Contents of this issue:
Michigan governor signs bills to replace high school MEAP tests
U.S. Senate committee endorses proposed education secretary
Michigan law creates bulk-purchasing program for schools
Congress alters Pell Grant distribution formula
Grand Rapids educators, parents investigate year-round schedule
MICHIGAN GOVERNOR SIGNS BILLS TO REPLACE HIGH SCHOOL MEAP TESTS
HOUGHTON, Mich. — Gov. Jennifer Granholm approved legislation
last week that will replace the high school Michigan Educational
Assessment Program test battery for 11th graders with a type of
college entrance exam and a test of workforce readiness. The
change is slated to take effect in the 2006-2007 school year.
According to The Daily Mining Gazette, the new testing will be
dubbed the "Michigan merit exam" and measure students'
comprehension of English, math, reading, science and social
studies, while including a component to measure students' career
preparedness. The Gazette reported that the governor's office
said the new exam would "help teachers ... identify the progress
students still need to ensure success in college and the 21st
century workplace."
Ontonagon High School Principal Leon Sutherland told the Gazette
he thinks the new test will be beneficial to students already
planning to take the ACT. "Your college-bound kids are going to
take the ACT anyway, and this is a chance for them to get a
practice run before having to pay for the ACT," he said.
Sutherland also argued the new exam might increase college
attendance, telling the Gazette, "Some kids might do better on it
than they thought and then consider college after all."
SOURCES:
The Daily Mining Gazette, "State scraps high school MEAP test,"
Jan. 6, 2005
http://www.mininggazette.com/news/story/016202005_new03-n0106.asp
MichiganVotes.org, 2004 Senate Bills 1153, 1154, 1155, 1156, 1157
https://www.michiganvotes.org/2004-SB-1153
https://www.michiganvotes.org/2004-SB-1154
https://www.michiganvotes.org/2004-SB-1155
https://www.michiganvotes.org/2004-SB-1156
https://www.michiganvotes.org/2004-SB-1157
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "How Does the MEAP Measure
Up?" December 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3919
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "POLICY BRIEF: Which
Educational Achievement Test Is Best for Michigan?" May 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4382
U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ENDORSES PROPOSED EDUCATION SECRETARY
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington Post reported that the
U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
unanimously recommended last week that the Senate confirm
Margaret Spellings, 47, as the new U.S. secretary of education.
Spellings served as chief domestic policy advisor to the Bush
administration from 2000 to 2004. If confirmed by Congress, she
would replace current U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige.
Both Republicans and Democrats, including ranking Democratic Sen.
Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, were amiable toward the
candidate during a committee hearing last week, The Post
reported. Spellings outlined plans to implement without "horror
stories" the No Child Left Behind Act, which was approved by
Congress and President Bush in 2002. "We must stay true to the
sound principles of leaving no child behind," Spellings said
during the committee meeting, according to The Post. "But we in
the administration must engage with those closest to children to
embed these principles in a sensible and workable way."
SOURCES:
The Washington Post, "Spellings Promises Fixes to No Child Left
Behind Law," Jan. 7, 2005
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52518-2005Jan6.html
Michigan Education Report, "No Child Left Behind law demands
'adequate yearly progress' and offers school choice options for
parents," Fall 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4846
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Less Government, Not More, Is
Key to Academic Achievement and Accountability," Oct. 3, 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3786
MICHIGAN LAW CREATES BULK-PURCHASING PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS
LANSING, Mich. — Under legislation signed into law last week,
local school districts, intermediate school districts, charter
schools and nonpublic schools can now voluntarily participate in
a statewide bulk-purchasing program to save money when buying
goods and services.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed two bills related to the program on
Jan. 3. The first empowered the state Department of Management
and Budget to operate the bulk-purchasing program and receive
fees from participants for "reasonable administrative expenses"
for the program. The second bill exempted school districts and
charter schools from a legal requirement to seek competitive bids
for costly items whenever the schools use the bulk-purchasing
program. (The bill also used a formulaic annual adjustment
involving the consumer price index to raise to $17,932 the
threshold at which districts are required to seek competitive
bids.)
"We're in a time where schools need the ability to get the most
bang for their buck," Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, told The
Saginaw News.
SOURCES:
The Saginaw News, "Schools can join bulk-buying program,"
Jan. 8, 2005
https://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-13/
1105183237232840.xml
MichiganVotes.org, 2004 House Bills 5875 and 5913
https://www.michiganvotes.org/2004-HB-5875
https://www.michiganvotes.org/2004-HB-5913
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Michigan's Budget Challenge"
https://www.mackinac.org/4964
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible School Districts," December 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4891
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Funding: Lack of Money
or Lack of Money Management?" August 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3683
CONGRESS ALTERS PELL GRANT DISTRIBUTION FORMULA
DETROIT — The Detroit News reported that under a federal law
passed in 1992 requiring occasional revisions of the federal Pell
Grant distribution formula, Congress last month authorized an
alteration in the guidelines used to determine which students
will receive federal Pell Grant money for college tuition. The
changes will reduce or eliminate the subsidy for some students,
including many in Michigan, but the aggregate number of students
receiving Pell Grant aid may increase.
According to The News, students in Michigan currently receive a
combined $340 million under the Pell Grant program, which
provides tuition assistance to students from low-income families.
Currently, 1.3 million students nationwide receive the funds, but
grant formula updates will reduce or eliminate grant monies to
students from less needy families. As many as 90,000 students
nationwide could be disqualified from the program, said The News,
while up to 75,000 in Michigan would experience reductions in, or
elimination of, their Pell Grant assistance.
The News reported that the Pell Grant program has received a 42
percent increase in funding since the Clinton administration,
from $8.8 billion to $12.4 billion. Nevertheless, the program is
running a $4 billion debt.
The new formula uses economic data showing that Michigan
residents have 4 percent more expendable income than they did 16
years ago due to state tax breaks. Michael Boulus, executive
director of the President's Council of State Universities of
Michigan, told The News: "Theoretically, the middle class and
lower class have more in their pockets. That means more to pay
for college."
U.S. Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, defended the formula
change. "The facts are simple," he told The News. "It had to be
done. What has changed is the distribution. You will find more
low-income students will get them. Those with relatively higher
incomes will get cut. The vast number will be helped."
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Feds slash college grants," Jan. 6, 2005
https://www.detroitnews.com/2005/schools/0501/06/A01-51955.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Money and Red Tape,"
January 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6094
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Private Prepaid Tuition
Programs Can Help Make College Affordable," September 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3685
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Competition Among Professors
Would Help Parents Afford College," August 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/2105
GRAND RAPIDS EDUCATORS, PARENTS INVESTIGATE YEAR-ROUND SCHEDULE
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Press reported that a
committee of Grand Rapids parents and educators met last week
with teachers and administrators from year-round schools in
Milwaukee to discuss the academic merits of a year-round
schedule.
In year-round schools, students attend classes for the same
number of days as students in traditional schools do, but have a
shorter summer break and longer breaks during the rest of the
year. According to The Press, Milwaukee educators said the
shorter summer break improves students' academics. Principal
Martha Wheeler-Fair from Milwaukee said that students with a
shorter summer break retain information better, reducing the need
for subject review. Milwaukee currently has 10 year-round
schools.
The Press reported that the local committee may recommend to the
Grand Rapids Board of Education that Dickinson Elementary and
Ottawa Hills Montessori Academy adopt a year-round schedule. The
recommendation reportedly is planned for the school board's Jan.
18 meeting.
SOURCES:
The Grand Rapids Press, "Panel looks at Milwaukee year-round
classes," Jan. 5, 2005
https://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-19/
110494721295350.xml
Michigan Education Report, "Public Schools Innovate as Charters
Get Mixed Marks," Spring 1999
https://www.educationreport.org/1677
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible School Districts," December 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4891
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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