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TO: LWVO FROM: Joan Platz, Information Coordinator Education Update for October 1, 2007 1) 127th General Assembly: Lawmakers are returning to Columbus this week for hearings and sessions. The Ohio House has canceled the October 2, 2007 session, but will hold session on October 3, 2007 at 1:30 PM. The Ohio Senate will hold sessions on October 2, 2007 and October 3, 3007 at 1:30 PM. *Several House and Senate committees will also meet this week. The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Padgett, will meet on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at 4:00 PM in the North Hearing Room. The committee will hear sponsor testimony on HB190 (Hite), which specifies dates for the administration of elementary achievement tests. The committee will also consider a substitute bill for SB57 (Coughlin), Special Education Scholarship Program. No testimony will be accepted on that bill. *Robert Mecklenborg is expected to be appointed to the 30th House District seat when Representative Bill Seitz leaves for the Senate in early October. Representative Seitz is replacing Senator Patricia Clancy, who will resign from the Ohio Senate effective mid October. *Two subcommittees of the State Board of Education will meet this week. The State Board of Education's School Funding Subcommittee will meet at 10:00 AM on October 2, 2007, and the New Global Economy Subcommittee will meet at 2:00 PM on October 2, 2007. Both meetings will be held at the State Library of Ohio, 274 E. First Ave., Columbus, OH 43201. For more information please contact ODE Press Secretary, Karla Carruthers at 614-728-2765. 2) 110th Congress: *House Joint Resolution 52 was approved by both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate and presented to President Bush on September 28, 2007. This resolution continues appropriations for government departments, agencies, and services at current levels until November 16, 2007. Lawmakers have been unable to approve the twelve appropriations bills for fiscal year 2008, which begins on October 1, 2007. This resolution will give Congress more time to work with the President on an agreement over funding levels. *Both the U.S. House and Senate approved last week the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act - HR 976, which expands the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The bill has been presented to President Bush, who has threatened to veto it in the past. The Senate approved the bill with enough votes to override a veto, but the bill was approved by 265-159 votes in the House, which is 24 votes short of making it veto proof. 3) NAEP Report Released: Mark Schneider Commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics, released on September 25, 2007 the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading and mathematics at the 4th and 8th grade levels. The scores are reported in two ways: scale scores that range from zero to 500, and achievement levels for basic, proficient, and advanced performance. Approximately 700,000 students participated in the assessments in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Department of Defense schools. The following are highlights of the overall findings: Grade 4 -Both reading and mathematics scores increased since 2005, and there was an increase in the percentage of students performing at or above Basic and at or above Proficient. -White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander fourth-grade students attained higher scores than their peers in 2005 in both subjects. -The gap in scores between White and Black students narrowed in reading, but not in mathematics. Grade 8: -Scores increased in both subjects since 2005, and a higher percentage of students performed at or above Basic. -The percentage of students performing at or above Proficient increased in mathematics only. -Scores rose for White and Black students in both subjects and for Hispanics in mathematics. -The White-Black score gap narrowed in mathematics. Results for Reading -The 2007 score in reading at the 4th grade was higher than in any previous assessment, and a higher percentages of students scored at or above Basic and at or above Proficient in 2007 than in any previous assessment. -Since 2005, grade 4 reading scores increased in 18 states. No state showed a decline. Not all states participated in the 1992 NAEP assessment. But of the 42 that did, 25 showed higher average scores in 2007. -The 2007 average scores in reading at the 8th grade level are 1 point higher than in 2005 and 3 points higher than in 1992. Increases occurred among lower- and middle-performing students, those performing at the 50th percentile or below. -The achievement level percentages for students at or above Basic also show increases in 2007, compared to both 2005 and 1992. The percentage at or above Proficient and the percentage at Advanced showed no significant differences in comparison with either year. -There were increases for White and Black students over both comparison years (2005 and 1992), but the gap between them did not change. -The scores for Hispanic students were higher than in 1992, but not significantly different from 2005. Asian and Pacific Islander students and American Indian and Alaska Native students did not show increases over either comparison year for which data were available. -There were few significant changes in scores for students classified according to family income. Scores for students who were eligible for free lunches did increase from 2003 to 2007, by 2 points. -Since 2005, reading scores at grade 8 increased in six states-Texas, Florida, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Vermont, and Hawaii-and declined in two-North Dakota and Rhode Island. Results for Mathematics -The overall score for grade 4 in mathematics was higher than in any previous assessment, and was 27 points higher than the first assessment in 1990. -The percentages of students in grade 4 at or above Basic and at or above Proficient are both higher than ever before. This was also true for the percentage at Advanced. -There was improvement across the board in mathematics performance at grade 4 for White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander students, with increases of at least 1 point since 2005 and at least 27 points since 1990. There was no significant change in performance among American Indian and Alaska Native students. -The mathematics score gap between White and Black students was narrower in 2007 than in 1990, but was not significantly different from 2005. -Student performance at grade 4 in all income groups increased since 2003. This includes students eligible for free school lunches and reduced-price lunches, as well as those ineligible for the program. -23 states had higher mathematics scores compared to 2005. None experienced a decline. All 42 states that participated in the 1992 state NAEP assessment had higher scores in 2007 than in 1992. -The average mathematics score for grade 8 nationally was higher in 2007 than in any previous assessment. This is also true for the percentages of students at or above Basic, those at or above Proficient, and those at Advanced. -The White-Black score gap at grade 8 was narrower in 2007 than in 2005, but was not significantly different from 1990. -Average scores for students eligible for free school lunches and reduced-price lunches increased since 2003. Students not eligible for this program also scored higher than in 2003. -State-level comparisons of eighth-grade mathematics performance in 2007 show that 26 states had higher scores compared to 2005, while none experienced a decline. Fifteen states had increased scores for both the fourth and eighth grades since 2005. Over the long term, all 38 states that participated in the 1990 state NAEP assessment had higher scores in 2007 than in 1990. Results for Ohio According to a press release issued by the Ohio Department of Education, "Ohio students again performed better than the national average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in both fourth-and eighth-grade reading and mathematics this year. Ohio's overall scores increased in each of the four assessments. Black and Hispanic students achieved the largest gains, thus narrowing the gaps with white students." -The average scale score in mathematics for Ohio students in the fourth grade was 245 compared to the national average of 239. The average scale scores for Indiana - 245; Michigan - 238; Kentucky - 235; Pennsylvania - 244. -The average scale score in mathematics for Ohio students in the eighth grade was 285 compared to the national average of 280. The average scale scores for Indiana - 285; Michigan - 277; Kentucky - 279; Pennsylvania - 286. -The average scale score in reading for Ohio students in the fourth grade was 226 compared to the national average of 220. Only students in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Jersey scored higher. -The average scale score in reading for Ohio eighth grade students was 268 compared to the national average of 261. Only students in Massachusetts and Vermont scored higher. For more information about NAEP results please visit http://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/commissioner/remarks2007/9_25_2007.asp For more information about NAEP results for Ohio please visit https://webapp1.ode.state.oh.us/cncs/ 4) Show Support for Public Education: The Ohio Fair Schools Campaign and ProgressOhio.org are sponsoring a billboard contest called "We Support Public Education" to show support for public education and promote the positive aspects and achievements of public schools. Students, parents, educators, administrators, and community members are encouraged to submit billboard slogans that celebrate the good things happening in their public schools, which strive every day to educate all of our children. The deadline is October 4, 2007. For more information please visit http://www.progressohio.org/page/petition/ofsbillboard 5) Upcoming Events: Leadership Conference: A one-day conference focusing on leadership called "A Gathering of Leaders" will be held on November 28, 2007 from 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM at the Columbus State Community College's Center for Workforce Development. The conference will explore the topic of leadership from a variety of perspectives, and cover issues such as personal and professional leadership skills, ethics and authenticity, and the impact of leadership on making policy decisions. Special guests include Dr. Margaret Wheatley, who specializes in understanding organizational behavior and is president of The Berkana Institute, a charitable leadership foundations. The conference is presented jointly by Columbus State Community College and the Academy for Leadership & Governance, with support from Fifth Third Bank. For more information please call 614.228.7444, or visit www.TheJeffersonCenter.org 6) Bills Introduced: HB326 (Gerberry) Higher Education: Requires state institutions of higher education to include coursework in government as a condition of awarding an undergraduate degree. SB223 (Miller) Property Tax Rollback: Requires county auditors to make reasonable efforts to identify property owners wrongfully receiving the 2.5% property tax rollback. |
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Ohio Fair Schools Campaign, 94 Columbus Road Athens, Ohio 45701 Tel. (740)592-2866 Fax (740)593-5451 |
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