MISSOURI EDUCATION
NEWS
FEBRUARY 2007
Copyright © 2007 Queue,
Inc.
QUALITY
COUNTS 2007: Missouri Lags Behind
Missouri
State Board of Education Will Consider Plan to Require End-of-Course Tests in
High School
School Choice Plan Gains Support
Reading,
Writing, and a Roof Overhead
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Education
WeekÕs ÒQuality CountsÓ report has ranked Missouri well below average on all 4
categories covered. Missouri ranked 33rd in the nation both for Elementary and
Secondary performance and Chance for Success.
The
Elementary and Secondary Index is based equally on current performance and
improvement, or changes over time, and uses 15 individual indicators relating
to reading and math performance, graduation rates and the results of advanced
placement exams.
The
ÒChance-for SuccessÓ index, which is based on 13 indicators that highlight
whether young children get a good start, succeed in elementary and secondary
school, and hit key educational and income benchmarks as adults.
MissouriÕs
other scores were even lower:
Aligning
Education from Cradle to Career
State
rank: 39
Standards,
Assessments, and Accountability
State
rank: 48
To
read the complete, highly detailed report, please go to:
(http://www.edweek.org/media/ew/qc/2007/17shr.mo.h26.pdf)
by: Ellen Berg
Ellen
Berg, a sixth-grade language arts teacher in St. Louis, Missouri has been
writing weekly on-line diary entries about her experiences for the past two
school years, offering a detailed and personal look at her classroom struggles
and successes.
Her
diary on the MiddleWeb site pulls no punches when it comes to describing
troubles with discipline, burnt-out colleagues, struggles with her principal,
and challenging students. But it also reveals the joys and pleasures of working
with children at the famously moody and mercurial age between childhood and
adolescence.
Connect
for Kids Editor Susan Phillips recently asked Berg about what she has learned
in her years at Turner Middle School in St. Louis, Mo., where close to 90
percent of the students are African-American, and as many as 95 percent qualify
for free or reduced-price lunchÉ
To
read the complete article, please go to:
(http://www.connectforkids.org/node/381?&tn=hp/lf/2)
State
education officials are working on a plan to replace the current ÒMAPÓ tests in
high school (grades 10 and 11) with a slate of at least four Òend-of-courseÓ
exams.
The
State Board of Education could decide as early as next month to move forward
with developing the specifics of a new testing policy. If the board approves,
new high school tests could be ready for use during the 2008-09 school year.
The plan would not affect the MAP exams that are now required of all students
in grades 3-8.
For
more than two years, state and local school officials have been discussing
possible alternatives to the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests that are
now used in all public high schools. A statewide advisory committee appointed
in 2004 by Commissioner of Education D. Kent King recommended that Missouri
require and pay for a college-entry exam (such as the ACT) for all students, in
lieu of the MAP tests.
While
that proposal was favored by many in the education community, it was strongly
opposed by some, and the idea was never endorsed by the State Board of
Education.
In
recent months, the concept of end-of-course tests - state-approved Òfinal
examsÓ for selected classes - has gained increasing favor with state officials.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is preparing a formal
recommendation about high school assessment for the State Board of Education to
consider in FebruaryÉ
To
read the complete article, please go to:
(http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/20374)
A
parent who appreciates quality education, Maxine Johnson made sure her six
children attend the finest magnet schools in St. Louis.
Although
Johnson gives mostly high marks to the magnets, she still wishes she could send
the children to private schools.
Right
now, thatÕs not an option. Johnson and her husband cannot afford the tuition.
Instead,
she and other parents are hanging their hopes on a controversial bill that
would set aside up to $40 million in Missouri tax incentives to help children
enroll in private schools. If approved, the plan could trigger an exodus of as
many 8,000 students from struggling school districts, such as St. Louis, Kansas
City, Riverview Gardens and Normandy.
Versions
of the bill filed in each of the last several years have wallowed and
eventually died in the Legislature, amid fierce opposition from the public
education lobby. That resistance coupled with concerns by rural lawmakers
continue to stack against the billÕs chances of becoming law.
But
supporters see new hope this year. And their optimism is rooted at least partly
in the latest struggles of St. Louis Public SchoolsÉ
To
read the complete article, please go to:
(http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/education/story/450EEF4AEDF2F2A58625726900793BDF?OpenDocument)
A
Missouri school district steps up to provide housing for four homeless high
school boys.
Officially,
itÕs known as JoeÕs Place. But one of its first residents has dubbed the
cheerful yellow house ÒBig Bird.Ó It opened recently with enough space for four
homeless boys who attend high school in the Maplewood Richmond Heights (MRH)
district, near St. Louis.
The
result of a collaboration between school officials, local churches, and scores
of volunteers, JoeÕs Place appears to be a first-of-its-kind endeavor in the
United States.
ÒThe
thing that makes this unique is that the school district actually put up the
money for the housing,Ó says Barbara Duffield, policy director of the National
Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.
The
small district should be applauded for taking such direct action to meet a
need, Ms. Duffield says, but itÕs also important for people to keep in mind
that Òthe overall problem [nationwide] is there is not adequate attention to
the needs of families and youth on the housing and shelter front.Ó
About
14 percent of shelter requests go unmet, according to the National Law Center
on Homelessness & Poverty in Washington. That group also reports that 48
percent of homeless families have children under 18; an additional 1 percent of
the homeless population consists of unaccompanied youths. Nearly half of
students who are homeless are not able to attend school for the full year.
MRH
superintendent Linda Henke wasnÕt content to wait for the government to create
more shelters. A few colleagues suggested she had enough to think about with
the requirements of No Child Left Behind without taking on this project, but
Òif a child is homeless, heÕs behind,Ó she says.
Out
of 1,100 students here, about 30 each year are in situations that count as
ÒhomelessÓ under federal law that spells out their educational rights. Ms.
HenkeÕs concern had been growing as she saw the challenges for teen boys in
particular. Many places where women seek refuge from abuse donÕt allow boys
over a certain age, while menÕs shelters arenÕt nearby and can be intimidating,
she says. She knows a boy who lived in a car and another who rents a couchÉ
The
school board put up the money to buy the house last summer and plans to spend
about $34,000 a year on the mortgage, insurance, and utilities. To keep four
students in school each year, it seemed a reasonable cost, Henke says; it costs
at least that much to house just one person in prison – a place where
young men are much more likely to end up if they drop out of schoolÉ
To
read the complete article, please go to:
(http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0201/p13s01-legn.html)