IN AMERICA’S EDUCATION SYSTEM

Need For Change

Graduation rate peaked in the late 1960’s around 80%;

But has steadily declined four to five points ever since then.

Graduation Rates did Increase Some

After the release of the report of:

“A Nation At Risk in 1983”

and

The Passing of the “No Child Left Behind ACT” (NCLB) in 2002

The male graduation rate declined by nearly 7% in 40yrs

Click icon to add pictureCollege enrollments over the past 40 years has declined especially among males.

Center for Public Education “American High School Graduation Rate: Trends and Levels 12-17-09

Title 1

Title 1 schools are much more likely to be staffed by less experienced and under-qualified teachers.

THESE TEACHERS ARE PAID LESS THAN MORE

EXPERIENCED, CREDENTIALED TEACHERS

Equity of Opportunity Among All Students

Title 1 funds are supposed to provide extra supports and help for students who live in poverty.

Title 1 Funding

School districts often spend less on Title 1 schools even after Title 1 funds are applied.

Highly Qualified Teachers

Click icon to add pictureRecent studies have produced evidence that advanced degrees are not associated with higher levels of teacher effectiveness.

Clotfelter, Ladd, and Vigdor (2006)

They found a consistently negative effect of a master’s degree on student achievement in a study of 4000 elementary school teachers in North Carolina.

Written by Robert Rotham, SR fellow at the Alliance of Education Excellences. Article is based, in part, on research review conducted for the Center by Edvantia, Inc 2009

Disorder In The Classroom

Student Discipline

“ Students will test the limits of acceptable behavior in myriad ways better known to school teachers than to judges; school officials need a degree of flexible authority to respond to disciplinary challenges; and the law has always considered the relationship between teachers and students special.”

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer

School Discipline

The number of cases reaching state and federal appellate courts has surged back up to levels attained during the 1970’s civil right cases

Schools have been sued for both not disciplining and disciplining students

By Richard Arum and Doreet Preiss “Law and Disorder in the Classroom”

Workforce Preparation

A LARGE PERCENT OF THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH WILL ENTER THE WORKFORCE OVER THE NEXT TWO DECADES WILL BE LACKING

APPLIED SKILLS SUCH AS TEAMWORK, DECISION-MAKING , AND COMMUNICATION THAT WILL HELP THEM BECOME EFFECTIVE IN THE

WORKFORCE .

43% of students said they “never” or “sometimes” believed that their homework was

meaningful and importantAmerica’s promise Alliance issue Brief workforce Readiness: underequiooed and unprepared

Students in America spend less time in school than do students in most other industrialized nations.

School year has been essentially unchanged for more than a century

TEACHERS Students

The time after assessments are given might mean that teachers spend more days filling (or killing) time before the end of the year

Based on teacher’s performance after assessments, students are less likely to make improvements in learning.

Simply Extending the School Year

Teacher Attendance Rate: Higher Teacher Absences Hurt Students Learning. HR Exchange A publication of TASB HR Services

Division to promote the exchange of onformation on school HR issues. Vol 14 No. 5 March 2008

Click icon to add pictureTeachers will get sick, but some get pulled out of class for other reasons.

10 teacher absences in a year cause a significant loss in math achievement.

Many districts don’t require subs to have college degrees or even to have attended college.

TEACHERS DON’T HAVE TO BE OUT FOR LONG TO SEE PERFORMANCE LOSS.

WHEN TEACHER’S RETURN ADDITIONAL TIME IS LOST AS THEY RE -TEACH MATERIAL AND RESTORE ORDER

When the teacher’s away the students really do play.

Special Education Services

Students with Disabilities

Most effective intervention whether in special education or general education setting have employed intensive and reasonably individualized instruction, combined with frequent monitoring of student progress.

There is no compelling evidence that placement rather than instruction is the

critical factor in student academic or social success.

IF 97% OF TEXAS SCHOOLS ARE CONSIDERED

“ACADEMICALLY ACCEPTABLE”

WHAT IS THAT SAYING?

Texas Standards

Academically Acceptable

It is acceptable for 60% of any one ethnic group to fail the science section of TAKS

It is acceptable for 55% of any one group to fail the math portion of the test.

Bill Hammond: State’s accountability system embraces classroom mediocrity. Oct. 2, 07

Teacher Turnover

It is unusually high and deprives our schools of the needed personnel resources

The Cost of Teacher Turnover

IT IS DEVASTATING TO A SCHOOL DISTRICT

Teacher Retention

Example

Between 1998-2001, a district lost 3,907 teachers.

An estimated cost of $7400 per teacher.District would have to spend $30 million to

replace teachers

More Shocking

Nearly a third of these teachers could be new hires, costing the district more than 9.6 million dollars

IT IS EVEN MORE DAMAGING TO THE EDUCATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS .

Least effective schools had a turnover rate of more than 40%teacher Retention a Critical National Problem by Delia Stafford-Johnson 4-14-08http://www.ednews,org/articles/teacher-retention-a-crictical-national-problem.html

Click icon to add pictureIn schools with 75% or more minority, economically disadvantaged, or Hispanic, the turnover rate exceeded 20% percent in 2007

BY SIDONYE WILLIAMS

Need for Change in America’s Education

System