The results from the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) produced no surprises for
Illinois. The results were mixed.
The state’s 4th and 8th graders
scored at or above the national average in reading and mathematics. While we faired better than many states,
these results and our own ISAT results clearly show there is still much room for
improvement.
The NAEP showed a larger gap between white students and
African-American and Hispanic students, as well as between low-income and non
low-income students. You may recall, however, that our ISAT five-year
results show a pattern where students are narrowing the gap. These gaps still exist, but our own
results are more encouraging. Additionally, the NAEP test samples 9,000 of
our students, while the ISAT tests hundreds of
thousands.
For more on the NAEP Illinois results please see the
Illinois release
which includes a link to the national results. www.isbe.net/news/2003/nov13-03.htm
Also in today’s message:
- Cert Board - North Greene (Keller
settlement and Knox hearing)
- Notice of Completed
Rulemaking
- State Board of Education
Meeting
- AC/heating unit
advisory
- Those Who Excel
Application
- Newsclips
Cert Board – North Greene
The State Teacher Certification
Board met Thursday to conduct a hearing in the teaching certificate revocation
proceeding brought against North Greene High School Guidance Dean Cary Knox by
me as State Superintendent of Education.
At the conclusion of the live testimony, the record was
left open to permit the inclusion of an evidence deposition of an unavailable
witness. After the deposition
transcript is received, attorneys for the parties will file briefs. The Hearing Officer will then submit
proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law for consideration and final
decision by the State Teacher Certification
Board.
Previously, Principal Mark Keller settled with ISBE in
the case. Under the agreement,
Keller will surrender his administrative certificate and his secondary teaching
certificate will be suspended through June 30, 2005.
Notice of Completed
Rulemaking
Please be advised that a rulemaking item recently
adopted by the State Board of Education is now in effect. This set of rules has been posted on the
agency’s web site at www.isbe.net/rules;
choose “Rules Currently in Effect” and scroll to the relevant Part number. (If you print only the affected
Sections, remember to include the table of contents for the Part, which changes
every time the Part is amended.)
Certification (Part 25)
Much of this material will serve to assure
Illinois school
districts that individuals they hire will be considered highly qualified under
the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). For example, Section 25.92 establishes a
new certificate for visiting international teachers who are recruited by
Illinois districts to fill a need
for qualified teachers. This is an
initiative that responds to NCLB by providing a separate, full certificate to
individuals whose preparation and background have been evaluated against
standards established by the State.
Another principal purpose of these amendments is to
clarify current policies and practices for issuing elementary, secondary,
special, and early childhood certificates and to make explicit how the
requirements are applied to various groups of candidates, including those who
are completing approved programs, those who come to Illinois with comparable
credentials from other states or countries, and those who are seeking
“subsequent” certificates, i.e., those that are not their first
certificates. Within this context,
ending dates for several provisions have been deleted so that those provisions
will continue in effect for the foreseeable future. In particular, it would be counter to
NCLB’s provisions to allow the requirement for a major to “sunset” this year as
was previously indicated in Sections 25.30 and
25.40.
Finally, Sections 25.20 and 25.30 are being amplified to
eliminate a point of confusion regarding professional education by reinserting
specific coursework requirements in place of a cross-reference. This is not a substantive change and
merely serves to state all applicable requirements for each certificate in one
location.
This rulemaking replaces very similar emergency
amendments that took effect on June 26, 2003.
Affected
Sections: 25.11, 25.20, 25.30,
25.35, 25.40, 25.80, and 25.92
Effective
Date:
October 20,
2003
State Board of Education
Meeting
The State Board of Education will be meeting on November
19-20 in
Springfield. Please go to http://www.isbe.net/board/meetings/nov03meeting/schedule.htm
to view the agenda and further Board meeting information.
AC/Heating Units
Advisory
Please be advised that ISBE has become aware of possible
problems with AC/heating units that may have been responsible for smoke or fire
damage in school buildings. Schools are encouraged to review proper care and
maintenance of all AC/Heating units and ventilators. For information on related
stories please visit:
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_310234807.html
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_317220811.html
Manufacturer McQuay International has advised ISBE that
the issue relates to a small subset of models called self-contained unit
ventilators with electric heat which can be identified by the models, AZ, AR,
and AE, the majority of which are in Chicago Public
Schools.
McQuay also stated that they will be in contact with all
Illinois schools
that have the units within the next week.
If you have any additional questions, contact McQuay at
1-866-448-6374.
Those Who Excel Applications
Available Online
Nomination forms for the annual Those Who Excel
Education Awards Program were recently mailed to all
Illinois schools.
The forms are now also available via http://www.isbe.net/admin.htm. If you have questions about the program
please contact Public Information at 217/782-4648.
Sincerely,
Robert Schiller
State Superintendent
of Education
statesup@isbe.net
THE
CHAIRS' HEADLINE REVIEW
From
NASBE
November 10 - 14,
2003
CALIFORNIA BOARD FOCUSES EXIT EXAM
ON BASIC SKILLS. The California State
Board of Education unanimously voted to cut a number of the more difficult
questions from the state's high school exit exam in English and math. Board
member Carol Katzman said the Board was not "dumbing down the test in any way,"
but rather concentrating on the test's objective of measuring students' mastery
of basic concepts. The Board had already voted in July to shorten the test from
three days to two. However, it also decided this week to keep the current cut
score for passing the test at 60 percent correct for English and 55 percent
correct for math. Students in the class of 2006 will be the first required to
pass the test in order to graduate. Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
(11/13/03).
TEXAS ANNOUNCES $130 MILLION
HIGH SCHOOLS INITIATIVE. Governor
Rick Perry unveiled the $130 million "Texas High School Project" initiative,
which calls for restructuring or building 70 to 80 high schools, mostly in
minority or low-income areas. Under the program,
Texas high schools will
compete for grants to be used to target dropout rates, build teacher-student
relationships, and develop stronger college preparatory programs. The initiative
received $55 million through charitable foundations established by Dell Computer
Founder Michael Dell and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, along with $7 million
from the Communities Foundation of Texas and $2.5 million from an anonymous
donor. Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
(11/13/03).
COLORADO VOUCHER PLAN GOES TO
COURT. Arguments for and
against Colorado's new pilot voucher program were heard in Denver District court
as part of a challenge to the program filed by the state's largest teachers
union. The attorney for the union argued that the program unconstitutionally
takes control away from school districts by requiring them to a "fund
instruction over which [they] have no control." A state deputy attorney general
countered that districts don't lose authority because students in the voucher
program essentially leave the district, and while students take funding with
them, "the legislature holds authority to direct expenditure of state funds for
education...We're not telling the districts what to do in their own systems."
The district judge said would rule on the suit in a few weeks. Source: Rocky
Mountain News (11/13/03).
ALABAMA OFFERS STANDARDIZED
TEST FOR TEACHERS PROVE THEY ARE HIGHLY QUALIFIED.
Alabama's Department of
Education approved a standardized test that teachers can voluntarily take to
show that they are highly qualified, and thus eligible to keep their jobs under
the No Child Left Behind Act. Teachers previously could receive the highly
qualified classification only if they had taken a certain number of college
courses in the subjects they teach. Now teachers may choose either option to
prove they are highly qualified. The Praxis II test costs teachers between $70
and $80, and some districts will reimburse teachers who pass the test. Source:
Mobile Register
(11/11/03).
TEXAS
EDUCATION
AGENCY
TAKES
OVER
CHARTER
SCHOOL DUE TO ACADEMIC
FAILURES. The Texas Education
Agency (TEA) plans to assume control of a charter school campus for the first
time since taxpayer-funded charter schools were approved in
Texas. The TEA is set to take
over a northwest Houston charter school,
following a yearlong struggle over academic performance and other issues with
the organization that runs the school. The school has received a low-performing
academic rating for three consecutive years. New Superintendent Ray Thompson
arrived this week, and school officials and parents will meet with new trustees
on Monday. Source: Houston Chronicle
(11/13/03).
MICHIGAN
SCHOOLS
DISPUTE
STATE REPORT
CARDS. More than 1,000 of
Michigan's 2,700 elementary and
middle schools have appealed the results of the state's new school
accountability report cards. One testing consultant said, "There were just an
amazing number of different and unique problems," the most commonly cited being
faulty data. The state has 30 days to settle the appeals and then the results
will be posted on the Department's website. Source:
Detroit Free Press
(11/13/2003).
NASBE CONGRATULATES
Veronica Garcia on her appointment as New
Mexico's first
Secretary of Education.
CONGRATULATIONS from all
of us at NASBE to West Virginia State Board member Paul Morris, recognized by
his Board as the Character Educator of the Year.
Other
Newsclips
http://www.isbe.net/news/2003/newsclips/111403.htm