The Education Gadfly Weekly

Center on Education Policy
October 2009

This report from the Center on Education Policy uses achievement data from state tests to answer two questions: to what extent do achievement gaps persist between minority students (African American, Latino, and Native American) and their white and Asian counterparts, and between students from low-income families and their wealthier peers? And is achievement rising for all student subgroups –e.g. are gaps narrowing because some groups are doing worse, or are all groups still making some gains? 

CEP analyzed data from fourth-grade state test results at three achievement levels (basic, proficient, and advanced) to determine whether students in each category made gains. It also examined achievement gaps in proficiency at grades four, eight, and at one high school level, as well as gaps in average test scores. Overall findings indicate that achievement gaps are narrowing in most states. More importantly, the reduction of achievement disparities is most often the result of the accelerated accomplishment of low-performing groups, rather than the decreased performance of higher-performing groups. Achievement gaps at the proficient-or-above level narrowed more often for African American and Latino subgroups; Native American and low-income subgroups also made positive gains, but their success was on a much smaller scale.

Despite these findings, the report indicates that disparities between high- and low-performing groups still remain as wide as 20 percent. In Ohio, the achievement gap is even wider—86 percent of white fourth graders scored at the proficient level or higher in reading, compared to just 59 percent of African American fourth graders (for a full look at Ohio’s subgroup achievement and gap trends profile, see here). Further, there were declines among Ohio fourth graders at the advanced level in at least six subgroups, indicating that higher-performers could be losing ground. Decision makers in Ohio should note the results of this report, especially as education officials being revising academic standards before June 2010. The state’s achievement gaps remain gaping, and achievement among higher-performing students has started to drop. The development of rigorous academic standards should be part of the state’s strategy to deliver students to higher levels of achievement and stay competitive with the rest of the nation. Read it here.

The Ohio Department of Education recently spotlighted an innovative partnership between Dayton Public Schools and Sinclair Community College that has established a unique Tech Prep high school in Ohio.This holds special significance here at Fordham, as it is named after David H. Ponitz, a Fordham trustee and the venerated president emeritus of Sinclair Community College. This fall, 550 teenagers began attending the David H. Ponitz Career Technology Center. It offers students the chance to graduate with training in a technical career field, all while offering an American high school experience that includes such features as music and sports. Read the full post here.

Core Knowledge and Joanne Jacobs both picked up on a blog this week by Linda Perlstein, who says that Obama is “wrong” to suggest that teachers are the single most important factor related to student achievement. Perlstein points out that this is accurate only in that “of the various factors inside school, teacher quality has had more effect on student test scores than any other that has been measured.” And? I don’t think it’s fair to suggest that Obama has misrepresented the evidence. Read the rest of this post here.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics scores released earlier this month received a somber reception here in Ohio and rightly so - student achievement in math has remained relatively flat in the eighth grade for the last decade. The NAEP is a biennial test administered to fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders by the U.S. Department of Education and is billed as “the Nation’s Report Card.”

The 2009 NAEP scores for Ohio students are virtually the same as in previous years. In 2009, 45 percent of fourth graders and 36 percent of eighth graders were considered proficient or better in math, compared to 46 percent of fourth graders and 35 percent of eighth graders earning a proficient rating in 2007.

These numbers become even more troubling when compared to the results from the Ohio Achievement Tests (OAT). According to 2008-09 OAT results, 71 percent of eighth graders and 78 percent of fourth graders were considered proficient in mathematics. The graph below illustrates the performance gap of Ohio students between NAEP and OAT results.

Performance of Ohio Students on 2009 NAEP and Ohio Achievement Tests

Source: Ohio Department of Education interactive Local Report Card, and National Assessment of Education Progress

The Columbus Dispatch covered the disconnect between state test scores and NAEP in a recent article (read it here). A representative of the Ohio Department of Education told the Dispatch that both assessments are "… different tests with different functions. I understand where it may be confusing to try to look at them and say, ‘the numbers are so different, how can that be?"

However, Stuart Kerachsky, the commissioner of the National Center on Education Statistics said that in these circumstances, “…you can't really escape a conclusion that low performance on NAEP is a signal that there is a problem in a state that has to be examined very carefully and has to be addressed.”

Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, also commented, “to have 30 percent of the youngsters proficient on the NAEP and 70 percent on a state assessment is a huge disservice to students.”

In addition to its low NAEP scores in math, the gap between Ohio’s white and black fourth or eighth graders hasn’t budged over the last decade.

These troubling indicators are a signal that it is time for Ohio to adopt common academic standards that would enable our students to compete successfully with the rest of the country and the world.  

Ohio’s public early college academies are combining forces to lobby the Ohio General Assembly for more cash to keep their innovative high-school programs afloat.

The schools lost big in the latest state budget. Faced with likely closure, if not this year then within the next two years, the nine big city high schools have formed the Ohio Early College Association to lobby state lawmakers for more money.

The schools want a few million back of a special $12 million state subsidy they had been receiving, figuring that with a little more state support they can garner donations and grants.

Early college academies are public college-prep high schools in Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Elyria, Lorain, Toledo, and Youngstown. The state, the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have invested more than $40 million in these schools since 2003.

The schools offer an intense program to prepare at-risk, low-income, inner-city students for college success. Graduates leave school with college credit and some graduates can earn up to two years’ worth of credit.

Advocates think they have a case for a special dispensation at a time state lawmakers have needed to cut billions in state spending. Early-college graduates, usually from educationally underserved urban areas, have been showing on state tests they are better prepared than their counterparts in traditional inner city high schools.

“Some of our kids (attending the Dayton Early College Academy) have to walk through drug deals to get here,” said Tom Lasley, education dean at the University of Dayton. Lasley serves on the Dayton Early College Academy (DECA) board and heads the new lobby group.

DECA's $750,000-a-year state subsidy amounts to about a quarter of the school's budget and, without it, Lasley has predicted the school will eventually close. The Columbus Metro School lost an $800,000 subsidy.

DECA graduates are being recruited by colleges seeking to boost their minority student populations and early college grads are an obvious choice because they stand a better chance to succeed. “Of our 2008 graduating class, 100 percent went to college and 85 percent went back for their second year,” Lasley said.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Friday that the nation needs a national policy to boost science education, especially in promoting the best ways to teach science, engineering, and math.

Duncan called for a national science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education agenda and network to develop and share effective practices, as well as reiterated a call for better trained teachers and incentive pay for science and math teachers (see here). He spoke to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

However, despite poor science programs in high school, according to a new report released today, interest in science among American high school and college students hasn’t slackened over the past 30 years (see here). According to the Rutgers University report, U.S. colleges and universities are graduating as many scientists and engineers as ever, contradicting long-held hand-wringing from educators and employers.

The study, "Steady as She Goes? Three Generations of Students through the Science and Engineering Pipeline," was conducted with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

While the data seem to skirt the issue of whether “enough” scientists are being graduated, it does indicate many of the highest performing students are choosing careers in other fields after graduation.

That could eventually hurt since, in his speech, Duncan ladled a lot onto the plates of America’s young people, saying they will need to spur future advancements in clean energy, health and medicine, the environment, space exploration, food production for developing countries, and for revitalizing the American economy. How much of that gets done and how well it gets done will depend on education and specifically on math and science majors.

“We must transform education in the United States so that every student reaches higher levels of mathematics and science learning. Increasing our national performance means raising the bar and closing the gap for all students – poor, black, and Latino students – who need to not only reach proficiency but also do advanced work,” Duncan said in his speech. “We know our students must get dramatically better if we’re going to compete in the international economy.”

Just as important as a scientifically trained workforce, Duncan said America needs a scientifically literate public able to comprehend the technological issues that will transform their lives and their environment in the coming decades.

He bemoaned lagging math improvement of students taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress (see here and the article above).

“Our 15 year-olds' scores now lag behind those of 31 countries. Four countries—Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Finland—outperform U.S. students on math, science, and all other subjects,” Duncan said.

He called for states to enhance teacher preparation, training and pay, and to attract new and qualified math and science teachers to engage students and reinvigorate those subjects in American schools. “We support initiatives to pay more to teachers in high-need subjects like science and math, and rewarding excellence by paying teachers and principals who do a great job in the classroom,” he said.

Duncan said only 23 percent of college freshman declare a STEM major. And just 40 percent of those that elect STEM majors as first-year students receive a STEM degree within six years.

Part of the solution is encouraging minority students and women to enter the sciences. “Most of our scientists and most of our STEM teachers are being recruited from a narrow segment of our population, Duncan said. “We must find a way to include the people who represent the sum of our nation’s population. If we can tap into the diversity of America, we can bring fresh ideas and perspectives and perhaps new inventions to our world.”

Duncan complained about time spent on science being reduced in too many classrooms because of No Child Left Behind requirements. That complaint was echoed in later comments to the President’s council by a representative of the American Association of Physics Teachers.

Core Knowledge and Joanne Jacobs both picked up on a blog this week by Linda Perlstein, who says that Obama is “wrong” to suggest that teachers are the single most important factor related to student achievement. Perlstein points out that this is accurate only in that “of the various factors inside school, teacher quality has had more effect on student test scores than any other that has been measured.” And? I don’t think it’s fair to suggest that Obama has misrepresented the evidence. Read the rest of this post here.

The Ohio Department of Education recently spotlighted an innovative partnership between Dayton Public Schools and Sinclair Community College that has established a unique Tech Prep high school in Ohio.This holds special significance here at Fordham, as it is named after David H. Ponitz, a Fordham trustee and the venerated president emeritus of Sinclair Community College. This fall, 550 teenagers began attending the David H. Ponitz Career Technology Center. It offers students the chance to graduate with training in a technical career field, all while offering an American high school experience that includes such features as music and sports. Read the full post here.

Center on Education Policy
October 2009

This report from the Center on Education Policy uses achievement data from state tests to answer two questions: to what extent do achievement gaps persist between minority students (African American, Latino, and Native American) and their white and Asian counterparts, and between students from low-income families and their wealthier peers? And is achievement rising for all student subgroups –e.g. are gaps narrowing because some groups are doing worse, or are all groups still making some gains? 

CEP analyzed data from fourth-grade state test results at three achievement levels (basic, proficient, and advanced) to determine whether students in each category made gains. It also examined achievement gaps in proficiency at grades four, eight, and at one high school level, as well as gaps in average test scores. Overall findings indicate that achievement gaps are narrowing in most states. More importantly, the reduction of achievement disparities is most often the result of the accelerated accomplishment of low-performing groups, rather than the decreased performance of higher-performing groups. Achievement gaps at the proficient-or-above level narrowed more often for African American and Latino subgroups; Native American and low-income subgroups also made positive gains, but their success was on a much smaller scale.

Despite these findings, the report indicates that disparities between high- and low-performing groups still remain as wide as 20 percent. In Ohio, the achievement gap is even wider—86 percent of white fourth graders scored at the proficient level or higher in reading, compared to just 59 percent of African American fourth graders (for a full look at Ohio’s subgroup achievement and gap trends profile, see here). Further, there were declines among Ohio fourth graders at the advanced level in at least six subgroups, indicating that higher-performers could be losing ground. Decision makers in Ohio should note the results of this report, especially as education officials being revising academic standards before June 2010. The state’s achievement gaps remain gaping, and achievement among higher-performing students has started to drop. The development of rigorous academic standards should be part of the state’s strategy to deliver students to higher levels of achievement and stay competitive with the rest of the nation. Read it here.