Education reform..

When the bare-knuckled brawl over health care reform finally wraps up and the Obama Administration pivots to less divisive topics, education reform may be one of the few issues capable of drawing bipartisan support. The Administration's proposed overhaul of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act could resonate with Republicans, many of whom have been disappointed with the results of George W. Bush's signature education initiative. President Obama's blueprint, which was sent to Congress on Monday, sets forth an ambitious national standard ? to have all students graduate high school ready for college or a career by 2020 ? but leaves the specifics on how to achieve this goal up to state and local authorities. "Yes, we set a high bar," Obama said in his weekly radio address. "But we also provide educators the flexibility to reach it."

With more than 1 million high school students dropping out every year and the U.S. lagging behind many of its competitors on achievement benchmarks, no one can argue with the need to better prepare students for college and beyond. NCLB, which earned broad bipartisan majorities when the legislation passed in 2002, has drawn praise for shining a light on achievement gaps by forcing the nation's 99,000 public schools to disaggregate student data. But the legislation's emphasis on accountability and standardized testing has had some unintended results. By requiring schools to demonstrate adequate yearly progress ? toward a goal of 100% proficiency in reading and math by 2014 ? Bush's landmark bill has led many districts to narrow their curricula and some states to lower their standards in order to meet annual targets. (See pictures of homeschoolers.)

The Obama Administration is trying to remove NCLB's "perverse incentives," as Education Secretary Arne Duncan has termed them, and measure school performance against a new yardstick: improvement among individual students. "NCLB says that a fifth-grade teacher who helps a student reading at a second-grade level reach a fourth-grade level within one year has missed their goal," Duncan said in a statement unveiling the proposal. "In fact, that teacher is an excellent teacher and should be applauded." (Comment on this story.)

Obama's proposal, which calls for increasing federal aid to schools by 16% in 2011, to $29 billion, would leave identifying and fixing chronically low-performing schools to officials on state and local levels and curtail federal intervention in most others. The plan would also swap out NCLB's sticks for carrots ? a strategy that Duncan is already using in his $4.35 billion Race to the Top initiative that encourages states to pass education reform so they can be eligible to compete for grant money. (Watch a video about reforming America's schools.)

But as Duncan prepares to testify before the House Education and Labor Committee on Wednesday, he's facing fire from all sides. The committee's ranking Republican, John Kline, issued a tepid appraisal of the proposed changes, applauding Duncan for "his bipartisan approach to reform," while noting that "there are clearly still major differences from across the spectrum about the best path forward."

But although Kline voiced concern about "federal intrusion into our schools," Mike Petrilli, vice president for programs and policy at the Thomas E. Fordham Institute, an education-reform think tank, argues that Obama's blueprint outlines a hands-off approach that would allow states to craft standards and liberate teachers from the test-heavy focus that became a hallmark of NCLB. "This should be a huge victory for many of the education groups that for years have been complaining about the onerous accountability burden coming from Washington," says Petrilli, who served in the Bush Administration's Department of Education. "I think this is a more humble and realistic federal role." (See the 10 best college presidents.)

Rick Hess, education-policy director at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, agrees with Petrilli. "The proposal is a big win for the teachers' unions frustrated with NCLB's Rube Goldberg?esque interventions, heavy-handed reliance on math and reading tests, and byzantine [adequate yearly progress] rules," Hess said in a blog post.

But union leaders ? perhaps still reeling from Obama's recent support for the decision to fire 93 teachers at a struggling school in Central Falls, R.I. ? skewered the new White House plan, charging that it shifted an unfair burden onto educators. "We were expecting to see a much broader effort to truly transform public education for kids," Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, said in a statement. "Instead, we see too much top-down scapegoating of teachers and not enough collaboration." The plan puts "100% of the responsibility on teachers and gives them 0% authority," says Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

The unions, which have long been a key Democratic constituency, issued such scathing assessments of Obama's education-reform blueprint that even some fellow party members were mystified. "It's like they didn't read the document," says Charles Barone, director of federal policy at Democrats for Education Reform. "Apparently their definition of a partnership is that they're the bully and you're the weakling on the playground."

Observers of all political stripes seem to agree that Obama's plan is ambitious but short on specifics. For starters, it's unclear how quickly states would be able to codify collective standards for college- and career-readiness ? which would most likely require new exams and curricula ? and already Alaska and Texas have signaled that they don't intend to cooperate in the effort. Education-reform experts have also expressed reservations ranging from the feasibility of the plan's college-and-career-ready timeline to its ability to motivate schools that fall in the middle of the pack in terms of performance. But by both limiting the scope of federal involvement and sketching out sweeping reforms, Obama is attempting to position education reform as an issue both parties can line up behind. "It is a dramatic revolution in the way we do school," says Amy Wilkins, vice president at Education Trust, an advocacy group that works to bridge achievement gaps. "Nobody could disagree with the aspiration. The problem is the connective tissue to get us there."

Read more: Education Reform: Will Obama Plan Get Bipartisan Support? - TIME

That more than 1 million HS students dropping out every year seems a little high I would think. Very shocking if true.

There's more dropouts than you would think...but the US tests all of its school kids...in many nations we are compared to, the kids are weeded out by the time they are in secondary school and only the top achievers remain. Taking an average score for comparison use is skewed because of this.

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Originally Posted by sup-rbeast

There's more dropouts than you would think...but the US tests all of its school kids...in many nations we are compared to, the kids are weeded out by the time they are in secondary school and only the top achievers remain. Taking an average score for comparison use is skewed because of this.

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I know theres plenty of dropouts and I agree that the educational testing is skewed between us and other countries, but 1 million still seems high. Its quite astonishing to me.

This program and others like it need a lot more funding. With what Obama is doing dismantling No Child Left Behind, it's a big step, plus the 4 bil more for education...which I think Tenn. got a massive chunk of that along with Delaware, wish it would have been VA, esp. with what Bobby was proposing.



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WASHINGTON ? With her husband deployed in Iraq with a Stryker brigade from Washington state's Joint Base Lewis-McChord, 20-year-old Lauren Silva isn't your typical college student. But when it comes to finding money for tuition, books and other expenses, she's not so different.

Silva has scrambled to apply for scholarships and loans to pay for classes at the University of Washington-Tacoma , where she's a junior studying social work. She thought part of her financial problems were solved when she learned of a Defense Department program that pays military spouses $6,000 to help them with their education. Yet just as Silva prepared to apply earlier this year, the military abruptly shut the program down.

The Pentagon was overwhelmed by the number of applicants, which had grown from an average of about 10,000 a month to 70,000 in January alone as the nation's economy continued to sputter. Money for the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts program, known as MyCAA, was rapidly running out. Rather than ask Congress for more cash, Pentagon officials decided to close the program to new applicants and stop payments to those who were already enrolled.

"This was probably, in my view, a mistake," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee last week, adding that while he expected the program to resume, it eventually could end up costing $1 billion to $2 billion .

Gates said the Pentagon had budgeted $61 million for the program in the current fiscal year and had requested $65 million in the next fiscal year.

"This is one of those cases where we had a program that ramped up slowly and then it exploded in popularity," Gates said. "We are looking for a path forward."

Sen. Patty Murray , D- Wash. , who raised the issue with Gates at the hearing, said the Pentagon should have come to Congress .

"How they have handled this is infuriating," Murray said in an interview. "This is crazy."

Silva is just trying to take it in stride as she worries about her husband in Iraq and the mounting debt as she continues her education.

"It's nerve wracking," Silva said. "It's not like you have money laying around. I can continue without it, but I am applying for more loans, and that means more debt."

The program, begun in 2009, was designed to help the 1.3 million spouses of active-duty personnel and spouses of reservists called to active duty. The $6,000 was to help pay for college tuition or to cover the cost of attending a professional or trade school. The money was intended to help spouses land in high-demand, high-growth fields in which there would be jobs regardless of where they were stationed. It also was to help spouses land better-paying jobs.

In a survey conducted by the Pentagon , 77 percent of spouses said they wanted to work.

In February, however, without warning or notification, the program was shut down. More than 136,000 people had been accepted into the program and about 98,000 had actually received their benefit checks.

Julia Aten was among those who were already enrolled in college, only to find she was going to be short of tuition money. Aten's husband is serving in Afghanistan with units from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. She lives in Puyallup, Wash. , and has a son attending Pacific Lutheran University .

Aten, 42, who is also studying social work at the University of Washington-Tacoma , said she was stunned the military had halted the program without any notification. She said she learned about it on Facebook .

"You don't promise 130,000-some people something and then don't follow through," she said. "The MyCAA money is critical. I would have gone to the UW-Tacoma anyway, but it would have been hard. We aren't getting a free ride."

Though she isn't particularly political, Aten and thousands of other spouses who had been counting on the MyCAA money banded together to convince the Pentagon to change its mind. More than 1,200 military spouses joined a Facebook group to protest, and plans were developed for a rally in the nation's capital.

Aten and others also lobbied their members of Congress . Sixty-seven lawmakers sent a letter to Gates.

"Halting this program without notice is not the way to support those who sacrifice so much to make our military what it is," the letter said.

Less than a month after the program was "paused," the money started flowing again. However, the program isn't accepting new applicants. The Pentagon said it's reviewing long-term plans for the program.

Abrupt end of college tuition help angers military spouses - Yahoo! News

HAMPTON, Va. – President Barack Obama, addressing graduates at historically black Hampton University on Sunday, said that it is the responsibility of all Americans to offer every child the type of education that will make them competitive in an economy in which just a high school diploma is no longer enough.

Obama told the nearly 1,100 graduates assembled in the university's sun-splashed Armstrong Stadium that they have the added responsibility of being role models and mentors in their communities.

Clad in a blue gown, Obama recalled the university's humble beginning in September 1861 as a school for escaped slaves who sought asylum after fleeing nearby plantations in the Confederate South. Obama said the founders recognized that, with the right education, such barriers as inequality would not persist for long.

"They recognized, as Frederick Douglass once put it, that 'education means emancipation.' They recognized that education is how America and its people might fulfill our promise," said Obama, the first black U.S. president.

Drawing parallels to current challenges, Obama noted that Hampton's graduates are leaving school as the economy rebounds from its worst downturn since the 1930s, and with the U.S. at war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Obama said education can help them manage the uncertainties of a 21st century economy.

For much of the last century, a high school diploma "was a ticket to a solid middle-class life," he said. But no more, as jobs today often require at least a bachelor's degree — or higher. To that end, Obama is pouring tens of billions of dollars into K-12 and higher education with an eye on raising standards and building the future workforce.

"The good news is, all of you are ahead of the curve," Obama told the graduates. "All those checks you wrote to Hampton will pay off." But too many others, he said, including disproportionate numbers of blacks and Hispanics, are unprepared and are outperformed by their white classmates in the U.S. and around the world.

"All of us have a responsibility, as Americans, to change this, to offer every single child in this country an education that will make them competitive in our knowledge economy. That is our obligation as a nation," the president said.

Obama said the graduates also must be role models and mentors in their communities. And they must pass the sense of an education's value on to their children, as well as the sense of personal responsibility, self-respect and the "intrinsic sense of excellence that made it possible for you to be here today," he said.

Obama's speech was one in a series by top administration officials at historically black colleges and universities this year. In all, 11 of the nation's more than 100 "HBCUs" will have an administration official speak at graduation.

First lady Michelle Obama was the commencement speaker Saturday at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, which began as the only state-supported institution of higher education for blacks in Arkansas.

Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett was scheduled to speak at Morgan State University's commencement ceremony on May 15, followed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates at Morehouse College and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice at Spelman College, both on May 16.

Earlier this year, Obama named Hampton University President William R. Harvey to be chairman of a presidential advisory board on historically black colleges and universities.

Obama also received an honorary doctor of laws degree. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he quipped that the honorary degree "is much less expensive than my last law degree."

Obama has two graduation speeches left to deliver this year: at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., on May 22, and at Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, Mich., on June 10.

Obama: Education a responsibility of all Americans - Yahoo! News

Have any of you guys seen the Frontline episode called "College.Inc."? It goes a long way explaining the increased numbers of college students over the past decade...seems that 45% of all federal financial aid goes to "for profit" schools like University of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University, etc. The problem is that the people and investors that run these institutions hire representatives trained in high pressure sales tactics who get folks to enroll just so the school gets the guaranteed money from the feds. Then, upon graduation, the students are poorly educated and can't find a job. They then default on their loans (which is 4-5 times higher than if they had attended a traditional college or university) leaving the taxpayers footing the bill. They said without these for profit schools enrollment in post secondary education is actually down along with student achievement. There is a push right now to eliminate or ration federal aid available to each for profit school on a yearly basis which would be a step in the right direction as far as comprehensive education reform goes.

Here's something we debate on here many times as well...the chickens are beginning to come home to roost.. Folks can say what they want and make whatever claims they want, but politicians, NCLB, and focus on standardized tests are destroying the quality of education in this country...and according to this article, they STILL haven't learned from their mistakes (it seems they intend to make more laws to "improve" education...dark ages anyone?). MECC TECH gets a shout out in the article tho (for everybody who tends to slam the effectiveness and validity of an education at a community college)...Anyways..


High remedial education rate called a roadblock to increasing number of college grads
By Associated Press

Published May 11th, 2010 | Added May 11th, 2010 4:14 am | 0 Comments

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -- Professor Derron Bowen teaches high school math to college students, patiently chalking equations on the board on basic arithmetic topics such as the speed of a driver on a a 20-hour trip.

Bowen's class at Broward College in South Florida is for students who didn't score high enough on an entrance test to get into college-level math. In all, about two-thirds of students entering the community college need to take at least one remedial course in math, English or reading.

Nationwide, about a third of first-year students in 2007-08 had taken at least one remedial course, according to the U.S. Department of Education. At public two-year colleges, that number rises to about 42 percent.

Education observers worry that the vast numbers of students coming to college unprepared will pose a major roadblock to President Barack Obama's goal for the United States to once again lead the world in college degrees.

"We don't get there from here," said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia.

In October, the Education Department reported that many states declare students to have grade-level mastery of reading and math when they do not. In a 2007 ACT National Curriculum Survey of college professors, 65 percent said their states poorly prepare students for college-level coursework.

The survey found that professors want students with stronger skills in specific areas, while high schools typically impart a less comprehensive understanding of a broad range of topics.

In his remedial math class in Florida, Bowen sees students who haven't been in school for a decade or more, but some haven't even had time to hang up their high school diplomas.

"How were they allowed to go through?" Bowen said. "I'm thinking, 'If I could have been teaching you back when you were 6, 7, you would be a powerhouse today."

The Obama administration is pushing states to adopt tougher standards, and governors and education leaders across the country are working together to propose a uniform set of common standards. A first draft was released in March, and a final proposal could come this summer.

For others, the problem points to the need to develop alternative forms of job training for people who aren't academically inclined and are unlikely to finish college.

"We're telling kids you'll be a third-class citizen if you don't go to college," said Marty Nemko, an education policy consultant and author. "And colleges are taking kids who in previous generations would not have gone to college."

Nemko favors an apprenticeship program similar to those offered in Finland, Japan and Germany.

That's a point that Daniel Paz, a student in Bowen's class, says he can relate to.

"College is not for me," said Paz, who graduated from high school last year and is considering a career in criminal justice. "It's something I have to do, but if there was another way, than I'd be doing something else."

Some students in remedial courses are older workers trying to jump-start a new career. But a sizable amount are recent graduates who performed well in high school: A 2008 study by the nonprofit Strong American Schools found that nearly four out of five remedial students had a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher.

The price of providing remedial training is costly. The Alliance for Excellent Education estimates the nation loses $3.7 billion a year because students are not learning basic needed skills, including $1.4 billion to provide remedial education for students who have recently completed high school.

"From taxpayers' standpoint, remediation is paying for the same education twice," said Wise.

Students who need remedial classes are also more likely to drop out: Those taking any remedial reading, for example, had a 17 percent chance of completing a bachelor's degree, according to 2004 Education Department data.

At the recent annual American Association of Community Colleges conference, Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, called improving or reducing remediation the best way to improve completion rates at community colleges, which hover at around 25 percent.

"Right away, your dreams of going to college are deferred, because technically you're not in college," she said. "If you start in a remedial class, the odds are that you will never finish a credit-bearing course in that subject."

She pointed to positive models: El Paso Community College, which gives prospective students placement tests while still in high school; and Mountain Empire Community College in Virginia, where there are new lesson plans and textbooks to move students through remedial education faster.

The Gates Foundation is spending $100 million to develop new models for remedial education.

Advocates say the need for reform is urgent, pointing to studies that show more jobs in the future will require more education, and that people with less education have been hit with higher levels of unemployment during the recession.

Nemko doubts the notion that most workers will need a higher level degree.

"In every corporation or government agency, there needs to be a small number of people coming out with the great new ideas," he said. "But for everyone one of those, they need 20 to 50 worker bees who are there to provide the product."

At Broward College, there are signs of improvement: The percentage needing remedial education has dropped, from 85 percent of first-time college students, to 74 percent in the 2009 incoming class.

"I don't remember learning any of this stuff in high school," said CaSonya Fulmore, 40, who was laid off from her job as a customer service supervisor with American Express last year. Fulmore is taking a preparatory math class and studying for a degree in social science, with hopes of becoming a counselor.

? 2010 The Associated Press

High remedial education rate called a roadblock to increasing number of college grads - Kingsport Times-News Online

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama on Monday will highlight his goal of dramatically boosting U.S. college graduation rates and will make the case that his administration has already taken significant steps to help achieve that goal, administration officials said.

Specifically, the Obama administration has said it wants the United States to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020, which would mean increasing the percentage of young adults in the United States who earn higher education degrees from 40 percent to 60 percent, administration officials said.

In other words, the U.S. would need to add more than 10 million college graduates over the next 10 years.

Currently, the U.S. ranks 12th among 36 developed nations when it comes to college completion rates, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Sunday. That puts the country behind Canada, Korea and Russia, who rank first, second and third, respectively.

"We've grown complacent, and other countries have passed us by," Duncan told CNN's "American Morning" on Monday.

In his remarks Monday at the University of Texas at Austin, Obama is not expected to unveil any new policy initiatives.

Instead, he will tout policy initiatives that the administration argues will make college more affordable, including strengthening Pell Grants, as well as creating programs that make it easier for students to pay back loans after graduation.

The administration plans to fund the initiative by eliminating "middleman" banks from the loan process and provide loans directly to students. That move will free $60 billion to pay for more Pell Grants, Duncan said. The president also plans to increase the education tax credit for middle-class families and increase investment by $2 billion to community colleges.

"Community colleges are the unpolished gem along the education continuum," Duncan said.

Duncan said the administration's efforts to raise standards in kindergarten through 12th grade will help increase the college graduation rate.

"We've been dumbing down standards," he said, adding that universities need to "get out of the remediation business."

Despite the administration's plans, some states are slashing early childhood education programs to balance the budget. Duncan said those moves spell disaster. He noted that the U.S. House of Representatives will consider a $10 billion package to save teachers' jobs on Tuesday that could bring some relief to states.

Obama to tout higher education goals in Texas - CNN.com

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Originally Posted by sup-rbeast

Have any of you guys seen the Frontline episode called "College.Inc."? It goes a long way explaining the increased numbers of college students over the past decade...seems that 45% of all federal financial aid goes to "for profit" schools like University of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University, etc. The problem is that the people and investors that run these institutions hire representatives trained in high pressure sales tactics who get folks to enroll just so the school gets the guaranteed money from the feds. Then, upon graduation, the students are poorly educated and can't find a job. They then default on their loans (which is 4-5 times higher than if they had attended a traditional college or university) leaving the taxpayers footing the bill. They said without these for profit schools enrollment in post secondary education is actually down along with student achievement. There is a push right now to eliminate or ration federal aid available to each for profit school on a yearly basis which would be a step in the right direction as far as comprehensive education reform goes.

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Do not doubt it that is what gets me about all the anti consoladation folks touting fiber classrooms of other distance learning as a way to keep all the small schools open .....IMHO while these typs of classes are better than nothing they can't hold a candle to a quality in room teacher

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law a $26 billion measure to help avoid teacher layoffs -- a move Democrats claim is necessary in the wake of state and local government cutbacks.

The House gave final approval earlier Tuesday to the bill, which had already passed the Senate.

The measure, which passed the House on a largely party-line 247-to-161 vote, is designed to save the jobs of approximately 160,000 teachers across the country, as well as create and save positions for police officers, firefighters and nurses, according to Democratic leaders.

Specifically, it includes $10 billion for teacher positions and $16 billion to help cover state Medicaid payments.

Republican leaders have blasted the bill as an irresponsible union giveaway that will impede prospects for a long-term economic recovery.

The House began its summer break at the end of July and was not expected to return until mid-September. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called members back into session after the Senate unexpectedly passed the state assistance bill last week, after the House had adjourned.

Pelosi declared Tuesday that the bill was not only about stabilizing state budgets, but also about "the education of our children" and "innovation in our nation."

"We can't stand by and do nothing while pink slips are given to the men and women who educate our children," Obama said at the White House on Tuesday morning.

Teacher layoffs, he said, "Should not be a Democratic problem or a Republican problem. It's an American problem."

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Florida, contended that it's a "transparent handout to the teachers union" financed partly through "sham accounting gimmicks."

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, asserted earlier that the "American people don't want more stimulus spending."

It's not the first time Congress has been called back from a recess. In December 2008, members were called back when lawmakers debated providing aid for the auto industry.

Also in recent years, representatives were called back during the summer of 2005 for a vote on emergency supplemental funds after Hurricane Katrina.

Obama signs bill to prevent teacher layoffs - CNN.com

How is the education money being distributed to the states? and will it be for teacher pay only.....could it affect the consoladation talks/plans in Wise co?