interested individuals, as well as for print, broadcast and online journalists interested in covering developments in international education.
Program Improves Language Skills in Deaf, Hard of Hearing
Children enrolled before they are six months old in a home-based program that teaches language skills to the deaf or hard of hearing are not only able to achieve appropriate language skills but also to maintain them over time, according to a new study.
The study underscores the importance of appropriate follow-up of newborn hearing screens that determine whether a more detailed evaluation of a baby’s hearing by an audiologist is needed, according to Jareen Meinzen-Derr, PhD, a researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the study’s main author.
The researchers studied 328 children enrolled in Ohio’s universal newborn hearing screening program. As is the case in many states, all infants born in Ohio hospitals or birthing centers receive hearing screenings before discharge. These screenings determine whether a more detailed evaluation of a baby’s hearing is needed.
Newborns enrolled before 6 months of age were more likely to have age appropriate language skills than children enrolled at or after 6 months, the study found. They also maintained age appropriate skills through the age of 3 – the age at which early intervention services cease. Children enrolled at or after six months had lower baseline language skills but made significant language progress, possibly catching up to the group enrolled at an earlier age, irrespective of severity of hearing loss, according to Dr. Meinzen-Derr. The researchers did not study children past the age of three to determine the level of their language skills.
“It is important for pediatricians and family physicians to ensure that families follow up on initial screenings that indicate a possible problem with a more thorough evaluation,” says Susan Wiley, MD, a developmental pediatrician at Cincinnati Children’s and a co-author of the study.
“Early intervention can and does have a great impact. We need to preserve early intervention services during these difficult economic times.”
U of Minnesota study finds high school teachers influence student views of evolution & creationism
College students' views about evolution and creationism are often shaped by what they learned in their high school biology classes, according to a University of Minnesota study published in the May issue of BioScience, the journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences.
Co-authors Randy Moore and Sehoya Cotner, professors in the College of Biological Sciences, surveyed 1,000 students taking introductory biology classes at the University of Minnesota to learn how biology majors view evolution compared to non-majors. Results showed that the two groups' views were similar and revealed that high school biology teachers influence whether majors and non-majors college students accept evolution or question it based on creationism.
About two thirds of students from both groups said their high school biology class included evolution and not creationism. Only 1 to 2 percent of classes covered creationism and not evolution. And 6 to 13 percent of classes did not cover either evolution or creationism. But 29 percent of majors and 21 percent of non-majors said their high school biology class covered both evolution and creationism.
Students whose high school biology class included creationism (with or without evolution) were more likely to accept creationist views as entering college students. Similarly, students exposed to evolutionism but not creationism were more likely to accept evolution in college. For example, 72 to 78 percent of students exposed to evolution only agreed that it is scientifically valid while 57 to 59 percent of students who were exposed to creationism agreed that it can be validated.
"I've long known that many biology teachers teach creationism, but was surprised to learn they have such a strong impact," said Randy Moore, professor of biology and lead author. "It's unfortunate that so many teachers think their religious beliefs are science. Teachers who don't teach evolution deny students the understanding of one of the greatest principles in history."
"I was shocked that there weren't bigger differences between majors and non-majors," said Sehoya Cotner, associate professor of biology. "Evolution is the foundation of the entire discipline. It leads me to believe that these students are probably interested in biology for reasons besides gaining a full understanding and appreciation of the science."
The article included a review of previous studies that explain why so many high school biology teachers endorse creationism. The studies say that more than 25 percent of biology teachers do not know it is unconstitutional to teach creationism. One third didn't major in biology in college and never studied evolution. One fourth believe that creationism can be proven scientifically. Administrators, parents or colleagues may pressure them. There are usually no consequences for teachers who do not cover evolution or who teach creationism.
The authors are interested in working with high school biology teachers -- and particularly with college students who plan to teach biology -- to improve their understanding of evolution and develop best practices for covering sensitive topics such as human evolution and life's origins.
Teen drug education also helps curb risky sexual behavior, study finds
School-based drug education programs for adolescents can have a long-term positive impact on sexual behavior in addition to curbing substance abuse, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Researchers found that young adults who had been exposed to a popular drug abuse prevention program as adolescents were less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior five to seven years later, according to the findings published online by the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study provides the strongest evidence to date that drug abuse prevention programs can also curb risky sexual practices in young adulthood.
"The lessons these young people learned about how to avoid drug and alcohol abuse appears to have had a positive impact on their sexual behavior as well," said Phyllis Ellickson, the lead author of the study and a researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.
The study found that youth exposed to a drug abuse education program were significantly less likely as young adults to either engage in sex with multiple partners or to have unprotected sex because of drug and alcohol use than their peers who had not received the training.
However, researchers found that those who received drug prevention training were no more likely to use condoms consistently than their peers who did not receive the training.
The RAND Health study tracked the experiences of 1,901 unmarried 21-year-olds who took part in a randomized controlled trial of Project ALERT, a drug use prevention program for middle school students developed by RAND. Study participants were exposed to Project ALERT while they attended middle school in South Dakota.
Among the participants, 631 attended schools that received 14 Project ALERT lessons during middle school, 499 attended schools that received 10 additional lessons during high school and 771 attended schools that did not offer the Project ALERT program.
While risky sexual behavior was common among the study participants, such behavior was less prevalent among those exposed to Project ALERT.
Young adults exposed to Project ALERT were both less likely to have sex with multiple partners (44 percent versus 50 percent) and to have unprotected sex because of drug use (27 percent versus 32 percent) than their peers who had not been exposed to the program.
About 71 percent of study participants reported inconsistent use of condoms, regardless of whether they had been exposed to Project ALERT.
Researchers say that part of the differences between the two groups may be due to the lower use of drugs and alcohol among those exposed to Project ALERT since the behavior is linked to risky sexual practices. But the differences in sexual behavior between the two groups were not entirely explained by the lower substance use levels.
"Although the effects we found are somewhat modest, these findings show that the benefits of drug abuse prevention programs are not confined to drug use alone and can continue for many years after young people receive the instruction," Ellickson said.
The study found no significant difference in risky sexual behavior between study participants who received the basic Project ALERT lessons in middle school and those who also received extended Project ALERT lessons during ninth and 10th grades.
Ellickson said the study findings are particularly relevant for school officials across the nation who are facing significant budget cuts in the months ahead.
"The findings support the case for the cost-effectiveness of the basic Project ALERT program by showing it provides benefits for two different types of risky behaviors and by showing that those benefits are long lasting," Ellickson said.
Obama Administration Calls on States and School Districts to Use Stimulus Funds for Professional Development; New Federal Guidelines Seek to Create Professional Development Programs that Are Sustained, Data-Driven, and Focused on Student Instructional Needs
In new guidance to states, the Obama Administration is promoting professional development for the nation's principals, teachers and other school staff members as a priority for spending economic stimulus funds and jumpstarting school reform and improvement efforts.
The document, "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Using ARRA Funds to Drive School Reform and Improvement," was released by the U.S. Department of Education on April 24. It outlines questions for state and district leaders to consider in allocating ARRA funds, and offers ideas for using the funds to support best practices in standards and assessments, data systems, teacher effectiveness, transforming low-performing schools, and improving student results. The document recommends investments in training and professional development in each of these areas.
"We are pleased that the federal guidelines recognize the importance of strengthening professional learning as a strategy to bolster student achievement," says Stephanie Hirsh, executive director of the National Staff Development Council (NSDC), the nation's leading non-profit organization focusing on professional development for the nation's educators. "The guidelines mention professional development nine times, and urge states to advance professional learning in ways that research says are most effective -- through intense, long-term, and collaborative efforts within the school building to use data to address crucial challenges affecting student achievement."
Suggested uses of ARRA funds to strengthen professional development for teachers and school leaders include:
- Adopting rigorous standards and high-quality assessments. The Department of Education suggests increasing teacher development in accelerated programs, such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and dual high-school/college courses, which will pave the way for an expansion of these programs.
- Establishing data systems and using data for improvement. School districts are encouraged to train principals, teachers, and other staff in using data to pinpoint students' educational needs and the resources to help them, and to adjust classroom instruction to better address students' strengths and weaknesses.
- Increase teacher effectiveness and equitable distribution of effective teachers. Suggested strategies include:
- Implementing a fair and reliable teacher evaluation system that provides ongoing feedback to teachers about their performance based on objective measures and professional development to support growth in key areas.
- Redesigning teacher professional development and school schedules to ensure that teacher learning opportunities are sustained, collaborative, data-driven, and focused on students' instructional needs.
- Providing teachers with intense professional development over two years through structured mentoring and teacher networks, preparing them to serve as expert instructional leaders and coaches.
- Focusing special attention on mastering subject matter, particularly for middle and high school teachers in hard-to-staff subject areas such as math and science.
- Training teachers and other school staff to partner with families to improve student learning, communicating individual student progress and fostering family involvement in school activities and decision making.
NSDC supports these guidelines, which are consistent with its extensive body of research and programming. In February, NSDC released a major study, "Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher Development in the U.S. and Abroad," which found that the U.S. lags behind other nations in providing teacher professional development that improves student learning.
"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Using ARRA Funds to Drive School Reform and Improvement" is available online at www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/guidance/uses.doc
The National Staff Development Council is a nonprofit membership group representing more than 12,000 educators committed to effective professional development for every educator every day. NSDC recognizes the singular purpose of effective professional learning as ensuring great teaching for every student so that all students achieve at high levels. To learn more about NSDC, please visit www.nsdc.org.
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