Series 2558: Constituent Correspondence, 2000-2003
36656
From: "ECS e-Connection" <e-connection@ecs.org> To: Governor Musgrove Created: 5/16/2001 9:41 AM Subject: ECS e-Connection 05/16/01 Message: ********************************************************** * Welcome to the "e-Connection" from the * * EDUCATION COMMISSION OF THE STATES, * * a weekly publication with links * * to key education information. * * * * http://www.ecs.org/ecs/e-connection * * * ********************************************************** ------------------------ WHAT STATES ARE DOING ------------------------ The PENNSYLVANIA General Assembly has approved legislation to test all of Pennsylvania's teachers for subject-area knowledge. The new Professional Teacher Assessment Act requires public school teachers, including those at charter schools, to be tested every five years to determine their "knowledge of the academic standards applicable to [each] teacher's area of assignment or certification." The confidentiality of individual teachers will be protected by statute, but schools or teachers who refuse the assessments will be ineligible for professional development programs sponsored by the Department of Education. http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#ws The FLORIDA legislature has passed a bill (SB 0636) to make the grading scale for public high schools more lenient. Governor Jeb Bush vetoed a similar bill last year, saying a lower grading scale would give the appearance of lowering academic standards. He has not, however, decided if he will veto the current bill. http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#ws ------------------------ GOOD READS ------------------------ Policymakers are being irresponsible if they lead citizens to believe that TESTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY are the primary steps that need to be taken to raise achievement levels, according to a new report issued by the Center on Education Policy. The report, "It Takes More Than Testing: Closing the Achievement Gap," provides several recommendations for policymakers and educators to help close the achievement gap between minority students and White and Asian students. It warns that policymakers should be cautious in attaching penalties to test results and that when tests are improperly used for high-stakes decisions, the result can reinforce racial and ethnic inequalities. http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#gr The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released its "Statistics in Brief," which presents data on INTERNET ACCESS IN U.S. PUBLIC SCHOOLS from 1994 to 2000. The survey report provides information on the progress of public schools and classrooms in connecting to the Internet, the ratio of students to instructional computers (and to computers with Internet access) and the types of Internet connections used. It also provides information for the year 2000 on school acceptable-use policies and on student access to the Internet outside of regular school hours. http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#gr ------------------------ ECS NEWS ------------------------ ECS has received $50,000 from the Josephine Bay Paul and C. Michael Paul Foundation to implement the first year of an ambitious three-year project entitled "Schools As Citizens: A Fulfillment of Their Civic Mission." The project's overall goal is to identify SERVICE-LEARNING policies and practices of K-12 schools at the state, district and school levels that support schools in preparing young people for active civic participation. The project will establish demonstration sites in Indiana, Hawaii and Vermont and will be carried out through a partnership with the Harmony School Education Center's National School Reform Faculty and the Departments of Education in the three states. http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#en ------------------------ NEW ECS PUBLICATIONS ------------------------ In "Giving America's Young Children a Better Start: A Change Brief," Sharon Lynn Kagan provides an overview of the current state of EARLY CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION and discusses current problems in preparing young children for school. The paper also provides an overview of current state efforts to improve the quality of early child care. Looking toward the future, the paper outlines a long-range approach to improving early child education and includes a series of recommendations for state policymakers. This essay is the latest in a series of papers ECS will publish over the next several months as part of the Metropolitan Life Foundation Change in Education Initiative. http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#ep ------------------------ NAMES IN THE NEWS ------------------------ Arizona Governor Jane Dee Hull has named JAIME A. MOLERA to replace LISA GRAHAM KEEGAN as superintendent of public instruction. Keegan resigned last week to lead a Washington, D.C., think tank. Molera has been a member of the governor's team since 1997. He served first as policy advisor for education and for the past two years as policy advisor for legislative affairs. http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#nn ------------------------ UPCOMING MEETINGS/EVENTS ------------------------ The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE DIRECTORS OF TEACHER EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION will hold its 73rd Annual Conference on June 10-13 in Alexandria, Virginia. The conference will focus on teacher quality issues. Presentations will address four major areas: teacher preparation; teacher support, development and assessment; teacher recruitment and retention; and the teaching and learning environment. http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#um ------------------------ OTHER USEFUL WEB SITES ------------------------ The FUTURES PROJECT: POLICY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN A CHANGING WORLD, attempts to provide a glimpse into the future of higher education under a variety of different scenarios. The scenarios, which were developed for use as discussion tools, each use real facts as a base before leading the reader into a hypothetical future. The Futures Project is hosted by Brown University's A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions. http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#ow ---------------------------------------------------------- If you do not wish to receive this weekly communication, please reply to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. - Attachment Filename: C:\archives\governor\mail\Governor Musgrove\_attach\ECS e-Connection 05_16_01\Mime.822
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