District Administration - September 2010 - (Page 18)

InsidetheLaw Voucher Programs Losing Steam in School Choice Debate tuition voucher program support has been withering under the obama administration as it phases out the D.c. opportunity Scholarship program. The program, a federally funded voucher program signed into law in 2004, has provided over 3,700 students in Washington, D.c., with scholarships to attend private schools. The administration’s primary reasoning, it appears, has been strong union opposition to school vouchers. The fourth and final evaluation of the D.c. program, released June 22, was federally mandated and conducted by the institute of education Sciences (ieS) and led by patrick Wolf, education reform professor at the university of arkansas. according to the study, 82 percent of voucher students graduated high school, as opposed to 70 percent of students who were offered a voucher but chose not to use it. Br iefings By marion herbert “The academic attainment results— the graduation rates—have certainly been one of the most successful aspects of the program,” says Lindsey Burke, education policy analyst at the heritage Foundation. Burke notes that president obama himself was the recipient of a voucher scholarship to attend private school and sends his two daughters to a private school in the D.c. area. “no one would ever begrudge the president and members of congress for making the best education decisions pos- sible for their children, but that opportunity should be expanded to all children.” critics, however, maintain that vouchers undermine the public education system and wouldn’t be necessary if public schools were funded properly. “it’s a bizarre issue when two core constituencies are at opposite ends of the spectrum,” says John merrifield, professor of economics at the university of texas at San antonio and director of the eg West institute for effective Schooling, referring to the Democratic conundrum of teachers’ unions ardently opposing vouchers while african americans, large recipients of vouchers, generally support them. according to merrifield, however, keeping school choice options alive between the private and public sector is important. “Schools don’t differ nearly as much as the kids do. one size does not fit all, even if the school is great.” Three Consortia of States Apply for Race to the Top Funds The U.S. DepArTmenT of eDUcATion hAS eArmArkeD $350 million in race to the Top grants for states to develop new assessments for the common core Standards. The two main groups competing over the money submitted applications in June and are now waiting to hear results in September. The SmArTer Balanced Assessment consortium (SBAc), the larger of the two consortia, is comprised of 31 states headed by the state of Washington. SBAc will develop standards that put an emphasis on computer-adaptive technology for disabled students that have difficulty using a computer. “We’ll be including what we call technology enhancement assessments,” says Susan Gendron, policy director for SBAc. “A teacher will be able to start a student from where they are. it will recognize i may be a 4th-grade student on a 3rd-grade level and create questions accordingly. it will measure where a student is on the learning progression.” Also competing for the $350 million grant, the partnership for the Assessment of readiness for college and careers (pArcc) is a consortium of 26 states, but it accounts for 60 percent of the nation’s public school students. Based in florida, states associated with pArcc will also pilot computer-based testing; however, not using an adaptive method. Assessments will combine the computer-based testing with performance-based reviews in math and english over the course of the school year. “We are working together to develop a system that will utilize performance-based assessments, evaluate what students are learning throughout the academic year, and build end-ofyear summative assessments to provide the measures of student growth that states need to support valid accountability systems,” says David m. Steiner, new York state’s education commissioner. pArcc’s design also puts an emphasis on parent and community involvement for student success. “i think it’s going to be important for districts to think about a transition plan to new standards and to help teachers become familiar with new types of assessment,” Gendron says. — KeriLee Horan 18 September 2010 District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - September 2010

District Administration - September 2010
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Inside the Law
Conversations
District Profile
Administrator Profile
A Salary Recession for School Administrators?
Working Hard in the Big Easy
School Safety Gets the Ax
Keeping Schools Safe during Challenging times
Google and Microsoft Go to School
A Bull Market for Financial Literacy
Problem/ Solution
Tech Disruptions
Student Counsel
Product Focus
New Products
Superintendent’s Insights

District Administration - September 2010