Every Child A Graduate

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Every Child A Graduate
June 17, 2008 Montgomery County Public
Schools Fourth Annual Partners for Rigor through
Relevancy Conference Engaging Secondary School
Students and Their Communities

• Bob Wise, President
• Alliance for Excellent Education

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Why We Are Here
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The Challenge for the Nation
Three out of every ten students do not graduate
from high school.
About half of those who graduate are not
college- and work-ready.
Source EPE 2007 Greene 2002
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Who Pays When Students Fail to Graduate?
Higher crime costs

• The Students Themselves

Lost wages
Reduced voter participation
Increased health care costs
Limited job opportunities
Barriers to supporting a family
Reduced salary
The Rest of Us
Compromised health
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The Economic Impact on the Individual
2005 Average Income by Educational Attainment
Source U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population
Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement,
2006
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The Economic Impact on Maryland
Source Alliance for Excellent Education 2006,
2007
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Public Benefit of Halving the of Dropouts
Source Levin, H., Kilpatrick, W., Belfield, C.,
Muennig, P., Rouse, C., 2006.
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• American education in a global context

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The Economy Has ChangedHave Our Schools?
Skills Demanded by the U.S. Economy
65
Nonroutine Interactive
60
55
Mean task input as percentiles of the 1960 task
distribution
50
Routine manual
45
Routine cognitive
40
1960
1970
1980
1990
2002
Sources Levy and Murnane Schleicher, 2007
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What Americans Value
U.S. Rankings on Olympics
U.S. Rankings on PISA
Reading
Science
Problem Solving
Math
U.S. Ranks 15th
U.S. Ranks 21st
U.S. Ranks 24th
U.S. Ranks 25th
Sources PISA 2004, 2007
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High science performance
Average performanceof 15-year-olds in science
extrapolate and apply
18 countries perform below this line
Low science performance
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Percent of Population with HS Degree or Equivalent
As Others Rise to the Challenge, U.S. Advantage
Drops
13
1
1990s

1980s
1970s
1960s
1
27
Notes 1) Excluding ISCED 3C short programmes 2)
Year of reference 2004 3) Including some ISCED
3C short programmes 4) Year of reference 2003.
Source Schleicher 2007
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Even in Higher Education, the World is Catching
up
College Graduation Rates

15
2005
1995
2
Note Net graduation rate is calculated by
summing the graduation rates by single year of
age in 2005. Year of reference 2004.
Source OECD 2007
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Competition from Emerging Nations contd
Future Supply of College Graduates
2015
2010
2003
Source Schleicher 2007
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Then and Now
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A National Problem Requires National Attention
We must look to best practice and research, and
replicate and support what we know works.
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NCLB State Definitions of Proficiency Vary
Greatly
Eighth Grade Reading, 2007
Percent proficient on state test
State standards NAEP standard
Percent proficient on NAEP
Percent proficient on NAEP
Notes (1) Excludes VT and DC (2) 2006 data used
for HI, NE, NJ, NC, OR, TN, WI 2007 data by
grade were not available when this chart was
created.
Source Alliance for Excellent Education,
assistance from Goodwin Liu
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NCLBs Approach is Somewhat Backwards
50 sets of standards
State
Assessments
Graduation rates
Identifying schools
One-size-fits-all school consequences
Federal
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NCLB 2.0 A New Approach
Common Standards Graduation Rate Calculations
National
State
Set of diagnostic indicators
District
Differentiate schools needs
School
Individualize school improvement strategies
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Money Matters But Other Things Do Too
Source OECD 2007.
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The Missing Middle
Source US Department of Education Budget FY2008
US Department of HHS Budget FY2008
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Supporting Local Efforts
Pockets of innovation
Capacity to graduate every child

• Look to best practice and research
• Replicate and support what works

• Implement smart, supportive state and federal
  policies
• Commit resources

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Existing Secondary School Proposals

• Flawed accountability for student outcomes
  (especially graduation rates)
• Title I funding (trigger for accountability
  support) doesnt reach most secondary schools
• Mandated sanctions not effective for secondary
  school improvement
• Lack of capacity for turning around
  low-performing secondary schools
• Adolescent literacy deficits unaddressed
• Doesnt spur innovation, invest in research
  development

• Every Student Counts Act
• ? Graduation Promise Act
• Striving Readers Act
• ? GRADUATES Act

For more details, see Alliances website
http//www.all4ed.org/federal_policy/NCLB_ReAuth
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(No Transcript)
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Governor Bob Wise Alliance for Excellent
Education www.all4ed.org
Raising the Grade How High School Reform Can
Save Our Youth and Our Nation available at
www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com,
www.bordersstores.com, www.booksense.com,
www.booksamillion.com, www.wiley.com