Where the Jobs Are

More evidence to support the claim that math matters before, during and after high school (and college) graduation. Here are the top jobs for 2006-07 college graduates, and it includes some good news for the education world -- teaching is one of them:

TOP JOBS FOR 2006-07 COLLEGE GRADUATES

Accounting

Consulting

Management trainee

Sales

Finance

Project engineering

Design/construction engineering

Teaching

Software design, development

Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers

Finger Length and SAT Scores?

This just in from the "weird science and education news" department: student finger lengths can be used to predict SAT scores. Really.

As humorist Dave Barry would say, " I am not making this up."

According to research by LiveScience.com, students with ring fingers longer than their index fingers have higher math scores than verbal scores on the college entrance exam. Students with the reverse ratio tended to have higher verbal scores and lower math scores. What's to account for this trend? LiveScience says:

Exposure to testosterone in the womb is said to promote development of areas of the brain often associated with spatial and mathematical skills, he said. That hormone makes the ring finger longer. Estrogen exposure does the same for areas of the brain associated with verbal ability and tends to lengthen the index finger relative to the ring finger.

To test their hypothesis, researchers made photocopies of children's palms and measured the length of their index and ring fingers (using calipers accurate to .01 mm). The researchers then looked at boys' and girls' test scores separately, comparing them to finger-length ratios. In the end, they said they found a clear link between prenatal testosterone exposure (indicated by the finger length) and the higher SAT scores in math. You can read the full story here.

In the interest of full disclosure, LiveScience's hypothesis pans out with this author's own finger-ratio and math scores.

Maybe LiveScience could replicate the study with the WASL?

Is Spelling a Sport?

Like football, track or golf, it requires hours of study, dedication and training. It even has officials! But is spelling a sport?

The people at ESPNTV.com think so, and will be covering the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee , which begins this Wednesday in Washington, D.C. It's a fun parlor game to debate whether the 286 student spellers qualify as "athletes" or fierce competitors ready to unleash some serious lexicographical jujitsu on one another. As ESPN columnist Mike Golic observed in the network's magazine this week:

"We don't celebrate academic achievement nearly enough in our popular culture. The spelling bee can be an example: Hey. Here's another way to get on TV- use your brain."

Indeed.

If you have a chance, take a quick peek at the Scripps site, which, like any sport, includes lots of fascinating statistics (40 of this year's spellers are only children). They've also created a photo gallery, round results and, of course, study resources. You can also view a list of all of the students participating in this week's event, including four students from Washington state.

Spellings Holds Her Own

Forgot to follow up on U.S. Education Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings' appearance on The Daily Show earlier this week. It takes a confident person to go on a fake news show and pull it off looking relaxed and witty. Say what you will about Spellings, she did both.

You also have to hand it to the show's host, Jon Stewart, to conduct a five minute interview of any substance while talking about No Child Left Behind and the student loan scandal. It's hard to even describe NCLB in five minutes, let alone make it funny.

Not sure if she's just that affable or her handlers prepped her well but she comes off as likable and on point about the graduation rate in this country. Incidentally, according to Stewart, Spellings is the only cabinet level official to accept the invitation to appear on the show. Click here to watch the interview.

Per Pupil Pennies

Does more money = better schools?

That's one of the questions you may ask after reviewing the U.S. Census Bureau's latest report on school funding. According to the numbers bureau, the U.S. spends an average of $8,701 per pupil on education. New York spent the most at $14,119 per student; Utah spent the least at $5,257 per student. These figures are up 5 percent from the previous year, the report indicated.
And Washington? We clock in at $7,560.

Keep in mind these are based on 2004-05 expenditures AND our state just concluded one of its most successful legislative sessions for K-12 education funding. But the findings will likely raise the question as to whether more money is the answer to our education questions. Interestingly, the 10 states with the lowest spending were in the west and south; those with the most were in the northeast.

Overall, the report indicated the U.S. spent $488.5 billion on K-12 in 2004-05. Forty-seven percent of the funds came from the states themselves; another 43.9 percent came from local sources and the remaining 9 percent came from the feds.

The report is 134 pages of dazzling graphs, charts and numbers. If you've nothing else to do over the long weekend, this could be just the ticket...

Play Ball (and Use Math)!

Check out the new Web site launched by the Center for the Improvement of Student Learning or CISL. The online resource is designed to be "a clearinghouse for education research, promising practices and success stories from around the state."

Right now, they have a fun feature on using baseball to engage kids in math.

The Route to a Diploma

OSPI just posted an updated flyer on the WASL and high school graduation that reflects the changes put in place by the Legislature this past session. The state is also working on a comprehensive FAQ document that incorporates questions from the field about alternative routes to the Certificate, course credits, etc. The Tacoma News Tribune covered some of these questions in a recent article, as well.

[Contractually Binding] Boogie Fever

Students attending Ballard High's prom in Seattle this year will have to sign contracts if they want to cut a rug.

That's according to a story published in last week's Seattle Weekly ("Getting Your Freak On Just Got Harder") detailing the difficult, if somewhat awkward, task of policing student dance moves. Apparently two years ago, the issue generated enough of a ruckus that administrators had to develop a containment strategy of sorts. Student leaders were tapped to tackle the problem. Their solution: adopting a 45-degree rule - no torsos bent more than 45 degrees perpendicular to the ground. The plan was scrapped after a year.

(Maybe Seattle's own Apolo Ohno -- the latest Dancing with the Stars champ -- could teach them a thing or two? Then again, even some of his dance moves might find him escorted off the gym floor...)

Now it's prom season, so Ballard and two other high schools are trying a more traditional American approach: signing contracts. This year's prom-goers at Ballard must sign contracts promising to abide by dance guidelines. Break the contract, and they have to shuffle off to Buffalo. (Or home, preferably.)

So what's the right solution? How are your high schools handling this issue -- or is it even an issue in your school or district?

Spellings on The Daily Show

Much to the delight of bloggers and pundits everywhere, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings is scheduled to appear on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight...

Who Wants to be a Principal?

Fortunately, many educators still do. But a rash of news coverage questions why anyone would.

This is the time of year many administrators start thinking about the coming school year and must indicate their desire to stay in their current positions, change buildings, change grade levels, move into the central office or retire altogether. (In some cases, the district rearranges the players...)

Yesterday, AWSP was interviewed by The Olympian and KOMO Radio about the turnover in the principalship, particularly at the high school level. Although we don't keep stats on the changes, we do track the position changes for our own employment postings. Extremely long hours, coupled with high pressure and complex demands make that leadership position particularly demanding and subject to greater scrutiny -- and turnover. Then Newsweek hit the newsstands today with its annual "America's Best High Schools" feature.

In addition to stories about some great high schools around the country, the magazine takes a moment to examine the school leaders at work in these schools and acknowledges some of these same challenges. Be sure to check out "The Principal Principle" and the rest of the special issue. Then tell us what you think!

Is there more pressure on high school administrators? Or is the job of the principal generally just getting tougher?

Incidentally, 19 high schools from our state made the magazine's list of the top 5 percent (1,253) in the country.

Technorati Profile

School Finance

The Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) released a new publication today offering insights into school finance as part of its School Finance Redesign Project. This four-year effort, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, commissioned 30 nationally renowned scholars to write papers based on the following question:

"How can resources help schools achieve the higher level of student performance that state and national education standards now demand?"

You can read the papers here. The CRPE is housed in the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington in Seattle.

First Amendment in Schools

Last Friday's "First Amendment on Campus" event at Central Washington University in Ellensburg reaffirmed AWSP's commitment to helping principals better understand student press legal issues.

Sponsored by a grant from the Washington Journalism Education Association, this day-long workshop offered session tracks for advisers, journalism teachers and administrators primarily focused on the legal aspects of student media. A morning session given by school law attorney Cliff Foster gave a thoughtful (and at times, humorous) overview of the legal landscape regarding landmark student press cases ranging from Tinker v. Des Moines to Bethel, Hazelwood and the currently pending Frederick v. Morse (aka "Bong Hits 4 Jesus"). The Student Press Law Center's Mike Hiestand also presented a short session on student press pitfalls--copyright infringement, libel/slander, invasion of privacy--all good information for advisers and administrators alike. Over lunch, State Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D-Des Moines) offered his reflections on the defeat of HB 1307 this past session, indicating he might run the measure again next year. Only this time, he may just focus on collegiate press, working to make changes incrementally.

1307 enacted into law. It should be noted that Perhaps the day's most significant discussions took place after lunch, when Upthegrove and Foster joined attendees in an open discussion about a variety of school law/First Amendment issues, including student press. It was clear from the comments of those present that administrators are perceived as controlling when it comes to student press -- and that many still want to see administrators removed from the editorial process. (It should be noted that AWSP will be meeting with representatives from the WJEA soon to identify ways our two organizations can work together to help advisers and administrators better understand the issues facing each group, and in the process, further strengthen our state's many fine journalism programs.)

In concluding, Foster challenged the audience to consider the following questions:

1. In instances of student press, who is accountable to whom?
   
2. Who gets to decide what the paper will be?
   
3. What type of lesson are we teaching students [through activities on student papers]?
   

By removing administrators from the review process, "Are we really creating a model that mimics the real world?" Foster asked. What do you think?

Principals and School Media

What is the role of school administrators in relation to student press? Do student journalists have the same rights as professionals?

Those are just some of the questions likely to be raised at tomorrow's First Amendment on Campus Workshop at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. AWSP was actively involved in discussions this past session over HB1307, a bill that would have removed principal oversight from student media. Although 1307 died this session in Washington, it may be resurrected next year. A similar measure has also been introduced and is pending in the Oregon State Legislature.

More from Ellensburg tomorrow.

Sam Cooke Was Wrong*

Math and science have been the media darlings of late, but two reports being released today may temporarily shift the focus to history and civics.

The results of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the federal government's measure of public school achievement, indicate test scores are up for fourth-graders and 12th-graders in U.S. history and civics. Because testing varies from state to state (our WASLTAKS in Texas), the NAEP is considered "the nation's report card" because it tests a random sample of students nationwide in a variety of subjects at different grade levels.

According to the reports, the percentage of fourth-graders who met basic standard on the assessment rose last year from 64 percent in 1994 to 70 percent last year. In civics, the jump went from 69 percent in 1998 to 73 percent last year. High school students fared well in history, too: 61 percent of 12th-graders scored at or above basic, up from 55 percent in 2001. Interestingly, the National Assessment Governing Board, which conducts the regular test sampling of schools in the U.S., noted that on other tests in the same time period, "in reading, math, science and civics--results have indicated flat or declining performance."

Teachers of history and civics have long battled over what students should know, and the latest NAEP results will no doubt fuel that fire. Although the scores are up, it is interesting to see just what students were and weren't able to correctly identify or describe. Here's a snippet of how test-takers fared. In U.S. history:

• 35 percent of fourth-graders explained how two inventions changed life in the U.S.
• 1 percent of eighth-graders explained how the fall of the Berlin Wall affected foreign policy
• 36 identified immigration pattern and explained its causes.
  

Aside from giving radio DJs (and bloggers) something to ponder, what should we make of these results? Are they cause for celebration or more careful consideration?

(*"What a Wonderful World" - Sam Cooke)

The Silent Epidemic - Update

U.S. Senator Patty Murray just sent an e-mail blast about that new Ed Week graduation rate database. Murray's message said the new data supports her PASS (Pathways for All Students to Succeed) legislation, designed to help increase graduation rates by "providing critical resources including literacy and math coaches, additional academic and career counselors, and grants to fund innovative reform in high schools across the country." It would also help improve the accuracy of high school graduation rates across the country, according to Murray's release.

"It's clear that students and schools need more support toward academic success and that's what my bill will provide. By targeting reading, math and academic planning, the PASS Act gives high schools the resources and support they need to help more students graduate prepared for college, work and citizenship," said Murray.

You can read more on this on the senator's Web site.

The Silent Epidemic

It's almost June, so naturally, there's a lot of chatter right now about graduation and, perhaps more importantly, graduation rates. Consider last Thursday's news about a new national database promising the first accurate look at states' graduation rates.

Compiled by the national education magazine, Education Week, this online map allows users to generate a PDF report of any school district in the country using a street address. The site tabulates graduation data for school systems by tracking the size of a high school class from the fall of freshman year to graduation day. The data shows that about one-third of all high school students do not graduate within four years, and that 50 percent of all dropouts nationwide are from a small group of mainly urban high schools. Here's the map I generated locally for the Olympia School District. The program allows you to compare districts across the state and the nation and breaks down at what point in the progression (ninth-grade, 10th-grade, etc.) students exit the system.

Generating real numbers about graduation is something that may continue to garner attention, particularly heading into the 2008 election where groups like the Broad/Gates Foundations' "Ed in '08" campaign is making education a policy priority.

And of all the groups you'd least expect (but in a weird way, might hope) pay attention to this national problem, MTV recently aired a documentary and launched a co-branded Web site about dropouts in America. "The Dropout Chronicles" debuted on May 9 and follows three high school students in their progression toward this American rite of passage. MTV is well-known among its target audiences for reality shows like "The Real World" where groups of college-age men and women are thrown together in not-so-real-world housing (a fully furnished loft on the Seattle waterfront for college students?).

If "The Dropout Chronicles" doesn't sugarcoat things, it could be one way to reach kids already tuned into this channel about a very real topic.

Of Rock Stars, Robots and Students

Saw two interesting K-12-related stories on Tuesday. Both involved great kids. Both involved rock stars (well, one rock star and one scientist being treated like a rock star). And both showed how motivated students can be when they find their groove.

Story 1: Pop star Fergie visited Seattle's Franklin High on Tuesday to give a free one-hour concert. Students there entered a fashion contest sponsored by the singer's cell phone sponsor. The challenge: Demonstrate their fashion style using cell phone photos the cell company representatives uploaded to the Web. Visual scanning software assigned points based on how closely they captured Fergie's style. Apparently Franklin's students are more fashion forward than any other high school in the country, thus the visit!

Story 2: NBC Nightly News showed how 8,000+ students from across the country (and across gender, ethnicity and income levels) used their passion for science and engineering in the FIRST Robotics Competition. Student teams build using robots they created to advance through a series of competitions. The program was created by Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway scooter. According to NBC's Bob Faw:

The assembled brainiacs treat organizer Kamen like a rock star because he believes that's exactly how the country should treat them.

"What we have to do is have them develop a passion and excitement to excel at things besides bouncing a ball," Kamen says. "You're a winner because of this experience."

Not sure we'll see Fergie and Dean join up any time soon, although that could be interesting! Nevertheless, two very different approaches to inspiring young people's creativity.

Veto Update

On Tuesday, Gov. Gregoire wielded her veto pen over what became known as "the WASL bill" this past legislative session. ESSB 6023 delays until 2013 a requirement that high school students pass the math and science WASL exams in order to graduate. The four sections she eliminated would have established end-of-course exams (section 9), regional appeals at the ESD level (section 10), a special exemption for ELL students (section 11) and an emergency clause (section 13) requiring an immediate effect. In her weekly newsletter to state employees this week, she noted:

“We must improve math and science teaching and learning, but we cannot penalize students when the system has failed them,” said Gov. Gregoire. “This bill extends to 2013 the deadline for students to meet the state math and science standards through the WASL or an approved alternative for high school graduation.”

You may recall reading here last week that AWSP sent a letter to Gov. Gregoire urging her veto of sections 2, 6 and 10. While the Association agreed with the vetoes that were enacted, we believe several of the the issues in section 2 (including the ability for students to access alternative assessments like the SAT, ACT and AP tests after just one attempt at the WASL) run counter to the state's education reform efforts. We also anticipate these issues will resurface in the 2008 legislative session. In the meantime...

High school administrators: How are you explaining the impact of this legislation to your students and their parents? How about staff?

Pro Dev for Principals

I'm enjoying some great conversation with the AWSP and WSPEF board members this morning in Bellevue. Today, we're talking about principal professional development needs. The question our Director of Professional Development, Terry Barber, raised in conversation with the board was:

What kinds of professional development should AWSP offer that we are not currently providing?

Most everyone around the table agreed it should take at least two tracks: inspirational (workshops helping principals reflect on their role as leaders, balancing work/life demands) and technical (workshops tailored to specific leadership skills and issues). What kind of instructional leadership training do you look for? What programs would you take time out of your building to attend?

Beating the Odds

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) concluded in its recent report that very few schools "beat the odds" on the 10th-grade WASL last spring, but several performed "below expectations. Last year, the Legislature tasked WSIPP with conducting several WASL-related studies. This latest report reflects their efforts to identify schools that "beat the odds," meaning schools whose students did better on the WASL than expected, given their demographics. Only 8 out of 309 schools included in the analysis beat the odds in reading and writing; 13 out of 303 schools did it in math.

So what does this all mean? Well, since the actual and predicted met standard rates were higher for schools in reading and writing, it seems to confirm what we already know: there is a problem with math. But the main finding, as researchers noted, was the disappointing realization that very few schools beat the odds given their students' demographics.

Friedman on Skills

Digging through the inbox this morning and found a list of skill sets New York Times writer Thomas Friedman referenced at this year's NASSP Convention in Las Vegas. Friedman is, of course, the author of the popular book, "The World is Flat." Might make good fodder for remarks at graduations later this spring...

9 Skill Sets for Jobs that Can’t be Outsourced

1. Be great collaborators

2. Be great synthesizers

3. Be great leveragers

4. Be great explainers

5. Be great adaptors

6. Do anything green (environmental)

7. Be great calculators

8. Be great localizers

9. Be passionate personalizers

AWSP Requests Section Veto of WASL Bill

Last week, AWSP Executive Director Gary Kipp sent a letter to Gov. Gregoire asking her to veto three sections of ESSB 6023, the WASL and high school graduation bill. The governor has 20 days from the time the bill was signed (excluding Sundays) to take action on the measure. That means we'll likely see something take place on or before May 15.

From AWSP's perspective, the bill now before the governor represents a substantial weakening of the diploma and the graduation requirements. The association is supportive of the proposed delay in the math and science WASL as a grad requirement, but has serious concerns about the other major elements of this bill, including:

• SECTION 2 - Would allow students to use assessments that are not aligned with state standards (e.g., ACT, SAT, AP) to demonstrate proof of skills.
  
• SECTION 6 - Restricts access to the alternatives to only those students with a 3.2 GPA or higher and directs the State Board of Education to examine the use of norm references tests as a means of alternative assessment.
  
• SECTION 10 - Allows ESDs to review student appeals based on pre-ed reform measures of success (e.g., attendance/seat time).
  

In the letter, AWSP also requested a veto of section 9 of HB 1051, granting certificates of academic completion to those students who complete all graduation requirements but for the WASL. It is not a diploma. As Kipp wrote in his letter:

"While we appreciate the Legislature's efforts to ensure all students are recognized, the certificate of academic completion is a poor substitute for the skills represented by earning a high school diploma."

The governor has indicated her concerns about the measure, so she might make some changes with her veto pen (section only; there is no line-item veto). We will be anxious to see how things play out as May 15 approaches.