January 2006
IN THIS
ISSUE:
GEORGIA'S NEW SCIENCE CURRICULUM
GETS HIGH MARKS, AS DID
ENGLISH AND MATH
Georgia's new science curriculum has received high praise
from a widely-respected education foundation.
The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation ranked the Georgia
Performance Standards in science as the 12th-best science curriculum in
the
country. The Foundation also said Georgia had the "most improved"
science standards in the nation.
Last January, the Fordham Foundation placed the GPS for
English and math on the national "honor roll," giving each set of
standards a grade of "B."
"The Foundation
is discovering what we already knew:
The Georgia Performance Standards are world class and will be an
extremely
useful tool in improving student achievement for all our children."
"This is great news," State Superintendent of
Schools Kathy Cox said Wednesday. "The Foundation's report validates
the
hard work done by the groups of educators and experts that wrote the
science
curriculum. I am very proud for them."
The report, entitled "The State of State Science
Standards 2005," gave Georgia's science curriculum a grade of "B"
and placed it on the national honor roll. That is a vast improvement
from 2000,
the last time the Fordham Foundation reviewed Georgia's science
curriculum.
"In 2000, Georgia earned a grade of "F," but
since then, state officials have made strides to develop clear academic
expectations for students," the foundation said in a press release
Wednesday.
The panel of scientists gave the standards good marks
across the board, but the new curriculum received especially high
scores in
three areas:
- Expectations:
The standards contain clear and fair
expectations by grade level.
- Organization:
The standards are organized in a sensible
way, showing a logical progression from grade to grade, and can be
easily
understood by teachers, parents and the public.
- Seriousness:
The standards are appropriately serious
and don't contain scientific fads or politics
The panel also said, "By far the best feature of
these standards is their handling of life sciences. Introduction of the
important ideas of modern biology begins early, and their development
is steady
and carefully sequenced. High school work is a real advance over what
has
preceded it in the primary grades, yet it is solidly based on the
acquired
background."
The report did contain some suggestions and criticisms.
Superintendent Cox said those comments would be taken into
consideration over
the next several years as changes are made.
"We've said all along that the GPS is a "living
document," meaning it will be changed based on the input of teachers,
students and experts like those empaneled by the Fordham Foundation,"
she
said. "I'm grateful for this input."
About the GPS
Superintendent Cox led the development and adoption of
the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), a standards-based, statewide
curriculum that is clear, focused, and sets high expectations for all
Georgia
students.
The new standards were written by panels of educators and
experts in four core areas: science, math, English/language arts and
social
studies. Input from the general public, subject experts, and college
and
university professors was gathered and incorporated into the
curriculum.
Superintendent Cox acknowledged the hard work of the
entire GaDOE curriculum team, including Stephen Pruitt, Science Program
Manager; Dr. Eloise Barron, Curriculum Director; and Dr. Ida Love,
Deputy
Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction.
Meanwhile, the Georgia Department of Education is seeking
public input on the curriculum for three new high school science
courses:
Environmental Science, Earth Systems, and Human Anatomy and Physiology.
The
standards for the new courses can be viewed at www.georgiastandards.org/science.asp.
(Scroll to the bottom of the web
page. Click
"feedback" to
leave comments.)
The Georgia Performance Standards for science were
approved by the State Board of Education in July 2004 and consisted of
four
core courses: Biology, Physical Science, Chemistry and Physics.
The three new courses were selected for development based
on feedback from the science community and current practices in
education. The
curriculum for these new courses was written by committees consisting
of
teachers, higher education faculty, and system-level science
supervisors, as
well as GaDOE personnel.
Public comment will be accepted until the end of
February. The final version of the curriculum will be presented to the
State
Board of Education in March.
To view the Fordham Foundation report: www.edexcellence.net/foundation/global/index.cfm
To view the Georgia Performance Standards: www.georgiastandards.org
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'NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND' LAWSUIT
DISMISSED
On November 23, 2005, Judge Bernard Friedman of the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
granted the
United States Department of Education's motion to dismiss in Pontiac, et al. v.
Spellings,
the first lawsuit filed to prevent the No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB) from imposing "unfunded mandates" on states and school
districts. The
National Education
Association (NEA) and its co-plaintiffs will appeal the decision to the
United
States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Filed on April 20, 2005, by NEA, several NEA affiliates,
and nine school districts, the lawsuit is based on a specific provision
of the
NCLB-Sec. 9527(a), which states:
"Nothing in this Act [i.e., the NCLB] shall be
construed to authorize an officer or employee of the Federal government
to . .
. mandate a State or any subdivision thereof to spend any funds or
incur any
costs not paid for under this Act."
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that the federal
government is violating this unfunded mandates provision by insisting
that
states and school districts spend their own money to comply with the
requirements of NCLB despite the fact that federal funding falls
billions of
dollars short of covering their costs of doing so.
"Parents in communities where school districts are
financially strained were promised that this law would close the
achievement
gaps," said Reg Weaver, president of the 2.7-million-member NEA. "Instead, their tax
dollars are
being used to cover unpaid bills sent from Washington for costly
regulations
that do not help improve education."
The Department of Education moved to dismiss the lawsuit
on two grounds: that
the
plaintiffs lack standing to bring the lawsuit, and that Section 9527(a)
does
not mean that there can be no unfunded mandates imposed on states and
school
districts by the NCLB Act. In
granting the Department of Education's motion to dismiss, the court
rejected
the standing objection, finding that "standing had been adequately
alleged."
The court concluded, however, that Section 9527(a) does
not prohibit Congress from imposing unfunded mandates.
According to the court, the section
only prohibits "federal officials and employees from imposing
additional,
unfunded requirements, beyond those provided for in the statute."
"We obviously are disappointed with the
opinion," said Weaver, adding that the plaintiffs "find it
particularly troubling that the court did not even address - much less
provide
any basis for rejecting-the arguments that we presented as to the
meaning of
Section 9527(a)." Weaver
indicated that the plaintiffs will appeal.
"We are hopeful," continued Weaver, "that
the appellate court will agree with our arguments, reverse today's
opinion, and
allow this litigation to move forward.
The need for the requested relief is even more urgent now
than it was
when the lawsuit was filed, since Congress is considering cutting
funding for
NCLB programs by $780 million in the next school year."
For more information about the lawsuit, visit:
www.nea.org/lawsuit
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THE WAGES OF TEACHING
Newsweek opinion by Anna
Quindlen
Nov. 28, 2005
A couple of years ago I spent the day at an elementary
school in New Jersey. It was a nice average school, a square and solid
building
with that patented classroom aroma of disinfectant and chalk,
chock-full of
reasonably well-behaved kids from middle-class families. I handled
three
classes, and by the time I staggered out the door I wanted to lie down
for the
rest of the day. . . .
The National Education Association has been pushing for a
minimum starting salary of $40,000 for all teachers. Why not? If these
people
can teach 6-year-olds to add and get adolescents to attend to algebra,
surely
we can do the math to get them a decent wage.
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Queue
Inc.
1 Controls Drive
Shelton, Ct. 06484
(800) 232-2224
Fax (800) 775-2729
Email jdk@queueinc.com