BYLINE: JANE
ELIZABETH, POST-GAZETTE EDUCATION WRITER
BODY: The federal education bill approved by the
Senate Tuesday and the House the previous week calls for the "most massive
shift" in schools in more than three decades, says U.S. Secretary of Education
Rod Paige.
But even though Pennsylvanians, just like
people in the rest of the nation, will have to learn new buzzwords such as
"adequate yearly progress" and "reconstitution," some of the changes ordered by
the education act won't break new ground here:
*Statewide report cards for school? Got that.
*Tutoring money for students who are flunking state tests? Already
there.
*The threat of state takeover for failing school
districts? Done that, too.
Not coincidentally, one of
the forces behind President Bush's sweeping "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001"
is Eugene W. Hickok Jr., former Pennsylvania education secretary and now deputy
education secretary in the Bush administration.
"This
is a fundamental change in how education is done" in much of the nation, Hickok
said in a telephone interview Thursday that included Paige, a former Houston
superintendent of schools.
A major difference for
Pennsylvanians, Hickok acknowledged, is that the federal law will reach into
Pennsylvania with a more powerful arm. There are no escape clauses, no "opt-out"
provisions, no appeals. If states don't do what the act says, when it says,
federal funding will be cut.
"It's a pretty tight law,"
Hickok said.
Allocations for states haven't been
decided, but nationwide, up to $22 billion is expected to be distributed this
fiscal year. That's a 20 percent increase over last year.
One of the more intriguing mandates calls on states to identify
"persistently dangerous" public schools. Students in those schools, or any
student who's the victim of a violent crime at any public school, will be
allowed to transfer to a "safe" school within the district or to a charter
school, and the home district will have to pay the cost of transportation.
At the same time, the bill provides more money for student
locker searches, drug testing, school violence phone lines, employee background
checks and programs to help teachers spot suicidal students.
Elsewhere in the 1,800-page bill, there are programs to help more men
become elementary school teachers and to help more girls take advanced science
courses. There are mandates that districts get more parents involved in their
schools, that biology classes mention the controversy surrounding evolution, and
that teachers be protected from "frivolous lawsuits" when trying to "maintain
order and discipline in the classroom."
Even the
architects of the earlier versions of the bill haven't yet absorbed or resolved
every detail of the compromise bill.
The initial
legislation was batted about the House and Senate by Democrats and Republicans
for a year without passage.
Then came Sept. 11. After
the terrorist attacks, bipartisan bickering dissipated, and the bill made
history last week as the most significant education reform since federal
involvement in education began in 1965.
Here are some
of the major elements that will affect Pennsylvania students, educators and
parents.
Testing
Beginning in
2004-05, pupils in grades three through eight must be given a state-designed
math and reading test each year. Science tests will begin in 2007-08.
Eighth- and 11th-graders will continue to be tested.
Pennsylvania already has its Pennsylvania System of School
Assessment (PSSA) tests for pupils in grades five, eight and 11, and it's likely
that will meet the federal requirement, although it will have to be expanded to
cover the third, fourth, sixth and seventh grades.
Paige said, however, "It would be premature to put the Good
Housekeeping seal of approval on any [testing] system."
Pennsylvania pupils now also will be required to participate in the
National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) tests, which most of the
state's school districts historically have resisted. All fourth- and
eighth-graders will be required to take these national math and reading tests,
and scores will be used to measure progress nationwide.
Because of all these tests, "It's going to be difficult to ignore
problems where they exist," Hickok said.
Standards
The law says all states must develop standards -- what
children should be taught and when -- by 2005-06. Pennsylvania is well on its
way. Standards in all subjects are expected to be in place by the 2003-04 school
year.
Student improvement
Every pupil and every school must show "adequate yearly progress" -- or
AYP -- on the state and NAEP tests. In 12 years, every pupil in America must
perform at the "proficient" level. But it's left to each state to define
"adequate progress" and "proficient."
Pennsylvania's
tests now have a "proficient" category, and many schools are a long way from
having 100 percent of their pupils at that level. At Allderdice High School,
long considered one of the city's top high schools, 52.8 percent of students
scored "proficient" or better in math, and 50 percent did so in reading. (Most
recent PSSA scores can be found at www.pde.psu.edu/esscores.html.)
Also, the new law will provide more money to pay for
low-income pupils to take Advanced Placement tests. Now, those fees must be paid
by the school district, and some choose not to pay.
Teacher quality
The federal law will demand
that teachers are properly certified. For example, those who teach algebra or
special education must be specifically licensed to do so.
The law also contains a mandate, not yet detailed, that all teachers be
"highly qualified" by the end of the 2005-06 school year. Federal money will be
provided to help recruit high-quality candidates and to offer more training for
teachers.
If a local school district doesn't make
adequate progress in improving its teaching force within three years, the state
can intervene by withholding funds in some cases and instituting improvement
programs.
Bad schools
Schools
that haven't made "AYP" for two consecutive years must come up with a plan to
improve, and they'll get federal funds to aid those efforts. But more
significantly, those schools must allow pupils to transfer to another school in
the district or a charter school -- and the school must pick up the
transportation costs.
After three years of poor
performance, schools must pay for tutoring for pupils. After four years, schools
may be "reconstituted" by the state. That is, the entire staff and curriculum
can be replaced. After five years, the state or a private contractor could take
over the school.
"We're going to hold schools
accountable," Paige said. "One year of a student's life in failure is a long
time. What would be the reason to keep them in five years?" Pennsylvania already
has its "empowerment act" to deal with poor-performing schools. Currently, there
are 12 "empowerment districts" and the clock won't start over for them when the
federal bill is enacted. Those districts will immediately fall under the federal
rules.
Along with punishment for poor performance, the
law will offer federal money to reward teachers whose pupils have made
outstanding progress, and who have helped close the "achievement gap" between
minority and white pupils and poor and wealthier pupils.
Pennsylvania currently rewards schools -- although not teachers
directly -- that improve state test scores and attendance rates.
Teacher shortage
In an effort to find more
teachers, especially for hard-to-fill subject areas or districts, the federal
act will provide money to help states come up with "alternative certification"
programs.
Typically, that means recruiting candidates
from other professions and putting them through a streamlined program to become
teachers. Former Gov. Tom Ridge developed such a program in Pennsylvania three
years ago, but it has been tied up ever since by a lawsuit filed by teachers
unions.
Report cards
Pennsylvania already has two types of "report cards" to give parents an
idea how schools are performing. The federal law asks for a few additional
measurements that the state currently doesn't offer, such as how minority groups
are scoring on tests and the professional qualifications of teachers.
Private schools, home schools
Private schools will share in the $7.5 billion in grants for special
education, the $2.85 billion for teacher improvement, and, for the first time,
will share in the money designated for community learning centers, reading
programs and math and science partnerships with local
businesses and universities.
Home schools are generally
excluded from mandates in the federal act. The bill also makes it clear that the
current "Gun Free Schools Act" does not apply to home schools.
Teacher aides
Currently, teacher aides need
only a high school education to get a job in Pennsylvania. Under the federal
law, teacher aides must have at least two years of college or must have passed a
"rigorous" state-designed test of their reading, math and writing skills.
In Pennsylvania, aides make up about 10 percent of the
statewide teaching staff.
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