Education Reform: Let's Do Things Like Singapore

The headline reads "Wake-up call: U.S. students trail global leaders." This is not the first time other countries had a higher number than the U.S. What does that mean exactly?

If you watch CNN, you'll recognize journalist and author Fareed Zakariya. In 2006, he looked at the international test scores by Singapore's 4th and 8th grade students, who score #1 in global science and math rankings, but fair "poorly to American kids...down the road." Zakariya finds that "Singapore has few truly top-ranked scientists, entrepreneurs, inventors, business executives or academics."

To find out why this exists, he turned to Singapore's Minister of Education, Tharman Shanmgaratam.

“We both have meritocracies,” Shanmugaratnam said. “Yours is a talent meritocracy, ours is an exam meritocracy. There are some parts of the intellect that we are not able to test well ─ like creativity, curiosity, a sense of adventure, ambition. Most of all, America has a culture of learning that challenges conventional wisdom, even if it means challenging authority. These are the areas where Singapore must learn from America.”

The information that is obtained from the international tests has value and the recent results confirm what we have already known for sometime without this test data. There is a widening student achievement gap based on socio-economic factors. This gap is a serious problem and needs a targeted solution; but a meaningful solution does not equal that we need to be more like Singapore. On the contrary, turning our school system into an "exam meritocracy" is no goal at all and harmful to what has made this nation a global leader.

Responding to this "crisis", Singapore Math textbooks and teacher training has hit the U.S. educational publishing market. In a 2009 press release announced that "global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt today launches Math in Focus, an innovative new math program based on the highly acclaimed Singapore approach to mathematics." The program is described as on the expensive side, both in materials it requires and teacher training. (Notably, the Florida Department of Education selected Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as its consultant to assist school districts in implementing new evaluation systems based on student achievement.)

Politicians, legislators, and professional educational reformers are going to have to be more precise as to how we are not able to compete in the global marketplace. That rationale is not enough to support legislation like SB736/HB7019. In fact, it is reason enough to reject the bill.



http://www.hmco.com/company/newsroom/news/news_release_042109.html


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Education Reform: A Good Old Fashioned Crisis

National and state policymakers cite U.S. student performance on international exams as the reason for urgent education reform. These results are the indicators that the U.S. will not be able to compete in the global marketplace. And so the reforms begin....again.

In 1983, a report titled "Nation at Risk" described the grave outcomes for the nation if the reported decreased S.A.T. scores at that time, were not taken seriously. In the context of the Cold War, the report found a "rising tide of mediocrity" was sweeping through the public education system.
"If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves."

In 1990, the U.S. Secretary of Energy commissioned the Sandia Laboratories to support the claims in the "Nation at Risk" with real data. The study of declining S.A.T. scores revealed that overall scores had indeed dropped, but the scores of sub-groups had increased, known in statistics as Simpson's Paradox. The fact that more students of all backgrounds were taking the S.A.T. than in previous years is significant in understanding test scores. The government received the report, did not like the analysis, shelved it, and the narrative continued. Others who examined the analysis found the findings relevant, but the media took no interest. What has resulted is a national past time of reform efforts in every single administration since - Democrat and Republican. In 1980, the U.S. spent $16 billion on education to $72 billion in 2007.

In other words, the U.S. has been in a sustained state of an education crisis for 31 years, dominated by an industry of professional education reformers, non-profit educational consultants, publishing corporations, and software developers, standing in line to answer the call of legislators and politicians, who promise to make education their number one priority and fix the broken system.

After 12 years of test-driven schools with questionable outcomes, isn't it long overdue that we hold the Florida legislature accountable? Failing to pass legislation that meets the requirements of Race to the Top funding has funding consequences. The requirement, as I understand it, is that legislation must mandate that teacher evaluations be based to some degree on student achievement data. Current bills are far more complex and attempt to standardize a process statewide. Proponents acknowledge the bills are incomplete and will be fixed over time. There is worry over costs and silence on the math.

Conclusion
We are in a budgetary crisis now, but I do not believe we have been in an education crisis at all. The word has been used effectively to manipulate public opinion for 30 years. After reading commentary and opinions from a variety of viewpoints, I conclude we do have serious problems that require precision akin to a surgical team, whose members are knowledgeable and experienced working with children and adolescents, armed with the relevant data gathered over the years, and unaffiliated to politics, large corporations, and money-pumping non-profits.

Not a dime should be diverted from classrooms and students in order to fund solutions and experiments that fail to identify the problem and fail to identify all the costs.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-04-22-nation-at-risk_N.htm
http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-end-of-the-education-debate
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0422/p13s02-lepr.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gerald-bracey/righting-wrongs_b_75189.html

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House Committee passes merit pay bill 11-01

The House K-20 Competitiveness Committee passed the House version of a merit pay bill. Minimal differences between the House bill, 11-01, and SB736. Committee Chair Erik Fresen is quoted as saying that "change and reform are scary, but members would look back on today and realize they developed a system that gave each student quality teachers and administrators." I find no information that fiscal impact was discussed. I find no legislative analysis either. The public has a right to know how much this bill will cost above and beyond Race to the Top (RT3) funds, how will those school districts who did not sign on to participate in RT3 be funded or pay for this mandate, and where will the money come from.

Contractors are already on board to help with implementation of the bill.

1) "Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Educational Consulting Services Selected by the Florida Department of Education to Implement a Statewide Teacher and Leader Evaluation System As part of its Race to the Top initiative, the Florida Department of Education, through its partnership with HMH, will provide school districts across the state with a research-based framework and implementation services for a teacher and leader evaluation system."

2) The Center for Teacher Quality has been working with 17 Florida school districts since last year to implement effective evaluation systems. Their website lists some interesting funding partners. In a letter to Florida legislators, the company points to the need for adequate funding.

"If the state and local districts implement the TeacherSolutions, adequate funding must be in place to ensure effective implementation."

"Given our current budget downturn, the state and local districts should consider ways in which to find new dollars to implement these recommendations. Teachers should not be forced to lose compensation in order to fund these ideas."

Adequate funding? New dollars? I haven't heard anything about those items yet.

Meanwhile, Providence, Rhode Island sent lay off notices to all its public school teachers. They are out of money to run the schools due to budget deficits.

UPDATE: The Senate Budget committee voted in favor of SB736, cutting off discussion and debate. No cost analysis found. Senator Haridopolos announced the full Senate will vote on the bill sometime after March 8. I have found no cost analysis.

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References:
http://www.teachingquality.org/
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/teacher-merit-pay-bill-passes-first-house-committee
http://www.hmhco.com/news/2011/0217_news_release.html

Education Reform: One More Hour for Low Performing Schools

Earlier this year, Florida Senator David Simmons declared his intention of filing a bill that would extend the day for schools categorized as low performing. According to the Tampa Bay Gradebook, bill details will be revealed this week.

Simmons calculates the cost for such an initiative ranges between $30 and $100 million dollars. "He said he strongly believes the Legislature will be able to find the money."

Some school districts have been supporting extra time in low performing schools. Teachers have a lot to cover and some students seem to benefit from additional time. Unless I am missing something, Simmons should be able to refine the range of costs since the math seems relatively simple: the number of low performing schools x number of teachers and staff x 1 additional hour of operational costs

It is difficult to comment without reading the details; however, this bill is a targeted solution to a defined problem. Adding an hour is not a complex effort requiring enormous effort. Also, this solution means the students needs are front and center. What really matters is not the time itself, but the quality of that hour. I'll keep an eye out for the bill.

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/content/florida-legislature-consider-longer-school-day-struggling-schools

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House Files "Regarding Teacher Quality" Bill

The Florida House announced the filing of the Regarding Teacher Quality Proposed Committee Bill (PCB) on February 16:

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 Contact: Lyndsey Cruley, (850) 487-8148 Joint Statement by Representatives Bill Proctor and Erik Fresen Regarding Teacher Quality PCB Filed in the Florida House Tallahassee, Fla. – Representative Bill Proctor (R-St. Augustine), chair of the House Education Committee, and Representative Erik Fresen (R-Miami) chair of the House K-20 Competitiveness Subcommittee and co-sponsor of the proposed committee bill (PCB), today released the following joint statement regarding the filing of the PCB on student success and teacher quality in the Florida House. “It is our belief that every child in our state, regardless of race, creed or economic status, deserves to have an exceptional teacher in the classroom that is vested in their futures and will strive to provide students with a quality education. “This proposed committee bill is another step toward meaningful education reform that will serve to further improve our state’s education system by implementing a performance pay plan that is grounded in student learning growth that will result in the ability to reward the most effective teachers. “We encourage public testimony and input from teachers, parents and administrators as this bill moves through the committee process; and we look forward to the final product reaching the House floor.”

There is no legislative analysis yet. Other reviews of the bill have not yet emerged. I looked over the 44 page bill myself and found that to a high degree, it restates the Senate version of education reform in SB736. Some differences jumped out at me if I understand the full intent.

1. While establishing the parameters for performance pay, the House bill recognized that teachers at lower performing schools cannot compete fairly for increases. This proposed bill would provide a pay supplement to teachers at low performing schools for a year and continue only with improved performance of the school. So I understand that to be that at low performing schools, teacher pay is not tied to student performance in an assigned class, but the school-wide performance.
2. The bill seems to address merit pay for teachers who teach courses that have no student achievement data on which to base merit pay. Those teachers merit pay would be based on "student growth measures" and remain that way "an equally appropriate" measure is established by the school district. My read is that the districts are not forced to develop an end-of-course test for the P.E. teacher. "Student growth measures" is a new term for me and I will look into it, but I believe it refers to FCAT test results and the algorithm the DOE will develop to analyze results.

My sense was that this bill puts more emphasis on local control than SB736 and with that there are costs. My question remains - how much will this cost at the local level and where will the money come from?

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/HouseNews/preview.aspx?PressReleaseId=176
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Committees/committeesdetail.aspx?SessionId=66&CommitteeId=2609

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SB736: Entering the Twilight Zone

A fast moving thriller or spicy romance novel would be more entertaining and satisfying than reading a legislative analysis. Since accuracy and facts are hard to come by, I spent some time reading the now four analyses written for SB736. The analysts deserve credit for having written the document in clear English, free of mumbo jumbo, and easy to read. They cannot be blamed if the bill they describe does not make sense.

I noted a change in Section 5. Fiscal Impact Statement. In the two versions presented to the Appropriations Subcommittee, the sentence, the fiscal impact of this bill is indeterminate, has been deleted. Instead there is a paragraph describing what Race to the Top funding will cover and assistance to be provided by the DOE.

Florida’s Race to the Top (RTTT) grant will support the development of a revised teacher evaluation system as provided in this bill. Grant funds will enable the Department of Education to develop end-of-course assessments, item banks and components, such as the value-added model, for the evaluation system. The DOE will assist school districts in their development of assessment items that may be used for locally developed assessments.

During the next three years the grant will provide funding for the development of end-of-course exams in most subject areas. Additional resources may be necessary to maintain an assessment item bank or platform at the conclusion of the grant period.

District practices relating to the evaluation, compensation, and employment of instructional personnel and school administrators that are not consistent with the bill will need to be revised and implemented in accordance with bill implementation timelines.

SB736 is on the schedule for the Senate Budget committee on February 23. One can only hope that committee members are competent to conduct a complete cost analysis. Here are a few questions that need to be addressed:

1) Districts who agreed to participate in Race to the Top are recipients of funding. The analysis is silent on the costs required for those districts who chose not to participate and where the finds would come from.
2) While the DOE will provide "resources" to school districts, the analysis is silent on the amount of local monetary and manpower resources required to implement SB736 requirements. What is the fiscal impact on school districts and where will that funding come from?

SB736 is a complex bill with complex requirements. While the legislature and the Governor wrangle over further cuts to the education budget, the public has a right to have the facts on SB736.

Read the legislative analysis here: http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2011/0736

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SB736: Senate Budget Sub-Committee votes 8-1 in favor

The Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education Pre-K12 Appropriations voted 8-1 in favor of SB736. The lone "No" vote was caste by Senator Paula Dockery, who took a stand against SB6 last year because she believed Florida could not afford it. I am assuming she believes the same this year.

Committee member Senator Evelyn Lynn, however, suggested that the bill needs improving, but "suggested that the kinks could be worked out over time, saying that this legislation is the 'next major logical step in education reform,' building upon the state's A-Plus system." Next logical step? Senator Lynn also noted that money would be required.

“I do believe we’ll need the dollars. I don’t want the dollars to be taken away from one group of teachers to pay another group.”

According to the Orlando Sentinel, "most of the bill’s provisions don’t kick in until 2014, so supporters said there will be time to work out the finances — and the details of a bill that aims to use tests (some not yet developed) to help determine teacher quality and pay."

Others on the committee "cautioned that the bill needs more work before they're will to back it on the floor. " More revisions? Like what?

Questions remain over how to pay for raises, for instance, and how the bill jibes with other endeavors, such as Race to the Top."

Sounds like a rerun. Pass a flawed bill in committee, send it out to the floor in whatever shape it is, and promise to fix it later. Avoid the entire issue of the price tag.

Thank you Paula Dockery!

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_education_edblog/?p=16940
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/