Broad Prize for Urban Education Doubles to $2 Million; Largest U

Texas Education News

October 2008

Six Educators Named Teacher of the Year Finalists

Online Teacher Certification Testing Takes off in Texas

Texas Sets New Record With All-Time High Average on ACT

Broad Prize for Urban Education Doubles to $2 Million; Largest U.S. Education Award Honors Most Improved School Districts, Money Goes to Students for Scholarships

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Six Educators Named Teacher of the Year Finalists

Six top educators, with a combined 125 years of teaching experience, have been chosen as finalists in the Texas Teacher of the Year program.

The teachers were selected from among 40 regional Teachers of the Year. The finalists will now vie for the honor of being named Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year and the Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year.

The secondary education finalists are:

Christine Gleason, an English teacher at Fabens High School in the Fabens Independent School District, which is near El Paso;

Iris Hines, an English teacher at the Roosevelt Alternative School in the Mission Consolidated ISD;

Debbie Perry, who at the time she was named a regional Teacher of the Year, was a mathematics teacher at Travis Junior High in Paris ISD. This fall, Perry began teaching geometry at Midway High School in Waco’s Midway ISD.

The elementary school finalists are:

Beth Dennis, a fifth-grade teacher at Thomas Justiss Elementary in Paris ISD;

Janet Napoli, a literacy teacher for kindergarten through fifth-grade students at Skaggs Elementary School in Plano ISD;

Dora Alicia Newell, a third-grade teacher at Thigpen-Zavala Elementary School in McAllen ISD.

In their Teacher of the Year applications, each educator offered insight into their teaching philosophy and style.

Gleason, the Fabens High teacher, writes: “I am a teacher and can relate any piece of literature to teenage life in under 50 minutes. I do it with laughter, poise and integrity. Most importantly, though, I talk to my students. They know I genuinely care about them and their issues.”

Hines of the

Roosevelt Alternative School calls herself “a dyslexia survivor. I know that the countless profound struggles that I overcame taught me to know exactly how it feels to exist

in a world where acquiring information is constantly impeded by something that is initially beyond one’s control.”

Perry, the Travis Junior High mathematics teacher, writes: “In my classroom we celebrate heroic actions such as kindness, gentleness, helpfulness, and courage so that students can see that one does not have to be smart, beautiful, affluent, or even talented to be a hero.”

Dennis, the Paris fifth-grade teacher, said in her application: “I want to cultivate a love of learning in the lives of my students. I want them to question, create, explore and become problem solvers, not simply in my classroom, but throughout their lives.”

Napoli of Plano describes her motivation this way: “Creating a community of learners who are empowered to seek out the best for themselves is what drives the things I do in the classroom. Students are sponges. It is my job to help them absorb the most powerful ‘tools’ that help them reach their learning potential.”

Newell from McAllen involves herself in all aspects of her students’ lives. “I am determined that each day each one of my students will get my absolute best. They will remember me ...with a smiling face, a kind heart and a genuine desire to form them into the best citizens they can be. If I need to nurture, I do. If I need to find appropriate clothing for them, I do. If I need to seek out ways to provide glasses or even pay an electricity bill, I do.”

Twenty-Six Texas Public Schools Named

NCLB- Blue Ribbon Schools

Twenty-six Texas public schools have been named No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.

This national program recognizes outstanding public and private schools that are either academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic and consistent gains in student achievement. Under the program guidelines, Texas may nominate a maximum of 26 public schools for the award each year. This year all 26 nominees were selected to receive the award.

Schools nominated for the recognition must meet one of two criteria:

1. At least 40 percent of a school’s student body must come from disadvantaged backgrounds and students must show dramatic improvement in performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) over the past three years in reading or English language arts and mathematics; or

2. The schools’ students must be ranked in the top 10 percent on tests in reading or English language arts and mathematics.

In addition, Blue Ribbon Schools must also meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in reading or English language arts and mathematics, must not be identified as a “Persistently Dangerous” school within the last two years, and be in compliance with other USDE requirements.

A list of the Texas public schools named the 2008 NCLB—Blue Ribbon Schools follows.

Texas NCLB--Blue Ribbon School Nominees in Top 10% of Test Results (With at least 40% Disadvantaged Students)
Campus Name	District		Principal
Ben Milam Elementary School	Dallas ISD		Ms. Anna Galvan
Centerville Elementary School	Garland ISD		Ms. Ramona Aguilar
Schulenburg Elementary School	Schulenburg ISD		Ms. Martha Skelton
Taylor Ray Elementary School	Lamar CISD		Ms. Diane Parks
Hartsfield Elementary School	Houston ISD		Ms. Joyce Williams
Peck Elementary School	Houston ISD		Ms. Carlotta Brown
Club Estates Elementary School	Corpus Christi ISD		Ms. Lynda De Leon
Bivins Elementary School	Amarillo ISD		Mr. Tom Panger
Landergin Elementary School	Amarillo ISD		Mrs. Kimberly Lackey
School of Business & Management	Dallas ISD		Ms. Edith Krutilek
Texas NCLB--Blue Ribbon School Nominees Showing Significant Improvement in Test Results (With at least 40% Disadvantaged Students)
Harvard Elementary School	Houston ISD		Mr. Kevin Beringer
Shaw SES Elementary School		Corpus Christi ISD Mr. Ralph Silva
Slaton High School	Slaton ISD		Ms. Chris Kennedy
Liberty-Eylau Middle School	Liberty-Eylau ISD		Ms. Christy Tidwell
Pin Oak Middle School	Houston ISD		Mr. Michael McDonough
Texas NCLB--Blue Ribbon School Nominees in Top 10% of Test Results (With fewer than 40% Disadvantaged Students)
Roan Forest Elementary School	North East ISD		Ms. Ruth Wayne
Shepard Elementary School	Plano ISD		Mrs. Mary Spickler
Anderson Elementary School	Frisco ISD		Ms. Teresa Wilkinson
Lakewood Elementary School	Dallas ISD		Ms. Michelle Thompson
Big Springs Elementary School	Richardson ISD		Ms. Denise May
Samuel Beck Elementary	Northwest ISD		Ms. Deborah McCune
Liberty Elementary School	Eagle Pass ISD		Mr. Rolando Salinas
Carnegie Vanguard High School	Houston ISD		Mr. Ramon Moss
Cinco Ranch High School	Katy ISD		Ms. Bonnie Brasic
Wylie High School	Wylie ISD		Mr. Mitch Davis
Boerne Middle School South	Boerne ISD		Dr. Janey Hunt

Online Teacher Certification Testing Takes off in Texas

The popularity of online teacher certification testing in Texas is exploding with more than 50,000 tests being taken via the Internet in the past year, according to the State Board for Educator Certification.

Texas is leading the nation in moving toward online certification testing, which offers teachers their scores within seven days of taking the exams.

Currently, there are 13 tests available online and in September, seven additional tests will come online. By the 2010-2011 school year, 34 of all 78 certification tests will be available online.

“Texas is definitely on the cutting edge of online certification testing in the U.S.,” said Janet Cook of the Educational Testing Service, the state’s testing contractor. “Teachers in Texas are just finding it much more convenient.”

Online testing has been available in Texas since 2004-2005, when two exams were offered. ETS’ five-year contract with the state calls for the addition of seven new test titles each year.

“The whole purpose of this is accessibility for educators,” said Karen Loonam, deputy associate commissioner for Certification and Standards. “It’s the method of preference for most teachers. They like the quick scoring turnaround.”

The rapid availability of scores is a boost for school districts, too, as they make hiring decisions – especially in high demand subject areas such as science, math, special education and English as a second language. As a rule, districts do not offer hiring contracts to teachers who have not passed certification tests.

Online testing is doubly convenient because teachers can usually take tests at a time of their convenience. Secure online testing sites are located at universities, education service centers, community colleges, and Prometric testing centers.

Test takers have five hours to complete an exam, but the average completion time is between three and four hours. As part of the test-taking process, teachers create a secure account online and they can check for their scores by logging in to the ETS site.

Loonam said she expects that online testing will eventually be the sole method for certification in the future, but she doesn’t expect paper tests to disappear anytime soon. Paper and pencil tests – the same kind that have been offered since certification

examinations began in 1986 – are still available at certain times of the year for those who prefer them.

The following is a list of computer-administered tests currently available:

Bilingual Education Supplemental

English as a Second Language Supplemental

Generalist EC*-4

Generalist 4-8

History 8-12

Mathematics 8-12

Music EC-12

Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-4

Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC-12

Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities 4-8

Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities 8-12

Physical Education EC-12

Special Education EC-12

The following tests will be available online in September:

English Language Arts and Reading 4–8

Health EC–12

Life Science

Mathematics 4–8

Science 4–8

Science 8–12

Social Studies 4–8

* Early Childhood

Texas Sets New Record With All-Time High Average on ACT

For the third straight year in a row, Texas public and private school graduates increased their ACT composite score, setting a new state record with an all-time high average of 20.7, even while the national average score dropped.

Texas also set a new state record for the number of test takers, with 79,050 students in the graduating Class of 2008 taking the college admission exam, a 3 percent increase from last year. That represents 29 percent of the state’s senior class and is about a 2,500-student increase over the Class of 2007. Nationwide, a total of 1.42 million 2008 graduates took this college admissions test.

Texas’ white, African American, Asian American, and American Indian students earned a composite score that was higher than their ethnic group nationally.

White students in Texas posted an average composite score of 22.4, compared to 22.1 nationally. African-American students in Texas earned higher scores this year with an average composite of 17.2, a 0.3 percent increase over their national counterparts who earned a composite score of 16.9. Average score increases of 0.3 and 0.4 are unusually large gains for one year on the ACT. Typically, scores move up 0.1 and occasionally 0.2 per year.

Asian-American Texans received a score of 23.8, significantly above the 22.9 earned by Asian students nationally, while American Indian students earned an average score of 21.5, substantially above the national average for their ethnic group of 19.0.

Texas’ Hispanic students received a score of 18.4, compared to a score of 18.7 for Hispanics nationally. While lagging behind the national performance, Texas Hispanic students have increased their score for three straight years and make up 18 percent of the Hispanic test-takers nationally.

Although the state composite score rose from 20.5 to 20.7, it continued to trail the national average of 21.1, which was lower than the 2007 composite score.

An ACT, Inc. analysis shows that Texas students who took the recommended graduation plan—four years of English, three years each of math, science and social studies—are substantially more likely than those who took less than the core to be ready for college-level coursework.

Of the Texas seniors who took the recommended core math coursework, 44 percent surpassed ACT’s college readiness benchmark in math, compared to 31 percent who took less than the core. In addition, 26 percent of students who took at least three years of science met or exceeded the benchmark, with only 13 percent of those who took less than the core achieving that standard.

ACT has established college readiness benchmarks for the four individual tests given in reading, English, math and science. A benchmark score is a minimum score needed on an ACT subject-area test to indicate a 50 percent chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75 percent chance of earning a C or higher in a corresponding college course.

The percent of Texas graduates who met or exceeded the ACT college readiness benchmarks, and are considered ready for college-level coursework, increased in all four subject areas this year.

According to the test results, 63 percent of the Texas students who took the ACT are likely to be successful in a college English composition class, while 49 percent are expected to succeed in social sciences. Of the Texas ACT test takers, 44 percent are ready for a college Algebra course and 25 percent are expected to succeed in college biology. In addition, the percentage of graduates who met all four benchmarks improved for the third straight year, with 20 percent meeting the college readiness benchmark in 2008, compared to 19 percent in 2007.

Among Texas students, the top five universities being sent scores by ACT test takers are the University of Texas, Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, Texas State University and Baylor University.

Broad Prize for Urban Education Doubles to $2 Million; Largest U.S. Education Award Honors Most Improved School Districts, Money Goes to Students for Scholarships

Two Texas Districts Finalists

After six years of increased national attention on “Broad Prize” school districts – those urban school districts that have demonstrated the strongest growth in student achievement in America while narrowing achievement gaps between income and ethnic groups – The Broad Prize for Urban Education has been doubled to $2 million by the board of governors of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation..

Now viewed by many as the Nobel Prize of public education, The Broad Prize is the nation’s largest education award. The prize winnings go to graduating high school seniors in the winning school district and four finalists for college scholarships. With the doubling of The Broad Prize, the scholarship awarded to each student will also double.

With this new increase, the winner of the 2008 Broad Prize, which will be announced in New York City on Oct. 14, will now receive $1 million in college scholarships for graduating high school seniors. The four finalist school districts will each receive $250,000 in college scholarships – also twice as much as previously expected. The five finalists for the 2008 Broad Prize are:

· Aldine Independent School District, Texas

· Broward County Public Schools, Fla.

· Brownsville Public Schools, Texas

· Long Beach Unified School District, Calif.

· Miami-Dade County Public Schools

When it was started in 2002, The Broad Prize was designed to spotlight success in urban public education, which has been long criticized for dismal test scores and growing achievement gaps, by identifying school districts that were making the most progress in raising academic achievement, particularly for low-income and minority students. The Prize was also intended to showcase the “best practices” of those school districts, with the hopes that other urban districts around the country would follow suit, and to create competition among districts to win the nation’s top education prize.

Since The Broad Prize was first awarded in 2002, the following districts have won the top honor:

					2007 - New York City Department of Education
					2006 - Boston Public Schools
					2005 - Norfolk Public Schools, Va.
					2004 - Garden Grove Unified School District, Calif.
					2003 - Long Beach Unified School District, Calif.
					2002 - Houston Independent School District

Winning The Broad Prize has meant not only national attention and recognition for the most improved urban American school districts but also a boost to the morale of teachers, principals, students, parents and surrounding communities. Realtors in some of these cities have touted the win as a draw for prospective residents.

Fulfilling one of the goals of The Broad Prize – to showcase the best practices – these winners have hosted numerous visitors to their districts, sharing what has worked to improve student achievement. For example, the Long Beach Unified School District has hosted visitors from as far away as Romania and Japan to learn from their successful practices.

The most promising education reformers in the U.S. today are looking to Broad Prize districts for guidance. For example, District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has turned to Joel Klein, chancellor of the 2007 Broad Prize-winning New York City Department of Education for counsel in implementing reforms. Urban districts around the country such as the Dallas Independent School District have also begun to incorporate the goal of winning The Broad Prize into their district strategic plans.

Each year, 100 of the largest school districts in the country that serve a significant percentage of low-income and minority students are eligible for The Broad Prize – there is no application or nomination process. The five finalists are chosen by a review board of more than 15 education experts that reviews academic performance data that has been collected and researched in-depth over the past year.

For more information about The Broad Prize, please visit www.broadprize.org.