SEPTEMBER 2005 POLICY BRIEF V2I7

www.nacctep.org/briefs

VOLUME 2

ISSUE 7

Inside This Issue

Teacher Turnover: A Costly Loss to the Nation and to the States

Higher Education Act Passes House Committee

Dual Track Special Education Teachers in Demand

Panel Suggests Creating National Standards for Pre-K12 Schooling

Quick Links

State by State...

This Policy Brief is developed by the National Center for Teacher Education of the Maricopa Community Colleges.

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Teacher Turnover: A Costly Loss to the Nation and to the States

A recent analysis of teacher turnover by the Alliance for Excellent Education has found that the nationwide cost of replacing teachers who either quit the profession or change schools is nearly $5 billion a year. The report entitled: Teacher Attrition: A Costly Loss to the Nation and to the States, indicates that every school day, nearly 1,000 teachers leave the field of teaching for reasons other than retirement, and another 1,000 change schools, many in pursuit of better working conditions.

Among teachers who transferred schools, lack of planning time (65 percent), too heavy a workload (60 percent), problematic student behavior (53 percent), and a lack of influence over school policy (52 percent) were cited as common sources of dissatisfaction. The report also found that the rate of attrition is roughly 50 percent higher in poor schools than in wealthier ones and teachers new to the profession are far more likely to leave than are their more experienced counterparts.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics’ 1999–2000 “Public School Teacher Survey,” 47 percent of public school teachers worked with a mentor teacher in the same subject area. Sixty-six percent of teachers who were formally mentored by another teacher reported that it “improved their classroom teaching a lot.”

However, the report states that comprehensive induction proves most effective at keeping good teachers in the classroom. According to the report, studies demonstrate new teacher turnover rates can be cut in half through comprehensive induction—a combination of high-quality mentoring, professional development and support, scheduled interaction with other teachers in the school and in the larger community, and formal assessments for new teachers during at least their first two years of teaching. Read more here.

Source: ECS e-Connection [August 24, 2005]

Higher Education Act Passes House Committee

Members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee completed some key work before adjourning for summer recess: approval of H.R. 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act, to reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). Title II, the section of the bill with the greatest impact on schools of education, received quick action, as few amendments were offered. One amendment, from Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), would have expanded eligibility for Teacher Centers of Excellence to minority-serving institutions and increased the authorization levels of the program from $10 million to $50 million to accommodate the expanded eligibility. The amendment failed by voice vote.

Representative George Miller (D-CA) offered the other amendment to Title II during the Committee markup. This amendment had also been introduced in June as H.R. 2835, the Teacher Excellence for All Children Act of 2005, which included financial incentives for teachers to work in high-need areas, merit pay, induction proposals, and changes to alternative certification programs. The amendment failed by a party line vote of 20-26.

Despite the failure of these two amendments, Title II did not go unchanged. Reporting requirements for schools of education are clarified to include only those students who have completed 50% or more of the coursework required for the education program. State grant recipients will be required to develop and utilize an evaluation system for teacher education programs.

The HEA definition of highly qualified teacher has been modified to align with that of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. New provisions for state grants address recruitment, retention, and merit pay for math and science teachers and the development of related faculty positions in higher education. Other new language stresses the importance of ensuring teachers’ ability to use advanced technology effectively in the classroom. Merit pay for teachers is also authorized through a new Teacher Incentive Fund, proposed by President Bush. The Senate is expected to resume its work on HEA reauthorization following the August recess.

Source: Reprinted with Permission from AACTE; Briefs [August 22, 2005]

BACK TO TOP

Dual Track Special Education Teachers in Demand

Already marketable in a nation with a shortage of special education teachers, those with a dual certification in a major subject are considered prized finds. A recent article indicates that the demand for dual-certified teachers is growing at a time when the special education population is soaring. According to the National Education Association, the number of U.S. students with disabilities has jumped 30% in the past decade. The U.S. Department of Education reports that about half of the country's 6.8 million students with disabilities spend at least 80 percent of their school day in regular classrooms. No Child Left Behind aims to hold all middle- and high-school teachers to the same standards by requiring them, by the end of this school year, to become "highly qualified" in each major subject they teach. Read more here.

Source: ECS E-Clips [August 30, 2005]

Panel Suggests Creating National Standards for Pre-K12 Schooling

A group of political leaders and education policy experts is recommending a new set of strategies for boosting the quality of public education in the United States, including voluntary national academic standards, preschool for every child, an extended school day and year, and a massive new amount of federal spending on education—at least $325 billion over the next 10 years.

Members of an education policy task force made their recommendations public on August 23rd at the National Press Club. The panel’s report, “Getting Smarter, Becoming Fairer: A Progressive Education Agenda for a Stronger Nation,” originally was designed as a response to the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The task force and its report were sponsored by two liberal-leaning think tanks, the Center for American Progress and the Institute for America’s Future, both based in the nation’s capital. The task force held six hearings around the nation earlier this year to gather ideas about what the public wants from schools. Comments from those hearings were used in developing the report.

Read more about this here. Read the report here.

Source: Education Week [August 24, 2005]

QUICK LINKS

ASCD Special Report on Reading & Literacy
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has released it's two-part series on reading and literacy. The online report aggregates the most important news and information about reading and literacy. The first part focuses on instruction and assessment methods and professional development. It also features two exclusive Q-and-As with reading experts. The second part focuses on role of policy and highlights some interesting research on the subject.
Source: ASCD SmartBrief [August 30, 2005]

Panel Votes to Hold Back 7th Graders Who Fail English Test
In mid August, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's administration won approval of a new seventh-grade promotion policy during a meeting at the Department of Education's Lower Manhattan headquarters, where the Panel for Educational Policy voted in favor of holding back seventh graders who fail citywide English tests starting next year. Once new state math requirements take effect during the school year 2006-7, promotions for seventh graders will be tied to scores on both of the city's standardized reading and math tests.
Source: The New York Times [August 16, 2005]

STATE BY STATE. . .

Oregon Shrinks Achievement Gap
Oregon schools made record progress this year in raising the achievement of minority and low-income students, an analysis of state test scores by The Oregonian shows. Passing rates among white students went up in every grade in reading and math. But the scores of Latino, Native American and low-income students shot up dramatically at most grade levels, putting those students closer to matching the attainment of white and middle-income students. Read more here.
Source: The Oregonian [August 21, 2005]

Kansas Schools Improve Academic Performance
Kansas schools with large numbers of poor students are continuing to improve their academic performance. Two years ago, the state designated 30 schools as needing improvement. Last year the number dropped to 21. This year, based on results of state tests taken in the spring, the number dropped to 15. Schools are judged each year on how well their students perform on state tests given each spring in math and reading. 15 of the 21 deficient schools last year were elementary schools. This year, 10 of the 15 schools are middle schools. Read more here.
Source: ASCD Smart Brief [August 11, 2005]