From: The Association of Educational Publishers [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2002 5:07 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: AEP ONLINE/The Newsletter of Educational Publishing 7-23-02
AEP ONLINE is a member service of THE ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHERS, supporting the growth of educational publishing and its positive impact on learning and teaching. We publish the first and third Tuesdays of each month. Due to summer schedules, we are publishing on the second and fourth Tuesdays in July. The regular schedule resumes in August. ************************************************** We welcome your comments at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please send us the e-mail address of staff in your company or organization who should be added to our distribution list. To unsubscribe send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "unsubscribe" and your name in the subject line. ************************************************** FRONT PAGE FOR July 23, 2002 -For Education Research, a Quasi-Experiment NEWS IN BRIEF -From Headquarters ...AEP Invites You to Share Your Expertise ...Save the Date: Hall of Fame 2002 ...It's Never Too Early To Dream of a Golden Lamp ...Wanted: Writers and Ideas for AEP ONLINE Tips ...Tickets for CEF Conference and Gala -Education ...Time of Transition for Transfer Law ...From the President's Commission, a Better 'IDEA' -Legislative Watch ...Leave No Publisher Behind: AEP Letter Requests Clarification -Markets and Trends ...MDR on Marketing: Database Marketing: Customer Profiling ...Math Literacy Week Drives for Support -In the Industry ...Member Spotlight: Scholastic Math Magazines ...Movin' On/Up: Appointments and Job Openings ...Announcements ...New Products DATES TO REMEMBER -Calendar IN CLOSING -Tips ...HR Questions? Online eLaws May Have the Answers ************************************************** FRONT PAGE: NEWS IN BRIEF: FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH, A QUASI-EXPERIMENT Just what will it take to fulfill No Child Left Behind's requirement for "scientifically based" research in support of educational products and strategies? For instance, how can publishers, working in the school setting, achieve "random assignment" of research subjects (kids, that is) to their comparison groups? AEP ONLINE will run various articles on this subject. (See tag at end of this article.) For one point of view, we looked to Jay Sivin-Kachala of Interactive Educational Systems, Inc., which provides evaluation, development and marketing services for educational software and multimedia products, and Web sites. He says that while some experimental design characteristics can't be achieved exactly in most education-research settings, the legislation's definition of "scientifically based research" seems to leave the door open to quasi-experimental design, examples of which are well established in the social-science research community. "I think people would be on firm ground there, as long as they're generally recognized designs," Sivin-Kachala says. Aside from increased client interest in higher-level design, he says the new legislation hasn't changed much for IESD. He feels that two designs the company has used in the past--both quasi-experimental, in that students aren't randomly assigned to groups--will continue to fit the bill. In the first, the non-equivalent groups design, one group of classes works with the new product; one group stays with the school's traditional approach, whatever that is. Both receive a pretest and a post-test; the differences are analyzed. There are statistical methods--adjustments to pretest data, for instance--to compensate for the fact that the groups aren't randomly assigned, Sivin-Kachala adds. As for control groups, of course each school's pre-existing curriculum--with which the new approach is being compared--will be different. "In the best of all worlds, you'd want to know as much as possible about that established approach, use observation or other measures to understand it," Sivin-Kachala says. "But usually these studies, if they're large enough, are looking for big-effect differences." (As a general rule, IESD likes to test with at least 150 subjects per "cell"--150 in the experimental group, 150 in the control--though the minimum usually cited is 30, he says.) And though the legislation doesn't ask publishers to distinguish their products' effect for various subgroups, it does, of course, require schools to so break out their achievement data. "Publishers need to be very clear about which claims they're making and for whom," Sivin-Kachala says. He feels the best opportunities come in research that looks at trends over three years or more. In the second model he offers, the cohort design, the comparison, or control, group is an older one (last year's third grade, for instance) that predates the new approach (the experimental method, used with this year's third grade). Of course, the groups must be otherwise consistent, including their demographics. He describes this approach, which works best in a large program intervention, using nationally recognized tests, as "very do-able" in schools. And what of the requirement that data be gathered in multiple studies across various kinds of measurement? Many publishers have commented that the task is too big for most budgets. "Publishers aren't going to fund all of this--and frankly, when they do, many people don't trust the results," Sivin-Kachala points out. "I think that if the education community can agree on some designs that, no matter who carries them out, will be considered valid, reliable evidence, over time you'll see districts--which potentially would spend considerable amounts to purchase--doing research of their own." This would, in turn, provide additional evidence, potentially across settings, with different demographic groups. "If it's a big-ticket item that may be state or federally funded, there should be some dollars earmarked for evaluating it," he adds. Pursued in a common-sense way, this legislation could be good for the industry, he concludes. "It's useful for companies to start knowing if, under what circumstances and why, their products are effective." In our next issue, we'll examine LeapFrog SchoolHouse's quasi-experimental approach to large-scale, longitudinal efficacy research; the company's initiative has received an approving nod from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development. Also, see Legislative News in this issue, for information on AEP's request for clarification from the U.S. Department of Education. ===From Headquarters=== ...AEP INVITES YOU TO SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE While AEP's Educational Publishing Summit 2002 was only a month ago, we are already preparing for Summit 2003. The Planning Committee is looking for presenters with new industry information, a desire to share with colleagues, and a sense of humor. Interested? Fill out the proposal form online at http://www.edpress.org/conf/2002/call.htm, or contact Penni Starer, programs manager, at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Help us take our Summit to the next level. ...SAVE THE DATE: HALL OF FAME 2002 This summer, while you still have a light schedule for the fall, don't forget to mark off Thursday, December 5 for AEP's Hall of Fame. The 2002 Honorees are Billy C. Clark, Virginia Writing; Jeanne Hayes, Quality Education Data; and James P. Levy, Riverdeep. Join us in New York for an elegant breakfast, and pay tribute to these industry leaders. For more information contact Penni Starer at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ...IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO DREAM OF A GOLDEN LAMP Is there a particular issue of your publication that teachers keep requesting? What's that piece of software parents are raving about? Have your salesmen been telling you they hold in their hands the best media kit they've ever seen? It's not too early to start thinking about next year's Distinguished Achievement and Distinguished Marketer Awards. Set aside your 2002 products now so you'll be ready when entry opens this fall. For more information on the awards programs visit http://www.edpress.org/awards/index.htm, or contact Penni Starer at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ...WANTED: WRITERS AND IDEAS FOR AEP ONLINE TIPS Are you the person in the office everyone goes to when they need a helpful hint? Do you have a desire to spread the wealth of your knowledge? Would you like to see yourself cited in our newsletter? Submit your ideas to AEP, and we might publish them in the Tips section of our newsletter. Submissions, running 300-400 words, should focus on one simple issue, provide strategies or advice, and be written with a bit of flair. (We will help with the last requirement.) All contributors will receive proper attribution. For more information contact Stacey Pusey, communications manager, at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Go to http://www.edpress.org/infoarchives/info/business/index.htm to read past articles. ...TICKETS FOR CEF CONFERENCE AND GALA We are once again offering ten seats at the annual Committee for Education Funding Legislative Conference and Gala on September 17, 2002. The keynote speaker will be Senator Hillary Clinton. It will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill and is an all day affair. Visit http://www.cef.org for more information. If you would like to purchase one of AEP's tickets, contact Joan Scavuzzo, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tickets are $250 each. ===Education=== ...TIME OF TRANSITION FOR TRANSFER LAW With fall fast approaching, states and localities around the country are struggling to comply with new federal requirements that children who attend Title I schools judged "in need of improvement" by state standards be allowed to transfer elsewhere. In many places, there are no spaces available at more successful schools; in some, the list of failures is long because state standards are high. At still others, statistical triggers seem to have directed fire on schools that generally do well. In Camden, New Jersey, for example, the 12 schools with adequate track records are full, and charter schools maintain waiting lists, reported the NEW YORK TIMES recently. Meanwhile, from THE DETROIT NEWS: Michigan, with high standards, judged almost one third of its schools to be failing, while Arkansas, whose fourth and eighth graders have twice scored below average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, reported no weak schools. And a recent PLAIN DEALER article led with the news that Cincinnati's Kilgore Elementary School, awarded the U.S. Department of Education's coveted Blue Ribbon award just a year ago, had made the preliminary list of weak schools; despite the school's overall solid scores, some of its subgroups didn't improve enough to satisfy the new requirements. ...FROM THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION, A BETTER 'IDEA' Early this month after a series of 13 hearings and meetings across the country, the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education reported its findings. Overall, said the Commission, federal, state, and local education reform efforts must extend to special education classrooms. "What we discovered was that the central themes of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 must become the driving force behind IDEA [the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] reauthorization," says the report. Chief among its recommendations: -Focus on results‹not on process. IDEA must return to its educational mission: serving the needs of every child. While the law must retain its essential legal and procedural safeguards, it will fulfill its intended purpose only if it raises its expectations for students and becomes results-oriented‹not driven by process, litigation, regulation, and confrontation. - Embrace a model of prevention, not failure. Focus on early, swift intervention, using scientifically based instruction and teaching methods. This will require changes in our elementary and secondary schools, as well as reforms in teacher preparation, recruitment, and support. -Finally, consider children with disabilities as general-education children first. Special education and general education share responsibility for the child with disabilities. In instruction, the systems must work together--special education should not be treated as a separate-cost system, and spending must be evaluated based on all of the expenditures for the child, including funds from general education. Funding arrangements should not be an incentive to identify children for special education or a way of isolating children with learning and behavior problems. Each special-education need must be met by using a school's comprehensive resources, not by relegating students to a separately funded program. Flexibility in the use of all educational funds, including those provided through IDEA, is essential, the recommendations conclude. Find the text version of the report at http://www.ed.gov/inits/commissionsboards/whspecialeducation/reports/pce sefi nalreport.doc, or download the pdf at http://www.ed.gov/inits/commissionsboards/whspecialeducation/reports/pce sefi nalreport.pdf. ===Legislative Watch=== ...LEAVE NO PUBLISHER BEHIND: AEP LETTER REQUESTS CLARIFICATION At AEP's recent Educational Publishing Summit in June, several publishers expressed concerns over the terminology in the reauthorization of the ESEA. Specifically, they debated the meaning of the phrase "scientifically based research" and its implications for the supplemental publishing industry. Letters from the International Reading Association and the Association of American Publishers sent to the U.S. Department of Education addressed this issue with regard to the Reading First program. (See our May 21 issue for more on the IRA letter.) AEP's members, however, are concerned with how this phrase applies to the entire act. In response, AEP has drafted a letter that asks for a meeting between AEP members and USED officials to discuss "scientifically based research." Most important, members would like to know if this funding criteria applies to supplemental materials at all, and if so, what type of research parameters are required. "The frustration over this one phrase has been palpable," said Charlene Gaynor, executive Director of AEP. "It is our hope that AEP can facilitate a dialogue between the government and our members." Go to http://www.edpress.org/legislation/funding/7-23-02.htm to read the full letter. ===Markets and Trends=== ... MDR ON MARKETING As AEP's 2002 Platinum Sponsor, Market Data Retrieval provides a monthly column on marketing in the education industry to AEP. We feature a condensed version here; for the complete article, go to http://www.edpress.org/infoarchives/info/market/mdr/7-02.htm. This month's column was written by Chuck Romans, MDR's vice president of products and services. DATABASE MARKETING: CUSTOMER PROFILING Finding the best prospects often starts with finding out more about your customers through profiling. The underlying goal is to locate clusters within the customer file that outperform the average--and are likely to respond best to your direct marketing efforts. Current trends in education marketing include profiling by: -Recency of purchase: With student enrollment, instructional expenditures, number of schools, number of new teachers, and turnover of teaching personnel all increasing, profiling schools and districts in the current or most recent school year is becoming a more important--and popular--practice. -Spending level: As expected, top spenders often have larger student enrollments and a higher per-student expenditure. Through profiling, a marketer also may find that site-based management schools, for instance, are distinctive. -Product grade level: Given that, for instance, elementary schools have a different number of students, classrooms, and teachers than do secondary schools, companies that have products for various levels are finding an advantage in profiling their product lines separately. They can then compare their customers to the appropriate "universe," whether it be elementary or secondary, and discover the distinct characteristics of each customer group. -"Before and after" picture: Profiling can be useful in assessing specific direct mail campaigns--especially in acquisition campaigns, where marketers are attempting to dramatically increase their customer base through a series of repetition mailings and/or marketing efforts. A profile of customers prior to and after the campaign can highlight the segments with the greatest increases. ...MATH LITERACY WEEK DRIVES FOR SUPPORT 2x+3=17 (Solve for x.) For some kids, solving an equation can be frustrating, boring, or even tantrum producing. But, when they want to figure out if the online game store is really saving them money, kids have to know their numbers. To help increase awareness of the importance of mathematics, Digi-Block Inc., has launched Math Literacy Week; the premiere celebration will be October 7-11, 2002. The initiative started from a discussion about problems and challenges in the math education industry. "People are always talking about reading literacy," said Bill Rosenthal, CEO of Digi-Block, "but, you hardly ever hear about math literacy." He decided that a grassroots campaign was needed to get educators and the industry motivated. For the first year, the goal is to get teachers and students talking about the importance of math skills in their daily lives. There is a Math Literacy Web site (http://www.mathliteracy.com), which currently features activities for each day of the week. Digi-Block is also soliciting lesson plans from teachers for inclusion. Most important, Rosenthal would like to get other companies and organizations involved. "We're not trying to get fancy or overwhelm kids with selling Digi-Block--this is not just Digi-Block Math Literacy Week,'" emphasized Rosenthal. "We're trying to build activities and programs (some including Digi-Blocks) that will get kids excited about math." Several cities and states--including Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine--have already issued proclamations in support of the event. The school promotion kicks off this September when Digi-Block plans to send a bus on a tour of the country's schools. Starting in Boston, the bus will have games and projects for students and will also encourage teacher participation. Rosenthal said they are also considering sending interested teachers "a party in a box" for Math Party Day. Again, Digi-Block invites other math publishers and supporters to sponsor the bus tour. Excited by the response he has received so far, Rosenthal believes this is the time for the industry to join together. "Math Literacy Week may require a year or two to take off," observed Rosenthal, "But, this is an opportunity to build a rallying cry." For more information on Math Literacy Week, contact Zoe van der Meulen at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 617-926-9300 x120. ===In the Industry=== Be sure to e-mail your personal news, as well as professional -- new products, promotions, job openings, etc. -- to [EMAIL PROTECTED], so we can include the info in an upcoming issue. ...MEMBER SPOTLIGHT The place to learn about companies and colleagues in the educational publishing industry... SCHOLASTIC MATH MAGAZINES Do you suffer from math phobia? Then Scholastic Inc., has the magazines for you! Scholastic publishes two award-winning classroom math magazines, SCHOLASTIC DYNAMATH (grades 36) and SCHOLASTIC MATH (grades 69). MATH was founded in 1980, while DYNAMATH will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in late 2002. Both publications face a similar challenge: to make mathematics relevant, fun, and engaging for their respective audiences. The magazines rise to the task by presenting feature articles, activities, games, and puzzles that directly relate to the lives of their readers. Each issue is timed to teach and reinforce specific curricular skills as they are being covered in the classroom. DYNAMATH is published 8 times each school year, while MATH is published 14 times annually. The combined readership of both magazines is approximately 1.5 million. Each month, DYNAMATH posts a bevy of educational resources, skill-building puzzles, and quiz activities at http://www.scholasticnews.com. In the fall of 2002, MATH will introduce an online component aimed at its teacher subscribers. Samples of both magazines can be obtained by calling 1-800-724-6527 or by visiting http://www.scholastic.com/custsupport. For specific editorial information, contact Matt Friedman (Editor, DYNAMATH) at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or Jack Silbert (Editor, MATH) at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ...JOB BANK Help wanted: - Jones Knowledge Inc., senior sales account executive. - Publisher of educational products, national sales director. Go to http://www.edpress.org/infoarchives/job-bank/ and click on Help Wanted or Position Wanted to see details on these and other positions. ...ANNOUNCEMENTS * "American Careers Parent Edition" from Career Communications Inc., received a national APEX 2002 Award for Publication Excellence. http://www.carcom.com * The NSSEA Education Excellence Foundation has announced that Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company Inc., and Scholastic Teaching Resources will receive the 2002 Excellence in Education Award. The award recognizes member companies that improve education in their local communities. http://www.nssea.org * TEACHING K-8 now offers free downloadable advertising leads to its advertisers, effective with the August/September 2002 issue. http://www.TeachingK-8.com ...NEW PRODUCTS * Reading A-Z from Learning Page provides educators with 150 downloadable guided reading books, along with lesson plans and worksheets, alphabet books, read-aloud books, and more. http://www.readinga-z.com; http://www.learningpage.com * Tactus Keyboard Corporation presented the TACTUS keyboard at NECC 2002. The keyboard facilitates the task of touch typing, which can result in better productivity in the home, office, and school. http://www.tactuskeyboard.com DATES TO REMEMBER: ===Calendar=== For the complete education industry calendar of conferences and events, see http://www.edpress.org/infoarchives/. IN CLOSING: ===Tips=== ...HR QUESTIONS? ONLINE ELAWS MAY HAVE THE ANSWER Exempt vs. non-exempt employee ... Family Medical Leave Act ... OSHA compliance ... Businesses often get confused about what regulations apply and when. While large corporations may have entire departments devoted to HR compliance, small employers don't have that luxury. But in this litigious society, executives can't take any chances. To help you get a better grasp on complex labor laws, the Department of Labor has created the elaws Advisors, an online help desk for general HR questions. Targeting small businesses and employees, the Advisors tackle the major regulations and try to simplify the ideas and language. The Advisors help you narrow the focus of your question, provide links to definitions and legislation, and give basic answers. Although not comprehensive, the Advisors will point you to appropriate regulations and areas of the DOL Web site if your topic isn't covered. As laws are changed, the Advisors are updated, and new ones are added. To use the Advisors go to http://www.dol.gov/elaws/ and choose your entry portal--employer, employee, or browse through a list of Advisors. ===================== (c) 2002 The Association of Educational Publishers, all rights reserved. http://www.edpress.org, [EMAIL PROTECTED] ******************************************* For digest instead of individual postings, send the message: set k12newsletters digest to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe, click and send (no body or subject: required) mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] K12 Newsletters mailing list is a service of Classroom Connect - http://www.classroom.com Archives for K12 Newsletters can be found at: http://www.classroom.com/community/email/archives.jhtml?A0=K12NEWSLETTERS **********************************************************
