Education News
Math gap lessens with gender equality, study finds.
The AP (5/29, Zuckerbod) reported, “Boys outperform girls on” the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), “a math test given to children worldwide, but the gender gap is less pronounced in countries where women and men have similar rights and opportunities,” a recent study indicates. According to the results, while “Iceland was the only [country] where girls did better than boys on the math test,” boys and girls “scored about the same” in a dozen countries, all of which provide “similar opportunities and rights” to both sexes. There were exceptions, including “a few countries where girls don’t have the same opportunities as boys.” However, “[t]he study did not attempt to explain such anomalies.” The study’s author also noted that “girls outperformed boys on the PISA exam in every country studied” in terms of reading, and that the gap “widens in places where women are said to have a lot of equality with men.”
Bloomberg (5/30) notes, “The cause of the gender gap in math and reading performance has been widely debated. Males generally perform better in spatial tests, while females come out ahead on verbal exams.”
According to the Baltimore Sun (5/30, O’Brien), “Math skills tested included basic geometry, algebra, arithmetic and probabilities.” The study’s “[g]ender equality profiles were determined by measures such as the World Economic Forum’s gender gap index, which ranks countries based on economic and political opportunities for women, and on other barometers such as longevity rates.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer (5/30, Flam) adds, “Certain patterns held true across countries,” according to the study’s lead author. “The average girl, for example, did better in arithmetic than geometry, and better on reading than in math. For the average boy, it was the reverse.” The Inquirer also notes one critic, therapist Michael Gurian, who “said the study would have done better to separate arithmetic, where girls perform as well as boys, and what he calls ‘iconic and symbolic math,’ where boys tend to outperform girls.” Gurian said that “the gap…is due to brain differences that should be addressed in education.” The Economist (5/29), ABC News (5/29, Phillips), the U.K.’s Telegraph (5/30, Devlin), and WebMD (5/29, Boyles) also reported the story.
In the Classroom
Students build underwater robots.
The Washington Post (5/29, GZ08, Rasicot) reported on students at Neelsville Middle School in Maryland, who this week tested aquatic robots they had built “for a science project sponsored by the Navy’s Office of Naval Research, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.” The project, the Sea Perch program, “teaches students about math, engineering, science and robotics, as well as teamwork and problem-solving skills.” In preparation for the project, “[t]he students learned about ship design” from scientists and engineers “and saw how sound waves can be used to measure distances.” Then, the students began constructing their own robots. With supervision from educators, they “measured and cut [plastic] pipes, used electrical tape and melted wax to waterproof motors and build control boxes.” The Post noted, “The program, funded by a five-year, $2.4 million grant from the Office of Naval Research, aims to inspire students to think about careers in math, science and engineering.”
Utah seeks more students for college incentive plan.
The AP (5/30) reports that a Utah program has been created to provide “$1,000 to nearly 1,000 high school graduates heading to college,” but “only 150 [students] have signed up, and the deadline is Friday.” The program was created as “an incentive for students to prepare for college,” and requires students to “graduate with a ‘B’ average in college-preparatory courses.” It applies only to “students who enter college in Utah within a year of graduating from high school.” In order to increase the numbers of students taking advantage of the program, the Utah System of Higher Education “sent letters about the scholarship program to all high schools last month,” and announced that “applications that arrive next week will be considered” despite the passage of the deadline. The AP notes, “Students graduating with a 3.5 grade-point average or better, and earn an ACT score of 26, are also eligible for additional money covering up to 75 percent of tuition for the first two years of college.”
Massachusetts students build home addition for local couple.
Massachusetts’s Kingston Reporter (5/29, Annear) reported that Halifax, Mass., residents “Pete and Karen Townsend can soon enjoy their greatly expanded home,” thanks to the work of Silver Lake High School’s (SLHS) carpentry students. The students “spent the last two years building a large addition to the…home from the foundation up.” The project was started in 2006, by that year’s “graduating carpentry students, who placed the foundation for the addition. The returning students came in and worked from there, finishing the add-on in just under two years.” SLHS carpentry student Kyle Marble said, “The seniors built [the foundation] all the way up, put the walls up. When the juniors got there, we built the roof and the gable walls.” According to the Kingston Reporter, “The students had a chance to learn while they built, constructing the house from the ground up.” In addition, they received “hands on experience with framing, siding, door and window installation and other skills that can only be developed during the actual building process.”
Reports differ on Georgia state test scores.
The AP (5/30) reports, “New data from the Georgia Department of Education shows students improved in the vast majority of subjects on a state-mandated exam.” The results “bolste[r] claims by education officials that scores went up on most Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests where new curriculum has been in place two years or more.” The AP notes, “Scores plummeted on the sixth- and seventh-grade social studies test and the eighth-grade math test, both of which were in the first year of a new curriculum.” Officials, however, “say those scores aren’t comparable to previous years.”
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (5/29, Diamond), however, “[p]reliminary scores on all state exams elementary and middle-school students took this year show mixed results, with small improvements on most tests but significant drops on a handful of others.” The Journal-Constitution explained, “The state is phasing in new learning standards for all grades and subjects,” and “eight of the 36 CRCT (Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests) were new.” Improvements occurred when the CRCT exams “were based on curricula teachers have been using for at least two years,” but “if the exams covered material schools just started teaching this year” then “students failed in large numbers.” The Journal-Constitution adds, “Widespread failures on middle school math and social studies tests have frustrated parents and educators,” particularly as “[m]any students who earned As and Bs in the classes all year bombed the exams.”
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Students build boats in wood tech class.
The Boston Globe (5/29, Judge) reported on Ralph Arabian’s Wood Tech II classes at Masconomet Regional High School in Topsfield, Massachusetts, where “students…spent the semester building one-sheet boats.” The boats are “simple but elegant vessels” that “are constructed from single 4×8-foot sheets of plywood and can hold up to three people.” The Globe explained, “Using donated wood and glue, the students cut the bottom and sides of each boat from the plywood, then screwed and glued the pieces together, with care being taken to make sure the boats were leak-proof.” Arabian said, “I used to be an engineer, so I thought it would be a good project that would not only teach woodworking, but also the engineering and geometry of the boats.” Students said they enjoyed the project, and that they “liked the idea of making something that can be used.”
Defense contractor’s program promotes STEM education.
The Boston Globe (5/29, Buote) reported on an engineer from defense contractor Raytheon that “has been volunteering his time at Doherty Middle School in Andover,” Massachusetts, “helping students discover the power of math and science through hands-on experiments.” The engineer “is one of some 200 Raytheon employees who volunteer countless hours each year working with students,…guiding them to victory in local math competitions and success on the MCAS exam.” In order to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, the company “has created MathMovesU, a program that encourages students to realize their math potential by showing them the connection between math, their passions and interests, and ‘cool’ careers.” While the goal of the program “is to inspire youngsters to consider careers in engineering,” Raytheon officials noted that “[h]elping children imagine themselves as great inventors is probably good for business.” One executive explained, “Raytheon can only hire U.S. citizens, so the decline in engineering degrees over the last 10 to 15 years was particularly alarming to us.”
On the Job
Utah Foundation suggests focusing on teacher compensation before class size reduction.
Utah radio station KCPW-FM (5/29, Ziegler) reported, “Utah spends $3,007 per pupil less than the national average; its classes are the largest in the country; and teachers here make significantly lower salaries, according to a Utah Foundation (UF) analysis of education spending.” UF president Stephen Kroes said that “state leaders would be wise to focus on teacher compensation before addressing large class sizes,” which “would require a significantly larger corps of teachers than is currently available.” Kroes added that to reduce class size, key decision makers should seek to reform “how teachers are trained, and mentored, and prepared for the classroom” because new teachers “quit the profession at the highest rates.”
Law & Policy
Ten states implement new abuse prevention measures.
The AP (5/30) reports, “Ten states have taken action in recent months to crack down on sexually abusive teachers following a stream of arrests and reports that have documented the problem of educators victimizing students.” And, “[a]t least four more states are still considering legislation.” The AP notes, “While the vast majority of America’s roughly 3 million public school teachers are committed professionals, a disturbing number have engaged in sexual misconduct.” An AP investigation last year that chronicled “allegations of sexual misconduct” from 2001 to 2005 “inspired some of the tougher measures, including Utah’s legislation to permanently revoke the licenses of sexually abusive teachers and a new Maine law to share information about teachers disciplined for any reason…with other states.” The article explores the specific measures implemented in each state.
In regards to South Carolina’s efforts, Education Week (5/29, McNeil) noted that the state Department of Education “is launching a statewide effort to prevent sex abuse in schools by training 10,000 teachers and other school employees this summer in how to spot potential problems and intervene in abusive relationships.” Educators “will take part in a 2 1/2-hour training course through [a] national nonprofit group” that “works to combat child sex abuse.” And, “[i]n addition to the training, each of the state’s 86 school districts will identify a facilitator who will complete a more in-depth, full-day training in the curriculum.” These “facilitators will then help train other teachers, enforce good child-safety practices, and lead a response team if abuse is reported or suspected.”
Federal judge extends ban on moment of silence in Illinois schools.
The AP (5/29, Robinson) reported, “A federal judge on Thursday barred school districts” in Illinois “from holding the daily moment of silence suitable for prayer that is required under state law.” U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman “said he had given school districts time to object to his March 28 preliminary injunction on enforcement of the moment of silence law but received no objections.” Gettleman “therefore extended to the entire state the preliminary injunction originally designed to apply only to suburban Buffalo Grove District 214.”
Idaho BOE requests extension for meeting NCLB goals.
The Idaho Statesman (5/29, Roberts) reported, “Idaho’s State Board of Education (BOE) wants a fresh start for hundreds of public schools facing sanctions under” the federal No Child Left Behind Act. “The board has asked the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to wipe away the student progress measurements between 2002 and 2006″ and “restart the No Child Left Behind clock,” starting “with spring 2007 statewide exam results, after the state made improvements to its testing system.” The reason, the board claims, is that prior to 2007, “Idaho had poorly written education standards and statewide exams not aligned to what instructors were expected to teach.” In a letter to the DOE, State Board executive director Mike Rush wrote, “It is unreasonable to label schools and districts based on student achievement data that was measured with an invalid and unreliable tool.”
NEA in the News
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Article notes NEA recommendations for classroom technology integration.
New York’s Post-Journal (5/30, Gerould) reports on the uses of technology in the classroom, pointing out that “[a]long with the [textbooks], classrooms now feature lap-top computers, pod casts and smart boards.” The Post-Journal notes, “According to the National Education Association, there are numerous ways of integrating technology into the classroom.” First, the NEA recommends that “teachers should…assess their situation — including students and teacher skills and attitude and what resources are available — before zeroing in on which type of tech would work best for their classroom.” Then, “the NEA suggests teachers make sure their classrooms are able to support the type of technology selected, before finally following through with their selection.” The article also features educators explaining how they have integrated technology into their classrooms.
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