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Press release: The Savvy Source

Published by CKF on November 30, 2007 in Education Practice, Parents and Preschool. 0 Comments

The Savvy Source, in partnership with Core Knowledge, launched a free, online Learning Guide on Nov. 28 to give parents a relatively simple process for identifying the best books, toys and activities to meet their child’s developmental strengths and needs. All parents of toddlers and preschoolers have to do is answer a simple set of questions about their child’s development and then Savvy Source provides parents with a customized set of recommendations of the very best educational books, toys and activities to engage a child’s imagination and development at this particular moment of their growth. The free program was launched around the holidays so that parents can share the recommended gift list with family and friends.

Some of the preschool activities are adapted from the upcoming workbook to be published as a part of What Your Preschooler Needs to Know, to be published by Random House in March, 2008.

Read the complete Reuters press release

Visit the Savvy Source website — click “start here” to start the Learning Guide questionnaire

Blog: Moral/Spiritual Leadership For Multicultural Education

Published by CKF on November 20, 2007 in Education Leadership, Education Practice and Essay. 0 Comments

Barbara McCauley Lovejoy wrote to Linda Bevilacqua, President of the Core Knowledge Foundation:

Last spring I was accepted into BYU’s (Brigham Young University) Ed Leadership doctoral program. My focus is going to be on how to better serve our diverse learners. For this reason I am very interested in E.D. Hirsch’s work and support it wholeheartedly. In fact, my postings the last two days at www.principlecenteredme.blogspot.com are related to his work so thought you might like to see it.

Also, I have written and self-published a book called My Years As A Hispanic Youth Advocate… and The Lessons I Have Learned.

Linda Bevilacqua responded:

You articulated the underlying principles of Core Knowledge and Dr. Hirsch’s work beautifully in your blog posting. We need your help in making these concepts more widely understood and welcome your ongoing, active participation in advocating for social equity using these principles.

An excerpt from Barbara’s blog, Moral/Spiritual Leadership for Multicultural Education, Facts Plus, on Nov. 15:

If facts are important as a foundation, then the questions arise:

Which facts?

Who decides which facts?

The next post at Moral/Spiritual Leadership for Multicultural Education, E. D. Hirsch and Closing the Achievement Gap, on Nov. 16:

Before answering these two questions, the following are some other questions to consider:

Why does the learning gap for the haves and have nots grow wider as students move through the school in the U.S. while the opposite occurs in other countries?

Why do more 2nd and 3rd generation immigrant students drop out of school than 1st generation immigrant students?

What makes our schools unfair?

What does educational justice mean?

Some points to consider while pondering the answers to these questions:

Educational justice means equality of educational opportunity

Imparting a universally shared core of knowledge helps overcome inequality

Classroom learning can go forward more effectively when all students share some common points of reference

ALL children will learn relatively well in an effective school — High quality tends to be correlated with high equity

Some students are learning less than others because of systematic shortcomings in their schooling and social and economic differences rather than because of their own innate lack of academic ability

New knowledge expands exponentially

There is a “Matthew Effect” — the more background knowledge and the richer the vocabulary a learner has, the greater will be his/her ability to accumulate more knowledge

Detailed guidelines provide clarity

A diverse country has a greater need of a core-knowledge system than does a homogeneous one

The work of E. D. Hirsch’s, Cultural Literacy, has been criticized not only in the multicultural education arena, but also in the general education arena. Yet, before criticizing him too harshly and “throwing the baby out with the bath water,” it is my opinion that we need to have an understanding of why his work on core knowledge could be helpful to diverse learners:

It addresses the snowball effect that allows a small knowledge difference in kindergarten to become a huge gap in learning within a few years

It builds from year to year on the background knowledge learners need to be academically successful

A teacher can identify what background knowledge a learner is missing

It does not stipulate everything a learner should know. In fact, it is meant to comprise only 50% of the school’s curriculum leaving ample time to address other learning needs, including more ethnically-centered curricula

Because cosmopolitanism is a true friend to diversity, core knowledge has adopted a cosmopolitan approach to history and literature in order to reinforce the fact that no longer are Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and other ethnic groups invisible in the past or the present

In order to be fair to diverse learners, it is critical that schools not neglect or reject the current dominant culture

The Hirsch core knowledge is not the work of one person, but the work of many, including multicultural advisors, who combined scholarly research with grassroots experience to develop this sequence consensus

It was empirical science and not ideology that originated cultural literacy and the core knowledge movement

There is evidence that supports the connection between core knowledge and educational justice. In fact, the correlations between fairness and core knowledge are 100 percent.

As the U.S. becomes more diverse it is critical that we find ways to not only acknowledge the diversity and benefit from the richness that diversity brings, but also find ways to bring us together. It is my opinion that the principles of Hirsch’s Cultural Literacy and core knowledge can help do both.

Read the blog, Moral/Spiritual Leadership for Multicultural Education!

A Core Knowledge music teacher’s blog: Eine Feisty Berg

Published by CKF on November 20, 2007 in Opinion and Teaching. 0 Comments

“I Don’t Baby-sit. I Raise Future Presidents”

I teach music; in a Core Knowledge Charter School. From time to time I am accosted or confronted by angry parents who think I am picking on their child, or just too plain strict in general. I have heard parents say such things as, “Why should the kids have to be quiet in the halls? That’s only for the teacher’s convenience.” “Why should the kids have to keep their eyes on the director?” “Music should be fun. Why are there any rules at all?”

I don’t baby-sit. I raise future presidents.

I don’t GIVE students a grade. The student EARNS a grade.

If the ability to sing is a natural, genetic gift; then I would be wholly in error to GIVE a grade based on singing ability.

The ability to perform music correctly is a learned behavior; therefore any one can earn a good grade through giving one’s best effort.

Read the blog!

Top-Achieving Nations Beat Top U.S. States in Math and Science

Published by CKF on November 14, 2007 in Research and Reports. 0 Comments

Sean Cavanagh of Education Week reports:

Students in the highest-performing U.S. states rank well below their peers in the world’s top-achieving countries in mathematics and science skill, according to a new study that judges American youths on an international scale.

The study, published Nov. 14 by the American Institutes for Research, compares the performance of 8th graders in individual American states not against each other, but against students in top-performing foreign nations, such as Japan and South Korea, as well as against children in recent lower-scoring ones, such as Bulgaria, Jordan, and Romania.

The analysis found that, on the one hand, most American states are performing as well as, or better than, most foreign nations in the study in math and science.

But it also concludes that even students in states such as Massachusetts, Minnesota, and North Dakota, which have scored well on recent U.S. exams, do not match students in top-performing foreign countries.

Read the complete Education Week article

Read the complete American Institute for Research press release

Read the complete American Institute for Research report

The Pangloss Index: How States Game the No Child Left Behind Act

Published by CKF on November 13, 2007 in Educational Policy, Podcast and Video and Research and Reports. 0 Comments

Author: Kevin Carey

Despite the poor performance of Birmingham City Schools,

The Alabama Department of Education … says everything is fine, that Birmingham City Schools made “adequate yearly progress” last year under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). And only five of the district’s 65 schools are “in need of improvement.” The serious consequences and strong interventions that NCLB’s authors envisioned for chronically underperforming districts like Birmingham are nowhere to be found.

The reason is simple: While NCLB was designed to raise achievement standards … , the Alabama Department of Education has lowered standards annually, to the point where even abjectly failing districts like Birmingham make the grade. And it’s not alone — every one of the accountability-avoidance gambits used in Alabama has been adopted in many other states. Indeed, the most noteworthy thing about Alabama’s elaborate plan to avoid NCLB accountability, and the impact of those actions on Birmingham, is how mundane they really are. Similar stories could be written about states and districts across the nation.

Collectively, these states and districts provide a case study in how determined states can undermine even tightly constructed laws like NCLB. And, as importantly, they provide a cautionary tale for members of Congress working to write the next version of the nation’s most important education law.

Download the full report

Read the full article on Education Sector’s website

Interview with Kevin Carey, author of The Pangloss Effect: Download (28)

Washington Elementary receives NCLB award

Published by CKF on November 2, 2007 in School Honors and School News. 0 Comments

By Christina Killion Valdez

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

Washington Choice Elementary Principal Linda Stockwell received a letter last month from the U.S. Department of Education that was cause to celebrate. Their hard work had paid off.

For the past several years, the school has ranked in the top 10 percent in the state on standardized reading and math tests. That high level of achievement earned the school a spot among 287 schools in the nation receiving the 2007 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools award.

…Washington became a Choice school in 1996 when it adopted the core knowledge curriculum, Stockwell said. That means the curriculum is focused on building a solid foundation of knowledge in world and American history, classic literature, science and fine arts.

The school also uses a spiraled learning system that builds on students’ knowledge, she said. Having that background information improves students’ vocabulary and reasoning skills, which translates into increased reading comprehension, Stockwell said.

It’s an approach that draws students from all over the city, who tend to stay through fifth grade, she said. Currently, the school has about 350 students with just as many on the waiting list, Stockwell said.

Read the complete article

Education Sector: Explaining NCLB policy issues

Published by CKF on November 1, 2007 in Educational Policy, Research and Reports and Testing. 0 Comments

From an Education Sector newsletter:

Education Sector’s Explainer series unpacks key school accountability issues!

Current education news and debates all seem to revolve around the federal No Child Left Behind Act and school accountability. Education Sector’s Explainer Series will help you make sense of these confusing education policy issues.

Education Sector’s Explainer series gives lay readers insights into important aspects of education policymaking. Explainers are designed to bring clarity to key, but complex, concepts and terms within the education landscape that often are misunderstood by the public. They are straightforward, cut-through-the-jargon guides that can be used alone, or as a reference when reading education news stories or research on related topics.

Recent Explainers have focused on deciphering some of NCLB’s fundamental features including how states set “cut scores” on their tests, what it means for states to make “adequate yearly progress” under the federal law, and how the controversial National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) works.

Read, reference, and share these Education Sector Explainers:

Making the Cut: How States Set Passing Scores on Standardized Tests

Passing or “cut” scores are a key factor in determining the rigor of state tests, which matter more than ever before under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Yet, when states and the media report student results on exams, they rarely include information on passing scores or the process by which they are determined. This Explainer describes how states set cut scores and why they matter.

States’ Evidence: What It Means to Make ‘Adequate Yearly Progress’ Under NCLB

Under NCLB, states must set performance targets for schools to meet, known as “adequate yearly progress,” or “AYP.” And those schools that do not meet these goals or “make” AYP face considerable consequences. But what does it really mean for a school to make AYP? This Explainer describes how NCLB’s complex accountability system works overall and in different states and discusses the basics of “making” AYP and the multiple routes schools can take to get there.

Understanding NAEP: Inside the Nation’s Education Report Card

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is one of the most trusted resources for comparing student achievement across states and demographic groups. But it is also one of the most complex tests in existence, leading to difficulty in interpreting and reporting its results. This Explainer is a guide to understanding NAEP’s complex features and the challenges ahead for the test in an era of increased accountability.

Education Sector
1201 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202.552.2840 - Fax: 202.775.5877
www.educationsector.org

Person County schools top North Carolina average in reading

Published by CKF on October 31, 2007 in School News. 0 Comments

By Phyliss Boatwright, C-T Staff Writer

… At Bethel Hill Charter School, 93.8 percent of students in grades three through six were at or above grade level in reading and 75.8 percent of BHCS students were proficient at math, well above the state averages in both categories.

BHCS Principal John Betterton said, “If you look across the spectrum, our students are from five to 10 points above state, but at fourth grade, they are 15 points higher. And our reading is generally about 10 points above state,” he said. “I think we’re beginning see the effects of a strong phonics program — and I am not a phonics advocate,” said Betterton, “and also the effects of the Core Knowledge curriculum, which is very rich in classical literature.”

Phonics give kids the skills to figure out how to attack words, Betterton said, so that they can better learn new words and the Core Knowledge curriculum, he added, gives students “a broad knowledge base with which to do the reading.”

Read the complete article

‘Core knowledge’ gives cultural depth

Published by CKF on October 30, 2007 in School News. 0 Comments

By Jennifer Nitson

Franklin School’s curriculum fills in cultural, historical context for learning

If a child learning to read has no prior experience with wolves in sheep’s clothing, the Land of Nod or letting the cat out of the bag, he may have trouble understanding when these phrases come up in books or tests.

Likewise, if an eighth-grader lacks a basic grasp of Middle Eastern oil politics, she might have difficulty understanding the ramifications of many of the news stories and conversations she hears each day.

The “Core Knowledge” curriculum adopted in the 1990s at Franklin School is designed to offer an integrated, broad-based education intended to help students in academics, literacy, testing and in life. The curriculum was developed by a group of parents, teachers, scientists, professional curriculum organizations and experts on America’s multicultural traditions who worked to establish a learning model that would include historical and cultural knowledge to help students succeed. Each year of the curriculum builds on what was taught in prior years.

A key facet of the curriculum is giving children an understanding of the facts most educated people take for granted when reading, writing or talking.

Read the complete article

Our Schools: She’s above grade level but underchallenged

Published by CKF on October 29, 2007 in Parents. 0 Comments

Question: We don’t think our daughter, Nadia, is learning very much even though she has good grades. She is in sixth grade and still reads aloud haltingly. Her writing doesn’t seem to have progressed. She can’t name 20 of the 50 states. No one at school seems worried because she’s “above grade level.” This doesn’t add up for me. Should I be worried?

Answer: You’ve put your finger on one of the paradoxes of today’s test-driven school-improvement movement.

In the era of No Child Left Behind, students whose scores show “proficiency” are often left to themselves. These students can sail through elementary testing and arrive in middle and high school with just enough “content knowledge” to pass the tests but not enough to do well in the rigorous courses you might expect them to take.

They haven’t stretched their abilities because there’s little incentive for teachers to require them to.

This is a pervasive problem, says New York City elementary educator Robert Pondiscio.

… Consider what to do at home.

… The series of Core Knowledge books, “What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know” (Delta, 2007), edited by E.D. Hirsch Jr., are a valuable resource for parents concerned that their kids are simply not learning enough, says Pondiscio.

“Hirsch believes that there is a shared body of knowledge that’s important for everyone in our culturally diverse country to have as a foundation for higher learning.”

Read the complete article