NCTE Inbox

May 10, 2005
...news
News links are provided for informational purposes, do not imply endorsement by NCTE, and were live when this issue was published.
NCTE Task Force on SAT and ACT Writing Tests Report Makes the News  (NCTE Web site, May 10)
Last week the NCTE Task Force on SAT and ACT Writing Tests released a report critical of the quality of assessment these timed writing tests can provide. To read a variety of news articles from the national media, visit http://www.ncte.org/about/over/inbox/news/120706.htm


Read the report The Impact of the SAT and ACT Timed Writing Tests at http://www.ncte.org/about/over/inbox/news/120541.htm

Survey: High School Fails to Engage Students  (USA Today, May 8)
A majority of high school students in the USA spend three hours or less a week preparing for classes yet still manage to get good grades, according to a study released by researchers at Indiana University in Bloomington, who surveyed more than 90,000 high school students in 26 states.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/
2005-05-08-high-school-usat_x.htm

 

Read the survey Getting Students Ready for College: What Student Engagement Data Can Tell Us at http://www.iub.edu/~nsse/hssse/pdf/college_prep_hssse05.pdf

 

 

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Taking Classroom Stories to Capitol Hill  (The Council Chronicle Web site, May 6, 2005)
Educators and NCTE leaders who took English language arts issues to Washington, D.C., during the Council's second annual Advocacy Day on April 14, found common ground, expressed their views, and left energized to continue their advocacy work back home.
http://www.ncte.org/pubs/chron/highlights/120670.htm


Teachers Are Getting Graphic  (USA Today, May 3)
When the American Library Association invited acclaimed comic book artist Jeff Smith and three fellow artists to its annual meeting in 2002, the quartet huddled beforehand and agreed that this was their best -- and perhaps only -- chance to pitch comics to an influential group of tastemakers. NCTE members Carol Jago and Sandra Hayes are mentioned.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2005-05-03-educational-comics_x.htm


Pressure to Change Grades Is Common, Teachers Say  (The Atlanta Journal- Constitution, May 8) (free registration required)
It's a confrontation every teacher dreads: a parent complaining to the principal about a student's grade. Teachers say they are increasingly caught between parents and administrators. And, too often, the principal supports the parent.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/0505/08grades.html


Class-Size Limits Will Remain After Governor's Effort Fails  (The Miami Herald, May 6) (free registration required)
Florida governor Jeb Bush wanted to ask voters to approve a new constitutional amendment that would freeze class-size reduction efforts at current levels and use the money saved to pay higher teacher salaries. However, the Florida Senate did not approve the proposal to undo the limits that voters approved in 2002.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/education/11577086.htm


Jaden's Moment of Truth  (Orlando Sentinel, May 10)
Throughout Florida last year, 38,741 third graders failed the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Some were promoted to fourth grade anyway because they passed an alternative test or met other conditions set by state legislators. But 19,901 others had to repeat third grade. The Orlando Sentinel spent 10 months with one boy as his family and his teachers struggled to get him ready to confront the FCAT for the second time. This is his story.  
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/
orl-asecjaden10051005may10,0,662381.story?coll=orl-home-promo


Read the entire series "One Boy's FCAT Odyssey" at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/
orl-asec-jadengallery050905,0,5699622.storygallery?coll=orl-home-promo


Third Grade, As Many Times As It Takes  (St. Petersburg Times, May 8)
Darius, 10, should be two grades ahead of Darren, 9, but he has been held back twice -- once in second grade with his mother's consent, and once in third grade because he failed the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Now both brothers are in third grade, and Darren won't let Darius forget it.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/05/08/State/Third_grade__as_many_.shtml


Panic Over SAT Scores -- in the Former USSR?  (The Christian Science Monitor, May 5)

American high school juniors are busy attending prep classes and memorizing lists of vocabulary words to prepare for their SAT exams. In post-Soviet Georgia, however, students aren't sure exactly what to do. This Sunday, a selected number of Georgian high school students will be taking a pilot version of a new standardized exam designed to determine which students will be admitted to the country's universities.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0505/p11s02-legn.html


Connecting with the American Dialect  (The Washington Post, May 9) (free registration required)
In the past several decades, the influx of children of all nationalities has led to the development of successful programs to teach immigrants as they learn English. But teachers are finding that it is a very different challenge to educate West African students, who come from vastly different cultures where the mother tongue is English, but not the standard American version.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/
2005/05/08/AR2005050800800.html
...views
Why Class Size Matters
"Smaller classes, complemented by diverse teaching methods, create better student performance, more positive attitudes, and fewer discipline problems." See NCTE's "More than a Number: Why Class Size Matters" at
http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/class/107620.htm

 

 

...ideas
Free access to journal articles mentioned in this INBOX is provided for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available to journal subscribers only. Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary, M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, G=General).

Reflection As a Component of Authentic Assessment
Student assessment is in the news -- from SATs to statewide tests, like the FCAT. This collection of resources explores alternatives that focus attention on students' own understanding of their growth and accomplishment. By asking students to reflect on their own language arts and composition abilities in these ways, teachers can foster more authentic assessment of student achievement and more engagement in the classroom.
http://www.ncte.org/about/over/inbox/ideas/120709.htm
...announcements

Obtain Funding for Your Research
The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) is pleased to announce the second year of The CCCC Research Initiative: Composition, Rhetoric, and Literacy -- What We Know, What We Need to Know. This effort is focused on supporting new meta-analytical research or new strategic research by providing to selected projects funding of up to $5,000. This year's proposal deadline is July 15, 2005. For application information, see

http://www.ncte.org/groups/cccc/highlights/116260.htm


Register Online for the 2005 NCTE Annual Convention

Online registration is now available for the 2005 NCTE Annual Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 17-20. Register online today at 
https://secure.ncte.org/forms/annual2005reg/


For more information about the 2005 Annual Convention, visit 
http://www.ncte.org/profdev/conv/annual/ 


Looking for Funding to Attend NCTE's 2005 Annual Convention?
To learn about federal, state, and foundation resources that specifically support teacher training, visit
http://www.ncte.org/about/grants/topic/107748.htm


 Mark Your Calendar for the 2005 CEL Annual Convention!
The Conference on English Leadership's 2005 Annual Convention features the theme "Leading and Reading: What Teacher-Leaders Can Do." At the CEL Convention you'll find many exciting guest speakers, fulfilling roundtable discussions, and information-packed sessions that can help with leading and reading. Plan to join hundreds of colleagues in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 20-22, 2005. For more information, including CEL registration rates, visit
http://www.ncte.org/groups/cel/featured/110317.htm
 

 

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Copyright 2005 National Council of Teachers of English
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