Posts from — March 2010
Stand and Deliver – Passing of Jaime Escalante
Jaime Escalante, the teacher whose amazing story became the movie ‘Stand and Deliver,’ succumbs to cancer at 79.
Being a teacher, no story ever resonated more strongly than that of the inspirational Jaime Escalante.
None.
“Can we talk about sex?”
No doubt my feelings were due in great part to the fact that I too once taught the great subject of calculus. That I too have faced an uninspired group of students desperately wondering how I might reach them.
But my odds were infinitesimal compared to the ones he faced, making his tale an extraordinary story. The passion and ability to inspire some of the most underprivileged students in East L.A. to achieve at a level they could never have imagined possible is and was a story I have never grown tired of.
The movie is a must see for anyone who aspires to teach – heck it ought to be requirement that every high school teacher view the flick a day or two before the start of every school year.
Because this inspirational tale reminds us that it is amazing what one dedicated teacher can do, what a difference one educator can make in the lives of the individuals who arrive in his or her classroom.
As teachers, we all have an amazing opportunity, a chance, every single day, to stand and deliver. And if we do so with unbridled passion, then we can be the ones to truly “pay it forward.”
March 31, 2010 No Comments
Men’s Divison I Basketball Called Out for Poor Graduation Rates
Finally, the abysmal graduation rates being posted by some of the top college athletic programs has been receiving significant media attention. Whereas once upon a time we would see a lone wolf like Derrick Jackson of the Boston Globe call attention to this sorry issue, last week, none other than Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education and avid hoops junkie, weighed in on the frightful matter.
College Athletics – Where Are the Student-Athletes?
Unlike the professional sports world, college athletics is supposed to be played with student-athletes, with a certain amount of emphasis on the word student. Instead, sadly, many colleges are using athletes, particularly young black men, to bring in millions of dollars of revenue for their respective institutions. Not only do these institutions not pay these youngsters, they do not even provide them the education they promised.
Of course, truth be told, graduation rates at most colleges are quite poor for for the entire student body. In most cases, there is little difference between the entire student body and that of the athletes playing sports at those institutions.
But with more people calling attention to the current status of athletics, Secretary Duncan stepped up to the plate and suggested that colleges with basketball graduation rates of less than 40% should not be able to participate in the NCAA Basketball Championships.
Before discussing the schools that fail to meet such a basic criteria it is important to note that some institutions get the job done. They compete on a very high level yet do so with student athletes. Six schools, Brigham Young University, Marquette, Notre Dame, Utah State, Wake Forest & Wofford all posted graduation rates of 100%. Four others, Duke, Lehigh, Vermont and Villanova topped 90%.
A school with an 89% rate, Xavier University, has been singled out for special mention. While it cannot claim perfection, it can claim that since 1985 every single senior who has played on the Xavier team has graduated.
On the lower end, twelve schools would have been denied entry to the Big Dance if Duncan’s 40% threshold were implemented: Maryland 8%, Cal 20%, Arkansas (Pine Bluff) & Washington 29%, Tennessee 30%, Kentucky 31%, Baylor Missouri and New Mexico State 36%, Clemson 37% and Georgia Tech & Louisville at 38%.
Prostituting Black Athletes
When one looks deeper into the numbers the issue of schools using black athletes leaps off the page. According to a study by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida, white males on tournament-bound teams graduated at an 84 percent rate vs. 56 percent for African-Americans.
Sadly, only 20 of the 65 teams in the tournament graduated at least 70 percent of their black players. Two, California and Maryland, did not graduate a single African-American player for the six-year period covered by the study. In contrast, 45 schools graduated 70 percent or more of their white basketball student-athletes.
And when the 40% rate is considered, while 52 schools graduated 40 percent or more of their white basketball student-athletes, four of those schools could not graduate 40 percent or more of their African-American basketball student-athletes.
Perhaps more importantly, 28 tournament teams had a 30 percentage point or greater gap between the graduation rates of white and African‐American basketball student‐athletes while 37 had a 20 percentage point or greater gap.
Issue Gaining Traction
Once upon a time, March Madness, like the college football bowl season, held a special place in America. And for many fans it still does.
But for those who believe that amateur athletics should feature student-athletes and not underpaid, semi-professionals, those competitions no longer hold such special status.
But thanks to Derrick Jackson, Arne Duncan and a host of others bringing attention to this matter, we can harbor hope that these amateur events could one day regain their luster.
March 23, 2010 No Comments
School Improvement – The Turnaround, aka the Sledgehammer Approach
A Rhode Island high school recently took one of the more radical steps towards school improvement when it fired 93 staff members. Citing an inability to reach agreement with the teacher’s union on a plan for teachers to spend more time working with students, the school board of the Central Falls School District voted 5-2 to terminate 93 staff members: one principal, three assistant principals, 74 classroom teachers, guidance counselors, reading specialists, physical education teachers and the school psychologist.
The simplistic, sledgehammer approach, often called the turnaround model, set off a firestorm with unions of every form. But while the step seems nothing short of hideous (are we to believe that not one educator in the building was performing up to expectations?), the situation does beg a simple question: What is the school board to do when the union rejects all proposals set forth to increase student performance at a poor performing school?
Central Falls High Data
By all data models, Central Falls High has been struggling. Of course, providing a quality education in a poverty-ridden school district is never easy.
The school is 65 percent Hispanic and for most of them English is not their first language. According to news accounts, half of all students are failing every subject. A total of 55% have been deemed proficient in reading; a mere 7% in math.
Central Falls High also had a reported graduation rate of 48%.
So, in one of the state’s tiniest and poorest cities, federal and state education officials are insisting that dramatic steps are necessary to transform this poor-performing school. But on the other side, the unions see the move as an attack on the very working conditions they have worked so hard to obtain.
Despite the poor performance label, the president of the Central Falls Teachers Union insisted that the teachers were simply being made a scapegoat. Union leadership also cited a 21 percent rise in reading scores and a 3 percent increase in math scores in the last two years as signs of progress
Furthermore, George McLaughlin, the guidance counselor who had been terminated, questioned the accuracy of the calculated graduation rate. Citing a transient population, he insisted that three times as many students are accepted to colleges now than five years ago.
The Firings
In what has to be one of the toughest moments anyone could imagine, on the night of the 5-2 vote to terminate, the board read the names of every staff member being fired. In an effort to help put a face to a name, each teacher attended the meeting and stood as his or her name was read.
Many were dressed in red, one of the school’s colors. Some cried while others lashed out verbally at the board members and School Superintendent Frances Gallo.
Sadly, the situation came from a set of stalled negotiations. Gallo and the teachers initially agreed on what is called the transformation model (no one is terminated) but reportedly the talks broke down when the two sides could not agree.
Gallo wanted a set of six conditions that included teachers spending more time with students in and out of the classroom. That time included a longer school day of seven hours, a one-hour tutorial for students weekly outside school time, teachers having lunch with students, and a 90 minute session with students every week to discuss education. She also sought a commitment from staff to attend training sessions with other teachers after school and during the summer months.
Ultimately, the sticking point was not the time request – the deciding issue instead centered on pay. Gallo offered to pay teachers for some additional duties (not all) and to do so at $30 per hour. Union leaders sought $90 per hour.
When they could not come to agreement on the steps to take, the superintendent decided the best option was the turnaround model.
Opposing Views Rampant
Education Secretary Arne Duncan defended the termination action. “Students only have one chance for an education and when schools continue to struggle we have a collective obligation to take action.”
Indeed, the firings come directly from a step Duncan has taken to require states to identify their lowest 5 percent of schools according to their performance on standardized tests and graduation rates. As for fixes, there are four options: — school closure; takeover by a charter or school-management organization; transformation; and “turnaround.” It is the latter category that the Central Falls High board has taken – the step requires the entire teaching staff be fired and no more than 50 percent rehired.
And B.K. Nordan, one of the two dissenting votes, still blistered the high school’s teaching staff at the end of the meeting.
“I don’t believe this is a worker’s rights issue. I believe it’s a children’s rights issue,” Nordan was quoted. “…By every statistical measure I’ve seen, we are not doing a good enough job for our students … The rhetoric that these are poor students, ESL students, you can imagine the home lives … this is exactly why we need you to step up, regardless of the pay, regardless of the time involved. This city needs it more than anybody. I demand of you that you demand more of yourself and those around you.”
But comedian and social commentator Bill Maher clearly articulated some of the flaws in the strong-arm approach being used.
“It’s just too easy to blame the teachers, what with their cushy teachers’ lounges, their fat-cat salaries, and their absolute authority in deciding who gets a hall pass,” writes Maher. “We all remember high school – canning the entire faculty is a nationwide revenge fantasy. Take that, Mrs. Crabtree!
“But isn’t it convenient that once again it turns out that the problem isn’t us, and the fix is something that doesn’t require us to change our behavior or spend any money. It’s so simple: Fire the bad teachers, hire good ones from some undisclosed location, and hey, while we’re at it let’s cut taxes more.”
Maher went on to add:
“What matters is what parents do. The number one predictor of a child’s academic success is parental involvement. It doesn’t even matter if your kid goes to private or public school.”
An Indication of the Challenges
And therein lies the difficulties with school reform measures. On the one hand, poor performing schools are asked to work with students from families that do not value education. Students from poor families arrive at school having had more limited learning opportunities from day one and no academic reinforcement as their schooling progresses.
By the same token, it is clear that great teachers, and particularly schools with large numbers of quality educators can make a significant difference. As Nordan states, the kids at Central Falls are in desperate need of teachers willing to step up and to do so regardless of the pay and the time involved.
And that, in my estimation is what separates the really good ones in this noble profession. It is what has always separated those that make a difference with their students.
They are willing to step up, to do what needs to be done, irrespective of pay or recognition or the time involved. And though taking a sledgehammer to a high school seems a painful way to reinforce such a point, there is a lesson to be learned.
According to Duncan’s criteria, no more than 50% of those teachers may be rehired. There are no doubt some very talented individuals who will have to swallow some serious pride to find it in their hearts to reapply.
But those that do so will be applying for work in a school that is now setting a standard as to what it wants and expects from teachers. Nordan is right, this is not a union issue, it is a kid’s issue, and school leadership should be able to insist on steps it needs to take to ensure that the kids needs are met.
And that means that maybe some time a sledgehammer just might be necessary.
March 16, 2010 5 Comments
NCLB and the Closing of Achievement Gaps
We wrote a few weeks back about the passing of one of public education’s greatest supporters, Gerald Bracey. One of Bracey’s key attributes was to point out the statistical discrepancies that could occur when data is broken out by various subgroups.
Many times Bracey demonstrated how one had to look behind as well as beyond the numbers, that whole group progress might contrast with individual sub-group performances and vice-versa. In simplest terms, statistical analysis is very challenging and determining valid conclusions more difficult still.
With that in mind, we turn to some recent research that examines sub-group scores on the national and state achievement tests. While proponents of NCLB continue to insist that law has helped close the achievement gap, that is to say, to reduce the difference in scoring on standardized tests between whites and various subgroups, the law has not done so for one of the most important subgroups, the highest achieving students.
Researchers Jonathan A. Plucker, Ph.D., Nathan Burroughs, Ph.D. and Ruiting Song recently released a new report called Mind the (Other) Gap! The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education (pdf). The writers note:
“One of the major objectives of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is to narrow the achievement gap among demographic subgroups of K-12 students. In NCLB’s implementation, the principal focus has been on minimum competency—of bringing a larger proportion of students to a basic level of educational achievement and closing achievement gaps.”
While there has been progress on that specific front, the researchers also noted:
“…. some observers believe the focus on minimum competency has come at a price. Although there has been a general improvement in academic performance, are achievement gaps also shrinking at the highest levels of student achievement?”
The answer, the researchers found, was no. In fact, they emphasize a new phrase called excellence gaps which is used to describe the differences between subgroups of students performing at the highest levels of achievement. The researchers concluded:
“The existence of such gaps raises doubts about the success of federal and state governments in providing greater and more equitable educational opportunities, particularly as the proportion of minority and low-income students continues to rise. The goal of guaranteeing that all children will have the opportunity to reach their academic potential is called into question if educational policies only assist some students while others are left behind. Furthermore, the comparatively small percentage of students scoring at the highest level on achievement tests suggests that children with advanced academic potential are being under-served, with potentially serious consequences for the long-term economic competitiveness of the U.S.”
Key Findings
The researchers concluded that the achievement gaps between students of different genders as well as different racial, economic, and linguistic profiles were extensive for the nation’s top-performing students. This of course is in direct contrast to what is happening for K-12 students as a whole.
Analyzing more than ten years worth of 4th and 8th grade state and national reading and math assessment tests, the researchers cast a spotlight on the data for the highest performing students. When looking at that one subgroup, they found that the achievement gaps between girls and boys, whites and minority students, disadvantaged and affluent students and their better-off peers, and those with English as their first language versus English-language learners either remained the same, or if the gaps were reduced, they declined only by the tiniest of fractions.
Two examples:
In 4th grade math, from 1996 to 2007 , the percentage of white students scoring at the advanced level on NAEP rose from 2.9 percent to 7.6 percent. In contrast, the percentages of black and Hispanic students rose from near zero to just about 1 percent.
For those 4th graders qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches, advanced-level math scorers raised their totals from 3.1 to 8.7 percent. In Grade 8 mathematics, the percentage of students scoring at the advanced level not eligible for the National School Lunch Program increased by 5.7 percentage points: for the students eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch the increase was .8 percentage points.
Citing a number of other such comparisons, the researchers concluded that excellence gaps on most NAEP tests were growing at both Grade 4 and Grade 8.
NCLB Impacts
While NCLB may not be totally to blame for this development (the achievement gap amongst the highest performing students was growing prior to enactment of the legislation), many predicted such results shortly after the law was enacted. The basic premise was that a focus on bringing all children to fundamental standards would lead to the brightest students, already under-served in most schools, to be shortchanged even further.
In addition, the punishment structures associated with NCLB led many states to set some very low proficiency standards. With NCLB focusing on getting all subgroups to pass that respective basic proficiency level, there is no incentive for schools to see to it that the best students climb further up the performance ladder.
And again, in a clear indication that data must be thoroughly scrubbed, there was one area where there seemed to be some positive developments. If one looked at the 90th percentile as a cutoff, there was some statistical progress in closing gaps for this high-performing subset.
Sadly though, in many cases the closing of the gap was due to one of two results: declining or stagnating scores for white students or modest improvements for disadvantaged groups. The incremental closing of the gap led the researchers to create a rate-based formula with the following predictions:
“it would take 38 years for free-lunch-eligible children to match more affluent children in math at grade 4 and 92 years for English-language learners to equal non-ELL students.”
Concern for our Highest Performers
In simplest terms, a state that narrowed gaps at the “proficient” level did not necessarily reduce those gaps at the “advanced” level. The researchers further note that this excellence gap is seldom discussed by any policy experts when school reform measures are reviewed.
For that very reason, one can attack NCLB and attack it hard. One could never contend that the law is ensuring that No Child is Left Behind, not when the achievement gap among the best and brightest is increasing with each passing year.
March 10, 2010 1 Comment
Media Use by Teens and Adolescents Continues to Explode
Has the time come for parents to pull the plug on mobile media?
A recent study completed by the Kaiser Family Foundation brought little in the way of surprises for those who work with children. But just to set the record straight, the foundation found that daily media use among children and teens is up dramatically even when compared to just five years ago.
With mobile devices providing nonstop internet availability, it is easy to see that entertainment media has never been more accessible than it is right now. The results of the Kaiser survey reveals that children, particularly minority youth, are taking advantage of that access.
But for parents and educators, the key question should not be simply how much time is actually spent with media. Instead, the issue should center upon what effect such consumption has on the mental, emotional and academic development of our youngsters.
The Findings
According to the Kaiser Foundation, “8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week).” Again not too surprisingly, a good portion of that time is spent using more than one medium at a time.
The Kaiser folks estimate that if we were to add in the time spent “multi-tasking” as separate exposure time, the daily average increases to 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) of media exposure for 7½ hour usage time frame.
Back in 2004, the data indicated that 8-18 year-olds averaged 6 hours and 21 minutes of consumption time and 8 hours and 33 minutes of exposure time (again when multi-tasking was taken in to account). The 1 hour and 17 minute increase in consumption equates to a 20% increase over the five-year period and the 2 hours and 12 minutes of exposure time represents a 26% increase over the same time frame.
Most of the increase is due to the availability of mobile devices. According to the Kaiser study, increase in cell phone ownership among 8- to 18-year-olds has gone from 39% to 66% over the five-year period. For ownership of iPods and other MP3 players, the increase is even more substantial: from 18% in 2004 to 76% in 2009.
What will not come as a surprise to parents of teens or teachers, the study revealed that young people now spend more time listening to music, playing games, and watching TV on their cell phones than they spend talking on them (49 to 33 minutes daily).
The impact even affects the one time major concern, time spent in front of the television. For the first time, Kaiser found that the amount of time spent watching regularly scheduled TV actually declined, by 25 minutes a day.
But those mobile devices are, of course, providing new ways to watch television. The result was an overall increase in total TV consumption of 38 minutes a day, from 3 hours and 51 minutes to 4 hours and 29 minutes (2:39 consisting of live TV on a TV set and 1:50 on DVDs, online, or on a mobile device).
For those wondering, the Kaiser study did not count texting as media use. If they had done so, 7th-12th graders would have spent an average of another 1:35 a day consuming media.
And the study focused only on recreational use of media. Any time spent using the computer or using mobile devices for school purposes was not included in the Kaiser media use calculations.
Household Expectations
The amount of time spent on entertainment media is clearly a function of the expectations and the example set by the parents. First, only about three in ten young people reported having rules regarding how much time they can spend watching TV, playing video games, or using the computer. But in those households where rules were set, children spent significantly less time with media: 2 hours and 52 minutes less.
Almost two-thirds of young people indicated that their TV was usually on during meals. Nearly one half (45%) stated that the TV was left on “most of the time” in their home, even if no one was watching.
Perhaps most disappointingly, more than 70% of the children reported having a TV in their own bedroom. A full 50% indicated they had a console video game player in their room as well.
Children in those homes where the TV was on during meals or when no one was watching reported spending 1 hour and 30 minutes more per day on the television. For those with a television in their room, the average reported television consumption increased by an hour.
Ramifications for Parents
Ultimately, the important item for parents is the impact of media consumption that now amounts to 13 hours more than the typical work week for adults.
According to the Kaiser study, the heaviest media users, those who consume more than 16 hours of media a day, reported getting lower grades. About one-half of heavy media users said they usually get fair or poor grades, defined as mostly Cs or lower. Only one-fourth of light users, those who consume less than 3 hours of media a day, reported getting such grades.
While cause and effect is not made clear by such revelations, other experts have noted significant ramifications of a child’s hypermediated environment. Tufts professor and researcher Maryanne Wolf believes that parents need to limit the time their children spend on electronic devices.
The director of the Tufts University Center for Reading and Language Research has spent time researching the impact of digital media on the brain. While technology has some pluses, Wolf expresses strong concerns about the instant gratification that today’s media provides. She also believes that technology is slowly eroding our ability to think deeply.
Of today’s media immersion, Wolf offers:
“A child is learning to be distracted,” she explains. “They aren’t learning in too many places to concentrate and think deeply for themselves. The volume of information, the immediacy of information . . . these are characteristics that can be good, but they can also lead to a less active, [less superficial] learning style.”
The antidote to all the media exposure is simple and yet oh so challenging. Wolf insists that we must take that all important step, to limit usage by turning the “darn things off.”
Wolf is not a parent of a current teen – but if she were, she clearly indicates what she would do:
“If I were a parent today, I would limit the time that my children were online or hooked up to something. What you really want is to help each child learn to use their time well.”
As an example from her own busy life, Wolf states that she expressly
begins and ends each day with an hour that is completely free of anything that is professionally demanding, whether it be e-mail or Internet or anything. Instead, she focuses on hitting the proverbial pause button, books or activities that require her to slow down.
Parents Need to Be Aware
There is no hiding one fact – media use by our youngsters is exploding. In light of that development, parents need to be aware that concerns are growing regarding the time our “wired” youngsters are spending with that media.
Given what we are learning about brain development, such exposure is no doubt having an effect on the intellectual capacities of those youngsters. With cognitive development still forming throughout that 8-18 year-old time frame, it would seem to be a no-brainer that parents would want to insist on a little more balance in their children’s lives.
March 4, 2010 2 Comments
