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A new report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce states that the United States’ colleges and universities will need to inccrease by 10% the number of degrees they confer in order to meet the workforce’s education requirements by 2018.  According to the report, 63% of jobs in the U.S. economy will require some education beyond high school.  This is an increase from 59% in 2008.  The report also state that just 19 states will be at that level.  Jobs for high school graduates will be concentrated in Southern states.  For state-by-state comparisons visit: cew.georgetown.edu

It would appear to me that in order to meet those requirements, states need to increase the number of students graduating from K-12 schools.  Therefore we should have some sort of cooperation between K-12 schools and univrsities to align what we are doing.

What is the purpose of giving grades?

The Mount Olive school district, in New Jersey has eliminated the grade od “D’ from its report cards.

“D’s are simply not useful in society,” said Larrie Reynolds, the Mount Olive superintendent, who led the campaign against D’s as a way to raise the bar and motivate students to work harder. “It’s a throwaway grade. No one wants to hire a D-anything, so why would we have D-students and give them credit for it?”

The no-D policy was adopted by the school board. Even some teachers have expressed concerns that it may result in more students failing and possibly dropping out of school.

How many of us knowingly would go to a “D” doctor or fly on a n airplane piloted by a “D” pilot?  Should we allow students to pass a subject with a “D”?

Under the old system, students could pass with a 65 “” 389 of the 1,500 students at Mount Olive High had a “D” on their final report cards in June “” but now anything lower than a 70 will be considered failure.

While few high schools have banned D’s outright as Mount Olive has, some have sought to tamp down grade inflation by quietly tightening their standards over the years. Several New Jersey high schools, for instance, have raised the minimum for D’s to 70, which is traditionally the C-minus range, with anything below deemed an F.

Mount Olive, an above-average school in a middle-class community, is developing a support system to help students meet the tougher grading standard. When students receive a failing grade on a test, a paper or a homework assignment in the future, they will have three days to repeat the work for a C, and their parents will be notified by phone or e-mail.

Students who continue to fail will be placed on a “watch list” to receive extra-help classes, as well as tutoring from other students. If they need to make up a failed course, they will be given the option of attending an evening school, known as “Sunset Academy,” that will charge a fee of $150 per class.

While I commend the superintendent and school board of Mount Olive, I believe that we should limit grades to three, pass, exceptional and “no credit”.  It is increasingly difficult to explain to students and parents the difference between a 89 and a 90. In New York City, where I taught, some teachers gave a student a zero (0) what effect did that have on a student? Grades need to reflect achievement, not effort. A student who says, “I deserve to pass because I tried hard” doesn’t deserve to pass unless the student achieves a certain teacher-established competency in a subject.

The business and political community believe that if you give merit pay to educators to produce higher test scores there will be an improvement in academic achievement.

According to a new study conducted by Vanderbilt University in Nashville Tennessee giving bonuses of up to $15,000 did not produce higher test scores.  The study was conducted from 2006 to 2009 and involved 296 middle school math teachers.  The teachers were placed in two pools what were randomly selected.  One-third of the eligible teachers -51 out of 152 – got bonuses at least once.  Except for some temporary gains, their students progressed no faster than those in classes taught by the 146 other teachers.

Critic

In the state in which I live, New Mexico, we have 6 four-year colleges .  Next store in  Arizona, which has 4 times our population, there are 3 universities.  Colleges and universities across the United States continue to proliferate and expand and build additional buildings and seats seemingly without regard to the impact on students and their parents.

In the negative sense, this means that there is duplication of majors and a spreading of the best talents to many institutions as opposed to consolidating them in fewer schools.  It also means that students (and their parents) bear the additional costs of maintaining the universities.

On the other side, we live in a society which insists that everyone should attend colleges and graduate from them.  [Read more…] about Do We Have Too Many Colleges?

One of my favorite educators is Diane Ravitch.  Her new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System is superb.  Here is an article she wrote for her regular column in the Washington Post.

My guest is Diane Ravitch, New York University education historian and author of the best-selling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.” Ravitch, once a supporter of No Child Left Behind and now a fierce critic of its impact, is traveling the country and meeting thousands of teachers as she blasts the Obama administration’s education policies.

By Diane Ravitch
For the past five years, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein have claimed that, due to their programs, New York City was a national model. They proclaimed that the city had made “historic gains” on state tests, all because of the mayor’s complete control of the policymaking apparatus. The mayor testified in congressional hearings that New York City had cut the achievement gap in half. Klein traveled to Australia to boast of the city’s gains, and the Australian minister of education intends to align that nation’s education system with the New York City model.

It was an exciting and wonderful ride while it lasted. But last week, with the release of the state test results for 2010, New York City’s claims came crashing to the ground. The national model went up in smoke. The miracle was no more. The belief that mayoral control was a panacea for urban ills was no longer sustainable.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has gone around the nation for the past 18 months singing the praises of mayoral control. But in light of the New York City fiasco, he will have to find a new example when he lectures urban audiences, because the New York model just lost its wheels.

What is that model? All decision-making power vested in the office of the mayor, who chooses the school leadership; testing and accountability; report cards for schools with a single letter grade; bonuses for principals whose schools have rising scores; closing schools whose scores do not rise; opening charter schools and small schools; devolving authority to principals to make decisions about spending and instructional programs.

When Mayor Bloomberg first ran for office, he said that the legislature should give him control of the school system with minimal checks or balances. He promised accountability. If anything went wrong, the public would know whom to hold accountable; not some faceless board, but he, the mayor, would be accountable.

The New York City version of mayoral control means that parents and the public have no voice. The shell of the central board is dominated by a majority of mayoral appointees, who approve whatever the mayor wants. On the one occasion when two of his appointees threatened to vote independently, they were fired on the spot.

Every year, the State Education Department reported that scores were going up across the state and in New York City. In 2007, based entirely on steadily rising state scores, the Broad Foundation awarded New York City its annual prize as the nation’s most improved urban school district. Mayor Bloomberg used the state scores to win re-election in 2005 and to bypass term limits and get re-elected for a third term in 2009.

When the mayoral control law expired a year ago, the mayor referred to the state scores as evidence that his reforms were working and the progress should not be interrupted.

The narrative ended on a sour note last week. The State Education Department accepted that the state tests had gotten so easy in recent years that the standards had become meaningless.

Students could advance from level 1 (where remediation was required in New York City) to level 2 by random guessing. Reaching level 3 (“proficiency”) did not mean that students were likely to graduate high school. Under new leadership, the state raised standards, and the proportion of New York City students who reached proficiency dramatically declined.

The pass rate on the reading test fell from 69 percent to only 42 percent, and on the math test, it dropped from 82% to 54%. In addition, the achievement gap among students of different racial and ethnic groups grew larger, as large as it was when the mayor took office.

The mayor and the chancellor responded to the new situation not by accepting responsibility and accountability, but by denying the facts. In news conferences, press briefings, and opinion articles, they and their surrogates insisted that the “historic gains” of the past five years were still intact.

They pointed to scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress to defend their claims, but this was a weak reed. New York City’s gains on NAEP were garden-variety. Atlanta, Boston and the District of Columbia made larger gains in fourth grade reading and math; Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Diego made larger gains in eighth grade math; and New York City made zero gains in eighth grade reading from 2003-2009, while Atlanta, Houston, and Los Angeles did see significant improvement in that grade and subject.

So the larger story is this: Mayoral control did not turn New York City into a national model. Before promoting mayoral control as the answer to urban education, Secretary Duncan would do well to consider Cleveland, which has had mayoral control since 1995.

Like New York City, Cleveand has participated in national testing from the inception of urban district assessment. Cleveland has made no gains in fourth grade reading or eighth grade reading or fourth grade mathematics or eighth grade mathematics.

Mayoral control is not a panacea. Not in Cleveland or in New York City. Nor in Chicago, which has seen some gains, but is still one of the nation’s lowest performing urban districts after many years of mayoral control.

In case you missed it, Alma & Colin Powell discussed the growing problem of school dropouts on Morning Joe (https://www.educationnation.com/index.cfm?objectid=555C184E-CB08-11DF-8853000C296BA163&aka=0).

The good news is that I am gratified that the dropout crisis is getting as much publicity as it is and horrified that the problem is as large as it is.

Hawaii in an attempt to save money in this downturned economy and dramatic falloff of tourism, closed schools on 17 Fridays.  This was done without a regard to working  parents. Parents had to use vacation or sick days.  Some enlisted the help of grandparents. Many paid $25 to $50 per child each week for the new child care programs that had sprung up.

Children, meanwhile, had to adjust to a new meaning  of T.G.I.F. Getting them up for school on Mondays grew harder. Fridays were filled with trips to pools and beaches, hours of television and Wii, long stretches alone for older children.

Four-day weeks have been used by a small number of rural school districts in the United States, especially since the oil shortage of the 1970s. During the current downturn, their ranks have swelled to more than 120 districts.  But Hawaii is an extreme case. It shut schools not only in rural areas but also in high-rise neighborhoods in Honolulu. The state owes billions of dollars to a pension system that has only 68.8 percent of the money it needs to cover its promises to state workers, Hawaii instituted the furloughs even after getting $110 million in stimulus money for schools.

Unlike most districts with four-day weeks, Hawaii did not lengthen the hours of its remaining school days: its 163-day school year was the shortest in the nation.

The furloughs were originally supposed to last two years, but the outcry was so great “” that a deal was hammered out to restore the days next year.

America is sacrificing its future by sacrificing its children.

GENERAL AND MRS. COLIN POWELL TO PRESENT AT NBC NEWS’ “EDUCATION NATION” – TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

Presentation Will Address the Nation’s High School Dropout Crisis and the Need to Prepare Our Future Workforce

In an effort to bring awareness to the critical issue of the nation’s high school dropout rates in the U.S., General Colin Powell, Founding Chairman of America’s Promise Alliance, and Alma Powell, Chair of America’s Promise Alliance, will jointly appear for a special presentation at NBC News’ “Education Nation” Summit on Tuesday, September 28th.  America’s Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest multi-sector partnership organization dedicated to improving the lives of young people. The presentation will address the systemic impact of low graduation rates, and the steps needed to drive policy change, support communities and transform the lives of the country’s most vulnerable students. Following the presentation, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of “Morning Joe” will have a discussion with the Powells and take questions from the audience.

“When it comes to education and the future of our children, the time for change is now,” said General Colin Powell, USA (Ret.), Founding Chairman, America’s Promise Alliance. “The risks of inaction to our economy and the integrity of this country are too great if we do not address the dropout crisis.”

“Having access to an education that challenges and inspires our young people to reach higher and give back is one of the most important things we can do as Americans,” said Alma Powell, Chair of America’s Promise Alliance. “This job is too big and too important for the schools to tackle alone, so we must all do our part in ensuring the success of our youth. “˜Education Nation’ is a great example of the collaborative effort needed to act on the lessons we’ve learned and to start making a difference today.”

The Powells’ appearance is an integral part of NBC News’ first annual “Education Nation””” fostering an urgently needed national conversation about the state of education in America, giving voice to committed teachers, parents, students and policymakers.  Through the “Education Nation” Summit and multi-media programming, NBC News  (plans to explore) explores the greatest challenges,  (will highlight) highlights solutions and examines innovative ideas in education today. Shining a spotlight on the state of education in America, NBC News will hold decision-makers accountable for improving education for America’s future.

Founded in 1997, America’s Promise Alliance (the Alliance) is comprised of more than 400 partners across various industry sectors working to help improve the lives of children and youth. In an effort to raise awareness of America’s high school dropout crisis, the Alliance launched its Dropout Prevention Campaign in April 2008. Through this work, the Alliance has sponsored more than 100 Dropout Prevention summits nationwide ““ bringing together more than 35,000 mayors and governors, business and civic leaders, child advocates, school administrators, students, and parents to develop workable solutions and action plans to raise graduation rates in their communities.

For the next phase of this work, in its most significant campaign to date, the Alliance launched “Grad Nation” in March 2010 with the support of President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “Grad Nation” is a ten-year effort to mobilize Americans to end the dropout crisis and prepare young people for success in higher education and the 21st century workforce.

The Powell’s presentation will be covered on MSNBC and streamed on msnbc.com live and for delayed viewing. For more information, visit www.educationnation.com.

About Education Nation

“Education Nation” is a nationally broadcast in-depth conversation about improving education in America. Through an interactive summit on Rockefeller Plaza parents, teachers and students meet with leaders in politics, education and technology to explore the challenges and opportunities in education today.  NBC News will turn Rockefeller Plaza into a “Learning Plaza,” a series of galleries open to the public to explore the latest technologies and techniques used in award-winning classrooms nationwide. The entire week of September 26, all NBC News platforms will highlight education stories, while broadcasting live from the Plaza.