ConnCAN's Education News Roundup

August Archives

ConnCAN in the News

Achievement gap keeps widening
By Maria Garriga, New Haven Register, August 31, 2007

Half of Connecticut’s 10th-graders reached state goals on the 2007 Connecticut Academic Performance Test, the Department of Education reported Thursday, and the achievement gap dividing Hispanic and black students from their white and Asian peers loomed larger than ever.

“I’m shocked. These are some of the lowest scores I’ve ever seen,” said Marc Porter Magee, research director for the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, a research and advocacy group that focuses on the achievement gap in schools.

“In the Connecticut Mastery Tests, usually about 30 percent of African-American and Hispanic students reach goal. Generally speaking, students lose ground over time so that students in elementary grades get higher scores than students in high school,” Magee said.

Magee said that in some of the major cities, barely any black or Hispanic students reached state goals.

News Articles

Teaching To Make A Difference
By Rick Green, Hartford Courant, August 28, 2007

It's no secret the best graduates don't choose teaching. Emily Barton, a 2004 Yale graduate who oversees teachers working in Connecticut, told me Teach for America is beginning to change career choices for young graduates. This alone is reason enough to support Teach for America.

"We see people making very different career choices as a result of this," Barton said, noting that two-thirds of Teach for America participants stay in education and 200 have risen to become school principals, including Christopher Leone at Hartford's Pathways to Technology Magnet School.



Schools Fall Short Of Federal Standards
By Robert A. Frahm, Hartford Courant, August 30, 2007

Almost one-third of all public schools in Connecticut landed on a federal government academic warning list today -- a number that is expected to grow even larger as federal standards continue to get tougher, state officials said.

Some schools already have made substantial reforms. Among them is Jumoke Academy, a Hartford charter school that met federal goals for the second year in a row and, as a result, was one of only eight schools to be removed from a list of schools targeted for improvement under the federal law.

Jumoke saw significant improvement over several years after extending the school day, adding Saturday and summer school classes and hiring more experienced teachers, said Michael Sharpe, the school's chief executive officer.

SAT Achievement Gap Stays Wide
By Robert Frahm, Hartford Courant, August 29, 2007

Record numbers of black and Hispanic high school students in Connecticut and elsewhere are taking the SAT college entrance exam - but some are also looking for colleges that no longer require the test.

In part, that is because many continue to lag far behind white and Asian students, according to annual results released Tuesday by the College Board.

Both state and national results showed a slight decline this year in most scores, with the achievement gap for black and Hispanic graduates remaining one of the nation's most difficult problems in education.

Fifth-Graders Get “Amistadized”
By Allan Appel, New Haven Independent, August 29, 2007

"Welcome to one of the best performing schools in the state of Connecticut," so Amistad Academy director Matt Taylor greeted some of the fifth graders and their parents who reported for their first-day at the award-winning charter school. In smart t-shirts and khakis, some as crisp as the fine 7:15 a.m. air, the kids lined up for what staff calls "Amistadization."

That is, a half day's orientation on how to wear the uniform (shirt always tucked in, belt buckle facing front); how to recognize and respect all teachers and address them (always Mr. or Ms.); how to stand in lines (always straight, never "snakes"); how to address staff and each other (always with direct eye-contact); and, most importantly, to learn what is expected of them during the coming year.

Average SAT Scores Fall in Nation, Connecticut
Staff and Wired Reports, Norwich Bulletin, August 29, 2007

In Connecticut, average scores among the approximately 29,000 public school students who took the SAT declined for the second consecutive year in reading and math, and also dipped in writing.

About 80 percent of Connecticut's public school students took the exam, placing it fourth in participation nationwide.

"While our strong participation rate demonstrates a growing number of students with aspirations for college, we are concerned about the decline in scores," state Education Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan said.

Congressman Offers Revisions to ‘No Child’
By Jay Mathews, Washington Post, August 28, 2007

The leading House Democrat on education issues proposed revisions yesterday to the No Child Left Behind law that would ease the penalties for public schools that barely miss academic testing targets but tighten another rule that has helped the District and Virginia.

The proposal would allow states to use more than annual tests in reading and math to rate schools; give credit to states for students who are projected to reach proficiency within three years; and require states to test certain students with limited English skills in their native language. For some schools that fall only slightly short of academic targets, the proposal would also lift requirements to provide after-school tutoring and let students transfer to better schools.