Informational session in Sacramento provides officials from various school districts a glimpse at the potential impacts of Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2011-12 budget proposal.
Mayor Vincent C. Gray says that the IMPACT teacher evaluation system, widely regarded as former chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's signature reform, has "a long way to go" before it is fair because it disadvantages instructors in schools with large numbers of students challenged by the effects of poverty and other social conditions.
"It's a step in the right direction, but it's got a long way to go to be a fair evaluation," Gray (D) said Saturday during a panel discussion on education and poverty at Adas Israel synagogue in Northwest Washington.
Gray's criticism of IMPACT, his most explicit since entering office, echoes that of the Washington Teachers' Union, a major financial supporter of his candidacy. It appears to clash with a core tenet of Rhee and her successor, Interim Chancellor Kaya
That would be Academically Adrift, by NYU sociologist Richard Arum and his colleague Josipa Roksa, released today. The study measured how much 2,300 statistically representative undergraduates who enrolled as freshmen in a diverse group of 24 colleges and universities in 2005 had learned by the time they (in theory) were ready to graduate, in 2009. As a measuring tool, the researchers used the Collegiate Learning Assessment, a respected test of analytic reasoning, critical thinking, and written communication skills.
Their finding? Forty-five percent of students made no gains on the CLA during their first two years in college. Thirty-six percent made no gains over the entire four years. They learned nothing. On average, students improved by less than half a standard deviation in four years. “American higher education,” the researchers found, “is characterized by limited or no learning for a large proportion of students.”
For a more detailed explanation of the findings and my take on what they say about accountability, affirmative action, the Obama higher education agenda, and why this doesn’t mean that fewer students should go to college, read my Chronicle of Higher Education column. There’s a lot more to talk about beyond that and it’ll
California State University, Los Angeles, is one of the most diverse universities in the country. Student enrollment demographics this year are about 55% Latino, 22% Asian American/Pacific Islander, 15% white non-Latino, and 8% African American. Since 1972, students of color have comprised the majority. Cal State LA established the first Chicano Studies program in the nation in 1968. Minority Access, Inc, named the school one of America’s top colleges that exemplifies diversity. It has received the President’s Award for Diversity from the national accreditation organization for engineering education.
Looks like California's celebration of Martin Luther King Day took a turn for the... Arizonian. This month students and faculties from two California campuses are fighting the demolition of their ethnic studies programs: Asian American Studies and Cal State Los Angeles and American Studies at the University of California Santa Cruz.
Are our schools going in the right direction?
What parents should do
Monday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 PM
at PS/IS 89 in Lower Manhattan
201 Warren St. (directions: take the A, C, E, 1, 2, 3 to Chambers; or the N, R, 4, 5, 6 to City Hall.)
Diane Ravitch will critique the current direction of education reform, including school closings, privatization and high-stakes testing.
She will also introduce members of a new national organization, Parents Across America, working for positive and progressive change.
The event is free but you must reserve a seat in advance by clicking here . For more information, email info@parentsacrossamerica.org
Co-sponsored by Community Board 1, IS 89 PTA, Class Size Matters, Testing is Not Teaching, and Parents Across America.
Popout
A few years ago when Anne and I were visiting our family in New York, we spent an afternoon at the New York Historical Society slowly taking in the
