The NCLB Act: A Bronfenbrenner Perspective

Skip ahead to sections of this post:

• Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Model
• NCLB as an Exosystem
• NCLB and Contextual Factors
• What is Important
  

04/03/08

In this week’s class session we examined Urie Bronfenbrenner’s 1986 article which emphasized the importance of understanding various contextual influences on psychological development. Posed with the knowledge that multiple factors contribute to differential outcomes, we asked ourselves how NCLB fits into this schema to explain any shortcomings its implementation may have and what needs to be done to counteract these deficiencies. We posited that it is not enough to explain data or approach school reforms through test scores; we must look at multiple perspectives in order to create a vision for the future of education and construct goals that will get us there. Further discussion centered on the resurgence of a “renaissance man,” in which more well-rounded individuals create the initiative and understanding necessary to be successful.

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Model
Why is context so important?

Opening our discussion, we examined the life and work of Urie Bronfenbrenner, whose contributions to psychology gave us the Ecological Systems Theory. Brief review explains this model as a system of integrated complex “layers” which cause a stratified view of a child’s development. At the microsystem level there are things which immediately impinge on the child (personality, gender, income, race, temperament, etc.). These factors interact with the mesosystem in which the family, school, or neighborhood reside. Next, the exosystem layer contains the local society, culture, or community in which the child lives. And finally, encompassing and affecting each of the three layers previously mentioned, the macrosystem includes more global concepts of society and culture functioning as a whole. Each of these layers affects the others, but as they expand further outside of the child the relationship becomes less direct. For example, if the government (exosystem) implements school reformation laws onto the school (mesosystem), the teachers become affected, in turn, augmenting the child at the microsystem level. It should be noted that this system is not linear; in fact, a reciprocal relationship exists between each of these layers causing a bi-directional effect in which the microsystem can also affect the macrosystem. Thus, depending on these varying contexts, Bronfenbrenner stressed the importance of individual differences.

NCLB as an Exosystem
Can its origins be explained as an effect of a societal trajectory?

As we looked to the No Child Left Behind Act, it was important to establish a dialogue to discuss how the ecological systems theory could be applied. That is, can NCLB be explained as an exosystem? Further, how is its status as such affected by encompassing contexts such as history or worldly progress at the macrosystem level? It was determined that by acknowledging these various “layers,” we can understand how the NCLB came to be.

So why did the government put this system into effect? As we know, the achievement gap seems to be a starting point for explanation. In class we looked beyond the mere statistics of the current disparity between majorities and minorities, and viewed the achievement gap as part of an “historical sweep.” Because government intervention is not a new concept, it was postulated that we have continuously been a nation in pursuit of “closing the gap.” For example, events such as slavery and civil unrest erupted into civil war as a response to inequality. Segregation and integration followed as a result, and today, the gap has manifested itself in education. Thus, precipitating events or contextual “layers” seem to be interacting. Another explanation for the implementation of NCLB is by way of competing nations. The United States, as we have learned from the PISA reports, is a country which is falling behind its competitors in education around the world. We noted that our world (the exosystem) is contingent on the progress of other nations (the macrosystem), which exhibit the characteristics of a Bronfenbrenner-esque model. As world-wide knowledge increases, our country must do the same or else we suffer the consequences; no exosystem exists in and of itself.

NCLB and Contextual Factors
Can we ever have a society which values a “Renaissance Man”

It was asked whether or not Bronfenbrenner’s theory was considered– namely, has NCLB dealt with contextual issues? Ultimately the answer is unclear. As has become evident, much of the emphasis in NCLB has focused on the context of the school, solely reliant on data which measures performance on standardized tests, school achievement, and drop-out rates, to name a few. One student remarked that the classroom is not the only predictor of performance. In this sense, it appears that current reforms have lost sight of the many other contexts outside of school which can affect a student (family life, neighborhood, and internal differences in the children themselves). Class discussion shifted toward these issues in hopes of parsing out the deficiencies of the current system, and questioning whether skills or knowledge were more important.

Because NCLB has constructed a system in which students are generalized across the board, there is no real emphasis on individual capabilities. Bronfenbrenner stressed the idea that individual differences are an inevitable result of ecological systems, yet current reforms have overlooked this principle. The question then becomes, are we truly measuring school-related performance or do other variables of context interfere? For instance, perhaps low scores in urban areas can be better attributed to detrimental and/or dangerous conditions at the exosystem level that devalue the importance of education at the microsystem level and are then reflected back in test scores. Without consideration of context, the validity of NCLB is weakened.

The impact of educational reforms has also begun to alter the values and goals of society as a whole, creating a country that relies on surface-level knowledge so as to attain higher scores on standardized tests. One explanation for this that was explored by the class was that the U.S. strives for specialization – gaining skill sets to perform specialized tasks. Chronosystems (on which other systems are affected and are dependent on the time period that one is currently in) create these narrowly construed disciplines. Skill sets are replacing critical, analytic knowledge and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Yet, it is not possible to succeed in the world if there is no flexibility. Individuals who are interpretative, innovative, and who ask the right questions are what can be considered “Renaissance people,” because their learning is not confined to the microsystem level. These are the types of individuals which need to be produced, yet NCLB is failing to do so.

What is Important
How do we tie everything together, and where do we go from here?

In lieu of the topics of this class session, some resolutions were proposed that highlight the importance of Bronfenbrenner’s theory, and pinpoint possible future goals for NCLB.

Because of the overwhelming indication for a societal trajectory which created the need for NCLB, it cannot be considered a cause in and of itself. Instead, we must begin to take Bronfenbrenner’s model more seriously to consider how context interferes. If all that is being counted as a dependent variable is test-scores, then we miss what is at the exo- and macrosystem levels. For example, if a child is required to read, they need parents who are also able to read in order to integrate the two environments.

Our class indicated a need to tap into these contextual factors so as to create a better educational reform model. It was suggested that this could be done in a longitudinal study by assessing the attitudes of all levels of the ecological system. Through multiple methods of data collection and research, we can begin to collect the pieces of the NCLB puzzle and formulate an answer. In turn, the focus must reside on creating “Renaissance people” who will go beyond the surface in order to integrate skills with knowledge.


Readings:

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986) Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research Perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22, 723-742.

Notes courtesy Nicole Rimmer

The Teacher's Perspective: What Teachers Say About NCLB

Skip ahead to sections of this post:

• Mastery-Oriented Learning & The Individual
• What Teachers Say about NCLB
• Barrack Obama On Education
• Different Models of Education
  
  03/20/08

Two of the main issues that were discussed in class this week included the question of achieving educational mastery (i.e.; one of 4 goals of NCLB) but also embracing and acknowledging individual variation, and what teachers are saying about their experience with educating under NCLB. Some other commentary was made on the incongruity of NCLB’s goal of education and the implementation of the program, Obama’s thoughts on race effecting education, and different models of education namely ‘education by punishment,’ the business model, seated by potential model, and rote-learning.

Mastery-Oriented Learning & the Individual
Can we have both?

We read an unpublished manuscript by Kelly Fisher, Dr. Hirsh-Pasek and Dr. Golinkoff that briefly outlined NCLB’s goal for education, its principles, as well as teachers’ opinions on its benefits or its relative failure to live up to its own standards. The authors conducted a questionnaire in which they posed two, simple open-ended questions to a varied group of educators. The goal of the questionnaire was to get a feel of educators' views as to the relative success or failure of NCLB. The educators were asked to elaborate in their answers.

The researchers noticed that there were four areas in which teachers feel that NCLB is lacking. The teachers feel that NCLB fails to “[1] embody a holistic view of child development, [2] understand children naturally vary in their individual learning and development, [3] promote mastery-oriented learning in order to build competence within each child, and [4] create a nurturing environment with age-appropriate activities that naturally tap children’s curiosity and intrinsic motivation as well as allow them to develop confidence and perseverance” (p 4).

Our class discussion began with the second issue-viz., understanding that children naturally vary in their individual learning and development-. Some students found this issue most important out of the four mentioned above. Students had agreed that testing basic skills such as mathematics and literacy, is not the only way to evaluate the intelligence of individuals. “There are (approximately) seven different intelligences, not just one,” said one student. This led us to the issue of mastery-oriented education? What are the underlying assumptions? As our TA, Kelly, argued, it is assumed that all children will be able to learn as expected, that everything the individual needs to learn is intrinsic and attainable from within. However, we know this may not be the case if we look at studies which compare the learning capabilities of children with developmental disorders, or children from impoverished communities, with the learning capabilities of other, more 'normal' populations of the same ages. What do we do about those children (such as those with mental disabilities) who do not come to the classroom with the same social, mental or developmental capital as their peers?

We wondered about the possibility of creating individualized tests streamlined to different subsets of the student population. One student compared this strategy to affirmative action. It was decided that while streamlined tests would affirm the individual needs of students, such a strategy is accompanied by its own host of problems.

What Teachers Say About NCLB
The Illusion of NCLB vs. The Reality of NCLB

Throughout the manuscript we read, there were quotes by numerous teachers citing their own experiences under NCLB. What they had to say hits close to home for some of us that went to school during the first year or two of NCLB. The following statement from one kindergarten and 1st grade teacher from Maryland is exemplary of how a majority of the teachers responded to the open ended questions: “Teachers teach to the test, not for long-term learning. I pulled my children from public schools because of this.” The teachers were asked if NCLB has helped or hindered education in their states and the answers usually fell on the side of ‘hindered’.

The four themes (see above) are the fundamental issues that teachers feel should be making headline news. Teachers were more adamant about changes to help the children, rather than changes to help the school. Teachers are teaching to the test, and this is no longer a facetious rumor. In fact, one student brought a copy of a letter written by a New Jersey teacher to 3rd grade parents, explaining the reasons behind standardized testing, In the letter, the teacher was quoted as saying, “we hope this will help on future tests. . .multiple choice is given because [it is easier] to grade”.

One student felt that the problem with NCLB was that, from the outset, it tested the students rather than the teachers. Shouldn't teachers knowledge of what is going on in the classroom be just or even more important that students' knowledge of the same? One student remarked that setting standards for high quality teaching goes beyond the Praxis. Moreover, the system of continuing education credits means that teachers often take time-off from their jobs to attend the professional development courses needed to maintain their teaching certifications. Students then suffer from teacher absenteeism, and valuable time is wasted: time which could have been spent in quality learning. However, as one student argued, pointing fingers at teachers could just be another round of “the blame game”. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize these little-discussed issues.

We also looked at the foreword of President George W. Bush 2001 speech on NCLB, and concluded that while NCLB was inspired by an admirable philosophy of education, its actual implementation has fallen short of the original vision. We even speculated that President Bush's philosophy itself, comes close to the target as to how we can create programs to better educate our children. Ultimately,NCLB has not done what it philosophized it would do, because, as we have been arguing, the answer is not to create standardized tests across the board; likewise, merely channeling more funding and special education services to schools struggling to meet standards is not the solution. The real issue we are working with is a 50-some year old system which is increasingly incompatible with new technology, new perceptions, a new political and multicultural environment, and with a host of other issues discussed here in this blog. We would need to get rid of the public education system we have and start from scratch. But then again, is a complete revolution in education feasible?

Barack Obama On Education
A Legacy of Defeat For Blacks

“And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American. Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students…But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future.”

-Barrack Obama, March 18th 2008

For more on his speech on March 18th, 2008, please see http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hisownwords/ and watch the video.

Different Models of Education

A. The 'Education by Punishment' Model

In the 21st century, we are all to familiar with this model of education: education by punishment. Dr. Hirsh-Pasek referred to this as “post-9/11 language,” i.e., "you’ll do this because" of fear. We are talking about a culture of fear. Does it not seem drastically unfair that the current system of education punishes children because they can’t read the fastest, or because they live in a crime-ridden neighborhood, or, as Barrack Obama said in his recent speech on race in America, because they have inherited a legacy of defeat? Since the cultural and political climate of the time is to do things out of fear of punishment, it is not surprising the education system has been given this type of ultimatum, (get great scores to make U.S. a world leader in education or else your school will be blacklisted and your job, kaput). We need to change this ideal on a social-familial, cultural, and political level if we want to see increases in student motivation and real educational progress in the U.S.

B. The Business Model

"Too often, we forget about the issue of money", one student pointed out. The companies who stand to gain the most from others’ loss, underwrite the research that will get published. What we need to do is fight those companies who are gaining the most money. Another student made an important point: even if we give more funding to schools, someone stands to lose that money because where one gains, another loses. Business as usual? What else needs to be done?

C. The Peer-Tutoring Model: A Case Study

It was very interesting to hear students’ from other countries talk about their own educational experiences and provide possible alternatives to the present U.S. educational system. One student, educated in Trinidad, described her high-school class, in which the teacher planned the the teaching session around students’ grades and their level of performance in a given subject. A student with low performance would sit next to a student with high performance in order to gain a better perspective of the class material and possibly organize tutoring sessions as well as learn social skills. Although this system seems to have great potential for success, one student had gone through a similar experience in a classroom in the U.S. and remarked that “it gave the tutored student leeway to not listen to the teacher” and to over-rely on someone else for his/her educational needs. The Trinidadian-born student rejoined that students who were deemed 'low performance" students in a certain subject, were often deemed "low performance" students in another subject, and thus, the system gave students a chance to appreciate both their weaknesses and strengths.

D. The Rote-Learning Model

It can be argued that NCLB is based fundamentally on one thing: political power. The politicians desire the U.S. to be number one, the "hotshot", and the country that everyone will look to with admiration and imitate with content. Although we were admired at one point for our education, our industries, and our political ideals, the tide has begun to turn at least in one area: education. Countries like India and China are no longer looking to our educational system to train their future businessmen and women, but looking to their own country since our scores have fallen below the top tier. This competitive motive for better education in the U.S. is deceitful and a disgrace to the people of this country, and the motive behind education reform affects the education system dramatically.

NCLB has indirectly emphasized the principle of "rote-learning" (which simply means memorizing facts and ideas just to ace a test) for the standard of the state, to help the state avoid punishment. And how much time is devoted to this rote-learning method just for these standardized tests? “We test 3 times a year, for two weeks at a time. Six weeks of instruction are taken away every school year . . . Teachers are now teaching toward the test in order to avoid being put on a watch list,” said a kindergarten teacher from Nevada. If the goal of NCLB is to enhance or embrace learning in children, then we may want to look deeper into what learning really means. The individual must internalize the ideas, as well as analyze them and apply them to his or her life. How can this highly complex process be accomplished via a standardized test? If teachers must always follow a strict set of rules about how to teach, will their be room for flexibility in teaching styles and methods? How is this helping kids obtain educational mastery, which was--and still is-- NCLB’s goal of education?

Reading:

Fisher, K., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R.M. (2008). Building a house without laying the foundation: NCLB’s failure to articulate the goal of education. Unpublished manuscript.

Notes courtesy Bridget Marley and Summer K. Edward

A Case Study of NCLB

Skip ahead to sections of this post:

• Motivating Teachers and Students
• Making it Relevant
• A New System

3/6/08

A Case Study of NCLB

This week we examined Linda Perlstein’s book Tested, a case study examining one Annapolis, MD school. We discussed the current role of teachers and the impact motivation plays not only on learning but also teaching. In addition, we proposed some possible alternatives to the current American public school system.

Motivating Teachers and Students
Could motivation be the missing link?

We started this week’s class reiterating our definition of learning from last week: Learning is only good if what you learn can be applied to something else. Given this definition, we discussed whether students who exist in a system where everything is standardized actually learn and whether or not having high quality teachers actually matters. In a hyper-standardized system, conceptualized ideas are replaced with procedures and fill-in-the-blanks learning. This means that students are not learning how to apply what they are being taught and draw conclusions; they are instead being taught just enough to survive and meet the most basic of standards. In a system where the final answer is emphasized rather than the process of finding the answer, we discussed the possibility that a “false motivation” exists. Rather than being motivated to instruct and learn, teachers and students in Tested were motivated “to take the MSA test.” In a perfect system where motivated teachers are choosing what and how they teach, is there any place for standardized assessment? Also, would anyone want to be a teacher in the current system?

Making It Relevant
Couldn’t we just be taught by sophisticated robots?

In looking at the emphasis placed on meeting standards, we discussed whether or not it would be possible for robots to replace teachers in the classroom. In Tested, students often asked their teachers why they were learning the given material; they needed it to be relevant to them. Because of strict lesson plans and daily goals, teachers were unable to take the time to make concepts matter to students’ real, everyday lives. Given this, isn’t it possible to eliminate the human component entirely and rely on robots to spit out the information necessary to fill in the blanks?

We also talked about the lack of individuation in the classroom. All students are taught the same material in the same way, regardless of differences in comprehension and learning style. We discussed whether students should be viewed as “empty vessels” just waiting to be filled, or as active participants in the learning process. If the latter approach were used, it might allow teachers and administrators to create “Student Profiles,” which would then allow them to best serve the educational needs of students on an individual basis.

A New System
Do we have a better idea?

Rather than solely critiquing schools, we brainstormed some possible improvements and alternatives to the current educational system. We discussed eliminating summer break and stretching out the school year, in addition to adjusting the start and end of the school day. Summer vacation was traditionally used for farming, however the move away from an agrarian society has made this practice archaic. Adjusting what time school starts and ends could help teenagers, notoriously zombie-like in the morning, perform to the best of their abilities. We also discussed a Boy Scout/Girl Scout model, where people who make progress advance to the next level and those who are slower are given a different approach to succeed. This system would allow students to achieve at a rate that worked best for them and help make sure individual students’ needs were met.


Readings:

Perlstein, L. (2007) Tested: One American School Struggles to Make The Grade, 1-58; 119-133; 172-188; 200-208

Notes courtesy Shelby Bohn

A Brief Review of Us Education Reform (1963-present)

Click to activate.



Slideshow courtesy Jenn Conner

Another Perspective: High Quality Teachers & Student Acountability

Skip ahead to sections of this post:

• Good Teaching
• Student Accountability
  
  
  

02/28/08

The themes that were discussed in class included the question of what makes a good teacher, the issue of student accountability, as well as the issue of culture and how it plays a role in student achievement.

Good Teaching
What makes a good teacher?

One issue that was discussed in class examined the influence of the teacher on student achievement, and the role it played in helping students, especially those of low socioeconomic status, succeed. One point that was raised was that NCLB requires a teacher to obtain a degree and pass the Praxis Series of examinations, yet the requirements for teacher certification vary from state to state in terms of stringency. Further, many of the good teachers that actually have a personal interest in wanting their students to succeed are found in schools that have sufficient funding from the state, are private schools, and are in wealthier communities. Finally, teachers are certified based on the content in both their courses in earning a degree, as well as for the Praxis Series of examinations, yet a good teacher in not defined by knowledge of the content in these examinations, but rather in the communication of that knowledge to the students. Many of the great teachers that have mastered that communication are the ones that are found in the wealthier school districts in which student achievement is high.

The class then raised the issue of transferring these teachers that are found in those schools to schools of high poverty; however, many problems were noted. First, good teachers have attempted to teach at high poverty schools, such as those in Philadelphia, but were turned away because of the barriers that were presented. Also, good teachers that have taught in school districts of poor quality may have stayed to teach for a few months only to realize that the situation was hopeless. One teacher was even assaulted by one of the students. This raised the issue of culture and whether some students just can’t be taught.

Student Accountability
Are there students that can’t be taught?

Another issue that was examined was that of student accountability, and whether or not students should take exit examinations to graduate from high school. While this is a relatively new concept, much of the class seemed opposed to the idea of exit examinations, as it simply continues the process of memorizing material to pass an exam. As discussed in previous posts, this would force teachers into presenting material to be memorized for an exit examination, without actually teaching to the students. As one student observed, the focus seems to be more on testing when schools should rather focus on student learning, or in other words, would administering exit examinations be the best way to facilitate learning?

The class then discussed whether some students just can’t be taught, and most of the class agreed, based on several observations. One student examined the issue of culture in that school achievement is of low priority to those of very low socioeconomic status. Another student brought up the point that some find little relevance of an education in terms of achievement and success in the future. Further, many of these students may not have plans to attend college, and therefore find little relevance of taking their education seriously. It may not be a question then, if there are students that cannot be taught, but if these students have the motivation to learn. To support this observation, Kelly discussed Girard College, which takes students of very low socioeconomic status and teaches them within the confines of the school throughout the week. The students stay on the campus and are taught by good teachers. As a result, many of these students are accepted into prestigious universities. While good teachers play a role in student achievement and accountability, the culture and school in which students learn may be the most important factor in determining student achievement.

Readings:

Porter, A. & Polikoff, M. (2007) NCLB: State interpretations, early effects, and suggestions for reauthorization. Social Policy Report, Vol. XXI, 4.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). Mapping 2005 state proficiency standards onto the NAEP scales. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics. Read executive summary, introduction, outline of methods, results, and conclusion.

Notes courtesy Josh Kline

Achievement Gap Data-How Do We Interpret It?

Skip ahead to sections of this post:

• Achievement Gap Data
• An Organismic View
• The Special Ed Example
• Equal Access Vs. Equal Outcome
  
  
  

2/7/08

Achievement Gap Data
What is an accurate definition of the ‘achievement gap’ and how do we measure it?

Today we spent some time looking at graphic representations of quantitative information on the achievement gap. Wikipedia shows a series of graphs from the NAEP that show long-term achievement trends (1973-2004). These graphs, like most of the other graphs on the Internet, define the achievement gap on the basis of ethnicity paired with age. The term ‘achievement gap’ is often thrown around, but one point that was raised was the importance of recognizing multiple achievement gaps, based on other variables such as gender, English proficiency, migrant status, poverty status and disability status. In other words, there are deeper issues that don’t make it to the discussions of the ‘achievement gap’ as defined by politician, researchers and popular culture. Therefore, the first step in the interpretation and policy making process is to accurately define the ‘achievement gap’ and then find valid ways to measure it according to that definition. We also looked at data from the website of the US Department of Education. This site’s article, “Closing the Achievement Gap in America’s Public Schools”, only shows data up to 2000 and we found that the data was difficult to understand. We wondered about the process by which these statistics made it to publication. Who is doing the stats? Is there oversight? Is the data peer reviewed?

Another point that was raised was that different researchers operationalize a ‘closing gap’ in different ways. Is the data being used for analysis showing what it is supposed to be showing? Is making the AYP valid as a measure of closing the achievement gap? How then should progress be measured? Should the focus be on measuring levels of student achievement, or gains in achievement? Which is more meaningful? Or should progress be measured in some other way altogether? It is not clear whether the idea of closing the achievement gap is realistic – as a political topic it is often sensationalized, but maybe a more realistic goal would be to focus on narrowing multiple achievement gaps instead of eliminating one so-called ‘achievement gap’.

An Organismic View
Does the classroom exist in a vacuum?

We also discussed the possibility that researchers and policy makers may been looking at the issue too narrowly. Much needs to be taken into account when evaluating gaps in achievement. Individual differences and differences in cultural experiences means that it is virtually impossible to make generalizations about student achievement based on a standards-based model of education and yet much of the research on the achievement gap is doing just this. Other confounds, such as the location of schools and the degree to which parents are taking an interest in their child’s education are important factors that influence achievement. We looked at data on parental involvement from the Child Trends Data Bank and noted a great degree of variability. Another point that was raised was the question of whether or not stressors in the school and local environments can influence achievement. Is it that under certain socioeconomic conditions, children (and teachers) are constantly worried about survival and do they have enough motivation and time to deal with educational issues at hand? What resources are being provided to these schools? How many of these schools have and use out-of-school help for their students to improve on reading and math skills? The classroom is not the be-all and end-all of education since students lives revolve around a series of nested systems, each system having roles, norms and rules which powerfully shape development. External environments and the larger socio-cultural context of children’s lives need to be taken into account. We concluded that mechanistic models of data-collection are insufficient to deal with such variability. How can we take into account individual differences? How do we get policy to interact with the local culture of schools? It is clear that policy makers need to have a thorough understanding of the multiple factors and systems involved before they write and enact policy.

The Special Ed Example
Is quality education really the priority?

There are schools that seem to be taking the easy way out by placing children who would otherwise negatively affect their chances of meeting AYP by placing them in Special Education classes, which don’t count towards the mandatory reporting. Thus, it seems that the priority is more about basic survival skills than about quality learning in schools. Time that could otherwise be spent on quality, meaningful, project-based learning is being squandered because of the necessity to teach strictly to the test. Another issue that was raised was that some schools which seem to be cultivating a culture of learned helplessness amongst the children. Students are not given enough resources or time to advance themselves and therefore it is no wonder they don’t seem to improve. Even if they have the desire to go to college, they lag behind their counterparts simply because they do not have access to resources or the social capital that they need to succeed. How can we expect students to move forward if we don’t even have the basic skills to meet entry level requirements? Today, programs which teach college graduate basic skills such as how to write a memo, constitute a billion-dollar business; this goes back to the fact that these students are the product of an education system which emphasizes regurgitation and superficial thinking. One response has been to implement headstart classes for at risk populations, but do these program address the real issues? The main concern in our discussion was that education is becoming a business more than anything else. NCLB has created a cut throat environment which distracts from the objectives of quality education. Are we even in a country that values education, is it just a product? Where should it stand? What should the educational philosophy be?

Equal Access Vs. Equal Outcome
Should everyone be equal?

We also discussed the distinction between equal access and equal outcome. What kind of society do we want? In countries like France, under a "law on equality of chances", students are allowed to quit the compulsory school system in order to quickly learn a vocation. These students may enter into manual apprenticeship from as early as 14 years of age. “Alongside the ordinary school education system, there are also specialist or adapted classes, which are often integrated into primary and secondary schools, such the SEGPA - adapted general and vocational education sections designed particularly for children and adolescents having difficulty at school because of psychological, emotional or behavioral problems. [....] The aim is to get these children [...] to achieve a minimum skills level: the CAP (certificat d'aptitude professionnel) which sanctions training in a specific vocational skill” (http://www.info-france-usa.org/atoz/edu_fr.asp). Do countries such as France really have it correct? The question of whether or not we should expect everyone to meet the same level and what that level should be was raised. The example from France suggests that there is a need to consider individual differences. What do we do with people who do not want to go to college or are not able to meet the required standard? Should the process of education be one of trying to fit everyone into the same mould? Are some people better off as farmers, janitors? Does unequal outcome necessarily mean that some individuals are ‘better’ than others? Should there be some sort of reform to address this stereotype?

Readings:
Department of Education (2006). Nation’s report card shows continued progress: achievement gap continues to narrow as student population becomes more diverse.

Swanson, C. (2003). Keeping count and losing count: Calculating graduation rates for all students under NCLB accountability. Education Policy Center. Read executive summary, introduction (sec 1), NCLB, accountability & graduation (sec 2), and Disc/Conclusion (sec 7).

Nation’s Report Card. Check out this link to see how each state is doing in terms of proficiency. http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states/


Notes courtesy Summer Edward and Purnima Gopalkrishnan

Preliminary Notes on Culture & Education

Skip ahead to sections of this post:

• Didactic Instruction
• American Culture
  
  
  

01/31/08
The two central questions posed within the session, “Is didactic instruction, accountability, and teaching to the test the best way to learn/are we really learning?” and “How does the culture of America impact the design and expectation of its educational system?”

Didactic Instruction
Are we taught to think?

As many of the class members are products of No Child Left Behind, the class contemplated how the legislation affected their primary and secondary education. “Given the current emphasis on accountability and excellence in test taking, were we really taught to learn?” and “Is the current emphasis on didactic instruction, in primary, secondary, and undergraduate programs, actually teaching us to be regurgitators?” are just two examples of the questions contemplated. Even as products of AP and Honors classes, we questioned whether we are/were intellectually challenged, as more often than not we find ourselves under whelmed by the academic performance we are asked to give. It is a pattern which began in our secondary schools and has continued on into our current studies.

Regurgitation is the path to a higher GPA, which means for many, entrance into graduate school. The goal then becomes not to learn, but rather how to look good on paper. Current research is just beginning to examine how students really learn. It can only be hoped that research is conclusive and listened to by our policymakers in time for our children to experience a better system than the one forced upon us.

American Culture
America versus the rest of the world: Where do we stand?

Several students within the class attended schools outside of America. The following country set-ups were discussed:

Trinidad – A major difference between American education system and the Trinidad’s is the level of personal contact. Summer, our co-classmate who attended school in Trinidad, described the level of personal contact with her teachers. American teachers will pass you without recognition, but in Trinidad teachers remember former students and not just a face but more intimate details of the person’s life, goals, and previous achievements. They foster this attitude of interest and commitment to the students. This in turn compels students to return the teacher’s devotion and match the teacher’s investment in education with their own devotion. Because Trinidad is a former English colony, their educational material is the Cambridge curriculum, a far more rigorous curriculum than found in most American public schools. Example, tests administered in America are standardized, multiple choice exams, but in Trinidad a common test included the completion of an essay within a set period on time on a topic given just a few seconds before their allotted time began.

India – Discipline is a large part of the curriculum; corporal punishment is nto uncommon if a student provides the incorrect answer. Focus in placed more on concrete material, analysis of the abstract is not facilitated. Education is not a right; it is not guaranteed. Thus parents/family members pay for students and if you are fortunate enough to attend school, a return on the families’ investment is expected. Difficulty in securing an education continues into the post-secondary level. Only the top 1% of students are accepted into colleges and universities. In fact, the cut-off for acceptance to Business School can be has high as the 98% percentile.

In America, education is portrayed as a nuisance. Movies and TV demonstrate a system which holds students in confining institutions, restricting their pursuit of more pleasurable activities. There is a 'do-your-time' mentally. How are teachers expected to combat such a culture? How can we combat and challenge the culture to promote education?

'How can we close the gap between American educational achievements and European educational achievements?' should be a question asked as frequently as those posed by NCLB.

Discussion was based on the following readings:
-Review of science and technology academic standards for California, Pennsylvania, and Missouri -Fordham Foundation comprehensive review of state scientific standards
-National Center for Educational Statistics Higlights from PISA: Performance of U.S. 15-year-old students in Science and Mathematics Literacy in an International Context
-U.S. Leaders Fret Over Students’ Math and Science Weakness by Vaishali Honawar


Notes courtesy Jenn Conner

Evaluating NCLB: Didactic Instruction & Equal Opportunity

Skip ahead to sections of this post:

• Information Consumers vs Information Transformers
• Equal Opportunity

02/21/08

Some central questions posed today were: “How does the government portray information to the public, and how is that information absorbed by the public?”; “Does society need passive thinkers, if so to what extent, and how does the society decide who is active or who is passive?”

Information Consumers vs. Information Transformers
Should the American people take information at face value?

Information is supplied to the American public at almost a constant basis. Whether it is by the newspaper, TV, or radio, information is constantly being funneled to Americans. Funneling, or editing, what the American public sees and even possibly thinks was a very interesting topic of the day. The Bracey report (2006), which was a framework of the discussion, pointed to issues pertaining Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, among other top US officials. Spellings, and others presented the American public with only brief amounts of information regarding NCLB.

This limited amount of information seemed to suggest that NCLB was a success. However, through the Bracey reading, many students agreed that that was not the case. Bracey suggests that looking at the entire picture (the statistics) and critically analyzing data, shows that NCLB may not be as wonderful as Spellings had suggested. Dr. Kathy Hirsh – Pasek once said that information consumers are individuals who take information only at face value, while information transformers take information and critically analyze it to make it applicable to the real world. The class summed up on one note. Digging deep in the issues, and not taking everything at face value is critical when making important decisions.

Equal Opportunity
Options on How to Make a Better Society Through Education.

Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal”. However is this the case? Do children in any community of America have just as equal a chance to succeed as any other child? For many these questions may be a touchy issue, however it may also be key when discussing education. Several students expressed that no, not all children have the same opportunity as others, while others seemed to suggest that with hard work and determination, everyone could succeed. However what happens to the individuals that fall through the cracks and do not succeed? Do they still have a place in society to do their part? Does America need both passive and active thinkers, or should America focus on making American children critical thinkers only?

The class has acknowledged that, with the current establishment of NCLB it seems that the government wishes to have better test takers (passive thinkers). One student expressed that garbage men, janitors, and other manual jobs are needed in each society. However what percentage needs to be active thinkers and what percentage passive thinkers, to have a successful society? The class mentioned that America as a whole needs a balance of both active and passive thinkers. Keeping this in mind the class came up with two possible options on how to create the balance. The first option stays current with what Jefferson had said in our Declaration of Independence. As a society we would provide to give every child the best possible resources to become critical thinkers. Then, after years in the education system it would then be up to them in order to break through and shine as an active thinker, while the others are passive. The second option tries to identify those children that seem to be more superior, and separate them from the whole. Separating them, in hopes to educate them at a higher level in order to develop them into the critical thinkers of the next generation.

Possible questions to ponder…
Based on their manipulation of the information portrayed to the public, does the government want to produce critical thinkers, which may be harder to control? If so, how does this affect educational policy?

The two options discussed above both have positive and negative outcomes. What are some of the drawbacks and benefits? Does one outweigh the other?


Discussion was based on the following readings:

Bracy, W., (2006) The 16th Bracey report on the condition of public education. Phi Delta Kappa International, 16th, 152-166
Bracy, W., (2007) The 17th Bracey report on the condition of public education. Phi Delta Kappa International, 16th, 119-136
Lee, J. (2006). Tracking achievement gaps and assessing the impact of NCLB on the gaps: An in- depth look into national and state reading and math outcome trends. The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, 47-58

Notes courtesy Seth McCann

A Nation at Risk

Skip ahead to sections of this post:

• Projects-based Learning
• Research Problems
• Good Teachers

02/14/08

The main points discussed by the class showed that current educational problems have been unfolding for the last twenty-five years, current studies regarding education must do a better job at operationally defining the independent and dependent variables, and more research on training a good teacher needs to be conducted.

Projects-Based Learning

A new way of teaching and assessing achievement

We all agreed that a new test needs to be implemented, but what would a resolution look like? It should take facts that are learned in school and relate them to the outside world. It is important for current students to know how to "think outside the box." This would be extremely hard to test because it cannot be standardized. We also learned that a president cannot take the necessary measures to ensure that a new test is made because it cannot be developed on a four year time line. By the president's third year in office, all of the focus is put on collecting money for reelection. Thus, we decided that in order for a new test to be made, the president would have to begin education reform as soon as he or she entered office. We also touched on how proposals drafted by president for education are not easy to obtain, which means that the public is not informed about what is going on.

Research Problems

Defining the constructs

In the studies conducted by the government, we concluded that the independent variable is not defined. There is not set standard for what an ideal student looks like, which presents a huge problem because we cannot form students to fit an undefined standard. Also, presently, there is not enough solid research on how to train a good teacher.

Good Teachers

Are they born or made?

The problem that America's education system is faced with is that teachers are learning how to teach from a passive environment, i.e. sitting in a classroom and trying to retain information. From that passive environment, the teacher is placed into an active environment of standing up in front of students and trying to engage them. Most teachers cannot translate what they learned in a passive environment to make it fit an active environment. Furthermore, there needs to be greater financial incentive in the teaching profession. The jobs that offer the best salary (i.e. doctors, lawyers) attract the best and brightest individuals.

Readings:

Nation at risk: Can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/index.html (Introduction, A Nation at risk, Findings and Recommendations).

Goals 2000: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/stw/sw0goals.htm

No Child Left Behind: Department of Education (2002). The no child left behind act of 2001: Executive Summary.

Presenting Our "Glossary of American Education"

Dear Readers,

As we've read through the articles and reports assigned for our class discussions, we've noticed that many of the authors mention various groups, business associations, foundations, coalitions etc. as they discuss issues in education. Many of the articles refer to these entitites in their discussion of American education, quote press and other releases from these entities, inlcuding statistical data, and essentially imply that these entities are the major players in the arena of education implementation, policy and reform. The articles, studies and reports are also replete with acronyms, such as PISA, NCTM, NCLB etc.

It seems to us that as active, critical thinkers and responsible members of society, we ought to know what these entitites and acronyms signify in the battle to safeguard the future of American education. As such, we've made an explanatory list of the entities and acronyms we've encountered in our class discussions, which we want to share with our readers. We, the students of the Honors Psych class at Temple University, have all agreed that knowledge of these think tanks and acronyms are essential to successful enegagement with the issues at hand. As such, we've compiled the following descriptive list:


N.B. The following list includes American as well as International entities.

• NCLB- Stands for No Child Left Behind, as contained in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. According to Wikipedia.com, "The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), often abbreviated in print as NCLB, is a controversial United States federal law (Act of Congress) that reauthorized a number of federal programs aiming to improve the performance of U.S. primary and secondary schools by increasing the standards of accountability for states, school districts and schools, as well as providing parents more flexibility in choosing which schools their children will attend.

• AYP- Stands for Adequate Yearly Progress. According to Wikipedia.com, "Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act [see definition above] that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically. AYP has been identified as one of the sources of controversy surrounding George W. Bush administration's Elementary and Secondary Education Act [see definition below]. Private schools do not have to make AYP."

• ESEA- Stands for Elementary and Secondary Education, as contained in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. According to Wikipedia.com, "The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (Pub. L 89-10, 79 Stat. 77, 20 U.S.C. ch. 70) is a United States federal statute enacted April 11 1965. The Act is an extensive statute which funds primary and secondary education. As mandated in the Act, the funds are authorized for professional development, instructional materials, resources to support educational programs, and parental involvement promotion. The Act was originally authorized through 1970, however the government has reauthorized the Act every five years since its enactment". The NCLB Act re-authorised the ESEA Act.

• NAEP- Stands for National Assessment of Educational Progress and is also known as "The Nation's Report Card". According to Wikipedia.com, "The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as "the Nation's Report Card," is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Since 1969, assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. history, civics, geography, and the arts".

• NAGB- Stands for National Assessment Governing Board. According to Wikipedia.com, "The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), appointed by the Secretary of Education but independent of the [U.S] Department [of Education], sets policy for NAEP [see definition above] and is responsible for developing the framework and test specifications that serve as the blueprint for the assessments. NAGB is a bipartisan group whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988 thus allowing additional teaching areas to be formed".

• IES- Stands for Institute of Education Sciences. Accrding to Wikipedia.com, "The is the primary research arm of the United States Department of Education. It is the successor to the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). The current (and first) director of IES is Grover Whitehurst, appointed in November 2002".

• NCES- Stands for National Center for Education Statistics. According to Wikipedia.com, "The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), as part of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) [see definition above], collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States; conducts studies on international comparisons of education statistics; and provides leadership in developing and promoting the use of standardized terminology and definitions for the collection of those statistics."

• The Business Roundtable- According to Wikipedia.com, "The Business Roundtable is a prestigious group formed to promote pro-business public policy and made up only of chief executive officers of major U.S. corporations. It has considerably more direct influence over public policy in general and political initiatives than its allied business grouping, the Business Council. The group says it advocates "public policies that ensure vigorous economic growth, a dynamic global economy, and the well-trained and productive U.S. workforce. ... In general, the Roundtable focuses on issues it believes will have an effect on the economic well-being of the nation." A detailed description of the Business Roundtable's policies with regard to American education can be found at: http://www.businessroundtable.org/taskForces/taskforce/index.aspx?qs=14A5BF159F8

• Thomas B. Fordham Institute a.k.a. Thomas B. Fordham Foundation- According to Wikipedia.com, "The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation is a nonprofit education policy organization based in Washington, D.C., and Dayton, Ohio. Its stated mission is "to close America's vexing achievement gaps by raising standards, strengthening accountability, and expanding education options for parents and families." A detailed description of the Fordham Institute's policies with regard to American education can be found at: http://www.edexcellence.net/foundation/publication/index.cfm

• NCTM - Stands for National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. According to Wikipedia.com, "The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) was founded in 1920. It has grown to be the world's largest organization concerned with mathematics and education, having close to 100,000 members across the USA and Canada, and internationally." A detailed description of the NCTM's policies with regard to education can be found at: http://www.nctm.org/positionstatements.aspx?ekmensel=c580fa7b_8_460_btnlink

• TIMSS- Stands for Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. According to Wikipedia.com, "The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is an international assessment of the mathematics and science knowledge of fourth- and eighth-grade students around the world. TIMSS was developed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) [see definition below] to allow participating nations to compare students' educational achievement across borders. The IEA also conducts the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) [see definition below]."

• IEA- Stands for International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. According to Wikipedia.com, "The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) is an association of national research institutions and government research agencies related to education. The IEA is an independent organization. It was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Many policy-making decisions made in the field of education are influenced by IEA studies. The focus of the IEA is to conduct research studies of student performance in basic subjects such as math, science, and reading. The IEA studies measure performance between students of different countries and whether certain policies in a particular educational system cause positive or negative effects on learning."

• PIRLS- Stands for Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. According to Wikipedia.com, "The objective of the PIRLS is to study the trends in reading achievement in fourth graders from 35 different countries. PIRLS is a study conducted by the The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) [see definition above]. "It is designed to measure children’s reading literacy achievement, to provide a baseline for future studies of trends in achievement, and to gather information about children’s home and school experiences in learning to read.""

• PISA- Stands for Programme for International Student Assessment. According to Wikipedia.com, "The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial world-wide test of 15-year-old schoolchildren's scholastic performance, the implementation of which is coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).The aim of the PISA study is to test and compare schoolchildren's performance across the world, with a view to improving educational methods and outcomes."

• AP- Stands for Advanced Placement Program. According to Wikipedia.com, "The Advanced Placement Program is a program that offers college level courses at highschools across the Unites States and Canada. The College Board [see below], a non-profit organization which has run the AP program since 1955 develops and maintains college level courses in various subject areas. In addition, it supports teachers of AP courses, supports universities as they define their policies regarding AP grades, and develops and coordinates the administration of annual AP examinations. These activities are funded through fees charged to students taking AP Exams."

• The College Board- According to Wikipedia.com, "The College Board is a not-for-profit examination board in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB). It manages many different standardized tests which generally cater to individuals in the third or fourth year of high school planning on continuing their educations at a post-secondary level. The SAT [see definition below], the most well-known of these, is a test widely used for admission to universities in the United States."

• SAT- Originally stood for Scholastic Aptitide Test, but oficially is no longer an acronym. According to Wikipedia.com, "The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is administered by the College Board [see definition above] corporation, a non-profit organization in the United States and is developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service (ETS)." [see definition below]

• ETS- Stands for Educational Testing Service. According to Wikipedia.com, "The Educational Testing Service (or ETS) is the world's largest private educational testing and measurement organization, operating on an annual budget of approximately $1.1 billion on a proforma basis in 2007. ETS develops various standardized tests primarily in the United States for K-12 and higher education, but they also administer tests such as TOEFL [see definiton below] and GRE [see definition below] internationally. Many of the assessments they develop are associated with entry to US tertiary (undergraduate) and quaternary education (graduate) institutions."

• TOELF- Stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language. According to Wikipedia.com, "The Test of English as a Foreign Language (or TOEFL, pronounced "toe-full" or sometimes "toffle") evaluates the potential success of an individual to use and understand Standard American English at a college level. It is required for non-native applicants at many English-speaking colleges and universities. Additionally, institutions such as government agencies, businesses, or scholarship programs may require this test. A TOEFL score is valid for two years and then is deleted from the official database. Colleges and universities usually consider only the most recent score.The TOEFL test is a registered trademark of Educational testing Service (ETS) [see definition above] and is administered worldwide. The test was first administered 1964 and has since been taken by nearly 20 million students."

• GRE- Stands for Graduate Record Examination. According to Wikipedia.com, "The Graduate Record Examination or GRE is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools principally in the United States, but also in other English speaking countries[citation needed]. Created and administered by the Education Testing Service (or ETS) [see definition above], the exam is primarily focused on testing abstract thinking skills in the areas of math, vocabulary, and analytical writing. The GRE is typically a computer-based exam that is administered by select qualified testing centers; however, paper-based exams are offered in areas of the world that lack the technological requirements. In the graduate school admissions process, the level of emphasis that is placed upon GRE scores varies widely between schools and even departments within schools. The importance of a GRE score can range from being the most important selection factor to being a mere admission formality."

• "A Nation at Risk"- According to Wikipedia.com, "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative For Educational Reform is the title of the 1983 report of American President Ronald Reagan's National Comission on Excellence in Education. Its publication is considered a landmark event in modern American educational history. Among other things, the report contributed to the ever-growing (and still present) sense that American schools are failing miserably, and it touched off a wave of local, state, and federal reform efforts".
  

Our Mission

To Our Readers Everywhere:


We, the students of the the Honors Psychology Program here at Temple University, in keeping with the philosophy of our program, which states that we are to be not merely consumers of knowledge but knowledge transformers, and the goal of our program, which is to "engage, empower and energize students by having them grapple with key issues within subareas of psychology" and by extension within the wider context of the world in which we live and learn, have created this blog for the purpose of voicing our ideas regarding controversial topics in American education, including but not limited to, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the Achievement Gap, standardized testing, educational reform, and state and international standards.

As students of the early twenty-first century, we are the subjects of sweeping changes which are fundamentally altering the landscape of our schools and the definition of learning. We intend to use this blog to relate some of our own experiences in the face of such changes as the implementation of NCLB, which coincided with our high school years.

For too long, we, the students of this nation, have stood by as the debates have raged around us. The voice of the students has been marginalized from the roundtable of public discussion on the future of education, and this is a BIG problem, one which must be promptly addressed. Our blog is part of an attempt to do just that--to reassert the right of students to speak out on the matters which affect them the most. Our hope is that our stories will be appreciated and those who are listening will learn from them.