NORTH CAROLINA
EDUCATION NEWS
February 2007
Copyright © 2007 Queue,
Inc.
QUALITY COUNTS 2007: North Carolina
Scores on State-generated Tests Often
Contradict Results on a National Test
North Carolina Surpasses 10,000 Certification
Milestone;
Accounts for One-Fifth of Nation's Certified
Teachers
State Dropout Rate Increases in 2005-06
Electronic Transcripts Increase 368%
in North Carolina
New Tech High at Garinger is Pioneering One Alternative
to Assembly-line Education
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Education
WeekÕs ÒQuality CountsÓ report has ranked North Carolina exactly average on a 2 of 4 categories
covered. North Carolina ranked 25th in the nation for Elementary and
Secondary performance and 35th for 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.
North
Carolina Õs other scores were:
Aligning
Education from Cradle to Career
State
rank: 25
Standards,
Assessments, and Accountability
State
rank: 9
To
read the complete, highly detailed report on North Carolina, please go to:
(http://www.edweek.org/media/ew/qc/2007/17shr.nc.h26.pdf)
When
her son came home from middle school with a report card showing heÕd passed
North CarolinaÕs year-end algebra test, Margaret Carnes believed he had the
foundation he needed for high school.
Then
she met with his teacher, who cautioned her not to be too confident. By the
stateÕs yardstick, students had to answer correctly fewer than half the
questions to pass. In some grades, they can flub two-thirds of the questions
and still be marked Òproficient.Ó
It
can be a harsh wake-up call for children and parents alike. Students are told
they are where theyÕre supposed to be academically, but a rude awakening awaits
them in high school. ÒIt compels one to ask the question, Have they been
prepared?Ó said Carnes, now managing director for Charlotte Advocates for
Education (http://www.advocatesfored.org/), a nonprofit group pushing for
higher state standards.
ItÕs
a problem of long standing in U.S. public education. While international
assessments confirm that American students lag behind those in several other
countries in science and math, many school districts and states keep telling
parents that their children, like those in Lake Wobegon, Garrison KeillorÕs
hometown of fable, are all above average.
More
testing under the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act was supposed to help measure
whether elementary school children are learning what they need to know. But
scores on state-generated tests often contradict results on a national test.
North Carolina is one of several states with glaring differences between how
well it says its students are doing and the harsher verdict of independent
comparisons.
The
North Carolina Board of Education finally is getting the message. It has
switched to a tougher math exam, and recently raised the passing scores in math
for grades 3 to 8. So far itÕs one of only a handful of states raising their
standards...
The
change in North CarolinaÕs end-of-grade tests is the first such adjustment
since the tests began in 1993. ÒThe Board felt that it was time to increase
standards in its efforts to better prepare students for the rigors of the
21st-century competitiveness,Ó said Lou Fabrizio, the stateÕs director of
accountability.
The
state board ordered tougher passing grades applied retroactively to tests administered
in 2006. Only 66 percent of fourth-graders passed this time, compared with 92
percent the year before.
That
may alarm and frustrate some students and parents, but others, such as Margaret
Carnes, say itÕs ultimately for the best.
ItÕs
better to know the truth now, she said, Òthan to find out É that they graduated
from high school without the skills they need to succeedÉ
To
read the complete article, please go to:
(http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=172668)
With the recent addition of 1,525 newly certified
teachers (once again the largest class in the country), North Carolina has
surpassed the 10,000 National Board Certified teachers' milestone with a total
of 11,325 North Carolina teachers having achieved this prestigious
certification. The National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
released its 2006 certification results this morning.
Nationwide, 7,793 teachers and counselors earned
certification this year, bringing the national total to 55,306. North Carolina
accounts for one-fifth of the nation's nationally certified teachers. Florida
is the next closest state with 9,238 National Board Certified teachers followed
by South Carolina (5,077), California (3,659), Ohio (2,629) and Mississippi
(2,555).
In addition, Wake County Public Schools leads the
national district list with 1,156. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (955),
Guilford County Schools (452) and Forsyth County Schools (311) were among the
top 20 districts in the nation.
State Board of Education Chairman Howard Lee
attributed the state's continued success to the support teachers receive both
at the state and local levels. "North Carolina has made a commitment from
the Governor's office all the way to the schoolhouse to provide teachers
support in their pursuit of certification. The State Board of Education
congratulates each of these teachers for meeting this challenge."
National Board Certification was first offered in
1994, when eight North Carolina teachers achieved this professional credential.
Since then, the number of North Carolina teachers receiving the certification
has grown dramatically.
North Carolina supports teachers in their efforts to
achieve National Board Certification by:
á paying
up-front the $2,500 assessment fee (As a condition, the teacher is obligated to
teach in the state during the following year whether they achieve National
Board Certification or not.)
á providing
three paid release days from normal teacher responsibilities to help teachers
develop their portfolios
á providing
a 12 percent salary supplement to the teachers' regular salary upon receipt of
National Board Certification (good for the 10-year life of the certification)
á awarding
15 continuing education units (CEUs) to the individual completing the National
Board Certification process.
á
Also, the State Board of Education awards a North
Carolina teaching license to out-of-state teachers who are employed in North
Carolina and who possess National Board Certification.
National Board Certification is the highest credential
in the teaching profession, and participation is voluntary. Teachers achieve
certification through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes
between one and three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers
and counselors should know and be able to do. Certification is currently
available to educators in 27 fields.
The 2006
N.C. School Report Cards provide parents, educators and others with an
up-to-date "one-stop" shop to locate information about how the
state's schools and school districts are performing on a variety of measures.
Snapshots and additional information are available
online at www.ncreportcards.org and provide a variety of search capabilities.
There are some new elements to note regarding the
2005-06 school year.
á Three-year
Trend Data for Mathematics: Because new tests were implemented based upon the
revised Standard Course of Study for mathematics, a three year trend will not
be available in this subject area for this release of the NC School Report
Cards.
á School
Improvement Status: If a school has entered Title I Improvement status, a
dynamic message will appear. Schools enter Improvement status by not meeting
target goals in the same subject (reading, mathematics, or Other Academic
Indicators) for two years in a row. A school in Title I School Improvement
status must take certain measures to improve performance.
á District
Improvement Status: In addition to schools, school districts will display a
dynamic message based upon whether or not they have entered Title I Improvement
status. Districts enter Improvement status by not meeting target goals in the
same subject (reading, mathematics, or Other Academic Indicators) in each of
the three grade spans (3-5, 6-8, and high school) for two years in a row. A
district in Title I District Improvement must take certain measures to improve
performance.
á AYP
On-Time and Cohort Graduation Rates: On-Time graduation rates would be used
this year for the last time to meet federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
The new Cohort rate and the On-Time Graduation rates will not be available for
viewing on Jan. 30, but will be available in Spring 2007.
á Test
of Computer Skills: This is the first year that eighth graders took the Test of
Computer Skills via online assessment. An alternate assessment also was
available for students with special needs or in cases where online delivery of
the assessment was not technologically feasible.
á Civics
& Economics and US History End-of-Course data reflect new tests based on
the revised Standard Course of Study. The 2004-05 release didn't contain these
data.
The N.C. School Report Cards have been produced
annually since 2001. The most current and comparable information about local
schools, districts and the state overall is provided in this on-line resource.
Users of the report cards can search by school or school system name, by using
a North Carolina map, or by a list of the state's 115 school districts.
Advanced search capabilities allow for customized searches.
Each school report card includes a school profile,
information about academic performance, school climate and safety and teacher
quality. School snapshot summaries are online in English and Spanish.
North Carolina's dropout rate increased slightly in
2005-06 and is now 5.04 percent, an increase of 6.33 percent according to the Annual
Dropout Event Report for School Year 2005-06. The dropout rate
in 2004-05 was 4.74 percent.
Many parts of the state experienced decreases in
dropout events with 46 of the 115 local districts reporting decreases. Five of
the largest school districts account for a disproportionate amount of the
increase. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, Cumberland and
Winston-Salem/Forysth schools accounted for 56 percent of the increase in the
grade 9-12 dropout events. Overall, the state recorded 22,180 dropout events in
grades nine through 12.
State law requires school officials to record the
reason for a student's decision to drop out of school. Recently, there has been
a rapid increase in the number of students who report they are dropping out of
high school to enroll in a community college. In 2003-04, 7 percent of dropouts
reported community college enrollment as the reason; in 2004-05, the percentage
was 9.6. In 2005-06, 12.1 percent or 2,692 students gave community college
enrollment as the reason for dropping out. A majority of dropout events
continue to be related to attendance issues. Other reasons identified include
students moving with school status unknown (9.5 percent) and academic problems
(6.5 percent).
Currently, 58 North Carolina high schools are involved
in Learn and Earn and the New Schools Project, formal efforts to significantly
reform high school operations. More than 100 schools are expected to be in some
phase of program development by 2008. These efforts, as well as others across
the state, are helping students access rigorous curricula, participate in
smaller learning communities and receive the support they need to be successful
in high school.
Data analysis found that almost one-third (32.7
percent) of all dropout events continue to occur during the ninth grade year
with 25.7 percent of students dropping out in 10th grade and 22.4 percent of
students dropping out in 11th grade. Dropout rates increase in frequency as
students reach 16 years of age. Seventy-nine percent of dropout events occurred
between the ages of 16 and 18.
The 2005-06 school year also saw an increase in the
number of male students dropping out with over twice as many leaving school as
opposed to female students. Black males accounted for a disproportionate amount
of the increase in the dropout count. While the dropout rates for Hispanic and
American Indian students remain high, the rate for American Indian students
decreased. The rate for Hispanic students continued to rise.
Dropout data have been collected each year since
1988-89, although specific reporting methods changed in 1991 to conform to new
federal guidelines and in 1999 because of changes in the state's definition of
a dropout.
For the annual dropout rate calculation, a dropout is
defined as a student who:
á was
enrolled in school at some time during the previous school year, which is the
reporting year;
á was
not enrolled on Day 20 of the current school year;
á has
not graduated from high school or completed a state or district approved
educational program; and
á does
not meet any of the following reporting exclusions:
o transferred
to another public school district, private school, home school or
state/district approved educational program;
o temporarily
absent due to suspension or school-approved illness; or death.
The complete dropout report is available at
(http://www.ncpublicschools.org/schoolimprovement/effective/dropout/).
North
Carolina, which three years ago was the first state to offer a statewide
electronic student transcript exchange, saw significant usage growth in 2006.
Over 15,000 electronic transcripts were transmitted from 115 North Carolina
high schools to the state's 110 colleges and universities last year through
CFNC.org, a significant increase from the prior year's 3,200 transcripts.
Eliminating
redundant tasks like printing, mailing, filing and data entry, Xap's Transcript
Exchange improves efficiency with a fast and secure method to request, send,
receive and import digital academic transcripts directly into the student
information system. Using Xap's complete digital application solution and
supporting industry standards (PESC), North Carolina institutions are seeing
annual cost savings of up to $75,000.
"The
ability for students to send their official high school transcripts
electronically is an incredible advantage both to students and school
counselors who save time and money, and colleges can react much faster in
making an admissions decision," said Robert Kanoy, Senior Associate Vice
President for Academic and Student Affairs with the University of North
Carolina system.
North
Carolina views CFNC.org as a key factor behind the increase in the percentage
of high-school students continuing on to college from 55% to 64%. CFNC.org
provides career and education planning, as well as a simplified process for
submitting both admissions applications and transcripts to students'
institutions of choice.
"We
are pleased to be the technology partner with North Carolina that developed the
first statewide electronic transcript exchange in the nation three years
ago," said Liz Dietz, Xap's Chief Executive Officer. "We look for
recently-launched statewide exchanges in Illinois, Georgia and Tennessee to see
similar success. While the marketplace's vast number of student information
systems has created a traditional challenge for some, we have been successful
in providing a true digital solution. Additionally, we have a proven track
record and are constantly raising the bar, as evidenced by our new Portable
Document Extract (PDX) technology that demystifies the electronic transcript
data exchange between different systems."
Two freshmen at New Technology High look up
from their laptops, where they're writing business letters to surgeons.
A visitor wants Joshua Vincent and Kevaun
Truesdale to explain how their school, which just opened in Garinger High,
differs from the larger school from which it sprang.
"Garinger may be kind of a bad
school," says Joshua, 14, "but we're not."
What's different?
"Here, people dress
professionally," Joshua says. "At the other campus they dress like
slobs."
To an outsider, the distinction can be
elusive. New Tech teens, many wearing jeans and hooded sweatshirts, look a lot
like the other Garinger students.
But molding a distinct identity is part of
the small-school movement, which the eastside Garinger is helping pioneer in
its effort to survive.
New Tech supplies laptops, small classes and
real-life projects to engage teens in college-prep academicsÉ
To read the complrete article, please go to:
(http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/living/education/16522975.htm)