Education News in Alabama

February 4, 2005 (archive)

IT WAS A GOOD MONTH FOR:

Alabama’s English and Mathematics courses of study, which received top grades in the release of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation’s reviews of state Mathematics and English standards.

Fordham’s grades state English standards on five principles: Purposes and Expectations, Organization, Disciplinary Coverage, Quality and Negative Criteria. The Alabama Course of Study: English Language Arts, K-12, 1999, received an A and was commended for being “especially strong in the area of literary study.” The report concluded that, “For the most part, Alabama has a set of English language arts standards that are sufficiently demanding to lead to high academic expectations for all Alabama students.”

Fordham’s grades state math standards on four principles: Clarity, Content, Reason and Negative Qualities. The Alabama Course of Study: Mathematics, 2003, received a B. The report states, “Alabama’s standards, revised in 2003, remain solid. They are clearly written and address the important topics.”

Alabama’s “Highly Qualified” Teachers, whose ranks have risen from 34.4 percent in 2002-2003 to 75.1 percent in 2003-2004. This number exceeds the target goal for this year, which was 56.3 and gets the state very close to its 2004-2005 goal, which is 78.2 percent. The “No Child Left Behind” Act requires that all teachers meet the by the 2005-2006 school year.

IT WAS A BAD MONTH FOR:

Students in high-poverty schools, who have fewer “highly qualified” teachers in their classrooms. According to the data released by the State Department of Education, there is a significant gap between the percentage of “highly qualified” teachers in low-poverty schools (77%) and the percentage of “highly qualified” teachers in high-poverty schools (66.9%). There is an even wider gap between the percentage of percentage of “highly qualified” secondary teachers in low-poverty schools (74%) and the percentage of “highly qualified” secondary teachers in high-poverty schools (55.7%). These data underscore the critical need for initiatives to ensure that every student, regardless of zip code, has access to a caring, competent teacher.

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STATE-OF-THE-STATE: GOOD FOR EDUCATION

On February 1, Governor Bob Riley delivered his “State-of-the-State” Address, in which he outlined his immediate plans for the next year and his continuing vision for Alabama. His actions to improve public education include:

• Approving the budget requests of the State Board of Education, including an additional $15 million to continue expansion of the Alabama Reading Initiative and $17 million to begin expansion of the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative
• Creating the Alabama Commission on Teaching Quality, with 2003 National Teacher of the Year Dr. Betsy Rogers at the helm, to recommend strategies for creating the working conditions that will allow the state to recruit and retain caring, capable teachers, to support the teaching of current and future educators, and to reward them for making progress with all students
• Implementing a statewide distance learning initiative called ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide) that will allow students throughout the state to take courses not available in their schools through the use of computers and other technology
• Providing financial incentives to qualified, experienced math and science teachers who agree to teach in hard-to-staff school systems
• Recommending a much-deserved pay raise for teachers in the amount of 4%
  A+ commends Governor Riley for his past and current efforts to ensure that every child in Alabama has the opportunity for academic success.

IN THE NEWS
GOVERNOR’S SEEK NEW TEACHER-PAY METHODS
In his State-of-the-State Address, Governor Riley advocated re-thinking how we pay teachers in Alabama and will include in his budget an incentive bonus for those who volunteer to teach in schools and in subject matters where there are teacher shortages. Riley joins a growing list of governors who are looking to different methods of paying teachers and rewarding those who make gains in the classroom.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/02/02/21merit.h24.html

EDUCATION IN THE SECOND BUSH ADMINISTRATION
In this virtual roundtable with some of the keenest education policy minds in Washington, the managing editor of the American School Board Journal poses questions about the future of No Child Left Behind, the likely profile of religion in public schools, the upcoming reauthorization of major federal laws like Head Start and the Perkins Act (voc-ed), the future of charter schools and vouchers, and the fate of local school control. A quick, highly informative read.
(Description courtesy of the Teacher Leaders Network eSource)
http://www.asbj.com/current/coverstory.html

EDITORIAL REACTION TO AMERICAN MATH, SCIENCE SCORES
Three commentaries in Education Week examine the rationale behind current efforts to improve the math and science skills of American students:

Eric A. Hanushek presents the traditional view that our economy is doomed if we don't improve our standing in international comparisons.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/02/02/21hanushek.h24.html

Anthony P. Carnevale reports on various reasons why our mediocre school performance hasn't mattered -- but explains that we will increasingly have to rely on our homegrown human capital for our competitive edge.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/02/02/21carnevale.h24.html

Erica N. Walker and Alexander P. Karp examine the effect of America’s math phobia on its education policies and student performance.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/02/02/21walker.h24.html

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