Annual Report Shows Gains in AP Coursework

Yesterday, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released their annual report, The Condition of Education. The Congressionally-mandated report showcases statistics from multiple aspects of the U.S. education system.


The 48 indicators included in the report cover topics from student achievement to school environment and from early childhood through postsecondary education. General statistics show that U.S. public school enrollment is becoming increasingly diverse. In addition, more individuals are enrolling in postsecondary education, and people are earning more bachelor’s degrees than in the past. The special focus of this year’s report is on the coursework of American high school students.
The report shows that the number of students taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses in high schools is rising. Specifically, more black and Hispanic students in public and private high schools are taking AP exams. The report shows a 213% jump over the nine years of the study (1997-2005) in the number of Hispanic students taking the college-level AP tests, and a 177% increase over the same period for African-American students. However, the numbers do not highlight the fact that there were a low number of African-American and Hispanic students taking the AP exams to begin with and that they still lag behind other racial groups.
Nationally, among all racial groups, the number of students taking the AP tests more than doubled over the same period, growing from 567,000 in 1997 to 1.2 million two years ago. The large increase in test-takers caused only small decreases in overall AP test scores. The report shows that the proportion of students who earned a 3 or better on the college-level exams fell from 65% to 59% over the nine-year study period.
More students are also taking advanced mathematics; presently 50% of high school graduates have taken courses more advanced than Algebra II, up from 26% in 1982. Females are more likely to have completed advanced coursework, although the gender difference disappears at the calculus level. There was a similar gain, and a similar gap, in advanced science coursework. Despite these gains in the number of credits taken overall in various subjects, and especially in more advanced courses, National Assessment of Educational Progress scores were virtually flat for 17-year-olds in both reading and math since the early 1970s. Still, there were gains in NAEP scores for 9- and 13-year-olds in both subject areas.
The special analysis in the report also presents data from the other side of the high school achievement spectrum, by looking into the trajectory of those students who dropped out of high school. According to that report, the 9th graders who eventually became dropouts had earned an average of 5.1 credits during the 2000-01 school year. In comparison, the 9th graders who went on to graduate on time earned 6.6 credits that year. The gaps widened in 10th grade, with dropouts earning an average of 4.6 credits, compared with the average 6.7 credits earned by their on-track peers.
Other statistics from the annual report include:
• At least at the high school level, the “narrowing” of the curricula that some critics predicted would result from the federal No Child Left Behind Act had yet to materialize by 2004. In both public and private high schools, 2004 high school graduates took more social studies, foreign language, and arts classes—as well as the core English, mathematics, and science classes on which the law focuses—during their high school years than did the graduates of 1982.
• Public school enrollment in prekindergarten-12th grade is projected to set new records each year from 2007 to 2016, when an estimated 53.3 million children are expected to be in public schools.
• The number of children ages 5 to 17 who spoke a language other than English at home more than doubled between 1979 and 2005.
• Minority students accounted for more than half of the growth in the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded between the 1976-77 school year and 2004-05.
Resources:
Andy Guess, “The Yearly Report Card,” Inside Higher Ed, June 1, 2007.
Debra Viadero, “Condition of Education Finds Surge in Minorities’ AP Test-Taking,” Education Week, May 31. 2007.
Author: SAS

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ACTE Releases Brief on Dropout Prevention and Recovery

The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) released an issue brief this week called, Career and Technical Education’s Role in Dropout Prevention and Recovery.

Similar to previous reports on the subject matter, ACTE depicts the personal and economic consequences of high dropout rates. Unlike previous reports, which only mention CTE as a solution for the dropout rate, this report focuses specifically on CTE’s roll in dropout prevention. Although the brief draws its conclusion based on other previous reports and statistics, ACTE does not specifically mention what should be done to help CTE create a larger, more-qualified and better-trained labor force.
The brief lists the top reasons dropouts give for leaving school:
• Classes were not interesting (47%)
• Missed too many days and could not catch up (43 %)
• Spent time with people who were not interested in school (42 %)
• Had too much freedom and not enough rules in my life (38%)
• Was failing in school (35%)
The brief points to a 2006 poll of at-risk California 9th- and 10th-graders, which found that six in ten respondents were not motivated to succeed in school. Of those students, more than 90% said they would be more engaged in their education if classes helped them acquire skills and knowledge relevant to future careers. The brief believes that CTE offers students relevant learning experiences that answer the age-old question, “Why do I have to learn this?” while at the same time enhancing students’ academic achievement and meeting industry needs. CTE advocates use this as a basis for calling for greater funding for CTE programs, including educating students about their choices in high school curriculum, and the CTE option, as a method of dropout prevention.
Aside from prevention, the brief focuses on CTE’s role in recovery of those students whom have already dropped out of high school. Returning to gain a high school diploma is not easy for disconnected youth. Not only were many of these individuals unsuccessful academically in their original high school environment, but they also face a large number of other social and economic barriers, such as lack of transportation, single parenthood, or health problems. ACTE argues that the education system must provide a continuum of flexible interest-based learning opportunities that utilize effective teaching methodologies and respond to these students’ varied needs and life circumstances. The American Youth Policy Forum identified eight characteristics of successful dropout recovery programs in its publication, Whatever it Takes. These characteristics include:
• open-entry/open-exit;
• flexible scheduling and year-round learning;
• teachers as coaches, facilitators, and crew leaders;
• real-world, career-oriented curricula;
• opportunities for employment;
• clear codes of conduct with consistent enforcement;
• extensive support services; and
• a portfolio of options for a varied group.
The report claims that CTE has become a leader in ensuring these flexible, relevant learning opportunities to re-engage students and provide a real-world, career-oriented curricula. While there are often challenges and disincentives to dropout re-entry programs, all young people should be provided the opportunity for a quality high school education.
Although the report seems to focus more on the problems the dropout rate causes, and the role CTE can play in prevention and recovery, ACTE does not mention specific ways to aide CTE programs in reaching those students who are on track to drop out, or to recover those students who have already dropped out. The report simply seems to point out that CTE is a viable solution, while leaving specific courses of action up to the reader. In the past, most CTE advocates have argued for more funding, both nationally and on the state and local level, as well as advocating for educational programs designed to inform students of the options CTE offers.
You can view the report at http://www.acteonline.org/resource_center/upload/Dropouts.pdf
Author: SAS

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Immigration on Deck for the Senate

When Congress returns to work next week, the Senate will likely tie itself into a knot trying to deal with the new immigration bill that a select group of Senators introduced on May 9, S. 1348, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007.
The small coalition of Senators who patched this together will have a hard time defending it from its critics in both parties.

The Republican Party is imploding over provisions that would legalize the status of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the US. They are labeling it an “amnesty” bill. Many Democrats are incensed about the guest worker program that provides no direct path to permanent residence and that focuses on employment needs over family needs. There are also interest groups that all seem to have a moral gripe with one provision or another. The only thing holding the bill together is a political need to advance the issues, but the devil is in the details, and there are many details in this bill.
For example, of particular interest to the adult education community is the language training that an immigrant could receive on the pathway to citizenship. As he did in last year’s immigration debate, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) will likely offer an amendment that would allocate $500 for each "lawful immigrant" seeking citizenship to participate in English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) services. The $500 would come from the fees that each person would pay to gain citizenship and the funds could be used for ESOL programs provided by “accredited institutions of higher education or other qualified educational institutions (as determined by the chief).” This amendment, however, would likely create duplicative programs to ones already in the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) and it would provide insufficient funding for those duplicative programs.
The bill has drawn so many criticisms that over 100 amendments to the measure have already been filed, and aides expect many more to be filed at the beginning of next week. It is unclear how Senate majority leader Harry Reid (NV) will manage them, but it is clear that immigration is quickly becoming an issue that will define the parties as they head into the 2008 election season.
Resources:
Beth Crowley, “Long List of Amendments Clouds Procedural Picture for Immigration Bill,” CongressNow, May 31, 2007.
Author: DAD

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ED Invites More States to SES Pilot Program

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) sent a letter to chief state school officers inviting more states to apply for participation in the supplemental educational services (SES) pilot program. The pilot grants states flexibility to offer SES to students in the first year of school improvement. States that wish to participate in this flexibility for the 2007-08 year must submit their proposals to ED by Wednesday, June 20. Only states may apply directly to the ED for this flexibility. Local educational agencies (LEAs) may not apply directly to ED.


In the 2005-06 school year, Secretary Spellings granted four LEAs in Virginia the flexibility to offer SES to students one year early in exchange for the LEAs and the State meeting a set of implementation conditions. In the 2006-07 school year, Secretary Spellings expanded the pilot by adding LEAs in Alaska, Delaware, Indiana and North Carolina.
ED is also piloting an SES program that allows large districts to be eligible to serve as SES providers. Chicago Public Schools and Boston Public Schools were the first urban districts to enter into this flexibility agreement with the Department in the 2005-2006 school year and the Anchorage School District and Hillsborough County Public Schools, Florida, joined the pilot in the 2006-07 school year.
Resources:
“Dear Colleague” letter regarding the pilot program allowing districts to offer SES to students in schools in year 1 of improvement, Office of Innovation and Improvement, United States Department of Education, May 30, 2007.
Author: DAD

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Guidance on the September 2006 LEP Regulations

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education released new guidance on regulations regarding assessment and accountability for recently arrived and former limited English proficient (LEP) students, “Assessment and Accountability for Recently Arrived and Former Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students.”
This guidance provides a summary of the September 2006 regulations related to assessment and accountability for recently arrived and former LEP students. It addresses questions that may help clarify how state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) can implement the provisions included in the regulations.


The September 2006 regulations on assessment and accountability for recently arrived and former LEP students can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/finrule/2006-3/091306a.html.
Resources:
Assessment and Accountability for Recently Arrived and Former Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students, U.S. Department of Education, May 29, 2007, http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/lepguidance.doc.

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