STATE OF THE SCHOOLS: "If we allow the guardians of the educational status quo to have their way, we will continue to fall behind," Secretary of Education Rod Paige warns in his Back-to-School address, calling for an end to complacency toward the education crisis in America. Link to full address.
BEST
BETS: The call for higher standards and
better curricular offerings has received national
attention and state-by-state support, but filtering
through the scores of programs that have emerged can
be confusing. CER offers basic guidelines for
separating the wheat from the chaff, as well as a
run-down of the current “Best Bets” in rigorous
K-12 education programs.
READING REPORT CARD: The nation's reading report card is out and the news is not good: Less than 32 percent of 4th graders are proficient at reading, while 8th grade proficiency is only 31 percent. See CER Newswire June 24, 2003 for more details and a link to the full report.
NEW GRANTS TO TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY: U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has announced the establishment of Teaching American History Grants, and is encouraging local districts and charter schools to apply for the nearly $100 million available to help schools improve history teaching. Click here to read the full press release and get more information.
CERTIFIABLE
NONSENSE: There is a long-standing tendency to equate
teacher certification with teacher quality. Unfortunately, it
simply doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Here's a look at some of
the research and analysis that tell the tale.
CLASS STRUGGLE: IS HOMEWORK REALLY SO TERRIBLE? "This allegedly overburdened American child, innocent victim of callous teachers, is averaging less than a half hour of homework each school night.... Schools that demand a half hour a day of academic work at home, less than a fifth of the time these same children spend watching television, do not seem to me to be overdoing it." By Jay Mathews, Washington Post, February 18, 2003. Link to complete article.
NYC CONTROVERSY: In response to the New York City school district's initiative to implement questionable curricular programs in 1,000 low performing schools, more than half a dozen national experts from Teacher's College at Columbia University, Yale, Cornell University and the City University of New York are protesting the move, arguing that the reading program chosen is "woefully inadequate." Get the details in the February 18 and January 28 CER Newswires, as well as CHANCELLOR'S NEW READING PROGRAM IS UNPROVEN by Diane Ravitch, Newsday, February 10, 2003.
STAKE OUT: The Manhattan Institute's report "Testing High Stakes Tests: Can We Believe the Results of Accountability Tests?" finds that contrary to what many anti-testing people argue, states where students are given high stakes tests do work to prepare students broadly for learning and do not just focus on narrow, specific test questions. For more information go to http://www.manhattaninstitute.org/.
FEDERAL POLICY: "A year ago landmark education legislation was
signed making it possible for students in chronically failing schools to attend
schools that work….For the first time in the history of federal education
support, the issues of quality and accountability overcame Washington's previous
fixation on resources only." Link here to the full
statement by CER President Jeanne Allen on the one-year anniversary of the No
Child Left Behind Act.
STATES' STANDARDS UPDATES: Michigan Lowers the Bar for Schools; Pennsylvania Raises the Bar for Teachers; Virginia's Standards of Learning; Massachusetts Testing Challenge.
MAPQUEST: Results from the latest National Geographic Survey reveal that Americans, ages 18-34, are geographically challenged. Get details.
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For more of the latest on academic
standards, curriculum and other education reform issues, visit CER's