| Georgia Education News – May 2010 |
Queue, Inc. Offers FREE Previews Queue, Inc. is offering public schools free previews of Queue’s best-selling test prep and curriculum-based workbooks. Queue publishes test prep workbooks in reading comprehension and math for grades 2-8 based on ASK standards as well as a a wide variety of workbooks in language arts, reading comprehension, math and science ideal for test prep. Order previews online, or call Queue at 800.232.2224. New Blog Covers Georgia Education Comments welcome Queue's Resource Collections each offer easy access to vast library of exercises. You can pick and choose whatever you want. Print as many copies as you need of each exercise, as often as you like. These Resource Collections are great for homework, in-class assignments, individualized instruction, test preparation and IEP's. Math and Language Arts collections have thousands of exercises, quizzes and full-length practice tests. Reading Comprehension collections include hundreds of individual passages with reading comprehension questions. Passages include fiction and nonfiction, poems, short stories and full-length chapter books. The American History and Government and Science collections each contain an enormous wealth of materials. All this for one annual fee of $159.95 for each library. Access to Teacher Editions is included with each Collection. Atlanta Leaders Announce New Early Education Initiative After 18 months of study, the Early Education Commission (EEC) has issued strategic recommendations for improving access to quality early education for children ages zero to five across metro Atlanta, and ultimately the state. The recommendations lay out a multi-year plan for assuring consistently high-quality early learning – with Georgia ultimately becoming a national leader in ensuring that children enter kindergarten ready to learn and on a path to "read to learn" by third grade. "Read to learn" refers to a reading skill level necessary for a third-grader to learn at an age-appropriate pace and become a successful student. Stephanie Blank, Trustee of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, will chair the governing board of the Georgia Coalition for Early Education (GCEE), a new, independent successor group to the EEC that will offer strategic assistance to existing providers, funders and stakeholders in early learning and care. A national search is being launched for an executive director of the coalition. "The key to Georgia's future economic prosperity and social well-being lies in the care and education of our youngest children," said Ms. Blank, who served on the EEC. "There is ongoing advocacy and quality improvement work in metro Atlanta and the state: our goal is to move early learning to the top of the public agenda and broaden the scope and reach of those efforts." Co-chaired by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta CEO Dennis Lockhart and Spelman College President Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D., the EEC assembled in the fall of 2008 to investigate the impact of early learning on the short- and long-term economic health of metro Atlanta. The commission learned from nationally renowned experts in the early education field, studied research, assessed the state of early learning in the metro area and state, and identified opportunities for improvement. "It is essential that children be ready to learn when they enter kindergarten – we know brain development in a child's early years charts a course for success over a lifetime," said Dr. Tatum. "We also know that there is more to school readiness than being ready to read – social, emotional and other cognitive milestones are important, and the EEC's recommendations address all of those." In addition to the neuroscience aspects of early childhood education, EEC members learned about the positive return on investment early intervention provides versus the exponential cost of remediation, and the importance quality centers and trained educators play in these outcomes. Said Dennis Lockhart, "Beyond the intrinsic social value, investing in early education is just the smart thing to do. Research clearly shows that early interventions have better rates of return than do traditional economic development projects." Consistent with the commission's recommendations, the GCEE will focus on four main areas:
"This commission has recommended vital next steps that will significantly support and enhance ongoing efforts in our state," said Holly Robinson, Commissioner of Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. "Helping parents identify and assure quality early education is critically important for their children and for Georgia. And Stephanie Blank is a brilliant choice as chair of the coalition; she is a greatly respected community leader who researches, understands and is devoted to this issue." About the Early Education Commission Convened in the fall of 2008 by the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, the Early Education Commission brought together a group of 23 prominent Atlanta business and civic leaders representing diverse constituencies to conduct a thorough review of empirical evidence and expert opinion with regard to the case for cohesive action on Pre-K education, share a broad directional agenda for the metro Atlanta community, and offer concrete action recommendations for stakeholders in the early childhood community. Its focus was to investigate the impact of early learning on the short- and long-term economic development of metropolitan Atlanta with the overall goal to improve the availability and quality of early childhood education in metropolitan Atlanta, and ultimately throughout the state of Georgia. To find out more about the Early Education Commission, visit unitedwayatlanta.org and click on "Early Education" under the "Our Work" tab. NAEP Scores Show More 8th Graders At Higher Reading Levels A higher percentage of Georgia’s 8th graders are scoring at or above basic and proficient levels in reading than ever before, according to results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released today. Seventy-two (72) percent of 8th graders scored at the basic or above level, compared to 70% in 2007. The national average shows 74% of 8th graders at the basic or above level, but had only a one percent increase from 2007, compared to Georgia’s two percent increase. "Since day one, my vision has been for Georgia to lead the nation in improving student achievement,” said State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. “For us to accomplish this we have to improve at a faster rate than the nation, and our 8th graders are doing that.” Georgia’s 4th graders saw a slight decrease since 2007 in the percentage of students at basic levels and above, but the percentage of students at or above proficient increased one percentage point while the nation had no increase. Georgia students in grades 4 and 8 took the NAEP exams in reading last school year. The students who were tested had been taught using the state's new Reading/English Language Arts curriculum for four years. The NAEP is given to a representative sample of students in every state. Scores are broken into four categories -- below basic, basic, proficient and advanced. At or Above the Nation Georgia's minority students continued to score the same or better than minority students across the nation. In 4th grade reading, for instance, Georgia's Hispanic students scored a 208, four points higher than the national Hispanic average. African-American students had a scale score of 204, the same as the national African-American average. In 8th grade reading, Hispanic students in Georgia scored a 254, six points higher than the national Hispanic average. African-Americans in Georgia had a scale score of 249, four points higher than the national African-American average. (NAEP is scored on a scale of 0-500) Progress Since 2003 NAEP Reading results in 4th and 8th grade have increased for virtually all students in all subgroups. In 2009, the average 4th grade reading scale score of 218 was four points higher than in 2003. And 8th grade students had an average reading scale score of 260 this year, compared to a 258 in 2003. 4th Grade Reading (increase from 2003 to 2009): 8th Grade Reading (increase from 2003 to 2009): The gains on the NAEP reading exam provide further evidence that Georgia's new curriculum -- the Georgia Performance Standards -- is having a big impact. "We know that our new curriculum is setting high expectations for all of our students and those high expectations are paying off," said Superintendent Cox. “I want to thank all of our educators for embracing our more rigorous and relevant curriculum standards." Aside from the Georgia Performance Standards, Superintendent Cox credited the No Child Left Behind Act and the state's promotion and retention policy for bringing a new focus to reading education for all students. More Information: - Charts and Graphics: http://tinyurl.com/GaNAEPReading Georgia's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 15th Annual National Awards Program MacKenzie Bearup, 16, of Alpharetta and Andrew Vassil, 14, of Woodstock were named Georgia's top two youth volunteers for 2010 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 15th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
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