Vol. 5, No. 28
June 10, 2003

* STANDARDS: The implementation of high stakes testing is rousing significant media attention by the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and Nightline because students across the country are failing and being denied advancement. In Florida, for instance, tests have been blamed for preventing third graders from advancing to fourth grade and high school seniors from earning diplomas, and some 13,000 will not graduate on time. The statistics are grim in Nevada, where more than 12 percent of high school seniors failed the math portion of their exit exam.

        High school students lament that they have been victimized by "one" test, but students in these states are exposed to the test multiple times, often twice a year beginning in their sophomore year. The tests are administered multiple times to help teachers and students identify weak areas and provide time and opportunity to work on those areas. And students can pass without knowing it all: in Nevada students need only to score a total of 304 out of 500 (60.9 percent); in Florida students need to score a minimum of 56 percent in reading and 59 percent in math to pass. Even with five chances, some students still fail to earn passing marks.

        All states will be required to have similar tests in the next few years, based on quality content standards. These early rounds of testing exposed at least two problems: a lack of high quality standards and a failure to properly align the standards to the tests. In Nevada, 20 percent of the state proficiency exam focuses on Algebra; however, Algebra will not be required for graduation until next year. An accurate measurement of a student's progress can only be made when tests measure what is actually taught. Until that time, high numbers of students will continue to fail because the current system has failed them.

        Reports on these failures have prompted reaction in many states. Nevada state legislators, fearful of the political reprisal of thousands of parents of students whose graduations are endangered, have lowered the passing grade from 68 to 62. Claiming that the FCAT disproportionately hurts minorities, some Florida groups have called for a state boycott of toll roads, the state lottery, orange juice, and sugar.

        In a refreshingly positive story, the Boston Globe's Sunday editorial focused on "Success in the Schools." The Globe praised high stakes testing saying, "members of the class of 2003 are now departing their high schools with well-earned, meaningful diplomas in hand." Reform and accountability go hand in hand. Testing is the best measure of a school's effectiveness and a student's grasp of the content. We need to stay the course.

CHARTERS:

* STUDY: Since the first charter school opened more than a decade ago, much attention has been paid to the specific elements of their success like good teachers and principals, sound curriculum, and parental involvement. But the role of authorizers, who sponsor charter schools, provide oversight and assistance, and are responsible for making sure that schools live up to their charters, has been largely overlooked.

        In a new study released last week by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 56 individual criteria that go into the successful co-existence between authorizer and charter school are examined. The study, "Charter School Authorizing: Are States Making the Grade?," seeks to better understand "the state of charter authorizing in America" and it looks at the authorizer's role in creating a fertile environment for charter schools. In the study, the researchers awarded grades based on the "Policy Environment" and "Authorizer Practice" and graded 24 of 38 states that have charter laws. States that do not offer legal and fiscal autonomy were not included. To determine the criteria for the study, the Center for Education Reform's "Charter School Laws Across the States" was used as a guide.

        At the top of the list, with a "B+" grade were Massachusetts and Texas. No states earned "A" or "F" grades. Nearly half of all states were graded "C" or below and California, Pennsylvania and New Mexico appeared at the bottom of the list with "D" grades.

        Key among the researcher's findings were that local school boards generally do not make good authorizers and that many state policy environments are not supportive of charter schools and authorizers. States earning the higher grades have more "pro-active" authorizers who provide technical assistance and charter advocacy. The study concludes that while most major authorizers are doing an adequate job, there is concern about "compliance creep" and growing red tape. Click here to view the full report.

* WASHINGTON: Charter advocates like Jim and Fawn Spady and others have worked relentlessly over the past few months to pass a charter school law in Washington State and both the House and Senate passed similar bills that then went to conference. Unfortunately, the momentum that pushed the legislation through the senate so quickly during the regular session disappeared during the special session as the compromise bill comes up for vote. This is because three senators who initially voted for the bill were absent yesterday and today and a fourth senator has not committed to voting for the bill again. With just hours remaining in the special session, the hopes of thousands of Washingtonians seem dashed if the bill fails to pass and the citizens of Washington will have to wait another year before they can join the ranks of 41 other states with charter school laws.

CHOICE: Later this week, Harvard researcher Paul Peterson will issue "New Findings from the New York Voucher Evaluation: A Response to the Princeton Study." This study is expected to respond to Princeton economist Alan Krueger who challenged Peterson's findings of academic gains among New York City African American scholarship recipients. The Princeton findings have been widely reported and were the subject of a recent New York Times column. Peterson has followed the New York program for three years and issued a previous report last February. For more, go to: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/pepg/.

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