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4401-A
Connecticut Avenue, Box 294, Washington, DC
20008
Tel: (202) 244-7535, Fax: (202) 244-7584
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Education Exchange
Volume 2, Issue 8 -- August
1998
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Focusing on
Education Reforms at Your School, in Your State
Legislature, and in Congress
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Education
at a Crossroads: What Works
and What's Wasted in Education Today
After traveling to 15 states, hearing testimony from more
than 225 witnesses, and assessing dozens of reports, the
Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations released its findings about the state of
education in America. Chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) reported
that among a few "shining examples of educational
excellence," the major findings are dismal.
There has been no improvement in American education since
A Nation at Risk was released in 1983; 40 percent of
fourth-graders do not read at even a basic level; half of
the students from urban school districts fail to graduate on
time, if at all; average 1996 National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) scores among 17 year olds are
lower than they were in 1984; American students fall farther
behind students from other countries the longer they are in
school.
Federal programs have done nothing to improve children's
education; public institutions of higher education annually
spend $1 billion on remedial education; in 1995,
private-sector and federal employers spent a combined $55.3
billion to provide training in basic academic skills.
The federal role in local education has steadily
increased over the last 40 years. As a result of the study,
the General Accounting Office identified 788 education
programs, administered by 40 agencies, departments, boards,
and commissions. Of those, 307 (38%) flow through the U.S.
Department of Education, with $59 billion in funding,
administered by more than 18,000 federal and state education
employees. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
sponsors the next highest number of education programs (172,
$8.6 billion), followed by 33 education programs at the U.S.
Department of Agriculture at over $13 billion.
Significantly, the GAO also determined that the key
shared components of successful schools were found to
include the following:
- A well-defined mission focused on academics;
- An environment that encourages parental involvement
and collaboration with staff;
- School autonomy;
- Rigorous and well-focused curricula; and
- Effective and engaging instruction.
In November 1997, the GAO reported that "no central
source of information exists about all the programs
providing services to the same target groups among different
agencies or about those providing a similar service to
several target groups...[w]e do not know what is working and
what is not in today's programs."
Some studies show popular, but expensive programs are not
effective. A recent official evaluation of the Title I
(formerly Chapter I) program determined that the initial gap
in test scores between the more disadvantaged students
participating in the federal program and non-participants
did not narrow as a result of program participation.
Other studies prove "what works," but are largely
disregarded. Project Follow-Through revealed that the Direct
Instruction method had the greatest positive impact on basic
reading and computation. Furthermore, methods of instruction
that stressed "learning to learn" or "self esteem" showed
either negative or no effect on the group surveyed. Project
Follow-Through, a billion dollar, federally funded study
which began in 1976 and continued through 1995, involved
more than 70,000 children in more than 180 schools.
So what's to be done? The Education at a Crossroads
Report concludes with four recommendations:
- Congress should consolidate elementary and secondary
education programs into flexible grants, to support
effective state and local initiatives, ensuring that it
neither impedes local innovation and control, nor diverts
dollars from the classroom through burdensome regulations
and overhead.
- Empower parents by reducing family tax burdens,
encouraging school choice programs; Congress could even
give states the option to use their Title 1 program funds
to provide direct grants to disadvantaged students whose
parents could use these grants for private school tuition
or outside tutoring assistance at learning centers.
- Emphasize basic academics rather than social
experimentation.
- The federal government should only play a limited
role in education, serving as a research and
statistics-gathering agency, disseminating findings and
enabling states to share best practices with each other.
Extensive documentation, including the name, title and
organization of hearing witnesses, superintendent survey,
charts and graphs are included in the report. As a result,
Education at a Crossroads is likely to become a guidebook to
members of Congress as the reauthorization for the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act comes up in 1999.
To receive a copy of this report, contact the House
Education and the Workforce Committee at 202/225-7101.
The PTA and Education Establishment React
From the National PTA: The PTA opposes the Education at a
Crossroads solutions. Instead, "The PTA believes that the
federal role in public education must be strengthened to
sustain a strong democratic society. National PTA believes
that improving schools requires more parent involvement,
increased investment of public funds for public education,
and strategies to reduce class size, construct adequate
facilities, furnish access to technology, and provide
school-based before- and after-school care."
From the Committee for Education Funding: Joel Packer,
vice-president of the committee, and a senior lobbyist with
the NEA, challenged the findings of the Education at a
Crossroads report by suggesting that it is based on a series
of false premises.
1998
Biennial AFT Convention Highlights
3,327 delegates represented 541 AFT locals from
26 state federations
in New Orleans from Thursday, July 16 through Monday, July
20
As submitted by the executive council, delegates amended
the AFT constitution to include an elected executive vice
president, and reduce the vice presidents (by one) to thirty
seven, creating a 40-member executive council, elected by
convention delegates for two-year terms.
Sandra Feldman was elected to her first full term as
president, but received fewer votes than Edward J. McElroy
who was reelected secretary-treasurer. Nat LaCour, president
of United Teachers of New Orleans, was elected executive
vice-president. All candidates, including the 37 candidates
for vice-president posts ran unopposed. Of the vice
presidents, 18 are also delegates to the AFL-CIO.
AFT delegates overwhelmingly approved -- 1,982 to 46 --
the Principles of Unity which NEA delegates defeated last
month by secret ballot in an open vote . AFT President
Feldman pledged to "do everything I can" to carry the idea
of an AFT/NEA united organization forward.
AFT's 1997-1998 program budget revenues from per-capita
dues, investment income, subscriptions, advertising and
other items is budgeted at just over $88 million.
With $1.2 million in expenses over income in FY 1997,
expanded political action programs, and the AFT president's
monthly radio advertisements boosted to $3 million, the
executive council asked the delegates to approve a dues
increase -- which they did. Per capita dues will go up 35
cents per member starting next month (from $9.50 per month
to $9.85 per month). In September 1999, dues will jump to
$10.25 per member, per month.
Five cents of the per capita monthly dues will be
allocated to fund the newly formed Albert Shanker Institute,
"dedicated to finding new ways to promote democracy, quality
education and the role of unions in a democratic society." A
12-member board from labor, business, academia, and politics
will target selected issues. Shanker, AFT president for 23
years, died in 1997.
Convention guest speakers included President Bill
Clinton, Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman, Congressman
William Jefferson (D-LA), AFL-CIO President John Sweeney,
and AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson.
The defeat of Proposition 226 in California gave rise to
a special order of business encouraging AFT locals to "build
ongoing political action at the grassroots level and create
a membership that is energized and educated about issues."
AFT leaders reported that legislation or initiatives similar
to Prop 226 -- the Paycheck Protection initiative -- are now
pending in more than 30 states, and that "the groups
supporting these efforts have almost unlimited financial
resources."
Convention delegates adopted 40 resolutions, referred 5
resolutions to the executive committee, and defeated a
proposed resolution which would have urged the United States
government to end the embargo against Cuba.
Resolutions passed covered such disparate issues as
helping "substitute teachers to achieve collective
bargaining rights," efforts "to secure legislation mandating
that reproductive/contraceptive services be covered in all
insurance plans," "redesigning low-performing schools,"
"reducing military spending," and "passage of the Equal
Rights Amendments in all unratified states, especially
Illinois."
AFT claims to be "one of the fastest-growing labor unions
in the country" with membership growth in each of its five
divisions: K-12 teachers, paraprofessionals and
school-related personnel, state and local employees, nurses
and health professionals, and higher education faculty and
staff. As of June 1, 1998, AFT reported membership of nearly
985,000.
In the future, expect AFT to:
- Target for membership the 1.5 million unorganized
school support staff;
- Step up the fight against "enemies of public
education";
- Include in contract negotiations the opportunity and
funding to pursue certification by the National Board for
Professional Teachers Standards (NBPTS), and strong, fair
peer assistance and review programs;
- Increase the opportunities for school-related
personnel to become classroom teachers;
- Seek legislation to protect health care
"whistle-blowers" and demonstrate against understaffing
at hospitals;
- Continue its opposition to efforts to privatize
government services;
- Release its computer software program to "identify
the real costs of contracting out a public service."
Baltimore
School System Gets Serious About Job Performance
Baltimore Public School Chief Robert Booker is serious
about improving staff qualifications at all levels of the
school system he oversees. Continuing on the course his
predecessor, Robert Schiller, had begun, Booker has taken
action to deny pay increases and downgrade certification
status of 103 teachers and low-level managers who received
poor job evaluations.
According to Howard P. Rawlings, a Baltimore Democrat,
"It is a sign that the old ways of doing business are not
going to be tolerated and that teachers, principals and
administrators who are not doing their job will be packed up
and shipped out."
Though the Baltimore Teachers Union has reacted with
anger and threats, Booker says school system lawyers have
assured him the action is legal under the contract.
In addition to the teaching jobs that are at stake,
nearly one fourth of the system's 180 principals have been
placed on improvement plans, and other administrators in the
district are also coming under scrutiny.
Booker says that if one looks at the big picture, this is
"a step in the direction of assuring accountability." Poor
job evaluations in the past seldom led to any consequences,
particularly any that were designed to improve the system of
education for the students.
In a recent report in The Sun, Baltimore's local
newspaper, several principals testified that "having a bad
teacher transferred was preferable to going through a
process that would often lead to an ugly battle with the
union."
The newspaper noted that a new teacher evaluation process
linking job performance to children's test scores is set to
take effect next year.
Is NEA
Joining Forces with GOP?
Leaders of the National Education Association are seeking
ways to present a bipartisan image to their membership and
other onlookers. This is a challenging task, for they have
consistently sent more than 95% of NEA-PAC donations to
Democrats, and provided one out of every nine delegates to
recent Democratic National Conventions, without a
corresponding representation at Republican conventions.
Now, with Republicans controlling Congress, the NEA
national leadership is finding itself at odds with many of
its local affiliates in the process of endorsing candidates
for the 1998 midterm elections.
So far this year, ten of the NEA-PAC's 246 endorsed
Congressional candidates are Republicans. The union hopes to
endorse a total of 20 Republicans this election year. In
1996, they backed just one.
EPI's
Education Quick Facts
- Education was the primary occupation of about 75
million people in the United States in the fall of 1997.
Included in this total were about 66.3 million students
enrolled in American schools and colleges, and about 4
million people employed as elementary and secondary
school teachers and college faculty. This total equals
more than 1 out of every 4 persons in the United States.
(Source: Mini-Digest of Education Statistics 1997)
- Quoting George Will in a speech at a Pacific Research
Institute Privatization Awards Dinner: " We are today
graduating from our schools the first generation in
American history less well educated than the generation
that came before." The reasons: the shortest school year
in the industrialized world -- 180 days compared to 220
in Europe and Japan and 240 in Korea -- and the
replacement of the traditional three Rs with "racism,
reproduction, and recycling." (Source: Pacific Research
Institute newsletter, Summer 1998)
- The content of a John Engler for Governor (R-MI)
print ad begins, "Welcome to our restaurant. We don't
have menus here. The government has chosen what you'll
eat. I'll bring it right out." It opens to disclose a man
holding out keys for a government-selected car, and then
states, "Welcome to the first day of school. The
government has decided where your child will go to
school. You have no choice in the matter. Sorry if the
school is dirty and crime-ridden. But this is your
child's school. It's too important to trust the choice to
you." (Source: Detroit Free Press, August 12, 1998)
- Since 1965, the federal Head Start program has served
more than 15 million children at a total cost of over $30
billion. Yet, according to the U.S. General Accounting
Office, the early childhood development program operates
without any valid, useful study of how well it works.
(Source: PolicyWire.com, July 20, 1998)
Copyright 1998
Education Policy Institute, PMB 294, 4401-A Connecticut
Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008-2322 202/244-7535, Fax
202/244-7584 http://www.educationpolicy.org
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