The Education Gadfly Weekly

Center on Education Policy
June 2007

The first thing you should know about this blockbuster report from the Center on Education Policy (CEP) is that its title is a bit misleading. Yes, the study examines student achievement and gap-closing trends since NCLB's enactment, but no, that's not the question that matters most. Because what most policymakers and analysts actually want to know is whether the landmark federal law "works"--has it caused achievement to increase or decline. Here the good people at CEP are honest: "It is very difficult, if not impossible, to determine the extent to which these trends in test results have occurred because of NCLB." So with that caveat in mind, let us return to our regularly scheduled review. The news is basically positive: student achievement on most state reading and math tests has gone up since 2002 and achievement gaps have narrowed. Gains are particularly impressive in elementary school math. Students have posted less progress on state reading tests and in middle school. Such patterns are consistent with recent findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, though states are reporting greater progress on their own tests than on NAEP. This raises a critical question: Can we be sure that state tests haven't gotten easier since 2002? For an answer, stay tuned for a report of our own, due out in a few months. Meanwhile, check out the CEP study here.

National Center for Education Statistics
June 2007

At nearly 350 pages, this year's Condition of Education is shorter than last year's. And though some persistent problems remain (dropout numbers, for example, are still murky, and the data are frequently two years old, or more), NCES Commissioner Mark Schneider and his crew continue to refine and improve this hallmark report. The 2007 edition contains a special section on high school course taking, including an in-depth look at the explosion in students taking AP courses. Their number doubled between 1997 and 2005, with the greatest gains made by Hispanics (up 213 percent) and blacks (up 177 percent). On the down side, while white and Asian scores on AP tests remained fairly constant over those years (hovering around 3 out of a possible 5), Hispanic scores fell from 3.1 in 1997 to 2.5 in 2005. (Are schools forcing more students into AP classes than are able to do the work, or are there too few good teachers to teach them? Or both?) Other information that caught this reviewer's eye:

• The amount of time spent on homework by high school sophomores reportedly rose between 1980 and 2002, and so, too, did the percentage of students coming to school without their homework completed.
• Overall spending per child is up, with most of the new money going to capital outlays and interest (which makes some sense, because the student population is projected to rise every year from now to 2016).
• Among private-school attendees (roughly 10 percent of K-12 students), Catholic schools still attract the most students, though their numbers have been shrinking as "Christian" schools are growing.

There's much more of note, of course, so you should download a copy for yourself. Get it here.

National Center for Education Statistics
May 2007

As conscientious Gadfly (and newspaper) readers know, the 2006 NAEP U.S. history exam showed some recent gains in students' understanding of the nation's past. Not so for civics. Although the share of fourth-graders who possess at least "basic" knowledge of civics inched up from 69 percent in 1998 to 73 percent in 2006, for eighth- and twelfth-graders the trend line is flat. Why did fourth-graders (who rarey study civics anyway) improve while older students didn't? Washington Post reporter Jay Mathews quotes experts who say that "Higher scores in fourth-grade history and civics go along with the recently reported higher [fourth-grade] reading scores." The Department of Education is touting this logic, too. But nobody seems able to explicate why history scores rose in eighth- and twelfth-grade but civics outcomes didn't budge. Still, the need for progress is obvious. Consider: only 43 percent of twelfth-graders "described the meaning of federalism in the U.S.," and just 28 percent of eighth-graders "explained the historical purpose of the Declaration of Independence." For more depressing news, see the report here.

The recent release of English Language Arts scores for grades 3-8 by the New York State Education Department was treated as a cause for celebration by the New York City Department of Education. Chancellor Joel Klein said that the scores showed that "the system is clearly moving forward."

Actually, the news was not all that positive. None of it was terrible, but the scores were mainly flat or declining. Overall, in grades 3-8, 50.8% met the state standards. This represented an increase of one-tenth of 1% over the scores in 2006, when 50.7% met the standards.

• In grade 3, the scores dropped by 5 points, from 61.5% in 2006 to 56.4% in 2007.
• In grade 4, they dropped nearly 3 points, from 58.9% in 2006 to 56.0% in 2007.
• In grade 5, they dropped by 0.6, about half a point, from 56.7% in 2006 to 56.1% in 2007.
• In grade 6, they increased by 1 point, from 48.6% in 2006 to 49.7% in 2007.
• In grade 7, they increased by a tad more than a point, from 44.2% in 2006 to 45.5%.
• In grade 8, they increased by 5.2 points, from 36.6% in 2006 to 41.8% in 2007.

The big news, according to the Department of Education spinmeisters, was not that scores in grades 3-7 were either declining or flat, but that scores in eighth grade were up significantly. They downplayed the curious fact that eighth grade scores were up across the state by 7.7 points, from 49.3% to 57%.

Nassau County eighth grade scores jumped from 69.8% to 77.4%, nearly eight points. Suffolk County saw a gain in this grade of 9.3 points, from 61.1% to 70.4%. In the troubled Roosevelt, Long Island, district, under state control for the past five years, eighth grade scores leapt by an astonishing 22 points.

Gains of this consistency in district after district suggest to testing experts that the test for the eighth grade was decidedly easier than in years past.

The grade that is most interesting to contemplate in the latest ELA scores is fourth grade, because these are children who started school when the Children First reforms were first implemented. From first grade through fourth grade, they have been educated under the balanced literacy program mandated by Chancellor Klein. Almost every other literacy program was banished.

This is the grade that is the true testing ground of mayoral control. Recall that the Children First agenda was first implemented in the schools in September 2003. When Children First began that fall, 52.5% of the fourth graders met state standards. Now, after four rounds of state testing, 56% of the fourth graders met state standards.

Thus, after four years of Children First, reading scores in the fourth grade are up by a total of 3.5 points. In the five years before the initiation of the Bloomberg-Klein regime, reading scores in fourth grade climbed steadily and sharply from 32.7% to 52.5%, an increase of 19.8 points.

This may explain why the Chancellor and Mayor have reorganized the schools yet again, why they are continually in search of new assessment tools, and why they are planning to offer cash and pizzas for higher test scores. In four years under their control, the schools have not shown dramatic achievement. In fact, their record does not match what was accomplished in the previous five years under Chancellors Rudy Crew and Harold O. Levy.

Another way to look at the scores is by comparing year-to-year changes of the same cohort of students, that is, the value-added gains, rather than comparing the fourth grade in 2003 to the fourth grade in 2007.

This is not difficult to do, because the annual testing of students in grades 3-8, which started in 2006 in response to the requirements of NCLB, makes it feasible to compare the performance of the same cohort of students as they advance through the grades.

In grade 4, 56.0% met the state standards in 2007 (levels 3 & 4); a year earlier, 61.5% of the same cohort met the standards, a drop of 5.5 points.

• In grade 5, 56.1% met the standards; a year earlier, 58.9% of the same group met them, a drop of 2.8 points.
• In grade 6, 49.7% met the standards; a year earlier 56.7% of this group met them, a drop of 7 points.
• In grade 7, 45.5% met the standards, compared to 48.6% who met them in 2006, a drop of 3.1 points.
• In grade 8, 41.8% met the standards in 2007, compared to 44.2% of the same group in 2006, a drop of 2.4 points

The data also permit us to look at the eighth grade cohort longitudinally.

Students who are now in eighth grade were in fourth grade in 2003. In 2007, 41.8% of this group met the standards; in 2003, when these children were fourth graders, 52.5% met the state standards, a drop of 10.7 points.

Considering the score changes from the perspective of "value-added," the steady decline in test scores is even more alarming than the comparison of grade-to-grade, because there are no gains at all.

These year-to-year comparisons for the same grades suggest that progress has been sluggish at best. After five years of mayoral control and four years of the Children First "reforms," it is evident that test scores decline steadily for each cohort of students.

Now the Chancellor promises to add new tests, with the expectation that more testing means more learning. This is not good news. Testing is not a substitute for a sound curriculum and effective instruction.

(Graphics prepared by Leonie Haimson from data provided by the New York State Department of Education)

The St. Louis Cardinals isn't the only organization in town striking out on a regular basis--the city's school system is whiffing a lot these days, too. As if they hadn't done enough damage (see here), school board members now want Superintendent Diana Bourisaw to terminate the district's recently renewed contract with Teach for America. Here's their stated reasoning (although with a state takeover of the district looming, one wonders if the school board doesn't have more nefarious motives): Why pay for 90 young teachers who are committed for just two years when veteran teachers are facing reassignment or job loss because of declining enrollment and shrinking budgets? Well, here's why. When the game's on the line, you want your best player at the plate. And TFA is that player. Administrators and other teachers like the TFA Corps members, and district officials hail their track record of improving student performance. Bourisaw hasn't made a decision yet, but we're worried about what she might do. (Younger teachers nationwide are often the first to go when money's tight, as happened recently in Dayton.) Sure, TFA may not save St. Louis's schools, but why bench your star when the game is on the line? Even embattled Cardinal's manager Tony LaRussa knows better than that.

"St. Louis schools may oust Teach for America," by Steve Giegerich, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 4, 2007

Once upon a time, charter school advocates believed in letting a thousand flowers bloom, then uprooting any weeds among them. Now comes more evidence from the Texas hothouse that such garden maintenance is a lot harder than we imagined. Consider Jesse Jackson Academy in Houston, infamous for its low test scores, financial irregularities, and bona fide cheating scandal--and its ability to stay open, despite the Texas Education Agency's repeated attempts to close it. Jackson got its start in 1998, when the state board of education caved to political pressure and approved every school that applied for a charter. Now a spokeswoman for the TEA--which had urged the state board to approve only a handful of applicants that year--explains that "It's a very difficult process to close a charter school. That's why we try to get them to turn in their charter voluntarily. Otherwise, it takes thousands of hours of work and years to do it." Some of the best charter schools in the state have urged the legislature to shut down the many schools that should never have opened, but lawmakers declined. Looks like the weeds will keep stealing Lone Star State media sunshine in the years to come. 

"Cheating's off the charts at charter schools," by Joshua Benton and Holly K. Hacker, Dallas Morning News, June 4, 2007

They take their coffee seriously in Washington State, and school district employees are no exception. The Seattle Public Schools administration building has a self-supporting deli that offers espresso drinks brewed from a $6,000 machine (which, according to spokesmen, has paid for itself). The Tacoma district admin building has espresso carts, which are run by special-education students, who gain work experience and barista skills. But the Edmonds School District takes the cake. It recently purchased a $15,000 espresso machine for its administrative offices. The coffee doesn't come free; if employees want a doppio, they have to pay for it. But the prices are cheaper than Starbucks, and thirsty staff members don't have to leave the building for a quality cup. Revenue funds the food-service operation (and will also pay for a certain $15,000 coffee pot). Gadfly, a caffeine addict, wonders: Is the Edmonds School District hiring? 

"District's new espresso maker brews up a few questions," by Lynn Thompson, Seattle Times, June 6, 2007

Just last week, Gadfly encouraged Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) administrators to buck up, fix the scoring problems that plagued their 2006 reading assessments, and keep the faith (see here). Now Ron Matus, an education reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, offers his own defense of standardized assessments in a thoughtful opinion piece. Through his reporting, Matus has seen high school kids who "for all intents and purposes couldn't write" go on to pass their courses and graduate with ease. A teacher Matus respects once told him that he gave a student--a 17-year-old who was reading at an elementary-school level--a B just for trying. "It's complicated," the instructor said. Such experiences have led Matus to conclude that teachers may not always know best, that grades are often meaningless, and that maybe external tests aren't such a bad thing. They might actually help expose poor student performance and demand some accountability from teachers and school leaders who were, before testing, sometimes willing to let kids slip through the cracks. Well said, Ron.

"FCAT tests us; so what?," by Ron Matus, St. Petersburg Times, June 3, 2007

Center on Education Policy
June 2007

The first thing you should know about this blockbuster report from the Center on Education Policy (CEP) is that its title is a bit misleading. Yes, the study examines student achievement and gap-closing trends since NCLB's enactment, but no, that's not the question that matters most. Because what most policymakers and analysts actually want to know is whether the landmark federal law "works"--has it caused achievement to increase or decline. Here the good people at CEP are honest: "It is very difficult, if not impossible, to determine the extent to which these trends in test results have occurred because of NCLB." So with that caveat in mind, let us return to our regularly scheduled review. The news is basically positive: student achievement on most state reading and math tests has gone up since 2002 and achievement gaps have narrowed. Gains are particularly impressive in elementary school math. Students have posted less progress on state reading tests and in middle school. Such patterns are consistent with recent findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, though states are reporting greater progress on their own tests than on NAEP. This raises a critical question: Can we be sure that state tests haven't gotten easier since 2002? For an answer, stay tuned for a report of our own, due out in a few months. Meanwhile, check out the CEP study here.

National Center for Education Statistics
June 2007

At nearly 350 pages, this year's Condition of Education is shorter than last year's. And though some persistent problems remain (dropout numbers, for example, are still murky, and the data are frequently two years old, or more), NCES Commissioner Mark Schneider and his crew continue to refine and improve this hallmark report. The 2007 edition contains a special section on high school course taking, including an in-depth look at the explosion in students taking AP courses. Their number doubled between 1997 and 2005, with the greatest gains made by Hispanics (up 213 percent) and blacks (up 177 percent). On the down side, while white and Asian scores on AP tests remained fairly constant over those years (hovering around 3 out of a possible 5), Hispanic scores fell from 3.1 in 1997 to 2.5 in 2005. (Are schools forcing more students into AP classes than are able to do the work, or are there too few good teachers to teach them? Or both?) Other information that caught this reviewer's eye:

• The amount of time spent on homework by high school sophomores reportedly rose between 1980 and 2002, and so, too, did the percentage of students coming to school without their homework completed.
• Overall spending per child is up, with most of the new money going to capital outlays and interest (which makes some sense, because the student population is projected to rise every year from now to 2016).
• Among private-school attendees (roughly 10 percent of K-12 students), Catholic schools still attract the most students, though their numbers have been shrinking as "Christian" schools are growing.

There's much more of note, of course, so you should download a copy for yourself. Get it here.

National Center for Education Statistics
May 2007

As conscientious Gadfly (and newspaper) readers know, the 2006 NAEP U.S. history exam showed some recent gains in students' understanding of the nation's past. Not so for civics. Although the share of fourth-graders who possess at least "basic" knowledge of civics inched up from 69 percent in 1998 to 73 percent in 2006, for eighth- and twelfth-graders the trend line is flat. Why did fourth-graders (who rarey study civics anyway) improve while older students didn't? Washington Post reporter Jay Mathews quotes experts who say that "Higher scores in fourth-grade history and civics go along with the recently reported higher [fourth-grade] reading scores." The Department of Education is touting this logic, too. But nobody seems able to explicate why history scores rose in eighth- and twelfth-grade but civics outcomes didn't budge. Still, the need for progress is obvious. Consider: only 43 percent of twelfth-graders "described the meaning of federalism in the U.S.," and just 28 percent of eighth-graders "explained the historical purpose of the Declaration of Independence." For more depressing news, see the report here.