A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

A biweekly look at progress on the Secretary's priorities

Table of Contents Department's Agenda Goals 2000 Mathematics Achievement Technology Literacy Challenge Strong, Safe, & Drug-free Schools Family Involvement Budget & Hearings Credits

DEPARTMENT'S AGENDA Secretary Riley & senior Department officials met two weeks ago to develop a clear understanding & commitment to a common agenda in light of the President's State of the Union address & the Secretary's State of American Education speech. They agreed that the Department will focus on 7 goals for all of America's students: To read independently by the end of the 3rd grade. To be competent in algebra by the end of the 8th grade. By age 18, to be prepared for & able to afford at least 2 years of college, & to pursue lifelong learning. To have a talented, dedicated & well-prepared teacher in their classroom. To have their classroom connected to the Internet by the year 2000 and to be technologically literate. To learn in strong, safe, & drug-free schools. To learn according to challenging & clear standards of achievement & accountability. This agenda, the Secretary noted, "clearly reflects our work over the past 4 years as well as the President's confidence in our ability to help move America forward to the 21st century. I am convinced that every office in the Department can contribute in an important way to the success of this agenda."

GOALS 2000 Third-year awards to Alaska, New York & Washington, D.C. were announced last week, bringing to 33 the number of states (plus Washington, D.C. & Puerto Rico) that have received 3rd-year funding under Goals 2000.

MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT American students have made significant progress in math achievement, according to a report last week from the Department's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The "1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Mathematics Report Card" tells that... Average national math scores (from 1990 to 1996) rose 11 points, 9 points, and 10 points (on a 500-point scale) for 4th, 8th and 12th graders respectively. Results are also reported according to 3 achievement levels: basic, proficient & advanced. The percentage of 4th graders performing at or above the "basic" level was 64 percent in 1996, compared to only 50 percent in 1990; for eighth graders, 62 percent compared to 52 percent; and for 12th graders, 69 percent compared to 58 percent. "This is good news," Secretary Riley said. ... "But, we're in an era of global competition, where the world is made smaller & smarter every day, by the primary resource of any nation -- its people. So it's imperative that our students measure up to the international benchmarks of excellence in core subjects, especially math. We must expect more if our students are to match their international peers." The Secretary noted that North Carolina, Michigan & Texas showed the most improvement since 1990 (with North Carolina improving its overall score by 17 points). The executive summary of "1996 NAEP Mathematics Report Card" & a PDF version of the full report are available at: http://nces.ed.gov/NAEP/96report/97488.shtml NOTE: The NAEP math assessment is similar to the kind of national test that President Clinton has proposed that individual 8th graders could take (beginning in 1999), so that parents & teachers would know how well students are learning math, no matter where they live. That 8th-grade test would also provide an international comparison. The NAEP math assessment uses a framework influenced by the "Curriculum & Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics" published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in 1989. For more information on the President's proposal, please see: http://www.ed.gov/updates/PresEDPlan/

TECHNOLOGY LITERACY CHALLENGE Last week Secretary Riley announced awards under the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) to 4 states: Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, & Washington. This brings to 7 the number of states that have received TLCF grants to help schools provide training & support (in technology) for all teachers, access to modern computers for all students & teachers, connections to the Information Superhighway for all classrooms & schools, and high quality software & online resources as part of the curriculum in every school. INDIANA will use its $3 million TLCF grant to help improve its high schools, since much of the state's past funding for educational technology has focused on elementary grades. NORTH CAROLINA will use its $3.7 million TLCF grant to assist local school districts in implementing their long- range instructional technology plans, which emphasize Internet access, the infusion of learning with technology to establish skills for 21st century workforce preparedness, the sharing of ideas & resources, and the preparation of teachers and other educators to maximize the potential of technology to enhance teaching & learning. PENNSYLVANIA will use its $8.6 million TLCF grant to enhance its "Link to Learn" initiative, which will connect schools, public & private agencies, libraries, library literacy programs, institutions of higher education, & communities together -- and to global information networks -- to help increase student achievement. WASHINGTON will use its $2.8 million TLCF grant to help implement its state technology plan, which includes 9 educational technology support centers assisting school districts in technology planning, network planning, staff development, and integration of technology. For more information, please see the February 25 press releases at: http://www.ed.gov/news.html#pr

STRONG, SAFE & DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS Last week the President announced a 5-prong strategy for combatting drug abuse, which includes... $175 million (plus $350 million in matching funds from the private sector) for a media campaign clarifying to our children the dangers of drugs. $16 million in grants to more than 125 communities across the country for planning, implementing or improving drug courts. Efforts to reduce the number of casual drug users & provide help for chronic users in overcoming their dependencies. Additional funds in the 1998 budget to shield our borders against drug-trafficking. Support for agricultural alternatives to drug crops in an effort to reduce drug cultivation, production & trafficking. Last month, a report on school-based drug prevention programs indicated that these programs can be more effective if they are based on research, if they are delivered with more consistency & if teachers are provided with new techniques to reach students. The report, "School-Based Drug Prevention Programs: A Longitudinal Study in Selected School Districts," comes from a study that followed 10,000 fifth & sixth graders in 19 school districts for 4 years (1991-2 through 1994-5). "The strongest theme that emerged throughout our examination of the drug prevention programs in the participating districts," wrote E. Suyapa Silvia & Judy Thorne of the Research Triangle Institute, "was variability." The authors noted that drug education experts see inconsistent or incomplete delivery of the prevention curriculum as one of the main reasons even those approaches that have proven effective under test conditions may not show positive results when implemented elsewhere. Recognizing that prevention programs need to be implemented consistently in order to be effective, Secretary Riley has proposed special appropriations language that would require state grant funds from the Safe & Drug Free Schools & Communities Act be used according to principles of drug education effectiveness. These principles, which will be published in the Federal Register for public comment this spring, aim to ensure that all school districts implement programs that are designed according to tested, research- based drug prevention strategies with a solid assessment component for judging how well the projects are working. For additional information, please see the press release in our Online Library: http://www.ed.gov/news.html#pr

FAMILY INVOLVEMENT What can schools, PTAs & other organizations do to help strengthen parent involvement in children's education? What can parents do with schools to improve children's learning in mathematics, science & reading? These & related questions are the focus of "Making Connections," a teleconference for parents to be broadcast on March 11 from 8:00 - 9:30 p.m. (EST). The teleconference, which the Department is producing with the National PTA, will be moderated by CNN "TalkBack Live" host Susan Rook & will feature Secretary Riley, America Reads Challenge Director Carol Rasco, PTA President Joan Dykstra & incoming President Lois Jean White, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley & others. Questions will be taken by these guests from the studio audience in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce & from satellite viewers around the country. For satellite coordinates or other information, please call 1-800-USA- LEARN.

BUDGET & HEARINGS Secretary Riley will be the lead Department witness at the first of a series of House appropriations hearings beginning next week on the President's fiscal year 1998 budget request for education. The Secretary will be followed by the Department's Assistant Secretaries who will elaborate on funding requests for specific education programs. Secretary Riley's Senate appropriations hearing is scheduled for March 20. Although the Congressional appropriations process is just beginning, Department officials have already appeared before other House & Senate Committees to discuss the President's education agenda, which includes HOPE scholarships & the tax deduction for college tuition as well as pending reauthorization legislation for special education, higher education & vocational rehabilitation programs. For the full text of Department officials' Congressional testimony, please visit our Office of Legislation & Congressional Affairs home page & click on the "Testimony" button (http://www.ed.gov/offices/OLCA/testimony.html).

Have a comment or suggestion on ED Initiatives? Please send it to Kirk Winters in the Office of the Under Secretary at kirk.winters@ed.gov.

-###-

[Past Issues of ED Initiatives]

Last Updated -- March 5, 1997, (pjk)