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Subscribe to the Education Research Report We've been honored to have had a loyal e-newsletter readership since we first began sending out our state newsletters, U.S. Education News, and Education Research Report back in January 2006. Now you can get the Education Research Report delivered to you twice per month for just $145 per year! If you've enjoyed reading about the latest findings in education and educational research across the nation, and would like to receive our Education Research Report e-newsletters, please call (800) 232-2224 to place your order with a credit card. If you'd like to view a sample of the Education Research Report before subscribing, visit http://www.queuenews.com/comments.html and send an information form requesting this material. Visit www.queuenews.com/subsnotice.html for more information. Almost Half of States Fail Academic Standards Test Weak expectations drive calls for national testing Five years after No Child Left Behind made standards-based education reform the law of the land, a new study finds that the subject-by-subject state standards that undergird this reform strategy remain inadequate in most jurisdictions. The State of State Standards 2006, the first full review of such standards since 2000, confers an average grade of "C-minus"-the same as six years earlier-even though most states revised their standards during that period.
Here is the report for Texas Overall Grade: C- More Details: Texas students outperform national average on NAEP mathematics tests and match national average on reading tests Texas students outperformed the national average on the fourth and eighth grade 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics exams and matched the national average on the fourth and eighth grade reading results. However, when the scores are examined by ethnic groups, Texas students in all major groups outpaced students in the same student groups across the country on both the NAEP mathematics and reading tests at both grade levels. In addition, economically disadvantaged fourth-grade students in Texas achieved higher average scale scores on the reading exam compared to the national average. At grade 8, economically disadvantaged students achieved higher average scale scores than the equivalent national average in reading, and both economically disadvantaged and English language learners in Texas outpaced students in the same student groups across the country on the math exam. The NAEP is known as the nation’s report card because it is the only assessment test given to students of all academic levels in all states. Today’s results are based on the performance of over 675,000 fourth and eighth-grade students across the country. There are four achievement levels: below basic, basic, proficient and advanced. Eighth-grade math Texas eighth-grade students earned an average scale score of 286 this year on the NAEP mathematics test, a significant gain over their average scale score of 281 in 2005. This year’s score exceeded the national average scale score of 280. Texas had significantly more students scoring at the proficient level, with 35 percent of this year’s eighth-graders performing at this high level, compared to 31 percent in 2005. At the national level, 31 percent of eighth-grade students performed at the proficient level. The percentage of grade 8 students in Texas performing at or above the NAEP basic level was 78 percent in 2007, a significant increase over the 72 percent scoring at this level in 2005. Like the fourth-grade students, each major ethnic group at eighth-grade outperformed the national average. White students earned an average scale score of 300, compared to a score of 290 for whites nationally. African-American students in Texas earned an average scale score of 271, 12 points higher than the national average for this group. Hispanic Texans with an average scale score of 277 had a 13 point lead over Hispanics nationally. In addition, grade 8 English language learners, with an average scale score of 252, and economically disadvantaged students, with an average scale score of 275, each outperformed their national peers with average scale scores of 245 and 265, respectively. Fourth-grade math On the fourth-grade mathematics test, Texas ranked in ninth place nationally with 87 percent of its students at or above the basic performance level, which includes performance at the basic, proficient and advanced levels. The average scale scores of fourth-grade students in Texas remained stable, compared to scores in 2005 (242 in both years). The national average scale score was 239, significantly lower than the average scale score in Texas. Texas’s African-American, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged students all outperformed their comparable student groups nationally, according to information from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which administers the NAEP program. Texas’s African-American students posted a score of 230, compared to 222 for the group nationally. Hispanic Texans earned a score of 236, nine points higher than their peers nationally. The percentage of Texas’ fourth-grade students scoring at or above the proficient level in 2007 remained stable compared to the state’s test scores in 2005 but was higher than the national average. Forty percent of grade 4 Texas students were at the proficient level, the same as in 2005. Nationally, 38 percent of the students were proficient in math. A student who has earned a proficient achievement level has demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, including subject-matter knowledge, application of such knowledge to real-world situations, and analytical skills appropriate to the subject matter, according to NCES. Texas has also greatly reduced the percent of students who are performing below the basic level. In 1992, 44 percent of the state’s fourth graders scored below the basic level, compared with 13 percent today. Eighth-grade reading The average scale score on the eighth-grade reading exam was 261 for Texas students in 2007, significantly higher compared to their average scale score of 258 in 2005. Texas matched the national average score of 261. Twenty-eight percent of the Texans and 29 percent of the students nationally were at the proficient level. Seventy-three percent of Texas eighth-grade students achieved at or above the basic level, a significant increase compared to the 69 percent achieving this level in 2005. Texas’s ethnic groups earned higher scores than their classmates nationally. White Texans earned an average scale score of 275, compared to a national average of 270. Texans who are African-American earned a score of 249, five points higher than the national average for African Americans. Hispanic Texans had an average scale score of 251, five points higher than their peers nationally. In addition, economically disadvantaged students in Texas, with an average scale score of 249, had a significantly higher average scale score than their peers in the nation overall (247). Fourth-grade reading Texas’ fourth-grade students earned an average scale score of 220 on the reading NAEP, not significantly different from their average scale score of 219 in 2005. This average score matched the national average. Texas had 29 percent of the students at or above the proficient level, not significantly different than the percentage at that level nationally (31 percent). Texas and the nation overall had the same percentage of students performing at the below basic level, 34 percent. Once again, students in Texas’ major ethnic groups outperformed their peers across the country. Texas’ white students earned an average scale score of 232, compared to an average scale score of 230 for white students nationally. African-American students in Texas achieved an average scale score of 207, compared to 203 nationally. Hispanic Texans received a score of 212, compared to 204 for Hispanic students across the country. In addition, grade 4 English language learners, with an average scale score of 196, and economically disadvantaged students, with an average scale score of 209, outperformed their national peers (with average scale scores of 188 and 205, respectively). More information about NAEP and the 2007 results is available: Mathematics 4 and 8 Reading 4 and 8 Ysleta and Keller teachers named 2008 Texas Teachers of the Year For the second year in a row, teachers from the Ysleta and Keller school districts have been named the Texas Teachers of the Year. Paul Cain, a mathematics and physics teacher at Ysleta High School in El Paso’s Ysleta Independent School District, has been selected as the 2008 Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year from amongst 20 regional secondary Teachers of the Year. Cain, a 31-year veteran of the classroom, will also represent Texas in the National Teacher of the Year program. Grant Simpson, a fourth-grade teacher at Hidden Lakes Elementary School in Keller ISD, which is a Fort Worth suburb, was selected the 2008 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year from amongst the 20 regional elementary Teachers of the Year. Last year, Dana Boyd from Dolphin Terrace Elementary School in Ysleta ISD was the Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year and Nika Maples from Fossil Ridge High School in Keller ISD was the Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year. Texas has recognized Teachers of the Year annually since 1969. With today’s announcement, Ysleta also became the Texas district with the largest number of teachers given this prestigious award. Cain is the fifth Ysleta teacher to win this top award. Previous Ysleta winners were Boyd, 2007; Miguel Igancio Tinajero, 1995; Rosa Lujan, 1992; and Rita Harlien, 1982. The last time two male teachers won the top honor was 1998. Paul F. Cain When Paul Cain graduated from high school, he had two possible career paths to pursue– the military or teaching. He initially chose the military but the Army ultimately recognized his potential and put him in the classroom as a mathematics instructor. After more than a decade of military service, he resigned from the Army and was hired to teach math in Ysleta. That first year, he was given a schedule, a textbook and a classroom and virtually no guidance. With no support or direction, he quit in frustration at the end of the year, convinced that he had made the wrong career move. That summer, his assistant principal tracked him down at the cafeteria where he was working and told him that he had the makings of a good teacher and asked him to come back and try it again. He decided to give teaching another try and has been at Ysleta High School ever since. Because of his experience, he helped create a mentoring system so that new teachers have someone to turn to when they need advice or help. During his 18 years as chair of the mathematics department, he made sure that a new teacher is given a mentor who teaches at least one of the same classes as the novice educator and has the same conference period as the new teacher. Every math teacher also teaches at least one Algebra I class. “This had the effect of making our entire department responsible to assist our youngest and least motivated students to learn and it created a pool of teachers willing to share techniques, methodologies, strategies, teaching styles, and information to improve all our teaching skills,” Cain said. Cain said he believes teachers are the “most positive individuals in the world. Despite complaints from individual teachers that students ‘never listen’ I believe they are always listening. They are eavesdropping on adults regularly and take to heart what is said about them. Too many times young people are painfully aware of their shortcomings… These messages come from the adults in their lives and are delivered both in words and actions.” Consequently, he said, “They become more interested in nonjudgmental friends or solitary activities, such as watching TV, listening to music, surfing the Internet, or playing a video game. Students already know their problem areas and often are unaware of any strengths they might have. It is our job as teachers to find those strengths, point them out to the students and use them to motivate students to participate in the learning process.” Grant Simpson Simpson has taught fourth grade in the Keller and Crowley school districts for the past five years. A child of educators, he was always around schools and even as a child got to go inside the inner sanctum – the teacher’s lounge. But it was football that helped convince him to become a teacher. Once he made the varsity football squad in high school, he was eligible to coach in a local flag football league. He and a friend coached the same team for three years. “Watching kids learn something that I taught them was an incredible feeling that sparked my interest in the education profession.” He also went through an educational internship while in high school and worked with a fourth-grade teacher. Although normally an introverted person, Simpson quickly felt at ease and comfortable in this classroom. “What I understood immediately was that I had found my haven in a world that constantly freaks me out!” Now he works to create a safe and supportive haven for his fourth-grade students. “One of my goals every year is to develop a family or community atmosphere in our room,” he said. He creates a huge community calendar in which the students post their activities such as sports events, choir concerts, church events and more. “I make a promise to each one who brings a schedule that I will attend at least one of their functions.” So he and his wife, who uses the same calendar concept in her third-grade class, can often be found roaming football fields, auditoriums and churches to watch their students perform. He takes a photo of himself and his student at these events and then posts it in the classroom. “It’s an incredible feeling to see the pride in their eyes the next day when during our morning meeting they get to share how I came to their event,” Simpson said. Simpson to develop a “relationship-driven classroom. I felt that if I could connect with my students on a personal level, the chance they would want to come to school would improve.” He said, “I will teach the required material in an intriguing way, all the while teaching my students how to think. I want them to be ready and eager for a lifetime of learning, not test taking. I believe it was the late, great Dr. Seuss who said, ‘You’ve learned the things you need to pass that test and many more – I’m certain you’ll succeed. We’ve taught you that the earth is round, that red and white make pink, and something else that matters more – we’ve taught you how to THINK!’ ” Cain and Simpson were selected as the state Teachers of the Year after having been named district and regional Teachers of the Year. They, along with four other state finalists, were interviewed by an 11-member judging panel on Saturday in Austin. The state winners, as well as the regional Teachers of the Year, will be honored at a luncheon on Nov. 3 at the Sheraton Austin Hotel. Each regional winner receives $500 in cash, as well as a trophy. The state’s top two educators will receive a cash prize of $5,000, a technology package worth an estimated $15,000, and a trophy. Tutor.com Provides Dallas-Area Students with Free On Demand Tutoring Students can Sign Up Today for “All Access Algebra” to get 200 Minutes of Free Tutoring for the Fall Semester Students Attending Richardson Independent School District have Access to Expanded Program All Access Algebra launches today and allows any student in the greater Dallas-area enrolled in any Algebra course to sign up for 200 minutes of Tutor.com free during the fall semester. Tutor.com is also working with the Richardson Independent School District to offer all enrolled 7th -12th graders access to free tutoring in all core subjects for the 2007-08 school year. allas-area students should go to www.tutor.com/algebra to sign up for their 200 free minutes between September 26 and October 10. The free tutoring minutes can be used anytime through December 31, 2007. Students will be able to log onto Tutor.com the minute they get stuck with Algebra homework and get one-to-one help from a professional tutor for as much or as little time as they need. The service is available seven days a week from 1:00 p.m. – Midnight, Central Time. Students never need to schedule an appointment. An expanded version of the initiative is being rolled out to the nearly 15,000 7th through 12th grade students in the Richardson Independent School District (RISD). Through the RISD partnership, Tutor.com will offer 300 minutes of homework help free, which can be used throughout the entire 2007 – 2008 school year in math, science, social studies and English. Students in the Richardson Independent School district will receive special instructions, mailed directly to their homes in early October. Whenever a student gets stuck and needs help, he or she simply selects the grade level and subject that’s giving them difficulty. Within a few minutes, the student is connected to a professional tutor for live one-to-one help. Once connected, the student and tutor chat using instant messaging, draw problems on an interactive whiteboard, share documents to review essays and papers, and use educational resources on the Web together. Sessions are saved so that students and parents can review them at any time. Dallas was chosen for these on demand tutoring programs because Texas recently joined a growing number of states that are raising high school academic standards, as the nation is challenged to better prepare students for higher education and fields requiring math and science proficiency. Starting with this year’s freshman class, four years of high school math and science will be required in Texas to earn a high school diploma. Educators consider Algebra a “gateway course” that can set the stage for achievement in more advanced math and other coursework requiring critical thinking skills. “Empowering students to get help the minute they need it is the key to improving both learning and confidence,” said George Cigale, founder and CEO, Tutor.com. “Millions of students turn to us for help in math and science so we know how challenging these courses are and just how much one-to-one support children need. By offering Tutor.com to students in the Dallas area, we hope to better equip them not only for Algebra but for all the classes they must navigate as part of the more demanding high school requirements. Once families experience the power of on demand tutoring, they’ll find it an essential educational resource.” “We are committed to helping our students achieve the highest academic performance possible and, to that end, look to provide our students and parents with a full range of educational tools both inside and outside of the classroom,” said RISD Superintendent Dr. David Simmons. “We are very excited to be working with Tutor.com to offer our students on demand homework help, and I encourage students, parents and teachers to tap into this resource.” How to Participate: To participate in All Access Algebra, students and parents outside of the Richardson ISD can register for their free minutes at www.tutor.com/algebra between September 26 and October 10, 2007. The free minutes must be used by 12/31/07. Students in the Richardson ISD will receive information and unique access codes directly from the school district. About Tutor.com Tutor.com creates innovative, on demand homework help and tutoring services that connect students to a professional tutor online the moment they need help in math, science, social studies or English. Their network of over 1,800 professional tutors has delivered over 2.5 million one-to-one tutoring sessions. Tutor.com services include Tutor.com Direct, an on demand tutoring service for families and Live Homework Help, an after-school program offered at over 1,600 public libraries. Tutor.com also powers two statewide, governor-supported initiatives, HomeworkKansas and HomeworkAlabama. Tutor.com was named to Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Program for the New York Region in 2006, was honored as one of the 25 Best Small Companies for Women 2007 by Working Mother and ranked in the first-ever Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America. For more information please visit www.tutor.com |
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