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STATELINE.ORG LISTS BEST AND WORST STATES FOR IMPROVING NAEP SCORES
A recent article in Stateline.org lists its top 10 best and worst states for improving fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) between 1992 and 2005. The most recent NAEP scores released in October showed that despite strong gains in fourth-grade mathematics since 1992, students aren't reading much better than a decade ago. Nearly two-thirds of fourth- and eighth-graders nationwide still score below grade level in both math and reading. However,
it is difficult to prove what actually makes one state outperform another. Key factors such as per-pupil spending and student demographics vary widely, even among top-performing states.
To get a better idea of how states compare based on their overall improvement on NAEP, Stateline.org compiled the list based on the percentage point change in fourth- and eighth-grade math and fourth-grade reading tests between 1992 and 2005, plus the change in eighth-grade reading between 1998 and 2005. Review the list here.
Source: ASCD SmartBrief [January 26, 2006]
THE ABANDONMENT OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES
A new study (which has not yet been published) suggests that there has been an historic erosion of government support for community colleges in the last 20 years. The study is a doctoral dissertation by a student at the University of North Texas, whose dissertation committee included some of the top experts on community college finance. According to those experts, this data should make people pay more attention to the financial challenges facing community colleges. Among its findings:
- In 1980-81, 16 states contributed at least 60% of the budgets of their community colleges. By 2000-01, none did so.
- In 1980-81, 22 states contributed at least half of the budgets for their community colleges, which enrolled 55% of all community college students in the country.
- By 2000-01, only seven states (enrolling 8% of community college students) did so.
Source: Inside Higher Ed [January, 2006]
A GROWING HIGHER ED WORKFORCE The number of people who work in higher education grew by about 4.4 percent from 2003 to 2004, to a total of more than 3.3 million, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics.
The report, “Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2004, and Salaries of Full-Time Instructional Faculty, 2004–05,” finds that the number of employees at American colleges that grant federal financial aid through the Education Department's Title IV programs rose to 3,335,093 in fall 2004, up from 3,194,610 in fall 2003. The report also found that:
- About 1.2 million full-time professional employees were employed by Title IV institutions (except medical schools) in the United States in fall 2004. Of those, 51 percent had
faculty status. Among the 183,000 full-time professional employees in medical schools, 45
percent had faculty status.
- Considering full-time professional employees (except those in medical schools), 47 percent
at 4-year institutions had faculty status. Likewise, 64 percent of full-time professional employees at 2-year institutions and 70 percent at less-than-2-year institutions
had faculty status.
- Considering tenure, 23 percent of full-time professional employees (except those in medical
schools) had tenure, 10 percent were on tenure track, 10 percent were not on tenure track,
and 8 percent were employed by institutions without a tenure system.
The report also included data on salaries and benefits of full-time faculty members. It found that:
- The 2004-05 academic year salaries of full-time instructional faculty varied by academic rank, with faculty holding higher ranks earning higher average salaries. Considering adjusted 9-month average salaries1, professors earned $87,634; associate professors earned
$63,567; assistant professors earned $53,481, instructors earned $46,238, and lecturers
earned $44,385.
- In general, men earned higher average salaries than women. For example, male
professors at 4-year public institutions earned $91,102 and female professors at 4-year public
institutions earned $81,719 on average. The only consistent exception was private not-for-profit
2-year institutions, where women earned more than men at every academic rank.
Source: Inside Higher Ed [January, 2006]
NEW REPORT: EDUCATION TESTING INDUSTRY & NCLB
A recently released report by Education Sector, an independent education think tank, suggests that with the
testing industry struggling to keep up with the demand fueled by mandates for more student tests,
the Bush administration
needs to take dramatic steps to ensure that states have the ability to develop high-quality K-12 assessments. The report, “Margins of Error: The Education Testing Industry in the No Child Left Behind Era,"
addresses the issues that No Child Left Behind has brought upon the testing industry,
including financial pressures resulting in tests that assess low-level skills, as well as a lack of experts to produce high-quality tests that would measure challenging academic content. Read
the entire report here or a summary from Edweek.org here.
Source: Edweek.org [February 1, 2006]
QUICK
LINKS
ECS High School Policy Center
The Education Commission of the States (ECS) has published a new High School Database which shows which states use unique student and/or teacher identifiers, which include an explicit value-added analysis component and which integrate K-12 and postsecondary education data. The database also provides 50 state data regarding high school college-ready standards and high school graduation requirements. Source: Education Commission of the States [February 1, 2006]
Summary of State Policies & Activities
The Education Commission of the States has compiled a list of
what actions states took last year to modify assessments used to meet No Child Left Behind requirements. The list includes policies enacted in 2006 as well.
Summaries are collected from state Web sites, state newsletters, StateNet and Westlaw. View the summaries here. Source: ECS e-Connection [February 15, 2006]
STATE BY STATE. . .
94% of Philadelphia Teachers Certified in City District
According to a recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, nearly 94% of teachers in the Philadelphia School District are fully certified, an increase of 3.3% from the previous year. The districts teacher vacancy rate is also the lowest in recent history - there are only 65 vacancies out of 11,400 teaching positions. Read how this district has accomplished this here. Source: ASCD SmartBrief [January 25, 2006]
Baltimore Misses Highly Qualified Deadline
According to a report by state schools chief Nancy. S Grasmick, the Baltimore school system has failed to meet a mandate that all teachers become "highly qualified" by this school year. Only 42% of Baltimore's classroom teachers have been deemed "highly qualified" under federal guidelines. Baltimore officials say they've tried boosting the number of "highly qualified" teachers through various means, including recruiting foreign educators and holding training workshops for the state licensing exam. Source: ASCD SmartBrief [January 26, 2006] |
