Original links are included though some may have expired.

In This Issue:

News and Commentary
1.) Year-End Wrap Up: Best and Worst of 2004

Departments:
2.) Charter School News
3.) Quick Clicks
4.) 21st Century Schools Project Announcements:
Save the Date: February 16, 2005
Help Wanted: Summer 2005 Interns and Fellows

1.) Year-End Wrap Up: Best and Worst of 2004

It was a tumultuous year for education policy, though one without major changes. The outcome of the elections will surely mean some changes for education policy, yet concern about schools and colleges was barely a blip on the public's radar screen. As Education Week recently noted, despite some intense opposition, No Child Left Behind became more rooted in the nation's schools. Higher education emerged as an even more prominent issue, with greater concern being paid to data and financing, but Congress failed to finish work on the Higher Education Act. And finally, Secretary of Education Rod Paige reluctantly resigned after a term marked by much unrest but too little action.

Perhaps 2005 will see the opposite: more progress and action and less contention. But don't bet on it.

It's been a good year for us, plenty of work, papers, articles, conferences, and forums, a brand new weblog (www.eduwonk.com), and more to come next year. For more information on any of it be sure to visit us online at www.ppionline.org. The Bulletin wishes to thank both its financial benefactors and all the supporters (fiscal and otherwise) of the Project's work. Happy New Year and best wishes for a great 2005.

Here are our third annual end-of-year awards, a few of our favorites from 2004:

Most Amusing Spin of 2004:

Give credit where it's due: with a well-timed and well-promoted release the American Federation of Teachers has succeeded in turning a heap of largely inconclusive NAEP data on charter school student achievement into a growing conventional wisdom that charter school students aren't doing as well as students in traditional public schools. It didn't' hurt that The New York Times is apparently one newspaper in America (rumor is that The Washington Post said "no") that will uncritically take the AFT line on charter schools. We respect skilled spin but still think it's a shame that all the energy the AFT has put into charter bashing lately wasn't instead better spent advancing the kind of progressive education reforms for which AFT was once lauded.

Least Amusing Spin of 2004:

Charters again! Despite the cheap shot on charter schools, charter proponents were not blameless in the dust-up. There was plenty to criticize in the entire episode, but one criticism that many charter advocates seized on was also one of the least problematic aspects: the fact that the charter school NAEP data, on which the AFT and a more recent NCES report draw, reflect "single snapshots" of charter school performance at a single point in time. Of course, background information and data on student growth are optimal, and longitudinal or "value-added" measures certainly provide richer and more useful information, but studies lacking these things are not prima facie invalid.

Charter students do likely start out even further behind than their public school peers, which is important context when considering various studies and something research designs should strive to overcome. But it's worth noting that, regardless of how disadvantaged charter students are or how much charters are improving their performance, it matters whether or not students master the basic levels of proficiency that state achievement and other "one-shot" tests measure. Charter schools now have tremendous political appeal and support within disadvantaged and minority communities precisely because they promise to get students who've been left behind to these levels of performance when other public schools have failed.

In terms of the spin, there are also those within the charter community who for years have held up NAEP data as evidence of shortcomings in the traditional public schools. Fair enough, but NAEP is what it is and to suddenly declare it invalid when it looks at charters again weakens the public position of charter schools. Finally, and in the same vein, charter supporters look ridiculous when they simultaneously dismiss snapshot studies with results ostensibly unfavorable to charters and trumpet other snapshot studies with more favorable results. One of the most frustrating things about this entire episode was the inability of some media outlets to cut through the smoke. That task was, however, made harder by friends of charters who were throwing up smoke, too. It was not only ineffective spin; it was counterproductive.

Quote of the Year:

"But I think what is happening now is we are starting to turn the corner. I think more and more members of Congress are starting to understand that this legislation is in fact starting to get some very positive results, and it's starting to close the gap between majority and minority students, between rich and poor students. It's starting to put more time on task for students so that they will have the chance to read at grade level and to progress with what that means for that, to have that capability."

W ho said it? Some Bush Administration shill? Republican leader? Business Rountable official? No... it was... Rep. George Miller (D-CA), ranking minority member of the Education and the Workforce Committee and someone whose credentials as a Democrat, progressive, and liberal are unquestioned.

Must Read Article of the Year:

In a political season, it's particularly easy to conflate pedagogical and service delivery innovations in education with political ideologies and agendas. Yet some of the most promising reformers are using education approaches that are too often dismissed as "conservative" -- for example phonics, back to basics curricula, no-nonsense disciplinary approaches -- to pursue "progressive" social justice goals, like closing the achievement gap for disadvantaged kids.

An outstanding summation of this (and implicit caution about why it's so important to avoid knee-jerk reactions to educational methods) is a column by Sam Freedman in The New York Times. Since taking over the education column, Freedman has delivered a series of excellent columns on issues ranging from higher education to education in Iraq.

This piece, which looks at the predominantly low-income and minority Gainesville, Georgia, Elementary School, and its principal, Shawn Arevalo McCollough, stands out. McCollough is a self-described "social reconstructionist" who keeps a copy of Paolo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed on his desk but also employees an unwavering approach to test-based accountability and tough-love intervention to ensure his students are performing proficiently at grade level.

Read the article yourself to get the full picture.

"Politics Aside, a School's Real Success,"
Samuel G. Freedman, The New York Times (09/29/04):
http://www.samuelfreedman.com/articles/
education/nyt09292004.html

Must Read Book of the Year:

If you believe the market is the real reflection of where culture is going, then the publication this year of the Picky Parent Guide, by Bryan C. Hassel and Emily Ayscue Hassel (themselves the parents of two young children, as well as national education experts), reflects an emerging sea change in how parents think about their children's education. Barely a decade ago it would be unthinkable that a book designed to help parents choose the best school for their children would have much of a market beyond affluent urban families. But the successful publication of the Hassels' book, and its resource-laden associated website, reflect both the rapid propagation of public and private school options for many more American families, and an increasingly consumerist approach to schooling on the part of parents eager to find the best educational opportunities -- in or out of school -- for their children. Picky Parent moves beyond labels. It is not about choosing a private school, public school, or public charter school for your child but instead about choosing the school that will be the best fit for them.

Picky Parent also shows up the flaws in standard conservative and liberal rhetoric about parental choice. The book's useful advice about how to use test score data and other forms of public accountability to help parents choose quality schools for their children shows the wrong-headedness of conservatives who too often refuse to acknowledge any public role or rules are necessary in ensuring school quality in an educational marketplace. At the same time, too many on the left dismiss the ability of parents to make educated choices at all. By providing useful guidance to help an increasing number of parents make good choices for their kids, Picky Parent demonstrates where both sides fall short.

The Picky Parent Guide
Bryan C. Hassel and Emily Ayscue Hassel (2004):
http://www.pickyparent.com/index.html

Innovator of the Year:

Teacher quality can be one of the most frustrating areas to look at if you're an education reformer. Research shows that teachers are the most crucial in-school factor impacting student achievement. Current policies around teacher certification, compensation, and assignment too often serve to deter promising individuals from the profession. In the past few years promising new policy initiatives have emerged to help address these issues, but many more of them are stymied by political opposition from those resisting change.

That's why this year's innovator of the year truly stands out. A long-term Denver public school teacher Brad Jupp is also the driving force behind that district's recently enacted "Pro-Comp" program. Pro-Comp replaces the outdated "steps and lanes" system of pay based on degrees and experience with a new, more professional model that reflects knowledge and skills, the placements teachers take, and student achievement, in the process offering an opportunity for skilled teachers to earn far more than they would have under the previous system.

But what really makes Brad Jupp an innovator is that he's a die-hard union member and was the Denver Classroom Teacher's Association's point person on the district-union team that designed and sold Pro-Comp to the city's teachers. Jupp's a true advocate for students short-changed by society and the education system, and he's not afraid to speak truth to leaders in his own union who are obstructing progress on this issue. But his leadership in Denver and arguments for Pro-Comp are also an important counter to conservative rhetoric that blames teachers unions for all the woes besetting public education. Pro-Comp doesn't go as far as some would like, and much farther than others want, but it would not have gone anywhere without a visionary like Brad Jupp to help lead the effort.

2.) Charter Schooling News

Two new charter reports: No doubt, the biggest charter news of last week was the release of two new national studies of charter schools: Harvard economist Caroline Hoxby's re-release of her national study that compared charters to similar schools (this time with a little more analysis), and NCES's long-awaited "official" analysis of the charter school NAEP data that garnered so much attention earlier this year. Like her previous study, Hoxby's sample covers 99 percent of all elementary students in charter schools and matches those schools with other public schools within the same geographic area and with comparable racial composition. The results vary by state but are positive overall.

The NCES study findings are less pronounced. The new report concludes that, overall, fourth grade charter school students lag slightly behind their district school peers in math. Yet when the results are controlled for race and income they become mixed. The accompanying analysis is a good start, but a lot more research is needed. More links and information at www.eduwonk.com.

Legislative update in RI, PA, and CA: The Bulletin has reported before that Rhode Island cannot expand charter schooling because of its restrictive charter cap and a charter moratorium imposed by the legislature earlier this year. Now, Governor Donald Carcieri (R) is urging the state legislature to lift the one-year moratorium and remove the cap on the number of charter schools allowed in each school district (currently capped at two). But policymakers in the state say the governor must first agree to improve financing for traditional public school districts first.

On the heels of recent controversy and questions surrounding U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's (R-PA) official residence and his children's enrollment in a Pennsylvania cyber charter school (see the last Bulletin for background), the Penn Hills School Board is asking the state department of education to review and determine Santorum's actual residency. The board is also urging lawmakers to reform state charter school policies, including school districts' financial responsibility and tuition reimbursement for children attending charter schools. Pennsylvania's charter law currently requires school districts must pay online charter schools 80 percent of their per-pupil costs for district students transferring to an online charter school.

Earlier this month, California's Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) renewed its call for the state legislature to create independent authorizers for California charter schools. Earlier in 2004, LAO made a similar recommendation that led to a legislative proposal allowing public colleges and universities to charter schools. But even with bipartisan support, the assembly appropriations committee buried the bill. In its newest report, the LAO says California's restrictive authorizing system (which essentially allows only local school districts to charter schools) is problematic and points to this year's high-profile closure of the California Charter Academy as an example of poor oversight by a local school district. Expanding the number of authorizers in the state, the LAO adds, will create "competition among authorizers [which will] likely improve the quality of oversight and technical assistance available to charter schools."

Students on charters: Students in Minnesota charter schools don't seem to be worried that there's so much controversy over how well charters are performing nationally -- they've given charter schools high marks regardless. Earlier this month, a diverse group of 100 charter school students took part in Minnesota's first Charter School Student Summit to discuss what student life is like at a charter school. The group answered questions on what drew them to charter schools in the first place and whether the schools would work for everyone. One student said she chose a charter school because she wanted to be "excited about learning again," and needed a change of pace. And as a whole, student panelists gave their schools high marks but acknowledged that some charter models might not work for everyone because self-motivation is important and students need to be up for that challenge.

Tribal charter schools: In an effort to improve education for their children and reach out to a generation of Native American students that have dropped out or drifted through traditional public schools, Indian tribes across the country are increasingly turning to charter schools. California, Arizona, and New Mexico boast the largest numbers of tribal charter schools, and many of these schools are doing well academically. In San Diego, for example, the Barona Indian Charter School posted significant gains on state assessments last year and scored above the state average. The growing interest in these schools has prompted Oregon, Wyoming, and Alaska to begin plans to open (and expand) new Tribal charter schools as soon as 2006.

New NACSA resource: The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) put out their latest authorizer issue brief this week. The brief, "School Districts Choosing to Charter," looks into why school districts choose to charter schools as part of an overall strategy for school improvement and offers suggestions for districts interested in chartering. You can find it here:
http://www.charterauthorizers.org/
files/nacsa/BECSA/IssueBriefNo6.pdf

Further Reading:

"Achievement in Charter Schools and Regular Public Schools in the United States: Understanding the Differences,"
Caroline Hoxby, Harvard University (December 2004):
http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/pepg/pdf/
HoxbyCharters_Dec2004.pdf

"America's Charter Schools: Results From the NAEP 2003 Pilot Study,"
National Center for Education Statistics (December 2004):
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/charter/

Related Eduwonk Commentary:
http://www.eduwonk.com/archives/
2004_12_12_archive.html#110321627834611405

"Carcieri: Remove charter-school cap,"
Linda Borg, The Providence Journal (12/07/04):
http://www.projo.com/news/content/
projo_20041207_chart7.1f2e72.html

"Penn Hills School District challenges Santorum residency,"
Eleanor Chute, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (12/10/04):
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04345/424753.stm

"Legislative Analyst Renews Call for Independent Charter School Authorizers,"
Business Wire (12/10/04):
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/041210/105314_1.html

"Students Give Charters High Marks,"
John Welbes, St. Paul Pioneer Press (12/08/04):
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/
news/10363297.htm

"To catch struggling students, tribes turn to charter schools,"
Julia Silverman, Associated Press (12/13/04):
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/
1213indiancharterschool-ON.html

3.) Quick Clicks: Stocking Stuffers for your mouse....

TIMSS... Look Homeward
New NCES analysis looks at results for U.S. students and student subgroups on the 2003 iteration of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. A lot of useful data are buried in here, but the upshot is this: ignore the media hand wringing about American students being outranked in math and science by students in other nations. The real problem is the gaps here at home. Affluent kids compare favorably while poor and minority students perform abysmally.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/
pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005005

Military Recruiting
John Merrow looks at the increasingly contentious (and partisan) debate over military recruiting in high schools. NCLB requires high schools to share information with recruiters to facilitate recruitment. Much of the opposition is based on anti-military feelings. That's unfortunate because the military is a praiseworthy vocation and the best education and employment option available for many young people who otherwise would have fallen through the cracks -- but the requirement is another bureaucratic hassle for schools.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/
july-dec04/recruit_12-13.html

Student Rights
A veritable alphabet soup of education groups created this useful guide to help school officials understand their responsibilities to protect the rights of gay and lesbian students.
http://www.nsba.org/site/docs/34600/34527.pdf

You Gotta Serve Someone
An interesting research article looks at the disconnect between the priorities of individuals running nonprofits and the community clients they serve. Worth considering, particularly when education initiatives of various types figure (or don't) in the agendas of many nonprofit groups.
http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/section/519.html

Early Childhood Blueprint
Florida legislators think they've reached agreement on a "blueprint" to comply with the mandate, passed by voters in 2002, to enact universal pre-k for all children in the state. All sides find something to complain about in the proposal, but we hope Democrats can keep their focus on quality issues rather than simply opposing the program because it allows religious providers to participate, especially when they might be the best-equipped potential providers in disadvantaged communities.
http://www.miami.com/mld/
miamiherald/news/state/10437618.htm

Best of TC Record
The Bulletin has gotten a lot of laughs and an occasional insightful article from the Teachers' College Record, but this one has got to take the cake as this year's article most likely to give plenty of fodder to detractors of education research.
http://www.tcrecord.org/pdf/11411.pdf

ISTEP by ISTEP
The Indianapolis Star looks at Indiana schools that are doing better than expected with disadvantaged students on the state's achievement tests.
http://www.indystar.com/articles/3/202829-7293-009.html

4.) 21st Century Schools Project Announcements:

Save the Date: On February 16, 2005, the Progressive Policy Institute, National Academy of Sciences, and National Education Knowledge Industry Association will co-host a forum in Washington, D.C., on Scientifically Based Research and Teacher Quality. Additional Information forthcoming early 2005, but save the date now!

Help Wanted: 21st Century Schools Project Seeks Summer 2005 Interns and Fellows. The 21st Century Schools Project is looking for smart, resourceful, entrepreneurial undergraduate or graduate students and recent graduates with an interest in education policy and strong writing and communication skills to join our team full or part time in Summer 2005. For more info or to apply email smeadATdlcppi.org or click here:
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=87
&subsecID=64&contentID=1290

About the Bulletin:

The 21st Century Schools Project Bulletin is written by Sara Mead and Renee Rybak and edited by Andrew Rotherham. The Bulletin is published every other week. For more information about us visit:
www.ppionline.org/ppi_ka.cfm?knlgAreaID=110

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