Category Archives: AMPS

by | November 12, 2007 · 4:12 am

Bucking the conventional wisdom: The Science Education Myth

Forget the conventional wisdom. U.S. schools are turning out more capable science and engineering grads than the job market can support. A new report by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, tells a different story from the constant doom and gloom harangue from certain political leaders, tech executives, and academics who’ve claimed that the U.S. is falling behind in math and science education. We’ve heard much about poor test results, declining international rankings, and decreasing enrollment in the hard sciences. They have urged us to improve our education system and to graduate more engineers and scientists to keep pace with countries such as India and China. The Urban Institute’s Hal Salzman and Georgetown University professor Lindsay Lowell have a different story to report. They show that math, science, and reading test scores at the primary and secondary level have actually increased over the past two decades, and U.S. students are now close to the top of international rankings. Perhaps just as surprising, the report finds that our education system actually produces more science and engineering graduates than the market demands.

An abstract from the study:

Recent policy reports claim the United States is falling behind other nations in science and math education and graduating insufficient numbers of scientists and engineers. Review of the evidence and analysis of actual graduation rates and workforce needs does not find support for these claims. U.S. student performance rankings are comparable to other leading nations and colleges graduate far more scientists and engineers than are hired each year. Instead, the evidence suggests targeted education improvements are needed for the lowest performers and demand-side factors may be insufficient to attract qualified college graduates.

Robert Godfrey

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by | November 10, 2007 · 6:57 pm

What George Fails To Mention Could Fill a Book

From Richard Russell, via the Progressive Dane email list (posted with permission).

The op. ed. referenced can be found here. More on this story on AMPS here.

What George Fails To Mention Could Fill a Book

I used to be one of the “educrats” whom George Lightbourn belittles in his essay “School choice is working and should be expanded”. Now retired, I spent my professional career as an analyst for the Department of Public Instruction. For part of that time, my opposite number at the Department of Administration was a bright, insightful, competent (and, as it turns out, ambitious) young guy named … George Lightbourn. Yes, George fails to mention that he himself got his start as an “educrat”.

But that’s only one of many things that George — now in the pay of the corporate-backed Wisconsin Policy Research Institute think tank — fails to mention.

For instance, he insists that parents should have the right to choose the school their children attend. And so they do. Guaranteed by law. What he fails to mention is that the general public is under absolutely no moral or legal obligation to pay for it.

Even though WPRI now recognizes that parents aren’t doing a particularly good job of choosing schools for their children, George contends that they alone should make the call. Another thing he fails to mention is that raising children is a responsibility shared between parents and society as a whole. It’s the entire culture that insists that kids be immunized, fed, clothed, and schooled (and, in societies more enlightened than ours, provided with health care), and gets downright intolerant of parents who abuse or neglect their kids, or try to use them as cheap labor.

George also fails to mention that public-school choice is a direct competitor against the darling of the neocon movement: PRIVATE-school choice. And, while WPRI was happy to do a study showing the shortcomings of PUBLIC-school choice, the right wing has resisted every effort to subject PRIVATE-school choice to comparable scrutiny.

The reason for this is simple. When Milwaukee’s program was first instituted as a limited experiment, it had an evaluation component. After 5 years, the study (headed by highly respected UW-Milwaukee Education Professor Alex Molnar) had piled up lots of data, the reports were filed, and the private-school kids had done no better than their public-school counterparts. This was a far cry from the glories that had been promised when the “experiment” was begun. The reaction of Gov. Tommy Thompson’s administration? Declare victory, remove the “experimental” tag, expand the program, and eliminate the evaluation! To this day, the private schools are exempt from the kind of accountability that the public schools face on a daily basis.

George advances the corporatist party line that the invisible hand of the market will inevitably cause top-quality schools to bubble up to the top. Quality, quality, quality. That’s all anybody ever looks for in a school, according to the propaganda. The George Lightbourn of a quarter century ago would not have been so naïve as to presume (nor so disingenuous as to pretend) that this is remotely close to reality. I could cite several dozen reasons OTHER than quality that parents use in choosing schools, but just consider a couple of parallel situations: entertainment (vigorous exercise vs. violent video games) and nutrition (a healthy, balanced diet vs. junk food). Those choices are just as free and unfettered as they are with respect to the schools. Do parents invariably choose quality, 100% of the time? The correct answer is another thing George fails to mention.

George also fails to mention that WPRI’s cover has long since been blown. It’s clearly a front for the twin pillars of neoconservatism: corporations and churches. Neither of these institutions is primarily concerned with children as human beings. The former wants their money; the latter wants their souls. They’d be thrilled to see what they derogate as “government schools” close up shop altogether. But they DO foresee a role for government in the final picture: as an endless source of funding.

For the rest of us, their hope is that we’ll end up like George Lightbourn: glossing over the whole truth to focus on the party line, ignoring the big picture for the big bucks.

I suppose it’s POSSIBLE that WPRI could be the source of an honest study on education. It’s also POSSIBLE that the tobacco industry could have done honest research into the health effects of smoking. Sometimes honesty really IS the best policy, if it furthers your agenda. But keen observers will always want to know: Even if what you DID show us is true, what is it you’re NOT telling us? What do you fail to mention?

Now, these folks will undoubtedly counter that we advocates for the public schools have an agenda of our own. And they’re right. We do. It was best stated about a century ago by John Dewey: “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children.”

George fails to mention that, too.

Richard S. Russell

The 5 greatest bargains in America:
(1) sunshine
(2) fresh air
(3) clean water
(4) public libraries
(5) public schools

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | November 10, 2007 · 12:17 am

Quote of the Day

We don’t usually venture into higher ed, but the local angle, the applicability to k-12 education and the fact that it comes from one of my favorite education bloggers (and historians of education) inspired this exception:

Wisconsin is essentially drinking the Kool-Aid of poorly-constructed standardized testing as a proxy for accountability.

Sherman Dorn

The context is the University of Wisconsin’s preemptive and premature embrace of an unproven and unwise accountability system.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | November 8, 2007 · 8:23 pm

Teacher shows folly of No Child Left Behind

Dave Zweifel on high stakes testing in Madison:

“David Wasserman, the Sennett Middle School teacher who was threatened with firing when he refused to administer one of those questionable No Child Left Behind tests, needs to be commended for having the courage to open a few eyes.

Wasserman eventually administered the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam when he learned his protest was a firable offense. He was prepared to accept a reprimand, but, like most of us, he needs his job and the family health insurance that goes with it.

His actions, though, served to get the NCLB issue on the table where it needs to be thoroughly examined not just by educators, but by everyone concerned about the direction of our schools. It’s one of those tough ones to oppose — who, after all, doesn’t want to make sure that no school child is left behind? — but it’s just another example of how this administration has succeeded in hoodwinking the country with empty and optimistic promises. A quick war in Iraq, but one example.

Rather than training young people to be well-rounded adult citizens, the act has forced teachers to teach only for tests that are focused on mathematics and reading, subjects held in high regard by corporate America.

Meanwhile, courses that make up the bedrock of good citizenship — history, social studies, arts, music, geography and science — get short shrift because if the kids don’t do well enough in those reading and math tests, their schools will be penalized.

Just last week the Chicago Tribune ran a story on Huntley High School in the city’s suburbs, a school that has doubled its student enrollment over five years and has had to hire 30 new teachers fresh out of college to take care of them.

But, because the NCLB act allows no consideration for any outside forces that may impact a school, Huntley High is given no slack as it works to get those 30 teachers up to par. Education experts say it takes teachers two or three years just to learn the school climate.

Another story detailed how the act requires that special education students meet the same test standards.

“It’s a great theory. Of course we want all students to do well, but it doesn’t always work that way,” one teacher lamented.

In Illinois, 297 schools failed to meet the NCLB standards this year. A third of them did so solely because their special ed kids couldn’t meet the requirements.

Problems like that have been reported throughout the country, but the administration and Congress act as though everything is going well. Just this week, a congressional committee that was working on improving the act signalled that it wouldn’t get to it this year.

Maybe — just maybe — teachers like David Wasserman can wake them up.”

Robert Godfrey

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by | November 8, 2007 · 5:41 pm

Ohio Goes After Charter Schools That Are Failing

The New York Times chronicles the wide spread phenomenon of failing charter schools in Ohio.

Ohio became a test tube for the nation’s charter school movement during a decade of Republican rule here, when a wide-open authorization system and plenty of government seed money led to the schools’ explosive proliferation.

But their record has been spotty. This year, the state’s school report card gave more than half of Ohio’s 328 charter schools a D or an F.

Now its Democratic governor and attorney general, elected when Democrats won five of Ohio’s six top posts last November, are cracking down on the schools, which receive public money but are run by independent operators. And across the country, charter school advocates are watching nervously, fearful the backlash could spread.

Some 4,000 charter schools now operate across the nation, most advertising themselves as a smaller, safer alternative to the neighborhood school. Nationwide, the movement has gained traction among Democrats, partly because of the successes of a few quality nonprofit operators.

But some charters are mediocre, and Ohio has a far higher failure rate than most states. Fifty-seven percent of its charter schools, most of which are in cities, are in academic watch or emergency, compared with 43 percent of traditional public schools in Ohio’s big cities.

Behind the Ohio charter failures are systemic weaknesses that include loopholes in oversight, a law allowing 70 government and private agencies to authorize new charters, and financial incentives that encourage sponsors to let schools stay open.

Robert Godfrey

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by | November 7, 2007 · 5:42 pm

Election Roundup

The biggest news is the overwhelming rejection of a statewide voucher plan in Utah.

Washington State has a requirement of a 60% super majority for school levies. There was a ballot measure to require only a simple majority. Returns aren’t final, but it appears to be failing. More info here.

Update: Voters say no to simple majority.

Many, many referenda in Minnesota (99 total, the second most in state history). 67.6% of the operating levy referenda passed; 50% of the districts asking for bond referenda and capital projects passed at least one request. For more, see these links:

Districts reel from levy failures

School levy wins don’t quiet calls for more state cash

School funding advocates offer day-after commentary on school levy elections

Latest: What’s next for schools? For many, plans for next referendum

Complete list of School Districts’ Referendum Results ( Minnesota School Boards Association)

Closer to home, there were a number of school referenda on the ballot Tuesday (and a few others, from September and October).

Voters Approve Abbotsford School Referendum (building).

Abbotsford passes $12 million building referendum

Denmark referendum fails for fourth time (building, maintenance and operation).

Galesville-Ettrick Voters Pass School Referendums (building).

Genoa City (building — I can’t find a report yet, but it passed, 250-227). Update: ‘Yes’ to school project.

Hartford voters reject school referendums (building and operating).

Holmen voters approve both school referendum questions (building and operation).

Lake Mills board members review failed referendum (10/2/07, building, maintenance, technology).

Montello considers program cuts (9/11/07, building and operating, failed).

New Glarus School Referendum Passes by 11 Votes (10/09/07, operating, see also here on AMPS).

Voters pass Prairie du Chien school issues (10/30/07, building and refinance).

Prescott school referendum passes (operating).

New Sun Prairie school approved (pool and pool operating failed).

West Bend rejects school referendum: It would have been state’s largest (building).

Park Falls/Butternut consolidation — Butternut voters reject Park Falls/Butternut consolidation (Park Falls voters voted yes, 965-389). More on Park Falls on AMPS here).

Thomas J. Mertz

(updated, 11/07/2007, 7:10 PM)

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Filed under AMPS, Budget, Elections, Local News, National News, Referenda, School Finance, We Are Not Alone

by | November 6, 2007 · 8:47 pm

Behind the Praise for Ability Grouping …The Truth

The Washington Post’s education coverage — beginning with columnist Jay Mathews and extending to beat reporters — is generally more faith than reality based. A recent story praising a Montgomery Co., MD school is no exception. Luckily, this time Bob Somerby of the Daily Howler was on the case.

From the WaPo Story:

Roberson and the Rock View faculty are having remarkable success lifting children out of that gap, the achievement gap that separates poor and minority children from other students and represents one of public education’s most intractable problems.

They have done it with an unusual approach. The Kensington school’s 497 students are grouped into classrooms according to reading and math ability for more than half of the instructional day.

From Somerby:

Has Rock View Elementary made score gains during the four-year period in question? Absolutely. In 2003, 63 percent of its fifth-graders scored proficient in reading; in 2007, 75 percent passed. But guess what? In that same period, the state of Maryland as a whole recorded very similar gains, going from 66 percent in 2003 to 77 percent in 2007. (Links to all data below.) By the way: Did Maryland’s fifth-graders improve at reading during this period—or did the state’s fifth-grade reading test get easier? We have no way to sort that out. (Other explanations are possible.) But in Grade 5, Rock View’s score gain is not “remarkable” in the way de Vise suggests. It virtually matches the state-wide result.

And uh-oh! The comparison is slightly less flattering for Rock View when it comes to Grade 3 (though the differences here are all trivial). How does the school compare to the state? In 2003, 66 percent of Rock View’s third-graders scored proficient on Maryland’s reading test. In 2007, the school’s passing rate was much higher: 85 percent. But as a w hole, the state of Maryland recorded a larger score gain during this period. In 2003, 58 percent of the state’s third-graders scored proficient in reading. In 2007, it was 80 percent. In Grade 3, Rock View’s score gain wasn’t “remarkable” at all. It was actually smaller than the gain achieved by the state as a whole.

Let’s make sure we’re all semi-clear: This doesn’t make Rock View a bad school, or anything like it. And it doesn’t mean there’ something wrong with the educational changes the school has made. Beyond that, there may be ways Rock View has progressed that somehow exceed the state as a whole,. But we’ll never learn such things from the Post.

This report from Science Daily (unmentioned in the WaPo article) may also be of interest: Grouping Kids By Ability Harms Education, Two Studies Show

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | November 6, 2007 · 4:04 pm

New Study: Private High Schools Are “Not” Better Academically Than Public High Schools

Report: Are Private High Schools Better Academically Than Public High Schools?

This study, based on an analysis of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988-2000, finds that, once family background characteristics are taken into account, low-income students attending public urban high schools generally performed as well academically as students attending private high schools. The study also found that students attending traditional public high schools were as likely to attend college as those attending private high schools. In addition, the report also finds that young adults who had attended any type of private high school were no more likely to enjoy job satisfaction or to be engaged in civic activities at age 26 than those who had attended traditional public high schools.

Robert Godfrey

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by | November 4, 2007 · 7:10 pm

Education DINOS

DINO is an acronym for Democrat in Name Only. We are seeing a rise in the activism of education DINOS. Education is an issue that hits close to home and forces people to confront the depth of their beliefs in things like “the common good” and “equality of opportunity.” These ideals are often abandoned when forced to compete with the promise of political gains or their desires for the specific needs of their children. So we get self-justifying stories about abandoning urban schools and advocacy for charters and ability grouping among those who desire to maintain some relationship to the public schools.

This consumerist stance pays only lip service to both Democratic and democratic values.

Phillip Kovacs of the University of Alabama and the Educational Policy Blog has a great post up about two of the biggest DINO players in the education policy and politics; Democrats for Education Reform and The Education Sector

Here is how he ends it:

At present organizations such as these dominate policy making. I’m interested in ending that dominance. Perhaps the problem is that we have not pushed ideology enough. The belief that education should serve democracy is an ideological position, is it not? Perhaps we need to do a better job of marketing that brand…

Marketing is part of it, but I think we need to do a better job in our schools and homes teaching the privileged to understand and work for equity and justice and equality. Tom Beebe of the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools closes his emails with this quote:

“The moral test of a government is how it treats those who are at the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those who are in the shadow of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped,” — Hubert Humphrey, 1976

I’d like to see that idea included in state and national standards.

Thomas J. Mertz

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Filed under AMPS, Elections, Equity, Gimme Some Truth

by | November 4, 2007 · 3:23 am

Closer to Reality

Here is a question from the MMSD Board of Education Community Fine Arts Task Force’s Arts Education Survey…

10. Do you agree or disagree that the MMSD School Board and Superintendent (including administrative staff, such as the Fine Arts Coordinator) need to do the following to demonstrate a commitment to and support of a comprehensive arts education:
*Engage in collaborative fundraising efforts with local arts organizations and artists.

At least we seem to have reached a place where we are honest with our questions. Instead of the mantra heard in years past that MMSD should actively seek funding from Arts groups in the community, the reality has set in that these Arts groups are equally in need of adequate financing.

A recent TCT Arts blog says much the same…
Jacob Stockinger takes you inside local arts

11/02/2007 8:50 am
Art Talk: What draws you most – artists or programs?
Jacob Stockinger —
As I’ve reported before in a front-page story in the print version of The Capital Times, the new performing arts season in Madison got off to a slow start.

Almost all major groups – from Overture Center series to the Madison Symphony Orchestra to the Madison Repertory Theatre and the Wisconsin Union Theater – have reported slower-than-anticipated ticket sales.

They all say they have not lost money, but they also say they have not made much beyond covering costs.

In short, there are many seats to fill.

I think this is a step in the right direction towards a more honest community dialog.

You can complete the Arts Education Survey at http://www.mmsd.org/boe/finearts/

~Janet Morrow

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