Student Achievement and Passport to Teaching Certification in Elementary Education
American Board for Certification of Teacher ExcellenceMay 11, 2006
Student Achievement and Passport to Teaching Certification in Elementary Education
American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence
May 11, 2006
Recently, the American Board for the Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) and its counterpart, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), each studied the effectiveness of their respective certifications for teachers. Their reports reveal a striking contrast. The NBPTS results were apparently so dismal that the organization chose not to release the study, and put out only a description of their findings. As an Education Week story explains, NBPTS "found that there was basically no difference in the achievement levels of students whose teachers earned the prestigious NBPTS credential, those who tried but failed to earn it, those who never tried to get the certification, or those who earned it after the student test-score data was collected." If true, NBPTS certification is rendered largely meaningless-a conclusion NBPTS would surely like to avoid. ABCTE, on the other hand, found evidence that its own tests do identify effective teachers. Its study covered a small sample and examined only elementary school teachers (elementary education is just one of eight certifications available from ABCTE), but the results are still statistically significant. Fifty-five teachers in Tennessee took the two ABCTE elementary education certification tests. Because of William Sanders' pioneering value-added analysis work in Tennessee, and because the state keeps extensive databases matching students to teachers, researchers were able match the 55 teachers' ABCTE test scores with the academic progress of those teachers' students. Turns out, the teachers who passed ABCTE's tests had students who demonstrated above-average gains in mathematics. The students of those teachers who failed ABCTE's tests posted below-average gains. There were no statistically significant differences in reading, science, or social studies scores, but the math gains were so overwhelming that they made the overall gains, averaged across the four subjects, significantly positive for those teachers who passed. The report acknowledges the need for further (larger) studies, but rightly labels its own results "promising." ABCTE's short report is available here.
Ready for College and Ready for Work: Same or Different?
ACT
2006
The American Diploma Project has asserted as much for years, but now we have proof: high school graduates need the same skills to succeed in the workplace as they do to succeed in higher education. That's the conclusion of this short study from ACT. It starts by identifying the reading and math skills needed to attain jobs that provide a decent wage-one large enough "to support a small family." Then the researchers compared the rigor of these reading and math skills to those identified by the regular ACT exam as determining college readiness (scores of 21 on reading and 22 on math, out of 36). Guess what? They are the same. For example, for college or for work, students need to be able to calculate the perimeters and areas of basic shapes, understand the main idea of a paragraph, and identify the appropriate definition of words with multiple meanings based on context. None of this is terribly surprising; these are, after all, just basic skills that any numerate and literate person can handle. And ACT is not nearly ambitious enough. Being able to read and do math is not all that matters on campus or in the economy, yet essential knowledge of history, literature, and science is not investigated here. Still, this is another blow to those educators who believe that students not destined for college can be held to lower standards or taught only "relevant" material, regardless of rigor. While teaching approaches can vary (and even rigorous career/tech can do the trick), the desired outcomes are largely the same. Expect to hear politicians of all stripes reference this study in years to come, as they continue the push for higher (and perhaps even national?) standards. You can read the report here.
Mulching while schools burn
This week, Mike's mad that leaders of chronically failing schools are doing yard work while their buildings burn, Rick can't understand why David Brooks wants fat kids to gorge on marshmallows, and neither is sure whether Jackie Robinson swung both ways. We've got an interview with ABCTE President Dave Saba, and News of the Weird is TRU. Liam's mom says, ''It's the best?Education Gadfly Show?yet!''?
Gangsta's paradise
Last weekend, about 400 teachers gathered for a conference in Los Angeles to learn how to incorporate rap music into their daily lessons. Teacher Erica Carducci thinks the approach is a good idea; she uses Eminem lyrics to help students understand Robert Frost's poetry. That seems odd, because rap has long shown a distaste for the English language-especially the letter "S," which is judiciously eschewed in the hip hop vernacular (e.g., "I ain't down wit' tax cutz on dividendz, aight!"). But critics who focus on spelling miscues overlook hip hop's longstanding commitment to improving the larger problems in K-12 education. What about 50 Cent, aka Fiddy, (not to be confused with Checker Finn, aka Finny) who preaches the virtue of hard work: "I'm feelin' focused man, my money on my mind, I got a mil out the deal and I'm still on the grind [emphasis added]."? Or the rap duo Kriss Kross, who despite never learning to properly dress themselves, have made their career railing against irresponsible behavior and youthful indiscretion. Their 1992 hit "I Missed the Bus" is packed with wisdom: "I missed the bus [oh] and that is somethin' I will never, ever, ever do again.... the day was a no win; I learned to never miss my bus again." In a time of poor attendance and rising dropout rates, certainly those are important words worthy of examination in school. Plus-who in L.A. cares about snowy forestz, anyway?
"Add a bit of rap, teachers told," Associated Press, May 8, 2006
Highly qualified data
NCLB requires all states, at the end of the current school year, to prove that their teachers in charge of academic classes are "highly qualified." In an era of accountability, it's a reasonable request. After all, we ask students to be proficient in their subjects. Shouldn't we ask the same of their teachers
States have had four years to prepare for this deadline-are they ready?
They say yes. During the 2003-2004 school year, the latest for which data are available, 31 of 47 states reporting to the Department of Education claimed that at least 90 percent of their elementary and secondary classes were taught by highly qualified teachers. As it turns out, however, the numbers most states reported were bogus.
To be sure, the law required states to make major changes. No longer would teacher certification be enough; all teachers would also have to demonstrate their subject matter competence. For new teachers, this meant passing a test or possessing a major in their subject. For veteran teachers, it meant wading through a portfolio assessment system (known as HOUSSE) to show their stuff. Setting up the systems to track all of this was no small challenge for the states.
But that's no excuse for what federal officials learned while making onsite visits to see how they were faring. Their findings, revealed in 40 written compliance reports, are stunning. Teachers were classified as highly qualified based on criteria that did not match federal requirements. Some long-time teachers, for example, were treated as highly qualified simply because of their seniority. Whole categories of instructors, notably special education teachers, were omitted. And every state considered middle and high school history teachers highly qualified if they were licensed in the field of social studies rather than in history itself, as the law demands.
The three states reporting the highest percentage of highly qualified teachers were, not surprisingly, among the worst offenders. For example, Washington state claimed that 99 percent of all its teachers were highly qualified. But when Education Department monitors showed up in May 2005, they quickly saw why that figure was so high. The state incorrectly recognized as highly qualified any teacher with an elementary or special education degree.
Connecticut was reviewed in January 2006. The Constitution State began requiring subject-matter tests of all elementary teachers in 1988, so theoretically, every teacher hired in elementary education on or after that date who also held full state certification met the federal standard. But the state also counted, incorrectly, all elementary teachers hired prior to 1988 as highly qualified. Furthermore, federal officials found that Connecticut had not yet collected teacher data from all of its 195 districts and that it did not have a statewide database that included information about its highly qualified teachers. Instead, it had a licensure and certification database from which state officials concluded that 99 percent of core academic classes were being taught by highly qualified teachers. But with few exceptions, the state included all fully certified teachers in that percentage, whether or not they'd demonstrated subject matter competence.
During the Minnesota review in November 2005, federal officials found that the Land of 10,000 Lakes considered highly qualified all elementary teachers licensed prior to 2001, even if they had not demonstrated subject matter competency. In addition, Minnesota did not require teachers hired after the first day of the 2002-2003 school year to take a rigorous subject-matter test. The state's report that 99 percent of its teachers were highly qualified was unquestionably wrong.
It is entirely possible that Washington, Connecticut, Minnesota, and the other states that reported bogus numbers will ultimately prove to the Education Department that their teachers meet the federal requirements for highly certified. But we can't count on their word alone. They've been consciously providing misleading data to the public for years.
Because most states have not met the highly qualified teachers mandate, Secretary Margaret Spellings announced last October that they might be given an extra year if they started to show good faith in meeting federal requirements. And in a March 21, 2006, letter, the Education Department announced it would ask most states to submit a revised plan for getting all of their teachers highly qualified. States must also complete a review of their highly qualified designations by the end of the present school year, and put special emphasis on closing the "teacher quality gap" between rich and poor schools.
The flexibility is understandable on the federal government's end. Clearly it waited too long before investigating lofty state claims; now it has no choice but to be patient. Also, securing high quality teachers-especially in high poverty, high minority schools-is difficult. But it's essential if we're to improve student academic achievement.
States ought to be ashamed for reporting such inflated statistics. Because of their dishonesty, educators now have but one year to achieve the highly qualified designation, a fact that will surely mean good teachers who, with appropriate warning, could have met the requirements will fall by the wayside. Of course, No Child Left Behind itself will take the blame. But this time there's no doubt that it's the states who have shirked their responsibilities-not only to students, but to teachers as well.
L'tat aux folles
Richard the Lionheart is best known as England's "Absent King," and for being the leader of the Third Crusade. Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood, is credited with inventing the modern American crime novel. And any number of Greek thinkers are remembered for creating the intellectual framework of Western civilization. Now, a California state Senate committee wants one other fact pointed out-they were all gay. Democratic Senator Sheila Kuehl argues that not doing so perpetuates the "enforced invisibility that so many minority groups have gone through in terms of their contributions." Balderdash. If the bill, SB 1437, passes the whole senate, books will be banned as discriminatory unless they celebrate historical figures' least-relevant characteristic-their sexual orientation. Gadfly's a tolerant insect (and a huge fan of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), but classrooms and textbooks are the wrong places to insert social or political agendas, no matter what they are.
"Politically correct history," Los Angeles Times, May 9, 2006
"Committee OKs bill to add gays, lesbians to textbooks," by Greg Lucas, San Francisco Chronicle, May 4, 2006
NCLB: Extreme makeover edition?
Are the worst schools in America about to get an overhaul? Don't count on it. Using numbers released from the Education Department (and posted on the Fordham website here), the Associated Press's Ben Feller reports that 1,750 schools across the country now face "restructuring" under the No Child Left Behind Act. That's up 44 percent from last year. While the law requires a "major" retooling of these schools, most jurisdictions are using a loophole that allows them to implement weak-tea reforms, such as adopting a new curriculum or hiring a "coach." That's like mowing the lawn when your house is on fire. The administration's reaction to this chicanery is blasé. Assistant Secretary of Education Henry Johnson says about districts' approaches to restructuring, "I don't know that we have a preferred way." These are schools that have been failing for at least six years in a row. If Johnson's looking for a "preferred way," we're sure there are plenty of students and parents with some ideas.
"Rising numbers of schools face penalties," by Ben Feller, Associated Press, May 9, 2006
Ed reform born again?
Whenever the Southern Baptists make the news, I often remember the question about the falling tree in the forest. If there's no one around to listen, does it make any noise?
It's easy to ignore the rantings of Bruce Shortt of Texas and Roger Moran of Missouri, who plan to bring before the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Greensboro this June a resolution calling for the faithful to develop an exit strategy from the public schools. After all, a similar resolution was floated at the 2004 convention and never got out of committee.
But the education world should pay attention to what happens in North Carolina next month. Shortt and Moran are back, and this time their proposal is likely to draw more attention.
They're not only asking, as they did in 2004, for all church members to withdraw from "godless" public schools. Now, according to the Associated Press, the two are also calling on the Southern Baptist Church to develop a system of independent parochial schools to be used by "orphans, [and] children of single parents and the disadvantaged."
The change is deliberate, and it's meant to broaden support for Shortt and Moran's anti-public schools position. It's working for people such as Ed Gamble, executive director of the Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools, who opposed the 2004 resolution, but is on record supporting the development of Christian-run "public" school systems. In a February 2006 story in Ethics Daily, Gamble suggested that Baptist churches use their buildings during the week to house a new school system. "Funding is not the problem," Gamble said, "faith is."
That more high-performing schools-and facilities to house them-are needed in the inner-city is undisputed. But so, too, is the fact that creating effective urban schools is extremely difficult. And there's nothing in the Southern Baptists' recent history to suggest they're capable of doing this. Worse, there's nothing to suggest that this is their interest.
The number of conservative Christian schools, including Southern Baptist ones, is small, but growing. Most, however, are located in suburbs and exurbs, attracting middle and upper-middle class parents interested in balancing academics with their particular form of faith. Even with this advantage, they generally don't do as well as Catholic schools, according to a recent NAEP study of private schools.
The Catholic Church in America has a long history of running inner city schools, sometimes with great success. Like Southern Baptist schools, Catholic schools believe that faith is an integral part of education. But the two diverge over how to integrate faith and learning. For most Catholic schools, the primary concern is for quality education. Students are not required to become Catholic (in fact, at most inner-city Catholic schools, the vast majority of students aren't).
This would not be the case with a Southern Baptist system of parochial schools. Again, the words of Gamble: "Ask God to give us America's children. When Jesus owns the schools, He will own the culture and the hearts of the children!"
It may sound outside the mainstream, but the Southern Baptists have a track record of setting the debate in American education. The success of "Intelligent Design," fueled largely by the religious right, speaks for itself. But Intelligent Design wasn't helped along only by devoutly religious voters. More moderately inclined religious citizens, who rejected "Creationism" in the 1990s, rallied around the supposedly more scientific Intelligent Design argument in this decade. And they did it despite the fact that Intelligent Design was orchestrated and funded by the same folks who supported Creationism.
Shortt and Moran are taking a page from the ID debate. By expanding their resolution, they are attempting to place themselves in the mainstream of the reform movement, and thereby attract more-moderate Christians. It's working. In addition to Gamble, Albert Mohler, president of the denomination's flagship Southern Seminary in Louisville, is on board. And religious blogs are burning with discussion about it (see here, here, and here, for instance).
Religious and non-religious groups who are working to raise student achievement and improve educational opportunities know how challenging those jobs can be. And help is always appreciated. But what Shortt and Moran propose is not about achievement or educational opportunity. It's about converting individuals to a particular religious belief. Let them open the schools if they will, but don't be fooled into thinking this is about high quality education.
If the tree falls, let's be sure that serious education reformers are there to listen.
Big improvements in the Big Easy
Here’s another silver lining of the Katrina tragedy: struggling New Orleans students who were once relegated to special education because they hadn’t learned to read or do math are finally getting the help they need. Scores of New Orleans schools, particularly new charter schools, are implementing full inclusion for these students—the practice of integrating special education children into regular classrooms. O. Perry Walker High School student Kevia Martin, for example, was previously sequestered in remedial classes. Now, she is thriving in a traditional classroom where she receives some extra guidance during math. “Historically, special education has been perceived as a holding place, and as long as [students] were quiet and appeared engaged I don't know if there were any inquiries in terms of how they were engaged,” said Martin’s principal. “We speak in terms of what’s best for the children, but a lot of times we focus on our comfort level as adults.” While some fear that curricula will be watered-down to ease the transition for newly integrated youngsters, overall this kind of inclusion makes sense. Students with severe disabilities may require separate attention, but most children simply need to be challenged and supported.
“In newly opened charter schools, many students are thriving when they’re no longer isolated into special education classes,” by Steve Ritea, Times-Picayune, May 8, 2006
Ready for College and Ready for Work: Same or Different?
ACT
2006
The American Diploma Project has asserted as much for years, but now we have proof: high school graduates need the same skills to succeed in the workplace as they do to succeed in higher education. That's the conclusion of this short study from ACT. It starts by identifying the reading and math skills needed to attain jobs that provide a decent wage-one large enough "to support a small family." Then the researchers compared the rigor of these reading and math skills to those identified by the regular ACT exam as determining college readiness (scores of 21 on reading and 22 on math, out of 36). Guess what? They are the same. For example, for college or for work, students need to be able to calculate the perimeters and areas of basic shapes, understand the main idea of a paragraph, and identify the appropriate definition of words with multiple meanings based on context. None of this is terribly surprising; these are, after all, just basic skills that any numerate and literate person can handle. And ACT is not nearly ambitious enough. Being able to read and do math is not all that matters on campus or in the economy, yet essential knowledge of history, literature, and science is not investigated here. Still, this is another blow to those educators who believe that students not destined for college can be held to lower standards or taught only "relevant" material, regardless of rigor. While teaching approaches can vary (and even rigorous career/tech can do the trick), the desired outcomes are largely the same. Expect to hear politicians of all stripes reference this study in years to come, as they continue the push for higher (and perhaps even national?) standards. You can read the report here.
Student Achievement and Passport to Teaching Certification in Elementary Education
American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence
May 11, 2006
Recently, the American Board for the Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) and its counterpart, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), each studied the effectiveness of their respective certifications for teachers. Their reports reveal a striking contrast. The NBPTS results were apparently so dismal that the organization chose not to release the study, and put out only a description of their findings. As an Education Week story explains, NBPTS "found that there was basically no difference in the achievement levels of students whose teachers earned the prestigious NBPTS credential, those who tried but failed to earn it, those who never tried to get the certification, or those who earned it after the student test-score data was collected." If true, NBPTS certification is rendered largely meaningless-a conclusion NBPTS would surely like to avoid. ABCTE, on the other hand, found evidence that its own tests do identify effective teachers. Its study covered a small sample and examined only elementary school teachers (elementary education is just one of eight certifications available from ABCTE), but the results are still statistically significant. Fifty-five teachers in Tennessee took the two ABCTE elementary education certification tests. Because of William Sanders' pioneering value-added analysis work in Tennessee, and because the state keeps extensive databases matching students to teachers, researchers were able match the 55 teachers' ABCTE test scores with the academic progress of those teachers' students. Turns out, the teachers who passed ABCTE's tests had students who demonstrated above-average gains in mathematics. The students of those teachers who failed ABCTE's tests posted below-average gains. There were no statistically significant differences in reading, science, or social studies scores, but the math gains were so overwhelming that they made the overall gains, averaged across the four subjects, significantly positive for those teachers who passed. The report acknowledges the need for further (larger) studies, but rightly labels its own results "promising." ABCTE's short report is available here.