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I’ve never been a big fan of the No Child Left Behind Act. The goal of holding schools and districts accountable for teaching all of their students, is wonderful. But the method; namely tying school funding to the outcome of high stakes tests, is sorely lacking. For starters, high stakes testing is no substitute for educational reform. Trying to close the Achievement Gap with high stakes testing is like trying to cure a fever with a thermometer. But more significantly, we’ve argued consistently here on the blog that the high stakes testing model is fraught with unintended consequences. Foremost among these being #1. that lower performing Title I schools ‘protect’ themselves against economic sanctions through the implementation of adapted curriculums (more block hours on NCLB testable disciplines to the exclusion of civics, the humanities, and some science courses). #2 lower performing title I schools tend towards an increased focus on basic proficiency and a decreased focus on high achievement. And #3 – that the cumulative effect of both #1 and #2 is that we would actually see a ‘hardening’ of the achievement gap even in schools that met their goals for AYP (Annual Yearly Progress).

Well…

Last week, the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education reported that the Racial scoring gap on SAT II subject tests has Widened significantly! They report:

On the 11 most popular SAT II tests listed in the accompanying table, the racial scoring gap has increased over the past decade. In most cases the scoring gap has significantly increased unfavorably for African Americans. The only exception is the physics test, where the racial gap over the past 10 years has increased by only two points.

The largest increase in the racial scoring gap has been on the Spanish SAT II subject test. On this test in 1999 the racial gap was 47 points. It has now opened up to 83 points. The scoring gap has increased by a large margin on tests for French, chemistry, biology, Latin, mathematics, and American history.

Educational Activists around the country need to hold Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and President Obama’s feet to the fire to implement the educational reforms we heard so much about during the campaign. Between the myopic push to eliminate deseg programs and return to neighborhood schools, the failure to seriously explore the charter school concept as an incubator for educational reform, and the woefully inadequate NCLB act, we are losing ground with regard to the academic achievement gap. The gap that began to narrow in the 70’s and 80’s as schools around the country even half-heartedly desegregated is now widening once more…

If you’d like to read more on the subject… HERE is an interesting report on the discrepancies between the high stakes NCLB reported test scores and the independent NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) test scores.

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This program, funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was established to provide outstanding low income minority students with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline area of interest.

Continuing scholars may request funding for a graduate degree program in one of the following discipline areas: education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.

In addition to increasing access to higher education for these underrepresented groups, GMS also provides leadership training. Through participation in a comprehensive leadership development program, Scholars enhance academic and leadership skills, which prepare them to assume important roles in their professions and in their communities.

Students are eligible to be considered for a GMS scholarship if they:

• Are African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian and Pacific Islander American, or Hispanic American;
• Are a citizen/legal permanent resident or nationals of the United States;
• Have attained a cumulative GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (un-weighted);
• Will be enrolling for the first-time at a U.S. accredited* college or university as a full-time, degree-seeking, first-year student in the fall of 2010; or GED
• Have demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular or other activities;
• Meet the Federal Pell Grant* eligibility criteria; and
• Have all three forms (Nominee Personal Information Form completed by the student, Nominator Form completed by an educator familiar with the student’s academic record and a Recommender Form completed by a person familiar with the student’s leadership and community service) submitted by the deadline

In order to be eligible to be considered for the GMS scholarship, all three forms must be submitted by the deadline.

1. Nominee Form (student application)
2. Nominator Form
3. Recommender Form

CLICK HERE to access the GMS Scholarship Application

CLICK HERE for more information about the Gates Millenium Scholars Program

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The 2009 Year End report for the Wichita Branch NAACP, detailing branch activities in the areas of Education, Civil Rights Enforcement, Legislative Advocacy, Youth Development, Legal Redress, Health, Branch Administration, and Advocacy Training, is now available to the public.

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The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has proposed significant changes to the Civil Rights Data Collection. The Department’s proposal includes a biennial survey of roughly half the nation’s schools (over 7,000 districts), with new requests for data on:

• Bullying/harassment of students in violation of civil rights laws
• Use of seclusion and restraint
• School-related arrests and referrals to law enforcement
• Expulsions under zero-tolerance school disciplinary policies
• Student retention
• College-preparatory courses, International Baccalaureate programs, and SAT and ACT test participation
• Pre-kindergarten programs
• School counselors
• School finance
• Teaching experience

The proposed changes provide that the data collected be disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, special education status (pursuant to IDEA and Section 504), and LEP status.

The Department of Education will accept comments on the Civil Rights Data Collection submitted on or before Tuesday, November 10, 2009. We urge you to submit recommendations and comments; your input is essential to securing collection of this critical data. The DOE has already received comments in opposition to the breadth of the proposed changes.

Materials on the proposed modifications can be found on the web at: http://edicsweb.ed.gov. Click “browse pending collections” and choose #4127. The most relevant documents are labeled “B-4″ and “B-5.”

Comments should be submitted by e-mail to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov.

By way of example, the Dignity in Schools Campaign has drafted comments addressing the disciplinary changes in the proposed Civil Rights Data Collection; a Word version of the comments is available at http://dignityinschools.org.

Thank you for your input, and your continued work and leadership in providing high quality, inclusive schools for all the nation’s schoolchildren.

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Wichita Branch and Kansas State Conference President KMyles spoke to a group of 20 young men at Northwest High School today. What was supposed to be a 15 minute talk stretched out to nearly an hour on the need for young black men to start thinking critically about their futures. Several of the young men indicated that they now plan to join the NAACP Debate team while others requested additional tutoring or educational assistance. The focus of the talk was on the fact that being “good enough” simply isn’t good enough, mediocrity is for the mediocre and we should all strive to be excellent…

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Reposted from the Wichita Eagle
By: Lori Yount

The number of Wichita schools meeting both math and reading test targets dropped by 14 this year to 46, according to data released today by the Kansas State Department of Education.

This means Wichita schools, the state’s largest district, lost some gains it boasted last year when 13 more of the district’s then-84 schools met both math and reading goals than in 2007.

Statewide, the number of schools achieving targets dropped slightly in 2009, from 90 percent last year to 87.6 percent this year.

State educators said each year it’s more difficult for schools to meet goals because the percentage of students who need to pass math and reading tests increases.

“The good news is that Kansas schools are achieving their goals in reading and mathematics even though these same goals have increased substantially over last year,” Kansas Commissioner of Education Alexa Posny said in a written statement.

Schools in other area districts continued to not meet targets this year after first doing so last year. But some high schools that didn’t reach goals last year — Campus High School in Haysville and Maize High School — did meet them this year, according to state data.

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Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009
 

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today. 

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.   

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year. 

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn. 

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox. 

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve. 

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. 

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. 

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. 

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future. 

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy. 

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country. 

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in. 

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse. 

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right. 

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying. 

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future. 

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America. 

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall. 

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. 

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it. 

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things. 

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK.  Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” 

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying. 

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals. 

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. 

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?  

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

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