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Education Trust-West
In the News
2007 Articles
State Knows Little About its Teachers
The Daily Review
12/03/07-By and large, California's teaching force has its credentialing paperwork in order. But little is known about how well the state's educators teach or how they might improve their practice, according to an annual study of the teaching profession released today by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.
The Language Gap
The Los Angeles Times
11/29/07-Since the last census, the Los Angeles Unified School District has reclassified as English proficient 13% of its formerly English language-learning students. In truth, that number compares favorably with a 9% reclassification rate for California public schools as a whole.
What's Causing the Gap?
The Los Angeles Times
11/28/07- Disadvantaged students' low performance has many mutually reinforcing causes. We're the most unequal society in the industrialized world; it would be silly to expect academic performance to be equal when nothing else is.
No Child to the Rescue?
The Los Angeles Times
11/27/07- Richard, First, let's be honest about what the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is and isn't. It's not a magic bullet that can fix all that is wrong with public education in this country; no single law can do that.
Mind the (Achievement) Gap
The Los Angeles Times
11/26/07- The "achievement gap" is not the most reliable indicator of shortcomings in the learning of minority and economically disadvantaged students because:
School Plan Comes Amid Fiscal Crisis
The Los Angeles Times
11/23/07- A blue-ribbon panel is poised to propose a multibillion-dollar plan for overhauling education in California just as the state has become immersed in a fiscal crisis that could make its recommendations dead on arrival.
The Daily Californian
11/21/07- As Congress considers the renewal of the No Child Left Behind Act this year, education experts and school administrators debated the act’s efficacy at a panel discussion Tuesday presented by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education.
Crunch on to Close Racial Achievement Gap. As Schools Boost Scores, Standards Rise.
San Jose Mercury
11/21/07- Four Castro Elementary School students spent a lot of time in the principal's office last spring. But that was a good thing. They were among 62 promising pupils who needed extra help in reading and writing.
Racial gap confronted: Educators analyze how to aid black and Latino students
The Sacramento Bee
11/14/07- The politician who heads California's public schools is doing something strange this week: He's leading an enormous conference focused on the biggest failure of the very education system he is in charge of.
Racial gap confronted: Educators analyze how to aid black and Latino students
Calibre MacroWorld
11/14/07- The politician who heads California's public schools is doing something strange this week: He's leading an enormous conference focused on the biggest failure of the very education system he is in charge of.
Who is considered poor - or not - in California's public schools?
San Francisco Chronicle
11/12/07- More white and Asian American students typically score at grade level on California's achievement tests than black and Latino students do - even when the students are not poor. It's a statistic that has led state schools chief Jack O'Connell to call the infamous achievement gap...
Education Week/Teacher Magazine
11/9/07- In 2001, the National Education Association took no position on the No Child Left Behind Act. It did not lobby for or against the bill, which Congress passed with large bipartisan majorities late that year.
The San Bernardino Sun
11/2/07- Policy studies on California education reform have been piling up in Sacramento like unclaimed luggage on an airport carousel. There are last spring's 23 "Getting Down to Facts" studies, a mammoth 1,700 page analysis of education governance and finance...
Ideas for Revamping Calif. Schools Emerge From Study
Education Week
10/31/07- An improved education data system, stronger pre-K and kindergarten programs, and school spending based more on student needs than on categories of programs are likely to be among the recommendations for an overhaul of California’s school governance and financing systems...
The San Jose Mercury
10/31/07- Policy studies on California education reform have been piling up in Sacramento like unclaimed luggage on an airport carousel. There are last spring's 23 "Getting Down to Facts" studies, a mammoth 1,700 page analysis of education governance and finance...
New law seeks accountability on test scores
The Sacramento Bee
10/18/07- The tens of thousands of California students who struggle in high school and wind up in alternative programs have long existed in a never-never land when it comes to standardized testing. Their test scores don't count toward the ranking of the school they left – and frequently don't count toward the school they transferred in to.
Reaching Dropouts with New Media
EdWeek/Teacher Magazine
10/12/07- Facing unrelenting pressure to raise anemic high school graduation rates, education leaders in Los Angeles are turning to YouTube, MySpace, text messaging, and the radio waves to reach students at risk of dropping out...
Big Rally: High school grows to 5,500 students
Winston-Salem Journal
10/1/07- At the high school here, the cafeteria serves the equivalent of an Army brigade every afternoon. A small village of portable classrooms adjoins its buildings, and graduation has to be held at a professional hockey arena.
For at least 2 U.S. high schools, 5,000 students is normal
Miami Herald
9/29/07- At the high school here, the cafeteria serves the equivalent of an Army brigade every afternoon. A small village of portable classrooms adjoins its buildings, and graduation has to be held at a professional hockey arena.
Achievement gap in county schools linked to race
Merced Sun Star
9/15/07- Call it the third rail of American education and politics. The issue of race and its role in and relationship -- if any -- to academic achievement is one few teachers, administrators, elected officials and parents ever want to touch.
Charter school's scores soar But a majority of the state's schools struggle to meet higher standards.
The Sacramento Bee
9/1/07- Test scores can elicit a variety of reactions from people. From Judy Billingsley, it was an ear-piercing squeal of excitement. "When I saw it the other day, I thought it was a mistake," she said. "I hope not!" Billingsley is principal of...
State's API results a mixed bag
Los Angeles Times
9/1/07- For the first time, California has required schools to begin closing the achievement gap, and many schools, even some apparently successful ones, are not hitting the mark, according to data released Friday...
Surmounting the Learning Gap
Los Angeles Times, Letters to the Editor
8/25/07- The real learning gap is at the Department of Education. Education Trust-West research two years ago showed that...
Minorities score lower on state test. Schools chief says problem lies with educators
Ventura County Star
8/24/07- While a majority of high school students in Ventura County and statewide have passed the high school exit exam, local and state school officials said Thursday that more efforts are needed to bridge the achievement gap between whites and some minority groups. "We cannot afford the achievement gap morally, socially or economically," state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell said.
Minorities score lower on state test. Schools chief says problem lies with educators
Ventura County Star
8/24/07- While a majority of high school students in Ventura County and statewide have passed the high school exit exam, local and state school officials said Thursday that more efforts are needed to bridge the achievement gap between whites and some minority groups. "We cannot afford the achievement gap morally, socially or economically," state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell said.
Black, Latino sophomores improving on exit exam
San Jose Mercury News
8/24/07- An increasing number of black, Latino and Pacific Islander students are passing the math and English sections of the high school exit exam on their first try sophomore year...
Test scores climb in California, but some minority students still lag behind
San Jose Mercury News
8/16/07- But the Standardized Testing and Reporting program (STAR) results this morning also tracked a continuing and disturbing trend: The disparity in achievement between African-American and Hispanic students and white and Asian students.
Small gains for county students
Monterey County Herald
8/16/07- Results released Wednesday from California's Standardized Testing and Reporting system showed that students both locally and statewide have made just modest gains in the areas of English-language arts and math.
State tests show children of color being left behind
San Francisco Chronicle
8/16/07- A frustrating and persistent achievement gap between black and Latino students and their white and Asian American peers shows no sign of abating in the latest state test results for nearly 5 million students across California.
Editorial 2007 STAR test results reveal troubling achievement gaps
San Jose Mercury News
8/16/07- In 57 years, all California students will be proficient in reading. Math will take longer. Progress on STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) has slowed.
Classroom achievement slows
Los Angeles Times
8/15/07- After two years of steady gains in student achievement, overall progress in California public schools cooled somewhat last year, according to standardized test scores released today.
Persiste Brecha Escolar Por Etnia
NBC News San Diego
8/16/07- Lejos de que los esfuerzos realizados hasta el momento hayan dado algn resultado para reducir la diferencia entre el desempeo acadmico de los estudiantes de minoras y sus compaeros blancos no hispanos, la brecha entre el alumnado sigue siendo prcticamente la misma que la registrada hace cinco aos.
State needs to know what works in school
By David Plank and Russlynn Ali
Sacramento Bee
8/03/07- Several months ago, some of the nation's most respected education researchers released a comprehensive review of California's ailing K-12 public schools and recommendations for raising student achievement levels back to tops in the country. One of the core findings of these "Getting Down to Facts" studies was that solving the state's education woes begins with increasing our knowledge of what works and what doesn't.
College seems out of reach to most Latinos
San Francisco Chronicle
6/24/07- San Leandro High School senior Veronica Santana strode across the stage in a scarlet cap and gown to receive her high school diploma at a graduation ceremony earlier this month on the hillside campus of Cal State East Bay.
Reading, 'Riting and Recipes: Santa Cruz school takes novel approach to teaching No Child Left Behind
Santa Cruz Sentinal
4/22/07- On a recent Friday afternoon the students in Sandra Palazolla's cooking class baked pretzels and made old-fashioned root beer floats.But at Branciforte Middle School, there's no such thing as a free snack.
Peter Schrag: CTE vs. a-to-g: Ed-policy pendulum swinging again
Sacramento Bee
4/19/07- The rusty American ed-policy pendulum, which makes a half cycle every generation or so, is about to swing back again. The hot new words are "flexibility" and "CTE," career technical education, once known as vocational training. For most of the past 25 years, the push from business executives, politicians, civil rights leaders and many others had been for tougher academic standards in K-12 schools.
More seniors passing exit test
Success rate in S.F. up 1 percent over same time last year
San Francisco Chronicle
4/17/07- Slightly more California high school seniors this year have passed the high school exit exam, which is required for a diploma. So far, 390,697 students -- about 91 percent of this year's 428,000 seniors -- have passed the test of basic reading and math skills, state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell announced Monday.
Corona's El Cerrito Middle School to offer pre-advanced placement courses
Press Enterprise
4/17/07 - Administrators and teachers at El Cerrito Middle School said they hope to challenge top students while benefiting the rest by launching a set of advanced courses. The school will offer pre-advanced placement courses in English, math, science and social studies that go at a faster pace than the honors courses the school already offers.
Students in Oakland catch up
Reading, math scores rise amid turmoil
Oakland Tribune
4/12/07- Test score reports aren't generally a source of validation for the Oakland public school system. But a study released Wednesday by the Council of the Great City Schools highlighted some uplifting trends in Oakland and in dozens of other large urban school districts nationwide.
Local schools ahead of the class
API test results show most districts statewide miss mark
Inside Bay Area
3/28/07- Though education reform has improved the lot of elementary school children throughout the state, high school achievement remains a stubborn thorn in California's side, according to results released Tuesday by the state Department of Education. "We certainly have seen the impact of reforms at the early grades," said Russlynn Ali, director of the nonprofit research and advocacy group Education Trust-West based in Oakland.
API tests all students on same goals
Everyone on equal footing for first time
San Diego Union-Tribune
3/28/07- There's been a hidden truth about California's test scores since the measurement of school progress began in 1999. The state didn't expect non-English-speaking students to improve as quickly as native English speakers. The poor didn't have to gain on the rich. Latinos and blacks didn't have to catch up with whites and Asians.
I-NEWS ONLY: Summit Focuses On At-Risk Youth
Local 10.com, Miami, FL
3/22/07- The days of decreasing violent crime are over and as law enforcement officials struggle to keep the peace, mayors from across the country are joining forces... Closing the achievement gap is another major problem, according to educators asked to take part in a panel discussion with the mayors.
Education report points toward reform, but actions remain elusive
Associated Press/Newswire
3/14/07- The problems facing California's public schools won't be solved without massive restructuring and tens of billions of dollars more in spending, according to findings in a landmark report released Wednesday. What's less clear is whether lawmakers and taxpayers will have the appetite to make the changes critics and researchers say are needed to boost student achievement and conform to federal law.
A fine line between inspiration and segregation
Contra Costa Times
3/4/07- As the uproar over racially divided assemblies at Mt. Diablo High School flared last week, Ammar Saheli felt waves of disappointment swell in his chest. As an African-American vice principal at the Concord high school last year, Saheli conceived of the meetings not as a way to divide the campus but to inspire black students whom he regularly saw filling the expulsion lists, failing classes and scoring near the bottom on state tests.
Bill calls for college commitments from middle school students
Riverside Press-Enterprise
2/27/07- California's economy will stagnate unless more high school graduates go to college, and the state can encourage students to go on to college by reaching out to them while they're still in middle school, the chairman of the state Senate Education Committee said Tuesday. State Sen. Jack Scott, D-Altadena, last week introduced legislation that asks districts to have students from low-income families sign pledges as early as sixth grade in which they promise to finish high school and apply to college.
Report on risks to Eastvale stirs reaction
Riverside Press-Enterprise
2/26/07- The rapid growth in the Corona-Norco schools has caused concern among some district staff, with one warning the district's high academic standing could be at risk, according to a report from the consultant helping the district find a new superintendent. The report includes an e-mail from a school district construction manager with disparaging comments about the influx of people to the unincorporated community of Eastvale, in the northern section of the district.
California faces reckoning trying to solve dropout problem
San Jose Mercury News/AP
2/24/07- Lydia Ochoa and her boyfriend are locked in an embrace, nearly hidden from view under a slide in a city park, when police Sgt. Vince Matranga spots them from his cruiser and pulls over to grill them about why they aren't at school. Lydia, a slight 15-year-old, stiffens. She looks down and scuffs her high-top sneakers into the sand. "I don't feel good," she offers. "You do feel good," Matranga replies. "I'm going to take you to school." Her boyfriend is enrolled in a home study program in a neighboring district, but Lydia is supposed to be in her 10th grade classes at a nearby high school.
Educators ponder who gets left behind: Renewal of federal education law sparks debate
San Francisco Chronicle
2/19/07- Like a strict teacher demanding precision from her students, No Child Left Behind has inspired reactions ranging from anger to admiration during the five years it has re-shaped public education in every city and hamlet in America. Now that Congress is preparing to reauthorize the 2002 federal law, groups representing a range of interests -- educators, employers, testing advocates, testing foes and politicians of every stripe, including the president -- want the rules rewritten to reflect each of their points of view.
Latino students shut out of advanced classes
Santa Cruz Sentinel
2/11/07-The halls of the three Santa Cruz district high schools are filled with kids of every color, but walk into any advanced placement or honors class, and the faces are almost all white. In a district that's 27 percent Latino, few Latino students are enrolled in the courses, designed to give kids a head start on college.
More California students are taking AP classes
Los Angeles Times
2/7/07- More California high school students are taking Advanced Placement tests for college credit, but the state's black and Latino students are still underrepresented in AP classrooms, according to a report released Tuesday by the College Board. Of the 358,266 students in the state's class of 2006, 31% took at least one AP exam, up from 22% in 2000. Nationally, about 24% of students took an AP test in 2006, compared to about 16% in 2000.
O'Connell promises new emphasis on closing achievement gap
San Jose Mercury News
Contra Costa Times/Associated Press
2/7/07- In front of a packed auditorium Tuesday, state Superintendent of Schools Jack O'Connell laid out a new commitment to narrowing the achievement gap between students rich and poor, black and white, Hispanic and Asian. "In today's global economy, we simply cannot afford to have any student unprepared to compete," O'Connell said in his annual State of Education address. "While clearly recognizing that reform takes time and no simple overnight fix exists, I call for a renewed sense of urgency."
Schools seek ways to ensure graduation
Ventura County Star
1/17/07- High schools in the Ventura Unified School District have gone under the microscope this year as school officials wrestle with how to make sure that all their students succeed. The district has hired a national nonprofit agency to help audit its high school operations and work with the community to develop a plan for the future.
Vocational ed rebounding as an answer to dropout crisis
San Jose Mercury News
1/15/07- For years, California's 6 million public school students have been given a clear message: If you want to succeed in life, go to college. In reality, almost one-third of the state's high school students will drop out. Nearly another third will graduate without the credits needed to attend a four-year university. And many will go on to college but fail once they get there, unsure of what to study or how to make classes translate into a good job.
Hands-on education: The state's policymaking board is voting today on how schools can teach vocational skills while reinforcing math, science and other academic standards
Sacramento Bee
1/10/07- As the early morning frost began to thaw on the lawns of Laguna Creek High School, 17-year-old Vanna Lee worked in the wood shop -- at once preparing for college, learning about her desired career and creating a way to organize her jewelry."I'm going toward the engineering field, so whatever I learn here I'll use in college," Lee said as she gestured to her work in progress, a jewelry box with two sliding drawers.
Education reform law up for fixes
Contra Costa Times
1/07/07- Five years after President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into federal law, he and one of the law's chief architects, Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, will sit down Monday to discuss the future of
the landmark education legislation. The school accountability and reform law, one of Bush's most significant and broad-reaching domestic policies, comes up for renewal this year.
Online Teacher-Contract Database Launched
Education Week: Teacher Magazine
1/06/07- A new Web site gives users instant access to teacher-contract data in the nation’s 50 largest school districts, but teachers’ unions are warning against taking some of the information at face value. |