Big Education Ape

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else)

7 College admissions myths

Here are seven issues about college admissions that Lee Coffin, dean of undergraduate admissions and enrollment at Tufts University, calls "myths." He discusses issues such as whether "optional" really means "required," whether colleges check Facebook pages, whether colleges say they will only use the highest admissions test scores but really will look at the worst ones, whether coaches can actually grant school admittance to a desired athlete... and more.

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New, deeper AP program

[This is my Local Living column for Jan. 28, 2010.]

If someone told you the College Board was about to rip apart the SAT and rebuild it, would that excite/surprise/aggravate/frighten you? Me too. It’s about to happen, not to the SAT, but to our nation’s second-most influential test, Advanced Placement, with large consequences for our high schools and colleges.

The AP program has such a tight grip on the school curriculums of suburban areas such as ours that it has come close to inspiring the same fear and consternation as the SAT and ACT. [See my new rankings of all Washington area schools, based on AP and International Baccalaureate test participation, this Monday on this blog and in the Post.]

I think that’s good. AP is better than the SAT or ACT. It is a challenging series of courses in three dozen subjects ending in three-hour exams, independently written and graded with many essay questions, that can earn college credit and encourage thought and analysis. Many experts say AP could be even better, and they are about to have their way.

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One newspaper, two stories

Many of you may have noticed something more than a tad odd Tuesday morning in our coverage of Chancellor Rhee's now immortal commentsto "Fast Company." My story, which appeared on the front of the Metro section, said that Rhee had yet to explain or elaborate, and that there would be no comment until later in the day. My Monday evening blog entry said pretty much the same thing.

The editorial page told a different story. Citing "information released by the chancellor's office on Monday," it said that of the 266 teachers laid off in October, six had served suspensions for corporal punishment, two had been absent without leave on multiple occasions, and one was on administrative leave for allegedly having sex with a student.

So, after asking DCPS about this since Friday--and being promised a response all day Monday--I read the answers in an editorial. Channel 4's Tom Sherwood also had Rhee's explanation on the air Monday.

But it's the disconnect between the editorial page and the news section that I feel requires some kind of explanation. So let me try.

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Charter schools win ruling The Post and Courier - Charleston SC newspaper

Charleston's charter schools notched a major legal victory Wednesday in terms of the money and services the school district must provide them, but their fight might not be finished.

A ruling from Circuit Judge Roger Young could mean that millions of dollars would be taken from neighborhood schools and given to charter schools. But some school officials said they still don't think Young answered the crucial question: What should a charter school receive from the district?

The Charleston County School Board plans to hold a special meeting early next week to decide whether to appeal.

At issue is Act 189, a piece of

legislation applicable only to Charleston County. It prohibits the district from denying a charter school anything that is otherwise available to a public school.

The district sued the state on the constitutionality of the law and contended that it was special legislation that conflicts with and supersedes the state's charter school law. Young ruled that the law was valid.

Statewide law calls for charter schools to pay their bills, such as teachers' salaries, rent and transportation, with an amount of money determined by formula; charter schools receive the average of what the district receives per student.

14 Phila. schools eligible for improvement program | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/28/2010

14 Phila. schools eligible for improvement program | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/28/2010:

"Setting the stage for more dramatic change in city classrooms, the Philadelphia School District yesterday announced that 14 chronically low-performing schools are eligible for radical restructuring in the fall.

An undetermined number of the nine elementary, two middle, and three high schools, scattered throughout the city, will open under outside managers, as charters, or as district-run schools with big changes in the school day, staffing, and curriculum.

'We're saying enough is enough,' Benjamin W. Rayer, the district's chief of charter, partnership, and new schools, said at a public announcement of the overhaul plans.

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said she saw the movement as positive, not punitive.

'This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these school communities to have some say over their destiny,' she said.

But it's hardly the first time an administration has promised sweeping reform for city schools."

L.A. Unified unveils revamped 'report cards' evaluating its schools - latimes.com

L.A. Unified unveils revamped 'report cards' evaluating its schools - latimes.com:

"L.A. Unified unveils revamped 'report cards' evaluating its schools

The new product updates an effort to make school performance more transparent."

L.A. school officials unveiled a more user-friendly school "report card" Wednesday that is more focused on information than public relations. The new product updates an effort that began last year, when Supt. Ramon C. Cortines sought to make school performance more transparent, even when the data revealed disappointing results.

Last year's report cards, however, were difficult to read and had not yet incorporated features such as an annual survey of parents, students and school staff. Officials acknowledged the ongoing need to improve response rates on these surveys at many schools.

The data for high schools include the percentage of ninth-graders who move to the 10th grade -- a key indicator of whether a school is reaching troubled students. That information could be more reliable, in fact, than dropout rates, which remain subject to manipulation. The revised report also includes student proficiency rates for special programs at a school, such as a magnet program. But still missing are proficiency rates for a school once students from higher-scoring special programs are removed from the calculation.

EducationNews.org - Teachers Union Spending Spree

1.28.10 - RiShawn Biddle - What price will Barack Obama and the DNC will pay to keep control of Congress? But for the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and suburban school districts, it may mean at least $27 billion and perhaps, even more.

Teachers Union Spending Spree

What price will Barack Obama and the DNC will pay to keep control of Congress?

As a string of electoral losses put the president and his Democratic majority in Congress on the defensive, they will have to turn to their longstanding allies -- the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers -- to get the money and manpower they need to stave off further losses in November. But given their annoyance with Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for their advocacy of Race to the Top, their help won't come cheap.

For President Barack Obama, Scott Brown's victory over Martha Coakley in the U.S. Senate special election could at the very least lead to a drastically scaled-down version of his healthcare reform plan. But for the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and suburban school districts, it may mean at least $27 billion and perhaps, even more.
Even as Obama proclaims he has listened to voter discontent by freezing some domestic spending, the president made sure to assure teachers unions (along with school districts and the school reform movement) that more federal money would flow into their coffers. This includes his announcement in his State of the Union address of a $4 billion increase in Title I funding as well as another $1.5 billion for the federal Race to the Top school reform effort.

Education, R&D Are Among White House Cyber Czar's Goals - Yahoo! News

Education, R&D Are Among White House Cyber Czar's Goals - Yahoo! News:

"Educating Web users about risks, working better with other governments, and increasing federal support for cybersecurity research and development will be among the top priorities for the new U.S. White House cybersecurity director.

Howard Schmidt, on the job for a week, said Wednesday that one of his goals is to create a national cybersecurity education campaign to help Web users protect themselves. Although Schmidt's focus will primarily be on protecting U.S. government networks, his office will work closely with private groups to educate Web users and businesses about better cybersecurity practices, he said during a speech at the Congressional Internet Caucus' State of the 'Net conference.

Schmidt asked conference attendees for their help in creating a national cybersecurity campaign.

Education is important, he said, but end-users shouldn't bear all the responsibility for protecting their computers. He called for better security at businesses and from vendors that kept tough security decisions away from end-users."

Investment Losses Cause Steep Dip in University Endowments, Study Finds - NYTimes.com

Reflecting the difficult financial environment for higher education, university endowments lost an average of 18.7 percent in the last fiscal year, the worst returns since the Great Depression, according to a study of hundreds of public and private institutions.

The study, by the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund, a nonprofit organization that manages university investments, also found that in the last year, many endowment managers increased the move from traditional fixed-income instruments and stocks into alternative investments like private equity, hedge funds, venture capital and private-equity real estate — all of which performed badly in fiscal 2009.
Unusually, the universities with endowments over $1 billion had the greatest decline, an average of 20.5 percent. Harvard, Yale and Stanford, the wealthiest universities, all lost more than 26 percent of their endowment values.
At the same time, the study found, debt rose, especially at the largest universities, and gifts declined.
The 2009 losses in endowment income come on top of an average loss of 3 percent in fiscal 2008. The three-year average return, which most universities use to determine how much of their assets to spend, was negative 2.5 percent, compared with the five-year average of 2.7 percent, and the 10-year average of 4 percent.

Administration pushes to rework No Child Left Behind law - washingtonpost.com

The Obama administration launched an effort Wednesday to rewrite the No Child Left Behind law, with a proposed increase in federal spending, a pledge to make the Bush-era school reform program more flexible and an appeal to Republicans for bipartisan cooperation.

To grease the legislative wheels, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, the administration will reserve $1 billion to fund programs that may emerge through a revision of the 2002 law. In addition, he said, President Obama is proposing to raise elementary and secondary education spending by $3 billion in the fiscal year that begins in October.

The 2010 State of the Union Address

President Obama speaks about restoring security for middle class families after a lost decade of declining wages, eroding retirement security and escalating health care and tuition costs. January 27, 2010

The Education Report Smith’s budget cuts proposal, dissected

The Education Report

Smith’s budget cuts proposal, dissected

Some highlights from the Oakland school board discussion on Superintendent Tony Smith’s proposal for cutting $39 million from the general purpose budget. Note: District staff will bring back a report, later, on the “restricted” side of the budget, as well as the impact of the proposed cuts on individual school budgets.

9:05 – Tony Smith: “This is ongoing work and getting clear on what are our priorities … We’re going to keep working on this… Just to be clear, we will keep working on this until we come to board for the vote (in June).”

8:55 – Jumoke Hinton Hodge: “I want to support the direction that this is going in. … Let’s keep going down this road, but I feel comfortable and safe on this particular path.”

8:50 – David Kakishiba: “Upkeep of the facilities has always been the number one complaint we receive as school board members…. I need some degree of confidence that we’re not going in the toilet around our facilities.” Read the rest of this entry »

EducationCEO's Blog What’s best for our kids?

EducationCEO's Blog

What’s best for our kids?

Just as I was thinking about the topic for my next blog, inspiration came from a few places. I have been seriously considering applying to Harvard’s Doctorate in Educational Leadership program for a few reasons. First, the university covers tuition and provides a stipend. Secondly, if you take a close look at all of the people who are ‘allowed’ to shape and change educational policy, a large majority of them are Harvard graduates, whether they hold MBAs or PhDs.

This sends a very clear message. The fact that our president has a Harvard Law degree does not hurt either. Add to that the fact that I have a soon-to-be 15 year-old son. We have had the ‘What do you want to do after high school’ talk several times and I think we will have the extended version over the next few weeks. Here’s the dilemma: If he does decide to go to college, then Harvard is out of the question for me. At least for the next few years. If he decides that he wants to attend a community college instead, then game

The Educated Guess PPIC poll: Tax us to protect K-12 schools

The Educated Guess

PPIC poll: Tax us to protect K-12 schools

Two-thirds of adults surveyed in a Public Policy Institute of California poll say they support higher taxes to maintain funding for K-12 schools. And a full 82 percent, including a majority of Republicans polled, oppose cutting K-12 education to reduce the state budget deficit. No other part of state spending comes close to engendering such support in the poll, which was released Wednesday.
Gov. Schwarzenegger should keep those numbers in mind, because they’ll only go up in coming months, as school districts lay out next year’s severe budget cuts and, in March, when they send out layoff notices to teacher (Read more and comment on this post)

Concern Over Value of Hearing on New York School Closings - NYTimes.com

When state lawmakers voted last summer to renew Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s control over New York City schools, they included a compromise devised to respond to complaints that the public had little opportunity for meaningful input.

Before making decisions, the panel that oversees the system would hold more public hearings and more votes, although the mayor would still appoint a majority of its members.
To some, the first major test of the new system was an exercise in futility.
Despite hundreds of protesters gathered at Brooklyn Technical High School on Tuesday night for a hearing that stretched nearly nine hours, the Panel for Educational Policy voted to accept all of the mayor’s recommendations and close 19 schools for poor performance. All of the members appointed by Mr. Bloomberg voted for the closings.
As the decisions reverberated Wednesday through the hallways of the schools that will begin to close next fall, some students and teachers expressed frustration, anger and exhaustion. Before the vote, many of the schools held rallies, compiled statistics, sponsored petitions and sent students and teachers to testify at the hearing, to no avail.

Give churches space in vacant city schools: They're asking for equal access, nothing more

Give churches space in vacant city schools: They're asking for equal access, nothing more:

"Just before Christmas, I was paging through a newsletter from the Bronx Household of Faith, a small evangelical church that gathers on weekends in a New York City public school.

As I perused it, moved by the words and images, I couldn't help but wonder why the city Education Department has been fighting so doggedly in court, ever since 1996, to exclude this congregation and others from meeting in vacant school buildings on Saturdays and Sundays.

One photo in particular grabbed me: It showed Pastor Robert Hall talking to a homeless man. It was Hall and his co-pastor, Jack Roberts, who started Bronx Household of Faith in 1971, in a poor neighborhood a few subway stops north of Yankee Stadium. They founded the church to demonstrate how the Gospel of Christ could transform a community - reducing crime and drug use, rebuilding families and ultimately benefiting the entire neighborhood."

Mayor Says New York Teachers’ Next Pay Raise Must Be Smaller - NYTimes.com

Breaking a long-established pattern in labor negotiations, MayorMichael R. Bloomberg plans to demand that city teachers agree to a significantly smaller raise in their next contract or face the prospect of 2,500 job cuts.
The threat, which the teachers’ union immediately called unacceptable, promises to be one of the most contentious elements of Mr. Bloomberg’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The mayor is scheduled to deliver his budget address on Thursday, but his office released a few details on Wednesday night.The teachers are in the middle of contract negotiations. Over the last eight years, they have received a cumulative wage increase of 43 percent.
Mr. Bloomberg has long said he does not like to bargain in public. But as he begins his third term, he is adopting a different tactic, and plans to say Thursday that the teachers need to agree to a 2 percent raise for the first $70,000 in salary, or else face downsizing.

Revised AP courses will emphasize concepts, not memorization - washingtonpost.com

Revised AP courses will emphasize concepts, not memorization - washingtonpost.com:

"If someone told you the College Board was about to rip apart the SAT and rebuild it, would that excite/surprise/aggravate/frighten you? Me too. It's about to happen, not to the SAT, but to our nation's second-most influential test, Advanced Placement, with large consequences for our high schools and colleges.

The AP program has such a tight grip on the school curricula of suburban areas such as ours that it has come close to inspiring the same fear and consternation as the SAT and ACT. I think that's good. AP is better than the SAT or ACT. It is a challenging series of courses in three dozen subjects ending in three-hour exams, independently written and graded with many essay questions, that can earn college credit and encourage thought and analysis."

Influx of Immigrants Prompts School District Battles - WSJ.com

PLANO, Texas—This Dallas suburb, a wealthy enclave known for its top-notch schools, is struggling to integrate a flood of poor, minority students.

In a battle mirrored in other districts across the U.S., parents here have been fighting for months over which public high school their kids will attend: one under construction in an affluent corner of the Plano Independent School District, or an older school several miles away in the city's more diverse downtown.

Last month, the district's school board angered many parents when it created a Pac-Man-shaped zone that placed their children in the downtown school for grades nine and 10 instead of in the newer, closer campus.

The downtown school has the highest proportion of poor students of all high schools in the district; many are Hispanic and African-American.

"We want to go to our neighborhood school," said Kelly McBrayer, a white, 48-year-old stay-at-home mother of three who lives near the site of the new high school.

Mrs. McBrayer and other parents from her neighborhood held a silent protest at a recent school-board meeting. They wore black T-shirts with the shape of the new attendance zone in bright pink and the message "Pac-Man in your neighborhood soon?"

A study in sabotage: Teachers union torpedoed state's shot at $700M

The teachers union played a more destructive role than previously understood in all but certainly scuttling New York's shot at as much as $700 million in federal education funding. Surprise. Surprise.

Well known is how the United Federation of Teacherspressured lawmakers to support anti-charter school poison pills, undermining the state's application for Race to the Top aid. But there was more to the union's sabotage.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan established grant criteria that included using student performance data to boost achievement and assess teacher effectiveness. Duncan also required states to show the support of local districts and unions.

BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News � Oregon Voters Deliver Game-Changing Victory

BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News Oregon Voters Deliver Game-Changing Victory

Pundits like to claim California voters are anti-tax. Of course, we've raised various all kinds of taxes at the state level -- including the Prop 10 cigarette taxes in 1998, and the Prop 63 millionaire's tax for mental health programs passed in 2004. Still, even though our reputation remains, we've got nothing on Oregon, where no tax has been approved by statewide voters since1930.

Until now. On Tuesday, Oregon voters delivered a huge victory for progressives by approving Measures 66 and 67 -- raising taxes on incomes over $250,000 and large corporations to generate $733 million to close the state's budget deficit. The Oregon legislature had approved the taxes last summer, but a corporate / teabagger alliance organized to put it to voters in a referendum.

One wonders if the national media will cover this victory at all - much less at the levels of the Massachusetts Senate race. Although they'll almost certainly ignore it, the lessons for California are enormous and extremely important.

Mineral King Publishing - The Exeter Sun & The Lindsay Gazette

Mineral King Publishing - The Exeter Sun & The Lindsay Gazette:

"The race began even before fundingwas available. Local school districts are divided about the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) program, but throughout the nation and certainly California, those looking for any funding they can get in a cash strapped economy are weighing in.

Under the Obama Administration guidelines, Race to the Top Fund provides competitive grants to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform; implementing ambitious plans in the four education reform areas described in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA); and achieving significant improvement in student outcomes, including making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps, improving high school graduation rates, and ensuring that students are prepared for success in college and careers."

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