Monday, April 12, 2010

Incentives for Students

The cover of the April 19 issue of Time Magazine asks, "Should Schools Bribe Kids?" Amanda Ripley's story, Should Kids Be Bribed to Do Well in School, tells of the results of Harvard economist Roland Fryer's study of cash incentive programs in some Chicago, Dallas, New York, and Washington, D.C. schools. The outcomes of the unique study were mixed, with some positive and not-so-positive outcomes. The article is an interesting read. Here's a short excerpt:

So what happens if we pay kids to do tasks they know how to do? In Dallas, paying kids to read books — something almost all of them can do — made a big difference. In fact, the experiment had as big or bigger an effect on learning as many other reforms that have been tested, like lowering class size or enrolling kids in Head Start early-education programs (both of which cost thousands of dollars more per student). And the experiment also boosted kids' grades. "If you pay a kid to read books, their grades go up higher than if you actually pay a kid for grades, like we did in Chicago," Fryer says. "Isn't that cool?"

I'd guess most classroom teachers would react somewhat as I did when I first read of the study some time ago. Cash for grades or whatever other criteria seemed to be paying kids for what they should normally be doing anyway. But most of us already have some kind of incentive programs running in our classrooms. When I retired, we had several such programs running simultaneously. I described our longest running incentive program in a column, Teacher Tools 4: A Roll-Your-Own Spelling Program.

Guy Brandenburg has some interesting thoughts about the study on his blog along with a link to a page of excerpts from the D.C. portion of the study. (Thanks to Ed Harris for the link!) I liked Guy's conclusion about the report:

This is trying to find a way to achieve educational miracles WITHOUT having to do anything about poverty; WITHOUT having smaller class sizes; WITHOUT reforming the curriculum; WITHOUT training teachers; or anything else that costs real money. Just what the billionaires who are trying to run our educational system want.

Bill Turque has a news article in The Washington Post about the Time story, D.C. students respond to cash awards, Harvard study shows. I found it interesting that Turque did a straight news story with no editorializing. In More money, zero transparency for Cap Gains on his D.C. Insider blog in March, he noted that "A Freedom of Information Act request, which I filed in September, has not been answered," about the D.C. results of the study.

Odds 'n' Ends

A Wisconsin County District Attorney "sent a letter to area school districts warning that health teachers who tell students how to put on a condom or take birth control pills...would be contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor punishable by up to nine months behind bars and a $10,000 fine. Wisconsin teachers, students mystified by sex education warning relates that Scott Southworth's actions were in response to a new law requiring schools that teach sexual education adopt a comprehensive approach.

Los Angeles teachers have agreed to a shorter school year to help balance the LAUSD budget. Teachers agree to shorten LAUSD school year notes that the L.A. school board still must ratify the agreement.

Florida ed reform passes: Is it a model or disaster tells about the infamous Florida teachers law that now awaits Governor Charlie Crist's signature or veto.

Larry Cuban, writing on Valerie Strauss's The Answer Sheet blog, relates D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee's biggest, and most costly, failing.

Walt Gardner shares his view of the performance pay provisions of the new contract in D.C. in Can D.C. Merit Pay Plan for Teachers Deliver?

And Megan Bolt relates in the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the Minnesota teachers union is being hit from all sides.

Send Feedback to

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

School Funding

Nick Anderson tells of the ongoing debate in Congress about President Obama's proposed reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. He writes in Obama's plan to reward schools for innovation sparks debate that the proposal has split congressional Democrats. "They are staunch protectors of education funding for their states and districts, and many worry about promoting innovation at the expense of equity." Valerie Strauss adds her take on the proposals in Why Obama’s schools funding approach is upsetting educators, writing that "it is also planning to turn new money for the crucial Title 1 program--which provides funds for schools with large percentages of low-income students--into competitive grants."

Contracts, Bills, and Layoffs

The proposed settlement of the DCPS teacher contract has some interesting ins and outs that Candi Peterson suggests on her The Washington Teacher blog might be detrimental to teachers. WTU Tentative Agreement = 1000 Ways To Kill DC Teachers she writes that "Should DC teachers be excessed under the proposed agreement, there is a great likelihood that excessing would lead to termination as there would no longer be a requirement for placement according to system seniority."

Jennifer Medina tells of a bill in the New York legislature "that would give principals in New York City the power to choose who should lose their jobs if the city needs to lay off teachers because of budget cuts" in Bill Would Allow Layoffs of Teachers With Seniority.

Oops, Your Layoff Wasn't Really Necessary

Both Bill Turque's Rhee's budget surplus revelation angers teachers unions and Valerie Strauss's Rhee back in trouble with D.C. teachers discuss DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee yesterday telling the the D.C. Council that "retroactive pay raises for teachers under the proposed contract would be paid, in part, out of a $34 million surplus in the school system’s budget." Turque writes:

Teachers union leaders angrily accused D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee of unethical behavior Tuesday by failing to disclose the discovery of a $34 million surplus in the school system budget in February, three months after laying off 266 teachers because of what she described as a budget shortfall.

Strauss adds:

When Rhee laid off the teachers last year, she said they had to go because of a $43 million budget gap. That action caused enormous grief for Rhee, with teachers protesting and even taking her to court. She won, persuading a judge that the deficit was real and that the layoffs were necessary.

But, she said today, there had been, in fact, faulty mathematical calculations by city officials and there really isn’t a deficit. There’s actually a surplus.

Is a "faulty mathematical calculation" the same as a lie?

Odds 'n' Ends

Walt Gardner adds his valuable insight to the recent report on cash-for-grades on his Reality Check blog in Educational Reportage Needs Improvement. He writes that the Hawthorne effect might be a likely factor for some of the improvement noted in Roland Fryer's study. "People often behave differently at the beginning of an experiment or innovation than they do later on. This temporary change in performance - typically for the better - is in response to a change in environmental conditions." Walt also takes a pretty good and well deserved swipe at educational reporting, saying, "So maybe it's time for those reporting or commenting on education to take a crash course. I suggest they begin with Reading Educational Research: How to Avoid Getting Statistically Snookered by Gerald W. Bracey (Heinemann, 2006). They may come away appreciating how Occam's razor applies to their work."

Valerie Strauss suggests that the Race to the Top should help desegregate schools. I guess the All Contests, All the Time Department of Education just forgot about that one.

Educators respond to national ed-tech plan on eSchool News notes the many comments posted about the proposed National Technology Plan.

Since I really am retired now, I get to go out and do some of those things working folks have trouble getting around to. I was clearing out some nasty, scrub thorn trees that threaten to take over part of our East Garden yesterday. (And yes, I'm terribly stiff and sore today!) As I walked up to several fallen trees and branches, a bird startled me as it flew out of the brush. Closer inspection of the area revealed a nest of baby birds! By the time I got my camera, the mourning dove was back on the nest protecting her brood...and watching me very closely.

Since I had plenty of scrub trees to clear, I moved on yesterday, but I'll need to keep an eye on the nest so I can clear that area out before the dove lays another clutch of eggs. Wikipedia says that "one pair may raise up to six broods a year." The entry's mention of the babies being called "squabs" made me think of pleasant days reading Johnny Tremain with or to some of my classes years ago. The full frame of the image (above right) will go up later today for free download on Desktop Photos...for that purpose only. All other use requires prior consent, massive royalty payments, your left pinkie finger... Actually, just ask. I'm a pretty soft touch on letting folks use my stuff.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Crist Vetoes Florida Teacher Law

Reuters' Florida Governor Vetoes Teacher Pay Bill and Valerie Strauss's Crist vetoes bad bill, Florida teachers win relate that Florida Governor Charlie Crist vetoed Senate Bill 6/House Bill 7189 Thursday afternoon. The bill "would have stripped teachers of tenure, linked teacher pay to student standardized test scores, eliminated experience and advanced degrees as part of a teacher’s evaluation, and required the creation of a slew of new standardized tests for Florida’s already over-tested kids to take."

The twisted story of D.C. Schools Chancellor laying off teachers last fall due to a budget shortfall and then discovering a $34 million surplus recently to help fund raises in a new teacher contract has taken yet another weird turn. The Washington Post's Bill Turque reports in Gandhi says Rhee's surplus does not exist that "District Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi has told Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee that the $34 million surplus she cited Tuesday as a basis for helping to finance teacher salaries under the proposed new labor contract 'does not exist.'"

Incredible!

Harkin Calls for Help for Schools

Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, "proposed a $23 billion bailout Wednesday to help public schools across the nation avert widespread layoffs." Business Week reports:

The money in the Harkin legislation would be used to retain teachers, librarians and other school staff, hire new employees and provide training at schools districts and public colleges and universities. The funds couldn’t be used to retire debt or for a reserve.

Also see: Sen. Harkin proposes $23 billion bailout for schools

Have a great weekend!

Ads shown on this site do not represent an endorsement or warranty of any kind of products or companies shown. Ads shown on archive pages may not represent the ads displayed in the original posting on Educators' News.