Improving Education Through Collaboration is based on approximately 50 interviews with members from various sectors of the Long Beach community, including K-12 and higher education, community and faith organizations, and business.
Differentiated Compensation. Should school districts consider this strategy for improving student performance? If so, how should they plan for, finance and implement this inherently complex and often controversial approach?
Battelle for Kids, the Houston Independent School District, and the Institute for Public School Initiatives at the University of Texas are co-hosting a second, national Symposium on Differentiated Compensation in Education, Nov. 9/10 in Houston. (Nov. 10 is designed for districts across the country. Nov. 9 is primarily for Texas districts. You may attend one or both days.)
“Friends of education” are invited to join local and state school leaders at this unique learning event. The Symposium features presentations by pioneering districts from around the country that will frankly share practical lessons learned. And, there are interactive sessions designed for “deep dives” into the vital components of any successful differentiated compensation model.
Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Center for Performance Incentives, the Symposium focuses on informing and supporting educators. Your presence at the Symposium would be a valuable display of encouragement for them.
Visit Battelle for Kids to view the detailed program, top quality folks involved, and to register. Questions? Contact Rick Studer, Symposium Coordinator at 614-481-3141 or rstuder@battelleforkids.org.
Yesterday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced plans to streamline and simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the form used by the federal government, states, and most colleges and universities to make financial aid awards to students. Analysis from the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, the American Council on Education, and a variety of other institutions have found that high percentages of students do not apply for financial aid, and nearly twenty percent of those who do not file come from low- and moderate-income families. Moreover, about half of these low-income students would likely have been eligible for a Pell Grant if they had applied for financial aid.
BHEF's College Readiness Initiative (CRI) puts great emphasis on the need for students to have better information about applying to college, and a more streamlined process for accessing the financial resources avliable to them. Indeed, some of the programs featured on StrategicEdSolutions.org work with students to fill out the complext FAFSA in order to improve college access. Simplifing the FAFSA is an important step in ensuring college is more accessible for all students.
ED's ambitious plan to overhaul the online FAFSA application, eliminate certain questions, and allow students and families to use IRS data to answer other questions is commendable. In the coming weeks there will likely be additional details about the proposed changes released, and an engaging policy discussion with students and their families, institutions, and congress. The challenge will be to make certain that the FAFSA does not pose barriers to college for low-income students, while ensuring that it provides credible information for states and institutions to made decisions about financial aid awards.
Easing a College Financial Aid Headache
The New York Times (free req. req.)
Dreaded Financial Aid Form Gets Simpler
The Wall Street Journal
Streamlined Process for Federal Student Aid
The Washington Post (free reg. req.)
Aid Experts Like President's Plan to Streamline Fafsa but Hope for Bigger Changes
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.)
FAFSA, the Perfect, and the Good
Inside Higher Ed
Department of Education News release
More on the standards conversation started in April (see below): Secretary Duncan and President Obmama have placed great emphasis on the need for common standards in education. At BHEFÃs winter membership meeting members strongly supported the creation of world-class, college- and work-ready standards that are aligned with postsecondary education admissions and curricular requirements as well as workplace requirements.
Achieve Inc, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and the
Both during the Ed Labor Committee hearing on standards, and throughout the Common Core State Standards Initiative, the voice of higher education has been noticeably absent. Further, both President Obama and Secretary Duncan continue to emphasize the importance of math and science education, while conversations about common standards continue to exclude science as a content area, a concern voiced by BHEF and other organizations during NCLB reauthorization discussions in 2008. Without science standards, and measurements against these standards, no matter what innovative investments in science education are developed, science will be pushed out of the curriculum in favor of those subjects that are tested: English and math. Students must readily see the relevance of these disciplines to their future as US citizens and in their own career trajectories.
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Increasing the four-year college attainment rate in each of the nation's 51 largest metropolitan areas by one percentage point would be associated with a $124 billion increase in aggregate annual personal income.
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Reducing vehicle miles traveled per person by one mile per day in each of the 51 largest metro areas would produce an aggregate household savings of $29 billion annually.
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Reducing poverty rates in metropolitan areas by one percentage point would decrease public sector outlays for family assistance, Medicaid and food stamps by about $13 billion annually.
The article mirrors discussions at the Alliance for Excellent EducationÃs conference, Meaningful Measurement: The Role of Assessments in Improving High School Education in the Twenty-First Century. The event focused on the role of assessment in federal policy and NCLB reauthorization. The conversation quickly evolved to frame assessment in light of the need for college- and work-ready standards with a common call for standards to be ìfewer, clearer, and higher.î
- $5 billion in funds to be distributed through competitive grants (made in late fall 2009 and summer 2010) through the Department of Education. Of this, $650 million is allocated to the ìInvesting in What Works and Innovationî fund that will be distributed through grants to local education agencies and non-profits that have made significant gains in closing achievement gaps. The remaining $4.35 billion is allocated to the ìRace to the Topî fund which provides competitive grants to states making progress toward achieving equity in teacher distribution, improving collection and use of data, standards and assessments, and supporting struggling schools.
- $100 million for the National Science Foundation for the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR). The EHR has allocated $15 million of these funds for a Professional Science Masters program, $60 million for awards under the Robert Noyce Scholarship program, and $25 million for the Math and Science Partnership program. Noyce and Math Science Partnership awards will be made following a merit review of proposals already submitted.
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$250 million for state-wide data systems through the Institute for Education Sciences. BHEF works closely with the Data Quality Campaign to ensure alignment of state-wide data systems across the P-16 pathways.
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April 1, 2009
Dear Governor:
Congress passed and the President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to create jobs in the short run and make needed investments for the long term. And no investment is more important than education. As the President said recently, "Economic progress and educational achievement have always gone hand in hand in America." That is why this sweeping economic recovery package provides the largest one-time Federal investment in education in our nation's history, more than $100 billion to help save and create teaching jobs, preserve needed learning programs, and increase college access. At the same time, the ARRA lays a foundation to reform America's schools, invest in proven solutions to help our students succeed, and cultivate a new culture of accountability for teaching and learning.
Under the law, the Department of Education (ED) is quickly providing your state with a large infusion of one-time funds to be spent over the next two years on everything from early childhood to college, including programs for children with disabilities, low-income students, and adults working to upgrade their skills for the 21st century. In exchange for this unprecedented funding boost, we are asking you to collect, publish, analyze, and act on some basic information about how our schools educate our children, evaluate our teachers, and measure our success - information that will reveal both strengths and underlying challenges. By identifying what works and does not work in the classroom, we will promote a shared responsibility for improving educational opportunities and outcomes that engages all of the key stakeholders - students, parents, teachers, principals, administrators, community leaders, business leaders, and elected officials at every level. This is the only path to progress in our schools.
The ARRA provides funds across many categories (Title I, IDEA, Pell Grants, etc.). This letter, however, focuses only on the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (Stabilization Fund or SFSF), which provides approximately $48.6 billion directly to governors to help you balance your state budget. While the Stabilization Fund will help relieve our immediate economic crisis, it is also intended to boost student achievement, so to access this money, we seek your commitment to the following four essential areas of reform:
∑ Making improvements in teacher effectiveness and ensuring that all schools have highly qualified teachers;
∑ Making progress toward college and career-ready standards and rigorous assessments that will improve both teaching and learning;
∑ Improving achievement in low-performing schools, by providing intensive support and effective interventions in schools that need them the most;
∑ Gathering information to improve student learning, teacher performance, and college and career-readiness through enhanced data systems that track progress.
Taken together, these four commitments will help ensure outstanding teachers in America's schools, arm educators with the tools and data needed to determine what does and doesn't work in our nation's classrooms, align curricula and assessments with rigorous standards that prepare young people for college and careers, and transform our lowest-performing schools.
Detailed program guidance is posted on the ed.gov and recovery.gov Web sites.
We understand that states across America face serious financial challenges and we will work closely with you to meet them. But we also face enormous educational challenges that can only be met through our collective efforts to identify and address the educational needs of our students. We want to be as flexible as possible in our approach, while remaining united in our larger goal of producing the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. Our role is to be a partner and a resource to you as you work to balance your budget in these challenging times, while advancing these essential reforms in our nation's schools so that every child in America can receive a complete and competitive education, from cradle through career.
Sincerely,
Arne Duncan
March 17, 2009
The Washington PostÃs Jay Matthews recently released a new book on KIPP charter schools called Work Hard, Be Nice: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America. It tells the story of the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) which has grown from a classroom in
How does KIPP accomplish this? Longer school days, school on Saturday and in the summer, a rigorous curriculum, emphasis on teaching the behaviors of discipline and respect, high parent and family involvement, and recruitment and retention of dedicated teachers who must be available to answer student homework questions at all hours (and quick transition out of the classroom for those teachers who donÃt raise student achievement).
MatthewÃs style is journalistic with no references or bibliography, and he follows the personal journey of the schoolsà founders, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, in parallel to that of KIPP. Most of the bookÃs evidence is anecdotal, though a few chapters are dedicated to KIPP skeptics and outside evaluations from groups like SRI International and Mathematica.
The book has gained momentum. Bill Gates recently provided a copy for all attendees at the TED talks, where he outlined his take on the biggest challenges facing the world and the
In BHEFÃs Philadelphia on-the-ground project, staff and members are working with the school district, the MayorÃs office, the local charter community, and business and higher education leaders to examine what successful charter schools are learning about improving student achievement and college readiness. The project seeks to share some of these lessons more broadly, as well as engage the business and higher education communities to support the work. In Philadelphia, KIPP schools are dramatically increasing student achievement, and are figuring into the school districtÃs 5 year strategic plan.
The online news source InsideHigherEd.com has been following the proposed and actual influx of funds toward federal science activities both in the House and the Senate. At a hearing on Tuesday before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, Doug Lederman reports general agreement that spending on scientific research and development will help strengthen American competiveness and should remain a priority in the coming years. However, President Ralph J. Cicerone of the National Academy of Sciences offered the balanced view that short of limitless funding for scientific activities, the country would still be faced with difficult choices regarding how best to support such endeavors. BHEF has long advocated for increasing support to research and development, especially as support has declined over the past five years. Read the article here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/03/04/science
The Center for High Impact Philanthropy recently released a report titled "Pathways to Student Success: A Guide to Transforming Good Intentions into Meaningful Impact" (pdf). Structured in three parts, the report first provides a background profile of the P-20 "at-risk" student population. Second, it outlines some key "problem areas" in P-20 education where philanthropy can have a significant impact. For example, the report explains that philanthropists can impact early childhood education and school readiness by funding such things as high quality child care, early learning programs, and parent education. Finally, it outlines steps organizations can take to maximize their investmentsà impact on P-20 education, including basic information on what to look for in a program evaluation.
In April 2008, BHEF held an Institute for Strategic Investment in Education at Harvard University designed to aid philanthropy leaders in maximizing the impact of their investments in education. Findings from a summary of proceedings titled "Lessons in Education Philanthropy" (pdf) align with those in the "Pathways to Student Success" report. For example, both reports highlight the importance of using data to evaluate programs. The Pathways report explains that measuring outputs and outcomes through robust evaluation should be a part of all philanthropic initiatives in education. BHEFÃs report highlights the need for grantor support for accountability measures.
The report provides a list of promising practices (which are derived from individual programs) and includes basic information about the challenges each program addresses, the solution it provides, its accountability practices, impact data, and estimated program cost. The reportÃs framework for program evaluation can be useful for funders seeking to gather basic preliminary information about an educational nonprofitÃs effectiveness.
January 13, 2009The More for Mission Campaign, recently launched by the Boston CollegeÃs Institute for Responsible Investment, aids foundations in aligning their financial endowments with their overall mission. Mission investing focuses on the twin objectives of advancing programmatic goals while earning financial returns. The Campaign seeks to promote mission investing and challenges foundations to take up these socially responsible investing practicesóthey aim to increase mission investment commitments by $12 billion over the next five years.
BHEFÃs StrategicEdSolutions site is designed to increase the impact of philanthropic investments in education. As such, the More for Mission Campaign provides StrategicEdSolutions users a portal into a variety of tools and strategies to better align their investments with the mission of the organization, thereby further maximizing the impact of their investments in education.
January 7, 2009U.S. News and World Report has posted a video on its Web site titled ìThe Role of Business in High Schools.î Panelists Anne Bryant (executive director, National School Board Association), Geno Flores (chief academic officer, Prince Georges County, MD), Susan Zellman (superintendent for public instruction, Ohio Department of Education), and Bill Swope (corporate vice president and general manager of the Corporate Affairs Group, Intel) identified reasons for business to become involved with education and discussed whether such involvement undermined local control (they all agreed that it did not). Conversations highlighted the important role of partnerships between the public and private sectors, the need for business and education to create benchmarks for success together, and the imperative to tie business involvement in education to the school districtÃs school improvement plan.
Panelistsà comments underscore the importance of BHEFÃs on-the-ground work and highlight the important contribution that businesses can and should make to education improvement efforts in their communities.
