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Federal Update 07.27.07
- The First Comprehensive NCLB Legislation
- All Students Can Achieve Act of 2007
- Funds for Union Oversight Slashed
- Two Teachers Sue the NEA Over Retirement Fund
- Creating a Successful Compensation System for Educators
- Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee Proposes Ideas for NCLB
- New Campaign for NCLB
- Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy
- Left Behind By Design
The First Comprehensive NCLB Legislation of 2007
Recently one of the first NCLB bills titled, “No Child Left Behind Act of 2007” was introduced in the Senate by Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Richard Burr (R-NC). The bill is aligned with many of the suggestions for NCLB that the U.S. Department of Education has proposed including growth models, alternative assessments for special education students and pay-for-performance for teachers. In response to the bill Education Secretary Margaret Spellings stated, “We feel very positive about the act. We feel very positive about the bill itself. We think it includes 70 to 80 percent of the president's recommendations for No Child Left Behind.”
The “No Child Left Behind Act of 2007” creates a new program named the “Education Flexibility Partnerships” that would allow local school districts to receive waivers from specific federal regulations and statutes in order to establish educational reforms in an effort to raise student achievement. Local school districts would outline for the state the accountability requirements and goals they would implement if a waiver were granted. States would grant the waivers to school districts and perform assessments of the school districts’ accountability requirements and goals with the right to revoke the waiver if requirements were not being met. The U.S. Secretary of Education would review the state’s evaluation process of the waivers three years after the program in each state was implemented.
This legislation would also include Senator Burr’s bill, “Graduate for a Better Future Act,” which addresses the nation’s high school dropout crisis. Under this bill funds would be used to: create models of excellence for academically rigorous high schools; establish academic catch-up programs for students who enter high school needing more assistance academically; implement early warning systems for students at risk of dropping out; and, put into practice student job shadowing internships and community service. “To remain competitive in the global economy it is critical that all America’s children graduate from high school with the skills to succeed in college and the workforce,” Senator Burr said.
This bill is one of the first steps in the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. Another bill regarding No Child Left Behind is expected to be introduced shortly (see below) and more suggestions are sure to follow before the law is reauthorized.
For more information about the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2007” please read the following press release from Senator Burr at: http://burr.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=310&Month=7&Year=2007
Also, please read the policy paper from the Heritage Foundation titled, “First Draft: NCLB Reauthorization Bill Introduced in Senate,” at: http://www.heritage.org/research/education/ednotes81.cfm
All Students Can Achieve Act of 2007
On July 18, Senators Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Norm Coleman (R-MN) held a press conference announcing that they will soon introduce the “All Students Can Achieve Act of 2007” (ASCA), which focuses on raising student achievement through high expectations for all students and increasing teacher effectiveness. “No Child Left Behind, which Congress must now reauthorize, provides a foundation, but we now must take new, bold steps in order to fulfill the national commitments we first made five years ago,” stated Senator Lieberman.
Some of the changes to NCLB that are included in ASCA are recommendations from the Commission on No Child Left Behind. Some of the proposals included are the measurement of a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom and the implementation of voluntary national standards.
One aspect of ASCA is the focus on ensuring that students are prepared for college and the workforce after high school. The bill, therefore, reiterates that there must be high expectations for all students. The establishment of P-16 Commissions is outlined in the bill. P-16 Commissions would be used to ensure that states’ curriculums adhere to standards that are most suited to help students succeed in college or the workforce.
The bill has not been introduced in the Senate yet but it is supported by Joel Klein, New York City schools chancellor, and Michelle Rhee, District of Columbia schools chancellor.
For more information about ASCA please read the following article titled, “Coleman backs changes to No Child Left Behind education law,” at: http://www.examiner.com/a-835248~Coleman_backs_changes_to_No_Child_Left_Behind_education_law.html.
Also please read the follow press release from Senator Lieberman about ASCA at: http://lieberman.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=279263&&.
Funds for Union Oversight Slashed
On July 19, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill. The House’s budget for Labor was $935 million above President’s Bush’s request, therefore, giving many programs in the Department of Labor an increased budget. One budget, however, saw a 20 percent reduction in funds - the Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS). OLMS oversees union activity and has brought about the convictions of 775 corrupt union officials and more than $70 million in restitutions for members. “Union members are also discovering the extent to which their dues money is funding lavish trips for union officials to luxury resorts and other expensive perks unrelated to collective bargaining,” said Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.
Unions are required to disclose information about their finances in LM-2 forms. They have complained though that the reporting requirements are too costly. The AFL-CIO has claimed that having to comply with the reporting costs unions $1 billion and the ALF-CIO alone $1 million. According to the Department of Labor it only has cost the AFL-CIO $54,150 to comply with the reporting requirements. It is also important to remember that according to the Department of Labor, unions had $22 billion in assets from members’ dues in 2005. Also, note that Congress is increasing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s budget to monitor businesses but decreasing funds for any office that monitors unions.
To read Secretary Elaine Chao’s response to the budget cuts please go to: http://www.realcities.com/mld/belleville/news/editorial/17501782.htm.
Two Teachers Sue the NEA Over Retirement Fund
Two teachers are suing the NEA over the retirement fund it chose for its members. The NEA is accused of providing a high fee retirement plan for its members in exchange for millions of dollars from two financial firms, Nationwide Life Insurance Company and the Security Benefit Group. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington on behalf of 57,000 teachers and school personnel who invested in the retirement plan. Because the NEA offered a high-fee plan instead of other comparable lower cost plans, NEA members have lost tens of millions of dollars in retirement funds. The teachers who brought the lawsuit are seeking the disgorgement of any kickbacks paid to the NEA and excessive fees paid to Security Benefit and Nationwide. They are also seeking any damages for investment losses.
For more information on the lawsuit please read the New York Times article titled, “Lawsuit says teachers are overcharged on annuities,” at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/business...
Also, please read the article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer titled, “School workers sue union over retirement plan,” at: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_NEA_Lawsuit.html and the Oklahoman article "Unions often crooked toward teachers," at: http://newsok.com/article/3093582/.
Creating a Successful Compensation System for Educators
A new report released recently outlines different criteria for implementing successful pay-for-performance systems. The different suggestions are a result of a working group made up of different think tanks and education groups, including the Association of American Educators. The group looked at the experiences of states and districts who had implemented successful compensation systems.
The group concluded that compensation systems should be based on gains on standardized tests scores but other measures of teachers’ effectiveness should be included as well. This will eliminate the concern that teachers will not earn bonuses if their students’ test scores do not significantly improve immediately. It was also stated in the report that compensation systems should include all teachers, not just those who teach grades or subjects in which testing occurs. The report advises that the compensation plan should be straightforward and allow for input from teachers. Besides input from teachers the group stated that there should be evaluations from independent groups on the compensation plan as well.
One specific group of teachers the report believes a compensation plan should be sure to include are teachers who teach in hard-to-fill schools and hard-to-fill subjects. By rewarding teachers in these positions more effective teachers will be apt to take the jobs. “Compensation reform is critical to the recruitment and retention of effective teachers, especially for those districts and schools that serve our most disadvantaged students. “Initiatives that tie pay to local needs and those that reward teachers for classroom effectiveness are spreading, and districts and schools need information that will help them to implement these programs successfully,” stated Kate Walsh, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality.
For more information about the report please go to the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching at :http://www.talentedteachers.org/center.taf?page=home.
Also please read the following article from Education Week titled, “Teacher-Quality Groups Lay Out Compensation ‘Essentials,’ at: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/07/24...
Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee Proposes Ideas for NCLB
Rep. George Miller, Chairman of the House Education Labor Committee, has recently circulated a memo containing a brief summary of his ideas for NCLB to freshman members of Congress. In his memo, Miller calls for growth models, changes to assessments for English-language learners and special education students, and interventions for schools which are in danger of not meeting the requirements of NCLB.
Miller also supports the idea of using other measures besides test scores for school accountability. Instead of state assessments Miller has suggested “real-time classroom tests that allow teachers to adjust their instruction as necessary.” This idea has drawn the criticism of education groups such as Education Trust. Amy Wilkins, vice president of the Education Trust, believes that Miller’s idea would lead to formative assessments, which she believes do not provide a clear comparable measure of student gains for accountability. “I’m surprised and disappointed…in the past Rep. Miller has been clear as a bell on the need for transparent, straightforward accountability. This seems to back away from that,” stated Ms. Wilkins.
The NEA is pleased with Miller’s plans for NCLB, especially the idea of using alternate measures to determine student progress and school accountability. Joel Packer, the chief lobbyist for the NEA stated, “The broad outline closely matches what we’ve advocated for.” NCLB legislation has not been introduced in the House yet, but is expected soon.
For more information about Rep. Miller’s proposals, please read the following article titled, “NCLB-Renewal Ideas Circulate on Capitol Hill,” at: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/07/18/43nclb.h26.html?qs=George+Miller
A new campaign named, “NCLB Works!” has recently been launched by a coalition of business, education, community and civil right groups. These groups believe that NCLB is crucial to the continuation of improvements in student achievement. “The fact that diverse organizations have come together with a common bottom line for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act is a testament to the law’s importance to our country,” stated Susan Traiman, Director of Education and Workforce Policy for the Business Roundtable.
The group is encouraging Congress to strengthen and adhere to some of the fundamental goals of NCLB during the reauthorization of the law. Some examples of the goals that the group supports are: the expectation that all students have the ability to learn; give states incentives to set more rigorous standards, specifically at the middle and high school level; parents that have children in low-performing schools should have the option to transfer their child to a higher-performing school or receive intensive tutoring; and minority and low-income students should not be taught more frequently by under-qualified teachers.
For more information about “NCLB Works!” please go to: www.nclbworks.com.
Also, please read the article titled, “NCLB Works!- New Coalition Launches Breakthrough Campaign,” at: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,141405.shtml.
Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy
Recently, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings attended a National Town Hall event with 200 elementary math and science teachers in Virginia. The event was sponsored by the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy, which was started in 2005 by ExxonMobil, Phil and Amy Mickelson, the National Science Teachers Association, and Math Solutions to help elementary math and science teachers learn new and creative ways to teach math and science. The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy will hold other events in Texas and Louisiana this summer. “Employers today need workers with ‘pocket-protector’ skills, creative problem-solvers with strong math and science backgrounds. The more students we train to be entrepreneurs and creative problem solvers, the more jobs they'll create, and the greater ability they'll have to improve the quality of life for others,” stated Secretary Spellings.
For more information about the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy, please go to: http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/Citizenship/gcr_education_academy.asp.
Two economists, Derek A. Neal and Diane Whitemore Schanzenbach, at the University of Chicago have released a study suggesting that as a result of No Child Left Behind children on both ends of the ability spectrum have been neglected academically. Many schools are focusing on the “bubble kids” to ensure that schools meet proficiency targets.
To determine whether or not some students are being left behind the economists compared reading and math test scores for 5th, 6th, or 8th graders before and after the implementation of NCLB. The results showed that students in the middle made significant gains compared to students who were tested prior to NCLB. The bottom 20 percent made the least progress and the top 10 percent made either no academic gains or only slight gains.
In response to the study Charles Murray, a W.H. Brady scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank, stated, “This strikes, I hope, a major blow to the chest of proficiency counts as a measure of progress in education. To ask children to perform at levels at which they are incapable is one of the cruelest things you could ask a child to do.”
To read the study in its entirety, please go to: http://www.aei.org/docLib/20070716_NealSchanzenbachPaper.pdf.
Also please read the following article from Education Week titled, “NCLB Seen as Curbing Low, High Achievers’ Gains,” at: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/07/16/43nclb_web.h26.html.