DELAWARE EDUCATION NEWS

January 2007

Copyright © 2007 Queue, Inc.

 

 

IN THIS ISSUE:

Education News

Delaware Scores 3 Out of 6: Results of 2006 NCEA Survey of State Data Collection Issues Related to Longitudinal Analysis

Key Education Facts and Figures for Delaware

 

Annual Report Charts DelawareÕs Participation in School Breakfast Program

 

An Inconvenient Truth DVD Giveaway

 

 

 

FREE STUDENT WORKBOOKS AVAILABLE FOR PREVIEW (Advertisement)

 

Queue, Inc.'s latest Test Preparation Catalogue features many new titles. We would be delighted to send catalogues and/or free review copies of any of the student versions of these books at no cost to you. Call, fax, or email your request.

 

In addition, weÕre offering a wide array of curriculum-based materials in our New Curriculum Catalogue. We welcome you to request free review copies of these books as well as a copy of the curriculum catalogue.

 

We think you will find QueueÕs test preparation materials to be great tools to prepare your students for state assessment tests. In addition, we encourage you to sample our curriculum workbooks to help engage and challenge your students.

 

For further information on Queue, Inc. and our product line, visit

http://www.qworkbooks.com.

 

To order free previews, please visit: http://www.qworkbooks.com/samplerequest.html

 

or call: 800-232-2224

 

or fax: 800-775-2729

 

or e-mail: jdk@queueinc.com

 

or write: Queue, Inc., 1 Controls Dr., Shelton, CT 06484

 

 

 

 

Education News

 

For back issues of this newsletter, as well as current and back issues of our other newsletters, U.S. Education News and Education Research Report, please go to: http://www.queuenews.com/

 

For the latest education research news on a daily basis, please visit our NEW Education Research Report Weblog: http://educationresearchreport.blogspot.com/ Please don't forget to change your bookmarks!

 

 

 

 

Delaware Scores 3 Out of 6: Results of 2006 NCEA Survey of State Data Collection Issues Related to Longitudinal Analysis

 

In preparation of the launch of the Data Quality Campaign, the National Center for Educational Accountability (NCEA) conducted a survey, with the support of The Broad Foundation and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, about state data systems to determine the number of states that have built the infrastructure to tap into the power of longitudinal data. This report provides an overview of the findings of the August 2006 survey in addition to a state-by-state analysis of the policy implications of each state's data system.

 

The Power of Longitudinal Data

 

Longitudinal data matches individual student records over time, from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and into post secondary education. States are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to improve student achievement. But without quality data, they are essentially flying blind. Policymakers need to act now to put in place the policies and resources to ensure that each state has a longitudinal data system and the culture and capacity to translate the information into specific action steps to improve student achievement. When states collect the most relevant data and are able to match individual student records over time, they can answer the questions that are at the core of educational effectiveness. Longitudinal data (data gathered on the same student from year to year) makes it possible to:

 

á      Determine the value-added of specific schools and programs by following individual students' academic growth;

á      Identify consistently high-performing schools so that educators and the public can learn from best practices;

á      Evaluate the impact of teacher preparation and training programs on student achievement; and

 

Based on responses to the 2006 NCEA survey, only a few states can answer each of these priority questions facing policymakers and educators today.

Which schools produce the strongest academic growth for their students? (23 states can answer this question)

 

Alaska (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Alaska),

Colorado (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Colorado),  Delaware (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Delaware), Kansas (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Kansas),

Kentucky (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Kentucky), Louisiana (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Louisiana), Massachusetts     (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Massachusetts),

Minnesota (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Minnesota),

Nebraska (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Nebraska), Nevada (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Nevada),

New Mexico (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=New Mexico),

New York (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=New York),

North Dakota (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=North Dakota),

Ohio (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Ohio),

Rhode Island (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Rhode Island),

Tennessee (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Tennessee),

Texas (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Texas),

Utah (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Utah),

Vermont (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Vermont),

Virginia (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Virginia),

Washington (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Washington),

West Virginia (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=West Virginia),

Wisconsin (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Wisconsin)

 

 

What achievement levels in middle school indicate that a student is on track to succeed in rigorous courses in high school? (5 states can answer this question)

 

Arkansas (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Arkansas),

Florida (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Florida),

Georgia (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Georgia),

Texas (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Texas),

Utah (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Utah)

 

 

What is each school's graduation rate, according to the 2005 National Governors Association graduation compact? (26 states can answer this question)

 

Alabama (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Alabama),

Alaska (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Alaska),

Arizona (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Arizona),

Arkansas (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Arkansas),

Colorado (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Colorado),

Delaware (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Delaware),

Florida (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Florida),

Iowa (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Iowa),

Kansas (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Kansas), Louisiana (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Louisiana), Massachusetts (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Massachusetts), Minnesota (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Minnesota),

Nevada (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Nevada),

New Hampshire (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=New Hampshire),

New Mexico (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=New Mexico), North Dakota (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=North Dakota),

Ohio (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Ohio)

Oregon (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Oregon),

South Dakota (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=South Dakota),

Texas (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Texas),

Utah (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Utah),

Virginia (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Virginia),

Washington (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Washington), West Virginia (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=West Virginia),

Wisconsin (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Wisconsin), Wyoming (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Wyoming)

 

 

What high school performance indicators (e.g., enrollment in rigorous courses or performance on state tests) are the best predictors of students' success in college or the workplace? (4 states can answer this question)

 

Arkansas (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Arkansas),

Florida (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Florida), Georgia (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Georgia), Texas (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Texas

 

What percentage of high school graduates who go on to college take remedial courses? (14 states can answer this question)

 

Alabama (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Alabama),

Alaska (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Alaska),

Arkansas (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Arkansas)

Florida (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Florida),

Georgia (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Georgia),

Hawaii (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Hawaii),

Louisiana (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Louisiana), Massachusetts (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Massachusetts),

North Dakota (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=North Dakota),

Oregon (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Oregon),

Texas (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Texas),

Vermont (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Vermont), Washington (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Washington),

Wyoming (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Wyoming)

 

 

Which teacher preparation programs produce the graduates whose students have the strongest academic growth? (9 states can answer this question)

 

Delaware (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Delaware), Kentucky (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Kentucky), Louisiana (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Louisiana),

New Mexico (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=New Mexico), Ohio (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Ohio),

Rhode Island (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Rhode Island),

Tennessee (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Tennessee), Utah (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=Utah),

West Virginia (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/state.cfm?st=West Virginia)

 

For the complete report go to:

http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/

 

 

 

 

Key Education Facts and Figures for Delaware

 

The Education Watch State Summary Reports provide state-specific data on:

 

Achievement Gaps:

á      How many students are proficient in reading and mathematics on state assessments? How do proficiency rates on state assessments compare to proficiency rates on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)?

á      How do achievement gaps between groups compare across states? Where are gaps the smallest? Where are they the biggest?

á      What are the trends in student achievement over time? Which states are making the biggest gains?

 

High School and College Attainment Gaps:

á      What is the on-time high school graduation rate for different groups of students?

á      How many high school graduates enroll in college?

á      What is the college graduation rate for different groups of students?

 

á      What are the participation and success rates for different groups of students in high-level courses such as Advanced Placement (AP)?

á      Which students are most likely to have teachers who have even a college minor in the subject theyÕre teaching?

á      How much state and local per-pupil funding is provided to schools in low- versus high-poverty districts? Which states provide the most funding to low-income districts? Which states provide the least?

á      How affordable is college for each stateÕs lowest income students?

 

A Deeper Look at Achievement across States: NAEP Data Tables

 

While no state is yet where it needs to be in terms of educating poor and minority students, some are doing a much better job than others. To help state leaders, researchers, and advocates explore these differences and identify states from which they might learn, the accompanying NAEP Data Tables allow for easy state-to-state comparisons of scale scores for different groups of students. They include tables that look at student achievement and gap trends over time. For example:

 

á      Low-income eighth-graders in Massachusetts score 21 points higher in math than low-income eighth-graders in neighboring Rhode Island (273 vs. 252).

á      In 2003, reading scores for African-American fourth-graders were 14 points higher in Connecticut than in Delaware. Over the last five years, however, African-American reading scores increased by 23 points in Delaware while in Connecticut, they decreased by 2 points. DelawareÕs African-American fourth-graders now read at higher levels than their peers in Connecticut.

á      The gap in math achievement separating Latino from White eighth-graders in Minnesota is 10 points larger than the gap in Virginia, a state educating a similar proportion of Latino students (33 points vs. 23 points).

 

The wide variation between states in achievement for the same groups of students demonstrates just how important state policies and practices are. ÒIf race and poverty mattered more than what happens in schools, then NAEP scores for low-income students and students of color would be more consistent from state to state,Ó said Daria Hall, senior policy analyst for the Education Trust.

 

Focus on Opportunities to Learn

 

The data are clear: what states do matters a lot when it comes to student achievement. But far too often, state policies and practices work to the direct disadvantage of low-income and minority students. For example:

 

á      In New York, schools in the highest poverty districts have $2,065 less to spend per pupil than schools in the most affluent districts.

á      In Illinois, students in high-poverty secondary schools are more than three times as likely as students in low-poverty schools to have a teacher lacking even a minor in the subject theyÕre teaching (47 percent vs.15 percent).

á      In Michigan, African-American students represent 20 percent of the stateÕs K-12 enrollment but just 5 percent of the students enrolled in Advanced Placement English Language and Composition courses.

 

 

Delaware Report:

http://www2.edtrust.org/edtrust/summaries2006/Delaware.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

Annual Report Charts DelawareÕs Participation in School Breakfast Program

 

During the 2005-2006 school year, 18,975 low-income Delaware students participated in the School Breakfast Program, according to the School Breakfast Scorecard 2006. The Scorecard is issued annually by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) to measure participation in the School Breakfast Program.

 

For every 100 low-income children that participated in the National School Lunch Program, 47.1 also received free and reduced-price breakfasts. If Delaware schools increased school breakfast participation by serving 60 out of 100 low-income children eating lunch, they would help 5,175 more children and gain an additional $1,081,677 in federal funding.

 

In Delaware, 96.4 percent of schools that offer school lunch also offer school breakfast, ranking Delaware 8th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The School Breakfast Program began as a pilot program in 1966 as a way to make sure children were able to start the school day ready to learn. Numerous studies have found that breakfast in the morning improves childrenÕs school achievement and health.

 

ÒReaching a lot more children with breakfast in schools is probably the cheapest and fastest way to improve childrenÕs learning and health, improve attendance and, of course, reduce hunger,Ó said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). ÒItÕs essential that more schools serve breakfast, adopt steps like breakfast in the classroom and reach out to more children.Ó

 

Nationally, the program has grown to include 7.7 million low-income children. To get even more children and schools participating, FRAC recommends that all schools participate in the school breakfast program, even offering universal breakfast, which provides breakfast at no charge to all students who want it. Schools can encourage higher participation among children by providing breakfast in the classroom, Ògrab and goÓ breakfast or offering breakfast after first period. These successful strategies have been used by states to boost participation in the program.

 

The full report, School Breakfast Scorecard 2006, is available at

http://www.frac.org/pdf/2006_SBP.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

An Inconvenient Truth DVD Giveaway

 

50,000 copies of Al GoreÕs film on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, are available to be given away to teachers in the United States. The first 50,000 teachers who apply are eligible to win. There is a limit of one DVD per teacher. All entries must be received by January 18, 2007.

Visit: http://participate.net/educators/node/196 for the complete contest rules.

 

Teachers Entry Form:

http://participate.net/educators/DVD/giveaway