Contents of this issue:
Michigan Senate proposes budget cuts for ISDs
Nebraska schools work around federal testing mandates
Bush pushes testing for 12th graders
Homeland Security Department provides training for schools
Houston district allows failing students to pass, make up
courses
Princeton works to fight grade inflation
MICHIGAN SENATE PROPOSES BUDGET CUTS FOR ISDS
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Senate plans to cut state funding
for intermediate schools districts (ISDs) in an attempt to rein
in spending and reduce Michigan's budget deficit.
Lawmakers in favor of the cuts say state funding for ISDs has
remained largely unaltered for several decades, while other
education-related budgets and services have been reduced several
times. "It's their turn," Sen. Ron Jelinek, R-Three Oaks,
chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education Spending, told
Booth Newspapers. "They've kind of skated in the budget
reductions."
The Senate voted last month to reduce ISD funding by $12.5
million from the current budget of $91.7 million. In addition to
budget constraints, some lawmakers say greater financial
oversight is needed, citing embezzlement charges against former
Oakland Intermediate School District officials. Rep. Ruth
Johnson, R-Holly, is chair of a subcommittee on ISD operations.
"People deserve transparency. With public money, you should be
accountable to the citizens, to the taxpayers and the parents of
these kids," she said.
SOURCES:
Booth Newspapers, "ISDs face budget cuts amid Oakland scandal,"
Apr. 8, 2004
https://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-4/
1081363201264980.xml
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Eliminate Intermediate School
Districts," August 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5678
Michigan Education Report, "What Are Intermediate School
Districts?" Winter 2000
https://www.educationreport.org/2709
Michigan Education Report, "Group files complaints against
districts," Spring 2000
https://www.educationreport.org/2882
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible Public School Districts," December 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4891
NEBRASKA SCHOOLS WORK AROUND FEDERAL TESTING MANDATES
LA VISTA, Neb. — The state of Nebraska, in an attempt to work
around federal testing mandates under the "No Child Left Behind"
Act, has implemented a portfolio-based assessment system to meet
accountability requirements.
The portfolio is a combination of student work, locally defined
testing requirements, a state writing test and teacher
assessments, all submitted to state education officials and
outside experts for official review. "We decided we were going to
take No Child Left Behind and integrate it into our plan, not the
other way around," Nebraska Education Commissioner Douglas
Christensen told the Seattle Times.
The Nebraska system works well because of small district sizes
and a smaller overall population than larger states, which allows
the portfolio system to be properly implemented. "People
shouldn't think No Child Left Behind is the only way you hold
students accountable or measure student achievement," said U.S.
Undersecretary of Education Eugene Hickok.
SOURCES:
Seattle Times, "Nebraska schools skip mandatory tests,"
Apr. 12, 2004
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/
2001901192_nebraska12.html
Michigan Education Report, "No Child Left Behind law demands
'adequate yearly progress' and offers school choice options for
parents," Fall 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4846
BUSH PUSHES TESTING FOR 12TH GRADERS
EL DORADO, Ark. — President Bush announced last week a proposal
to add mandatory testing for 12th graders to federal law to
enhance accountability for high schools.
Currently, testing is mandatory only for fourth- and eighth-graders every other year. Bush's plan would add tests for 12th
graders, but would not affect official accountability statistics
required by the "No Child Left Behind" Act. "I think high schools
need to have the bar raised," said Bush at a campaign speech in
rural Arkansas.
In addition to his testing proposal, Bush outlined a plan to
replace the federal Perkins vocational program with a new $1
billion technical education program and to change the Pell grant
program so it would provide $50 million to give scholarships to
low-income students pursuing math or science.
SOURCES:
Washington Post, "Bush Endorses Testing Of 12th-Grade Students,"
Apr. 7, 2004 (free registration required)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A55871-2004Apr6
Michigan Education Report, "No Child Left Behind law demands
'adequate yearly progress' and offers school choice options for
parents," Fall 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4846
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "POLICY BRIEF: Which
Educational Achievement Test is Best for Michigan?" May 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4382
HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT PROVIDES TRAINING FOR SCHOOLS
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The federal Homeland Security Department
will provide $8.2 million in grants to Michigan schools as part
of an initiative to help schools prepare for emergencies.
The Michigan Homeland Security Initiative will provide Michigan
school districts with funding and training for emergency
preparedness, with each school receiving up to $2,200 to update
safety plans. "The hazards that our schools are vulnerable to are
no longer just natural disasters," state police Sgt. Jerry King
told the Grand Rapids Press. "Knowing what to do in a crisis can
be the difference between calm and chaos."
About 530 districts have signed up for the program; the deadline
for signing up is May 31. "Our children are among our most
critical assets," Gov. Jennifer Granholm said. With the grants,
"we are helping schools protect them."
SOURCE:
Grand Rapids Press, "Homeland Security helps schools prepare for
emergencies," Apr. 3, 2004
https://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-13/
108099657691150.xml
HOUSTON DISTRICT ALLOWS FAILING STUDENTS TO PASS, MAKE UP COURSES
HOUSTON, Texas — In an effort to reduce the high school dropout
rate, the Houston Independent School District last week approved
a new policy that would ease standards and allow more students to
move on to the next grade.
Currently, students are held back if they fail core English and
math classes. The new system would allow students to move to the
next grade, but only if they pass failed classes before
graduation, either during the normal school year or during summer
school. "The ninth grade has become a bottleneck year," executive
deputy superintendent Abe Saavedra told the Houston Chronicle.
Under the new system, over 5,000 freshmen and sophomores that
would have been held back will be allowed to move on to the next
grade. According to Saavedra, 43 percent of freshmen in the
Houston district have average scores, and over a third of 10th-graders have failed at least one grade. "I view this policy ahead
of us as compassionate high standards," said district trustee
Dianne Johnson.
SOURCE:
CNN, "Houston approves new student promotion plan," Apr. 9, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/04/09/houston.schools.ap/index.html
PRINCETON WORKS TO FIGHT GRADE INFLATION
BOSTON, Mass. — Princeton University may begin rationing the
number of A's professors can award students to help combat grade
inflation, a problem academics say has impacted schools since the
1970s.
The number of A's given to students at Princeton is up 31 percent
since the mid-1970s; A's have been awarded 46 percent of the time
in recent years at the university. "I think it's tremendously
significant that Princeton is doing this, and I do think it will
have a ripple effect" on other institutions, Bradford P. Wilson,
executive director of the National Association of Scholars, told
CNN.
Many experts believe grade inflation began in the Vietnam War
era, when professors gave many students good grades to keep them
from being drafted into the military. The Princeton plan will go
into effect upon a passing vote by faculty later this month.
SOURCE:
CNN, "Princeton to fight grade inflation," Apr. 8, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/04/08/princeton.grade.ap/index.html
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org), a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
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