June 2009
Copyright © 2009 Queue, Inc.
IN
THIS ISSUE:
Graduation Test Scores Continue to Improve
Fall 2008 Georgia High School Writing Test
Bioscience Education Study Criticizes Georgia
State of GeorgiaÕs Pre-K Programs
Atlanta Public High Schools Math Support
Georgia Education Report Back
Issues (http://www.queuenews.com/GAnews.html)
Education Research Report Back Issues
(http://queueeducation.blogspot.com)
Queue, Inc. is offering public schools free previews of QueueÕs best-selling test prep and curriculum-based workbooks. Queue publishes test prep workbooks in reading comprehension and math for grades 2-8 based on the CRCT standards as well as a a wide variety of workbooks in language arts, reading comprehension, math and science ideal for test prep.
Go to http://www.qworkbooks.com/GA/GA.html descriptions.
More
than $1 billion is now available for Georgia under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This funding will lay the foundation for a
generation of education reform and help save hundreds of thousands of teaching
jobs at risk of state and local budget cuts. Georgia will be eligible to apply
for another $509 million this fall. This funding is being made available per
Georgia's successful completion of Part 1 of the State Stabilization
Application, which was made available on April 1.
To date, Georgia has
received more than $356 million in education stimulus funds -- representing a
combination of funding for Title I, IDEA, Vocational Rehabilitation Grants and
Independent Living Grants and Services for Older Blind Individuals Grants. On April
1, Georgia received more than $176 million in Title I funding and $169 million
in IDEA funding.
This represents 50 percent of the Title I and IDEA funding Georgia is eligible for in total. On April 1, Georgia also received $9 million in Vocational Rehab funds and $1 million in Independent Living funds. On April 10, Georgia received $806,000 in Impact Aid funding.
In
order to receive the funds, Georgia provided assurances that it will collect,
publish, analyze and act on basic information regarding the quality of
classroom teachers, annual student improvements, college readiness, the
effectiveness of state standards and assessments, progress on removing charter
caps, and interventions in turning around underperforming schools.
Georgia
is also required by the Department of Education to report the number of jobs
saved through Recovery Act funding, the amount of state and local tax increases
averted, and how funds are used.
See
GeorgiaÕs application for initial funding under the State Fiscal Stabilization
Fund Program at
http://www.ed.gov/programs/statestabilization/stateapps/ga.pdf
Georgia's high school
students continue to show steady progress on the Georgia High School Graduation
Tests (GHSGT), including the science and English exams that are aligned to the
state's more rigorous curriculum.
The percentage of students meeting standards on the GHSGT rose from the
previous year in all four subject areas; mathematics, science, English language
arts, and social studies. The pass rate on the science exam rose two points to
88 percent and on the English language arts exam rose one point to 90 percent.
The percentage of students performing at the very highest level on the English
language arts and science exams rose significantly from 2008. On the science
GHSGT, 15 percent of the students scored at the "honors" level, an
increase of three points from 2008. On the English language arts GHSGT, 14
percent of the students scored at the honors level, an increase of four points
from 2008.
"These exams are more rigorous and require students to demonstrate a
deeper knowledge of the subject, but student achievement continues to rise in
these areas.
Scores
increased in most subgroups when compared to 2008. For instance:
- The pass rate for Students with Disabilities rose three points to 55 percent
on the science GHSGT and rose four points to 63 percent on the mathematics
GHSGT.
- The pass rate for English Language Learners rose six points to 59 percent on
the English language arts GHSGT and 11 points to 62 percent on the social
studies GHSGT.
- The pass rate for Hispanic students rose on all four tests and the pass rate
for African American students rose on the social studies and mathematics exams.
ABOUT
THE GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION TESTS
The GHSGT are given to high school students for the first time in the spring of
their junior year. All four portions of the test, plus the Georgia High School
Writing Test, must be passed in order for a student to receive a full diploma
from a Georgia public school. Students can retake the GHSGT as many times as
they like if they do not pass specific exams.
Since 2005, the state has been implementing the Georgia Performance Standards
(GPS), a more rigorous and focused curriculum in the core areas of mathematics,
English language arts, social studies and science. As the curriculum is phased
in, the state's tests are being aligned to match the curriculum.
Since the GHSGT assess cumulative knowledge, the new curriculum must be in
place for three years before the exams can be fully aligned to the GPS. The
science and English language arts GHSGT were aligned to the GPS for the first
time in spring, 2008. The social studies exam will transition to a GPS test in
spring, 2010 and the mathematics exam will transition in spring, 2011.
The new, GPS-aligned tests are graded on four scoring levels Ð below
proficiency, basic proficiency, advanced proficiency and honors. The tests
aligned to the old curriculum are scored on three levels Ð did not pass, pass
and pass plus.
More
info:
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/GHSGT%202009.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F68FE90263A4FAB78FA8B226A163E98E44B80D1E9B34394BB2&Type=D
¥
A total of 106,152 students were assessed in the 2008 Georgia High School Writing
Test. Eighty-nine (89) percent of all students achieved the Meets or Exceeds
standards set for writing with a mean scale score of 219. This group includes all
students (first time testers and retesters) with scorable papers.
¥
A total of 96,444 students
were grade eleven first time test takers. Ninety-one (91) percent met or exceeded the
standard for Writing with a mean scale score of 221. ¥ A total of 88,639 students were grade eleven
regular program first time test takers. Ninety-four (94) percent met or exceeded
the standard set for Writing with a mean scale score of 223.
¥
A total of 9,827 Special
Education students were assessed in writing. Fifty-five (55) percent of students
achieved the Meets or Exceeds Standard set for writing with a mean scale score
of 195.
Of these, 7,805 were
first time test takers and 60% met or exceeded the standard with a mean scaled
score of 198.
The 2008 results represent a 5 percentage point increase in the number of
Special Education students meeting or exceeding standard when compared to 2007
performance.
¥
A total of 2,225 English
Language Learner (ELL) students were assessed in writing. Sixty (60) percent
of
students achieved the Meets or Exceeds Standard set for writing with a mean
scale score of 198.
Of these, 1,601 were
first time test takers and 65% met or exceeded the standard with a mean scaled
score of 200.
The 2008 results represent a 12 percentage point increase in the number of
ELL students meeting or exceeding standard when compared to 2007 performance.
More
information:
http://www.gadoe.org/DMGetDocument.aspx/GHSWT%20Fall%202008%20Testing%20Brief.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F6B34733F1B5B3CEC5D5CAC010B5C6156BDDA6A2ACF8564478&Type=D
States
across America are failing to prepare students for pursuing biosciences in
higher educationÑa key pipeline for developing the bioscience workforce of the
future. A new report funded and researched by BIO, Battelle, and the
Biotechnology Institute provides the first ever comprehensive study of middle
and high school bioscience education in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the
District of Columbia. The report also finds a wide disparity across measures of
student achievement in overall science and biosciences, an uneven record across
states in incorporating the biosciences in state science standards, supporting
focused bioscience education programs and higher level bioscience courses, and
ensuring science and bioscience teachers are well qualified.
This
review of state activities in bioscience education suggests a number of actions
that should be taken. For example, individual states:
á Should incorporate
biotechnology as they revise their science standards and should involve
research scientists with expertise in the biosciences in their development.
á Must commit to improving
student achievement in biology and the life sciences and ensuring that their
high school graduates are ready to pursue college-level bioscience courses.
á Should improve the
collection and dissemination of data, tracking student participation and
performance in the biosciences and the broader sciences and if they do not
participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science
exam should be encouraged to do so.
á Should take a more
systematic approach to teacher professional development, experiential learning,
and career awareness.
The
report provides the following evidence that states are not measuring up:
á On average, only 28% of
the high school students taking the ACT , which is a national standardized test
for college admission, reached a score indicating college readiness for biology
and no state reached even 50%.
á Only 52% of 12th graders
are at or above a basic level of achievement in the sciences, and for 8th
graders only 57% are at a basic level of achievement.
á Average scores for 12th
graders in the sciences have actually declined from 1996 to 2005 and shown no
improvement for 8th graders both overall and on the life science component.
á A significant gap exists
in science achievement for low-income middle-school students, although the gap
is slowly narrowing.
Some
states fared much better than others with respect to student achievement in the
biosciences. While it is difficult to give a single grade across states because
of the limited quality and comparability of the student achievement data, the
patterns of student performance suggest the states fall into several broad
categories.
Leaders
of the Pack:
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio,
Vermont, Wisconsin
Second
Tier:
Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington
Middling
Performance:
Alabama, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan,
Montana, South Carolina, Wyoming
Lagging
Performance:
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia
Not
Rated: States
that do not participate in the NAEP science assessment were not rated.
The
report also finds an uneven record across states in incorporating the
biosciences in state science standards, supporting focused bioscience education
programs and advanced bioscience courses, and ensuring well-qualified science
and bioscience teachers.
Only
thirty-one states reported that their science standards explicitly mention or
define standards or applied laboratory or other instruction tools specifically
for biotechnology or the biosciences.
At
least half the states have at least one school with a bioscience focus, and all
of the states have schools with a focus on broader STEM education. But states
do not seem to be succeeding in encouraging high school students to take
upper-level science courses. Although data on this subject are very limited,
the share of students taking the AP biology exam averages 4.6% of high school
graduates.
The
report also notes that nearly one in eight U.S. high-school biology teachers
was not certified to teach biology. The average share of biology teachers who
are certified in a given state ranged from 50% to 100% in data collected by the
Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), although 88% of biology
teachers are certified nationally on average.
Georgia report:
http://www.bio.org/local/battelle2009/GA_bio_09.pdf
The annual survey of state-funded preschool
programs shows impressive expansion in enrollment and spending. However, the
recession may reverse the trend, curtailing early education opportunities for
children in lower and middle-income families.
The National Institute for Early Education
Research (NIEER) has released The State of Preschool 2008. Key findings included:
¥ Enrollment increased by more than 108,000
children. More than 1.1 million children attended state-funded preschool
education, 973,178 at age 4 alone.
¥ Thirty-three of the 38 states with
state-funded programs increased enrollment.
¥ Based on NIEER's Quality Standards
Checklist, 11 states improved the quality of their preschool programs. Only one
fell back.
¥ State funding for pre-K rose to almost
$4.6 billion. Funding for state pre-K from all reported sources exceeded $5.2
billion, an increase of nearly $1 billion (23 percent) over the previous year.
On a less positive note, whether or not a
child receives high-quality preschool education depends on where his or her
family lives. Twelve states provided no state-funded preschool in 2008.
Of the 38 states with state-funded
preschool, cuts are likely in at least nine including some of the biggest
states Ð California, Florida, New York, and North Carolina.
Currently, Oklahoma remains the only state
where virtually every child can start school at age 4. In at least eight other
states, more than half of 4-year-olds attend a public preschool program of some
kind.
At the other end of the spectrum, are the
12 states that have no regular state preschool education program: Alaska,
Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota,
Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. In eight states, less than 20
percent of children are enrolled in a public preschool program at age 4 even
taking into account preschool special education and Head Start.
Most states meet a majority of the NIEER's
10 benchmarks for program quality standards, but five states meet fewer than
half. These states include three of the four states with the largest
populations and numbers of children in pre-K-- California, Texas and Florida.
Texas is the only state that fails to limit
both maximum class size and staff-child ratio. California and Maine have limits
on staff-child ratio but no class size limit. Most other states limit classes
to 20 or fewer children with a teacher and an assistant.
In 2008, enrollment of 3-year-olds
continued to rise, though less rapidly than at age 4. The leader in serving
3-year-olds in state pre-K is Illinois, which is the only state committed to
serving all 3-year-olds, but it is closely followed by Arkansas. Four states,
Illinois, Arkansas, Vermont and New Jersey serve at least 20 percent of
children at age 3 in general and special education programs.
Research
shows that high-quality pre-K can help improve the educational success of all
children and by doing so, decrease school failure and dropout rates, and crime
and delinquency. In addition, high-quality preschool education has been found
to improve economic productivity and health.
Georgia
Report:
http://nieer.org/yearbook/pdf/GA.pdf
Rural School System
Leverages the Federal E-Rate Program to Connect All K-12 Schools and
Administration Office
Gordon County School System, a rural district located north
of Atlanta, has chosen LifeSize HD video conferencing systems to connect its
nine K-12 schools and central administration office. Facing district-wide
budget reductions that significantly reduced Gordon CountyÕs ability to provide
ongoing professional development for teachers, the integration of LifeSize
systems has enabled the school system to perform remote staff development
training sessions and department meetings. In the near future, Gordon County
plans to implement video communications directly in the classroom to conduct
classes across campuses and take virtual field trips.
ÒThe
value of the LifeSize HD video systems is two-fold: theyÕve helped reduce the
cost and administrative burden of travel and in-service teacher training, and
they promise to help us become better teachers by keeping us connected,Ó said
Dr. Bill McCown, superintendent, Gordon County School District. ÒThe addition of
the LifeSize video experience to the classroom improves teachersÕ options to
develop a rigorous and relevant curriculum, as well as build stronger
relationships with their students. This is a significant enhancement to the
ability of our schools to develop students who are critical thinkers that
utilize teamwork as they prepare to contribute to and live in a global,
technological society.Ó
Like
many public school districts, funding cuts virtually eliminated Gordon CountyÕs
travel budget, hindering the ability of the districtÕs teachers to meet the
stateÕs annual professional development requirements. Without the ability to
send 700 teachers to specialized training conferences, or bring in education
experts for monthly sessions, LifeSize video conferencing systems provided the
means to help teachers obtain their required Professional Learning Units.
Additionally, with some schools more than 40 miles apart, the LifeSize systems
improved teachersÕ ability to stay connected for internal and departmental
staff meetings.
To
procure its LifeSize systems, Gordon County utilized the federal E-Rate program, which provides eligible
kindergarten through grade 12 public schools and libraries 20 percent to 90
percent discounts on approved telecommunications, Internet access, and internal
connections costs. Combined with LifeSizeÕs unbeatable price-performance, the E-Rate
program allowed Gordon County to purchase twice the number of systems than
otherwise possible.
Gordon
County School System now has 19 LifeSize HD video systems, with two in each of
its nine schools and one at the districtÕs central administration office. Each
school has a stationary LifeSize Room unit and a cart-based LifeSize Team
system that can be moved from classroom to classroom within the school. A
24-port LifeSize Multipoint system allows all of the districtÕs systems to join
in a single call.
ÒThe
LifeSize systems are very easy to use and our teachers are very comfortable
with the technology,Ó continued McCown. ÒBecause theyÕre used so frequently,
our LifeSize systems are paying for themselves. Every school system that has
access to E-Rate funding should utilize it to get this technology into their
schools.Ó
The
next step is to integrate the LifeSize systems into distance learning programs
that help students experience a broader sense of the world outside of the four
walls of a classroom. Gordon County has begun to partner with other districts,
universities and regional education centers to plan virtual field trips and
arrange special lectures from university professors that will enhance the
curriculum for students, as well as incorporate more technical and
specialty-focused training for professional development sessions.
To
see how the Gordon County School System and other customers are putting
LifeSize products to work, case studies are available for download at: http://lifesize.com/company/customer_success_stories.
About
Gordon County School System
Gordon
County School System consists of two high schools, two middle schools, and five
elementary schools located in the northwest corner of Georgia. The system
serves approximately 7000 students and offers a wide range of course offerings
supplemented with strong emphasis in technology and quality teaching. The goal
of the school system is to challenge all students in a nurturing and caring
environment. More information is available online at http://www.gcbe.org/.
2010
Georgia Teacher of the Year
Gwen
Desselle, a 32-year veteran educator from Colquitt County, has been named the
2010 Georgia Teacher of the Year.
Mrs. Desselle, a high school social studies teacher, got her undergraduate and
masterÕs degrees from Valdosta State University. She began her teaching career
at Valdosta High School in 1977 and moved to Colquitt County High School in
1981. She has been there ever since.
In her application, she described her philosophy of teaching as being focused
on the future. She stressed the importance of constantly changing the way she
teaches to adapt to changes in the world.
"We know that as society changes, children change and, therefore, the
lessons must revise, too," Ms. Desselle wrote. "Therefore, we
consistently design, implement and revise lessons that best fit the needs of
our students, because we realize that our purpose as educators is to prepare
students for tomorrow -- not yesterday."
Mrs. Desselle is an avid traveler and often brings stories back to Colquitt
County to share with her students. A high school senior at her school wrote
that Mrs. Desselle "has a unique teaching style and knows just how to
capture and hold each student's attention by telling some story or recounting a
trip that she had taken to the actual place we were studying ... It isn't like
she teaches history but it is like she lives it."
As Georgia Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Desselle will spend next school year
traveling around the state speaking to the public about the teaching profession
and conducting workshops and programs for educators. She will also compete for
2010 National Teacher of the Year and will serve as an advisor to
Superintendent Cox and the Georgia Department of Education.
2010
Georgia Teacher of the Year Finalists
(Teacher,
School, System, Subject)
-
Tiffany Todd, Southeast Bulloch High School, Bulloch County, U.S. History
-
Dr. Mark Lang, Camden Middle School, Camden County, Life Science
-
Michele Rigsby, BelAir Elementary School, Columbia County, 4th grade
-
Suzy Besson-Martilotta, Chattahoochee Elementary School, Forsyth County, 1st
grade
-
Merrill Boynton-Cheyne, Harris County Carver Middle School, Harris County,
Drama and Journalism
-
Sandy Akin, East Jackson Comprehensive High School, Jackson County, Mathematics
-
Krista Pearson, Lowndes High School, Lowndes County, Mathematics
-
Kathie Wood, Marietta Middle School, Marietta City, Language Arts
-
Jennifer Beckum Irvin, Toombs County High School, Toombs County, 10th Grade
Literature
2500
Students Receive Math Instruction Using Innovative, Research-Based Learning
Atlanta
Public Schools has purchased Carnegie Learning¨ Georgia Mathematics 1 and
Georgia Mathematics 2 textbooks and Carnegie Learning¨ Adaptive Math Software
for all high school students enrolled in the DistrictÕs Math Support program.
Implementation
of Carnegie Learning instructional materials in Atlanta Public Schools will
begin immediately and extend through this summer and throughout the 2009-2010
academic year.
ÒOur
goal is to fortify our math teaching and learning strategies to better prepare
all Atlanta students to graduate and compete in a 21st Century work
environment,Ó said Dottie Whitlow, Executive Director of Math and Science for
Atlanta Public Schools. ÒWe are very excited about the opportunity to engage
our students and provide them with a deeper understanding of math concepts and
their value in the real world.Ó
In
addition to Atlanta Public Schools, over 130 Georgia middle schools and high
schools have adopted Carnegie Learning¨ Georgia Mathematics 1 and 2 curricula
customized to meet new, more rigorous high school math requirements introduced
by the Georgia Department of Education in fall 2008.