[CPS Math]IL: School chiefs' salaries soaring

[Jerry Becker]

Title: IL: School chiefs' salaries
soaring



From the Chicago Tribune, Thursday, October 5, 2001. See
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0110030219oct03.story?coll=chi%2Dnewslocal%2Dhed

School chiefs' salaries soaring

16 receive more than $200,000, state report says

By Stephanie Banchero and Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

For the first time in the state's history, a local school
superintendent earned more than $300,000 in salary and bonuses last
school year, and another 15 superintendents earned more than $200,000,
according to figures released Tuesday by the Illinois State Board of
Education.

Two years ago, only three of the state's school superintendents were
paid more than $200,000.

The top 16 wage-earners are all from the six-county Chicago
region.

Overall, the state's 852 full-time superintendents earned an average
of about $108,000 last school year, up from about $101,400 the
previous year. Pay for superintendents is rising across the country
because as Baby Boomer-era educators gray, the applicant pool of
qualified leaders is shrinking. Consequently, school districts must
pay more to recruit -- and retain -- top-level administrators.

School officials in the Chicago region say keeping a quality
superintendent is tough when the competition is so fierce. The
president of the Palatine School District 15 board, for example,
defended paying Supt. John Conyers $250,262 last year, making him the
fourth highest paid in the state.

"There's a shortage of good superintendents countrywide,"
said Lou Sands, school board president. "He [Conyers] does the
job well and we want to make sure he's pleased with the work
environment and wants to stay on. We're trying to make sure we give
him a compensation which reflects both his responsibility and his
achievements."

Conyers' pay included a $25,000 bonus based on performance, Sands
said. The annual salary report is compiled by the state. The figures
typically include base salary, retirement benefits and compensation
for unused vacation. But it's difficult to compare salaries because
some school districts don't include benefits such as housing, while
others do.

The top grosser for the second year in a row was the now-retired
superintendent of Villa Park-based DuPage High School District 88,
Robert Lopatka, who was paid $321,184. That amount included retirement
incentives, plus payment for unused vacation days and contributions to
the teacher retirement fund.

Lopatka, 55, who retired at the end of May for health reasons, joined
the school district in 1971 as an assistant superintendent. Two years
ago, he set a high-water mark for salaries by taking home more than
$253,000.

School board president Robert Fleming said the district was lucky to
have Lopatka for so many years, given that superintendents are in
short supply and often change jobs every few years.
"He did a fine job with the district. The district is
financially solvent and he managed it very well," Fleming said,
pointing out that the contract was negotiated by an earlier
board.

Gerald Chapman, of Palatine Township High School District 211, was the
second top-grosser with a yearly take-home of about $284,500. Chapman,
who retired in June, had been with the district for 36 years.

Associate Supt. Robert Rozycki said Chapman earned the high
compensation because of his tenure and his achievements. Under
Chapman's watch, all five of the district's high schools were named
national Blue Ribbon schools of excellence.

"Dr. Chapman's contribution reflects his overall performance as
the superintendent of the state's largest high school district and the
accomplishments of District 211 under his leadership," Rozycki
said.

Though school superintendents are paid significantly less than their
CEO-like counterparts in the private sector, they have seen their
salaries inch up markedly in the last few years, jumping by 6.4
percent between the 1999 and 2000 school year.

Comparatively, the average salary of Illinois teachers has increased
by about 3 to 4 percent each year over the last few years, according
to George King, spokesman for the Illinois Education
Association.
--
Tribune staff reporter LeAnn Spencer contributed to this
report
*
-- 

Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]Japan: Less May Be More

[Jerry Becker]

 From theWashington Post, Tuesday, October 2, 2001, p. A22. See 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55926-2001Oct1.html

For Japanese Students, Less May Be More

Educators Seek to Promote Creativity, Reduce Truancy by Cutting Curriculum

By Kathryn Tolbert   [Washington Post Foreign Service]

AKITA, Japan -- To improve education by teaching less is a difficult 
idea for any parent to accept. But Japan is in the midst of just such 
an about-face.

While Japanese students are still near the top of international math 
and science rankings, surveys also show that they dislike those 
subjects more intensely with every grade, they have little joy of 
learning and they lack the ability to do research and express an 
opinion.

Educators have concluded that part of the remedy is to reduce the 
amount students are taught. In a policy that has confounded and 
worried many parents, primary and junior high school curricula are 
being cut by 30 percent starting next spring, Saturday classes will 
end and a vaguely defined "general studies" class is being added to 
encourage creativity and independent thinking.

Parents' fears have been fed by rumors that the value of pi would now 
be taught as "around 3" instead of 3.14. A weekly magazine ran the 
headline, "In 10 Years the Japanese Will All Be Idiots!" The 
catchphrase for the new policy is "Education with Leeway," which goes 
firmly against the grain here.

Education Ministry officials are going around the country trying to 
explain the new curriculum to parent-teacher organizations, while 
many teachers are taking extra training to come up with ideas for 
general studies and schools are running test classes under the new 
directives. The new curriculum will be adopted in high schools in 
2003.

"To target the curriculum to lowest-level students is rare in world 
history," said one critic, Masayuki Yamauchi, a professor at the 
University of Tokyo.

But educators and officials say the counterintuitive cutting of hours 
devoted to Japanese, math, science and social studies is necessary to 
change Japan's basic approach to education.

"Japanese education has meant sitting in a classroom, facing the 
blackboard and learning from a textbook," said Satoshi Ashidate, 
director of the office of curriculum planning in the Education 
Ministry. "In a sense it is very passive -- sitting and waiting to be 
taught. This was effective in bringing up scores for tests and to 
achieve a high international ranking. But we have to change that."

The education system has been widely admired for giving a uniform, 
high-quality education to all Japanese. Everyone was taught the same 
material at the same pace, which was good for the broad middle range 
of students but left some bored and others lost. The truancy rate has 
been rising rapidly, with the number of junior high students missing 
more than 30 days of school in 1999 more than 12 times that of 1970.

Under the new policy, schools are to acknowledge that students have 
different levels of ability and should be taught accordingly. Science 
high schools will be introduced next year; other schools will start 
to divide classes according to ability.

"In Japan we worry so much about equality, regardless of what the 
person wants," said Toshiso Miyatani of Mihara, Hiroshima prefecture, 
who flew to Akita in northern Japan for a national PTA symposium on 
the new curriculum.

"Until now we've been cutting off those who excel and those who lag 
behind," said Ashidate. "We're trying to pay attention to both groups 
and deal with stress from this system. This is a big change."

Jin Akiyama, a professor of mathematics at Tokai University in Tokyo, 
held the attention of the 1,200 parents at the symposium as he ran 
through the high scores Japanese students have achieved 
internationally in math and science.

"Is this not good enough?" he said. "You can say no, we've got to be 
at the very top, or you can say we're doing pretty well. But I think 
there is something else we need to worry about, something that is 
related to the issue of academic skills. And that is whether the 
children like . . . the particular subject or whether what they've 
been taught will be useful in the future. In this case, there is a 
lot to worry about."

But while parents applaud the idea of making students eager to learn 
and teaching them to think, cutting content to foster creativity is 
more difficult to accept.

"The school sent a paper home saying first-graders will no longer be 
taught to tell time," said Yumi Yomura, whose daughter's primary 
school in Tokyo is incorporating the new curriculum. She was 
surprised and dismayed, but said that as long as she knows what's 
being cut, she can fill in the gaps at home.

Other parents, she said, don't mind the reduced curriculum because it 
gives their children more time to do their "cram-school" homework. 
Entrance exams for universitie

[CPS Math]School district challenges cyber school payments

[Jerry Becker]

**
 From The Mercury, Pottstown, PA, Monday, October 1, 2001, p. A1, A3. 
See 
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2431454&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6 
[Also appeared on the Freedom to Learn Network list, Monday, October 
1, 2001.
**
Boyertown challenging cyber school payments

By Michelle Karas

BOYERTOWN -- With 42 formerly home-schooled children now enrolled in 
cyber charter schools, the Boyertown Area School District is facing a 
potential loss of more than $325,000, according to school officials. 
The Pennsylvania Department of Education, as of a Sept. 7 letter, is 
withholding approximately $23,000 monthly in state subsidies from the 
district as a result of alleged non-payment of students' fees for 
cyber charter schools, said District Solicitor Jeffrey T. Sultanik.

"Most of these students up to this time were home-schooled," Sultanik 
said. "Therefore the district may have $325,000 in unanticipated 
tuition to spend and maybe more."

Under a 1997 state law allowing charter schools, districts are 
required to pay a fee for every student who attends an alternative 
public school, including a cyber school -- a sort of Internet charter 
school. A handful of cyber charter schools have recently sprung up in 
Pennsylvania with the goal of educating students at home through the 
Internet.

Per Sultanik's request, the school board authorized him to file a 
protective appeal with the commonwealth court and to file an appeal 
with the state department of education.

"As it stands right now, the Boyertown Area School District is 
disenfranchised, because with a cyber charter school, there is no 
boundary," he said. "We need to preserve our rights."

According to Sultanik, some cyber charter schools are kindergarten 
through 12th grade, some are K through 3 and some are solely high 
schools. The schools supply students with a computer, software and, 
in some cases, live on-screen lessons from teachers who could be 
teaching to an Internet camera
from just about anywhere.

The per student fee a school district must pay charter schools is 
calculated according to a formula outlined by the state Department of 
Education. For the Boyertown district, that cost is about $6,000, 
Sultanik said.

"The money follows the child," he said. "The students pay nothing. 
The state is taking our money away."

Under current state law, families who home-school children must 
follow a fairly rigorous set of state-mandated guidelines regarding 
attendance and curriculum, and none of which costs the local school 
district, and therefore the local taxpayer, any money.

When those students enroll in a cyber charter school, suddenly, the 
local taxpayers are responsible for paying for much of those 
students' education, which is not held to as high of standards of 
accountability as home-schooling.

One cyber school, the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School, received 
its charter from the nearby Norristown Area School District.

Six of the formerly home-schooled Boyertown children have enrolled in 
a cyber school chartered in western Pennsylvania, while the other 36 
are enrolled in Einstein Academy -- a cyber charter school based in 
the Morrisville School District, Bucks County.

Einstein Academy recruited nearly 4,000 students in the past four 
months, making it larger than most school districts in Pennsylvania, 
Sultanik said. Cyber schools are very attractive to parents of 
home-schooled children, who previously cost school districts nothing 
and have the potential to cost them a lot in unplanned for cyber 
student fees, he said.

"There are about 33,000 children home-schooled in Pennsylvania. 
Multiply that with about $7,000 per student fees at a cyber school, 
and you get $250 million in potential revenue for operators," he 
said. "That's a lot of money not getting much public scrutiny."

The Pennsylvania School Boards Association has filed a lawsuit 
challenging the state Department of Education's decision to withhold 
state subsidy money equal to the amount the districts refused to pay 
to cyber schools. School boards across the state, including Reading, 
Pottstown, Spring-Ford and
Phoenixville, are supporting the legal action.

The PSBA argues cyber schools fail to comply with several legal 
requirements of charter schools. Also, cyber schools have no physical 
location and there is no way to address accountability of the 
educational process.

PSBA is urging the General Assembly to craft legislation to address 
the cyber school issue. A report is due in October on the impact and 
potential impact of cyber schools and several proposed laws are 
already in the pipeline.
---
Michelle Karas' e-mail address is  [EMAIL PROTECTED]
***
-- 
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (61

[CPS Math]100th Anniversary Conference [SSMA]

[Jerry Becker]

*
Please share with other Chicago area math/science teachers. Thank you.
-
Final announcement about the 100th Anniversary conference of the School
Science and Mathematics Association [SSMA]. Registration below is
available to Chicago area mathematics and science teachers.
*

SPECIAL VALUE FOR CHICAGO AREA EDUCATORS

You have an opportunity to attend this landmark centennial meeting if 
you act quickly. The School Science and Mathematics Association is 
offering several options to Chicago area teachers and students that 
will allow "flexible' attendance at this meeting. Go to the SSMA web 
site at
http://www.ssma.org/ for complete program details.

The SSMA 100th Anniversary and Annual Conference will be held at the 
DoubleTree Guest Suites and Esplanade Conference Center in Downer's 
Grove, IL (outside Chicago) on November 1-3, 2001.

The conference theme will be "Celebrating the Past, Present, and 
Future of Science and Mathematics Education."

Registration must be completed in advance (prior to October 20th) if 
choosing a meal option whether it be full or one day -- no on-site 
registration will be available, except for "non-meal" registrants.

TO REGISTER, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO [EMAIL PROTECTED] INDICATING ONE 
OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS:

"regular" three day registration that includes all conference meals
and activities ($185 for members -- includes CD pack; $225 for non-members
with no CD pack; $135 for full time students -- includes membership and CD
pack)

"non-meal" three day registration (available only for locals) that
excludes breakfasts, lunches and banquets for $100 (no CD pack) or $135
(includes membership and CD pack)

"Friday only registration" that includes lunch only for $50 or lunch
and banquet for $75 (no CD pack)

"Saturday only registration" that includes lunch only for $50 or lunch
and banquet for $75 (no CD pack)

PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING REGISTRATION FORM

Name (Print or Type AS YOU WISH IT TO APPEAR ON YOUR NAME BADGE):

Street Address:

City:

State:

Zip:

Phone:

Fax:

E-mail:

For those attending Saturday's sessions, please indicate only one 
category regarding Saturday afternoon, 11/3/01:

_I want to tour the Lederman Science Education Center at Fermilab 
(limited to the first 75)

_I want to tour the Fermilab National Accelerator Facility
(limited to the first 200)

_or I prefer to attend regular conference sessions at the 
Fermilab rather than attend either tour

For those registering for food functions, please indicate any SPECIAL 
dietary requirements:

---
Send the above information via email to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or fax the 
information to William Speer at 702-895-4898.

The registration form can also be printed out and mailed along with 
payment to:

William Speer
1800 Alisal Court
Henderson, NV 89074

It is possible to send in your registration and then make payment by 
credit card by calling SSMA Headquarters at 1-866-227-SSMA.

*
-- 
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

For more information:
.

To search the archives:

[CPS Math]Developing class rules

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Developing class rules


*
From the InBox [Newsletter of the National Council of Teachers of
English], September 25, 2001, Volume 1, Number 4. See
http://www.ncte.org/elem/Cyberbriefs/social_reality_inthe_classroom.shtml  
   

*
Cyber Briefs

Social Reality in the Classroom: An Alternate Strategy for
Developing Class Rules

By Renee Goularte 

My journey to whole language was partly a quest to bring reality into
the classroom.  I began years ago by tossing aside the basal
readers in favor of having my third graders choose their own books to
read and choosing literature responses from a set of categorized task
card prompts.  Over the years, step-by-step and
subject-by-subject, I have tried to make our school day as much like
real life as possible, from letting children eat snacks while they
work to allowing them unlimited bathroom visits.  

One of the areas in which I want my classroom to reflect real life is
in social behavior of children. 

For the last several years I have opened the school year by having the
children create classroom rules, in my attempt to empower them with
ownership of environment.  Year after year, the children came up
with their rules: "Don't run in the classroom." "Don't
yell." "Don't hit or punch other kids." "Don't
hurt people's feelings." And year after year, in an effort to
focus on acceptable behavior, I would help them rephrase their
negative statements into positive ones: "Walk in the
classroom."  "Use soft voices." "Be kind to
people." "Talk nicely." 

The list of rules was almost exactly the same every year. 
Children are smart enough to know what acceptable behavior is and
isn't, and they knew what I wanted to hear.  While the children
participated in articulating classroom rules, they weren't engaged in
critical thinking during the process.  This never bothered me
until I read Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community, by Alfie
Kohn.  Reflecting on Kohn's ideas, I realized that the classroom
rules had always been my rules, deftly facilitated from the mouths of
my students.  Consequently, I decided I would like to begin
approaching the class rules a little differently.  

For the last three years I have been team-teaching a multiage primary
class comprised of first, second, and third graders.  Before the
school year began this year, I told my partner what I had read and how
I was feeling.  We talked about discipline, community, and
behavior, and together we came up with a plan which incorporated two
questions: "Why are we in school?" and "What do we
need?" 

The first day of school, about midmorning, we wrote a heading on chart
paper: "Why Are We Here?"  We asked the children to
tell us why we come to school.  Of course, the first response
was, "to learn," which we immediately charted, and then we
asked, "What else?"  As they responded, we asked
questions for clarification.  We made some minor changes to the
children's language to make the information more inclusive.  For
example, the response "to be smarter in math" generated the
questions, "What about

being smarter in reading? Or social studies? Or science?" and
thus became, with the child's permission, "to be smarter." 
One student said we were in school to "go farther." 
After asking him to explain what he meant, we asked if the word
"challenge" would work and he agreed. 

On the second day we reviewed the responses and then posed the
second question, "What Do We Need?"  We referred
repeatedly to the first chart as we asked the questions: "What do
we need to do in order to be able to make friends?" "What do
we need to do to be able to read books?" "What do we need to
do to be able to share with each other?" We began listening to
and questioning their responses.  When a student said, "to
listen," we asked, "Listen to whom?"  Not
surprisingly, the answer was, "the teacher."  Our next
question was, "What if a student is reading a story to the
class?" and then, "What if you are working in a group and
there is no teacher nearby?"  Thus, "to listen"
was expanded to include everyone in the classroom.  The phrase
"to ask questions" grew out of a discussion generated by a
third grader who indicated with specific examples that we might need
to find out things or get information about directions.  With
permission, we used the phrase, "to ask questions."

Although we took the liberty, with the children's permission, of
expanding or simplifying ideas, or substituting words, we felt
confident that the children's intentions and meanings were preserved. 
The charted responses (see list) seem to cover a wide range of
cognitive and effective possibilities: 

The last response, in particular, made my partner and me smile at each
other, as the care of classroom materials is a high priority for both
of us.  The student who provided this idea originally said that
we need to take care of "things" so we asked, "What
things?"  As students began naming item

[CPS Math]Standardized Ach't Tests: Misnamed and Misleading

[Jerry Becker]

**
 From Education Week [American Education's Newspaper of Record], 
Wednesday, September 19, 2001, Volume 21, Number 3, p. 46. See 
http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=03popham.h21&keywords=standardized%20achievement%20tests
**
Standardized Achievement Tests: Misnamed and Misleading

By W. James Popham

During the past decade, the educators who operate America's public 
schools have been increasingly preoccupied with students' scores on 
standardized achievement tests. That's because schools whose students 
score high on such tests are thought to be effective, while schools 
whose students score low are thought to be ineffective. Both thoughts 
about school effectiveness, however, are often mistaken. The wrong 
tests are being used.

Concerns about students' test scores will escalate dramatically, of 
course, if Congress requires states to give standardized achievement 
tests each year to all students in grades 3-8. We should take a 
harder look at these tests and their uses.

To accurately evaluate a school staff's instructional success, it is 
almost self-evident that we should determine how much students have 
learned in that school. Most Americans believe this is what's being 
measured by standardized achievement tests such as the Iowa Tests of 
Basic Skills or the Stanford Achievement Tests. That belief, however, 
is also mistaken.

Many of the misperceptions that Americans have about traditional 
standardized achievement tests stem from the misleading label pinned 
on those tests. Achievement conveys the idea that these tests, as 
Webster's Dictionary puts it, measure "knowledge or proficiency in 
something that can be learned or taught." In other words, an 
achievement test would seem to be measuring what students have 
learned in school.

But this is not the measurement function of traditional standardized 
achievement tests. Ever since such tests arrived on the scene in the 
early 1920s, their overriding function has been to permit comparisons 
among test-takers. Indeed, today's standardized achievement tests are 
patterned directly after the Army Alpha, a group-administered 
intelligence test used in World War I to identify potential officers.

To provide accurate comparisons among test-takers, the Army Alpha and 
its descendants must make sure that examinees' scores are widely 
spread out. If there's plenty of score-spread, then a test can 
determine (in relationship to a norm group of previous test-takers) 
that Chris, for example, scored at the 87th percentile, and Lee 
scored at the 83rd percentile. Score-spread is imperative if these 
tests are going to do their job, namely, identifying an examinee's 
relative performance.

But to make certain that standardized achievement tests provide 
accurate comparisons, the developers of these tests include many 
items that have nothing to do with what's supposed to be taught in 
school. Remember, that's not the measurement mission of these tests.

So, if you were to review the actual items in a typical standardized 
achievement test, you'd find many items whose correct answer depends 
heavily on the socioeconomic status of a child's family. There are 
also many items that measure the verbal, quantitative, or spatial 
aptitudes that children inherit at birth. Such items are better 
suited to intelligence tests. Clearly, items dependent either on the 
affluence of a student's family or on a child's genetic inheritance 
are not suitable for evaluating
schools.

In short, "achievement" tests really aren't. And because many of 
their items measure what students bring to school, not what they 
learn there, traditional standardized achievement tests should have 
no role in evaluating our schools.

Is it possible to build standardized tests that accurately measure 
what's been taught in school? Absolutely. But those tests must be 
built with that specific role in mind. We need to evaluate a school 
based on how much students have learned in that school. But we'll 
never do so if, because of misunderstandings about the role of 
traditional standardized achievement tests, we continue to use the 
wrong tests when judging our schools.
---
W. James Popham, a University of California, Los Angeles, emeritus 
professor, is the author of more than 20 books, many of which deal 
with educational testing.
**
On the Web:

Read "Principals in Peril: Judging Quality With the Wrong 
Yardsticks," 2000 
[http://www.apapdc.edu.au/archive/ASPA/conference2000/papers/art_3_6.htm] 
and "New Assessment Methods for School Counselors," 
[http://ericae.net/db/edo/ED38.htm] 1995, two papers by W. James 
Popham on classroom assessment.

FairTest [http://www.fairtest.org/], an advocacy organization that is 
critical of standardized test posts "How Standardized Testing Damages 
Education," [http://www.fairtest.org/facts/howharm.htm] and "What's 
Wrong

[CPS Math]Budget Priorities Shift after Terrorist Attacks

[Jerry Becker]

**
 From the Legislative Update of the National Council of Teachers of 
Mathematics - Monday, September 24, 2001 [for the week ending 
September 21].
**

NCTM Legislative and Policy Update

Budget Priorities Shift After Terrorist Attacks

"This is another clear message to the world that terrorism will not 
derail America's domestic policy agenda. We remain united in our 
resolve to give U.S. students the best education in the world."
  -Congressman John Boehner (R-Ohio), on behalf of the 39-member 
Conference Committee on H.R. 1

With that strongly worded news release, the Chairman of the House 
Committee on Education and the Workforce announced that the next 
scheduled meeting of conferees on H.R. 1 would take place Tuesday, 
September 25.  Two things are expected to occur: (1) staff 
agreements, hammered out during the summer recess, will be ratified; 
and (2) members will discuss how they plan to resolve remaining items 
of disagreement in a timely fashion.

Completing their work on H.R.1 remains a top priority for the White 
House and the conferees.  They are now in a race with appropriators 
to come to agreement on H.R. 1 in time to fund the newly authorized 
programs it contains.  It will be a close race.  The House 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
Education also will be meeting on September 25.  They have been given 
an additional allocation of $3.3 billion-bringing new money for 
education close to $6 billion, or 13 percent over the current year. 
If the mark-up proceeds on the 25th, the full Committee will meet the 
following week.  This still would not leave enough time to fund the 
Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services for 
the fiscal year that begins on October 1, so a 2- to 3-week 
continuing resolution is anticipated.

In the Senate, progress is a bit slower.  There is talk of a mark-up 
in early October.  The same new allocation of $3.3 billion has been 
discussed but not yet promised.  One possible glitch is talk 
surrounding the need to provide an offset for the new spending by 
cutting all 13 appropriations bills by 5 percent.  Such action seems 
somewhat ridiculous to education lobbyists who are wondering why 
Congress would want to cut spending in order to increase it.

As the second week following the terrorist attacks comes to a close, 
Congress appears more eager to get home.  Last Friday, adjournment 
was expected by Halloween; however, mid-October is a more likely 
adjournment date.
***
-- 
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

For more information:
.

To search the archives:

[CPS Math]Teachers Colleges Get Report Cards

[Jerry Becker]

**
 From the Lexington Herald-Leader [Kentucky], Tuesday, September 18, 
2001, p. B1. Go to http://newslibrary.infi.net/kyc/   --  must 
register and purchase article. Article is at 
http://nl4.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=0EEA43D1E153F2FB&p_docnum=1
 
, but you may not be able to access it directly without registering 
and paying first :$1.50.
**

TEACHER COLLEGES GET REPORT CARDS

KENTUCKY HOPES TO RAISE QUALITY BY EXPANDING REQUIREMENTS

By Linda B. Blackford and Steve Lannen

[Correction: A chart on Page B3 Tuesday contained the wrong pass rate 
for Cumberland College's teacher exams. The school's pass rate is 92 
percent.]

FRANKFORT -- For years, Kentucky's teacher colleges have been accused 
of training a steady
supply of teachers without being held accountable for how good that 
training was.

But today, amid ardent discussions about teacher quality, those 
teacher prep programs will have to
prove for the first time why they should be in business -- and if 
they can't, risk losing their accreditation and funding.

The Education Professional Standards Board, which oversees teacher 
quality, yesterday released report cards that detail everything from 
teacher exam pass rates and course offerings to weaknesses listed in 
accreditation reports.

While the report cards are part of a 1998 federal law, Kentucky 
officials hope that expanding its
requirements will bring an unprecedented scrutiny to teacher 
education and improve quality.

"For so long, teacher education was the cash cow of schools -- it was 
there, but not a lot of attention
was focused on it," said Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, spokeswoman for the 
Education Professional
Standards Board, the teacher certification agency that issued the 
report cards. "With this, you've
shone a light on teacher education."

Kentucky wants to go further than the federal laws. By next year, the 
report cards will also include a
survey of student teachers about their experiences. And by 2003, the 
standards board will develop an overall grade so that teacher prep 
programs can be measured against one another.

A program with a failing grade could be put on state probation, and 
continued failure could mean a loss of accreditation and federal 
funding.

"I think it is long overdue and I think we'll be surprised at how 
well some schools are doing and how
poorly some schools are doing," said Ed Ford, education liaison for 
Gov. Paul Patton. "I see this as
tremendous leverage to schools to do even better."

Most Kentucky programs have high pass rates on Praxis II, the teacher 
certification exam used by most states. The state's overall pass rate 
is 94 percent.

The only school scoring below 80 percent is Kentucky State 
University, which had a 54 percent pass
rate.

Sherry Sayles, an associate vice president for academic affairs at 
KSU, said the school is trying to
improve Praxis scores.

But "the pressure was not put on us because of the report cards but 
because of the scores themselves," she said.

The Praxis exam is a minimum competency content test, which means 
prospective teachers only have to score better than between 15 and 25 
percent of all people taking the tests nationwide. Kentucky used to 
define a passing score at even lower levels; the state raised its 
standards two years ago, which cause some schools' pass rates to drop.

Critics say the test weeds out the incompetent, but doesn't say much 
about the quality of the teachers who pass it.

"Doing well on the Praxis II is not going to guarantee us teachers 
have the knowledge of how to teach well," said Barnett Berry, interim 
director for the National Commission on Teaching and America's 
Future. "We need much more powerful measures."

But Berry said it's about time colleges and states shared more 
information about how they prepare new teachers. "In the past, it's 
been too secretive," he said.

Mark Wasicsko, education dean at Eastern Kentucky University said the 
report cards give him some
idea of how EKU's programs are preparing future teachers, but it's 
not a lot of new information.

If anything, posting the report cards on the Internet should provide 
some public credibility for
education colleges, Wasicsko said.

"If you're going to get your teaching certification, you want to go 
where you'll get those skills," he said. "It says teachers coming out 
today at least have these minimum skills."

Teachers need to not only be proficient in their content area, but 
they also need to know how to teach. The state and some colleges are 
working on measuring those areas as well. Beginning Jan. 1, all new 
teachers will have to pass a pedagogy test, Wiederwohl said.

The report cards are also aimed at students who can use the 
information to decide which college to
attend.

"I'm not sure it would have been a deciding factor but it would have 
been helpful," said Bethany
Youngblood, a first-year teacher in Lexington who 

[CPS Math]Quantitative Literacy - Lynn Arthur Steen

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From Education Week on the Web [American Education's Newspaper of 
Record], Wednesday, September 5, 2001,  Volume 21, Number 1, p. 58. 
See
http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=01steen.h21&keywords=lynn%20arthur%20steen
***
Quantitative Literacy

In a world drenched in data, we must ensure that students know the 
meaning of numbers

By Lynn Arthur Steen

Our world is awash in numbers. Headlines report the latest 
interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, hikes or drops in gasoline 
prices, trends in student test scores, results of local and national 
elections, risks of dying from colon cancer, this season's baseball 
statistics, and numbers of refugees from the latest ethnic war.

Quantitative thinking abounds, not only in the news but also in the 
workplace, in education, and in nearly every field of human endeavor. 
Anyone who wishes can obtain data about the risks of medications, 
per-student expenditures in local school districts, projections for 
the federal budget surplus, and an almost endless array of other 
concerns.

If put to good use, this unprecedented access to numerical 
information will place more power in the hands of individuals and 
serve as a stimulus to democratic discourse and civic decision 
making. Without understanding, however, access to this information 
can mystify rather than enlighten the public.

SIDEBAR:  If individuals lack the ability to think numerically, they 
cannot participate fully in civic life, thereby bringing into 
question the very basis of government "of, by, and for the people."

Considering the deluge of numbers and their importance in so many 
aspects of life, one would think that schools would focus as much on 
numeracy as on literacy, on equipping students to deal intelligently 
with quantitative as well as verbal information.

Yet, despite years of study and life experience in an environment 
immersed in quantitative data, many educated adults remain 
functionally innumerate. Businesses lament the lack of technical and 
quantitative skills among prospective employees, and virtually every 
college finds that many of its students need remedial help in 
mathematics. Data from the National Assessment of Educational 
Progress show that the average mathematics performance of 17- 
year-old students is in the lower half of the "basic" range and well 
below "proficient." Moreover, despite slight growth in recent years, 
average scores of Hispanic students and African-American students are 
near the bottom of the "basic" range.

Common responses to this well-known problem are either to demand more 
years of high school mathematics or more rigorous standards for 
graduation. But even individuals who have studied calculus often 
remain largely ignorant of common abuses of data, and all too often 
find themselves unable to comprehend (much less to articulate) the 
nuances of quantitative inferences. As it turns out, it is not 
calculus but numeracy that is the key to understanding our 
data-drenched society.

The expectation that ordinary citizens be quantitatively literate is 
primarily a phenomenon of the late 20th century. Its absence from the 
schools is a symptom of rapid changes in the quantification of 
society. As the printing press made literacy a societal imperative, 
the computer has made numeracy an essential goal of education. Yet 
practice in our nation's schools and colleges does not reflect that 
goal. We need, therefore, to broaden our national conversation about 
education to include careful
attention to numeracy.

This conversation must be carried forward first and foremost in 
school and college settings. If asked, faculty members and 
administrators at most schools and colleges today probably would say 
that they intend to produce quantitatively capable graduates. But the 
typical response, a more intense focus on a traditional mathematics 
curriculum, will not necessarily lead to increased competency with 
quantitative data.

This conclusion follows from the simple recognition that numeracy is 
not the same as mathematics, nor is it an alternative to mathematics. 
Today's students need both mathematics and numeracy. Whereas 
mathematics asks students to rise above context, quantitative 
literacy is anchored in real data that reflect engagement with life's 
diverse contexts and situations.

The case for numeracy in schools is not a call for more mathematics, 
nor even for more applied (or applicable) mathematics. It is a call 
for a different and more meaningful pedagogy across the entire 
curriculum. In life, numbers are everywhere, and the responsibility 
for fostering quantitative literacy should be spread broadly across 
the curriculum. Quantitative thought must be regarded as much more 
than an affair of the mathematics classroom alone.

Quantitatively literate citizens need to know more than formulas and 
equations. Th

[CPS Math]Giving poor children tools for school success

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Giving poor children tools for school
success


*
From the Rocky Mountain News, Saturday, September 1, 2001.
See
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/news_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_86_813852,00.html  [Brought to our attention by Lou
Talman.]
*
Giving poor children tools for school success

By Linda Seebach

If we could clone Ruby Payne, she could lend her insight on
education reform to twice as many schools looking for effective ways
to help at-risk students succeed.

That's how Colorado Gov. Bill Owens introduced Payne Wednesday to a
group of educators and officials from around the state. Her topic was
how poverty affects children's cognitive development, and what that
implies for their prospects in school.

Sounds pretty abstract? Her point exactly.

Middle-class parents, often without conscious deliberation, teach
their children their own ways of understanding reality, of organizing
the world into abstract categories. Poor parents (though not
invariably or exclusively) typically do not. And since school is a
middle-class sort of place, poor children often struggle to fit in
without understanding why they don't. They don't know the "hidden
rules" of their new environment, the expectations of dress and
language and behavior that affect how people perceive them. Hidden
rules, by definition, are the ones nobody talks about.

Payne told a story on herself to illustrate the point. She was once
asked to a very chichi luncheon with a lot of very rich women, and --
not knowing the hidden rules of their class -- brought a casserole
(and even bought a pretty pottery bowl especially to transport
it).

The hostess looked at her as if she were something glimpsed crawling
in a wastebasket. "Put that in the kitchen," she said with
distaste.

The language middle-class parents use with their children is typically
richer in context and more elaborated than the language poor parents
use with theirs (whether the terms refer to education or income, or
simply reflect that the two tend to go together, is not germane to the
discussion).

A poor child might be told bluntly "No hitting!" -- a clear
directive, but not particularly illuminating, especially if delivered
with a slap.

A middle-class child commonly gets a lecture.

"No, no, darling, in this family we don't hit. We don't resort to
violence, because that's never a good solution. Let's think of other
ways to solve your problem."

God, I can almost hear myself.

Look at all the messages encoded in that miniature lesson. A
hidden rule: Our kind of people don't hit, so people who do aren't our
kind.

The concrete action of hitting is a member of an abstract category
called violence. Judgments about concrete actions are based on the
categories they belong to. When you need to solve problems, you don't
just react; you think and plan and consider alternatives and their
likely consequences.

Is it stereotyping poor children to say they don't always learn at
home what they need to succeed in school?

Perhaps, but that can't be an excuse for failing to provide what they
need. If children come to school hungry because they don't get enough
to eat at home we don't sit around agonizing over whether signing up
for the free lunch program will stigmatize them; we feed
them.

If they don't get enough teaching at home, we teach them.

And it's not necessary to separate children by class to teach this
way; if children already have these intellectual frameworks in place,
they suffer no harm from having them reinforced.

Payne was particularly harsh on constructivism, the dominant ideology
in schools of education. That's the idea that people learn things by
constructing mental models of them -- so far, so good -- but
furthermore that teachers shouldn't explain to children how the mental
models ought to look, that it is somehow damaging to their
development.

Sometimes children get the models wrong. Sometimes they don't even
realize that's what they're supposed to do, and nobody tells them
explicitly. This doctrine is particularly cruel to children who arrive
at school without adequate preparation.

That's why highly scripted pedagogies such as direct instruction --
which are anathema in most teacher preparation programs -- are more
effective in narrowing achievement gaps than the highly regarded
progressive, child-centered methods.

Payne raises issues that many educators would rather not
confront. She's worth listening to, even if there's only one of
her.

Linda Seebach is an editorial writer for the News. She can be
reached by telephone at (303) 892-2519 or by e-mail at 
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
*
-- 

Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]All-day kindergarten boosts reading

[Jerry Becker]

Title: All-day kindergarten boosts
reading


***
From the Washington Post, Tuesday, September 11, 2001; Page B01.
See
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6759-2001Sep10.html
***

All-Day Kindergarten Boosts Reading

1-Year Montgomery Study Reveals Benefits for 'High-Risk'
Students

By Annie Gowen

Children from low-income or immigrant families who attended
full-day kindergarten in Montgomery County last year did significantly
better than their counterparts in half-day classes, according to the
results of a year-long literacy study the school district released
yesterday.

The study of 7,849 kindergartners found that 71 percent of those
"high-risk" students who spent all day in class mastered
reading fundamentals by the end of the year, as opposed to 54 percent
of those enrolled half day.

Overall, 80 percent of Montgomery's kindergarten students mastered
those skills, and a full 69 percent were reading basic texts by
spring, the study said.

School Superintendent Jerry D. Weast said the results validated
reforms he has instituted to close the achievement gap separating the
county's affluent students from those burdened by poverty and language
problems.

In addition to the all-day programs, now in 34 schools, Weast has
emphasized smaller classes in the earliest grades, a more academic
curriculum and extensive kindergarten teacher training -- at a cost of
$9 million over two years.

"I couldn't be happier than I am today," Weast said.
"For the last two years, we've had to hear, 'Look, we're pouring
a lot of money into this. Will it work?' I can tell you it will
work."

Without comparative data from previous years, though, the study could
not assess how much any one of the initiatives, beyond all-day
kindergarten, influenced the performance of kindergarten students.

The extensive study could prove a boon for state lawmakers and
educators who hope to mandate all-day kindergarten.

"Your own county has provided us with incredible ammunition for
the next session of the General Assembly," Nancy S. Grasmick, the
Maryland state superintendent of schools, said at a news conference
yesterday.

Already, 33 percent of the state's students attend all-day
kindergarten, including every Prince George's County student. In the
District, all schools have the full-day programs; 37 of Fairfax
County's 132 elementary schools offer it.

This year, Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) declined to fund a
$60 million proposal for statewide all-day kindergarten, saying it was
too expensive and too controversial. Instead, he approved $19 million
in discretionary funding for early childhood education.

State Del. Mark K. Shriver (D-Montgomery) said yesterday that he
intends to introduce an all-day kindergarten measure in the General
Assembly for the third time.

But in some aspects, the Montgomery study bolsters arguments from the
program's critics: The results showed that the longer school day had
little impact on students who are not considered low-income or poor
English speakers. Indeed, 89 percent of regular, half-day
kindergartners learned their reading fundamentals, compared with 91
percent of full-day students.

That is not surprising, said David Elkind, a professor of child
development at Tufts University.

"Full-day kindergarten is a day-care initiative, not an academic
initiative," Elkind said. Many poorer students may come from
homes or day-care centers where they had little access to educational
toys or books.

"When a child who comes from a home already rich in those things,
it's not going to make much of a difference, but that child who
doesn't, that extra time does help," Elkind said.

The study found that 80 percent of all Montgomery County kindergarten
students achieved at least whatofficials called "foundational
reading skills" by the end of the school year.

That doesn't mean actual reading, but rather a student's knowledge of
individual letters, "print concepts" such as punctuation and
letter-sound relationships as well as an ability to recognize certain
words on sight.

Angela Bisogno, 40, a second-year teacher at Glen Haven Elementary
School, said that her whole kindergarten class of 15 students,
including five who spoke English as a second language, were reading by
the end of the school year after going through the literacy program,
which emphasizes reading in small groups.

That was a far cry, she said, from her experience teaching in a
private school in Long Island for 15 years, where only a third of her
kindergarten students learned to read by the end of the year.

Students who had been in the federal Head Start program also did
better in all-day kindergarten, the study said. The study also showed
that 4-year-olds entering kindergarten lag behind 5-year olds.

Weast said that he hopes to expand the all-day kindergarten into 57 of
the county's elementary schools that serve a large number of
low-income students and non-English speakers.

Michel

[CPS Math]Aid to Impacted Sch. Districts. - Terrorist Attacks

[Jerry Becker]

 From Kirk Winters & Peter Kickbush, U.S. Department of Education and 
the EDInfo list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>  --  Friday, September 14, 2001. 
See
http://www.ed.gov/inits/september11/index.html
===
"Education Department Announces Aid Available to School Districts 
Impacted by Terrorist Attacks -- Education Web site also to feature 
suggestions for parents & educators trying to help their children
understand the terrorist attacks" (September 14, 2001)
===

U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced that the U.S.
Department of Education would be making a series of grants totaling
in the millions of dollars to the school districts directly
impacted by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center & the
Pentagon.  Paige also announced that the department would provide
information resources to parents & teachers to help children
dealing with the effects of the attacks, but who were not directly
impacted.

Paige announced that the department has contacted the chief state
school officers, as well as local school authorities, in
Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia & Washington,
D.C., to offer them assistance with counseling & support services
for their schoolchildren & faculty.  In the coming days, the
department will announce a series of grants to school districts in
these states that were directly impacted by the terrorist attacks
for assistance with grief & trauma counseling & other services,
including a major grant to New York City Board of Education
schools.

"It will take some time for the school districts that have suffered
directly as a result of these acts of terror to determine the
nature & extent of their need for our assistance," Paige said.
"They each have our assurance that Project SERV grants will be
available to them when they determine their needs & priorities.
The U.S. Department of Education will be there to assist our
schools in meeting the needs of their students & faculty & the
communities they serve."

Each of the grants will come from the department's Project SERV.
Created with a $10 million appropriation from Congress in 2000,
Project SERV is intended to provide assistance such as counseling
services to local school districts that have experienced a
traumatic event.  The funds are available to meet the immediate
needs of the students in these school districts as well as their
longer-term crisis response needs.

Paige also announced that the department's Web site will feature
suggestions for adults with children & for educators in order to
offer help to the children who may be struggling with the terrorist
attacks & the images & stories of terror & destruction that they
have been exposed to in recent days.

"As adults, we must offer them our undivided attention &
unequivocal support," Paige said.  "All adults should be concerned
about how well the children in their lives understand what has
taken place.  Families & teachers alike should know that they play
a central role in helping children to understand what has taken
place, to separate fact from fiction & to establish a sense of
safety.  There are simple things adults can do -- but the most
important is to listen to & talk to the children in their lives.
They also need to watch for signs of unusual behavior & take steps
to limit exposure to television & Internet imagery."

These & other suggestions are listed on the Department of
Education's Web site at http://www.ed.gov.  The department will
also continue building links to other Web resources for parents &
educators.

===
"Helping Children Understand the Terrorist Attacks"
U.S. Department of Education
(September 14, 2001)
===

  ==> Information on how to help children understand the terrorist
  attacks:

*  Suggestions for Adults: Talking & Thinking with Children
   About the Terrorist Attacks
   http://www.ed.gov/inits/september11/adults.html

*  Suggestions for Educators: Meeting the Needs of Students
   http://www.ed.gov/inits/september11/educators.html

  ==> Where you can find additional information & resources:

*  American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
   http://www.aacap.org/

*  Emergency Services & Disaster Relief Branch, Center for
   Mental Health
   http://www.mentalhealth.org/cmhs/emergencyservices/

*  Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
   http://www.fema.gov/

*  FEMA for Kids
   http://www.fema.gov/kids/

*  Helping Children & Adolescents Cope with Violence &
   Disasters
   http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/violence.cfm

*  National Association of School Psychologists
   http://www.nasponline.org

*  National Center f

[CPS Math]Responses to Terrorism - Writing About It

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Responses to Terrorism - Writing About
It


**
From the National Council of Teachers of English listserve,
Thursday, September 13, 2001. See
http://www.ncte.org/inbox/pdfs/Responses_to_Terrorism.shtml
**

Responses to Terrorism

I have formulated the following exercise as a suggestion to the
instructors in our program, especially the first-year TAs, for what to
do in classes starting tomorrow:

Writing Exercise Concerning the Events of September 11, 2001, for
classes meeting on September 12-14:

Start by just having a general discussion for a few moments about the
events of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Try to get the students to
contextualize the event historically -- for example, many news
commentators are saying that the only things that this event compares
to is the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Oklahoma City bombing.

Be prepared for the possibility of some students expressing great
anger or fear (or both). It is quite possible that some students may
say things that they don't really mean. Do your best not to inflame
such feelings, and keep in mind that it does help some people to talk
about this at the time. The best attitude for you to take is to be
nonjudgmental about their responses unless someone says something that
is overtly hostile to international students, Muslim students in
particular. If that happens, you might go directly to the question
below about the initial responses to the Oklahoma bombing.

After this short oral discussion, ask them to take out paper and write
freely in answer to the questions listed below.

Give them the questions one at a time. Have them write for
approximately five or ten minutes on each question. Write with the
students. Keep your eye on how they are writing. When it appears that
many of them have finished, have them stop and go on to the next
question. (You may think of your own questions as well.)

Try to gauge the mood of the class. You may not want to have your
class write about all these questions. After 10 or 15 minutes of
writing, have them stop and share what they have written with other
students. (They can either read what they have written or simply talk
about it for a few minutes.)

Questions

1.  What were you doing on Tuesday when you heard the news about
the plane crashes? Where were you? What were your first thoughts upon
hearing this news?

2.  Who did you first talk to about these terrorist activities?
What did people say? Did they speculate on who might be responsible?
What did you think of those responses? Did they make sense to you? Did
they seem unfounded?

3.  Now that some time has passed since you first heard the news,
write down some of the pieces of information that you have learned
since the initial news. Just list the information, not how you feel
about it (yet).

4.  Describe how your initial response changed as you learned
more about what had happened.

5.  What is the primary feeling that you have concerning these
events? Why do you feel that way?

6.  What do you think the response of the U.S. government will be
to these events? How do you feel about that potential response?

7.  In the hours and days immediately following the bombing of
the Oklahoma City,many people thought immediately that it must be a
terrorist attack by Palestinians. Many Muslims and people of Arab
descent were immediately suspect. It later developed that the
attackers were white Americans and that the attack had little or
nothing to do with America's activities outside the U.S. What does
this initial response to that event suggest about how we might think
of Tuesday's attacks?

When the students have finished writing, ask them to put their writing
away and keep it until later in the semester. Explain that you won't
be collecting or reading their work. Tell them that they may want to
save this writing as a personal record of what has happened.

Gordon Thomas
Director of Writing
Department of English
University of Idaho
Moscow, Idaho
---
This message was originally sent to the [EMAIL PROTECTED], the
Writing Program Administration listserv.
***
-- 

Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]Helping Children Cope

[Jerry Becker]

**
Just received from Prof. William L. Bainbridge with permission to distribute.
**

For Immediate Release from the National Association of School Psychologists

Helping Children Cope With Tuesday's Acts of Terrorism Tips for 
Parents and Teachers

Tuesday's tragic acts of terrorism are unprecedented in the American 
experience. Children, like many people, may be confused or frightened 
by the news and will look to adults for information and guidance on 
how to react. Parents and school personnel can help children cope 
first and foremost by establishing a sense of safety and security. As 
the nation learns more about what happened and why, adults can 
continue to help children work through their emotions and perhaps 
even use the process as a learning experience.

ALL ADULTS SHOULD:

1. Model calm and control. Children take their emotional cues from 
the significant adults in their lives. Avoid appearing anxious or 
frightened.

2. Reassure children that they are safe and so are the other 
important adults in their lives. Explain that these buildings were 
targeted for their symbolism and that schools, neighborhoods, and 
regular office buildings are
not at risk.

3. Remind them that trustworthy people are in charge. Explain that 
the government emergency workers, police, fireman, doctors, and even 
the military are helping people who are hurt and are working to 
ensure that no further
tragedies occur.

4. Let children know that it is okay to feel upset. Explain that all 
feelings are okay when a tragedy like this occurs. Let children talk 
about their feelings and help put them into perspective. Even anger 
is okay, but children may need help and patience from adults to 
assist them in expressing
these feelings appropriately.

5. Observe children's emotional state. Depending on their age, 
children may not express their concerns orally. Changes in behavior, 
appetite, and sleep patterns can also indicate a child's level of 
grief, anxiety or discomfort. Children will express their emotions 
differently. There is no right or wrong way to feel or express grief.

6. Tell children the truth. Don't try to pretend the event has not 
occurred or that it is not serious. Children are smart. They will be 
more worried if they think you are too afraid to tell them what is 
happening.

7. Stick to the facts. Don't embellish or speculate about what has 
happened and what might happen. Don't dwell on the scale or scope of 
the tragedy, particularly with young children.

8. Keep your explanations developmentally appropriate. Early 
elementary school children need brief, simple information that should 
be balanced with reassurances that the daily structures of their 
lives will not change. Upper elementary and early middle school 
children will be more vocal in asking questions about whether they 
truly are safe and what is being done at their school. They may need 
assistance separating reality from fantasy. Upper middle school and 
high school students will have strong and varying opinions about the 
causes of violence in schools and society. They will share concrete 
suggestions about how to make school safer and how to prevent 
tragedies in society. They will be more committed to doing something 
to help the victims and affeced community. For all children, 
encourage them to verbalize their thoughts and feelings. Be a good 
listener!

WHAT PARENTS CAN DO

1. Focus on your children over the next day or so. Tell them you love 
them and everything will be okay. Try to help them understand what 
has happened, keeping in mind their developmental level.

2. Make time to talk with your children. Remember if you do not talk 
to your children about this incident someone else will. Take some 
time and determine what you wish to say.

3. Stay close to your children. Your physical presence will reassure 
them and give you the opportunity monitor their reaction. Many 
children will want actual physical contact. Give plenty of hugs. Let 
them sit close to you, and make sure to take extra time at bedtime to 
cuddle and to reassure them that they are loved and safe.

4. Limit the amount of your child's television viewing of these 
events. If they must watch, watch with them for a brief time; then 
turn the set off. Don't sit mesmerized re-watching the same events 
over and over again.

5. Maintain a "normal" routine. To the extent possible stick to your 
family's normal routine for dinner, homework, chores, bedtime, etc., 
but don't be inflexible. Children may have a hard time concentrating 
on schoolwork or falling asleep at night.

6. Spend extra time reading or playing quiet games with your children 
before bed. These activities are calming, foster a sense of closeness 
and security, and reinforce a sense of normalcy. Spend more time 
tucking them in. Let them sleep with a light on if they ask for it.

7. Safeguard your children's physical health. Stress can take a 
physic

[CPS Math]Helping Children Cope

[Jerry Becker]

**
Just received from Prof. William L. Bainbridge with permission to distribute.
**

For Immediate Release from the National Association of School Psychologists

Helping Children Cope With Tuesday's Acts of Terrorism Tips for 
Parents and Teachers

Tuesday's tragic acts of terrorism are unprecedented in the American 
experience. Children, like many people, may be confused or frightened 
by the news and will look to adults for information and guidance on 
how to react. Parents and school personnel can help children cope 
first and foremost by establishing a sense of safety and security. As 
the nation learns more about what happened and why, adults can 
continue to help children work through their emotions and perhaps 
even use the process as a learning experience.

ALL ADULTS SHOULD:

1. Model calm and control. Children take their emotional cues from 
the significant adults in their lives. Avoid appearing anxious or 
frightened.

2. Reassure children that they are safe and so are the other 
important adults in their lives. Explain that these buildings were 
targeted for their symbolism and that schools, neighborhoods, and 
regular office buildings are
not at risk.

3. Remind them that trustworthy people are in charge. Explain that 
the government emergency workers, police, fireman, doctors, and even 
the military are helping people who are hurt and are working to 
ensure that no further
tragedies occur.

4. Let children know that it is okay to feel upset. Explain that all 
feelings are okay when a tragedy like this occurs. Let children talk 
about their feelings and help put them into perspective. Even anger 
is okay, but children may need help and patience from adults to 
assist them in expressing
these feelings appropriately.

5. Observe children's emotional state. Depending on their age, 
children may not express their concerns orally. Changes in behavior, 
appetite, and sleep patterns can also indicate a child's level of 
grief, anxiety or discomfort. Children will express their emotions 
differently. There is no right or wrong way to feel or express grief.

6. Tell children the truth. Don't try to pretend the event has not 
occurred or that it is not serious. Children are smart. They will be 
more worried if they think you are too afraid to tell them what is 
happening.

7. Stick to the facts. Don't embellish or speculate about what has 
happened and what might happen. Don't dwell on the scale or scope of 
the tragedy, particularly with young children.

8. Keep your explanations developmentally appropriate. Early 
elementary school children need brief, simple information that should 
be balanced with reassurances that the daily structures of their 
lives will not change. Upper elementary and early middle school 
children will be more vocal in asking questions about whether they 
truly are safe and what is being done at their school. They may need 
assistance separating reality from fantasy. Upper middle school and 
high school students will have strong and varying opinions about the 
causes of violence in schools and society. They will share concrete 
suggestions about how to make school safer and how to prevent 
tragedies in society. They will be more committed to doing something 
to help the victims and affeced community. For all children, 
encourage them to verbalize their thoughts and feelings. Be a good 
listener!

WHAT PARENTS CAN DO

1. Focus on your children over the next day or so. Tell them you love 
them and everything will be okay. Try to help them understand what 
has happened, keeping in mind their developmental level.

2. Make time to talk with your children. Remember if you do not talk 
to your children about this incident someone else will. Take some 
time and determine what you wish to say.

3. Stay close to your children. Your physical presence will reassure 
them and give you the opportunity monitor their reaction. Many 
children will want actual physical contact. Give plenty of hugs. Let 
them sit close to you, and make sure to take extra time at bedtime to 
cuddle and to reassure them that they are loved and safe.

4. Limit the amount of your child's television viewing of these 
events. If they must watch, watch with them for a brief time; then 
turn the set off. Don't sit mesmerized re-watching the same events 
over and over again.

5. Maintain a "normal" routine. To the extent possible stick to your 
family's normal routine for dinner, homework, chores, bedtime, etc., 
but don't be inflexible. Children may have a hard time concentrating 
on schoolwork or falling asleep at night.

6. Spend extra time reading or playing quiet games with your children 
before bed. These activities are calming, foster a sense of closeness 
and security, and reinforce a sense of normalcy. Spend more time 
tucking them in. Let them sleep with a light on if they ask for it.

7. Safeguard your children's physical health. Stress can take a 
physic

[CPS Math]Second Announcement: Singapore Conference

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From the website for the conference ...
--
SINGAPORE CONFERENCE:  The SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT brochure [(pdf file, 
105KB] for the second ICMI-EARCOME conference is available at 
http://math.nie.edu.sg/earcome/announce.htm . The home website is at 
http://math.nie.edu.sg/earcome/home.htm .
*

The second ICMI-EARCOME (East Asia Regional Conference on Mathematics 
Education) is to be held in Singapore May 27-31, 2002. This 
conference organised by an International Programme Committee will be 
hosted by the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological 
University, Singapore and the Association of Mathematics Educators, 
Singapore. This conference will also be designated as the Ninth 
Southeast Asian Conference on Mathematics Education or SEACME 9.

EARCOME 2002 combines two conferences in two separate series of 
conferences in the East Asia region. The First East Asian Regional 
Conference on Mathematics Education (EARCOME) was held in Korea in 
1998. Two earlier East Asian conferences held before EARCOME were the 
ICMI-China
Regional Conferences on Mathematics Education, Beijing (1991) and 
Shanghai (1994). The SEACME series has a longer history and the 
conferences are held triennially, in Manila (1978), Kuala 
Lumpur(1981), Haad Yai (1984), Singapore (1987), Brunei (1990), 
Surabaya (1993), Hanoi (1996) and Manila (1999).

Singapore is a small nation situated at one of the most important 
crossroads of the world. It is a country where modern facilities and 
a fast pace of life combine with traditional values of the ancient 
civilisations of our forebears. Singapore was put on the world map of 
Mathematics Education with her students' performance in the Third 
International Mathematics and Science Study. While proud of our 
students' achievement, Singapore educators realise that there is much 
to learn from the international community of Mathematics Educators. 
It is our belief that our teachers and educators will truly benefit 
from this conference which will bring to our shores mathematics 
educators who will share their expertise and discuss the many issues 
in mathematics education.

We invite you to be a part of this exchange of ideas and look forward 
to your participation in ICMI-EARCOME 2002 & SEACME 9.
***
-- 
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[CPS Math]Why are teacher tests secret?

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Why are teacher tests secret?


*
From the Chicago Sun Times, Friday, September 7, 2001. See
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-main07x.html
*
Why are teacher
tests secret? politicians ask

By Rosalind Rossi and Dave McKinney

Illinois administrators who hire teachers should be able to see
how many times applicants flunked their competence exams and how they
scored, politicians said Thursday in response to a Chicago Sun-Times
investigation of teacher test records.

The Sun-Times found that one of every 10 Chicago teachers employed
full time last year and tested since 1988 had flunked at least one
teacher test of Basic Skills. The exam is so easy, experts say, an
eighth- or ninth-grader should be able to pass it on the first try.
It's being replaced with a tougher one Sept. 15.

In addition, statewide, 414 teachers employed last year had failed the
same test at least three times--324 of them in Chicago. Even more, 868
Illinois teachers, flunked and never passed the Basic Skills test,
including 635 in Chicago. The state's biggest test flunker failed 24
of 25 tests, including 12 out of 12 tests on how to teach
learning-disabled children. Yet, the individual was teaching
learning-disabled children in Chicago last year, a Sun-Times analysis
of state records showed.

Gov. Ryan has asked the state Board of Education to investigate
questions raised by the Sun-Times findings, said Ryan spokesman Dennis
Culloton. That includes why the state's neediest children, those in
the lowest-scoring, highest-minority and lowest-income schools, are
five times more likely to encounter a teacher who failed at least one
of two required certification tests, and "what information
principals and other hiring authorities can properly get on teacher
applicants,'' Culloton said.

"The fairness issue'' affecting the state's neediest children is
a "serious issue,'' and whether teacher test records should be
disclosed "is definitely something the board should look at,'' he
said. "It's a very good question.''

Kim Knauer, a top assistant to state Education Supt. Glenn "Max''
McGee, said the information is now protected under the Illinois
Freedom of Information Act. To change that law, said former state
Attorney General Roland Burris, would "open a Pandora's
box.''

"If you do it for educators, you can do it for medical records,''
said Burris, a likely Democratic candidate for governor.

Burris said the Sun-Times had documented "a major catastrophe''
that may well only get worse, given the growing teacher shortage. Even
newly elected Chicago Teachers Union President Deborah Lynch said
teachers who have failed and never passed certification tests should
not be allowed to teach, although she said she did not know the
legalities of giving principals access to their test scores. Lynch
called the Sun-Times findings "an indictment'' of school
districts "that are allowing people who haven't passed the test
to take on the rigors of the classroom.''

Mayor Daley said his new, hand-picked schools CEO, Arne Duncan, should
determine how many Chicago Public Schools teachers have failed
certification exams, how many times they flunked and how long they
have been teaching.

"If someone--after 24 times or 10 times or 15 times--if they
can't pass the certification test,'' they should not be teaching,
Daley said. "It should not be tolerated.''

Duncan said he wants to ask the Chicago School Board to limit the
number of years a full-time substitute can teach without a regular
certificate and without passing all tests to two years. "That
would be a dramatic change,'' he said. "If teachers aren't
cutting it, we need to move them out.''

State Sen. Dan Cronin (R-Elmhurst), chairman of the Senate Education
Committee, agreed, saying the Sun-Times' findings amounted to "a
serious indictment of our colleges of education.''

Cronin said he'd like to see teachers retested before they are allowed
to renew existing regular certificates.

"We need a strong, decisive response,'' Cronin said. "This
is not acceptable.''

George King, spokesman for the Illinois Education Association, the
state's largest teachers union, questioned the "alarmist thrust''
of the Sun-Times' report, calling it misleading to emphasize
that
5,243 teachers employed full time in Illinois public schools last
year had failed at least one certification test.

The Sun-Times also reported that the vast majority of test-takers
eventually passed their tests, but those who failed at least once were
five times more likely to be employed in the state's neediest
schools.

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful John Schmidt called the first day of
the Sun-Times series a "horrifying story. I sat there turning the
pages in disbelief. I'd start with holding accountable the
administrators who allowed this to happen.''

Schmidt also supported disclosure of teacher test records, saying
"I don't see any reason why a principal deciding whether to h

[CPS Math]Report finds teachers failing

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From the Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale, IL), Friday, September 7, 
2001, p. 1. See
http://www.southernillinoisan.com/rednews/2001/09/07/build/top/TOP001.html
***

REPORT FINDS TEACHERS FAILING

CHICAGO (AP) -- Illinois schools Superintendent Glenn "Max" McGee 
said Thursday that the State Board of Education would review the data 
and issues raised in a report that said thousands of Illinois 
teachers have failed certification exams.

McGee said he spoke to board chairman Ron Gidwitz about the Chicago 
Sun-Times report, and both agreed "we need to look at that."

The report found that 5,243 teachers failed at least one of the tests 
required to be a certified teacher in Illinois since the state began 
giving the Basic Skills and subject matters tests in 1988. The paper 
looked at test results from July 1988 to April 2001.

"We need to make sure that these kids have highly qualified teachers 
in each and every one of our classrooms," McGee said, adding that the 
state is scrapping the Basic Skills test this month for a tougher one 
amid criticism that the test is so easy an eighth-grader should be 
able to pass it.

But the state's largest teachers union said the newspaper's findings 
were misleading because most of the teachers who failed later passed 
the test.

"The unfortunate part of the story is its alarmist thrust that says 
there are 5,243 teachers out there that failed. That's not true," 
said George King, spokesman for the 1,100-member Illinois Education 
Association.

While the paper did note that most of the teachers later passed the 
exams, it found that hundreds of teachers who have not passed the 
certification exams are still teaching full time in Illinois schools.

Loopholes in state law allowed some to teach without passing all of 
their tests, while others slid by when school administrators 
overlooked the requirements, the paper reported.

"Show me the hundreds. If they exist, certainly they shouldn't be in 
the classroom," King said.

The newspaper's analysis of thousands of test scores also found that 
teachers with the worst exam records were about five times more 
likely to teach in low-performing, low-income, high-minority schools 
than in schools with high income and achievement levels and fewer 
minority students.

Linda Darling-Hammond, executive director of the National Commission 
on Teaching and America's Future, said the concentration of 
low-performing teachers in high-need communities is "immoral, it's 
illegal, and it's a national disgrace."

This spring, more than 180,000 Illinois public school students were 
taught by teachers who had failed at least one state certification 
test, the newspaper estimated.

The majority of teachers statewide passed all required competency 
tests on the first try, and almost
2,000 more passed after multiple attempts, records show. But roughly 
8 percent of teachers who tested since 1988 flunked at least one exam.

The state's Basic Skills exam tests teachers in grammar, writing, 
reading and arithmetic. Test-takers must get 70 percent of questions 
correct in all four subjects to pass.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan said he wants to impose a 
two-year limit for teachers to get certified in the city. There is no 
limit now, and he said some educators in city schools have been 
teaching without full certification for 12 years.

Sen. Dan Cronin, R-Elmhurst, chairman of the Illinois Senate 
Education Committee, called on colleges and universities to do a 
better job of preparing students to be teachers.

"This appears to be a very serious indictment on our schools of 
education," he said. "It's obvious the schools of education are not 
up to the task. ... It's high time that we look at other ways."

Many Illinois colleges in recent years have begun giving a basic 
skills test as a requirement for admission to their colleges of 
education.

Barbara Radner, the director of the center for urban education at 
DePaul University, believes potential teachers are taking too many 
methods courses, where they learn "how to teach (a subject), but not 
what it is."

-- 
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[CPS Math]News from the Math Forum

[Jerry Becker]

Title: News from the Math Forum


Subject: Good news from the Math Forum @ Drexel

Message:

Dear Math Forum friend:

As you know, mathed-news postings are hosted on the Web by
the Math Forum at http://mathforum.org/discussions.

We at the Math Forum are delighted to send you a letter from
Constantine Papadakis, the president of Drexel University. His letter
explains the good news about changes that the Math Forum has been
going through. Our comments follow his letter.


The Math Forum, the nation's leading Web site for math and math
education, has been acquired by Drexel University and is now known as
The Math Forum @ Drexel. The new address of the site is:
http://mathforum.org/
Pointers from the previous addresses will seamlessly redirect you
to the new location.

Under the direction of Dr. Harvill Eaton, Drexel University's
senior vice president for research and graduate studies, the
University will maintain the Math Forum @ Drexel site as the nation's
premier mathematics resource. The site will continue to offer Math
Forum @ Drexel users all previous services, and will introduce new
features and communities to ensure the site remains on the cutting
edge.

Drexel brings many strengths to the Math Forum: expertise in
mathematics, information science and technology, and education, as
well as a multidisciplinary team of faculty members and graduate
students to serve as volunteers and content providers.
http://www.drexel.edu/univrel/aboutdu/

Drexel is Philadelphia's technological university and in 1983 was
the first in the nation to require all students to have a personal
computer. In 2000, Drexel became the first major university to operate
a fully wireless CyberCampus.

To keep you updated on developments, I invite you to visit:
http://mathforum.org/

Thank you for your support of the Math Forum. Drexel looks
forward to continuing to provide you with the latest mathematics
information and technology. If you have any questions, please feel
free to e-mail me at [EMAIL PROTECTED]

  Sincerely,
  Constantine Papadakis
  President
  Drexel University


COMMENTS

We believe that this is the right home for the Math Forum for
many reasons. Drexel is interested in online learning, technology in
teaching, digital libraries, mathematics education, and other issues
we find important. Moreover, they bring a combination of the practical
and the theoretical into education in a way that we find exciting. We
feel very comfortable returning to the academic fold, certainly wiser
for our dot.com experience. We are grateful to WebCT for generously
supporting us and for the concern they have displayed for the Math
Forum Web site and our continuing research initiatives.

All of the Math Forum services will go forward, although the
Problems of the Week (PoWs) will provide services at a much lower
level since they are so labor-intensive. We will also go forward in
new directions, and, for example, hope to develop tools and techniques
to train mentors for the PoWs so that we can build them up in a
cost-effective way. Another avenue we hope to explore is using the
Math Forum and other digital libraries to study student learning. Now
that our energies are no longer focused on our reorganization, we are
ready to pursue many other collaborations with our friends and
colleagues and would welcome suggestions for joint endeavors.

As President Papadakis explained, we will be under the direction
of Harvill Eaton. Kristina Lasher is the Forum director, and Gene
Klotz will continue as the Math Forum's senior advisor.

Please change your bookmarks and any links you may use to our
site to:
http://mathforum.org/ .

Thank you for your past support and interest. We look forward to
hearing from you and continuing to work with you and the rest of the
community.

Sincerely,

Gene, Kristina, and the staff at the Math Forum @ Drexel

Please direct responses to [EMAIL PROTECTED]

-- 

Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]Proof Newsletter is on-line (Summer, 2001)

[Jerry Becker]

***
Sent at the request of Maria Alessandra Mariotti.
***

The summer issue of the Newsletter on Proof is on-line at

http://www-didactique.imag.fr/preuve

Contributions and comments are welcome.

Maria Alessandra Mariotti
Dipartimento di Matematica
Università di Pisa
Via Buonarroti, 2
56127 PISA
ITALY

Tel.  39 050 844 269
Fax  39 050 844 224
E-mail:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]
***
--
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[CPS Math]Position Announcement - Cal Poly Pomona, CA

[Jerry Becker]

ANNOUNCEMENT

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Director, Center for Education and Equity in Mathematics, Science, 
and Technology in the College of Science (tenure track). Doctorate in 
Mathematics Education or Science Education or in Mathematics, 
Biology, Chemistry, Geology, or Physics with experience in 
mathematics or science education at the K-12 level and knowledge of 
reform movements and national/state standards in mathematics/science. 
Evidence of teaching excellence and scholarly activities; tenure and 
rank open. Search will be open until filled. First consideration will 
be given to completed applications received no later than October 1, 
2001. Position starting date 01/02 or later by mutual agreement. Cal 
Poly Pomona is actively seeking to maintain its heritage and identity 
as a comprehensive center of education that serves a dynamic, 
culturally diverse region. Send letter of application, resume, copies 
of transcripts, and names and contact information for three 
references  to: Director Search Committee, CEEMaST, California State 
Polytechnic University, 3801 W. Temple Ave., Pomona CA 91768-4033; 
(909) 869-4063. http://ceemast.csupomona.edu EOE/AA
-
My apologies if you receive dupl.icates of this posting ... JPBecker
*
-- 
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[CPS Math]CORRECTION FROM ISBE

[Jerry Becker]

Title: CORRECTION FROM ISBE


Colleagues:

The web address for the ISAT results, given in my posting earlier
today ["Year-3 ISAT Scores Up"], is incorrect. The correct
one is  http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/2001ISATresults_files/frame.htm .

Sorry for the inconvenience.

All good wishes.

Jerry Becker
-- 

Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]Year-3 ISAT Scores Up

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Year-3 ISAT Scores Up


**
From the  ICTMlistserv  ...  Tuesday, September 4,
2001.
**
NEWS

Year-3 ISAT scores up; achievement gap
continues

 FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
FOR INFORMATION, CALL

September 4,
2001   (217) 782-4648

Springfield - Illinois students
posted higher scores in most areas on last spring's Illinois Standards
Achievement Test (ISAT) but the "achievement gap" between
white and minority students is still unacceptably wide.

State Superintendent of Education Glenn
W. McGee today released the third-year ISAT statewide results. Scores
from the first administration of the Prairie State Achievement Exam
will follow on Thursday. School districts must release their local
scores by October 31 as part of their school report cards.

"I am encouraged by this year's
results," McGee said. "I believe we are truly seeing the
Learning Standards have an effect in our classrooms," McGee
said.  "But while progress of any kind is good, we're not
progressing fast enough," he said.

The State Board will continue to give
local schools the resources, guidance and support needed to give every
student the kind of challenging educational opportunities that will
prepare them for life after school, McGee said.

Now, the entire education community -
educators, parents, students, community and business leaders and
legislators -- must work together to ensure access to those
opportunities, he said.

"These scores really start to give
us a clear picture for the first time of our schools' strengths and
weaknesses," McGee said. "We must as a community commit
ourselves to giving our students every tool they need to become
lifelong learners," he said.

Despite this relatively good news, McGee
reported that the achievement gap between students from low-income
backgrounds and their classmates, which is most clearly reflected in
the performance differences between minority and white students,
continues to be a major concern.

"Too many of our students are still
not making adequate progress toward meeting the Standards," McGee
said. 

For example, 64 percent of white,
non-Hispanic eighth graders met or exceeded state mathematics learning
standards. But only 19 percent of black students and 29 percent of
Hispanic eighth grade students posted comparable scores.

"It is unfair and unacceptable that
all of our students do not have the same educational opportunities and
access to the resources and support they need," McGee said.
"We must address the funding inequities to give all students the
opportunity to meet the rigorous Illinois Learning Standards," he
said.

Pointing out that this year's figures
again include results from students with Individual Education
Programs, McGee praised local schools for continuing to help all
students achieve the Learning Standards.

Much of this year's data strongly
suggests that the Learning Standards are beginning to take hold in
classrooms.

McGee was particularly pleased that
mathematics scores continued to rise at all three grades tested -
third, fifth and eighth.

In third grade, 74 percent of those
tested met or exceeded state mathematics standards, up from 69 percent
in 2000 and 68 percent in 1999.

The same pattern held for fifth graders,
of whom 61 percent met or exceeded math standards this year, compared
to 57 percent last year and 56 percent in 1999. Half of all eighth
graders met or exceeded math standards, up from 47 percent in 2000 and
43 percent two years ago. 

This year for the first time official
statewide results were reported on "extended response"
mathematics and reading questions that required multiple step problem
solving skills to answer.

Students learning to think through
complex mathematical problems - rather than simply using single-step
solutions like addition or subtraction - may have helped raise this
year's math scores, McGee said.

This is also the first year that at least
half of all eighth graders met or exceeded state standards in all
areas tested, McGee noted - 50 percent in math, 61 percent in writing,
and 66 percent in reading.

Fourth and seventh graders posted mixed
results on this year's science and social science tests. This was the
second year those subjects were assessed.

Fourth-grade science scores improved
slightly, with 66 percent of fourth graders meeting or exceeding state
standards. That is up two percentage points over 2000. However, 72
percent of seventh graders met or exceeded science standards, the same
as a year ago.

Students showed greater achievement in
social science at both grade levels. Sixty-one percent of fourth
graders met or exceeded state standards, up from 59 percent.

Reading scores remained about the same,
with about 62 percent of students across all grades meeting or
exceeding the state reading standards. Seventh graders improved at the
same pace, as 60 percent met or exceeded standards, compared to 58
percent in 2000.

I

[CPS Math]Paradox: Same system produces elites and illiterates?

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Paradox: Same system produces elites and
illiterates?


**
From Technology Review [MIT Enterprise], September, 2001.
See
http://www.technologyreview.com/magazine/sep01/reviews.asp . For
discussion, see 
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/08/23/1323238&mode=nested&threshold=2 [scroll down].
**

Re/Views:  Science Education Paradox

By David Goodstein
    
How can the same system produce scientific elites and
illiterates?

The United States by any conceivable measure has the finest
scientists in the world. But the rest of the population, by any
rational standard, is abysmally ignorant of science, mathematics and
all things technical. That is the paradox of scientific elites and
scientific illiterates: how can the same system of education that
produced all those brilliant scientists also have produced all that
ignorance?

The situation is not merely paradoxical; it's downright perilous.We
face an era that promises ever accelerating technological change in
every aspect of our lives, while at the same time the very survival of
our civilization may depend on our ability to make wise decisions
about how to manage our resources, our climate and our conflicts. In
the next century, we will need to be able to deal confidently with
technical issues, and a responsible electorate will need to have some
reasonable mastery of how the world works.

In these circumstances, an undergraduate major in science should be
the best possible preparation for any serious profession. Or, put
another way, the science major today should be what classical Greek
and Latin were in the 19th century, and the liberal-arts major was in
the 20th: the union card required to enter the professional world.
Unfortunately, the science education we have in place to provide this
union card could not be less suited to the task.

Science education in the United States today exists as a kind of
mining and sorting operation, in which we, the existing scientists,
cull through what comes our way, searching for diamonds in the rough
that can be cleaned and cut and polished into glittering gems just
like us. The rest are cast on the slag heap, left to fend for
themselves with no basic understanding of the sciences. The paradox of
elites and illiterates exists because our system of science education
is designed to produce that result.

The problem starts in grade school, where few children ever come into
personal contact with a scientifically trained person-including,
unfortunately, their teachers. In most of the United States the only
way you can graduate from college without taking a single science
course is to major in elementary education. And, it is said, many
people major in elementary education for precisely that reason. Our
elementary school teachers are therefore not only ignorant of science;
they are hostile to science. That hostility must, inevitably, rub off
on the young people they teach.

A few years ago, I was on a committee to look into how well the
"breadth" requirement-that all students take at least one
course in science-was working at one University of California
campus. We found that, of those students not majoring in a technical
subject, 90 percent were satisfying the breadth requirement by taking
a single biology course known informally among the students as
"Human Sexuality." Now, I don't for an instant doubt that it
was a useful and interesting course. It may even have tempted students
to do hands-on experiments on their own time (a result we seldom
achieve in physics). But I don't think it constitutes a sufficient
education in science for university graduates at the dawn of the 21st
century.

I also know a bit about what goes on at the secondary level
because in the 1980s I made an educational TV series, The Mechanical
Universe, that's still widely used in U.S. colleges and high schools.
There are about 24,000 high schools in the United States. Nobody knows
how many trained high school physics teachers there are (with, say,
the equivalent of an undergraduate major in the subject) but certainly
there are no more than a few thousand. I made The Mechanical Universe
primarily for the "crossover" teachers, those who teach
physics even though they weren't trained for it. It's a source of
great satisfaction that hundreds of teachers have thanked me for
making it possible for them to have successful careers. But guess
what? They tell me their greatest satisfaction is not in
preparing the rest of their students to thrive in an increasingly
technical world, but in finding those diamonds in the rough that can
be sent on to college to be cut and polished into real
physicists.

But nowhere is the problem more vivid than in graduate school.
Graduate students are the elect, those selected to go on to the final
stage of the mining and sorting operation. The average professor in a
research university turns out about 15 PhDs in the course of a career.
While the problem of scie

[CPS Math]Debate: Teachers pay -- PART II

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From USA Today (Arlington, VA) [Editorial], Wednesday, August 8, 
2001, p. A12. See
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/  (article must be purchased)
--
This is PART II, and final part, of a two-part posting.
***

Today's debate: Teachers pay

Money isn't everything

Opposing view: Summers off, desire to work with kids are often cited 
by teachers.

By C. Emily Feistritzer

One indisputable fact in American education is that the nation needs 
more and better teachers. But how to get them is a hotly debated 
topic. Several school districts and some states are offering various 
money incentives, such as higher salaries, low-interest loans, 
signing bonuses.

While nobody disputes that good teachers should be paid well, it is 
important to put the teacher salary issue in perspective. The bottom 
line: On a per-week or per-day basis, teachers fare well compared 
with their peers in other occupations.

The median weekly earnings of all college graduates age 25 and over, 
working full time, year round in 2001 is $919, according to the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The median weekly earnings for the nation's 99.9 million full- time 
wage and salary workers were $595 in 2001, according to the BLS. The 
average salary for teachers was $41,820 in 1999-2000, according to 
the American Federation of Teachers. Teachers, on average, work on 
9.5-month contracts, or 41 weeks, which would translate into earnings 
of $1,020 per week in 1999-2000.

Surveys show that money is not a critical variable in whether or not 
people become teachers or leave teaching.

The biggest reasons people give for going into teaching are "desire 
to work with young people" and "the significance of education in 
society." The biggest reasons they leave teaching are not because 
they don't make enough money, but personal reasons, such as having 
children, moving with a spouse and going back to college.

A big perk of teaching actually is "summers off." A 1995-96 survey of 
teachers conducted by the National Education Association showed that 
one-fifth of teachers gave "long summer vacations" as one of the 
three main reasons they originally decided to become a teacher and 
nearly 3 out of 10 gave summers off as one of the three main reasons 
they are presently still teaching.

Also high on teachers' reasons for teaching: job security; interest 
in their field of teaching; and sense of freedom in their own 
classroom.

While money may be important, there are clearly other lures to teaching.

C. Emily Feistritzer is president of the National Center for 
Education Information, a private research organization in Washington, 
D.C.
**
-- 
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[CPS Math]Debate: Teachers pay -- PART I

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From USA Today (Arlington, VA) [Editorial], Wednesday, August 8, 
2001, p. A12. See http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/  (article 
must be purchased)
-
This is PART I of a two-part posting. PART II to follow shortly.
***
Today's debate: Teachers pay

Schools discount the need to boost teachers' salaries

Our view [Editorial]: Offering freebies" only adds insult to 
disparaging pay gaps.

In Clay County, Florida, school officials persuaded local businesses 
to offer teachers discounts on everything from ice cream to pizzas. 
In Cleveland, teachers get free checking accounts from a local bank. 
In Cincinnati, it's free home-buying consultations and lower down 
payments.

Somehow, teachers have become the latest charity case. If you can't 
pay them a decent salary, give them gift certificates.

And the fact that school districts are shamelessly finagling these 
perks from local banks and businesses only makes it more embarrassing.

As schools prepare to open, a massive teacher shortage is 
spotlighting the need to attract top candidates to the field. But too 
few states are willing to pay the professional salaries needed to 
attract high-quality teachers.

While teachers in some states, such as Connecticut, New Jersey and 
New York, earn average salaries topping $50,000 for a nine-month 
year, teachers' salaries in states such as North Dakota and Oklahoma 
hover around $30,000.

In 2000, beginning salaries for teachers averaged under $30,000 
nationally, while the beginning salary for a similarly educated 
graduate launching a sales and marketing career averaged about
$38,000.

With experience, the pay gap only widens. Last year, the average 
teacher salary was $41,820, while a buyer for a department store had 
an average salary of $57,035. Most veteran teachers have a master's 
degree, which isn't required of buyers.

Clearly, discounted ice cream cones won't bridge that gap.

Instead, a series of steps is required to improve teachers' salaries 
-- across-the-board raises, bonus pay for new hires and extra pay for 
hard-to-fill spots such as math, science and special education. The 
final step for teachers reaching par with fellow professionals is 
performance pay based on the actual performance of each teacher. That 
will require some concessions from teachers, many of whom resist the 
idea of measuring their work.

Some states are taking the dramatic steps needed. Just last month the 
Mississippi legislators approved a $330 million plan raising the 
average teacher's pay to $41,000 by the year 2005-2006. That would 
boost Mississippi teachers' pay from its current national ranking of 
49th to 19th. Neighboring Louisiana has also approved a $2,000 raise 
for all teachers.

Not everyone is getting the message, however. In southwest Missouri, 
the Taney County school system just approved a $500-a-year raise. But 
that takes beginning teachers only from $18,000 to $18,500. In Taney 
County, the most a teacher can ever earn is $30,000. Sure, teachers 
don't work year round, but try surviving on $18,500, even in rural 
Missouri.

Yes, raising teachers' salaries is expensive. In Mississippi, it 
meant cutting the budgets of other state operations, including money 
for universities and community colleges. Louisiana is paying for its 
pay raise with precious gambling revenues.

But the day when teachers achieve pay equity with similarly educated 
professionals is the day when shortages of high-quality teachers will 
disappear. Until then, don't expect to attract high- quality teachers 
with the equivalent of a free coffee mug with every fill-up.
--
Text of Information Box:  Teacher pay grades low

A comparison of average salaries:

* Marketing manager: $71,010
* Advertising manager: $58,910
* Computer Programmer: $54,960
* Speech pathologist: $47,820
* Detective: $47,620
* Urban planner: $46,670
* Registered nurse: $44,470
* Sales rep: $43,260
* Insurance appraiser: $41,200
* Elem. school teacher: $39,560
* Social worker: $31,720
* Bailiff: $29,950
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1999]

-- 
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[CPS Math]Bill Cosby: Grade Schools Left Out

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Bill Cosby: Grade Schools Left
Out



From the Denver Post, Thursday, August 30, 2001. See
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,53~125818,00.html


Cosby: Grade schools left out

Comedian, author in town for teachers

By J. Sebastian Sinisi

Bill Cosby was in Denver on Wednesday not to plug a new TV show
or a book - both of which he has in the works - but to boost
elementary education.

Entertainer Bill Cosby, in Denver for a benefit for teacher
scholarships, recalls how his sixth-grade teacher in Philadelphia
showed him there was a bigger world beyond the public housing projects
he grew up in. Cosby stressed the need to focus more on elementary
education.
 
American education won't improve until the funding, support and
respect that's now limited to higher education goes to the lower
grades as well, he said during an interview.

Wednesday night, Cosby was scheduled to be the featured attraction at
an inaugural "Thank a Teacher" benefit dinner for teacher
scholarships, sponsored by the University of Colorado at Denver's
School of Education.

The dinner at the Adam's Mark hotel downtown was expected to net
$50,000 for scholarship funding, said UCD dean of education Tom
Bellamy, who initiated the dinner.

Cosby's focus on education dates to when a sixth-grade teacher in
Philadelphia showed him there was a bigger world beyond the
$33-a-month public housing projects he grew up in.

In a Wednesday interview, Cosby recalled Mary Forchic.

"She put her searchlight on me," he said. "And much as
I tried to steer that searchlight to some other kid, she wouldn't let
go."

"In the sixth grade," he added, "a kid has a small
picture of the world. Mrs. Forchic showed me a big picture."

Today's lack of respect for elementary teachers and their schools
began long ago, he said. "After the Russians launched the Sputnik
satellite in 1957, there was a big push for math and science. But that
push and money didn't make it to the lower grades. You also had most
education money going to new suburban schools and to teachers who fled
the city schools with 33 kids to a class."

One of Cosby's education activities has him returning to Temple
University, his alma mater, each summer to direct a program that has
older teachers working with classes of no more than eight at-risk
students.

"These are teachers who were burned out from being dissed all
their careers," Cosby said. "With the smaller classes,
they're blooming. So are the kids. And the teachers are finally
getting respect."

UCD's "Thank a Teacher" effort comes at a time of worsening
teacher shortages in Colorado - with 5,100 teacher positions open last
year, but only 2,600 new teachers graduated in the state, Bellamy
said.

"Teaching," Bellamy said, "is not a competitive sport
that lends itself to box scores. But home runs are hit in the
classroom, in private. This program tries to recognize some of those
home runs."

The program has its own website. Those who'd like to acknowledge a
teacher can log onto www.thank-a-teacher.com. Each tribute to a
teacher costs $100, tax-deductible.

Cosby, 64, started in comedy with a $5-a-night 1963 stage appearance
in a Philadelphia dive called The Cellar. His "Cosby Show"
had a TV run from 1984 to 1992, and his first two books,
"Fatherhood" and "Time Flies," were popular
parenting books.

In 1998, Cosby received a Kennedy Center Honors award for lifelong
contributions to American culture.

Cosby today produces the "Little Bill" animated series
on Nickelodeon and CBS for a generation of children who can't remember
the "Fat Albert" series, based on Cosby's boyhood buddies.
This November, his "Cosbyology" book will be published by
Hyperion.

-- 

Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]Parents object of education initiative

[Jerry Becker]

 From the NASSMC Briefing Service (NBS) that is supported by the 
National Security Agency
(NSA) and ExxonMobil Foundation -- Thursday, August 23, 2001. 
Original article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Wednesday, 
August 22, 2001 --  See 
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/today/news_b338b49d13ead054002b.html

Parents are targeted for education initiative

Corporations seeking to improve student achievement are funding a 
national ad campaign to encourage parents to get involved in their 
children's education. Eastman Kodak Co. contributed more than $1 
million for the creation and distribution of public service ads 
carrying such messages as, "Stay in touch with the teacher." The ads 
will be carried free by at least 25,000 stations,
publications and Web sites.

General Mills and the Department of Education are working together on 
ads reminding parents to save box tops to raise money for their 
schools. General Mills' Box Tops for Education program has raised 
more than $50 million for schools in the last five years.

The ads will be targeted primarily at African-American and Hispanic markets.

General Mills recently surveyed 1107 parents about their 
participation in their children's education. Half said they spend no 
more than 10 hours a week with their youngest school-age child. About 
the same amount said they belonged to their school's parent group.

"If they'd asked, they'd have found that no more than half of that 55 
percent actually go to meetings," said Joyce Epstein, director of the 
National Network of Partnership Schools.
***
-- 
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[CPS Math]The Story of American Public Education

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From Education Week [American Education's Newspaper of Record], 
August 8, 2001, Volume 20, Number 43, p, 20. See 
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=43media.h20&keywords=Education%20story 

***
Media

Education Story

By Andrew Trotter

The traditional American ideal of having a common school for all is 
being challenged by the increasingly diverse strategies being 
employed to educate the nation's children, according to "School: The 
Story of American Public Education," a new documentary to be aired by 
the Public Broadcasting Service next month.

The four-part series covers that change, and many other issues 
surrounding the evolution of public schools in American society.

In the first one-hour segment, the show-narrated throughout by the 
actress Meryl Streep - illustrates how the common school was used to 
forge unity among Americans earlier in the nation's history. Covering 
the years 1770 to 1890, it profiles the crusades of Thomas Jefferson, 
Horace Mann, and others to create a common system of tax-supported 
schools that would mix people of different backgrounds and reinforce 
the bonds that tie Americans together.

The second segment examines the public schools from 1900 to 1950, 
including the years when they assimilated millions of immigrant 
children, offering them a chance to become part of the American dream.

Issues of equality in education that emerged in the 1950s are taken 
up by the third installment, which advances the story to 1980. The 
segment includes interviews with Linda Brown, the Topeka, Kan., 
schoolgirl who gave her name to the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case 
striking down desegregation, and other equal- rights pioneers, 
including those who later struggled for gender equity in schools.

The final piece, which covers 1980 to the present, examines the 
fallout from the 1983 federal report A Nation at Risk, which shook 
public confidence in America's schools and sparked a new wave of 
policies intended to promote reform. And it explores the free-market 
experiments that ensued.

The series-a production of Stone Lantern Films Inc. in Glen Echo, 
Md.-will be marked by a public education campaign and community 
forums hosted by some public-television stations. It is scheduled to 
be broadcast Sept. 3 and 4, but viewers should check local listings 
for broadcast dates and times.

Andrew Trotter  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

PHOTOS: A documentary explores the evolution of American schooling.
-DeWitt Historical Society of Tompkins County, N.Y.

-- 
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[CPS Math]NCTM Regional Conf. - Madison, WI

[Jerry Becker]

***
Sent at the request of Rosann Hollinger  <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> .
***

2001 NCTM Central Regional Conference - Madison, Wisconsin

On behalf of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the
Wisconsin Mathematics Council, you are invited to attend and participate
in a great professional development opportunity, the Central Regional
Conference in Madison, WI!

Held in the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, designed by
the world renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the conference will
take place 11-13 October 2001.  Meet, mingle, and mathematize with
outstanding national, regional, and state mathematics leaders and
colleagues.  The conference is planned for teachers of mathematics in
grades K-16, curriculum planners, administrators, and mathematics
educators.

The 2001 Conference, Forward: Shaping the Future, will offer opportunities to
envision mathematics for the future and practical ideas for the present.  Come,
communicate, and collaborate!  Social events include a Wisconsin Tailgate Party
on the Rooftop (TH), Babcock Hall Ice Cream Sundae Reception (FRI), and Out
and About Super Sessions at the Farmer's Market on the Capitol Square
and in the State Capitol Building (SAT).

You may get a pre-registration form or lodging form by visiting the NCTM
website: www.nctm.org/meetings/registration or by Fax on Demand at 800-
220-8483, document #413 or by calling NCTM at 800-235-7566.   Lodging
can also be secured by calling 800-765-1726.

Note: Pre-registration ends September 14, 2001.  Don't delay -
Pre-registration saves you time and money!  After September 14,
registration is on-site only.

All indications are that the conference will be a fabulous opportunity
for growth and renewal.  So start making your plans now to attend the
NCTM Central Regional Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, October 11-13, 2001!

*
-- 
Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[CPS Math]850,000 children home schooled

[Jerry Becker]

 From Education Week [American Education's Newspaper of Record], 
August 8, 2001, Volume 20, Number 43, p. 12. See 
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=43home.h20&keywords=study%20estimates%20850%2C000%20U%2ES%2E%20children%20schooled%20at%20home
---
For another, longer article, see "Home Sweet School" (Cover Story) in 
Time, August 27, 2001  -- 
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101010827/cover.html . In this 
article it is reported that the average home schooler's SAT score is 
1100, 80 points higher than the average score for the general 
population


Study Estimates 850,000 U.S. Children Schooled at Home

By Catherine Gewertz

In the federal government's most comprehensive study to date of the 
nation's home-schooling population, a survey released last week shows 
that 850,000 children-1.7 percent of the school-age population-are 
being taught primarily at home.

Since the number of home schoolers has been growing, even more 
children could be studying at home now than were indicated in the 
survey, which was conducted in the late winter and spring of 1999 by 
the National Center for Education Statistics.

The study also found that home-schooled children are more likely than 
their traditionally schooled peers to be non-Hispanic whites, and 
that they have parents who have achieved higher levels of education.

The researchers attempt to paint the most authoritative portrait yet 
of the home schooling by the study's sheer scope-it was based on 
interviews with 57,300 households-and broad- based sampling methods, 
which counted children as home-schooled even if they attended school 
part time.

Stephen P. Broughman, a study co-author, said the report by the 
statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Education represents the 
government's most confident conclusions so far on the home-schooling 
world. Studies in 1994 and 1996 that showed a much smaller 
home-schooled population, he said, were constructed such that they 
produced questionable results. The 1999 survey was refined and 
broadened.

"These are the first numbers we're really standing behind," Mr. Broughman said.

For those who study home schooling as a movement, the report contains 
few surprises, serving largely to confirm much of what such experts 
already knew about the profile of home- schooling families.

"This study gives us a picture of home schooling as appealing to a 
broad constituency," said Mitchell Stevens, an assistant professor of 
sociology at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., whose book 
chronicling the home-schooling movement is due out this fall. "It 
suggests that by 1999, we had a movement that had come of age. It's a 
testament to the growing viability of home schooling as a practice. 
It's not just for fundamentalist Christians anymore."

The home-schooled population has been famously difficult to document, 
because of design flaws in such studies, families' philosophical 
reluctance to cooperate with surveys, and governments' inconsistent 
tracking. Some studies of home schoolers have put their numbers over 
1 million. The NCES authors acknowledge that using a survey similar 
to theirs, with a slightly different sample, could produce numbers as 
low as 709,000 and as high as 992,000.

Some advocates questioned the newest numbers. Scott W. Somerville, a 
staff lawyer with the Home School Legal Defense Association in 
Purcellville, Va., said the findings might have overlooked the many 
home schoolers whose parents would not answer a survey for 
philosophical reasons. Also uncounted, he said, would be thousands of 
home-schooling families who, because of their states' restrictions, 
operate as "private schools," and would describe their arrangements 
that way if asked.

Painting a Picture

The picture that emerges from the federal study of home schoolers 
shows a similar distribution of boys and girls and of family-income 
level as those in brick-and-mortar schools.

Differences in the two populations showed up in other ways. In race, 
75 percent of home schoolers were non-Hispanic whites, compared with 
65 percent of students in regular schools. Far more home-schooled 
children in the study were from families of three or more children 
(62 percent) than were those in public or private school (44 percent).

Home-schooled children also were more likely to be from two-parent 
families (80 percent) than were those in school (66 percent). More 
than half the home schoolers had one parent at home and one working 
outside the home, a situation that held true for fewer than one-fifth 
of families of children attending school.

Educational achievement differed markedly between families who home 
school and those whose children attend schools. A quarter of parents 
with home-schooled children had earned bachelor's degrees, compared 
with 16 percent of those whose children attended schools.

In detailing the reasons parents gave for home schooling

[CPS Math]Parents fault grading of kids

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Parents fault grading of kids


*
From the Chicago Tribune, Monday, August 27, 2001. See
http://chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0108270170aug27.story
*

Parents fault way schools grade kids

Some want return to A-to-F system

By Lisa Black

After years of watching schools experiment with various methods of
evaluating their children's work, Illinois parents are increasingly
asking educators to try something novel: A's, B's, C's, D's and
F's.

Letter grades may be old-fashioned, they say, but at least the
meaning is clear.

In many early elementary grades, today's report cards -- now sometimes
called progress reports -- offer gradual glimpses of children's
development instead of a hard-and-fast judgment. The trend has
accelerated recently as many districts revise them in response to
Illinois' new learning standards.

As a result, parents in Evanston, Mt. Prospect, St. Charles and
other Chicago suburbs have kicked up a fuss, saying it's hard to tell
from the new report cards whether their kids are doing well in
school.

"There's too much jargon," said Carolyn Laughlin, an
Evanston parent and private tutor. "If we want parents to open
the report cards and have good clear discussions with their kids and
their teachers, we have to play it straight."

Even in Chicago -- a holdout district that still provides letter
grades beginning with 1st grade -- a new standards-based report card
will be tried out in 60 elementary schools this fall.

Letter grades are not popular with most educators, who contend that
giving out an A, B or C presents only a subjective, limited picture of
performance, forcing teachers to combine different types of knowledge
and skills into a single assessment.

They prefer an approach toward measuring student achievement in which
they present a portfolio of each student's work, as well as a detailed
list of skills and how the child is progressing in each area.

For instance, a new 2nd-grade progress report to be used this
fall in Evanston/Skokie School District 65 lists 11 skills under the
subject of math, including "Understands basic concepts of
multiplication and division."

Teachers mark a box with a number from 1 to 4, with 1 defined as
"Not making satisfactory progress towards meeting grade level
standards," 2 as "Making satisfactory progress towards
meeting grade level standards," 3 as "Meets grade level
standards" and 4 as "Exceeds grade level
standards."

The Illinois learning standards, adopted in 1997, spell out what a
student should know at each grade level.

Laughlin, the only parent who served on a two-year committee that
studied report cards for the Evanston/Skokie district, likes the
detail of the new standards-based reports that will go home with every
child in the coming school year.

But she thinks a letter should summarize results beginning in the 4th
grade, instead of the 6th grade as decided. That put her at odds with
the nearly three dozen teachers who served on the committee and were
opposed to letter grades.

The Chicago Public Schools are unusual in that the system still uses
letter grades, even for very young children.

"Whether or not we'll let go of letter grades any time soon is
under debate," said Roberta Brooks, language arts manager for the
schools who has worked with a committee on report card revisions.
"Parents understand them. ... To move to a new point would take
many pilots."

It also would probably generate controversy. Educators have
learned to be careful before messing with report cards.

"I think we're all struggling with how do we report
accurately to parents and how do we get parents to understand what
we're talking about," said Inna Kerrigan, curriculum director for
Deerfield School District 109. The Lake County district will begin
reviewing report cards this school year.

Critics believe well-intentioned officials have softened report
cards too much over the years to avoid hurting a child's self-esteem.
In Evanston, District 65 used categories such as "developing"
or "emerging" to describe mastery of various subjects,
prompting some parents to complain that they didn't know their
children were actually trailing far behind.

The "developing" and "emerging" categories have
been omitted in the new progress reports. Still, "there's other
language used that's almost euphemistic," said Greg Klaiber, one
of two District 65 trustees who voted against the reports.

Educators suspect many parents oppose change because they want report
cards to look the same as the ones they remember. Some also seem to be
more concerned with how their child compares with his peers.

Locally and across the nation, report cards are hardly uniform. Nearly
every school district designs its own or contracts with a consultant
for a computerized program. Some software allows teachers to choose
from hundreds of pre-written comments to summarize the child's work.
Others consist only of narrative, pages and pages of

[CPS Math]Vouchers lose, public schools gain

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Vouchers lose, public schools
gain


*
From USA Today, Thursday, August 23, 2001, p. 1 A  See
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010823/3568998s.htm
*

Poll: Vouchers lose support, but public schools gain. Most choose
path of reform

By Tamara Henry

WASHINGTON -- Support for vouchers is waning across the USA while the
approval rating of public schools is at an all-time high, according to
a Gallup poll out Wednesday.

The poll, an annual survey for the Phi Delta Kappa professional
education fraternity, shows that 51% of U.S. adults give either grade
A or B to the schools in their community. It's the first time in the
33-year history of the poll that a majority of the public has given
grades this high, and it is an 11% increase since 1990, poll director
Lowell Rose said.

At the same time, support for the controversial voucher program,
which uses public money to underwrite the cost of students attending
private schools, continues its downward slide. Though 44% favored the
idea in 1997 and '98, the percentage dropped to 39% in 2000 and 34% in
2001. Instead of vouchers, 72% of Americans favor reform of the
existing system, up from 59% in 2000.

The high approval rating "should take the wind out of the
sails of opponents of public schools," says Sandra Feldman,
president of the American Federation of Teachers.

"These results also send a clear message to supporters of
unproven and highly questionable privatization schemes."

But Jeanne Allen, president of The Center for Education Reform,
questions the validity of the poll. She criticizes the selectivity of
its sampling and takes issue with the tone of the questions about
vouchers.

A total of 1,108 adults 18 and older were polled. The margin of
error was +/-4 percentage points. Rose, the poll director, cautioned
that the sampling included only 168 non-whites.

Blacks, strong supporters of vouchers in earlier Gallup polls, now
increasingly oppose them: 30% of blacks now like the idea, and 68% are
against it. In 1997, 72% of blacks supported vouchers.

Hispanics are more positive: 47% favor vouchers, and 50% oppose
them.

The poll comes as Congress is wrapping up its recess and resumes
negotiations over a Bush administration education program that omits a
voucher idea raised during the presidential campaign.

The poll also shows ambivalence on standardized tests:

* 44% say there is the right amount of such testing, 31% say
there is too much testing, and 22% say there's not enough.

* 53% favor the use of a single standardized test to determine
promotion from grade to grade; 45% oppose it.

* 57% agree with the idea of using the test to award a high
school diploma; 42% oppose it.
**
-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]SSMA: 100th Anniversary Meeting

[Jerry Becker]

***
NOTE:  October 1, 2001 is the registration deadline.
***

School Science and Mathematics Association

COME CELEBRATE SSMA's PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

100th Anniversary Meeting,  Chicago (Downers Grove), IL

November 1-3, 2001 (Thursday afternoon thru Saturday evening)

Register online now at 

* REGISTRATION INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING BENEFITS:

FOOD (2 breakfasts, 2 luncheons, "all-day" snack breaks, Friday 
banquet & Saturday dinner)

TOURS (choice of Fermilab facilities or the Science Education Center)

ENTERTAINMENT/KEYNOTERS (Math & Dance performance, Rodger Bybee, John 
Rennie, and Leon Lederman)

MANY OTHER "BIG NAME" SPEAKERS AND PANELS on mathematics and science education)

GOODIES (SSMA Members ATTENDING receive a free searchable CD pack 
(valued at $250) of over 12, 000 articles from the past 100 years of 
the widely-respected SSMA journal)

AND EVEN MORE SURPRISES . . .

The TOTAL VALUE of all registration benefits EXCEEDS $350 per person!

* REGISTRATION IS LIMITED TO THE FIRST 400 PAID APPLICANTS due to 
limited space for various gala events. Every attempt will be made to 
accommodate all registrants, but registrations will be numbered in 
order of receipt and a "first-come, first-served" system will be 
employed if necessary.

* There will be no on-site registration available.

* Non-members can join SSMA, preregister at member rates and receive 
the CD pack. The membership link is 
http://www.ssma.org/membership.html

Potential exhibitors and/or sponsors should contact Bill Hunt or 
Margie Raub-Hunt at 1-866-227-SSMA.

  

  The 100th Anniversary and Annual Conference of the School Science and
  Mathematics Association will be held at the DoubleTree Guest Suites and
  Esplanade Conference Center in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, IL on
  November 1-3, 2001. This historic meeting offers a number of unique and
  informative opportunities for professional sharing and growth with
  sessions dealing with topics of interest to both researchers and
  practitioners. The conference theme and format will allow us to explore
  the rich history of accomplishments in science, mathematics, and
  technology education, to examine our current efforts and issues, and to
  expand our thinking about possibilities for the next century.

  Our Thursday early afternoon "Kick-off" keynoter will be Rodger Bybee,
  Executive Director of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS).
  Other "special" sessions planned include Nobel Laureate, Leon Lederman, a
  visit to the Fermilab National Accelerator facilities including the
  Science Education Center, and a very special arts performance event on
  Thursday evening with "Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern - Two Men Dancing About
  Mathematics."  The Friday evening banquet will provide the setting for
  our 100th anniversary celebration. The speaker/entertainment will be John
  Rennie, the Editor-in-Chief of Scientific American. The evening is sure
  to be an enjoyable entertaining, and informative celebration with door
  prizes from the Association to the attending members.

  We will also have sessions focusing on the integration of mathematics and
  science, the past, present and future of science and mathematics
  education, and opportunities to honor long-time contributors to the
  mission and goals of SSMA.

  And, there will be lots of other surprises which will make attending very
  worthwhile! For example, every SSMA member registered for the conference
  will receive an anniversary gift from the Association -- most notably, a
  searchable CD pack containing all 100 years of the SSMA journal. This
  gift from SSMA is valued at over $250! This exceptional product is only
  available free of charge to those members attending the anniversary
  conference.

  We have negotiated an excellent rate of $89.00 (single/double) or $99.00
  (triple/quad) at the all-suite DoubleTree in Downers Grove. Call direct
  to the hotel at (630-971-2000) for room reservations. This hotel,
  centrally located between O'hare International and Midway airports, is
  right in the heart of the Illinois Science and Mathematics corridor and
  offers a quiet retreat for meetings such as ours. The property is located
  just north of the intersection of the East-West and the North-South toll
  ways and is only minutes from the large OakBrook and Yorktown shopping
  centers.

JOIN IN THE CELEBRATION. REGISTER ONLINE TODAY!

SEND IN YOUR REGISTRATION NOW -- BE A PART OF THIS EXCITING CONFERENCE.

http://www.ssma.org
***
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics

[CPS Math]How grading and "tracking" pay off.

[Jerry Becker]

Title: How grading and "tracking" pay
off.


*
From Business Week On-Line, Monday, August 27, 2001.  See 
http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/01_35/c3746030.htm
*

ECONOMIC TRENDS

By Gene Koretz

What Makes Sally Learn

How grading and "tracking" pay off

In the drive to improve the quality of U.S. education, it's often
assumed that shifting to tougher grading standards can enhance
learning, and that "tracking" -- putting high achievers in
separate classes -- hurts disadvantaged students. A pair of recent
National Bureau of Economic Research studies, however, suggest that
only one of these beliefs is borne out by the evidence.

In the first study, David Figlio of the University of Florida and
Maurice E. Lucas of the Alachua County (Fla.) school board analyzed
data on teachers, classes, report cards, and the annual statewide test
scores of all third-to fifth-graders in the Gainesville school
district from the mid- to late 1990s.
They were thus able to identify students in classes taught by
"easy" graders and those taught by teachers with tougher
standards more in line with objective test scores. They were also able
to see how moving from a lenient teacher in one year to a tough grader
the next affected such scores.

The study indicates that shifting to a class with high grading
standards significantly improves learning. And shifting from a tough
teacher to an easy grader retards learning by a similar amount. The
results hold up regardless of students' relative achievement levels
and racial or economic backgrounds.

The second study, by Figlio and Marianne E. Page of the
University of California, Davis, reassesses the benefits of tracking,
which is still practiced at many schools. Tracking advocates claim it
allows teachers to fine-tune their instruction, challenging the best
students and ensuring that poorer students get appropriate attention.
But critics argue that it harms low-aptitude students by limiting
their contact with high-achieving peers, and that less-capable
teachers are often assigned to the lower tracks.

Previous studies have generally concluded the critics are
correct. Figlio and Page argue, however, that such studies have
"bias selection" problems -- that is, the results are
affected by the likelihood that tracking attracts better students in
the first place. They get around this problem by looking at how a
national sample of comparable students in schools that track and don't
track fared on math achievement tests as they progressed from the 8th
to 10th grade.

Their surprising findings: There's no evidence that tracking
hurts disadvantaged and low-ability students, and strong signs that it
often helps them. While the reasons for this aren't clear, the authors
observe that schools that track tend to attract higher-income students
-- whose presence may result in greater school spending and other
resources benefiting all students.
***
-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]What can a flawed test tell us, anyway?

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From Newsweek [My Turn Section], August 20, 2001, p. 9. See 
http://archives1.newsbank.com/ar-search/we/Archives?p_action=search&p_theme=NWEC&p_product=NWEC&p_perpage=20&s_search_type=keyword&p_text_base=hal%20urban&p_sort=_rank_%3AD&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date%3AB%2CE&p_text_date-0=-1qzY&p_field_YMD_date-0=YMD_date&p_field_YMD_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_YMD_date-0=date%3AB%2CE&%5B+Search+%5D.x=54&%5B+Search+%5D.y=14
***

What Can a Flawed Test Tell Us, Anyway?

Many of my students won't even try to ace our state's mandated exams 
this year. I can't say I blame them.

By Hal Urban

While monitoring a test in my high-school U.S.-history class last 
spring, I was a bit surprised to find one of my most conscientious 
students doodling on his paper rather than filling in answers. I
was equally surprised when another of my honor-roll students 
completed a one-hour test section in a matter of minutes by answering 
every question with the letter c. Why would students who
consistently score 95 percent or higher on my exams deliberately tank 
this one? Their answer was as simple as it was logical: "This one 
doesn't count."

The test wasn't one of mine. It was part of the agonizing annual 
ritual that is mandated testing. Our school administration does an 
excellent job of working out the logistics of giving the six-day,
multi-subject test, and our teachers monitor it in a professional 
manner. We do everything we can to convince our students that the 
test is important. "Our scores will appear in the newspapers," we tell
them. "The public will judge us by what it sees," we add. And we 
plead with them to do the best they can. Many do, but too many don't 
even try.

Students want to know two things when a teacher announces an 
assignment: "Does it count?," and if it does, "How much is it worth?" 
They've grown up in a society that's founded on an
incentive-reward system. They've been conditioned to ask, "What's in 
it for me?" In the case of state testing, at least in California, the 
answer is nothing. Test scores do not affect a student's grade
and they have no bearing on graduation.

To make matters worse, there are significant problems with the exam 
itself. I read over the test while my kids were taking it, and in a 
discussion afterward many students confirmed my belief that it
hadn't measured the important things they'd learned in my class. 
There were questions about matters so trivial I hadn't bothered to 
teach them, questions that were poorly written, questions that had
two correct answers with instructions to choose one. Then there were 
the questions about facts so obscure that I couldn't have answered 
them.

One of my students called the test unfair. When I asked her to 
explain, she gave two reasons: "For one thing, we should only be 
tested on what we're taught. For another, there's no way to prepare
for this thing." While educators in some states are forced to follow 
rigid teaching "scripts" that cover only tested material, I wasn't 
given any guidelines. A few weeks before the exam, I asked the
vice principal if I could obtain a list of concepts and facts my 
students should be familiar with. She said no. The reason? If I had 
the list I would "teach to the test."

I guess I've been doing it wrong for the past 35 years. I've always 
taught to the test. Let's say I'm teaching a unit on the Great 
Depression. I give a pretest to find out what my students already 
know.
Then I give them a list of facts, terms, people and concepts they 
should be able to identify or explain at the end of the unit. In 
other words, I let them know what they're accountable for. No other
system would be fair.

Another major flaw with the test is that it's based on the assumption 
that "one size fits all." Research in education theory suggests that 
effective teachers are those who understand their students'
different needs and learning styles. In our school there are hundreds 
of advanced-placement students who are headed to the top colleges. 
There are also hundreds of students who are still learning the
English language. Why should they all take the same test?

Because I'm active in the character-education movement (the push to 
teach students positive behavior traits as well as academics), I 
attend conferences and speak at schools in more than 20 states each
year. It's the same everywhere. Educators under scrutiny from the 
public feel enormous pressure to get those test scores up. The days 
set aside for administering mandated tests (along with the
accompanying paperwork and schedule changes) eat into valuable class 
time. And all this to give kids a poorly worded test that doesn't 
count? It's no wonder they're exasperated.

The politicians, of course, love the testing. They can say they're 
"holding schools accountable." That has a nice ring to it, but it 
ignores a basic truth: no one test can measur

[CPS Math]ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS NEEDED - NCTM Paducah

[Jerry Becker]

Title: ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS NEEDED - NCTM
Paducah


Colleagues:

The Program Co-Chairs for the Paducah
[Kentucky] NCTM Regional Conference have indicated that additional
speakers are needed in the following areas:

.  Assessment
Strategies, particularly Grades 3-5
.  Algebra
.  Dynamic Software (visual tools) in
Geometry
.  Statistics
.  Special Education
   .  Learning Strategies
such as differentiation/inclusion, minority issues and related to
above
 
topics.

If you are interested in presenting in one
or more of these areas, or if you know someone that might be
interested, you/she/he needs to get a hard copy of the speaker
proposal form from one of the two people below [Sue Boren or Sharon
Schwarz], fill it out and then fax it to either of them. You can
request the speaker proposal form from them by e-mail, fax or phone.
In doing this, please provide the following information to
them:

Name
Regular mailing address [school/business
AND home]
Phone number [school AND home]
Fax number
E-mail address.

You can get the speaker proposal form from
either of the following:

Dr. Sue Boren [Program Co-Chair]
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Humanities 424
The University of Tennessee at
Martin
Martin, TN  38238-5049
Phone:   
731-587-7365   (New area code: 02/12/2001)
Fax:    731-587-1407  
(New area code: 02/12/ 2001)
E-mail:   
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

OR

Sharon Schwarz [Program
Co-chair].
1803 Hutson Drive
Cape Girardeau, MO  63701-3319
Phone: 573-334-8825  [H]
   573-651-2826  [O]
E-mail:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

**

Here is some information about the Paducah
NCTM Regional Conference, for your information.

WHAT:NCTM Regional
Conference on Mathematics

WHEN:   October
10-12, 2002

WHERE: J.R.'s Executive Inn, 
Paducah, Kentucky

WHO:    The conference is for all
teachers who teach mathematics PreK, K-12, Community
  College, College/University, teacher educators,
administrators and researchers. This
  includes special education and gifted
education.

NOTE: The first NCTM Regional Conference on
Mathematics held in Paducah was in November, 1993. It was a success
with an outstanding professional program. Nearly 2400 teachers
registered for the conference. Now there are new conference
facilities. The National Quilting Museum is located adjacent to J.R.'s
Executive Inn - we will be using its classrooms for some of our
conference sessions. One strand on our program will be quilting and
the mathematics of quilting. You will see this in our conference logo
later on. It is a very short walk from the conference facilities to
beautiful, quaint downtown Paducah with nice restaurants and
shops.
*
-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]NEA-AFT Partnership Approved

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From NEA Higher Education ADVOCATE, Volume 18, Number 8, 2001, p. 2.
***

FOCUS ON NEA

NEA-AFT Partnership Approved

The 2001 NEA Representative Assembly endorses formal, joint 
activities by nation's largest educators' unions.

NEA and the American Federation of Teachers have reached agreement on 
a partnership that provides a framework for the nation's two largest 
unions of educators to work together on common interests. Together, 
the NEA and the AFT represent more than 3.5 million educators, 
including nearly 200,000 in higher education.

Some 9,000 delegates at NEA's annual Representative Assembly voted in 
favor of the agreement on July 6, and the executive committee of the 
AFT ratified the agreement at its meeting on July 11. Each union will 
appoint 15 representatives to a joint council that will decide on 
partnership activities.

Projects that the partnership could undertake include: holding joint 
conferences; coordinating legal and legislative efforts at the 
national, state, and local levels; and fostering joint activity among 
constituency groups, such as higher ed, in each organization.

You can read all about the Representative Assembly and the NEA-AFT 
partnership at: www.nea.org/ra.

-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

For more information:
.

To search the archives:

[CPS Math]New Executive Director: NCTM

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From the NCTM News Bulletin, July/August 2001, Volume 38, Number 1, p. 5.
*

NCTM Announces New Executive Director

NCTM's Board of Directors is pleased to announce that James M. 
Rubillo became NCTM's executive director effective 1 August. Rubillo 
has been a mathematics teacher - at the high school, community 
college, and university levels - for 36 years. He is currently a 
full-time faculty member at DeSales University in Central Valley, Pa.

Rubillo brings a wealth of executive-level administrative experience 
to the job, including strategic planning, institutional assessment, 
technology implementation, and large-scale project management. He is 
well known in the mathematics education community and has served on 
the Board of Directors of NCTM and many NCTM annual and regional 
program committees. He is a frequent speaker at local, state, and 
national mathematics education meetings and was NCTM's interim 
executive director during the 1997-1998 academic year.

"We look forward to working with Jim as we continue our efforts to 
better serve our members and to make the vision of a high-quality 
mathematics education for every child a reality," said NCTM President 
Lee V. Stiff. Look for a profile of new Executive Director Rubillo in 
an upcoming News Bulletin.

-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

For more information:
.

To search the archives:

[CPS Math]Announcement: International Conference / JAPAN

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Announcement: International Conference /
JAPAN



Sent at the request of Prof. Moriya
Seiji. See http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/mes/first-announcement.html for
information.


The Third International Conference on
Mathematics Education and Cultural History of Mathematics
in this Information-Oriented Society

Bukkyo University, Kyoto,
JAPAN

July 24-27, 2002

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

WELCOME ADDRESS

You are cordially invited to participate in
"The Third International Conference on Mathematics Education and
Cultural History of Mathematics in this Information-Oriented Society"
(Abbreviated by MECHM) sponsored by Mathematics Education Society of
Japan.

Since 1986, we, scholars in China, Japan,
America, Germany and France, have been exchanging our studies at The
Five Nations Conference on Mathematics Education, and The
International Conference on the Cultural History of Mathematics. And
since 1998, these two international conferences have been held
together. The 1st Conference was held at Beijing Normal University in
China, 1998. The 2nd Conference was held at Beijing Academy of
Educational Sciences in China, 2000.

On the basis of our bright history, The
Third Conference will be held in Kyoto, Japan.
 
Organizing Committee

PURPOSE

In this information-oriented society, the researches in the fields
of mathematics education, cultural history of mathematics and
informatics are greatly advanced all over the world. In those affairs,
we decided the following themes according to the purpose of the
conference.

1. Research on mathematics education of
university, secondary school, primary school and
kindergarten
2. Research on "cultural history of
mathematics" and "history of mathematics"
3. Research on educational role of
informatics
4. Special activities

1.Cerebrating the 80th birthday of Prof.
Yokochi Kiyoshi
2.Forum on recent education in China

VENUE

MECHM will take place in Bukkyo University, which is a private
university. It takes about 15 minutes from the hotel to Bukkyo
University in a taxi. The official Language of the conference is
English.

COMMITTEES

Honorary Chairmen

Prof. Yokochi Kiyoshi (Visiting Professor /
Beijing Normal University, Japan)
Prof. Zhong Shanji (Beijing Normal
University, China)

Conference Chairman

Prof. Fujita Hiroshi (Tokai University,
Japan)

Scientific Advisory Committee: Under
negotiation.

Secretary General

Prof. Suzuki Masahiko (Osaka Kyoiku
University, Japan)
Prof. Liang Wei (Beijing Academy of
Education Science, China)

Organizing Committee
 
Chairman: Prof. Suzuki Masahiko (Osaka
Kyoiku University, Japan)
Vice-chairman: Prof. Kuroda Yasufumi
(Bukkyo University, Japan)
Prof. Hirano Yoichi (Tokai University,
Japan)
Secretary: Prof. Moriya Seiji (Kyoto
University of Education, Japan)

TIME TABLE

The conference is composed of the following
6 sessions.
S0: Plenary session (Keynote plenary
lectures)
S1 (Parallel session 1): Researches on
Mathematics Education
S2 (Parallel session 2): Researches on
Cultural History of Mathematics and History of
Mathematics
S3 (Parallel session 3): Researches on the
role of Informatics
S4 (Special Activity 1): Cerebrating the
80th birthday of Prof. Yokochi
S5 (Special Activity 2): Forum on Recent
Education in China

The day's program

The first day    Morning: Registration

Afternoon: S4 (Special Activity 1, including plenary
lectures)

The second day  Morning: Opening
Ceremony; S0
  
Afternoon: Parallel sessions S1, S2, S3
  
Evening: Reception party
The Third day   Morning: S0
 
Afternoon: Parallel sessions S1, S2, S3
 
Evening: S5 (Special Activity 2, including keynote plenary
lectures)
The Fourth day  Morning: S0
  
Afternoon: Parallel sessions S1, S2, S3
  
Closing Ceremony

CALL FOR PAPERS

Any participant has a chance of presenting his/her work by oral
presentation (about 15 minutes) or distributing his/her paper (within
4 pages of A4) at parallel sessions through the acceptance of 
Organizing Committee.
 
The participant who will present his/her
work by oral presentation or distributing his/her paper at parallel
sessions should send the registration form and the abstract (1 page of
A4) together to Secretary of Organizing Committee (Prof. Moriya
Seiji). The deadline is by the end of November 2001. Organizing
Committee will give the further information to him/her, as soon as
possible.
The paper accepted by Organizing Committee
will be presented at parallel sessions. We will give you further
information, as soon as possible after getting your procedure. We
shall send the second announcement to you in January 2002.

PROCEEDINGS
 
Organizing Committee will send to the participant Proceedings of
the conference.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS

The details of hotel accommodation will be explained by the Second
announcement.

REGISTRATION FEE

Regular
parti

[CPS Math]On-line staff-development for algebra teachers

[Jerry Becker]

Title: On-line staff-development for algebra
teachers


*
Information provided by Claran Einfeldt, Illinois State Board of
Education
-
To register for the course, contact Ann-Claire Anderson at
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or call (800) 972-2766 Ext. 203
*

ANNOUNCEMENT 

The Illinois State Board of Education's Statewide Mathematics
Initiative is looking for a few good algebra teachers--teachers who
are want to become even better at making algebra meaningful for their
students.  Selected teachers will participate in a 13-week online
professional development course exploring the pedagogy and practice of
teaching mathematics contextually. The Illinois teachers that
participated in the fall semester thoroughly endorse this course for
their colleagues.

Participants need:
 
.  reliable Internet access and an email address .
.  about 5 hours a week for online, asynchronous reflection
and discussion
.  an Algebra I class to try activities.

For more information, please contact Claran Einfeldt at
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or call (217) 558-MATH or Ann-Claire
Anderson at <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or call (800) 972-2766 Ext.
203.

Course Information

Purpose of the Course

The purpose of the course is to improve student achievement in
algebra by providing teacher education in effective contextual
teaching methods for algebra. This course will support teachers of
Algebra I in the following ways:

.  Provide hands-on activities and other contextual learning
strategies for the teaching of algebraic concepts.
.  Provide tools and practice that will help students
transfer their learning to real-world problems.
.  Build a supportive online community for sharing
information and issues related to the teaching of Algebra.
.  Familiarize teachers with teaching resources and
information available on the World Wide Web.

Rationale for the Course

Algebra I has become a watershed course for many; the students who
fail it often see it as the beginning of the end of their mathematics
education.  Many teachers have found that a contextual approach
helps students understand and gain proficiency in the use of algebra
concepts.  Teaching contextually involves relating algebra
concepts to familiar situations, involving students in active,
hands-on experiences, and helping them to transfer their learning to
new and unfamiliar situations.   For the teacher, a
contextual approach to teaching algebra requires a shift in thinking
and practice-from "stand and deliver" teaching to coaching
students toward a deeper understanding of algebra concepts.  This
course is designed to be taken by the practicing Algebra I teacher and
will provide new information, perspectives, and peer collaboration and
support. 

About this Course

Teaching Algebra Contextually is a 13-week course that can be
taken for college graduate credit (3 credit hours). The course will
require that teachers spend approximately 5-7 hours a week reading and
completing assignments and participating in online discussions. 
The course is based on a scheduled, asynchronous format; teachers can
participate online at their own convenience so long as they complete
each assignment-online discussion, reading, or activity-by its
scheduled due date.  Teachers should expect to log on at least
three times a week. 

In addition to the web-based component, there will be two
opportunities for discussions held via videoconference.  The
videoconferences will link teachers enrolled in this course with each
other and with their instructors. 

Teachers enrolling in this course must be teaching Algebra I when they
take the course.  Equipment needed to carry out any planned
activities will be kept at a minimum as much as possible. Teachers
will need to have access to a computer with Internet Explorer 4.x or
Netscape 4.x on a regular, preferably daily, basis.  They must
also use Adobe Acrobat Reader to open files, which can be downloaded
from the Internet. Instructions for doing that will be provided.

Characteristics of this Course

.  Asynchronous, scheduled
.  Cultivates an online community of learners
.  Focused on teacher change
.  Designed to take place over time
.   Integrates theory with teaching practice
.  Integrates pedagogy with content
.  Taught contextually to model the methods being
taught
.  Moderated to shift responsibility for learning to
students
.  Quality of learning is dependent on the quality of
pragmatic discourse and of moderator intervention to foster critical
thinking skills

Topics in Teaching Algebra Contextually

In addition to the active work involving contextual methods,
conceptual learning probes, activities, and unit development, four
major topics will be threaded throughout the course. The four major
topics and brief descriptions are listed below.

1. Coaching-Changing the role of the teacher requires new skills to be
learned by both teachers and their students. These skills include
questioning and listeni

[CPS Math]New school to instruct pupils--and teachers

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From the Chicago Tribune, Tuesday, August 7, 2001. See
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0108070148aug07.story?coll=chi%2Dnews%2Dhed
***

New school to instruct pupils--and teachers

New city academy offers training to education interns

By Meg McSherry Breslin

When a new Chicago public school opens next month, the kids won't be 
the only students. The teachers will be too.

On the site of the former Wright College on the city's Northwest 
Side, the new academy will aim to create a model for training 
teachers. The establishment of what is believed will be the first 
public laboratory school in the country reflects a growing 
dissatisfaction with the ability of universities to educate teachers 
in a practical, real-world way.

The school, The Chicago Academy, is the brainchild of Chicago venture 
capitalist Martin "Mike" Koldyke, who began his work with teachers in 
1985 when he founded the Golden Apple Foundation to spotlight the 
state's best teachers.

Koldyke has helped to gather what he considers some of the city's 
best teachers for the academy. In a sense, the mentor teachers will 
have two sets of students: the kids and a group of about 40 teacher 
residents, recruited from inside and outside education 
schools.Because two interns will be assigned to each class, the 
school will boast an 8-1 student-to-teacher ratio.

Some educators around the nation consider the academy a bold model to 
address a pressing issue in education: the training and retention of 
teachers, especially in large urban school districts. Some refer to 
it as a sort of training hospital, in which teachers will learn their 
craft on the job over a 10-month period, as opposed to the 12-week 
student teacher programs of many education schools.

"The uniqueness of this is that the training takes place at the 
school because there's a growing awareness that colleges and 
universities are limited for one main reason: They ask everyone to 
come to them," said Betty Castor, president of the National Board for 
Professional Teaching Standards and a member of the academy's board.

"The problem is that student teaching is generally shorter in term. 
Typically, you get, at best, half of a semester, and a lot of times 
it's less than that," Castor said. "But with this, you lengthen and 
transfer that whole process to the classroom."

Although some university laboratory schools employ a large number of 
student teachers, the academy's approach is fresh because it is a 
neighborhood public school whose key mission is teacher development, 
Castor said.

The academy is to open at 3400 N. Austin Ave. on Sept. 4.

The racially mixed neighborhood of Portage Park and Belmont-Cragin is 
attractive to Koldyke's team because it should allow teachers to get 
their training in a typical public school environment, not in a 
magnet school with a carefully selected group of students. The 
academy will serve the many Polish, Hispanic and African-American 
students who live nearby.

Spots filled quickly

Following two parent meetings held in the school this summer, the 308 
available pupil spots filled quickly. In the first year, the school 
will enroll pupils in prekindergarten through 4th grade. It later 
plans to expand enrollment through the 8th grade.

Educator Susan Friel, who enrolled her son in the school, liked the 
idea of enhancing teacher quality and developing future teacher 
leaders at the same time.

"I'm game for this because I think the only way to deal with the 
problem is to work at it from both ends," she said.

Top Chicago public school leaders also like the idea behind the 
academy because it fits with efforts to combat a mounting teacher 
shortage and relieve severe overcrowding in Northwest Side schools, 
some of which have resorted to use of mobile classrooms.

Chicago Public Schools is to open a similar teacher training academy 
in a South Side elementary school in fall 2002. But all that 
academy's student teachers will come from traditional teacher 
training schools. There also are plans for a teacher training academy 
in a South Side public high school in 2003.

The Chicago Academy also may provide Chicago Public Schools with some 
new governing models.
The academy is not a charter school but the city's first contract 
school. The Chicago Board of Education has contracted with Koldyke to 
operate the academy, but it requires that he follow the same rules 
and regulations of its other schools. The major exception is that the 
academy will be run by a board of professional educators and business 
leaders, not by a local school council. That allows Koldyke and his 
board to hire and supervise the principal and all other employees.

Koldyke plans to recruit some teachers from outside education, 
including graduates from fields with strong leadership qualities. 
That has some questioning whether it will truly be a model of teacher 
quality.

"The researc

[CPS Math]Testing slips in Wisconsin

[Jerry Becker]

**
 From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sunday, July 29, 2001.  See
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jul01/test30072901a.asp . Abstract 
below from the NASSMC Briefing Service (NBS) that is provided by the 
National Alliance of State Science & Mathematics Coalitions through 
grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation and the National Security 
Agency (NSA), Tuesday, July 31, 2001.
**

Testing slips from education  agenda

Policymakers in Wisconsin have been talking about a high school 
graduation test for several years. But it  looks increasingly 
unlikely that the state will adopt such an exam.

Former Governor Tommy Thompson was one of the  biggest proponents of 
a graduation test.  But Thompson has left the state to  serve as US 
secretary of health and human services.  This year, state 
legislators voted to postpone the test until 2004.

Lawmakers are put off in part by the $7 million annual cost of 
operating such a test. Neither Governor Scott McCallum nor
the new superintendent of schools, Elizabeth Burmaster, has made the 
graduation test a priority.

Under the current plan, high school  students will have four chances 
to pass the test, beginning in their  junior year. However, students 
will not be required to pass the test to  get a diploma. School 
districts will have to set new graduation  requirements beyond the 
test.
*
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

For more information:
.

To search the archives:

[CPS Math]Early preparaton in Alg. and Geom. Needed

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From the Denver Post, Friday, July 27, 2001. See
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,68~77868,00.html
*
Teachers angle for change

Educators say CSAP scores demonstrate need for earlier preparation in 
algebra and geometry

By Monte Whaley

American public schools have banned the paddling of students, 
declared war on bullies and put dodge ball on the hit list.

Some say another cruel ritual needs to be purged from this country's 
classrooms - the dumping of algebra and geometry in the laps of 
stunned and ill-prepared high school students.

"It's almost like shell shock," said William Schmidt, national 
coordinator of research for the Third International Mathematics and 
Science Study. "Here you are coming from dreadfully boring classes on 
arithmetic, and then suddenly you jump to a formal treatment of 
higher math."

Local teachers say that until U.S. students become better acclimated 
to algebra sooner - maybe as early as kindergarten or first grade - 
parents should expect to see more of the scores that emerged this 
week on the Colorado Student Assessment Program.

The exam was given to more than 50,000 10th-graders for the first 
time this spring. The results showed that 14 percent of the high 
school sophomores met or exceeded state standards.

Almost half the test questions involved algebra or geometry. But, 
officials pointed out, not all Colorado students take either subject 
before the 10th grade.

Some educators across the state have said the CSAP doesn't indicate 
the true depth of math skills among the state's high-schoolers. 
Juniors, for instance, did better than expected on the math portion 
of the ACT college entrance exam.

The difference is that the ACT is a multiple choice test, while the 
CSAP demands many written and thoughtful responses, said William 
Moloney, Colorado's commissioner of education.

He said the CSAP clearly shows Colorado 10th-graders are well behind 
youths in other countries when it comes to math reasoning.

"We now have very good evidence that we simply are not exposing our 
students to the same curriculum that is routine in other countries," 
Moloney said.

Students in Europe and Asia start beginning classes in algebra by 
sixth or seventh grade, when most U.S. students are slogging through 
basic math, Schmidt said.

And while students overseas have soaked in two to three years of 
algebra by the time they reach high school, many American freshmen 
are suddenly facing algebra for the first time.

"It's a recipe for disaster," Schmidt said. Many students never 
adjust and try to avoid more math.

The result is national embarrassment. The Third International 
Mathematics and Science Study, produced five years ago, found the 
performance of U.S. students in math consistently behind students in 
other industrial countries.

The fault partly lies in how schools have taught math, said Jean 
Klanica, a Cherry Creek High math teacher for 27 years.

"We segment our mathematics," said Klanica. "Typically, you start 
teaching algebra in the ninth grade and geometry in the 10th. That's 
not how math is taught outside of this country."

Colorado schools are taking the hint. They are starting to slip bits 
and pieces of algebra and geometry into the classrooms of much 
younger students.

Kindergartners, for instance, can be taught algebra with colored 
blocks, said Roberta Flexer, a retired University of Colorado 
education professor.

"When they place a blue block on the floor and a yellow block and a 
blue block and a yellow block and then - "What do you think comes 
next?'" Flexer said. "Pattern is the beginning of algebra."

Exposing students earlier to algebra is slowly improving math scores, 
said Sharon Simpson, who helps elementary school teachers beef up 
math instruction.

"I think we are all working toward getting more opportunities for 
kids to gain a conceptual understanding of math," Simpson said. 
"We're moving away from the notion that math is just arithmetic and 
computation."

-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

For more information:
.

To search the archives:

[CPS Math]Gains in Math & Science in Big Cities

[Jerry Becker]

June 28, 2001   [NSF PR 01-53]

Media contact: Bill Noxon / (703) [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Program contact: Costello Brown / (703) [EMAIL PROTECTED]

 BIG CITY STUDENTS MAKE GAINS IN MATH
 AND SCIENCE, REPORT SAYS

  Eight years ago, the National Science Foundation (NSF)
undertook a bold initiative to encourage and invest in system-
wide reform of K12 mathematics and science education in some of
the most disadvantaged urban school systems.   Students in these
systems were performing poorly in mathematics and science, with
wide gaps evident between minority and majority students.  NSF
introduced Urban Systemic Initiatives (USI) to enable cities to
implement wide-ranging reforms through standards-based curricula,
professional development for teachers, and accountability for
achievement through data collection and assessment.

  Now, an external evaluation team reports some dramatic
payoffs to these investments.

  Academic Excellence for All Urban Students, a summary report
on urban programs making up NSF's Urban Systemic Initiatives
(USI), shows that students in the majority of the 22 cities where
school systems undertook reform efforts are   making progress in
several areas.

  The report is part of a larger, ongoing NSF-funded
evaluative study by Systemic Research, Inc.  The study has found
that in most of the USI cities, students are taking more math and
science courses and increasing achievement levels, demonstrated
through various assessment tools.  Minority students, meanwhile,
are making even greater gains in enrollments and performance,
reducing the "achievement gap" between themselves and majority
students.

"These results are encouraging because they show that all
students, no matter what their backgrounds or surroundings, can
tackle challenging mathematics and science courses," Rita
Colwell, NSF director, said.  "These preliminary indicators give
insights into what can happen when school systems use investments
wisely to support system-wide policies for learning, to develop
capabilities of teachers, and to connect with the community
through partnerships. Great returns on those investments are
possible when all of the pieces fit together."

 The findings of the report are accompanied by approximately
800 pages of data summaries that the study's principal
investigators developed into a set of "urban school key
indicators of science and mathematics education. " Published on a
CD ROM, the study data, which cover USI cities' participation
through 1999, will be updated in August for the 2000-2001
academic year.

 "This is not a complete analysis, but it is a good beginning
for cities to gauge what can be done," said Judith Sunley, NSF's
interim assistant director for education and human resources.
"It takes more than 12 years to educate a young person for high
school graduation, so it is a long-term process to evaluate
complete system-wide change. But we are noticing that the longest-
running, most highly-invested-in urban systemic programs are
making the greatest gains in math and science achievements."

  NSF has invested heavily in Texas, for example, more than in
any other state for a combination of statewide and urban system
programs in math and science education.  And because of
the many partnership activities with universities and industry, the
investment has had a major multiplier effect.   According to Academic
Excellence for All Urban Students, all of the urban programs in
Texas have shown much improved assessment results in math and
science at the eighth grade level.  And in El Paso, there has been a
dramatic reduction in the achievement gap between the largest minority
group studied, Hispanics, and white students.

 Sunley explained that the value of this report and of
ongoing targeted studies  is in the lessons these urban programs
will provide as NSF continues to evolve its approaches to K-12
mathematics and science education.

  "This is a story of school systems willing to do the work
and take on the risks of change," she said. "The report indicates
this is showing results."

   -NSF-

For more information on NSF urban system reform, see:
http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/ESR/usp.asp
http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/ESR/driver.asp

NSF is an independent federal agency which supports fundamental
research and education across all fields of science and
engineering, with an annual budget of about $4.5 billion.  NSF
funds reach all 50 states, through grants to about 1,800
universities and institutions nationwide.  Each year, NSF
receives about 30,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes
about 10,000 new funding awards.
***
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]CA: Teachers reject test score bonuses

[Jerry Becker]

Title: CA: Teachers reject test score
bonuses



From the San Francisco Chronicle, Monday, July 30, 2001, p. A1.
See
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2001/07/30/MN224526.DTL&type=printable


Teachers rejecting test score bonuses

Hundreds donate 'bribe' in protest

By Nanette Asimov

In a remarkable twist, Gov. Gray Davis is handing out extra money, and
hundreds of teachers are turning him down.

Teachers at more than 4,800 public schools won bonuses totaling $350
million this year for raising Stanford 9 test scores by a specified
amount.

But hundreds of them -- in San Francisco, Piedmont, San Jose and
elsewhere across the state -- are putting principle above their meager
pocketbooks by donating the dollars to scholarships, programs and
charities. The average starting salary for teachers hovers in the
mid-$30,000 range.

Backed by the influential California Teachers Association, the
teachers say the $591 bonuses -- about $400 after taxes -- are nothing
short of bribes that pit colleagues against each other and force them
to place undue importance on a multiple-choice test.

"This bribe money suggests that teachers have somehow been
holding out on their students in order to get test-score-related
compensation," says a statement by the faculty of Wildwood
Elementary in Piedmont. "It is merely a trap for teachers,
designed to keep them quiet in the face of a scheme that only
masquerades as school improvement."

This sizzling assessment comes at a time when Piedmont teachers
feel stung by lower-than-average salaries and, like many instructors
across the state, irritated that several weeks each year must be
devoted to the numbing drill and practice required to prepare for
hours of multiple-choice testing.

REWARDS FOR ALL

>From the governor's perspective, the rewards are key to raising
California's abysmal test scores. For the first time this year,
schools and employees became eligible for rewards in exchange for
higher scores.

The state set aside $677 million so that students, schools, teachers,
principals and even secretaries and janitors could win money. One set
of rewards gives $5,000 to $25,000 to individual teachers at
low-performing schools that make the greatest gains. Those prizes have
not yet been paid, so it is not known if any teacher would forgo such
a windfall.

"It's a competition," said Patrick Chladek, who manages the
state's rewards program. "It's not meant to go to schools in need
as much as schools that have shown the most gain in scores."

For many teachers, however, there is no joy in a competition that
relies on the Stanford 9 exam which many see as a poor measure of
achievement, or that requires vying against other hard-working
teachers hampered by poorly funded schools.

Since May, the Wildwood teachers in Piedmont have urged colleagues to
donate bonuses to the Oakland Public Library Foundation's PASS!
program, in which children get homework help from older teens, or to
the Museum of Children's Art in Oakland.

So far, the campaign has netted $2,521 for PASS!, $2,625 for the
museum and $1,432 to other charities.

Nine teachers at San Francisco's top-scoring Lowell High School
have recently set up a scholarship program for students at city
schools that did not raise their scores enough to win the money. A
handful of teachers have donated $1,691, but the campaign will begin
in earnest when school opens, said Dennis Kelly, the English teacher
leading the effort.

TEACHERS UNEASY

"The reward money gives teachers a feeling of uneasiness,"
said Kelly. "Every teacher I know works hard to help students
succeed. If we've been more successful at Lowell, or had more
motivated students, does that make our efforts more
worthwhile?"

Elsewhere, teachers have expressed similar feelings. An El Dorado
County instructor called the rewards "blood money." High
school teachers in San Diego County donated their bonuses to charity,
as have teachers throughout Santa Clara County.

Davis' education secretary, Kerry Mazzoni, defended the rewards as
"helping teachers focus and improve."

But she agreed that the rewards depend on a test that largely fails to
test students' knowledge of California's rigorous academic standards,
particularly in math and history.

"We want teachers to teach to our standards," Mazzoni said.
"We know there's been a problem. So we're trying to streamline it
and make it more meaningful."

State lawmakers are expected to approve changes in time for the
next round of testing in spring 2002, increasing the number of
questions that match the state's academic standards and reducing those
that don't.

LAST YEAR FOR CURRENT TEST

Next spring will also be the final year of the Stanford 9, which has
used identical questions since 1998. Many teachers say they know its
contents so well that they are able to teach precisely what is on the
test. State officials will negotiate a new testing contract for
2003.

As fo

[CPS Math]Schools left dry by retirements

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From the Chicago Tribune, Sunday, July 29, 2001, p. 1, 10. See 
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0107290404jul29.story?coll=chi%2Dnews%2Dhed
 
OR
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0107290404jul29.story?coll=chi%2Dnews%2Dhed
 

*

Schools left dry by wave of teacher retirements

By Evan Osnos

WINTHROP, Mass. -- The teacher-retirement party in the local school 
district ran long this year. After all, there were 13 retirees and 
six times the usual number of farewell toasts, including one to all
six teachers in the high school's math department.

Up the coast in Ipswich, 12 teachers retired in a small school 
district that had averaged one retirement a year. In nearby Everett, 
five retirements doubled the high school's average.

This summer has brought a landslide of teacher retirements nationwide 
as the first Baby Boomers reach pension eligibility at age 55. The 
milestone signals a long-feared exodus that promises to
aggravate shortages and claim up to half of today's 2.8 million 
public school teachers by 2010.

The rising wave of retirements is a particular strain on small towns 
such as these in northern Massachusetts, because they have less money 
to lure replacements. But this year's retirements have also
claimed 4,286 teachers in New York City, more than the previous two 
years combined. Faced with similar figures, legislators in at least 
14 states have, or are considering, measures to entice recently
retired teachers back to the classroom.

Though the Baby Boomers have drifted through teacher ranks for three 
decades, the burst of retirements has caught many districts without 
remedies. A new school year starts in roughly a month, and
many districts, from tiny Winthrop to New York City and Chicago, 
still face vast teacher shortages.

"It was a kind of massive shortsightedness by policymakers at many 
levels," said David Haselkorn, president of Recruiting New Teachers, 
a non-profit national teacher recruiter in Belmont, Mass.

"Now the issue is front and center nationally. Districts have 
tended--particularly large urban districts--not to deal with it until 
it is right in the headlights," he said.

Desperate measures

Chicago Public Schools officials still hope to hire 3,000 teachers by 
the end of August, in part through recruiting overseas. In 
Massachusetts and other states, school officials are resorting to
unlicensed instructors and substitutes.

The retirement of Baby Boomers, the 76 million people born from 1946 
to 1964, is hitting education harder than other industries, according 
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is because the
demand for teachers and administrators soared in the 1960s, then 
slowed in the '70s as birthrates climbed and tapered off.

As a result, America's teaching corps has grayed all at once. The 
median teacher age rose from 33 to 44 from 1976 to 1996, according to 
the National Education Association.

Teacher pensions also encourage early retirement. Public school 
teachers generally retire earlier than workers in private industry, 
often after 30 years of service. On top of that, many states 
accelerated
pension systems in the 1980s and early '90s, hoping to cut budgets by 
pushing highly paid teachers toward retirement.

In 1998, Illinois officials adjusted the retirement formula for 
educators to match other states, and allowed teachers and 
administrators to retire an average of four years earlier with a top 
pension.

The wave of retirements comes just as Baby Boomers' children and 
grandchildren are fueling growth in school enrollment. These dual 
strains on the workforce mean the United States needs to hire
220,000 new teachers annually for the next decade, according to the 
federal government's National Center for Education Statistics.

By contrast, the annual need for teachers in 1992 was 156,000.

The burden of finding new teachers falls to people like Winthrop 
Supt. Tom Giancristiano, who must lure recent graduates and people 
from other professions to fill 15 vacancies in this bedroom
community outside Boston.

"We are struggling. I've lost people in the hardest areas to 
fill--math, science, special ed," Giancristiano said. "And it is 
impossible for us to compete on salary [with larger districts], so 
you get some
and then lose them right away."

Massachusetts schools face particular hiring problems this year 
because the state passed a pension-enhancement bill a year ago that 
persuaded 1,800 teachers to cash out their benefits early, in addition
to 1,300 retirements expected under the previous pension system.

Demographics are not the only culprit. Education analysts, union 
officials and teachers say teachers' enthusiastic departure from the 
classroom reflects broad disillusionment among the country's
senior educators, who have come to resent mounting scrutiny and criticism.

Burned out and frustrated

"I think a lot of teachers are honestly burned out," sai

[CPS Math]National PTA Position on Testing

[Jerry Becker]

Title: National PTA Position on
Testing


***
From the MathematicallySane website, see 
http://www.pta.org/programs/bbtesting.htm
-
For position statements on testing from other professional
organizations, see
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/analysis/highstakes.htm 
[look at end of statement]
***

National PTA Background Brief: Testing

Background

Federal, state and local education reforms have been emphasizing the
need for challenging academic content and performance standards, which
outline what students should know and when they should learn it. As a
result, nearly every state now has such standards in at least math and
reading. Progress in developing accountability systems, to measure
whether all children are meeting standards, and in aligning the
assessments to the teaching and curriculum, has been slower with
uneven results.

Currently, more than half the states test students annually in reading
and math at two or three grade levels, but only 15 administer math and
reading assessments for students in more grades than that. Finally,
while most states currently require public reporting of student
assessment results, only a handful disaggregate the data by ethnicity,
gender, socioeconomic status, or other factors as they are
required.

In addition to standardized testing at the state level, 41 states
voluntarily participate in the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP), which offers a sampling of how students are
performing in reading and math in 4th and 8th grade. In the 1980s and
1990s, efforts to expand upon NAEP and develop a national test for
measuring individual student progress and comparing local schools and
school districts were unsuccessful. Former president Clinton called
for voluntary
national tests (VNTs) to evaluate the reading skills of 4th graders
and the math skills of 8th graders against national standards but this
effort did not succeed.

Now, the testing issue is again in the forefront of the debate.
President Bush has made annual testing a major component of his
comprehensive education plan entitled, "No Child Left Behind,"
and has called for all states to participate in the NAEP assessments,
essentially making it no longer voluntary.

The testing issue is a topic of national debate and remains fraught
with controversy. For example, proponents of national testing say:

.  Parents want information about how their children compare on
national and international standards. A national test linked to
national and international standards will provide this
information.
 
.  Using the NAEP structure makes sense because the NAEP
standards are already in place, and therefore new national standards
do not have to be developed.
   
.  A publicly developed test with public accountability such as
that developed by NAEP is superior to commercially developed
tests.
 
.  The national test is voluntary, and states and local school
districts will retain the control over whether to administer the test,
or if their curriculum is compatible with the test.
 
.  The tests can contribute to inducing changes in state and
local curriculums that will serve to reform the instructional
program.
  
On the other hand, those concerned about voluntary national testing
say:

.  Students are required to take tests without schools being
given the additional resources needed for staff development,
curriculum materials, and student support services.

.  As proponents of local control, any attempt to make tests
national would reduce the amount of input parents and others have at
the local level.
   
.  There is no clear objective for having a national test. Some
say the objectives are to compare results to national and
international standards, some say to drive change in the curriculum
and instructional program, and some say to provide high stakes
measurements to evaluate both teachers and students. Each of these
objectives requires a different kind of test treatment.
   
.  If states and local school districts will have to pay for the
test after the first year, how will poor school districts be able to
afford the test? If they can't, what effect will this have on national
results if poor students' scores are not reflected in testing
data?
  
.  If the NAEP framework is used as a high stakes test, such a
proposal would end the usefulness of NAEP as a monitor of educational
outcomes because obtaining individual scores annually would lead
teachers to teach to those tests.
   
.  The federal government is indirectly trying to create a
national curriculum and override the many decisions made by state and
local school districts.

National PTA Position

The National PTA supports nationally agreed-upon voluntary edu

[CPS Math]With school testing, still unresolved questions

[Jerry Becker]

 From the Washington Post, Tuesday, July 24, 2001, p. A 3. See 
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4043-2001Jul23.html . 
Abstract below from the NASSMC Briefing Service (NBS) that is 
provided by the National Alliance of State Science & Mathematics 
Coalitions through grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation and the 
National Security Agency (NSA). Received Thursday, July 26, 2001.


With School Testing, Unresolved  Questions

The proposed school accountability measures under negotiation in 
Congress would have marked nearly every  school in Texas and North 
Carolina as 'failing' at some point between 1994  and 1999.

That's according to a new report that analyzed  standardized test 
scores in North Carolina and Texas between those years.  The 
researchers found that 96 percent of the schools in those states 
would  have faced some sort of sanctions or corrective action under 
the plan  passed by the US House. The Senate version, though slightly 
less stringent, would have resulted in similar sanctions.

Both plans would define some schools as 'failing' based on reading 
and math scores. But the researchers argue that because test scores 
are so volatile from year to year, any  accountability plan based on 
such short-term fluctuations is bound to  fail. The researchers were 
Thomas Kane of Stanford University, Douglas Staiger of Dartmouth, and 
Jeffrey Geppert of the National Bureau of  Economic Research.
*
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[CPS Math]Inflating grades deflates education

[Jerry Becker]

 From The Columbus Dispatch [Dispatch.com], Saturday, July 21, 2001.  See
http://www.dispatch.com/news/editorials01/july01/774140.php

Opinions / Letters

Inflating grades simply deflates education

By William Bainbridge

In one of this area's most poverty-stricken neighborhoods is a high 
school where the norm is low attendance and bottom-of- the-barrel 
scores on achievement tests, college entrance examinations and Ohio's 
proficiency test. But the school reports a high grade-point average.

Conversely, in an affluent Columbus suburb sits a school where 
students enjoy the advantages of well-educated parents and a 
well-heeled support system. In this school, the test scores rank with 
the nation's elite, but the grade-point average is lower.

Research suggests that this picture is more the rule than the 
exception. Data show that schools with low achievement generally have 
a higher grade-point average than schools with high achievement.

Grade inflation is defined as an increase in grade-point average 
without a corresponding increase in achievement. Grade inflation 
results from low expectations by teachers who reward inferior student 
work. And researchers have concluded that grade inflation may be 
getting worse. ACT, the Iowa-based college-entrance examination 
organization, compared the scores students earned on the ACT with the 
grade-point averages the students reported when they registered to 
take the test.

Researchers consistently find that students accurately report their 
grades. Using records of more than 2.6 million students in more than 
5,000 high schools for a five-year period, they divided the schools 
into 10 groups according to the schools' average ACT composite 
scores. They then examined trends within groups, and found that ACT 
scores remained stable while grade-point averages rose consistently 
over the five-year period. More alarming, they found evidence of 
grade inflation in all groups.

Just a few years ago, the U.S. Department of Education reported that 
A students in high-poverty schools scored about the same level in 
reading as C students in schools serving students from affluent 
homes. In math, they scored about the same level as D students in 
most affluent schools.

According to the College Board, the percentage of high- school 
students taking their SAT-I with A+, A and A- grade-point averages 
has risen to nearly 40 percent from 28 percent in the past 12 years. 
During the same period, SAT-I scores fell an average of 12 points on 
the verbal section and 3 points on the math section.

In the process of conducting hundreds of audits throughout the 
country, SchoolMatch has found a close relationship between low 
student achievement and high grade-point averages in the high-school 
years. SchoolMatch Advisory Board Chairman M. Donald Thomas, former 
education adviser to the governors of three states and superintendent 
emeritus of the Salt Lake City Schools, points out that while one 
would expect high grades to indicate high achievement, the reverse is 
found in most high schools.

"Grade inflation is particularly extensive in high schools with a 
high percentage of disadvantaged students,'' Thomas told a national 
audience of school administrators. "This indicates clearly that 
expectations for students are very low, and standards do not match 
those of testing agencies.''

He is concerned that students in such environments receive inferior 
instruction and get good grades for mediocre work.

High schools in large cities and poor rural areas have the worst 
grade-inflation problem. While scores on nationally normed tests may 
be in the average range, grade- point averages tend to be about a B+ 
in many schools serving students from disadvantaged homes. If the 
grade-point average were to mirror the results on test scores, these 
schools should have a GPA of about 2.0, or C average.

While grade inflation may make teaching and pacifying parents and 
administrators easier, it provides a low-quality education. Insisting 
on more accurate grades requires intensive evaluation of student work 
and a greater variety of learning experiences.

Students learn more when grades and achievement are equal. Good 
teachers have high expectations that motivate students. When asked 
why grades are inflated, most teachers respond that they don't want 
to have problems with students or parents. In a recent study in 
California, one school system rewarded teachers based on grades they 
distributed: The higher the grades, the more likely the teacher to 
receive kudos or a bonus. And many students and parents demand good 
grades, whether they are earned or not.

Many people believe that high grades will enhance chances for a 
higher education. But admissions officers focus on class rank, test 
scores and students' activities, none of which is aided by inflated 
grades.

Grade inflation inhibits learning at many leve

[CPS Math]CommissIon supports national testing

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From the Philadelphia Enquirer, Sunday, July 22, 2001. See
http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/07/22/national/ECS22.htm
***

Commission backs national testing

By Dale Mezzacappa

Governors and school leaders from across the country met here last 
week as Congress began crafting the final version of President Bush's 
education agenda - one that makes unprecedented demands on states and 
schools.

At the annual conference of the Education Commission of the States, 
there was agreement about Bush's goal to measure achievement by all 
children regardless of background.

But there was also concern that the plan expects too much too fast, 
could wreak havoc on states' existing testing systems, and cost money 
the federal government doesn't provide.

More fundamentally, several policy-makers said the plan relied too 
heavily on annual testing and not enough on additional resources for 
the building-blocks of good education, especially teacher quality.

The Bush agenda was termed a "revolution" by his secretary of 
education, Rod Paige, in a speech to the group Thursday night.

The major issues yet to be worked out by Congress are funding levels 
for programs such as teacher training and the stringency of the 
accountability system.

Some attending the conference expressed fear that the proposed goal - 
100 percent proficiency in math and reading by all students in 12 
years - is unrealistic. And the mandate that all groups make 
"adequate yearly progress" has some worried that well-regarded 
schools will be branded failures because their minority and poor 
students may not keep pace.

The plan requires states to test students in each grade from third 
through eighth and to sanction schools in which students don't make 
progress. Schools that fail three years running can be reconstituted 
with new staff and parents could use federal money to send their 
children to other public schools or for private tutoring.

"I'm not afraid of standards and accountability," said Delaine 
Eastin, California superintendent of public instruction. "But you do 
not fatten a hog by weighing it more often. There's too much focus on 
testing and not enough on teaching."

Eastin, an elected Democrat in a state that educates 12 percent of 
the nation's students, said it was disingenuous "to say you're 
focused on high standards for all kids when some are in schools that 
are clean, well-lit, air-conditioned and safe with fully credentialed 
teachers while others . . . [are] in dreary, dilapidated and 
dangerous buildings with teachers who have emergency credentials. To 
expect them to do as well is almost un-American."

But Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, also a Democrat, said that he supported 
the plan. "Those who fight assessment are wrong," he said. "We must 
have objective measures of learning. We're out of excuses for not 
making progress."

Georgia, he said, is phasing in a system that tests students from 
kindergarten through eighth grade. And he's all for keeping track of 
data by ethnic group, income level and gender.

"We have to make sure all groups are learning," he said.

However, Eastin said, states afraid that too many schools won't meet 
the strict standards could simply lower the bar.

"If we build the system the way we're building it, it could result in 
exactly what we don't want, incentives for having low expectations," 
Eastin said.

While support for the Bush agenda is bipartisan - with politicians of 
all stripes agreeing that the time for aggressive school improvement 
is long past due - so is opposition. Some Republican governors and 
the nation's largest teachers' union, the National Education 
Association, traditional adversaries, are united in their worry that 
too many schools could be labeled failures.

Ted Sanders, the president of the Education Commission of the States 
and deputy secretary of education under Bush's father, said that 
meeting the 12-year-goal would be "difficult." But it's worth setting 
because it will cause "a shift in thinking. It's absolutely based on 
the assumption that all children can learn."

Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, incoming chairman of commission and a 
Republican, agreed: "We've got to set a goal," he said. But while 
high standards for all students are important, the measurement of 
progress must take into account things like student mobility, he said.

When Guinn was school superintendent in Clark County, which includes 
Las Vegas, 15,000 to 20,000 new students came in each year. It's not 
fair, he said, to penalize schools for stalled progress when they 
barely have time to have an effect.

New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, said that the Bush 
budget cut funding for programs that could help states boost 
achievement, including early learning.

States, Shaheen said, "can't accomplish the [proficiency] goal unless 
[the federal government] is willing to put resources behind it. It 
doesn't do any good to set

[CPS Math]Math fears subtract from memory, learning

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Math fears subtract from memory,
learning


***
From Science News, June 30, 2001, Volume 159, Number 26, p.
405.  See.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20010630/fob4.asp
.
***

Math fears subtract from memory, learning

By Bruce Bower

By about age 12, students who feel threatened by mathematics start to
avoid math courses, do poorly in the few math classes they do take,
and earn low scores on math-achievement tests. Some scientists have
theorized that kids having little math aptitude in the first place
justifiably dread grappling with numbers.

That conclusion doesn't add up, at least for college students,
according to a study in the June Journal of Experimental Psychology:
General. On the contrary, people's intrusive worries about math
temporarily disrupt mental processes needed for doing arithmetic and
drag down math competence, report Mark H. Ashcraft and Elizabeth P.
Kirk, both psychologists at Cleveland (Ohio) State University.

Math anxiety exerts this effect by making it difficult to hold new
information in mind while simultaneously manipulating it, the
researchers hold. Psychologists regard this capacity, known as working
memory, as crucial for dealing with numbers.

"Math anxiety soaks up working-memory resources and makes it
harder to learn mathematics, probably beginning in middle school,"
Ashcraft says.

He and Kirk ran three experiments, each with 50 to 60 college
students. Experiments included roughly equal numbers of male and
female students who cited low, moderate, or high levels of math
anxiety on a questionnaire.

In the first experiment, Ashcraft and Kirk found that students with a
high level of math anxiety enrolled in fewer math courses, received
lower math grades, and scored worse on working-memory tests involving
numbers than their peers did.

Math anxiety's disruptive effects on working memory appeared in the
next experiment. In a series of trials, students first saw a set of
letters to be remembered. They were then timed as they performed a
mental addition problem. After solving it, volunteers tried to recall
the letters they had seen.

High-math-anxiety students scored poorly on both tasks but especially
on the mental addition. Their performance hit bottom on problems that
involved carrying numbers, such as 47 + 18. However, when permitted to
use pencil and paper during trials, they did as well as students
without math worries did, indicating an underlying math
competence.

The third experiment found that high math anxiety translates into
poorer performance on an unconventional number-manipulation task that
also taxed working memory. In some trials, for instance, students had
to add 7 to each of four numbers that they briefly viewed, one at a
time, and then verbally report the transformations in the proper
order.

Earlier studies have found that math anxiety temporarily boosts heart
rate and other physical indicators of worry, notes psychologist David
C. Geary of the University of Missouri in Columbia. Psychological
therapies that reduce math worries improve math performance, he
adds.

"Ashcraft's study is the first solid evidence that
math-anxious people have working-memory problems as they do math,"
Geary says.
--
References: Ashcraft, M.A., and E.P. Kirk. 2001. The
relationships among working memory, math anxiety, and performance.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 130 (June):224.

Further Readings: Miyake, A. 2001. Individual differences in
working memory: Introduction to the special section. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: General 130 (June):163.

Sources: Mark H. Ashcraft, Department of Psychology, Cleveland
State University, Cleveland, OH 44115;  David C. Geary,
Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 210
McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO 65211-2500;  Elizabeth P. Kirk,
Department of Psychology, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH
44115.
***
-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]CA: School chief soured by campaigning

[Jerry Becker]

Title: CA:  School chief soured by
campaigning



From the San Francisco Chronicle, Wednesday, July 18, 2001, p.
A-17. See
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/07/18/MNL134037.DTL


Campaigning has soured schools chief on further runs for
office

By Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross

After more than two decades in public office, state schools
Superintendent Delaine Eastin says enough is enough.

"Frankly, I'm starting to lose my sense of optimism," Eastin
told us yesterday.

"I'm just really quite disgusted with campaigning," Eastin
said. "These days it's all about raising millions for 30-second
commercials."

Eastin -- who terms out next year -- has been approached about running
for either Congress or the state Board of Equalization.

But her answer is a flat "no."

"It's time to get out of the thicket," she said.

Eastin was elected to the City Council in Union City in 1980, went on
to the Assembly and then to her present job in 1994.

"I love the public policy part, but the campaigning just chills
my blood," Eastin said.

And with good reason.

Last time out, she raised and spent $3 million to fight off a straw
candidate being backed by some big-money voucher advocates.

"All for 30-second commercials that don't even begin to address
the issues, " Eastin said.

Just what Eastin will do when her term expires next year is still up
in the air.

"I may write, go to work for a nonprofit or go into academia, but
whatever, it will be about improving the lot of our children. I just
won't be doing it as an elected official."

And she won't be doing it with the help of Gov. Gray Davis,
either.

Things have gotten so chilly between the two that he doesn't even
return her phone calls.

But that, as they say, is a whole other story.
--
Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear
Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. They can also be heard on KGO Radio
on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]AP students outperform adv. U.S. and foreign students

[Jerry Becker]

Title: AP students outperform adv. U.S. and foreign
students



From The College Board News 2000-2001, Friday, July 20, 2001.
See  http://www.collegeboard.org/press/html0001/html/071101.html
. Our thanks to Vern Kays for bringing this report to out
attention.


AP STUDENTS WITH A "3 OR HIGHER" OUTPERFORM ADVANCED
MATH AND PHYSICS STUDENTS BOTH IN U.S. AND ABROAD

New TIMSS-AP Study Confirms Advanced Placement Students are Among
the Most Prepared in the World

NEW YORK, JULY 11, 2001 - A new study by the TIMSS International Study
Center shows that Advanced Placement students who score three or
higher1 on physics and calculus AP Exams outperform physics and
advanced math students from the United States and other countries in
mathematics and science achievement.

Using a representative sample of students taking AP Physics and AP
Calculus courses, the new study replicates the TIMSS/Advanced
Mathematics and Science Test, which was originally administered in
1995 as part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study
(TIMSS) - then the largest, most comprehensive and rigorous
international study of student achievement ever undertaken.

The results of this latest study, which was administered in May
through July of 2000, were compared to the 1995 results of physics and
advanced mathematics students in their final year of secondary school
from 18 countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, Cyprus, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Norway, the Russian Federation, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the
United States.

The 1995 TIMSS study showed that physics and advanced mathematics
students from the United States lagged behind their peers from other
nations in the study, a fact that caused concern in many education
circles. However, only a small percentage of the students tested in
1995 indicated they were enrolled in AP Calculus or AP Physics
courses.

This most recent TIMSS study was commissioned by the College Board and
was conducted in order to verify how AP students fare as a separate
group, when compared to their peers worldwide. A representative sample
of AP Calculus and AP Physics students was given the same test that
was administered to the original TIMSS study group. The results showed
that not only do AP students with grades of 3 or better on the AP
Calculus Exams outperform advanced or honors mathematics students in
the U.S., but they also outperform the advanced students from every
country that participated in the study. On average, all AP Calculus
students, regardless of their AP Exam grade, outperformed advanced
students from all participating nations except that their performance
was not significantly different from advanced mathematics students in
France. AP Physics students were almost equally impressive; those who
received an AP Exam grade of 3 or better on the AP Physics B or C
Exams performed as well as physics students from the top performing
nations of Norway, Sweden, and the Russian Federation, and
outperformed all other participating nations. On average, AP Physics
students, regardless of their AP Exam grade, scored well in comparison
to the physics students tested in 1995.

"These results demonstrate that students who do well on the AP
Calculus and Physics Exams are indeed at top of the world in academic
achievement. They reinforce how vitally important it is to provide
students with access to the challenging academic opportunities
provided through AP," said Lee Jones, executive director of the
College Board's Advanced Placement Program.

Highlights of Advanced Mathematics Achievement

*  Of those who scored a "three or better" on the
AP Calculus AB Exam, average achievement on the TIMSS Advanced
Mathematics exam was 586, which is 29 points higher than France, the
country with the second highest average achievement, and 85 points
higher than the international average scale score of 501;
*  Of those who scored a "three or better" on
the AP Calculus BC Exam, average achievement on the TIMSS
Advanced Mathematics exam was 633, which is 76 points higher than
France and 132 points higher than the international average scale
score of 501;
*  Regardless of AP Calculus AB or BC Exam grade, AP
Calculus students outperformed all countries tested, with an average
achievement of 573, which was 16 points higher than France and 72
points higher than the international average scale score of 501.

Highlights of Physics Achievement

*  Of those who scored a "three or better" on the
AP Physics B Exam, average achievement on the TIMSS Advanced Physics
exam was 586, which is five points higher than Norway, the country
with the highest average achievement, and 85 points higher than the
international average scale score of 501;
*  Of those who scored a "three or better" on the
AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism Exam, average achievement on
the TIMSS Advanced Physics exam was 600, which is 19 point

[CPS Math]Interesting news items

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From the NASSMC Briefing Service (NBS) that is provided by the 
National Alliance of State
Science & Mathematics Coalitions through grants from the ExxonMobil 
Foundation and the National Security Agency (NSA). Wednesday, July 
18, 2001, See http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/13/politics/13EDUC.html 
for the original source of the first item below, and 
http://24hour.sacbee.com/24hour/nation/story/629378p-675387c.html 
for the second.
*

School Heads See Problems In Legislation

Superintendents of two of the nation's largest school systems told the National
Press Club Thursday that the accountability measures pending in Congress could
have an unintended effect: driving down educational standards.

Because the bills include tough sanctions for districts that do not bring all
students up to proficiency within a certain time period, local 
authorities might
be tempted to dilute state standards to make it easier to meet the 
requirements,
warned Roy Romer, superintendent of schools in Los Angeles.

"You'll have people out there gaming the system," Romer said.

Both the House and Senate bills would allow states to define 
proficiency and how
to measure it.

Harold Levy, chancellor of the New York City schools, said many of the ideas
being discussed in Congress are already under way in New York. His experience
has been that improvements in student achievement are correlated more with
teacher quality than with magnet schools or annual testing. Congress, he said,
must provide more money to enable districts to attract qualified teachers.

"If the system's accountable, then I say the politicians and policy makers also
have to be accountable," Levy said.

SOURCE: New York Times, 13 July 2001 (p. A10)

---
Pennsylvania Board of Education OKs science standards

The Pennsylvania Board of Education approved the state's first 
science standards
Thursday. The board voted 13-2 to approve the standards after changing wording
that could have led to the teaching of creationism throughout the 
state's public
schools.

An earlier version of the standards called for students to "analyze evidence of
fossil records, similarities in body structures, embryological studies and DNA
studies that support or do not support the theory of evolution."

The version approved by the board requires students to "analyze data 
from fossil
records, similarities in anatomy and physiology, embryological studies and DNA
studies that are relevant to the theory of evolution."

The standards outline what students should know by the end of grades four,
seven, 10 and 12.

SOURCE: Sacramento Bee (Associated Press), 12 July 2001
***
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

For more information:
.

To search the archives:

[CPS Math]SPEAK AT PADUCAH NCTM REGIONAL CONF.

[Jerry Becker]

Title: SPEAK AT PADUCAH NCTM REGIONAL
CONF.


**
NOTE: This is a good opportunity for you to
speak on the program of the Paducah [KY] NCTM Regional Conference
(details below). It is perfectly acceptable for more than one teacher
to collaborate on a joint presentation. Please consider submitting a
proposal if you have not already done so. Many thanks  ... 
Jerry Becker
-
The Program Committee Co-Chairs have
recently written that while teachers at all grade levels are
encouraged to submit Speaker Proposal Forms, they would like to have
more speaker proposals for the PreK-2 and 3-5 levels.
-
NOTE: Please share with all teachers who
teach mathematics in your school. Thank you
**

WHAT:NCTM Regional
Conference on Mathematics

WHEN:   October
10-12, 2002

WHERE: J.R.'s Executive Inn, 
Paducah, Kentucky

WHO:    The conference is for all
teachers who teach mathematics PreK, K-12, Community
  College, College/University, teacher educators,
administrators and researchers. This
  includes special education and gifted
education.

NOTE: The first Paducah NCTM Regional
Conference on Mathematics was held in November, 1993. It was a success
with an outstanding professional program. Nearly 2400 teachers
registered for the conference. Now there are new conference
facilities. The National Quilting Museum is located adjacent to J.R.'s
Executive Inn - we will be using its classrooms for some of our
conference sessions. One strand on our program will be quilting and
the mathematics of quilting. You will see this in our conference logo
later on. It is a very short walk from the conference facilities to
beautiful, quaint downtown Paducah with nice restaurants and
shops.

Speak at the conference: Even though the conference is in the
year is 2002, the program is being developed now, so please do
not delay in submitting a speaker proposal form if you are interested
in doing so. To submit a proposal to speak on the program, you can fill out a 'Speaker Proposal Form' using any
one of the following:  :

I. You can submit a proposal by following
these directions:

.  Go to  
http://www.nctm.org/meetings/

.  THEN CLICK ON "2002-2003
Regional Conference Speaker Proposals"
 
.  Then pull down to "Central
Regional Conference - Paducah, KY"

.  Then click on
"NEXT"

.  Then click on
"Send" in the window that comes up.

.  Then you will see the directions
for filling out a speaker proposal form for our conference. Scroll
down and you will see the form. Complete the form and submit
it.

II.  You can request a hard copy of
the "Speaker Proposal Form' from NCTM by "Fax on Demand"
- call 1-800-220-8483, follow the given directions, and request
#436. You can xerox or duplicate the copy you receive for other
teachers. [Fax on Demand is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week.]

After filling out the form, please

A. MAIL the form to: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics,
1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA  20191 - Attn: 
Conference Services Department.

OR

B.  FAX the form to  (703) 295-0956 .
 
If you have questions, or problems, you can
contact Ms. Claudia Dietrich at NCTM Headquarters by calling (703)
620-9840, Ext. 2155.

Alternately, you can contact either of the
Paducah Conference Program Co-Chairs below for answers to your
questions or to get a hard copy of the Speaker Proposal
Form:

Dr. Sue Boren [Program Co-Chair]
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Humanities 424
The University of Tennessee at
Martin
Martin, TN  38238-5049
Phone:   
731-587-7365   (New area code: 02/12/2001)
Fax:    731-587-1407  
(New area code: 02/12/ 2001)
E-mail:   
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

OR

Sharon Schwarz [Program
Co-chair].
1803 Hutson Drive
Cape Girardeau, MO 
63701-3319
Phone:
573-334-8825  [H]
   573-651-2826  [O]
E-mail:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Please consider submitting a proposal to present at the
program.

We hope you will share this information
with all teachers who teach mathematics in your school, school
district or other institution [all levels].

Thank you.

Jerry P.Becker [Conference Co-Chair]
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


Bill Kunnecke    [Conference
Co-Chair]
Region 1 Service Center
205 Stewart Stadium
Murray State University
Murray, KY 42071

Phone: 
270-762-3217   
[O]
    270-210-7993 [CELL]
Fax: 
270-762-3216
E-mail:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
**
-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]NEA seeks to block "high stakes testing"

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From the Arizona Republic, Saturday, July 7, 2001. See 
http://www.arizonarepublic.com/news/articles/0707a2filler07.html . 
Brought to our attention by The NASSMC Briefing Service (NBS) that is 
provided by the National Alliance of State Science & Mathematics 
Coalitions through grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation and the 
National Security Agency (NSA), July 10, 2001.
*

NEA seeks to block 'high-stakes testing'

The 9000 delegates of the National Education Association voted last 
Friday to support any legislation granting parents the right to allow 
their children to skip standardized tests. The union vote also 
directed NEA lobbyists to battle mandatory testing requirements on a 
federal level. Congress is considering legislation that would require 
mandatory state testing in reading and math in grades three through 
eight, and grade 10.

"If you want to know how your child is doing, you don't wait seven 
months to get the results of a standardized test," said Judi Hirsch, 
the algebra teacher who introduced the measure. "You ask your kid's 
teacher."

Union delegates also voted in support of a resolution encouraging 
local officials to use various ways of assessing student learning.
***
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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.

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[CPS Math]Results of 2001 Int'l Maths. Olympiads

[Jerry Becker]

***
Received from Mary O'Keeffe, Friday, July 13. 2001. See
http://imo.wolfram.com/  for details.
***

The results of the International Math Olympiads are now available.

There were roughly 500 high school students representing 83 countries
around the world in teams of 6 (a few countries sent less than 6).

Median score on the exam was around 11 out of 42.  There were only
four perfect scores of 42.  Two of those perfects were earned by
students on the USA team.

The official competition only ranks individuals, but unofficial team
totals placed China first, followed by USA and Russia tied for second
place.

For COMPLETE information - scoring details as well as copies of the
problems and solutions - see http://imo.wolfram.com/  .

Below are the gold medal winners, by country [family name/given name]
-- see http://imo.wolfram.com/scores/bymedal_gold.html ]:

Australia: McNamara, Peter

Belarus:   Markouski, Siarhei

Bulgaria: Barzov, Vladimir; Panova, Greta; Zarev, Rumen

Canada:  Brox, Daniel

China:Chen, Jianxin; Qu, Feng; Xiao, Liang; Yu, Jun; Zhang,
Zhiqiang; Zheng, Hui

Cuba: López Velázquez, Jorge

Germany:   Reiher, Christian

India: Jha, Abhay Kumar; Sarkar, Sucharit

Israel:Lang, Oran

Japan:   Odaka, Yuji

Kazakhstan:  Aldangarov, Alibek; Bektemirov, Baurzhan; Ganichev,
Igor; Zhumekeshov, Aman

Korea:   Hyun, Yoon Suk; Kim, Myoung Sup; Kwon, Suehyun

Romania:   Manea, Mihai

Russia:  Garber, Mikhail; Glazirine, Alexei; Sokolov, Serguei;
Spiridonov; Sergey; Vorobiev Andrei

Taiwan: Tseng, Chia-Chun

Turkey: Ordulu, Nizameddin

Ukraine:Bershtein, Mykhailo

United States of America: Barton, Reid; Carroll, Gabriel; Le, Ian; Liu, Tiankai

Vietnam:   Vu, Ngoc Minh


IMO Facts  [See http://imo.wolfram.com/facts.html ]

The first International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) was held in 1959
in Romania. It was originally intended for Eastern Bloc countries
only, but since then the list of participating countries has grown to
over 80 from all over the world. The site of the competition changes
each year, and past locations include such diverse venues as Finland,
India, Cuba, Argentina, and Bulgaria. The United States first
competed in the IMO in East Germany in 1974 and, in addition to
hosting this year, also hosted the competition in 1981. The
competition has been held every year except 1980.

When the IMO first began, each country was allowed up to eight
participants. In 1982 this was scaled back to four members, but in
1983 the number was increased to six, which is where it still stands.
The contestants must be no more than 20 years old and must not have
any postsecondary-school education. There is no limit to how many
times a person may participate in the IMO, provided the individual
meets the age and schooling requirements. Even though the contestants
represent their countries in the Olympiad, there are no official
teams and all scoring is done on an individual basis only.

Although the particular way the representatives are chosen differs
from country to country, each country requires a great deal of hard
work and mathematical skill from its members. The competition gives
these young people a chance to display their mathematical prowess,
but the actual competition comprises only two days of the two-week
event. A large part of the rest of the time is spent socializing with
the other students and touring the hosting country. For many who
participate, the friends and memories made at the IMO outweigh the
actual scores and medals. It is an experience that cannot help but
shape the participants, many of whom have gone on to achieve
tremendous success in their chosen fields.

More facts given, by year, at  http://imo.wolfram.com/morefacts.html

--
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List.

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<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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.

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[CPS Math]New Education Head at NSF

[Jerry Becker]

PERSONNEL ANNOUNCEMENT -- National Science Foundation

July 12, 2001  ---  NSF PA 01-01

Media contact: Mary Hanson  [(703) 292-8070]

NSF ANNOUNCES NEW HEAD OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES

  The National Science Foundation has named Judith A. Ramaley,
a celebrated educational innovator and former president of two
universities, as the Foundation's new Assistant Director for
Education and Human Resources (EHR).

  Effective August 1, Dr. Ramaley, a biologist who served most
recently as president of the University of Vermont, will oversee
EHR's $800 million annual portfolio.  It supports programs
including research into learning at all levels from kindergarten
through graduate education, as well as numerous projects to
improve educational performance within challenging school systems
and geographic regions, and among America's historically
underserved ethnic groups.

  "Dr. Ramaley has achieved a national reputation as a leader
of educational reform efforts," said NSF Director Rita R.
Colwell.  "Her proven determination and insight will be enormously
valuable in this critical period for the future of math, science,
engineering and technology education.  In addition, her
longstanding interest in the changing nature and needs of
America's workforce are ideally suited to the Foundation's
concerns and to the nation's urgent priorities."

  Since the 1960s, Dr. Ramaley has been a professor of biology
at five universities, served as president of the University of
Vermont and Portland State University in Oregon, and held senior
administrative positions at the State University of New York at
Albany, the University of Kansas, and the University of Nebraska.

  She has served as chair of the American Council on
Education's Commission on Women in Higher Education, and the
National Association of State Universities and Land Grant
Colleges (NASULGC) Commission on the Urban Agenda, among other
distinctions.  She currently chairs a committee of the U.S.
Department of Education's National Advisory Council for School-to
Work Opportunities, and the Association of American Colleges and
Universities' National Panel on Greater Expectations.

 At Vermont, Dr. Ramaley took the lead in creating a novel
alliance called the Vermont Public Education Partnership, which
brought together the university, state education officials and
state colleges to produce a coordinated collaboration that
extends from pre-K to graduate education.  The initiative
emphasized programs such as distance learning and comprehensive
response to statewide workforce needs.  She is also the author of
several seminal publications on educational reform and its
relation to society.

  "Dr. Ramaley's extensive experience as a faculty member and
administrator, coupled with her strong belief that colleges and
universities have a major role to play in improving K-12
mathematics and science education, will serve the Foundation -and
the country -- well," said Judith S. Sunley, outgoing Interim
Assistant Director of EHR. Sunley, a 21-year veteran of NSF, is
moving to the Office of the Director as a Senior Advisor.

  - NSF -
*
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

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<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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[CPS Math]Bush: Eases Stance on Schools' Accountability

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Bush: Eases Stance on Schools'
Accountability



From the New York Times, Tuesday, July 10, 2001. See 
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/10/politics/10EDUC.html?searchpv=day02

Bush Seems to Ease His Stance on Schools' Accountability

By Diana Jean Schemo

WASHINGTON, July 9 - With a joint committee yet to tackle
differences in the House and Senate education bills requiring annual
nationwide testing of public school students, the White House appears
to be favoring the Senate's weaker demands for state accountability
for educating poor, black and Hispanic children.

As governor of Texas and candidate for president, George W. Bush
touted his success in raising educational achievement for all groups
of students in Texas. A key to that effort was the state's practice of
not only reporting test scores by race, ethnicity and poverty level,
but also penalizing schools in which initially one quarter, and
eventually half, of all students in each subgroup did not reach
proficiency.

The House education bill adopted Texas's insistence on mastery of the
basics of reading and writing by all groups. It leaves states to
define the minimum that children need to know, but outdoes Texas in
toughness by requiring all children in each subgroup to reach mastery
in a dozen years, a goal the White House now deems impossible.

A Senate version of the education bill, which the White House favors,
backs away from such strict accountability. It allows states to report
achievement as an average of the scores among all groups, weighting
for some groups of students more than others. Critics contend that the
Senate version would allow states to avoid penalties if, say,
middle-class white students do very well while minority children lag
far behind.

Sandy Kress, the White House's educational adviser, denied that Mr.
Bush had moderated his stand on the importance of reporting test
scores by racial and economic groups.

"The president did believe and still does believe that data
should be disaggregated," Mr. Kress said. But he said the
administration wanted a law that would spur improvement without
labeling all schools as failures, as he contended the House bill would
do.

Critics, however, accuse Mr. Bush of caving in to political pressures
from states wary of the tougher standards, and they note that some 22
Republican governors face re- election battles next year.

In their broad outlines, the education bills agree on annual testing
in reading and math for all children in grades three to eight, and on
imposing penalties that could include shutting down schools that fail
to educate children year after year and reopening them under new
leadership.

But education experts from both the right and left are warning that
Washington's ability to deliver on the promise of President Bush's
ambitiously named blueprint, "No Child Left Behind," will
hinge on upcoming negotiations over questions initially set aside to
propel the education bill's swift passage.

They include where states should set the bar for student achievement
and what kind of progress is "adequate." How much time
should schools have to show improvement, particularly for poor, black
and Hispanic students? Who will pay for the new testing and reporting
regimes?

With conference committee members yet to be named, the Democratic
leadership in the Senate appears to be cooling its collective heels,
awaiting some commitment on spending from the administration. Mr.
Bush's plan increased the education budget to $19 billion from $18.3
billion, but the House is seeking $23 billion, and the Senate $31.3
billion. Some here predict nothing will leave the conference committee
until after the appropriations process in September.

"It makes a lot of sense for the Democrats to just sort of let it
sit," said David L. Shreve, senior committee director of the
National Conference of State Legislators.

The president, for his part, needs to start the clock ticking on
school accountability if he plans to show results by the 2004
elections. In an apparent bid to kick-start the conference committee's
work, at a Rose Garden ceremony this morning, he urged Congress to
deliver an education bill to his desk before its August recess.

When Mr. Bush unveiled his plan in January, it spoke of tests that
would measure the "adequate yearly progress" of all
students, regardless of race, ethnicity or economic status. The plan
continued to allow states to define proficiency, as either mastery of
a given body of knowledge or as a measure of a child's performance
relative to the average of others taking the test. But the plan said a
federal test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, would
be used to confirm the state results.

Under the House bill, states would have 12 years to raise all students
to proficiency in reading and math, and they could face cutbacks in
federal aid or even school closures long before then if students are
not on trac

[CPS Math]Teacher-Testing Company Refuses Evaluation Request

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Teacher-Testing Company Refuses Evaluation
Request


**
From the Boston Globe [Boston.com], Thursday, July 12, 2001.
See
http://www.boston.com/news/daily/07/testing_data.htm
**

Major teacher-testing company won't release data requested by
national expert panel

By Arlene Levinson

As America looks toward testing to shore up public education,
schoolchildren are not the only ones bent over answer sheets. Aspiring
teachers must take exams in most states before they can step into a
classroom.
 
Hundreds of thousands take such tests each year, paying fees that
make testing a lucrative business. Yet when the federal government
wanted to learn if teacher tests are any good, it hit a snag.

In early 1999, the U.S. Education Department, under the Clinton
administration, called upon the National Academy of Sciences to see
how well the exams weed out incompetent teachers.

Academy researchers asked the two main teacher-testing companies to
supply the documents needed to evaluate their tests. The researchers
wanted to analyze the inner workings of test development by looking at
material that's routinely open to public scrutiny.

Educational Testing Service, which also produces the SAT,
complied.

But National Evaluation Systems refused. All materials related to its
tests belong to its client states, the company said.

When academy researchers turned to the states, they got nothing
useable -- if they got anything at all; at least two states said their
contracts with NES barred release of test development data.

Educators and experts in psychometrics, or mental testing, were
stunned. They say NES violated industry standards that promote public
access to crucial elements of test preparation.

"We're making decisions about who's qualified to be licensed to
teach based on a product we don't know the accuracy of," said
University of Nebraska Professor Barbara Plake, an editor of the
expert panel's report, "Testing Teacher Candidates,"
released in March.

"That's extraordinarily distressing," she said.

Bush administration officials wouldn't comment on NES' refusal to
release technical information, said Lindsey Kozberg, Education
Department spokeswoman.

But, Kozberg noted, the president's education reforms are driven by
data. "A discussion about the validity of the test is an
important one," she said.

>From Education Secretary Rod Paige to local districts, Kozberg said,
officials need research "to be sure we use methods that work,
instead of just using methods that are comfortable, or available or
'well-known."'

NES officials declined to be interviewed, referring all questions to a
public relations firm. Spokesman Dominic Slowey said the company takes
"issue with any characterization that they're not completely
upfront about the validity and reliability of the tests."

NES, a private company based in Amherst, Mass., has 140 employees and
contracts with 10 states for custom-made tests: California, Texas, New
York, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma
and New Mexico.

The company wouldn't say how many people take its tests each year, but
figures obtained from the states totaled about 377,000.

The other testing company, the nonprofit ETS, provides teacher tests
to 37 states and estimates
500,000 people took them during the 2000-01 school year.

Neither NES nor ETS would disclose sales figures, but an ETS
official estimated the teacher-licensing market generates $50 million
to $100 million each year, or more.

Public access to information about standardized tests is "really
a consumer-protection issue," said Diana Pullin, a professor of
education law at Boston College who helped draft the testing
industry's standards of professional practice. "The public is now
counting on these tests."

NES' refusal to release test data is "very frustrating,"
said Terry Dozier, who pushed for the academy study as senior adviser
on teaching to then-Education Secretary Richard Riley.

Policy makers and state officials were anxious to know the validity
and reliability of teacher tests, and just what they measured, said
Dozier, a former national teacher of the year now at Virginia
Commonwealth University.

"It seems to me that the public has the right to know what is
being asked of the people who teach their children. I just question
why the secrecy. We did not have that problem with ETS," Dozier
said.

Questions about NES are especially heated in Massachusetts, where
59 percent of teachers-in-training failed the first NES tests there in
1998. (Like all states, Massachusetts sets its own passing scores.) In
May, the state named three outside experts to advise it on evaluating
test quality.

As required by its contract, NES gave Massachusetts officials a
five-volume report on the tests there. But coming more than a year
after the disastrous first results, it only inflamed the
criticism.

Parts of the report reminded Boston College psychometrician La

[CPS Math]It's time to get real about boys [PART II]

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From The Bulletin [with Newsweek] -- Australia  -- June 5, 2001, pp. 
25-28. Our thanks to Gilah Leder for providing a xerox copy of the 
article and to Bill Margolis (Samoa) who first brought the article to 
our attention.
---
This is PART II of two parts - continued from PART I
*
In pedagogical terms, what does this mean? A return to slates, quills 
and regular beatings? No, says Hawkes. It means more teacher-directed 
education, more regular checking of work done in class and at home 
and the regular checking of learning through tests and exams, more 
rules in the classroom and sanctions in place to support them, 
single-sex classes, high expectations of boys and formal periods of 
silent work with minimal distractions.

It means tackling head-on the culture of the herd, which says it's 
cool to be a fool. It's a culture that shows up in various guises in 
West's review of the research - in boys seeing homework as less 
useful than girls, being less attentive, being more reluctant to do 
extra work and having no interest in doing well per se at school but 
merely wanting to pass exams.

"Boys are rather pragmatic and need to be persuaded of the worth of a 
thing before they will commit themselves to it," Hawkes argues. He 
recommends three lines of reply to the question, "Why should I learn?"

First response, "It's an investment" - this works with boys who have 
enough emotional maturity to be able to work for a deferred reward. 
The second response, "It's good fun", may take more selling, and is 
likely to work only with the successful student, the one least likely 
to be bothering his parents and teachers with the question anyway. 
And the third, "Because I told you to", is not subtle, says Hawkes, 
and should not be relied upon exclusively. But there is still virtue 
in making some things non-negotiable with boys in terms of both their 
behaviour and learning.

Absolutely central to boys' relationships to schooling is the way 
they connect to their teachers. Listen to what Christian Bateman, a 
student at Trinity College in South Australia, told the inquiry about 
what makes and breaks a relationship with a teacher: "If a teacher is 
teaching strictly about work, then you start to get bored pretty 
easily. There is nothing keeping you switched on all the time. You 
start to try and find something else to do to keep yourself occupied.

"But if you have a teacher who has a sense of humour and is cracking 
jokes every now and again with the class, it keeps you a bit have 
more switched on. It keeps you thinking about what he is talking 
about. If you know there is going to be a joke coming along that you 
can laugh about with the rest of the class, you kind of pay attention 
more. I think that is important for education because you cannot 
learn and think if you do not pay attention."

Ken Rowe, of the Australian Council for Educational Research, 
quantifies variance in school performance as follows: 5.5% is 
influenced by the school, 35% by the student and 59% by the teacher. 
Hawkes is more lyrical. "Teachers of boys need to be 
transformational, dedicated to changing their students, moving them 
from one state to another. Teachers need to be optimistic, believing 
that this transformational process is possible."

And getting their hands dirty. Like Dion Locke, an English teacher at 
Mabel Park State High School, Queensland, where, last year, Years 9 
and 10 were divided into boy and girl classes for English and social 
science. Locke taught two boys' classes.

"In terms of their results, it was reasonably successful, and in 
terms of them being switched on to learning, I think it was quite 
successful," he says. "It depends on the teacher, I guess. The boys 
had a good year with me because we were very hands-on.

"With the English curriculum, I tailored it as much as I could to 
cater for the interests of boys. I had books where the boys were the 
heroes, such as "The Outsiders," which is about gangs and so on. When 
we did film, we went to Movie World and we did hands-on stuff. They 
wrote film scripts, and we got in there."

Marsden State High's Armstrong admitted to the inquiry that "we 
probably have not done enough about deciding what it is that really 
appeals to boys". Educators have made assumptions but haven't been 
serious about trialling different ways of teaching boys, of assessing 
how the curriculum is delivered and whether it works for boys.

Some schools have had a crack at it, she said, "but it is like 
everything else; you get somebody on staff who is interested in it 
for a year or two and you do some good work, and then that person 
gets transferred or whatever and you really are sitting back on your 
tail."

Which is a pretty ad hoc way to think about educating half the school 
population. Time to get real about boys, girls.
---
SIDEBAR
---
Tips For Helping Boys

[CPS Math]It's time to get real about boys [PART I]

[Jerry Becker]

*
From The Bulletin [with Newsweek] -- Australia  -- June 5, 2001, pp.
25-28. Our thanks to Gilah Leder for providing a xerox copy of the
article and to Bill Margolis (Samoa) who first brought the article to
our attention.
--
This is PART I of two parts.
*

It's Time To Get Real About Boys

By Diana Bagnall

-
That girls consistently perform better at school than boys is
undisputed. What is controversial is why - with some educators
blaming a feminised curriculum, Diana Bagnall reports on a continuing
class struggle.
-

Buried deep in the transcripts of the ongoing national inquiry into
boys' education is this tragi-comic little tale. It comes from one of
Australia's most dogged campaigners for a fair hearing for boys and
men, Newcastle academic Richard Fletcher.

"There was a school in the Hunter [Valley, NSW] where they were
tearing their hair out," Fletcher told the federal parliamentary
committee conducting the inquiry. "The principal told me he and the
deputy tried to figure out stuff about getting boys involved. They
thought, 'What can we do that boys will like?' They decided to get a
cadet corps for the first time.

"They contacted the Army and arranged all the bits and pieces. They
had their first muster, I think they call it, and the deputy came in
and said, 'Come out to the playground, you'd better have a look.' He
went out to the playground - this was the first day for the cadet
corps - and there were 16 girls and two boys. He had tears in his
eyes. I said, 'What did you do?' He said, 'We put the boys at the
front so it didn't look so bad.'"

Everywhere, everyone is tearing their hair out about boys'
disengagement. It's most obvious in their academic performance. In
Australia, in every area of the assessed curriculum, boys are
achieving lower standards than girls. In NSW, boys outnumber girls
two to one in the bottom 10% of Higher School Certificate scores, and
girls outperform boys by up to 11% in the large majority of subjects.

But boys' failure also shows up in juvenile crime statistics, in
youth suicide numbers, in early school-leaving rates, all dominated
by males. "I think what happens is [boys] dissociate themselves, they
disenfranchise themselves, they do not want to be part of what the
mainstream is on about, and we are seen to be the mainstream," Gail
Armstrong, the principal of Queensland's Marsden State High School,
told the boys' education inquiry.

The mainstream in education looks female. Most teachers - around 80%
- are women. In NSW, the number of men in primary teaching has fallen
in the past five years from 37% to 17%. Very few men are training to
be teachers. At the University of Western Sydney, for example, only
3% of early childhood and 14% of primary teaching students are male.

But it's more than just the face of teaching that is female. Some
principals and researchers are beginning to talk of a "feminised"
curriculum, of assessment techniques being "boy-unfriendly", of
teachers being fearful and hostile towards boys and increasingly
defining the "ideal student" as female. Meanwhile, parents and
teachers, desperate to motivate their sons and students, are
floundering in the absence of hands-on guidance and wondering if
boys' failure might not be an unintentional byproduct of girls'
success.

Boys' antagonism towards and disconnection from compulsory schooling
isn't exactly a new phenomenon. Shakespeare had a handle on it: "The
whining schoolboy, with his satchel, And shining morning face, creeps
unwillingly to school" (As You Like It, II. vii). The difference
between then and now is not so much in boys' experience of schooling
as in girls'. In Shakespeare's day - and, in fact, until the
beginning of last century - no one much bothered about sending girls
to school. When girls were eventually allowed an education, the
brightest and most ambitious graduated to became teachers. Teaching
was one of very few careers available to women until the feminist
movement blew the top off society in the 1970s.

When that happened, women were well placed to reshape the education
agenda. They took up cudgels on behalf of girls and campaigned hard
for schools and curricula to recognise and encourage girls'
aspirations and achievements - with spectacular success.

For the past 10 years, girls have dominated the top strata of
school-leaving exam results, and in 2000 made up 56% of students
starting university. No one but the most pig-headed of
traditionalists would turn the clock back. But hang on. What about
the boys?

Feminist argument (and in education, feminist argument holds more
sway than in any other field) has it that boys are doing fine, that
they still win the good jobs and earn more money than girls when they
leave school, so what's there to worry about? Reluctance to trigger
fresh outbursts of feminist anger has effectively crushed debate
about what Ti

[CPS Math]Announcement: Paper by Bill Jacob

[Jerry Becker]

For your information  ...


Announcement:  Bill Jacob's paper, "The Impact of California's 
Back-to-Basics Policies:  One Year after State Board Action, has now 
appeared in the web-based International Journal for Mathematics 
Teaching and Learning.  It can be downloaded by going to 
http://www.intermep.org/  and then selecting the IJMTL.

The paper provided the basis for his ICME-9 lecture and contrasts the 
1994 state-adopted K-6 mathematics materials with those adopted in 
1999. It describes the policy changes during that time and the 
powerful role played by university mathematicians in bringing 
basic-skills programs back to California's K-8 classrooms.  The 
instructional materials are analyzed using issues raised by Liping Ma 
in her book and the paper concludes with an Appendix describing key 
events in the 2001 CA mathematics adoption which resulted in yet 
another list of instructional materials for CA K-8 classrooms.

Jacob's ICME-9 talk summarized the paper's conclusions and provided 
other background on California policy.  The talk will be published in 
the ICME-9 proceedings CD-rom.
***
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

For more information:
.

To search the archives:

[CPS Math]Lessons: To Peace on Math's Battlefield

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From the New York Times on the Web, Tuesday, June 27, 2001.  See 
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/27/national/27LESS.html?searchpv=nytToday&pagewanted=print
*

Lessons: To Peace on Math's Battlefield

By Richard Rothstein

Few disputes in education are as bitter as those between 
back-to-basics and teach-for-understanding factions in math. Each 
blames the other for low scores. Each complains that it has been 
caricatured by the other.

The back-to-basics group wants more memorizing and practicing rules 
for multi-digit addition and subtraction, long division and 
multiplication. But most proponents of basics also say pupils should 
know how arithmetic applies to real situations.

The teach-for-understanding side wants more exploration of math 
problems so children can develop their own insights for solving them. 
But most proponents of understanding also say pupils should learn the 
conventional rules.

Yet sometimes when this debate filters down to classrooms, the 
caricatures become all too real. Many teachers simply drill students 
in procedures that are soon forgotten. Others expect children to 
invent techniques that civilization took eons to evolve. 
Unsophisticated followers of each camp share the blame for poor math 
performance.

Into this morass has come a little book, "Knowing and Teaching 
Elementary Mathematics" (Lawrence Erlbaum, 1999), by Liping Ma, a 
Carnegie Foundation researcher. Both sides in the math wars claim Dr. 
Ma as their own. Districts have distributed her book to teachers. Its 
broad appeal offers some hope for common ground in math education.

Dr. Ma says that, yes, children should learn to apply arithmetic 
rules fluently, as back-to-basics crusaders urge. But, she adds, 
Americans often teach the procedures poorly. Students lack 
proficiency not from inadequate drill but because too many teachers 
themselves do not understand the mathematical principles behind the 
rules.

This won't be solved by hiring teachers with more advanced college 
math credits. Nor will it do simply to demand more pure pedagogical 
training. Rather, elementary-school teachers need deeper 
understanding of the superficially simple arithmetic they cover.

Consider a subtraction problem taught to second graders (graphic not 
shown here -- e.g., 62 - 7 = ?):

Most teachers explain: Borrow a 1 from the tens' place, leaving only 
5 tens; then write the borrowed 1 next to the ones' place to make a 
12. Pupils can memorize this method, practice and become proficient 
in it. But with no proper theory underlying the gimmick, children do 
not learn why they should use it, and develop no foundation for 
higher mathematics.

Second-grade teachers may engage pupils' interest with an 
ill-considered metaphor, for example saying that the digits on top in 
two-digit subtraction are like neighbors, one of whom goes next door 
to borrow some sugar. Dr. Ma notes that "this arbitrary explanation 
doesn't contain any real mathematical meaning." Worse, it misleads by 
suggesting that the 6 and the 2 in 62 are independent numbers, not 
two parts of one number.

Dr. Ma contrasts this with how teachers in her native Shanghai 
typically handle the problem. There, the metaphor of borrowing was 
abandoned in a 1970's math reform. Instead, Chinese teachers speak of 
breaking down a higher number, explaining that the 6 in the tens' 
place is actually made up of 60 ones. The number 62 can be regrouped 
in many ways: 60 and 2 is the same as 50 and 12, 40 and 22, etc.

After this explanation, children can learn the mechanics - putting a 
line through the 6 and writing 5, putting a small 1 before the 2 to 
create 12 - in a way that makes mathematical sense.

The difference between borrowing and regrouping may seem small. But 
regrouping numbers is a basis of higher math (like factoring in 
algebra). Second graders taught regrouping will understand arithmetic 
well enough to proceed to more advanced topics. Second graders 
drilled in borrowing may never make it to algebra.

Dr. Ma's most shocking conclusion is that most American schools don't 
teach mathematical foundations of arithmetic because teachers 
themselves weren't taught those principles. Pupils are shown only 
what teachers know: to do operations by rote, using tricks (like 
borrowing sugar) to help remember rules.

The solution is not, as some think, to hire teachers who had more 
college math. The American teachers Dr. Ma observed took more math 
courses than the Chinese who began teacher preparation after ninth 
grade.

Rather, elementary schools and teacher colleges alike must offer 
deeper understandings of basic math. And, Dr. Ma says, teachers need 
more common planning time to discuss arithmetic lessons and how 
children comprehend them.

Without such reforms, we will continue fights over whether children 
should be taught arithmetic rules or theory. What Dr. Ma shows is 
that we need both.

[CPS Math]Looking for a teaching job or recruiting?

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Looking for a teaching job or
recruiting?


**
Notice to Educators and Recruiters ...
**

The following important information is critical to ALL recruiters
and educators for registering new free accounts, allowing them to use
the latest on-line recruitment services for education, increasing
results and saving resources. Please forward this notice to colleagues
and students.

The National Center for Careers in Education was designed to
provide the most advanced tools to help meet the challenges of
recruiting and placing qualified educators in every school. Start-up
costs for the Network were provided through a Consortium of State
Departments, non-profit organizations, and the National Commission for
America's Future.

The Center serves as a portal to jobs, training, and information
for educators seeking jobs and for any school seeking qualified
educators. In addition, the Center provides resources and strategies
for States to improve recruitment and educational marketing.

Full access to your free account is available at the National
Portal for Education Recruitment:
http://www.usteach.com/US/Default.cfm?CFID=435085&CFTOKEN=35ba29e-63b21986-5e76-4486-94c5-ea1495d73b5b (part of the National
Education Career Builder Network)

Thanks to new distributed data technology, you are now able to
"log in" to your account in one site and promote yourself in
a variety of networks. Recruiters may use the same account information
and manage their job postings, applicant data, and all recruitment
efforts. Applicants may also manage their resume and application data.
Posting and disseminating information in USteach is handled with stronger security features and
back up systems. You will enjoy significant time savings, national
marketing efforts, expanded features, real time applications and
technical support without full fees currently charged by most national
job sites. You are invited to join this growing national
network.

Membership Benefits:

For Recruiters:


Lower cost-per-hire than traditional methods
Advanced Resume and Application pre-screening Technology
Personal Search Agents - automatic search functionality
Tutorials
Improved Delivery of Applications and Resumes Online
Unlimited Job and Event postings
Real Time Management and Reporting tools
Fax on Demand
Click here to sign up as a Recruiter

For Applicants:


Advanced Job Searching Capabilities
More than 20,000 jobs available for searching
Personal Search Agents - automatic search functionality
Tutorials
Improved Delivery of Applications and Resumes Online
Unlimited Resume and Application Postings
Real Time Management and Reporting tools
Fax on Demand
Click here to sign up as an Applicant

Endorsed in 1999 by the National Commission for America's Future,
USteach has more than 80,000 prospective applicants and over 3,000
organizations already registered with USteach. More than
20,000 jobs have been posted on USteach. To join the network, please go to
http://www.usteach.com/US/Default.cfm?CFID=435085&CFTOKEN=35ba29e-63b21986-5e76-4486-94c5-ea1495d73b5b.

For questions, e-mail   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Thank you in advance for your support to make this nationwide
education effort a success.
**
-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]Math Teaching Position Open

[Jerry Becker]

MATHEMATICS POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

A full-time math position is open at Salem Community High SchooL. It 
consists of teaching three classes of Algebra I and two classes of 
Algebra 1/2.  Also, it could include extra-duty -- Asst. FB, dance 
team, Asst. VB, Asst. Girls' Track.

Interested teachers should send their resume to:

Greg Gruenkemeyer, Principal
Salem Community High School
1200 North Broadway
Salem, IL  62881
618/548-0727

E-mail:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Mr. Gruenkemeyer will be on vacation the week of July 1, but back in 
the office July 9.


-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

For more information:
.

To search the archives:

[CPS Math]Maryland: School math found lacking

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Maryland:  School math found
lacking


*
From The Baltimore Sun, Wednesday, June 20, 2001. See
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-te.md.board20jun20.story?coll=bal%2Dhome%2Dheadlines. See below also.
*

School math found lacking

State board wants at least hour a day of study for pupils; 'Math
success by 9'; Panel pushes remedy for falling scores, achievement
gap

By Howard Libit

Maryland educators proposed a war on poor math skills yesterday
similar to the state's assault on reading illiteracy and called for
all pupils to study math in school at least an hour per day.

"We need to recognize our young people need to learn math
starting early and give mathematics its due," said Edmonia Yates,
former deputy schools superintendent in Baltimore and a member of a
state task force charged with boosting math achievement. "Maybe
we'll not only have children reading by 9, but perhaps we can also
focus on keys to math success by 9."

The task force said children as young as preschool should start
learning math, and all high school students ought to take math classes
for all four years - an increase over the current three-year minimum
requirement.

The 35-member panel - which includes teachers, school administrators,
college professors and business people - also proposes substantially
increasing training requirements for all teachers who provide math
instruction.

The state school board unanimously accepted the task force's 24
recommendations yesterday, and staff members from the state Department
of Education are expected to produce a timeline within the next two
months for carrying them out.

Yesterday's action is the culmination of a two-year study by the task
force, which was appointed by state schools Superintendent Nancy S.
Grasmick amid growing concern about the state's lagging math
scores.

Since 1996, third-grade math scores on Maryland's annual exams have
been virtually unchanged, and fifth-grade scores have dropped. Only
eighth-graders have made gains in that time. On international exams,
U.S. high school students fare poorly compared with those in most
other industrialized countries.

The task force identified as a major problem the persistent
achievement gap between white students and black students. At all
three grade levels, the percentages of white students scoring
"satisfactory" on the math portion of Maryland's annual
exams are more than double the percentages of black students scoring
satisfactory.

"This is a national issue, not a Baltimore City issue, not a
Prince George's issue, not a Maryland issue," said Francis
"Skip" Fennell, a Western Maryland College professor and
chairman of the task force. "It happens everywhere, but we're
going to try to make a difference here for all children."

Time invested

Some of the most striking recommendations in the report deal with the
amount of time and emphasis schools ought to put into math
instruction, including making sure all pupils have an hour of math
instruction a day.

"One would think that an hour a day is already there,"
Fennell said. "It is on the books in many school systems, but it
is not playing out in practice in those school districts.

"If we want children to achieve, time is a part of that,"
Fennell said.

The task force also seeks to restore the emphasis on teaching
computational skills to all children, while still ensuring they
understand concepts and are able to use calculators. During the 1990s,
some critics felt that math instruction overemphasized concepts and
calculators at the expense of children knowing basic addition,
multiplication and division skills.

"They need factual knowledge," Fennell said. "For
decades, we've waffled on the importance of those things. Our position
is they're all important."

Teachers who are seeking to renew their state teaching credentials
would be required to take extra training in math instruction - much
like the extra requirements in reading instruction approved for all
Maryland teachers three years ago.

"When the new reading requirements came out, teachers balked at
first, but they've done it, and I think reading instruction has
improved," said Susan Higley, a Cecil County middle school
teacher and task force member. "Yes, they're going to balk at
this, too, but it's in the best interest of improving math
education."

Lacking certification

With more than half of Maryland's middle-school math teachers lacking
specific certification in math instruction, the task force would add
new standards for them. It also seeks to create the position of
elementary math specialist - highly trained teachers who would help
other teachers improve math instruction and tutor children who are
behind, much like elementary reading specialists.

School board members and the task force agreed that a critical step to
improving math achievement is to change the attitude of pupils and
parents toward math.

"There's an attitude in the world that you don'

[CPS Math]Brown Center Report Free at Website

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Brown Center Report Free at
Website



Still another suggestion regarding the Brown Center Report --
that is, a free copy from a website. Thanks to Enrique Galindo for
bringing this to our attention.


Readers of your distribution list may be interested in knowing
that The Brown Center Report on American Education is available
on-line at:

http://www.brook.edu/gs/brown/bc_report/2000/toc.htm

From this page readers can download a free PDF version.

Best,

Enrique Galindo

-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]CORRECTION TO POSTING EARLIER TODAY

[Jerry Becker]

Title: CORRECTION TO POSTING EARLIER
TODAY


***
From "How Well are American Students Learning? -- Focus on
Math Achievement [The Brown Center Report on American Education] The
Brookings Institution, September 2000, Volume 1, Number 1 - By Tom
Loveless and Paul Diperna (32 pp.). For free copies, call
1-800-275-1447, fax 202-797-2960, E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] or go
to www.brookings.edu
***

Here's a message I received from The Brookings Institute and
thought others may want this information  ...  from Wes
Tuttle
---
In order to receive a free copy, it is my understanding that the
report must be requested directly from the Brown Center.  If
ordered through the Brookings Institution, the report @ list price is
$8.95.

Rodney Williams (Brookings Institute Customer Rep.)

[CPS Math]How well are American students learning?

[Jerry Becker]

Title: How well are American students
learning?


***
From "How Well are American Students Learning? -- Focus on
Math Achievement [The Brown Center Report on American Education] The
Brookings Institution, September 2000, Volume 1, Number 1 - By Tom
Loveless and Paul Diperna (32 pp.). For free copies, call
1-800-275-1447, fax 202-797-2960, E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] or go
to www.brookings.edu
***

Summary and Conclusion

This report has assessed the direction of student achievement in the
United States, evaluated the size and significance of gains and losses
in achievement test scores, explored questions about the quality of
information the American public is receiving on academic progress from
state and federal testing programs, and analyzed two policies and
practices associated with student achievement. The report reaches
seven major conclusions:

* The academic achievement of American students has risen since the
1970s but only at a snail's pace. Gains in reading are exceedingly
small; gains in mathematics are significant. Younger students, ages
nine and thirteen, have made greater progress than seventeen year olds
in both subjects.

* State tests confirm that achievement continued to rise from 1998 to
1999. States that write their own tests were more likely to report
reading gains than those using commercial, off-the-shelf tests. The
sample of states is very small, however, so more data are needed to
reach any meaningful conclusions.

* It is unclear why test score gains are more difficult to accomplish
with older students. Arguments that the middle-grade slump is an
artifact of testing, caused by tracking, or exacerbated by a
particular style of classroom instruction lack supporting evidence.
The diminished status of academic achievement among American teenagers
is the most persuasive explanation, and, unfortunately, subordinating
achievement to other aspects of teen life is reinforced by schools,
families, business, and public policy.

* A clear picture of national achievement in mathematics is
complicated by the divergence of the two national NAEP tests-the
long-term trend and the main-in the 1990s. The two tests appear to
assess different mathematics, with the long-term trend NAEP placing
greater emphasis on arithmetic and the main NAEP on geometry and
problem solving.

* Student performance in geometry and problem solving improved in the
1990s. Performance in arithmetic remained static or declined slightly.
Results for thirteen year olds suggest large numbers of students have
not mastered the basic arithmetic skills that are necessary before
moving on to algebra.

* Research generally favors the use of calculators in classroom
instruction. However, little is known about the impact of calculator
use on young children's learning of basic skills. More high-quality
studies are needed in fourth grade and earlier. Fourth graders who say
they use calculators every day score significantly lower on the NAEP
math test than other fourth graders. The Department of Education and
the National Science Foundation should adopt a neutral stance on the
issue, especially given the cautionary signals in the federal
government's own NAEP data.

* Schools designated as exemplary by federal and state awards programs
are not always exemplary in academic achievement. High achievement
should be the distinguishing characteristic of schools receiving such
awards. Awards for other accomplishments should be labeled for the
quality deserving honor.
**
-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]Top experts target for critics of phonics method

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Top experts target for critics of phonics
method


***
From the Dallas Morning News [DallasNews.Com], Tuesday, June 19.
2001 (Original Sunday, June 17, 2001). See
http://www.dallasnews.com/national/396046_reading_17nat..html
***

Reading research gets respect

Top expert becomes hot commodity and target for critics of
phonics-only method

By Charles Ornstein

WASHINGTON - Teaching children to read is a lot like curing a
deadly disease - so says federal researcher G. Reid Lyon.

First, scientists must identify promising approaches; then they
need to test their hunches.

Dr. Lyon, who works for the National Institutes of Health, is trying
to instill this scientific method into reading instruction, instead of
allowing philosophy to guide the debate. Although his crusade is not
new, his influence has increased markedly because of the White House's
new emphasis on reading.

"Reading is a very complex issue, just like any public health
issue," Dr. Lyon said. "Expecting me to read just by
exposure to reading is like expecting people to do what [basketball
star] Allen Iverson does just by watching him. It ain't going to
happen."

When President Bush was governor of Texas, Dr. Lyon helped design the
state's reading initiative. Now, he's helping the new administration
craft its national reading program, which aims to teach every child to
read proficiently by the end of third grade.

Legislation passed Thursday by the Senate would allow up to $5 billion
over five years to be spent on research-proven approaches for reading
instruction. An expert panel would review applications, and states
would be required to show that their programs work.

Dr. Lyon's critics say he is trying to dumb down reading instruction
by encouraging all teachers to use the same methods - drilling
students on sounds and letters. The opponents prefer a whole-language
approach, in which children are encouraged to read books and learn
words without breaking them apart.

"Even if it were true that there was scientific evidence that one
method was superior to others, you can't force teachers to teach in
ways that they don't believe in, that they feel is harmful to kids,"
said Kenneth Goodman, a professor emeritus in education at the
University of Arizona.

"What we're doing is turning our schools into drill camps for
testing," he said. "We've turned our teachers into test
administrators. We've turned wonderful teachers into technicians. We
have brought the morality of politics into educational decision
making, and Reid Lyon is as much responsible for that than
anything."

Supporters, including Mr. Bush, praise Dr. Lyon.

"Reid came in and helped us defuse all the politics of reading
curriculum battles and helped us put [together] a program that works,"
Mr. Bush said in January.

Education Secretary Rod Paige, a former Houston superintendent,
suggested that critics are reluctant to accept change.

"The principles he represents will require a lot of change, and
many people are not ready for that," Dr. Paige said. "I tell
you what, he's a great blessing for the children of
America."

The phonics fight

For years, the "reading wars" have been fought between the
advocates of phonics and whole language

But throughout the country, the philosophical debate is slowly giving
way to scientific research. Officials in several states have seized
upon studies suggesting that children learn best when they master
phonics and then read books to reinforce basic skills.

Research has shown that children fall into three categories: those who
learn to read effortlessly before they begin school, those who learn
relatively easily when taught the basics in school, and 20 percent to
30 percent who need extra help.

For the last group, the problems balloon if not quickly corrected.
"By high school, these children's potential for entering college
has decreased to almost nil, with few choices available to them,"
Dr. Lyon has said.

Children with the most trouble need direct intervention, including
intense phonics education, Dr. Lyon said. "The more a child comes
to you bereft of skills, the less choice as a teacher you
have."

National direction

Dr. Lyon oversees child development and behavior programs at the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Under his
direction and with federal money, researchers conduct clinical trials
to determine how to best identify kids with reading difficulties and
help teachers instruct them. He oversees 44 research sites that are
studying more than 34,000 children and 1,100 teachers.

With a friend in the White House, Dr. Lyon's expertise is in hot
demand.

During the Clinton administration, he traveled to Washington once a
month from his suburban Maryland office. Now, he spends about half his
time conferring with Bush appointees and lawmakers in the capital. He
also served on the president's education transition team.

Dr. Lyon first met Mr. Bush in 1995, w

[CPS Math]Tests drive teachers to other grade levels

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From the New York Times, Thursday, June 14, 2001.  See 
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/14/nyregion/14GRAD.html?searchpv=nytToday
*
Strains of Fourth-Grade Tests Drives Off Veteran Teachers

By Abby Goodnough

A growing number of fourth-grade teachers in New York City are 
seeking other assignments, saying they cannot stand the pressure of 
administering the high-stakes state tests that have become a defining 
feature of fourth grade, school officials around the city say.

And since tenured teachers can generally choose their assignments 
within a school, fourth-grade classes are increasingly being 
entrusted to the least experienced educators, a trend that principals 
fear could depress the scores for the grade.

Principals say they are troubled by these developments because the 
fourth-grade exams are the most crucial factor in rating elementary 
schools and even deciding whether they are added to the state's list 
of low-performing schools. The fourth- grade scores also play a major 
role in determining whether principals stay in their posts and, 
starting this year, receive merit bonuses.

In interviews over the last month, many fourth-grade teachers 
questioned why they should stay in a job that revolves around 
preparation for new state exams in reading, mathematics and science. 
They said that school administrators were holding them responsible 
for poor results, even though the tests measure skills that students 
should have been learning since kindergarten. They also said that the 
intense, sometimes single-minded focus on testing was taking an 
emotional toll on fourth graders, increasing their stress levels in a 
way the teachers said they could not abide.

"The whole school is looking at how our kids are going to do, so the 
pressure is enormous," said Brian Davis, a fourth-grade teacher at 
Public School 57 in the Bronx who has asked to teach first grade next 
year. "The test-prep books have basically become our curriculum."

It is impossible to know just how many teachers are leaving the 
fourth grade in New York City because the Board of Education does not 
track the movement of teachers from grade to grade. But in 
interviews, about two dozen teachers and principals around the city 
confirmed that the problem not only exists, but is worsening at their 
schools.

The principals say that they cannot keep experienced teachers in 
fourth grade, or transfer them there, because of a provision in the 
teachers union contract that gives teachers with seniority 
significant leeway in choosing their assignments from year to year. 
Unlike many teachers contracts elsewhere in the state, the New York 
City contract requires principals to send out "preference sheets" to 
teachers in May, on which they list their top three assignment 
choices for the next school year.

Although principals technically can veto a senior teacher's top 
choice, most do not out of fear that the teacher will file a 
time-consuming grievance, according to officials at the Council of 
Supervisors and Administrators, the union representing city 
principals.

"It is absolutely a hindrance," said the principal of a Staten Island 
elementary school where two fourth- grade teachers, both veterans, 
have requested new assignments. Given the high stakes and the growing 
acrimony over the tests, most of the teachers and principals 
interviewed, including this one, spoke on the condition of anonymity. 
"If it were an informal survey asking the teachers what job they 
would prefer, that would be fine," he said. "But holding my feet to 
the fire is a problem because it ruins my creativity in filling the 
most challenging jobs."

Officials at the teachers union said that eighth-grade teachers, 
whose students also take new state exams in English, math and other 
subjects, are also complaining about the pressure to raise test 
scores. But fewer of those teachers are seeking new assignments, the 
officials said, possibly because they teach only one subject and are 
responsible for only one test. New York City also tests third, fifth, 
sixth and seventh graders in reading and math, but those exams do not 
carry the same weight as the fourth- grade exams.

"The buck now stops with the fourth-grade teacher and it's terribly 
unfair," said Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of 
Teachers, the city teachers union. "Instead of using these tests 
diagnostically to assess where kids are, they've too often become an 
off-with- your-head tool."

New York State introduced new fourth-grade exams in English and 
mathematics in 1999 to hold students accountable to rigorous new 
academic standards. Fourth graders also take a state science test. 
The English exam, which is given over three days in January and tests 
students' reading, writing and listening skills, is considered the 
most difficult of the fourth-grade tests and the one whose results 
say the most about 

[CPS Math]PART III: A Year in the Life of a Beginning Teacher

[Jerry Becker]

**
 From Newsweek [Society], June 4, 2001, pp. 43-44. See 
http://www.msnbc.com/news/578835.asp
--
More than 20 percent of new teachers leave the profession in the 
first three years; after five years, more than a third have gone on 
to other careers. Money is the major reason. But rowdy kids, 
apathetic parents and long hours also push even idealistic teachers 
out. To find out more about what makes some stay and others leave, 
NEWSWEEK asked three first-year teachers to keep diaries. Here's how 
they did [below]
---
This is PART III and the last of three parts.
**

A Year In The Life

Three novices talk about what it's like at the head of the class-and 
why teaching is the hardest job to love

By Barbara Kantrowitz

The statistics should scare every parent. The nation's public schools 
will need 2 million new teachers in the next decade, according to a 
recent government report. It'll be tough to recruit them and even 
tougher to keep them in the  classroom.

An Eager Apprentice in the Third Grade

Ben Klein, 22, is an assistant teacher in San Francisco.

At Cornell University, Ben Klein studied child and adolescent 
psychology and worked part time at a nursery school. He'd also been a 
camp counselor for many years and admired the zeal that his mother, a 
teacher, had for her work. Although all these experiences were 
pushing him toward a career in education, he was still unsure of what 
he was going to do as graduation approached last year. Friends were 
heading off to law school or Wall Street and he briefly thought about 
joining them. Then an aunt who lives in San Francisco told him that 
many of the city's private schools hire teaching assistants to work 
in the lower grades. It seemed like a good fit. Klein liked Hamlin, 
an all-girls school, from the moment he entered the main building, a 
historic mansion in Pacific Heights. Still, there are times when he 
realizes that he has chosen a path many of his peers don't respect. 
"In September," he says, "I traveled down to Burlingame to visit a 
friend from Cornell who is a banker. We went out to dinner with a 
bunch of guys from his office. Since I was the outsider in the group, 
a guy from across the table asked what I did. When I told him, there 
was a moment of silence. Then he said, 'Oh, you teach. How nice of 
you. That must be amusing.' Amusing. What does that mean?"

DIARY

"The low salaries make me sad-and angry."

SEPT. 7: Elizabeth Nalbandian, the head teacher, and I have been in 
school for days, setting up desks, hanging bulletin boards and 
planning lessons. I thought I was ready. But at 8 a.m., when the kids 
began to roll in with their parents, I didn't know what hit me. I 
tried to match names to faces from the old yearbook, but then all 21 
girls rolled in wearing the same outfit. The parents came up to 
introduce themselves, and many seemed shocked that their daughters 
would have a male assistant teacher. They made jokes about what it 
would be like for me in such a female-dominated school. After the 
parents left and the class began to settle down, I relaxed. The rest 
of the day, I was constantly rehearsing the girls' names. At 3:15, I 
was exhausted.

OCT. 8: I've been listening to Bush and Gore talk about what's wrong 
with schools. Here's one answer: not enough money for teachers. At a 
staff meeting, Coreen Hester, the head of the school, talked about 
Hamlin's finances. We're a private school with more resources than 
most and we're committed to paying teachers well. But the reality is 
that no teacher in the current pay scale will ever make more than 
$85,000. The starting salary for a teaching assistant like me barely 
breaks $20,000. It makes me sad, and angry. Virtually every 
professional working at Hamlin has a degree from a top institution 
and many will never be able to afford their own homes. They have to 
work second jobs just to pay their rent.

JAN. 6: Because Elizabeth is on her honeymoon, I've had the class to 
myself for three days. I was prepared in terms of the lesson plans, 
but I wasn't sure whether the girls would accept me as the sole 
authority figure. As an assistant, I do a lot of one-on-one work with 
the girls, and I've tried to develop a friendly rapport. But as head 
of the class, even for a few days, I have to demonstrate that I mean 
business. They came back with a post-vacation buzz. In our morning 
meeting, I tried to make it clear that we had work to do. Although 
things went smoothly, I really appreciated the luxury of two teachers 
in the classroom. It was the little things: having someone to make an 
extra copy in the middle of a lesson or be there when I need a 
bathroom break. I could also see how difficult it is to give 
individualized help. The dynamic created by two teachers is 
unbeatable. You have one teacher leadin

[CPS Math]Move over Deep Blue, Eliza's Next

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Move over Deep Blue, Eliza's
Next



From USA Today, Friday, April 27, 2001, Section B [Money], p. B1.
See http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/


Move over, Deep Blue, Eliza's next

IBM plans computer smart enough to beat hackers

By Edward Iwata, USA Today

In one of its most ambitious projects ever, IBM unveiled a
multibillion-dollar research offensive Thursday to create business
computers capable of doing simple tasks on their own.

Over the next 5 years or so, Big Blue will marshal hundreds of
scientists and pour several billion dollars into Project Eliza, short
for "e-lizard."

The name comes from IBM's chess-playing supercomputer, Deep Blue,
which had the brainpower-equivalent of a lizard. Eliza's offspring
will have even more processing power, IBM says.

The aim: to create "intelligent" computers capable of
handling simple tasks, such as correcting system failures and warding
off attacks from hackers.

If such servers ran the Nasdaq Stock Market, for instance, they
could instantly detect a sharp upsurge in stock trading, then adjust
quickly to the higher demand. No technicians would be needed to
monitor the system or troubleshoot.

Eliza's technology also could be used in Blue Gene, IBM's
supercomputer under development and aimed for biotechnology
research.

Since the 1970s, scientists have researched artificial intelligence,
seeking to create computers that could reason like humans. IBM's
supercomputers and the business servers developed by Project Eliza
won't replicate human intelligence. Rather, they will crunch numbers
at extraordinary speeds, processing trillions of transactions a
second.

For years, technologists at IBM, Intel, Sun Microsystems,
Hewlett-Packard and Compaq Computer have sought to develop such
computers. IBM's project is the largest corporate move in this
direction, and IBM has a 2- to 4-year lead over competitors, analysts
say.

Reaching Eliza's goals won't be easy, though. Analyst Jonathan
Eunice of research firm Illuminata says the research challenges will
be costly and complex - like the U.S. space program or the medical
quest to cure cancer. And the advances will come in small steps, not
one huge leap.

"It's as if they announced they're going to the moon,"
Eunice says. "IBM has the resources and the intellectual property
to do it. But they're going to be employing a lot of engineers for a
long time to fully realize that vision."

Today, large business computers, called servers, are limited to simple
back-office tasks, such as collecting data on customers. The servers
also crash often.

"This is definitely a grand challenge," says Irving
Wladowsky-Berger, IBM vice president of technology and strategy.
"The ultimate goal is a system that never goes down."

IBM also is experimenting with a huge prototype of a fully automated
server farm in New York state called Project Oceano.

When Web traffic sharply rises, the computer system adds more servers,
increases bandwidth or slows the incoming traffic to ward off system
overload.
*
-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]PART II: A Year in the Life of a Beginning Teacher

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From Newsweek [Society], June 4, 2001, pp. 43-44. See 
http://www.msnbc.com/news/578831.asp
--
More than 20 percent of new teachers leave the profession in the 
first three years; after five years, more than a third have gone on 
to other careers. Money is the major reason. But rowdy kids, 
apathetic parents and long hours also push even idealistic teachers 
out. To find out more about what makes some stay and others leave, 
NEWSWEEK asked three first-year teachers to keep diaries. Here's how 
they did [below]
-
This is PART II of three parts.
**

A Year In The Life

Three novices talk about what it's like at the head of the class-and 
why teaching is the hardest job to love

By Barbara Kantrowitz

The statistics should scare every parent. The nation's public schools 
will need 2 million new teachers in the next decade, according to a 
recent government report. It'll be tough to recruit them and even 
tougher to keep them in the  classroom.

After a Long Detour, a Return to Square Roots

Karen Terrell left her marketing job to teach math at an inner-city 
high school in Dorchester, Mass.
Karen Terrell, 26, teaches high-school math in Boston.

As a child, Karen Terrell spent summers with her cousins and her 
grandmother in Florida. To keep busy, the kids played school and 
Terrell was always the teacher, a role she loved. But when she did 
well in math at her high school in Decatur, Ga., her own teachers 
told her to study engineering because she could make more money. 
Terrell majored in architecture at MIT and, after graduating in 1996, 
worked for a marketing firm. "The work was interesting," she says, 
"but I wasn't happy. In
December 1999, I quit and took a few months off to clear my head." 
Soon  afterward she saw an ad for the Massachusetts Institute for New 
Teachers, which pays a $20,000 signing bonus to career switchers (a 
promising source of new teachers). Terrell relied on her Christian 
faith to get her through what has been a grueling year. Someday she 
wants to go into publishing. But next fall, she'll be back at 
Jeremiah Burke High School in Dorchester, an inner-city school with a 
predominantly African-American and Hispanic student body. "I live 
just a few minutes away," Terrell says, "and I liked the idea of 
being able to affect my own community."

DIARY

"My body has never been so tired."

NOV. 8: Tomorrow is the last day of the term and I'm so glad! Not 
because I won't see my kids for three days-although that is a 
plus-but rather because Monday begins a new term and what to me feels 
like a new lease on life. My body has never been so tired from the 
mental and emotional strain. Every day I come home quoting Claire 
Huxtable from "The Cosby Show": "I have nothing left to give!" Then I 
get a bite to eat, hit the couch and as I begin to drift off to 
sleep, my mind kicks into
automatic pilot. "I've got to be more organized. That R. reminds me 
so much of myself when I was his age. Lord, what can I do to reach A. 
tomorrow?" Before I know it, four hours have passed and I wake up 
with a whole set of ideas for the next day.

DEC. 14: Today I threw out half my algebra class for misbehaving or 
somehow disrupting the class. I have a roomful of ninth graders and 
one repeating 10th grader, and I'm finding day by day that there is a 
huge difference between the ninth- and 10th-grade maturity levels. I 
never would have suspected this until now. What's funny is that when 
I began looking for teaching jobs earlier this year, I really wanted 
ninth graders. I wanted the younger bunch because I wanted to get to 
them as early as possible to help mold them and shape them into 
responsible, dream-chasing young adults. Perhaps this is a bit too 
much to ask for when teaching any grade level, but it's still my 
ultimate goal.

DEC. 17: Today, a Sunday, was incredibly emotional for me. At church, 
Pastor Thompson began talking about falling short of the promises you 
make to people and to God. My mind began to wander, thinking about 
things I had promised people and the Lord, but before I could sit 
there and  start feeling guilty, Pastor Thompson went to a Scripture 
in Revelation that said even though we mess up, God gives us time and 
space to repent. What really melted my heart was when he started 
talking about prayer. He talked about how we are all warriors. 
Something inside me began to stir. Then he went on about how we are 
supposed to be standing in the gap for others who cannot intercede 
for themselves. My mind went to the students I had been praying for-I 
said their names, and many more. Even for the day-to-day things, I 
pray for wisdom and guidance. It's because of Him that I'm going back 
to the Burke after a hellacious week that left me  dreaming of not 
going back. All because of Him.

DEC. 21: School's out for Christmas and 

[CPS Math]PART I: A Year in the Life of a Beginning Teacher

[Jerry Becker]

 From Newsweek [Society], June 4, 2001, pp. 43-44. See 
http://www.msnbc.com/news/578838.asp#BODY
--
More than 20 percent of new teachers leave the profession in the 
first three years; after five years, more than a third have gone on 
to other careers. Money is the major reason. But rowdy kids, 
apathetic parents and long hours also push even idealistic teachers 
out. To find out more about what makes some stay and others leave, 
NEWSWEEK asked three first-year teachers to keep diaries. Here's how 
they did [below]

This is PART I of three parts.


A Year In The Life

Three novices talk about what it's like at the head of the class-and 
why teaching is the hardest job to love

By Barbara Kantrowitz

The statistics should scare every parent. The nation's public schools 
will need 2 million new teachers in the next decade, according to a 
recent government report. It'll be tough to recruit them and even 
tougher to keep them in the classroom.

Elizabeth Jackson, 23, teaches middle-school language arts in Evanston, Ill.

Elizabeth Jackson looks so young that more than one parent has 
mistaken her for a student. And this is middle school. But her youth 
hasn't spared her from shouldering the responsibility of educating 
six classes a day at Nichols Middle School, and 120 students 
representing an amazing cross section of America: white and black, 
rich and poor. She says she learned to teach by paying attention to 
the good and bad teachers in her own life. Her mother, who teaches 
elementary school in Iowa City, was her first role model. But Jackson 
is also haunted by the memory of a high-school English teacher whose 
rules for writing were paralyzingly rigid. Years later Jackson still 
recalls agonizing over a paper. "I sat writing a sentence, then 
deleting it, for over an hour," she says. "In the end I dropped the 
class, but the damage was done, and one thing was sure: I was not a 
writer."

At Minnesota's St. Olaf College another teacher-a trusted 
professor-undid that damage by recommending that Jackson take a class 
in expository writing to help overcome her fears. It worked, and at 
the end of the semester Jackson wrote her professor a note: "There is 
nothing to say but thank you. You know what a struggle this has been 
for me. I still have a lot of growing to do, but at least I'm no 
longer scared."

Jackson's getting notes like that from her own students these days, 
as well as some amazing pieces of writing. One boy, Gareth, "writes 
as well as the best writers I knew in college," she says. "He wrote a 
story early in the year that had me completely spellbound." There 
have been rough moments, too: trying to help her students with 
learning disabilities, difficult home lives and the inevitable 
agonies of being stuck somewhere between childhood and the glories of 
being a full-fledged teenager. Marlyn Payne, Jackson's mentor during 
her student-teaching days at Nichols in the fall of 1999, says that 
when Jackson first entered her classroom, she knew immediately that 
this one was a keeper. "She had a strong sense of herself," Payne 
says, "and she knew what she expected from the  students."

After a year in the trenches, that hasn't changed. "I became a 
teacher," Jackson says, "because I understand the power to change a 
person, for good or ill. And I hope, because I paid attention to my 
teachers, that I will know how to nurture. I teach writing not 
because it was easy and I was good at it, but because it was hard and 
I learned to love it anyway."

DIARY

"There are no magic words that will motivate every student"

  OCT. 13: Another Friday. I want nothing but silence. The low buzz of 
Juan's vacuum cleaner is about all I can take. I never appreciated 
Fridays before. Never in college, not even during finals. Now, on my 
drive home from school on Fridays, I take a deep breath and slowly 
allow myself to become 22 again, to become Elizabeth rather than Ms. 
Jackson. I look forward to a night on the town, maybe a date even, 
but more than anything I think of how I will really sleep for the 
first time in five nights, how I will allow myself to let go of my 
students-the ones who never turn in any work despite my calls home, 
the ones who won't sit still and can't stop talking, the ones who 
work diligently every day and never get the praise they deserve 
because I'm too frantic and disorganized to worry about anyone except 
those who aren't "meeting the standard." I will not think about the 
hours of grading I have to do. And I will not fret about what, and 
how, I'm going to teach next week or next month. My dreams will be 
school-free for at least tonight, which is the most relaxing thing I 
can imagine. Three different teachers told me what a wonderful job 
I'm doing today. Would they still say that if they sat in on my 
first-period clas

[CPS Math]Playlet: Calculators

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Playlet: Calculators


**
Written by Bill Marsh, Port Angeles, WA and sent with his
permission. Performed as a reading on May 24, 2001 by students from
The Choice School of the Port Angeles, Washington, School District. 
It won first place in "Instant Acting" at the Washington
Alternative Learning Association's Renaissance Friendship Games. The
playlet was suggested by the title of the book "Capitalism &
Arithmetic: The New Math of the 15th Century," authored by Frank
Swetz
**

Too New Maths of the XVth and the XXth Centuries

[In the 21st Century, on one side of the stage, two girls are at
a table doing their math homework using calculators.]
 
[IN THE 15TH CENTURY, ON THE OTHER SIDE, A BOY IS DOING
CALCULATIONS WITH A QUILL PEN AND A BOTTLE OF INK.]

Both fathers enter.

Father:  What the heck are you kids doing?
FATHER :  My son! What doest thou?

Girl#1:  Our math homework! 
Girl#2:  What do you think?
BOY:  The tasks the Reckoning Master gave me, father.

Father:  With a calculator?
FATHER: Without thy counting board?

Girl#1:   Of course.  We all have them.
Girl#2:   They're required in math class.
BOY:   Neither counting board nor abacus is
permitted, father. The Reckoning Master bids us use pen and
ink.

Father:   In my day, we only had paper and pencils.
Calculators cost money.
FATHER:   In my day, we never had paper!  We had
to think of the costs.

Girl#1:  They cost less than five bucks.  Everybody has
one.
Girl#2:   They're lots faster than we are, and they
don't make mistakes.
BOY:   Merchants now require written reckoning. 
For accurate records.

Father:  What if you don't have a calculator?
FATHER:  What if thou hast no quill? Or ink? Or paper?

Girls:  Who cares?
BOY:  I know not, father.

Father:  What's all this about different
"algorithms"?
FATHER:  And you study the methods of al
Kwarizme?

Girl #1: There's lots of ways to do arithmetic.
BOY:  It is a new way, father.

Father:  Arithmetic was done the way I do it when my
grandmother was little.  I know arithmetic when I see it.
FATHER:  In Christendom, we use the numerals of Rome, not
those of the Infidel in Araby.

Girl #2:   Our teacher says it used to be different.
BOY:   And what did our Hebrew forebears do, before the
Romans conquered the Holy City of Jerusalem?

Father and FATHER:  I don't know.
Father (pointing to paper):  And what's this?  Why are
there just zeros and ones?
FATHER (looking at paper):  What is this?  A cipher for
zero? Surely nothing is no number!

Girl#1:  It's how computers do math.
Girl#2:  It's neat, actually.
BOY: We are "computers" now, father.  That's what
our Reckoning Master calls us.

Father: If you believe there's more than one way to do
arithmetic, you may end up not believing in right and
wrong.
FATHER:  That zero is from the land of the Hindoo! 
When thou beginnest to use nothing for something, or something for
nothing, I fear thou wilt end up believing in something evil, or in
nothing at all.

Girl#1:   Oh, Dad!
Girl#2:   We'll be OK.  We still know right from
wrong.
BOY:   I'll not lose my faith, father.

Father:  Good.  I know you're both good kids.  But
I wish math would just teach the one right way to do things!
FATHER:  I know thou art a good boy.  I just don't want
these strange new ways to imperil thy soul.

**
-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]Obituary for Common Sense

[Jerry Becker]

*
Forwarded by Corrie Bergeron.
*

Obituary for Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of an old friend by the name of Common Sense.

Common Sense lived a long life but died from heart failure at the 
brink of the millennium. No one really knows how old he was since his 
birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

Common Sense selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, 
hospitals, homes, factories and offices, helping folks get jobs done 
without fanfare and foolishness.

For decades, petty rules, silly laws and frivolous lawsuits held no 
power over Common Sense. He was credited with cultivating such valued 
lessons as to know when to come in out of the rain, the early bird 
gets the worm, and life isn't always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend 
more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (adults are in 
charge, not kids), and it's okay to come in second.

A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and the 
Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and 
educational trends including feminism, body piercing, whole
language and "new math. "

But his health declined when he became infected with the "If-it- 
only-helps-one-person-it's-worth-it" virus. In recent decades his 
waning strength proved no match for the ravages of overbearing 
federal regulation.

He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking 
lawyers and enlightened auditors. His health rapidly deteriorated 
when schools endlessly implemented zero tolerance policies, reports 
of six year old boys charged with sexual harassment for kissing a 
classmate, a teen suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash after 
lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student. It 
declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to 
administer aspirin to a student but cannot inform the parent when the 
female student is pregnant or wants an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as Lifetime Values became 
contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better 
treatment than victims, and federal judges stuck their noses in
everything from the Boy Scouts to professional sports.

As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic but was 
kept informed of developments, regarding questionable regulations for 
asbestos, low flow toilets, "smart" guns, the nurturing of 
Prohibition Laws and mandatory air bags.

Finally when told that the homeowners association restricted exterior 
furniture only to that which enhanced property values, he breathed 
his last.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents Truth and Trust; 
his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, 
Reason.  He is survived by three stepbrothers: Rights, Tolerance and 
Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
***
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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.

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[CPS Math]Alfie Kohn: Uninvited Guest in Massachusetts

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From Education Week, May 16, 2001, Volume XX, Number 36, p. 18.  See
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=36stjour.h20&keywords=uninvited%20guest
*
State Journal

Uninvited Guest

Organizers of a conference that brought together public and charter 
school teachers in Massachusetts last week dropped prominent testing 
critic Alfie Kohn as their keynote speaker after the state education 
department threatened to withhold about $18,000 in federal grant 
money to help stage the event.

Jonathan Palumbo, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of 
Education, said the agency was concerned that Mr. Kohn's remarks 
would be inappropriate for a gathering organized to exchange ideas 
between traditional public school teachers and their charter school 
counterparts. The department has received about $1.5 million in 
grants from the U.S. Department of Education over the past two years 
to help facilitate discussions between the two groups of educators.

"It wasn't so much the speaker, but the content he wanted to talk 
about," said Mr. Palumbo, who added that he had assumed Mr. Kohn 
would be speaking about his criticisms of the Massachusetts 
Comprehensive Assessment System tests, which students in the class of 
2003 will have to pass in English and mathematics in order to 
graduate.

"It's unsettling, but not really surprising," said Mr. Kohn, the 
author of The Case Against Standardized Testing, published last year. 
"It's a small step from saying, 'Pass this test or you don't 
graduate' and saying, 'Renege on this speaker or you don't get 
funded.'"

The MCAS has drawn fire from critics who say the exams soak up 
classroom time and energy that could be put to better use. Supporters 
say the tests are needed to ensure accountability.

The conference took place May 9-10 in Northampton, Mass. The 
conference's coordinator, consultant Amy Leos-Urbel, declined to 
comment last week.

-John Gehring

-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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[CPS Math]Useful info for mathematics teachers

[Jerry Becker]

SOME USEFUL INFORMATION


Following a number of inquiries for information about standards-based 
curricula in mathematics for K-12, I am providing the URL for a 
website, the K-12 Mathematics Curriculum Center. It is funded by the 
National Science Foundation and provides useful information to 
teachers and schools to assist them as they select and implement 
standards-based mathematics curricula.

http://www.edc.org/mcc/index.htm

***
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

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<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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[CPS Math]MathematicallySane Update

[Jerry Becker]

*
Update (verbatim) from the  www.MathematicallySane.com. The website 
is at http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/index.html
*

Here are a few updates from  www.MathematicallySane.com ...

* Our site is covered in the current Education Week. Go to
http://www.edweek.com/ew/ew_printstory.cfm?slug=38tandl.h20 and 
scroll down to see the article on "Mathematics Underground."

* Our membership has now passed 400! Thank you for your continued 
help in spreading the word about www.MathematicallySane.com ... Tell 
a friend or colleague!

* As many of you know, New York City has become a very visible 
battleground in the effort to improve mathematics education. Those of 
you from that area may wish to attend the "forum" on mathematics 
education mentioned below, to ensure that both sides of the issues 
are heard.

-- NYC HOLD Honest Open Logical Debate on Math Reform

-- Wednesday, June 6, 2001, 7:00 p.m.

-- Tishman Auditorium in Vanderbilt Hall, NYU School of Law

-- 40 Washington Square South (at MacDougal Street)

-- Subway Lines: A,B,C,D,E,F& Q (West 4th Street) N, R (8th Street)

-- For additional information please see 
http://www.cims.nyu.edu/~braams/forum.html

* Finally, a reminder to send us ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) your 
favorite articles, resources, and reports so we can continue to 
increase the usefulness of the site in supporting mathematics 
education reform. We appreciate the ideas that have come in, and will 
be doing an update to the site within the next 10 days.
***
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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.

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[CPS Math]NEW DISCUSSION GROUP: MathTalk

[Jerry Becker]

NOTE:  I just received the following announcement of a new discussion 
group, called MathTalk. Information to subscribe is below.


Dear gentle members of the Mathematically Sane,

This is to let you know about MathTalk, a new discussion group that 
is being set up to promote positive discussion about mathematics 
education. You can check this out at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MathTalk

To subscribe, send a message to  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

We have also added a link to this information at 
http://www.MathematicallySane.com

Finally, we apologize for sending two messages in such short 
succession, but we did not have the information in time to include in 
our last message. We promise not to bombard you with messages in the 
future. Best wishes to all.

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: 
[EMAIL PROTECTED]


-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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[CPS Math]CORRECTION: Mathematics Underground Posting

[Jerry Becker]

Readers:

The Education Week article below was posted to the list on June 1, 
2001. The article had an incorrect URL forthe  MathematicallySane 
website.

Here is the correct URL for the website:

http://MathematicallySane.com/index.html

The E-mail address is:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


***
***
 From Education Week [Teaching and Learning section], May 30, 2001, 
Volume 20, Number 38, p. 10. See 
http://www.edweek.com/ew/ew_printstory.cfm?slug=38tandl.h20
***

Mathematics Underground

By Jeff Archer, David J. Hoff, & Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

A band of anonymous supporters of progressive mathematics education 
has created a Web site to counter a recent tide of criticism aimed at 
the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' standards.

"There are at least two sides to every issue, including the so-called 
'math wars,'" says the mission statement posted on 
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/index.html. "For too long, 
however, the public has heard primarily from the side of the 
traditionalists. MathematicallySane.com has been developed to balance 
the equation.

"For too long, the case for reform has been unfairly characterized as 
'fuzzy math,' " the statement continues. "MathematicallySane has been 
created to provide an alternative-and more accurate-view of reform by 
making a compelling case that changes in our nation's mathematics 
programs are imperative for our students' future success and for the 
economic health of our nation."

The site highlights research showing that curricula written to meet 
the NCTM standards have yielded growth in student learning, as well 
as analysis of the debate over whether to emphasize basic knowledge 
and skills or focus on conceptual learning. It includes links to 
other organizations' analyses of the math wars, including NCTM 
documents that offer brief descriptions of the group's standards.

"We have chosen not to reveal our identities because past experiences 
have shown that we would then be targeted as individuals," one of the 
organizers wrote in response to an inquiry sent to the site's e-mail 
address. "We want people to focus on the information provided on our 
site, not on us."

The responder added that more than 300 people had signed up for 
MathematicallySane's mailing list since the site was launched May 2.
*
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

For more information:
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To search the archives:

[CPS Math]Detroit: Large turnover of principals

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From the NASSMC Briefing Service (NBS) that is provided by the 
National Alliance of State
Science & Mathematics Coalitions through grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation
and the National Security Agency (NSA). Tuesday, June 5, 2001. 
Original Source:  Detroit News, Monday, June 4, 2001 - see 
http://www.detnews.com/2001/schools/0106/05/a01-232187.htm
***

Detroit to fill 80 school top jobs

Detroit schools are about to undergo a dramatic shift in leadership, 
as nearly a third of the city's public schools will have new 
principals when classes begin next fall. While some of the existing 
principals have retired, others were forced out because of lagging 
academic performance or poor financial audits.

"It's a good opportunity to bring in the change we need," said Carlos 
Lopez, an executive director who oversees 10 schools. "If you are 
going to have an organization moving forward, you have to recruit 
people who will buy into that vision from the very beginning."

District administrators, parents and teachers are interviewing 
candidates by the dozens in an effort to fill the slots in time. Many 
of the new principals will attend the Principal Academy, a two-week 
summer workshop program, before taking the helm.

Officials acknowledge that the shift may cause some temporary 
instability, especially since more turnover is expected in the next 
few years. Diann Woodard, president of the Organization of School 
Administrators and Supervisors, said so much turnover at once could 
be "devastating."

"We are losing all that experience and experience is necessary in 
these jobs," she said.

***
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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[CPS Math]Textbook Discontent

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From Education Week [Teaching and Learning section], May 30, 2001, 
Volume 20, Number 38, p. 10. See 
http://www.edweek.com/ew/ew_printstory.cfm?slug=38tandl.h20
***

Textbook Discontent

By Jeff Archer, David J. Hoff, & Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

State textbook-adoption policies and the dominance of a handful of 
states in the lucrative school publishing market are undermining the 
quality of textbooks, argues a report by the Center for Education 
Reform.

"The result is an increasing trend toward texts that are long on 
visual gimmicks, short on factual information, and homogenized in 
content," Jeanne Allen, the president of the Washington-based 
research and advocacy group, said in a statement. "And this result is 
having a trickle-down effect, weakening the classroom instruction by 
teachers who are more often than not reliant upon these books for a 
de facto lesson plan."

The centralized system of adopting textbooks used in 21 states should 
be restructured to allow districts greater flexibility in selecting 
instructional materials, concludes the report released last week.

Districts in textbook-adoption states must spend most of their state 
instructional-materials money on texts selected by state committees. 
To make the list, the texts must meet specific criteria for content. 
The needs of the largest adoption states-California, Texas, and 
Florida-wield the most influence on the development of texts. And, 
the report says, after a succession of mergers, four companies -- 
McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt, and Pearson-have cornered 
the market.

The report suggests that states implement such policies as allowing 
districts more say in the selection process, eliminating state 
textbook- adoption policies and committees, and creating rigorous 
assessments that force districts to select curricula and 
instructional materials that help students meet state academic 
standards.

Doing so, the report argues, would open up the market to smaller 
publishers and encourage the development of higher-quality and more 
innovative texts.
*
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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[CPS Math]Economic boom eluded teachers

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From Education Week [Teaching and Learning section], May 30, 2001, 
Volume 20, Number 38, p. 10. See 
http://www.edweek.com/ew/ew_printstory.cfm?slug=38tandl.h20
***

Economic Boom Eluded Teachers, Surveys Suggest

By Jeff Archer, David J. Hoff, & Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

New reports from the two national teachers' unions suggest that 
educators have largely been left behind in the recent economic boom 
times, a trend they say threatens to exacerbate the problems many 
districts now face in filling teaching positions.

According to the National Education Association's recent "Rankings 
and Estimates" report, the nationwide average salary for 
instructional staff members rose 3 percent in the 1999-2000 school 
year. During the same period, the group says, total personal income 
in the country jumped 5.9 percent.

The long-term picture painted by the document doesn't look any 
better. Measured in constant dollars, average teacher salaries grew 
by less than 1 percent between 1989 and 1999.

"That's really rather astounding, at a time when we are saying that 
we need more quality and a greater quantity of teachers in the 
classroom," said Bob Chase, the president of the 2.4 million-member 
NEA.

Results of a recent survey by the 1 million-member American 
Federation of Teachers jibe with the NEA's findings. According to the 
AFT document, the average teacher salary in 1999-2000 stood at 
$41,820, up from $40,540 the previous year.

Educators in some states fared much better. At $52,410, Connecticut's 
average teacher's salary ranked No. 1 in the AFT survey. Meanwhile, 
Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington state boasted the 
biggest one-year increases in teacher pay last year.

But like the NEA, the federation shows educators generally losing 
ground over time. Ten years ago, teachers' salaries were 21 percent 
higher than those of the average full-time worker in the United 
States. By the 1999-2000 school year, that advantage had fallen to 10 
percent.

Both reports are based primarily on surveys of state education 
departments, and the comparisons with other types of jobs do not 
adjust for the fact that most educators don't teach in the summer.

Nor can they show the effects of shifting demographics. Large numbers 
of retirements, for instance, pull down average salaries because they 
result in a workforce in which more teachers are at the lowest rungs 
of their pay scales. (The AFT shows the average beginning teacher's 
salary increasing 4.2 percent in 1999-2000-about 1 percentage point 
more than the average for all teachers.)

A third report from a private group that focuses on 
teacher-recruitment issues hints at a public willing to ante up at 
least a little more for teachers. The poll by the Belmont, 
Mass.-based Recruiting New Teachers shows eight in 10 respondents 
said they were willing to pay another $10 a year in taxes to help 
bring teachers' salaries more in line with those in comparable 
professions.

"I think it's time for the federal government to take a look at what 
role it can play in improving teachers' salaries across the country," 
Mr. Chase said.

Some observers, though, see the need for a different solution. 
Because teachers of some subjects are in much higher demand than 
others, the answer is to differentiate pay according to teachers' 
specialties, said Michael J. Podgursky, the chairman of the economics 
department at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

"There's no question that districts are having a terrible time 
recruiting special education teachers and science and math teachers," 
he said. "But at the same time, districts are in good shape in terms 
of elementary education."

-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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To search the archives:

[CPS Math]No easy math answers / Singapore texts

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From Education Week [Teaching and Learning section], May 30, 2001, 
Volume 20, Number 38, p. 10. See 
http://www.edweek.com/ew/ew_printstory.cfm?slug=38tandl.h20
***

No Easy Math Answers

By Jeff Archer, David J. Hoff, & Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

Singapore's math curriculum is widely acclaimed as a major ingredient 
in helping the tiny island nation excel on international exams, but 
it won't be a panacea in U.S. classrooms, concludes a review by 
University of Washington researchers.

The Asian nation's middle school curriculum does not "mesh well with 
American elementary-school-grade material" and has few resources to 
help U.S. teachers use the texts in their classrooms, according to 
the study produced for the National Science Foundation.

"Simply adopting the middle-grades Singapore curriculum is not likely 
to help American students move to the top," the report says.

The best way to use the Singapore curriculum, it adds, is "as 
supplemental and enrichment material."

After Singapore 8th graders topped the world in the Third 
International Mathematics and Science Study in 1995, U.S. schools 
looked in part to the country's textbooks for answers. Several are 
using the books as the basis of their math curricula. ("U.S. Schools 
Importing Singaporean Texts," Sept. 27, 2000.)

The Singapore curriculum also is popular among home-schooling 
families. It has proved to be so popular that Family Things, the West 
Linn, Ore., distributor of the products, has changed its name to
SingaporeMath.com and is marketing the books through its Web site.

The NSF contracted with Loyce M. Adams and several of her University 
of Washington colleagues in Seattle to compare the Singapore 
curriculum with new middle school programs designed to meet National 
Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards.

Those programs- the Connected Mathematics Program and Contemporary 
Mathematics in Context-are better suited to American schools because 
they are in line with what is expected to be taught here, the report 
says. They do have a "major shortcoming," it adds, because they 
emphasize conceptual understanding, sometimes at the expense of 
ensuring that students master basic skills. The U.S. books also might 
fall short in getting middle school students on track for 
higher-level math
courses, such as calculus, before they leave high school.

The U.S. curricula are bound to improve since the math teachers' 
group altered its standards to incorporate basic skills, the report 
says.
**
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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[CPS Math]Response to posting

[Jerry Becker]

Sent with the permission of the writer, Mr. Mike Martin. This is in 
response to the Washington Post article, Tuesday, May 22, 2001 
written by Jay Mathews. See
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/education/columns/classstruggles/A60042-2001May22.html.
 
Everyone is welcome to respond to Mr. Mathews <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 
and Mr. Martin has done so and shared his response with us.


I find it a little hard to take you seriously here, there are several things
you omit and several ludricous arguments you make that leads me to check if
this is an April Fools joke. Since it is June, and I don't think your lead
time is that long, I'll answer.

You don't need tests to know who isn't doing well. Unless you just fell off
the turnip truck, everyone knows that tests primarily measure family income.
So testing impoverished inner-city schools to see if they are doing well
academically is somewhat ludicrous. Everyone also knows that inner-city
schools are underfunded, overcrowded, gang-ridden, rife with health problems
and lacking facilities and equipment. So you want to spend money to test
these students to find out that they have academic problems where you need
to put resources. But then instead of putting resources there you cut their
budgets and fire their staff because they are "underperforming." Yeah,
right.

The reality has been demonstrated over and over: you want higher test
scores, you kick out the lower scoring kids. The No Excuses report
highlighted that by lauding those schools that have a demonstrated track
record of doing just that. It was demonstrated in Texas with the TAAS. It
was demonstrated in Birmingham when 522 students were expelled right before
a big test. The elitists that demand testing know this, that is the whole
point. Duh, are these "Educational Standards" people also clamoring for the
social services and healthcare for these inner-city kids to give them half a
chance at scoring well on tests? Well, duh?

The public schools in the United States have traditionally operated as if
education was a privilege open only to the privileged. Traditional education
"tracked" students into school programs that matched their "status" in
society. After WWII this attitude changed to one of opportunity where
schools were open to anyone who took advantage of them. Most course work was
still expected to be "challenging" in the sense that classes which passed
too many kids were considered "too easy" or guilty of "grade inflation."
School primarily served as filters, like mesh screens for "ability" that
"flunked" students who did not "achieve" at the appropriate level. In many
cases it was felt by many people, and is still felt by many people, that
those least privileged should "demonstrate" their "achievement" to justify
the opportunity they received. Thus the Dubya's of the world were expected
to coast through school unchallenged while those of less privilege were
expected to demonstrate "merit."

Standardized Testing was originally conceived as a means of finding students
among the less privileged who could demonstrate this superior ability to
achieve academically. These students were offered college scholarships to
overcome their lack of ability to pay. The tests were designed to find
students who had test scores that were the equivalent of scores of the
wealthy. In that role they made sense: the wealthy were excluded to begin
with and thus scholarships brought middle class students into universities.
Now the elitists want to apply the tests to everybody and when the wealthy
score high on them they want to call this "merit." Yeah, right.

However, the tests still primarily reflect wealth, primarily because that
was the source of the test in the first place. The nature of the tests have
never been able to shake this despite years of supposed (which I doubt)
research to measure true merit.  In every sense, using tests to establish
academic "achievement" is a lot like using weight to establish height
achievement: it is obviously true that taller people tend to weigh more than
shorter people, but waist size has a major influence also.

So, if you set up "rules" that reward people for being taller, but you use
weight to establish this, you are going to reward a lot of short fat people
because it is easier to get people fatter than it is to get them taller.
This is exactly what occurs when you reward people for academic achievement
but use tests to establish this. And that doesn't even address why do you
want to reward people for being taller anyway. What is the point of
rewarding schools for academic achievement? First of all, tests don't
measure academic achievement any more than weight measures height, but even
if they could, why the emphasis on "academic achievement?"

Academic achievement is not the purpose of schools. Saying that academic
achievement is the purpose of schools is like saying that dispensing drugs
is the pu

[CPS Math]Mathematics Underground - From Education Week

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From Education Week [Teaching and Learning section], May 30, 2001, 
Volume 20, Number 38, p. 10. See 
http://www.edweek.com/ew/ew_printstory.cfm?slug=38tandl.h20
***

Mathematics Underground

By Jeff Archer, David J. Hoff, & Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

A band of anonymous supporters of progressive mathematics education 
has created a Web site to counter a recent tide of criticism aimed at 
the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' standards.

"There are at least two sides to every issue, including the so-called 
'math wars,'" says the mission statement posted on 
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/index.html. "For too long, 
however, the public has heard primarily from the side of the 
traditionalists. MathematicallySane.com has been developed to balance 
the equation.

"For too long, the case for reform has been unfairly characterized as 
'fuzzy math,' " the statement continues. "MathematicallySane has been 
created to provide an alternative-and more accurate-view of reform by 
making a compelling case that changes in our nation's mathematics 
programs are imperative for our students' future success and for the 
economic health of our nation."

The site highlights research showing that curricula written to meet 
the NCTM standards have yielded growth in student learning, as well 
as analysis of the debate over whether to emphasize basic knowledge 
and skills or focus on conceptual learning. It includes links to 
other organizations' analyses of the math wars, including NCTM 
documents that offer brief descriptions of the group's standards.

"We have chosen not to reveal our identities because past experiences 
have shown that we would then be targeted as individuals," one of the 
organizers wrote in response to an inquiry sent to the site's e-mail 
address. "We want people to focus on the information provided on our 
site, not on us."

The responder added that more than 300 people had signed up for 
MathematicallySane's mailing list since the site was launched May 2.
*
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

For more information:
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[CPS Math]Trying to clear up the confusion: Testing

[Jerry Becker]

 From the Washington Post, Tuesday, May 22, 2001. See
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/education/columns/classstruggles/A60042-2001May22.html
-
Everyone is welcome to respond to Mr. Mathews - see end of the 
column: Jay Mathews <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>


Trying to Clear Up the Confusion

By Jay Mathews

The more I read about tests taking over our schools, quashing 
youthful spirits and stymieing creative teaching, the more confused I 
become. Perhaps you can help me, especially you teachers who will 
find a very specific request at the end of this column.

Let's take three splendid pieces of journalism that have recently 
dramatized the situation: Post columnist Marc Fisher's May 10 assault 
on testing pressure in schools, Post reporter Michael Powell's May 18 
front page piece on a test boycott in Scarsdale, N.Y. and this 
weekend's two-part New York Times series on mistakes by testing 
companies.

Marc's piece was by far the most passionate. It began with a 
heartbreaking account of a little girl barred from a special play 
period because she missed one of the Maryland state tests. It ended 
with a Virginia teacher deciding to quit because the Virginia state 
tests prevent her from doing the literature-filled lessons that once 
thrilled her students.

It was one of Marc's best columns, and yet it puzzled me. Like much 
of the anti-testing stories and essays I have read recently, it 
skewered school administrators for emphasizing the new state 
achievement tests, and yet said nothing about what they should have 
done instead. The sobbing little girl had missed her bus and came 
late to school. That meant she could not participate in the exercises 
that were part of that day's Maryland State Performance Assessment 
Program (MSPAP) examination. Children who showed up on time got an 
extra-long play period, and she didn't.

I felt sorry for her, but what was the alternative? Her school, 
Bethesda Elementary, wanted everyone to understand the importance of 
the test - which Marc acknowledges is one of the best of the new 
state examinations. The principal announced a gentle incentive for 
showing up. Test opponents in the past have criticized schools for 
discouraging weaker students, those more likely to come late or skip 
school, from taking the tests so that the school's average score will 
be higher. The girl wasn't sentenced to detention. She didn't lose 
any grade points. She missed a few minutes of recess. Yet the school 
comes off as a bully because it tried to encourage all kids to 
participate.

I am also perplexed by what I hear of the alleged harm to teaching. 
In Michael Powell's story on the New York boycott, mothers of 
eighth-graders fretted about the Scarsdale Middle School cutting 
short a lively unit on "Romeo and Juliet" to prepare for the New York 
achievement tests.

I lived in Scarsdale for five years. I served for a while on the 
community management team for Scarsdale High School. My daughter 
attended the Scarsdale Middle School, where 60 percent of the 
eighth-graders this year boycotted 13 hours of state-mandated tests. 
In that favored village, I never met a parent who was either poor or 
less than college educated. The state tests should have been a cinch 
for their kids. If the school cut short the Shakespeare unit for my 
daughter, I would not be boycotting the tests but asking the teachers 
and administrators why they let such an easy challenge scare them 
into reducing the time for inspired teaching.

But maybe I just don't know enough. Perhaps I am also wrong to think 
that the Scarsdale parents were short-sighted in failing to address 
what an end to the state testing system would do to children in 
families much less fortunate than theirs. In Yonkers, Mount Vernon, 
the south Bronx and other low-income New York communities, the state 
tests are forcing principals and teachers to teach as many children 
as possible to read and do mathematics effectively. A report by the 
Council of Great City Schools released today said 92 percent of its 
urban districts had improved math scores in a majority of the grades 
tested and 80 percent had improved in reading, all the result of the 
new emphasis on testing.

Many educators are convinced that without the regular tests our 
lowest performing districts will return to the days of baby-sitter 
schools, when low-income kids were kept as comfortable as possible 
until being handed a meaningless high school diploma and dumped onto 
the job market.

The New York Times did a marvelous job Sunday and Monday showing the 
mistakes that big testing companies make in grading examinations. I 
hope their reports force significant improvements. But the series did 
not address the much larger testing scandals of the past which 
largely went unreported, and which the new state tests have helped 
prevent. Until the states began to deman

[CPS Math]A Primer, and what charter schools teach us (in theU.S.)

[Jerry Becker]

 From the Chicago Tribune,  Monday, April 30, 2001, p. 14. 
[Editorial]. See 
http://archive.chicago.tribune.com/@H9ef5315590fa8faccea208e41517fdf6:b=w&tid=c3c2a950545911d595b21c3f5968cc77&domain=dr_Article&fmt=int&it=991158086&expire=993750059&kid=550003.60&ss=env/archive/3/get_doc.pl?DBLIST=ct01&DOCNUM=42735
 
; charge of $2.95.


WHAT CHARTER SCHOOLS TEACH US

Five years ago, swept up in a spell of reform, state lawmakers joined 
a national movement and cleared the way for a limited number of 
charter schools to open in the state.

By so doing, they took a risk -- though not exactly the one they had 
in mind. Turns out the riskiest thing about charter schools is how no 
one seems to understand them, even all these years later and with 
about 2,100 established nationwide over the last decade.

Bad information, unfortunately, now stands in the way of two 
important pieces of legislation under debate in Springfield.

One bill would allow Chicago to double the number of possible city 
charters to 30. The other would
permanently fund charters closer to the level taxpayers fund public 
schools. Charter schools currently do not receive annual funding for 
facilities, only about $5,000 per pupil for instruction. They are 
forced to dip into their program funds to pay for building 
improvements.

For Illinois to bring charter schools on par with public schools 
would require roughly $1,000 more per student, or about $6 million. 
 From a state perspective, this amounts to a teardrop in the bathtub 
of education funding. From the teachers unions' point of view, this 
represents competition for their slice of the pie.

It's time to regard education more from a student's point of view. 
What is wrong with giving this innovative approach toward education 
reform the best chance at succeeding? If it fails to produce better 
results, there are expedient ways to halt the experiment. But since 
the nation's first charter school opened in Minnesota, the track 
record has provided mostly hope.

---

So here's a primer.

Lesson one: Charters are public schools. They are open to any 
youngster who applies, including special ed kids. In fact, they often 
attract kids with discipline problems the regular public schools are 
happy to see go. If more children apply than there are spaces, as is 
the case with 70 percent of charter schools across the country, 
students are chosen by lottery.

Lesson two: Because they are free from most district and union 
regulations, charter schools can hire and fire teachers with 
flexibility and speed, and make creative curriculum choices. They can 
offer, for example, incentive pay to teachers who are in high-demand 
fields, successful at raising test scores or adept at getting parents 
involved.

Lesson three: Charters are accountable -- to everyone. Students take 
the same standardized tests as those in regular public schools. 
Sub-par teachers are unlikely to get their annual contracts renewed 
by the principal. Parents who don't like the school may simply pull 
their child out. Charter schools also must follow all the building, 
health and safety laws that every other school in the state must 
follow. And if the charters fail to teach, like the now-closed 
Chicago Prep, they get put out of business.

Lesson four: Charter schools provide alternatives to neighborhood 
public schools, yes, but they also are designed to force the 
traditional schools to innovate on their own.

Where many public schools are beholden to entrenched bureaucracy, 
charter schools wrap themselves around a mission. At Triumphant on 
the South Side, that mission is discipline; Principal Helen Hawkins 
asks public schools for their lowest-performing kids because she 
wants to reach them before they drop out. At Betty Shabazz, the focus 
is on African-American history. At Young Women's Leadership Charter 
School, girls are encouraged to succeed in fields where women are
underrepresented.

Noble Street Charter School is a perfect example of why charters need 
to be given the same chance at success as regular public schools.

The West Town building was constructed for less than $5 million -- 
half from foundation and private sources, half from a loan. Taxpayers 
are getting a deal. Once his high school expands to four full grades 
in two years, Principal Michael Milkie will have to start making 
$350,000 in annual interest payments on that loan. He would prefer to 
build a science lab, or a library, or add another floor to the tiny 
school space.

In the meantime, he and the school's 16 teachers improvise with 
space, scheduling and community
resources. If state lawmakers do not pass legislation increasing 
facilities funding by the time his school doubles its student 
population, they will have to really  improvise -- or accept fewer 
kids.

Every few weeks, kids march down to the public library branch to 
check out new books for daily lite

[CPS Math]TIME SQUEEZE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

[Jerry Becker]

***
 From the Washington Post, Tuesday, May 29, 2001.  See
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/education/A88913-2001May28.html
***

When Clock Beats Curriculum

Caught Between Expanding Subject Areas and Standardized Testing, 
Teachers and Students Feel Time Squeeze

By Valerie Strauss

Tara Allen began the school year planning to teach her fifth-grade 
class an important math unit on probability and the novel "Bridge to 
Terabithia," but she won't get to introduce either. Time is running 
out.

Daniel Dara Din, a freshman at the University of Virginia, is 
learning history he didn't get to study before he graduated last year 
from Chantilly High School in Fairfax County. "Drilled into my mind 
over the years were Virginia history, Colonial history and history up 
to the Civil War," Din said, "but there was no time for much of 
anything past World War II."

Time. There never seems to be enough of it, at least for the legions 
of teachers who realize with dismay at this time of year that there 
are too few days and too much left to teach. In classrooms from coast 
to coast, teachers are rushing to finish the curriculum; in others, 
they simply give up trying.

"Those people who say they do get it all done, I just don't how they 
do it," said Allen, of Bywood Elementary School in Upper Darby, Pa. 
"If you try to get to it all, then everything suffers. We never get 
to the Civil War, for example, and we are supposed to."

The end-of-school rush is hardly a new phenomenon, but educators say 
it is more frenzied than ever.

"We have a tendency in American education to continue to add more 
expectations and more curriculum," said Bill Kein, superintendent of 
the 4,200-student Mercer Island School District in Washington state. 
"It is easier to add than take away. So things are worse today than 
in the past."

Although many teachers say they complete everything during the school 
year -- Cynthia Mosteller, an eighth-grade civics teacher at Deal 
Middle School in the District, said that in 15 years of teaching, 
"I've never not finished the course" -- others admit having less 
success. The reasons, according to teachers, administrators and 
students:

.  Despite efforts to create a standard curriculum, many teachers 
still have personal topic preferences and often dwell on what they 
know best, rushing through units on which they are less versed.

.  Students don't learn at the same pace, and some concepts take 
longer for students to absorb than others. School schedules no longer 
build in much, if any, time for review or serious thought, educators 
say.

"One of the major things we aren't building into the school day and 
school year is time for reflection," said Chip Wood, of the Northeast 
Foundation for Children, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization 
dedicated to improving teaching. "Without that, students just rush 
from one thing to the next, the way us grown-ups do."

. Standardized testing now cuts into teaching time -- Maryland 
students in various grades take an entire week of such tests a year 
-- and teachers find it difficult to refocus students on learning 
after spring tests, for which the curriculum is geared.

Virginia students took Standards of Learning tests last week, for 
example, and said one teacher, who asked not to be identified: "Once 
testing is over, the students as well as teachers think that learning 
is over."

.  There is more content than ever to teach, especially in subjects 
such as biology, where new discoveries have vastly changed the scope 
and face of knowledge. Yet nobody has narrowed the curriculum, and 
the proliferation of standards has not helped the situation either, 
despite a common assumption that those who draw up standards take 
into account the time it takes to teach them.

Apparently they don't. A 1999 study conducted by the Colorado-based 
Midcontinent Research for Education and Learning Lab showed that 
teachers would need twice the time now allocated to adequately cover 
all the material required by state standards.

In three states -- Colorado, Wyoming and North Dakota -- teachers 
would need 1,100 hours of instructional time to address the standards 
in four main areas, though there are 630 to 720 hours of instruction 
time available in a school year, the study showed.

"The challenge at the school level is discerning the most essential 
standards," said Douglas B. Reeves, of the Colorado-based Center for 
Performance Assessment.

But Lesli Adler, who teaches Advanced Placement biology at Montgomery 
County's Thomas S. Wootton High School, said nobody is doing that.

"There is not less information to know; there's more," she said. 
"History is in the same boat as science. . . . Look at national and 
state standards. All seem reasonable until you come under the burden 
of having to teach them all."

AP curriculum -- which offers high school students the equivalent of 
a first-year introdu

[CPS Math]More rest for Japanese students

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From the New York Times, February 25, 2001. See 
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/world/25JAPA.html?pagewanted=all?ex=984213924&ei=1&en=49bd489ae35d25bd
*

More Sunshine for Japan's Overworked Students

By Howard W. French

OKYO, Feb. 24 - Daichi Zaitsu, a seventh grader, has so much studying 
to do that he has precious little time to devote to his favorite 
hobbies: researching passenger jets on the Internet and playing 
tennis. Still, the 13-year-old thinks that plans to reduce school 
hours are a horrible idea.

"In Japan, the scholastic ability of people is not so high right now, 
and it seems to be decreasing, so I worry about the future of our 
country," said the teenager, who puts on a sober navy blue uniform 
and lugs a heavy book bag back and forth to his central Tokyo junior 
high school each day, including many Saturdays.

"Having more free time is not a particular concern of mine," he said. 
"I would rather school stay open on the weekend."

Like it or not, the teenager's class schedule is about to change 
drastically as Japan undertakes its most dramatic educational reform 
effort in a generation. Starting next year, instead of piling on yet 
more work for its famously hard-studying students, Japan will let its 
young take a rest.

The changes are in striking contrast to the most recent trends in New 
York, California and elsewhere in the United States, where schools 
are considering lengthening the school day or year in order to help 
children learn - and to try to keep them out of trouble.

In recent decades, Japanese schools have developed a system that in 
some respects is what some American schools are talking about now: 
long hours, emphasis on basics rather than electives, school uniforms 
and a premium on order rather than on creativity. Yet just as some 
American schools are taking tentative steps toward such a system, 
Japan is talking about dismantling it.

The reason is a growing concern that an orderly and unimaginative 
school system excels at producing pliant, disciplined workers, which 
the nation needed for its rebuilding effort after World War II, but 
is failing to produce the problem solvers and innovators needed for 
the future.

Japan has been floundering economically for more than a decade, and 
the change is meant in part to help ensure the country's ability to 
compete. Somewhat paradoxically, the drive to give millions of 
students more electives and unstructured time out of school for their 
personal use comes as public anxiety over dropouts, adolescent crime 
and what is perceived here as an epidemic of underachievement among 
the young is higher than ever.

Some parents oppose the shortened hours for this reason, while many 
others fear that a lightening of the curriculum by an estimated 30 
percent will make it harder, rather than easier, for Japan to compete 
with its rivals in Asia and the West.

"The direction that New York City is taking is exactly the right 
direction," said Ryoko Zaitsu, Daichi's mother. "I wonder why this 
change is being made in Japan."

She speculated that the all powerful Ministry of Education was trying 
to remedy the problems of rough schools - from elementary through 
high school - by "trying to reduce everyone to the same level."

Officials at the Education Ministry acknowledge that the problems of 
disaffected and poorly performing students enter into the thinking 
behind the changes. But they say the main issue is that year after 
year of overworking students has left people exhausted, and destroyed 
creativity and individual initiative, qualities officials say the 
country sorely needs.

"Our current system, just telling kids to study, study, study, has 
been a failure," said Ken Terawaki, a senior Education Ministry 
official who nonetheless dismissed the idea that Japan and school 
systems in places like New York City were going in opposite 
directions on the scholastic escalator. Instead, he insisted, 
Japanese reformers were responding to features of their own country's 
culture and history that had no parallels in America.

"Endless studying worked in the past," he said, "when there were many 
kids in the school system, Japan was rebuilding and the competition 
was very fierce. But that is no longer the case, and the kids are far 
fewer, things are not as competitive anymore, and just telling them 
to study more will no longer work.

"Now we are going to try the sunshine approach, giving them more 
chances to play sports, or read books. We would like to give them 
some free time and the psychological freedom to do things that they 
are interested in. In other words, we want to give them some time to 
think, rather than force everybody to stay in school to study the 
same thing."

Noboyuki Tose, a professor of mathematics at Keio University in 
Tokyo, is a prominent critic of Japan's education system, but opposes 
the planned changes because he fears 

[CPS Math]Japan: Women academics propose steps to equity

[Jerry Becker]

*
 From Science, April 20, 2001, Volume 292, p. 416.
*

Women Academics Propose Steps to Equity

Tokyo- The campaign has begun. On 30 March, 35 Japanese women 
scientists met here to draw up a list of obstacles they face in 
obtaining grants and plot a lobbying effort to create a better 
working environment. But initial reaction suggests that some of those 
barriers - while they pale in comparison to more serious forms of 
discrimination - are rooted in the country's culture or its economic 
woes.

"Women scientists [in Japan] face a mountain of troubles," says 
Mariko Kato, an astrophysicist at Keio University's Hiyoshi campus in 
Yokohama and one of the conference organizers. "We have to start with 
those problems that have easily identifiable solutions."

As is true elsewhere, women hold a disproportionately small share of 
senior faculty positions in Japan's universities (Science, 2 
February, p. 817). Although participants suspect that discrimination 
and harassment play a major role in keeping them from achieving 
equity, they also point to a slew of seemingly innocuous policies 
that, in practice, put them at a disadvantage in competing for grants.

One such policy is automatic termination of grant funding if the 
recipient goes on leave for more than 6 months. It clashes with the 
rule allowing women at national universities, and some private 
universities, a full year of leave after childbirth. The policy 
forces women returning from maternity leave to reassemble their labs 
and restart their research careers, say symposium participants, who 
also complained about a rule that restricts most grants for new 
investigators to those age 37 or younger. With more women wanting to 
resume their research careers after starting a family, they say, a 
ceiling based on years in the field rather than age would be more 
equitable.

An even bigger problem may be a rise in the number of part-time and 
nonpermanent university faculty and staff positions at private 
nonprofit institutes, a trend fueled by the sagging economy. "No one 
ever expected that so many researchers would be stuck in temporary 
positions," said Michiyo Nakane, a science historian now working as a 
part-time lecturer at Rikkyo University in Tokyo. Although the 
squeeze on tenured positions applies to both men and women, men are 
more likely to be appointed to permanent posts when they are offered.

Another source of irritation for women and confusion for reviewers is 
a rule requiring grant applicants to use the name entered in Japan's 
family registry. By law, married couples must register under one 
name, and most choose the husband's name. Although many women still 
use their family name on the job, some faculty members have been 
pressured by their superiors to use their registered name.

Gamely defending the government's current policies was Kenji Sakuma, 
director of planning in the Scientific Research Aid Division of the 
Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, Sports, and Culture 
(Monbukagakusho), which is the primary source of grants for 
researchers. Sakuma brought good news on some issues, including he 
fact that grant applicants will soon be able to choose which name 
they prefer to use. He also said that the ministry would like to find 
a way to make grants compatible with child care duties. But those 
rays of light were more than overshadowed by his defense of the 
status quo on other topics.

Grants need to be terminated if researchers are on leave for extended 
periods, he explained. "The intent of research grants is to support 
world-class, leading-edge research," said Sakuma, adding that a hot 
idea can grow cold if put on hold for a year. And extending grants to 
nonpermanent employees, who are typically on 1-year contracts and 
often lack laboratory space, "would be very difficult."

The symposium participants took heart from what they see as a growing 
awareness of the issue. Hiroko Hara, a cultural anthropologist at the 
University of the Air in Chiba, noted that the Association of 
National Universities and the Science Council of Japan, the country's 
largest grouping of researchers, have recently issued statements in 
support of more women professors and researchers. "There is a lot of 
power behind these requests," she said.

Some noted that the meeting itself was a sign of progress. "A decade 
ago we were just trying to get women into research. Now we're getting 
to the point of addressing specific problems [that hold women back]," 
said Mitsuko Asakura, a professor of labor law at Tokyo Metropolitan 
University. Participants hope that, over time, such incremental 
changes in the grants process may ultimately achieve their goal of 
parity.

-Dennis Normile
*
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (

[CPS Math]Petition to President: Big Tests

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Petition to President: Big
Tests


***
To read the original petition, to view the signatures or to sign
the petition., see  http://www.rohan.sdsu.edu/~rgibson/petition/
.
***

To: The President, Congress, and the
Governors of All 50 States

Rouge Forum Petition on the Big Tests
 
Whereas high stakes standardized tests, an international
phenomenon, represent a powerful intrusion into classrooms, often
taking up as much as 40% of teacher time,

And whereas the tests pretend that one standard fits all, when one
standard does not fit all,

And whereas these tests measure, for the most part, parental income
and race, and are therefore instruments which build racism and
anti-working class sentiment--against the interest of most teachers
and their students,

And whereas these tests deepen the segregation of children within and
between school systems, a move that is not in the interests of most
people throughout the world,

And whereas inner-city families and poor families are promised tests
as an avenue to escape the ghetto and poverty, when the tests are
designed to fail their children, boosting dropouts, leaving more
children trapped in the ghetto and poverty, deepening inequality and
all forms of injustice,

And whereas the tests set up a false employer-employees relationship
between teachers and students which damages honest exchanges in the
classroom,

And whereas we have seen repeatedly that the exams are
unprofessionally scored, for example in New York in 2000 when
thousands of students were unnecessarily ordered to summer school on
the grounds of incorrect test results,

And whereas the tests create an atmosphere that pits students against
students and teachers against teachers and school systems against
school systems in a mad scramble for financial rewards, and to avoid
financial retribution,

And whereas the tests have been used to unjustly fire and discipline
educators throughout the country,

And whereas the exams represent an assault on academic freedom by
forcing their way into the classroom in an attempt to regulate
knowledge, what is known and how people come to know it,

And whereas the tests foment an atmosphere of greed, fear, and
hysteria, none of which contributes to learning,

And whereas the tests destroy inclusion and inquiry-based
education,

And whereas the high-stakes test pretend to neutrality but are deeply
partisan in content, reflecting the needs of elites in a world
becoming more inequitable, less democratic,

And whereas the tests become commodities for opportunists whose
interests are profits, not the best interests of children,

And whereas education organizations like the faculty association of
the National Council for the Social Studies, the National Council of
Teachers of English, the International Reading Association, and the
American Educational Research Association have all supported long-term
authentic assessment, and opposed high-stakes standardized
examinations such as, but not limited to, the SAT9 in California, the
Michigan MEAP, the Texas TAAS,, SOL in VA, FCAT in Florida, MCAS in
Massachusetts, OPT in Ohio, and the New York Regents Exam,

And whereas there is a rising tide of education-worker resistance to
the high-stakes exams, as well as student and educator boycotts:

Be it therefore resolved that we the undersigned sign this
petition as an indication of our support for authentic long-term
assessment in schools, and our support for popular resistance to the
tests, particularly teach-ins, job actions and boycotts - and
creative civil strife such as theater, art, songs, demonstrations,
sit-ins, and other methods to inform, unleash creativity, and
resist.

Sponsored by The Rouge Forum, The Whole Schooling
Consortium, E. Wayne Ross, Rich Gibson, Michael Peterson, Sandra
Mathison, Susan Ohanian, Staughton Lynd, Amber Goslee, Susan Harmon,
Kevin Vinson, Valerie Pang, Perry Marker, David Hursh, Steve Fleury,
Judy Depew, Greg Queen, Katy Landless, Patrick Shannon, Kathleen
Keeson, George Schmidt, Sharon Schmidt, Marty Kaye, David Strom

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

NOTE:   To view the signatures or to sign the petition,
go to  http://www.rohan.sdsu.edu/~rgibson/petition/ .

-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

[CPS Math]Jane Fonda: $12.5 gift to Harvard Univ.

[Jerry Becker]

**
 From People (Magazine) [Scoop Section], March 19, 2001, Volume 55, 
Number 11, p. 18.
***

Pop Quiz with Jane Fonda

Inspired by Harvard professor Carol Gilligan's research suggesting 
that girls begin to lose confidence as they enter adolescence, Jane 
Fonda, 63, announced on March 2 that she would donate $12.5 million 
to establish the Harvard Center on Gender and Education. It will 
study gender stereotypes in education and create curricula for 
students in grades K through 12.

Scoop spoke with the actress after the announcement.

Why Harvard?

What Harvard does reverberates around the world.

Give us a personal example of how gender stereotypes affect education.

I went to Grandparents Day last fall at a school that one of my 
grandchildren, a little girl, goes to. They had a Thanksgiving 
pageant - two boys dressed like pilgrims, two girls dressed like 
women pilgrims. The teacher read something about "the brave pilgrim 
fathers," and the boys pretended to shoot, bang bang. Their pilgrim 
wives said, "Mercy me." I was just floored. And looking around this 
jammed room filled with parents, no one else seemed to be seeing what 
I saw.

What did you do?

Right away, I went over to my granddaughter and said, "You can be 
brave and strong too. Don't think for a moment that you can't."

Do you blame the teacher?

It's not that the teacher is a bad person. It's just that she is 
passing stereotypes on to another generation, and that has to stop.

So what should teachers be telling students?

Not to by buy into cultural norms that put them at risk.

You attended an all-girls high school and a single-sex college. Was 
that different?

I think if I had not been in an all-girls school, I probably would 
have been getting into a lot of trouble and not studying very hard. I 
was able to turn my mind to poetry and literature and nature, things 
that were better for my psyche than being popular.

Is being popular a big issue for girls in school?

It's a part of life. If you don't have a boyfriend, if you're not 
popular, you're an outcast.

One last question. You mentioned that you were a tomboy as a young 
girl. Were the boys put off by that?

I don't know if boys were put off by it. I don't know if I was 
accepted or not. I beat them up a lot.
-
Photo: Jane Fonda. Fonda (at Harvard) called herself a "privileged, 
white, aging movie star" hoping to change how children learn.
***
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

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.

To search the archives:

[CPS Math]FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT: Singapore Conference

[Jerry Becker]

***
Further details for the conference can be found at 
http://math.nie.edu.sg/earcome/
***

FIRST ANNOUNCEMEnt

ICMI-EARCOME 2002 / SEACME 9

Mathematics Education for a Knowledge-Based Era

May 27-31, 2002

Singapore

The second ICMI-EARCOME (East Asia Regional Conference on Mathematics 
Education) is to be held in Singapore in May 2002. This conference, 
organized by an International Programme Committee, will be hosted by 
the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological 
University, Singapore and the Association of Mathematics Educators, 
Singapore. This conference will also be designated as the Ninth 
Southeast Asian Conference on Mathematics Education or SEACME 9.

EARCOME 2002 combines two conferences in two separate series of 
conferences in the East Asia region. The First East Asian Regional 
Conference on Mathematics Education (EARCOME) was held in Korea in 
1998. Two earlier East Asian conferences held before EARCOME were the 
ICMI-China Regional Conferences on Mathematics Education, Beijing 
(1991) and Shanghai (1994). The SEACME series has a longer history 
and the conferences are held triennially, in Manilla (1978), Kuala 
Lumpur (1981), Haad Yai (1984), Singapore (1987), Brunei (1990), 
Surabaya (1993), Hanoi (1996) and Manila (1999).

Singapore is a small nation situated at one of the most important 
crossroads of the world. It is a country where modern facilities and 
a fast pace of life combine with traditional values of the ancient 
civilizations of our forebears. Singapore was put on the world map of 
Mathematics Education with her students' performance in the Third 
International Mathematics and Science Study [TIMSS]. While proud of 
our students' achievement, Singapore educators realize that there is 
much to learn from the international community of Mathematics 
Educators. It is our belief that our teachers and educators will 
truly benefit from this conference which will bring to our shores 
mathematics educators who will share their expertise and discuss the 
many issues in mathematics education. We invite you to be a part of 
this exchange of ideas and look forward to your participation in 
ICMI-EARCOME 2002 & SEACME 9.

Ng Swee Fong, Chairperson
Local Organising Committee

THEME

"Mathematics Education for A Knowledge-Based Era"

The conference theme will be explored through four principal areas :

. Assessment

. Technology

. Teacher Education

. Curriculum

It is anticipated that papers will address the conference theme, 
reflecting upon issues, concerns and consideration appropriate to 
mathematics teaching and learning at primary, secondary and 
post-secondary levels.

We must acknowledge the extraordinary and accelerating rate of change 
that is occurring in our knowledge-based era. Much of this change is 
dominated by quantitative information and the means used to 
communicate this information. As educators,

.  How can we adjust to the requirements of new knowledge, tools, 
ways of doing and communicating mathematics, and so on ?

.  How do we make adjustments to include support for learners with a 
host of diverse needs?

.  How can the needs of learners be addressed to meet the demands of 
a rapidly changing world?

Researchers, policy makers, mathematics educators and teachers are 
invited to share their knowledge at the first ICMI-EARCOME conference 
of the twenty-first century.

REPLY FORM

ICMI-EARCOME 2002

Please print or type (underline family name)
  Prof   Dr   Mr   Mrs   Ms

Family Name:

First Name:

Affiliation/Company:

Address:

City / Zip Code:

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Telephone:  (   )

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E-mail:

I am interested to (please tick choice) :

. Participate as a delegate. Please place me on your mailing list for 
more information on the conference. The topics of my interest are :

. Submit an abstract entitled :

. Participate in the exhibition. Please send me more information.

. Interested in sponsorship opportunities. Please send me more information.

Please mail, fax or E-mail this Reply Slip to:

ICMI-EARCOME 2002, SEACME 9
Conference Secretariat
c/o Conference & Travel Management Associates Pte Ltd
425A Race Course Road
Singapore 218671
Republic of Singapore

Phone:(65) 299-8992
Fax :   (65) 299-8983
Email : [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Details of the conference can be found at the website: 
http://math.nie.edu.sg/earcome/
*
-- 
Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
 (618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]


This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 

To unsubscribe, send a message to
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For more info

[CPS Math]Election Results: Chicago AFT

[Jerry Becker]

 From George N. Schmidt,  Editor, Substance,  5132 W. Berteau, 
Chicago, IL 60641; (773) 725-7502.


Hello Colleagues:

Tom Reece and the incumbent leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union 
have been dumped by vote of the union's membership.

Here is some news from Substance that you won't read in the 
newspapers for a couple of more days.

The final tallies of the voting in the May 18, Chicago Teachers Union 
election will not be announced until Friday, May 25.

At this time, however, tallies of the ballots shows that the 
incumbent leaders of the fourth largest local in the American 
Federation of Teachers have been decisively defeated in their bid to 
return to power.

An opposition caucus -- PACT -- which includes some of the most 
outspoken opponents of the Vallas administration and its mindless 
commitment to standardized testing has been elected to all major 
offices in the 34,000-member Chicago Teachers Union.

First indications of the size of the landslide which took place when 
teachers and other union members voted in their schools last Friday 
are now in.

With 99 percent of the votes tabulated on what is called the "long 
ballot", at 5:00 p.m. yesterday (May 22), the following numbers (and 
percentages) were known from reliable sources:

PACT (the challenger slate, headed by Marquette Elementary teacher 
Deborah Lynch Walsh) had 11,272 votes, or roughly 56 percent of the 
total vote. The United Progressive Caucus (CTU President Tom Reece's 
incumbent slate) had 8,746 votes, a bit less than 44 percent of the 
vote.

Since the 1970s, the "UPC" (as Reece's caucus is known) has been the 
local version of the American Federation of Teachers national 
"Progressive Caucus" which is currently headed by AFT president Sandy 
Feldman.

Because more than 4,000 CTU members are in categories (generally, 
retirees) which are not eligible to vote in citywide elections for 
officers, the total number of eligible voters on May 18 was a bit less
than 30,000 union members. The number of teachers and union members 
voting has been between 21,000 and 23,000 in most elections and 
referendums for the past ten years. 

These numbers and percentages are known based on the tally of the 
ballots cast on the "long" (convention delegate) ballot at election 
time last week. Members of the Chicago Teachers Union cast their 
votes on two separate ballots. A "short" ballot is used to elect 
candidates for citywide offices (president, vice president, financial 
secretary, recording secretary, and treasurer) and the members of the 
executive board representing the various "functional groups" (high 
school teachers, elementary teachers, etc.) within the union.

A longer ballot is used to elect delegates to the conventions of the 
American  Federation of Teachers and Illinois Federation of Teachers.

Since 1984, when Substance first began following the details of union 
elections, this tally has reflected the outcome of the city-wide vote 
for union officers. The percentages of votes on the convention slate 
is usually the same as the percentages on the ballot for officers.

This means that the opposition slate has won a victory for all 
citywide offices. Details of the elections in the functional groups 
will not be available for a few more days. Substance exit polls 
(which continue to come  in) show that PACT won the high school 
teacher vote (at the more than 90
Chicago high schools) overwhelmingly (at some, by votes of 100 or 
more to ten or less). PACT has also apparently been winning the 
voting among elementary teachers by a slight majority.

When the officers of the Chicago Teachers Union take office on July 
1, the  president will be Deborah Lynch Walsh, formerly of Marquette 
Elementary School; the vice president will be Howard Heath, formerly 
of Lane Technical  High School, and the majority of other elected 
officials of the union will  come from a non-incumbent caucus for the 
first time in more than 30 years.

The current union leadership has supported Chicago's testocratic 
version of "school reform" since Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley was 
given dictatorial power over the schools in 1995. CTU president Tom 
Reece received the support  of Paul Vallas, of the city's business 
weekly (Crain's Chicago Business) and, in an unprecedent move for a 
local union election, the endorsement of the city's second largest 
circulation daily newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times. In an editorial 
on May 17, the Sun-Times told the teachers they should vote for Reece 
and continue to act responsibly by following the Vallas 
administration.

There will be thousand of details to follow. Tom Reece, Norma White, 
Pam Massarsky, Melvin Wilson, Michael Williams, and the other 
officers of the Chicago Teachers Union who collaborated with Paul 
Vallas and with the teacher bashing and testocracies of the Daley 
administration are now entitled to return to their teaching jobs at 
th

[CPS Math]Japan: alternative to regular entrance exams

[Jerry Becker]

Title: Japan: alternative to regular entrance
exams


**
From the Daily Yomiuri Online.  See 
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20010524wo62.htm . Our  thanks to
Victor Steinbok for bringing this article to our attention.
**

Tama U. to offer entrance exam alternative

Tama University in western Tokyo plans to introduce a so-called
Challenge Admission program as an alternative to the regular entrance
examination system, which allows students to attend school for one
year on a trial basis, a source said Wednesday.

The students' abilities would be judged after one year to see if they
were academically qualified to be regular students, the source
said.

Tama University President Gregory Clark later confirmed the school was
willing to accept those with a strong desire to study, even if they
failed the regular entrance exam.

The university, which has a single department of business
administration and information, will start the new system next spring,
the source said.

Students accepted on a trial basis will initially pay only
tuition fees, and then pay entrance fees once they are admitted as
regular students after the trial period. They would take the same
classes as regular students, as well as additional lessons, the source
said. The Education, Science and Technology Ministry said the
provisional acceptance scheme would be the first of its kind at a
Japanese university.
***
-- 

Jerry P.Becker
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610  USA
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
   
(618)  457-8903 [H]
Fax:  (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]