North
Carolina Education News
Copyright © 2007 Queue,
Inc.
In this Issue:
ACT High School Profile Report
The Graduating Class of 2007 - North Carolina
North
Carolina Act Scores Increased In 2007
North Carolina Wins $6.0 Million in Grant for
Longitudinal Data System
Wayne County Public Schools in North Carolina Will
Implement Web-based Assessment Solution
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The National Council on Teacher Quality 50-state encyclopedia on
statesÕ teacher policies, concludes that many North CarolinaÕs policies are
counterproductive to the nationÕs teacher quality goals.
The State Teacher Policy Yearbook is the first
project of its kind to provide a 360-degree detailed analysis of how states are
hurting or helping teacher quality--and what they can do to fix broken and
anachronistic policies.
While North Carolina did better than most states, its overall
performance shows how much work is still ahead. In the six areas of teacher
policy assessed—ranging from teacher admissions standards, licensure to
compensation reform, the state earned three ÒCÓ grades and three ÒDÓ grades.
Among the findings: ¥ North CarolinaÕs Òalternate routeÓ for
helping knowledgeable, talented college graduates enter the teaching profession
is both burdensome and unsupportive of a new teacherÕs needs.
¥ The state allows some teachers to teach for multiple years
without passing the state licensing tests.
¥ North Carolina neglects the preparation of special education teachers, failing to ensure that these teachers are prepared to teach students with disabilities.
Despite the bleak overall findings, there are several bright
spots. North Carolina requires that ed schools only accept teacher candidates
who have passed a basic skills test, a minimal standard that many states do not
observe. Also, the state does a better job collecting and reporting data that
should help districts to remedy the inequitable distribution of teachers.
To download copies of the North Carolina report, which includes
national comparisons:
http://www.nctq.org/stpy/reports/stpy_northcarolina.pdf
The
ACT High School Profile Report for each state provides information about the
performance of 2007 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors,
or seniors. The reports focus on performance, access, course selection, course
rigor, college readiness, awareness, and articulation.
To
see the report:
http://www.act.org/news/data/07/pdf/states/Northcarolina.pdf
North Carolina students increased their performance on
the ACT college admissions exam in 2007, scoring just two-tenths of a point
lower than the national average, according to results released by the ACT
today. ACT test scores are among the factors that colleges and universities use
in their admissions process.
North Carolina's average composite score increased by .5
points from 2006 to 2007 and totaled 21 points. The national average composite
rose by .1 to 21.2 points. A change of .3 points is considered significant by
the ACT. The ACT is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, with 36 being the highest
possible score.
While most North Carolina high school students take the
SAT college entrance exam, the ACT is growing in popularity. A record number
(12,202) of North Carolina graduates took the test. This represents 16 percent
of the state's public and private school graduates. The SAT, in contrast,
attracted 71 percent of North Carolina graduates in 2006. Nationally, 1.3
million public and private school students took the ACT, which represented 42
percent of all graduations in the nation.
The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement test
consisting of four separate exams in English, reading, mathematics and science,
in addition to an optional writing test.
North Carolina's average composite score increased by .5
points from 2006 to 2007 and totaled 21 points. The national average composite
rose by .1 to 21.2 points. A change of .3 points is considered significant by
the ACT. The ACT is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, with 36 being the highest possible
score.
An increasing number of students taking the ACT
indicated that they had completed or exceeded the minimum core coursework that
ACT recommends for college preparation. This year, 55 percent of students
indicated that they had met or exceeded the minimum for college preparation, up
from 52 percent in 2006. Students who complete the minimum coursework generally
score higher on the ACT and earn better college grades.
ACT defines the core college-preparatory curriculum as
four or more years of English and three or more years each of mathematics
(algebra and above), social studies, and natural sciences. Nationally, seniors
in the Class of 2007 who took the core curriculum or more earned an average
composite score of 22.0. For North Carolina students, the average was 21.8.
Students who took less than the core courses typically
score two-three points lower overall.
Scores on the ACT vary by race/ethnicity as well as by
level of academic preparation. North Carolina's African American students had a
composite score of 18.0 (17.7 nationally) for students who took at least the
core curriculum and 15.7 (16.1 nationally) for those who did not. American
Indians in North Carolina who took the core curriculum or more scored 19.7
(20.3 nationally) while American Indians who did not take the core scored 16.9
(17.6 nationally). White students in North Carolina who took at least the core
scored 22.9 (23.0 nationally); white students with less than the core
curriculum scored 21.3 (20.7 nationally). Hispanic students with the core
curriculum or more scored 20.8 (19.5 nationally) while those with less than the
core curriculum scored 19 (17.7 nationally). Asian American/Pacific Islander
students taking the core or more scored 23.5 in North Carolina (23.1
nationally) versus 20.9 for students with less than the core (21.4 nationally).
Improved
data systems will help better track student achievement and enhance learning
The
U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences has awarded a
total of $62.2 million in grants to 13 state education departments for the
design and implementation of statewide longitudinal data systems.
Intended
to help the states generate and use accurate and timely data to meet reporting
requirements, support decision-making, and aid education research, the grants
range from $3.2 million to $6 million and extend for three years.
These
systems are intended to enhance the ability of states to efficiently and accurately
manage, analyze, and use education data.
In
line with the goals of No Child Left Behind to use
scientifically-based research data to improve education, the data systems
developed with funds from these grants will help states, districts, schools,
and teachers make data-driven decisions to improve student learning, as well as
facilitate research to increase student achievement and close achievement gaps.
The grantees will be expected to submit annual and final
reports on the status of the development and the implementation of these
systems.
Awardees of the data system grants, and their
three-year totals, include North Carolina, $6.0 million.
ScantronÕs
Achievement Series testing platform has been selected by Wayne County Public
Schools in North Carolina to provide standards-based formative assessment for
third through eighth grade students.
Achievement
Series is a content-neutral, highly flexible testing platform that gives
educators the ability to score and analyze tests in real time, diagnose student
needs, and make informed instructional decisions to improve student
achievement. Wayne County Public Schools will use Achievement Series to
administer quarterly district benchmark assessments in reading, math and
science.
ÒPreviously,
our quarterly benchmark assessments were done manually. It was difficult to
aggregate and disaggregate data at the district level and then get that data
back out to the schools in a timely, easy to understand format,Ó said Sandra
McCullen, associate superintendent for Wayne County Public Schools.
ÒAchievement Series will give us access to the timely data we need to assess
student performance, adjust instruction, and ultimately improve student
achievement.Ó
Communities
that are committed to fostering diversity in public schools were dealt a
serious blow today when, in an historic ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court
restricted the ability of school districts to use race as a factor in school
assignment plans. Districts should not give up on integration, however, says
Richard D. Kahlenberg, senior fellow at The Century Foundation. ÒA growing
number of school districts across the country have begun to use studentsÕ
socioeconomic status as a factor in school integration plans,Ó he says, Òand
preliminary evidence suggests such plans can raise academic achievement and
produce racially diverse schools in a manner that is legally bullet-proof.Ó
He
examines twelve such school systems and finds that when socioeconomic school
integration plans are well implemented, they can boost academic achievement and
also provide students with a racially integrated schooling environment. Rescuing
Brown
v. Board of Education: Profiles of Twelve School Districts Pursuing
Socioeconomic School Integration features detailed studies of three leading
districts with the longest standing and most comprehensive socioeconomic
integration policies—Wake County (Raleigh), North Carolina; La Crosse,
Wisconsin; and Cambridge, Massachusetts. It also includes profiles of nine
additional communities that are using socioeconomic status as a factor in
assignment—Berkeley, California; Brandywine, Delaware; Charlotte-
Mecklenburg, North Carolina, Manatee County, Florida; McKinney, Texas;
Minneapolis, Minnesota; Omaha, Nebraska; Rochester, New York; and San
Francisco, California. In addition, the report looks at school districts that
may move toward socioeconomic integration. These include districts already
discussing that possibility (including Burlington, Vermont; and Pasadena,
California) as well as districts now employing race as a criterion which may
shift toward socioeconomic status (including Louisville, Kentucky; Seattle,
Washington; Lynn, Massachusetts; and others).
ÒBrown
v. Board of Education stood for racial integration of schools and equal educational
opportunity,Ó says Kahlenberg. ÒSchool districts that are promoting
socioeconomic integration are vigorously pursuing both goals. Given the Supreme
CourtÕs decision, socioeconomic integration moves to the cutting edge of
equitable school reform.Ó The report notes that today, most districts seek to
achieve socioeconomic integration through public school choice and magnet
schools rather than compulsory busing.
Rescuing
Brown
v. Board of Education: Profiles of Twelve School Districts Pursuing
Socioeconomic School Integration :
http://www.tcf.org/publications/education/districtprofiles.pdf
HP
is awarding more than $1.2 million in HP equipment, cash and professional
development to teams of teachers at 15 K-12 public schools. Watauga High School
will receive 11 HP Tablet PCs, 10 HP digital cameras, 10 all-in-one printers,
10 digital projectors and stipends for the 15 teachers involved in the
technology integration work.
The
award additionally includes a professional development program for educators
funded by HP and provided by the International Society for Technology in
Education. Each school will receive training and mentoring as they implement
their projects.
The
value of the grant award for each school is more than $81,000.