Texas
Education News
April
2009
Copyright © 2009 Queue,
Inc.
IN
THIS ISSUE:
Physically Fit Students More Likely To Do Well in School, Less
Likely To Be Disciplinary Problems
Nine of Every 10 Third-Grade Students Pass TAKS Reading Exam
Charter School Students More Likely to
Graduate, Attend College
Science Setback for Texas Schools
Texas
Education Report Back Issues (http://www.queuenews.com/TXnews.html)
Education Research Report
Back Issues (http://www.queuenews.com/EduResearchRpt.html)
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A first-of-its-kind study of more than 2.4 million Texas
students found that students who are physically fit are more likely to do well
on the stateÕs standardized tests and have good school attendance. Fit students
are also less likely to have disciplinary referrals.
The findings released today are based on the results of a
battery of six FITNESSGRAM¨ tests taken by students in grades 3-12 during the
2007-2008 school year. The FITNESSGRAM¨ tool was created by The Cooper Institute
of Dallas. The six types of assessment measure five areas - body composition,
aerobic capacity, muscular strength, endurance and flexibility. The assessments
determine whether students are in a Òhealthy fitness zoneÓ for their age and
gender.
The study analyzed data from 6,532 schools, which represents
about 75 percent of the schools in Texas and about 84 percent of the school
districts.
The study found that cardiovascular health,
measured by a walking/running test, had a higher correlation to school success
than did the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a measure of body fat based on
height and weight, adjusted for age and gender.
About 78 percent of fourth-grade students were in the healthy
fitness zone for cardiovascular fitness, whereas only 20 percent of high school
seniors reached the healthy fitness zone. As with the overall FITNESSGRAM¨
data, cardiovascular fitness levels declined with each passing grade.
About 70 percent of students in
each of the grades 3-12 reached the healthy fitness zone for Body Mass Index.
About 30 percent of the students were not able to achieve the healthy fitness
zone for their age and gender.
Significant correlations were found between physical fitness
and various indicators of academic achievement. The study shows that:
á
Higher levels of fitness are associated with better academic
performance. At high performing schools that have earned the stateÕs top rating
of Exemplary, about 80 percent of the students have healthy levels of
cardiovascular fitness.
á
At schools that have received the stateÕs lowest rating
called Academically Unacceptable, slightly more than 40 percent of the students
achieved cardiovascular fitness.
á
Higher levels of fitness were associated with better school
attendance.
á
Higher levels of fitness at a school were also associated
with fewer disciplinary incidents. The research looked at the number of
incidents involving drugs, alcohol, violence and truancy.
á
Counties with high levels of cardiovascular fitness tended to
have high passing rates on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS).
Regional and county data can be found at www.texasyouthfitnessstudy.org.
The physical fitness assessments are given annually to Texas
students. The 2007-2008 school year was the first time students were assessed
statewide using the FITNESSGRAM¨. About 2.6 million students were tested. To
ensure that results were representative of a school, test results were removed
from the analysis if fewer than 25 percent of the students at a school were
tested. Consequently, the research into the correlation between the
cardiovascular health and BMI and academic success is based on the performance
of 2.4 million students.
The original 2008 baseline data from 2.6 million youngsters,
which was analyzed by researchers with The Cooper Institute, found that:
á
Students were most likely to achieve a healthy fitness zone
level on all six FITNESSGRAM¨ tests at third grade;
á
Of the 331,379 third-grade students who participated in the
study, 33.25 percent of the girls and 28.60 percent of the boys were in the
healthy fitness zone on all six tests;
á
Fitness levels declined with each subsequent grade level,
reaching a low at 12th grade. Of the 152,144 seniors tested, only 8.18 percent
of the girls and 8.96 percent of the boys meet healthy standards on all six
tests.
This spring students in grades 3-12 are undergoing a second
round of FITNESSGRAM¨ testing.
Eighty-nine percent of Texas students who took either the
Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) or TAKS (Accommodated) reading
test passed, which means they have cleared a key promotion requirement.
Texas students must pass the stateÕs third-grade reading
TAKS, fifth-grade reading and math TAKS and eighth-grade reading and math exams
in order to be promoted to the next grade under the Texas School Success
Initiative requirement.
Forty-six percent of the 315,727 students who took the
third-grade exam in English received a Commended Performance designation
because they earned a scale score of 2400 or higher. A passing score on TAKS is
2100.
Among the 34,941 third-grade students who took the TAKS or
TAKS (Accommodated) in Spanish, 83 percent passed the reading test and 29
percent earned Commended Performance.
Fifth-grade students who were tested in English had an 83
percent passing rate on the reading exam. This test was taken by 322,982
students in March. Thirty percent of these students reached the Commended
Performance level.
Among the 7,720 fifth-grade students who took a Spanish
language reading test, 68 percent passed and 18 percent earned the Commended
Performance designation.
In eighth-grade, 319,292 students took the reading test. This
class posted the highest passing rate with 93 percent passing the test.
Forty-eight percent reached the Commended Performance level. There is not a
Spanish-language test available at this grade.
While most students take the TAKS or TAKS-Accommodated,
TAKS-M is an alternative assessment available to students receiving special
education services who meet participation requirements. It features modified
academic achievement standards.
At third grade, 85 percent of the 11,308 students who took
TAKS-M passed the reading exam and 17 percent earned a Commended Performance
designation.
At fifth grade, 79 percent of the 15,050 students tested
passed the TAKS-M reading test and 14 percent were recognized for Commended
Performance.
At eighth grade, 79 percent of the 14,290 students who were
tested on TAKS-M passed the reading assessment and 11 percent received
Commended Performance.
Students who failed the reading test will have opportunities
to pass it on April 29 and July 1 when retests are scheduled.
The fifth and eighth-grade mathematics exams that students
must also pass in order to be promoted will be given April 7, with two
additional retests available.
Under state law, students who fail these exams must be given
extra instructional help. If a student is in jeopardy of being retained,
parents can appeal the retention to a Grade Placement Committee, which consists
of parents, the childÕs teacher and the principal. If in unanimous agreement,
the committee may promote the child to the next grade but additional
instructional help must be provided.
Bills now under review by the Texas Legislature propose
repealing the promotion requirements tied to testing.
Additional testing information is available at: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=3631&menu_id3=793.
Scores for local districts or specific campuses are available
at the local level only at this time.
Students
at charter schools graduate and attend college at significantly higher rates
than students at traditional public schools, according to a RAND Corp. study
led by a Michigan State University scholar.
The
study, which offers mixed overall results for charter school advocates, comes
amid a national debate over President ObamaÕs endorsement of charter schools,
which are experimental public schools that operate independently of the local
school board. Obama recently said he would oppose limits on the number of
charter schools.
Reseaarchers
found that charter students are 7 percent to 15 percent more likely to graduate
from high school and attend college than students at traditional public
schools.
Other
findings from the study, which looked at eight U.S. locations:
á There is little evidence
that charter schools are producing, on average, test score gains that differ substantially
from those of traditional public schools. Zimmer said much of the previous
research has shown similar results.
á Charter schools do not
generally draw the top students away from traditional public schools. In fact,
Zimmer said students transferring to charter schools generally have
below-average test scores.
á Charter schools do not
appear to substantially help or harm student achievement in nearby traditional
public schools.
The study examined charter schools in Chicago,
Denver, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, San Diego, and the states of Florida, Ohio and
Texas.
Complete report:
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG869.pdf
Somebody's
got to stand up to experts!" cries board chairman Don McLeroy.
After
three all-day meetings and a blizzard of amendments and counter-amendments, the
Texas Board of Education cast its final vote Friday on state science standards.
The results weren't pretty.
The
board majority amended the Earth and Space Science, and Biology standards
(TEKS) with loopholes and language that make it even easier for creationists to
attack science textbooks.
"The
final vote was a triumph of ideology and politics over science," says Dr.
Eugenie Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education
(NCSE). "The board majority chose to satisfy creationist constituents and
ignore the expertise of highly qualified Texas scientists and scientists across
the country." NCSE presented the board with a petition from 54 scientific
and educational societies, urging the board to reject language that
misrepresents or undermines the teaching of evolution, which the board likewise
ignored.
Although
the "strengths and weaknesses" wording that has been part of the
standards for over a decade was finally excised--wording that has been used to
pressure science textbook publishers to include creationist arguments--a number
of amendments put the creationist-inspired wording back in.
"What
we now have is Son of Strengths and Weaknesses," says Josh Rosenau, a
project director for NCSE. "Having students 'analyze and evaluate all
sides of scientific evidence' is code that gives creationists a green light to
attack biology textbooks."
For
example, the revised biology standard (7B) reflects two discredited creationist
ideas--that "sudden appearance" and "stasis" in the fossil
record somehow disprove evolution. The new standard directs students to
"analyze and evaluate the sufficiency of scientific explanations
concerning any data of sudden appearance, stasis and the sequential nature of
groups in the fossil records." Other new standards include language such
as "is thought to", or "proposed transitional
fossils" to make evolutionary concepts seem tentative when, in fact, such
concepts are well-documented and accepted by the scientific community.
The
changes will not immediately affect curricula in Texas high schools, but
"the standards will affect standardized tests and textbooks," says
Rosenau. Thanks to such laws as No Child Left Behind, ubiquitous standardized
tests are central to measuring student progress and proficiency. Teachers teach
to the test, notes Rosenau, and textbooks have to reflect this.
"Will
publishers cave in to pressure from the Texas board to include junk science in
their textbooks? It has happened before," says Scott. "But textbooks
that please the Texas board will be rejected in other states. Publishers will
have to choose between junk science and real science."
"Let's
be clear about this," cautioned Dr. Scott. "This is a setback for
science education in Texas, not a draw, not a victory. The revised wording
opens the door to creationism in the classroom and in the textbooks. The
decisions will not only affect Texas students for the next ten years, but could
result in watered-down science textbooks across the U.S. ThereÕs a reason
creationists are claiming victory."
NCSE's
Josh Rosenau summed up the frustration of scientists and educators alike:
"This is a hell of a way to make education policy."
Recent
research conducted at Spring Independent School District (ISD) in Houston
revealed that Academy of READING¨ and the Academy of MATH¨ from AutoSkill were
successful in closing the achievement gap and improving state assessment
scores.
Conducted
by Dr. Marcie Penner-Wilger, AutoSkillÕs chief scientist, in partnership with
Spring ISD, the study concluded that Title I, at-risk, economically
disadvantaged and students of all ethnicities who used the Academy of READING
and the Academy of MATH saw significantly higher scores on the Texas Assessment
of Knowledge and Skills (TAKSª) and larger gains in their Lexile¨ reading and
Quantile¨ math scores, compared with students who didnÕt use the intervention
solutions.
Spring
ISD serves more than 33,000 students from a wide variety of backgrounds and
skill levels, including many who speak English as a second language. For the
2007-2008 school year, the district turned to AutoSkill for its Tier 2 Response
to Intervention (RtI) solution.
ÒOur
district is committed to ensuring that every student is on track to meet and
exceed learning goals,Ó said, Bob Thompson, Executive Director for Secondary
School Improvement, Spring ISD. ÒThis research supports what our teachers told
us throughout last school year Ð our struggling students who are using the
Academy of READING and the Academy of MATH are seeing significant learning
gains and improving their scores on the TAKS.Ó
In
the study, 2176 Spring ISD students in second through ninth grade from 26
schools used either the Academy of READING or the Academy of MATH during the
2007-2008 academic year. TAKS data were obtained for 580 students in third to
eighth grade. After less than an average of 14 hours using the Academy of READING,
students showed gains on the TAKS of an average of 104 scale-score points
higher than students who hadnÕt used the intervention. Lexile scores for the
students using the Academy of READING improved by an average of 105 points more
than non-users.
Students
who used the Academy of MATH for an average of only 16 hours had TAKS gains of
an average of 73 scale-score points higher than non-users. Their Quantile
scores increased an average of 38 points higher than their peers who didnÕt use
the intervention.
Overall,
the percentage of students who met the TAKS reading standard increased by 16
percent, while students meeting the TAKS math standard increased by 17 percent.
Complete
study:
http://www.autoskill.com/pdf/ES_Spring_TX.pdf