Subject: FW: NASSMC BRIEFS #396-400
From: nsattler@terra.cc.oh.us
Date: Tue Sep 12 2000 - 11:05:37 EDT
Thought some of you may be interested . . .
Nancy
These Briefs are prepared by the NASSMC Briefing Service. (National
Alliance of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions). OMSC passes them on
for your information. Please contact us at omsc@oai.org if you do not wish
to continue receiving these briefs.
Diana Malloy
Executive Director
Ohio Mathematics and Science Coalition
_________
PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WAS NOT A #396 SENT FROM NASSMC.
__________
TITLE: NBS#397: "Go figure, with rigor"
CATEGORY: Opinion Editorials
In an advertorial in the New York Times, ExxonMobil declares its support
for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(NCTM) standards for math education. The recent clarifications to the
10-year-old standards "make a good idea better, because the standards have
already demonstrated some gains," according to ExxonMobil. The standards
call for schools to establish curricula that provide both basic math and
problem-solving skills. They support rigorous education of math teachers,
and encourage the teaching of math in ways that develop mathematical
understanding for all students.
ExxonMobil points to evidence of the standards' effectiveness. Between 1990
and 1996, math proficiency as measured by the National Assessment of
Educational Progress increased by about one grade level at grades 4, 8 and
12. National average math scores on the SAT rose from 500 in 1991 to 512 in
1998. And the four states with standards and assessments that most closely
mirror NCTM's recommendations have shown the greatest gains in mathematics
scores.
ExxonMobil calls upon states to accept the NCTM standards and develop more
rigorous math programs. "It is essential that all students be given
preparation for the challenges and opportunities this trend presents," the
company concludes.
SOURCE: New York Times (op-ed/advertisement), 31 August 2000
WEBSITE:http://www.exxon.mobil.com/news/opeds/index.html
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TITLE: NBS#398:Weekly wrap-up of editorials/opinion
CATEGORY: Opinion/Editorials
1)"The Business Model Won't Fix Schools"
Dorothy Shipps, assistant professor of education at Teacher College,
Columbia University, warns against the remaking of schools according to
corporate principles. "Retooling the management of schools, despite its
popularity, has never been shown to improve outcomes for kids," she says.
And the corporate model tends to "undermine what Americans want schools to
teach."
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, 03 September 2000
WEBSITE: http://www.latimes.com/news/learning/20000903/t000082762.html
2) "How to Create a Shortage In a Skilled-Labor Market"
Columnist Richard Rothstein argues that industry is taking advantage "of a
public preconception that school failures have created" a skilled worker
shortage. The schools are not to blame, industry is, he says. Only
yesterday there was a glut of science and math graduates, but because the
computer industry responded by lowering wages, fewer youths have entered
the field.
SOURCE: New York Times, 06 September 2000 (p. B06)
WEBSITE: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/06/technology/06LESS.html
3)"The Case for 'Progressive' Vouchers"
Former labor secretary Robert Reich outlines a proposal for "progressive"
vouchers that would allow everybody to choose their own schools, but grant
the most money to the families most in need. That way, he said, even
wealthy suburban schools would compete for the students from poor families
with $10,000-$12,000 vouchers.
SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, 06 September 2000 (p. A26)
WEBSITE: http://www.wsj.com (subscribers only)
4)"Yours Is Not to Reason Why"
Anne Collins, a former state mathematics coordinator for Massachusetts,
uses a tutoring session with a neighbor's sixth-grader to illustrate the
importance of giving children a deeper understanding of math. Real-world
problems "do not appear as multiple-choice questions," she notes, "but as
complex situations that must be understood, analyzed, torn apart, and
ultimately solved."
SOURCE: Education Week, 06 September 2000 (p. 60)
WEBSITE: http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=01collins.h20
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TITLE: NBS#399: "Smaller classes not ideal, study finds"
CATEGORY: Education Study Report
Wisconsin's $58 million-a-year state program to reduce classroom sizes
benefits mainly low-income kindergarten and first-grade students, according
to a study from the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. The program,
called Student Achievement Guarantee in Education, or SAGE, limits class
size to 15 students or pays for two teachers in classrooms of 30 or more
between kindergarten and third grade. Now in its fourth year, it was
recently expanded to 580 schools. But the new study found that the
initiatives have so far been of minimal benefit to second- and third-grade
students who are not from poor families.
The study's author, Thomas Hruz, concluded that smaller classes "should be
targeted toward low income, kindergarten and the first grade, and maybe
African-American students, who seem to benefit the most."
An earlier study from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of
Education, which is monitoring SAGE, concluded that students in smaller
classrooms perform better than those in larger classrooms. But Hruz argues
that the gains are insignificant at five percent or less.
Terry Craney, president of the state's largest teachers' union, attacked
Hruz's study as "biased" and "slanted." "This is an ultraconservative
group," he said. "They're opposed to spending money, period."
The report is available on the institute's web site at www.wpri.org.
SOURCE: St. Paul Pioneer Press (Associated Press), 11 September 2000
WEBSITE:http://www.pioneerplanet.com/news/wis_docs/025022.htm
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TITLE: NBS#400: "D.C. Mayor Majoring in Reform of Schools"
CATEGORY: School Staffing & Governance
Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams has put himself on the hook for the
state of the District's schools. Last June, the mayor won the authority to
appoint four of the District's nine school board members. And he has been
outspoken in his calls for school reform. Among his ambitious plans are an
education summit next month and a technology-focused college prep school.
But the path to reform is fraught with political risk. After years of
neglect, the D.C. schools have a lot of catching up to do, and some people
wonder whether the mayor will stick it out. Williams himself sounds
confident. "I've succeeded in raising the bar," he says. "Now I have to
meet that standard."
Many parents and community leaders are pleased to see Williams pushing for
reform so aggressively. But they draw the line at his involvement in the
day-to-day affairs of their schools. That responsibility is supposed to lie
with the district's new superintendent, Paul Vance.
"My experience is that where mayors have gotten directly involved in the
schools, it has not worked well," said Jerome Jones, a professor of
educational administration and policy at Howard University. "Having chosen
a competent chief educational officer, then what we need now is support for
that individual."
SOURCE: Washington Post, 11 September 2000 (p. B01)
WEBSITE:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46204-2000Sep10.html
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The NASSMC Briefing Service (NBS) is provided by the National Alliance of
State Science & Mathematics Coalitions through grants from the ExxonMobil
Foundation and the National Security Agency (NSA). Any opinions, findings,
conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the
authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ExxonMobil
Foundation, NSA or NASSMC.
Readers are hereby granted permission to further distribute NBS articles in
electronic or hardcopy form; re-distributed articles should include the
full statement of these two attribution paragraphs. Comments or questions
regarding NBS should be sent to cclement@nassmc.org.
Sharon Smith, Assistant to the Executive Director
Ohio Mathematics and Science Coalition
22800 Cedar Point Road, Cleveland, OH 44142
Phone: 440-962-3039
Fax: 440-962-3057
Email: sharonsmith@oai.org
Website: www.oai.org/OMSC
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