School districts,Youth role,Michael Dougherty, MANILA, Philippines

http://educationtrends99.blogspot.com/
School districts retooling how they evaluate teachers

Teachers in Evanston- Skokie School District 65 used to be judged on what they did in the classroom. Now their evaluations -- and their pay -- will also depend on what their students do.

The district has begun tracking the test scores of students, classroom by classroom, trying to figure out whether they achieve sufficient progress. If they don't, teachers could see their raises jeopardized.

It's a radical step for a school district, one that no other system in Illinois appears to have taken. But with the Obama administration pushing the concept, many education professionals -- even those critical of the practice -- say data-driven teacher evaluations look like an unstoppable trend.

The public school system in Washington, D.C., imposed its new evaluation system through an act of Congress. It uses statistical models to predict how well a given class should do in the course of a year. Teachers who better that mark could be in line for a bonus. Those who fall short might be fired.

Evanston's District 65, which educates children from kindergarten through eighth grade, designed a two-part evaluation system. One uses an appraisal of classroom teaching style, and the other examines test scores.

At the start of the year, students take a test that is meant to show whether they are performing at grade level. They take another at year's end to determine their progress.

Teachers who earn a rating of "excellent" are expected to move at least one low scoring child to grade level while assuring that most of the class gained a full year of growth, no matter where each child began.

That score-dependent rating is combined with the traditional evaluation to produce a final appraisal of excellent, satisfactory or unsatisfactory. A teacher needs at least one excellent rating over several years to earn a merit pay boost.

The system, created with union input, includes wiggle room -- a student's test scores can be discounted if, say, an illness kept him out of school for an extended period -- but it has put an unprecedented focus on results.

Michael Dougherty, principal of Orrington Elementary, said his teachers have so far remained positive about the change, though fifth-grade teacher Amy Kipfer said she was cautious.

"Tests are not infallible," she said, recalling how a painting crew outside the building distracted her students one testing day. "I feel confident at this moment that the fullness of the child will be measured. But I don't know that our plan is written in such a way that all schools can be sure of that."

http://educationtrends99.blogspot.com/

We go wrong with change because we make it a big occasion, not an everyday event. Change is every day, by everybody, always. It's not a big party where you rock up once every couple of years, get totally wasted, and then try to live with the consequences. Yet that tends to be how we approach it, particularly in the public sector.

Our favourite change is an organisational or departmental structure change. It doesn't matter what the problem is, this solution fits every time. If we are spending too much money, or not reaching enough people, letting down the vulnerable, or not delivering our promise – the solution is to change the structure of the organisation and all will be well. Of course it isn't well and we have to do it again – and again, and again. After each restructuring we wax lyrical about changing the culture or changing the behaviour, but of course we don't really do that, we all keep our heads down for the next merger, or de-merger, or re-merger, or whatever it might be.

MANILA, Philippines — The youth plays an important part in helping stop the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country, the Dangerous Drugs Board said on Tuesday.

Because of this, the agency stressed the importance of maintaining a healthy, drug-free lifestyle among the youth, by making them aware of the problem of illegal drugs in the country.

In the recently concluded 7th Asian Youth Congress held in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, DDB Chairman Vicente Sotto III said that the youth should be mobilized to help in the government’s anti-illegal drugs efforts to “help us win the war against illegal drugs and drug abuse.”

http://educationtrends99.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-11-07T10:31:00-08:00&max-results=1

http://educationtrends99.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-11-01T23:25:00-08:00&max-results=1

Independent Schools Adopted New Curricula and Teaching Methods Early in Qatar's Education Reform, RAND Study Finds

http://educationtrends99.blogspot.com/

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- As the nation of Qatar reformed its education system from 2005 to 2007, teachers at new independent schools worked together to develop curricular contents that addressed new international curriculum standards in key subjects (Arabic language, English language, science, and mathematics), applied significantly more student-centered teaching methods and provided more challenging learning environments, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Researchers found that teachers in the new independent schools were more focused on meeting the learning needs of individual students than were their peers in schools operated by the nation's education ministry. In addition, educators, parents and students recognized and appreciated the differences between the new schools and schools operated by the education ministry.

"Qatar's education reforms have shown tremendous early success by changing how teachers teach and students learn," said Gail L. Zellman, the study's lead author and a senior research psychologist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

Researchers say their observations of teachers in independent schools revealed that they were more likely to work one-on-one with students and to encourage peer learning in small groups. They also were more likely than their peers in education ministry schools to use strategies found to engage students in learning.

The independent schools had many more computers available, which motivated students to be more actively engaged in both self-directed activities and in the classroom, Zellman said.

"Teachers in the independent schools also posed more positive challenges. Students were more frequently asked to analyze, synthesize and evaluate information, accordingly, developed skills associated with critical thinking," she said. "These early trends hold great promise for the future."

RAND conducted the study for Qatar's Supreme Education Council from 2005 to 2007 when the number of independent schools in the nation rose from 33 to 46. The schools are funded by the government and operate alongside schools operated by the education ministry and private schools. As the reform has continued, additional independent schools have opened, bringing the current total to 97.

The RAND study also found that students in grades 4 to 6 who attended independent schools outperformed peers who attended education ministry schools on national assessments in Arabic and English. Independent school students assessed in Arabic also outperformed education ministry students in mathematics and science.

At the same time, independent school students assessed by English-language tests for mathematics and science scored lower than their education ministry peers. Because students and teachers were transitioning from Arabic to English as a medium of instruction, students may not have been able to demonstrate their knowledge as well when tested in English, according to researchers.

The testing analysis did not include preparatory and secondary students because of the small number of independent schools at those levels during the study period.

In the early years of the reform, a substantial number of policy changes were made in response to a variety of challenges. These changes -- like restrictions on the qualifications of school operators -- led to uncertainty and concern among independent school principals, teachers, parents and students.

"The large number of changes over a short period fostered a sense of instability among some independent school administrators, who grew increasingly reluctant to attempt innovations, especially those that involved some risk," Zellman said.

The study recommends that the Supreme Education Council carefully consider the effects of future policy changes prior to implementation. The study also recommends a number of other measures, including:

- Increase support for schools by engaging school support organizations, which provide experienced international school management advisors, for at least two years in each new independent school.

- Offer financial and status incentives to retain highly competent and experienced teachers in the classroom rather than rewarding their performance with administrative positions that remove them from direct daily contact with students.

- Review student-assessment policies, particularly those related to the use of English as the language of testing.

- Encourage parents to support high-quality education for their children. Workshops for parents could introduce new curricula, present strategies for helping their children succeed academically and aid them in understanding school report cards. It would also be advisable to reward independent schools for promoting meaningful parent engagement.

- Make it easier to compare schools on key performance indicators. Parents received a report card for their child's school, but comparing the complex report card information with that of other schools was difficult. One way to simplify these comparisons is to develop a composite index that ranks schools according to student performance and other important outcomes. This would allow parents to more easily make informed decisions and generate healthy competition among Independent schools.

The study, "Implementation of the K-12 Education Reform in Qatar's Schools," was conducted within RAND Education and the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute.http://educationtrends99.blogspot.com/

Trend reports show that student borrowing of private loans dropped by almost 50 percent last year, while the price of tuition continued to rise, according to reports recently released by College Board.

College Board reported in its "Trends in Student Aid 2009" report that undergraduate students received an average of $10,185 in financial aid. This average included $5,041 in grant aid and $4,585 in federal loans.

Total borrowing increased by $4 billion, or 5 percent, between the 2007-08 and the 2008-09 school years, College Board reported.

Total education borrowing includes federal borrowing and nonfederal loans. Federal borrowing increased by nearly $15 billion for the 2008-09 school year.

In contrast, nonfederal loans declined by about $11 billion.

For the 2008-09 school year, colleges and universities provided 39 percent of undergraduates grant aid while the federal government provided 36 percent, according to the College Board report.

The Pell Grant is a federal program that provides need-based grants.

The grant amounts are dependent on the student's expected family contribution, the cost of the institution's tuition for which the student attends, whether the student attends full-time or part-time and whether the student attends for a full academic year or less.

The average Pell Grant was $2,973 for the 2008-09 school year. College Board reported that 58 percent of Pell Grant funds went to independent undergraduate students, and among dependent Pell Grant recipients, 62 percent went to students with families of annual income below $30,000.

College Board reported that $168.4 billion was the total amount of grants distributed in the 2008-09 school year to undergraduate and graduate students from all sources: Federal Work-Study, federal loans, and federal tax credits and deductions.
Lehigh's loan coordinator, students who qualified for work-study received $1,700 last year, and the students who qualify this year are receiving as much as $2,200.

"They are trying to compensate for the economy," Cruz said.

Cruz reported that there has been about a 40 percent drop between the numbers of people borrowing this year compared to last year.

Thirty-five percent of undergraduate students took out federal Stafford loans, according to College Board.

The American higher education system is the best in the world. It is the wealthiest, most productive, most influential system of its kind. Unfortunately, that is no reason to be complacent. The system is also one that graduates hundreds of thousands of students annually into the workforce who are truly qualified for almost no work. It is a system featuring a six-year graduation rate just south of 60 percent, a graduation rate gap of 11 percent between whites and minorities and average annual tuition continuously outstripping inflation and increases in household income.

In IT, certifications such as those developed by Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle and the like allow virtually any person of any socioeconomic status or education level to — for a fee — learn a set of skills, demonstrate proficiency with these skills and compete for jobs in the open market. A system like that allows people who lack the financial or social capital to invest in a four-year degree to still be employed as a skilled laborer.

At the same time, clearer signals are sent to employers. Recent economic research is clear: Years of education, college degrees, college rankings and the like are very, very poor predictors of job performance. The useful predictors? IQ and tests of occupational knowledge. So, we have a system that alienates possible, productive laborers and sends unclear signals to employers all while perpetuating tuition inflation. There should be a better way to maintain postsecondary education in this country. There is. Let us work beyond mere reform and work toward reinvention.

http://educationtrends99.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-11-01T23:25:00-08:00&max-results=1