- Posted by David on July 22, 2009
Study: No Child Left Behind sets schools up to 'fail'
By Marie Lakinon July 17, 2009 11:50 AM Share: 
A NEW STUDY from the Public Policy Institute of California predicts that a majority of the state's schools will fail to reach No Child Left Behind's impossibly high goals for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) next year. "Very soon almost every public school in California will be labeled a failure," the study's authors write.
The program mandates that schools and districts receiving Title I federal funds make satisfactory yearly improvement toward an established individual goal in math and English. A school which consistently misses its goal over several years is eventually subject to major restructuring. These efforts are costly and their success has been mixed.
The study identified many factors behind its findings but suggested that the larger problem is a system which does not account for the significant differences in challenges between schools. "Fifty percent of elementary schools with the highest share of low-income students made AYP in 2007, whereas 98 percent of elementary schools with the lowest share of low-income students made AYP," according to the PPIC.
"As a result, a school that inherits many high-achieving students but teaches them very little can be labeled a success, whereas a school that inherits many low-achieving students and teaches them a great deal can be labeled a failure," the authors write. California has a high percentage of disadvantaged students.
The situation will not likely improve given the economy and severe cutbacks and larger class sizes California's schools face next year as a result of state budget negotiations.
WHAT CAN BE DONE besides a complete overhaul of the NCLB rules? The study makes many worthwhile suggestions:
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Invest in preschool. High-quality programs can help close the achievement gap.
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Re-evaluate programs which are not working. The study points to a remedial program for students who have failed the high school exit exam as one which has been ineffective, yet the current budget allocates $73 million to it.
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New, innovative programs which work should be nurtured, piloted and implemented statewide.
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Reform school finance by replacing it with a weighted formula more closely tied to the actual costs of educating students. Schools which have more students from low socioeconomic background should naturally receive more funding, but those with higher regional costs should also receive more dollars.
While few would argue that many reforms are needed in California's education system, NCLB has had an unhealthy effect on the education community nationwide, something Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the American Federation of Teachers conference last week.
"This idea of labeling and stigmatizing schools as failures -- it is unbelievably demoralizing to faculty; it's confusing to parents."
- Posted by David on July 8, 2009
Performance-related pay often does not encourage people to work harder and sometimes has the opposite effect, according to new research due to be unveiled at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
An analysis of 51 separate experimental studies of financial incentives in employment relations found overwhelming evidence that these incentives may reduce an employee's natural inclination to complete a task and derive pleasure from doing so.
'We find that financial incentives may indeed reduce intrinsic motivation and diminish ethical or other reasons for complying with workplace social norms such as fairness. As a consequence, the provision of incentives can result in a negative impact on overall performance,' said Dr Bernd Irlenbusch from the LSE's Department of Management.
The research concludes that companies should be aware that the provision of performance-related pay could result in a net reduction of motivation across a team or organisation. How to design effective workplace incentives is set to be a hot topic for behavioural economists in the coming years.
The results of the study, by Professor Sam Bowles of the Behavioural Sciences Programme at Santa Fe Institute, will be announced by him and discussed at an innovative workshop jointly organised by LSE, UCL and the University of Nottingham. The event, designed to bring together academics, company executives and HR managers, will take place between 9am and 6pm on Tuesday June 30th.
"By assembling highly credited experts with different backgrounds, this workshop provides one of the rare opportunities for cross-fertilisation between theory and practice," added Dr Irlenbusch.
Another key speaker will be Michael Kramarsch, managing director of Towers Perrin Germany, who has more than 15 years of experience in consulting leading European companies on the design of incentive and compensation schemes.
Shorter presentations by world-leading researchers will highlight new results on related aspects, like the negative effects of incentives on engagement, cooperation, social preferences, social status, and reciprocal behaviour of employees. For example, Dr Oriana Bandiera of the LSE's Department of Economics will present new evidence that incentives lead high ability workers to form teams with similarly skilled colleagues instead of workers they are socially connected to. However, socially connected workers are better able to overcome free-riding. As a consequence, increased incentives can reduce the firm's average productivity.
The initiative is being funded by the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission.
Ends
Journalists are welcome to attend all or part of the workshop, which takes place in Room A318 at the LSE's Old Building in Houghton Street. If you are interested in attending, please email Joanna Bale, Senior Press Officer, at j.m.bale@lse.ac.uk or call 07831 609679.
To interview Dr Irlenbusch, please email him at b.irlenbusch@lse.ac.uk or call 0207 955 7840 (office) or +49 171 48 172 49 (mobile).
- Posted by David on July 6, 2009
In Arlington, athletes urge peers to take at-home tests
By Brendan Hall, Globe Correspondent | July 5, 2009
In most schools, the message about drug prevention is sent from the top down. Be it a school assembly, a class demonstration, or a guest lecture, it’s usually the adults doing the talking.
Arlington High School is trying out a new method: Let the students speak for themselves.
In May, athletic director Ted Dever asked five student-athletes to help institute a new campaign created by First Check Diagnostics, a Waltham company that produces at-home drug tests.
“Let Me Prove It’’ has students solicit peers to take home a free kit and prove they are living a drug-free lifestyle. Some observers have raised privacy and other concerns, but a number of local school officials are enthusiastic about the program.
“I’m not naïve. I understand that a lot of kids are out there doing different things,’’ Dever said. “This is a way of saying, ‘Hey, you got a B in math, show your report card.’ ’’
The program is just getting underway in Malden, but in Arlington it has been embraced. The five “ambassadors’’ have recruited about three dozen students to take the tests.
The ambassadors first take the tests and share the results with their parent or guardian. Together, they sign a certificate saying the drug test is negative and return it to the company’s program coordinators, who keep the results confidential. The student ambassadors in turn encourage peers to self-test as well.
“There’s more incentive to do it because it’s student-led,’’ Dever said. “Their friends are doing it because they led them. It also creates a positive relationship with the parent.’’
But others are skeptical about the program, questioning the validity of the testing and whether students may feel compelled to tamper with the results.
“It’s not so much a legal issue as it is a policy and healthcare issure,” said Sarah Wunsch, with the Masschusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. “It’s not that the ACLU doesn’t care about the issue of teens using drugs and alcohol. This is a gimmick that could have unintended consequences. I don’t think it’s a good idea; it serves more to promote the company.’’
For adolescents, she said, drug testing is “the worst thing to do. They think it’s an invasion of privacy. People who have studied these issues suggest that if parents have concerns, they should be talking to their . . . doctor.”
Pat O’Neill, an Arlington High senior who plays football and lacrosse, said no one has objected to his canvassing attempts. “I’ve handed out all 10 of my original tests, and I’ve got a new batch,’’ he said. “It’s picking up steam.’’
Participants are given a three-step urine test that checks for five prescription medications and seven illicit drugs, yielding results in five minutes.
There is plenty of incentive, too. In addition to winning iTunes gift cards, students who solicit the most peers are eligible to receive college scholarships, ranging from $500 to $2,000 for the top performers, provided by First Check Diagnostics.
To Dever, the idea made sense when representatives from First Check approached him this spring. Having just completed his second year as Arlington’s athletic director, following a tenure as a guidance counselor at the school, his focus is often more about character than wins and losses, he said.
“When I interview a coach about a vacancy, or for an evaluation, the first question is always, what can you do as a leader of youth to combat drugs and alcohol,’’ said Dever, who also coached Winchester High’s boys’ ice hockey squad to the Super 8 semifinals this season. “Some, unfortunately, are not prepared to answer that question. That’s more important to me than winning a state championship.’’
More students at Arlington are lining up to be ambassadors than anticipated. The program was intended to be carried out by five seniors, but Dever said he has a group of sophomores waiting to take the reins.
The marketing manager for First Check, Kate Viniello, says the company has targeted several area schools for the next year, including Burlington, Somerville, Waltham, and Watertown. “We’re looking to see how our pilot program goes,’’ she said. “But we’ve received a lot of feedback.’’
Meanwhile, the program has just broken ground at Malden High School, where one student has committed to being an ambassador while several others are considering a request to take part. The program is being handled through the guidance department, where counselors are on board and have the backing of the administration.
“I’ve been doing work like this for 38 years, and I’ve never been approached before for a program like this,’’ said George Lyons, a student adjustment counselor at Malden High for more than three decades. “They’re approaching it from a positive side, not a negative side, and there are a number of kids that don’t use. I think it’s well worth a try, and we’re supporting it.’’
Said fellow counselor Van Huynh, “We’re praising the ones that are doing the right thing. The principal supports us, the mayor’s office is supporting us, we support the program even though it’s only a trial.’’
To Lyons, the program is something worth trying as an alternative to past approaches, from annual visits by counselors to speeches from prison inmates and lectures from former students about the recovery process.
“I think this might be a better approach, getting kids on board,’’ Lyons said. “I think you’ll know within the year if something is worth continuing, but we certainly support it.’’
Brendan Hall can be reached at bhall59@hotmail.com. 