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Headlines
Association & Related News
CCSSO Develops New Online Extended Learning Opportunities Toolkit for State Education Agencies
College Board Announces 2008 AP® Results: More U.S. Students Succeed on AP Exams, Predictors of Success in College
Advocacy in Action
Congress Closes in on Economic Stimulus
Reminder to Register for the Upcoming 2009 Legislative Conference
Advocacy Resources
Education Newsbriefs
"O'Connell Urges Education Improvements Despite Likely Funding Cuts" (CA)
"Statewide, Graduation Rate Rises" (MA)
"NC Dropout Rate Decline First in 3 Years" (NC)
"Education Plan Outlined" (WV)
"Public Weighs in on NAEP Testing of Special Groups"
Association & Related News
CCSSO Develops New Online Extended Learning Opportunities Toolkit for State Education Agencies
By Ayeola Fortune
CCSSO’s Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) project has developed a new toolkit to provide chiefs and state education agencies (SEAs) with resources and information to support state-level efforts to establish, implement, and sustain high-quality ELOs. These ELOs are initiatives that provide safe, structured environments for students outside of the regular school day and year. ELOs include extended day/year initiatives; before- and after-school programs; Saturday, weekend, and summer programs; and distance learning initiatives.
The toolkit is adapted from and builds on the Council’s Policy Statement on Extended Learning Opportunities. CCSSO will use this toolkit to encourage SEAs to think about the issues of time and learning more broadly, and how extended learning opportunities provide a strategy to rethink how time can utilized more effectively to support student learning, including how to:
- find state-specific resources related to policy and legislation; evaluation; and standards and assessments focused on extended learning opportunities;
- identify tools developed by state education agencies, and other local and national organizations to support the development of high quality ELOs;
- locate timely and useful research on the benefits of ELOs for students;
- identify the characteristics of successful programs;
- learn about activities and products that other national and regional organizations have developed related to extended learning opportunities.
The toolkit was developed thanks to the generous support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The Council is grateful to Mott for their continued support of our work on extended learning opportunities.
To access the online toolkit, please visit http://elo.ccsso.org. For additional information on the ELO Online Toolkit, or the Council’s Extended Learning Opportunities Project, please contact Ayeola Fortune, project director for Extended Learning Opportunities at ayeolaf@ccsso.org, or 202-326-8680.
College Board Announces 2008 AP® Results: More U.S. Students Succeed on AP Exams, Predictors of Success in College
By Paul Ferrari
In its fifth annual AP Report to the Nation, the College Board, the not-for-profit membership association that administers the Advanced Placement (AP) Program, spotlights educators’ quantifiable successes in helping a wider, more ethnically diverse segment of students gain access to and achieve success in college-level work. The report documents that, of the estimated 3 million students who graduated from U.S. public schools in 2008, more than 460,000 (15.2 percent) earned an AP Exam score of at least 3 on one or more AP Exams during high school. This is up from 14.4 percent in 2007 and 12.2 percent in 2003.
New research shows that AP continues to prepare students for college success in many ways, including helping offset college costs. While the majority of students entering college today fail to earn a bachelor’s degree on schedule in four years, AP students are much more likely to graduate within four years, saving the cost of additional tuition and preventing a delay in their entry into the workforce. AP participation and success also now help students qualify for scholarships at 31 percent of U.S. colleges and universities. Studies continue to show that students scoring at least 3 on an AP Exam experience greater academic success in college and graduate from college at higher rates than their comparable, non-AP peers.
In addition to the national report, individual reports for all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia provide even more detailed information about AP in each state.
Please click here to view the fifth annual AP Report to the Nation or click here to view the state specific reports. For specific questions about either report, please contact Eleanor Vogelsang at evogelsang@collegeboard.org.
Advocacy in Action
Congress Closes in on Economic Stimulus
Today, the Senate passed its $838 billion version of the economic stimulus package in a final vote of 61-37. The final version of the Senate measure stems from a compromise fostered by Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Susan Collins (R-ME) that cut $110 billion from the initial package. K–12 education funding was cut most drastically in the state fiscal stabilization fund and the school modernization program. The state fiscal stabilization fund was reduced from $79 billion to $39 billion, and $16 billion K–12 school modernization fund was completely removed from the amended Senate package. Last month, the House had approved an $819 billion version of the economic stimulus package. A conference between the House and Senate is likely to happen within the week as Congress works to finalize the bill to present to President Obama by—ideally—the upcoming President’s Day recess. However, conferencing the final bill could take longer than expected with the two chambers having different opinions on how the funds should be targeted.
Reminder to Register for the Upcoming 2009 Legislative Conference
CCSSO will be hosting its annual Legislative Conference March 8-10, 2009 at the Westin Washington City Center Hotel in Washington, DC. Our Legislative Conference serves as a forum for the top elementary and secondary education officials from across the country to discuss current and emerging education policy issues. The meeting will focus on the new political and budgetary landscape we are faced with and how chief state school officers are prepared to respond to these challenging times. Please note that the deadline to register for the meeting is close of business Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
For more information about the 2009 Legislative Conference program, please contact Abigail Rogers at abigailr@ccsso.org or 202-336-7073. For any questions regarding registration, please contact Shawn Morrison at shawnm@ccsso.org, 202-336-7021.
To gain additional information about legislation discussed in this issue, please visit http://thomas.loc.gov/ and enter the name or bill number of the legislation.
For more advocacy information and support, please contact advocacy@ccsso.org.
Education Newsbriefs
O'Connell Urges Education Improvements Despite Likely Funding Cuts
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (CA) (02/03/09) Tasci, Canan
In California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell's sixth annual address on the state of public education, he encouraged lawmakers and educators to proceed with their work on closing achievement gaps in spite of the economic downturn. "Students of color, students who are poor, who are learning English, or coping with learning disabilities need the assistance most. Equal cuts across a school or district will be inequitably felt by them," said O'Connell. In addition, O'Connell outlined areas in which the State Department of Education could reduce expenses, including the suspension of the California School Technology Survey and onsite district examinations that are not mandated.
Statewide, Graduation Rate Rises
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA) (02/07/09) Reis, Jacqueline
According to recent a Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education report, the 2008 four-year high school graduation rate rose to 81.2 percent from 80.9 percent in 2007 and 79.9 percent in 2006. "I am pleased to see our graduation rate continuing to rise but remain concerned about the impact that transience, poverty, and ethnicity continue to have on student achievement," says State Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester. However, to address declining graduation rates among minorities, some schools are personalizing academic plans for students and recognizing students who make significant progress alongside high-achievers.
NC Dropout Rate Decline First in 3 Years
Wral.com (02/05/09)
According to the North Carolina State Board of Education, the state high school dropout rate dropped to 4.96 percent during the 2007-08 school year from 5.24 percent the prior year, marking the first decrease in three years. Providing suspended students with learning alternatives, helping students boost performance, and taking driver's licenses from students who drop out before the age of 18 are said to be responsible for improving the dropout rate. State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson thinks a boost in the graduation rate--which currently stands at 70 percent--could be on the horizon. Atkinson notes, "Local schools are using all of the tools available to help students stay in school. The credit for this success goes to local educators for finding ways to re-engage students and to students and their families for recognizing the need to stay in school."
Education Plan Outlined
Intelligencer & Wheeling News-Register (WVA)) (02/06/09) Connors, Fred
On Feb. 5 at Wheeling Park High School, West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Steven Paine told teachers and administrators from the Northern Panhandle the state's public school system could undergo a transformation so that students are given the skills they need to succeed in the global economy. He discussed the West Virginia 21st Century Learning Program, which involves the creation of curriculum standards, a concentration on pre-kindergarten programs, the integration of technology and skills in the classroom, and research-based instruction, among other things. According to Paine, "The program is a systematic approach to help West Virginia compete not only globally, but to thrive. From the classroom to the district office to the state Department of Education, the program is a bold acknowledgment that we must change how we operate if we expect to change what and how children learn. At its core is the mission to develop self-directed, motivated learners who demonstrate the skills and knowledge that are fundamental to becoming successful adults in the digital world." He emphasized the importance of project-based study that merges critical thinking and problem-solving skills into test questions. Paine noted, "In addition to the traditional curriculum, students need to understand leadership, problem solving, innovation, relationships, self-direction, commitment, perspective, and decision making." For more information about the West Virginia 21st Century Learning Program, click here.
Public Weighs in on NAEP Testing of Special Groups
Education Week (02/05/09) Vol. 28, No. 21, Zehr, Mary Ann
At a Feb. 4 public hearing in Washington, D.C., teachers urged the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to create a separate standardized test for students with learning disabilities to ensure all students are included. The National Assessment Governing Board sponsored the hearing and a second one in El Paso, Texas, that focused on recommendations to expand the federal NAEP program to include more English language learners and disabled students. In order to receive federal Title I funding for disadvantaged students, states must participate in NAEP reading and mathematics exams every two years. The NAGB is considering several procedural changes, such as embracing nationwide standards for test accommodations and exceptions, offering tests with varying degrees of difficulty, screening some students to decide whether they should take NAEP, and weighing scores to adjust for excluded pupils.
Education Newsbriefs © Copyright 2008 INFORMATION, INC.
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