Contents of this issue:
- Granholm moves MEAP oversight back to Department of Education
- U.S. House bill would penalize high tuition rises
- Supreme Court to decide Pledge case
- Bill would allow communities to secede from districts
- New education group calls for federal law change
- REPORT: Wisconsin has greatest percentage of highly qualified teachers
GRANHOLM MOVES MEAP OVERSIGHT BACK TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Monday signed an
executive order to move administration of the Michigan
Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) achievement test to the
state Department of Education.
Former Gov. John Engler moved oversight of the test to the
Department of Treasury in 1999 during turf battles over education
reform. The Merit Award Board, which distributes scholarships to
college students based on MEAP scores, will still be under
purview of the Treasury. The Board will also be able to decide
the qualifications for the scholarship awards.
Delay in the release of MEAP scores was a factor in Granholm's
decision. Schools received scores in August but expected them in
late May or June.
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Granholm transfers MEAP test to Department of
Education," Oct. 20, 2003
https://www.detroitnews.com/2003/schools/0310/20/-302329.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Granholm Should Move MEAP
Test Administration Back to Education Department," November 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4861
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "POLICY BRIEF: Which
Educational Achievement Test is Best for Michigan?" May 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4382
U.S. HOUSE BILL WOULD PENALIZE HIGH TUITION RISES
WASHINGTON, D.C. — New federal legislation introduced Tuesday in
the House of Representatives would penalize colleges and
universities for increasing tuition for several consecutive years.
The bill proposes a "college affordability index" that would
compare a college's tuition increases to inflation over a three-year
time span. The government will give three years to
institutions to correct costs that expand tuition over the index.
If a college fails to do so, it could lose access to federal aid
programs, work-study, and loans and grants for needy students.
Critics say that the proposed sanctions would only hurt the
students it intends to help. "Price controls on tuition will
force (colleges) to reduce or eliminate the programs now in place
to serve those who find it most difficult to attend college,"
David Warren, president of the National Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities, told USA Today. "And the
potential sanctions of colleges losing access to federal programs
designed to help needy students will force many of those students
to abandon their college education goals," he added.
SOURCES:
USA Today, "House bill aims to manage rising costs of college
Universities steadily jacking up tuition could lose federal
funds," Oct. 17, 2003
https://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031017/5598870s.htm
New York Times, "Bill Would Penalize Colleges on High Tuition
Rises," Oct. 17, 2003
http://nytimes.com/2003/10/17/education/17EDUC.html
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Private Prepaid Tuition
Programs Can Help Make College Affordable," September 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3685
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Competition Among Professors
Would Help Parents Afford College," August 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/2105
SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE PLEDGE CASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court announced last week it
will decide this term whether the phrase "under God," found in
the Pledge of Allegiance, violates the principle of separation of
church and state.
The case was last decided in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals, where a three-judge panel found that the phrase's
inclusion is unconstitutional.
The Pledge was written in 1892, without the phrase "under God,"
and officially endorsed by Congress in 1942. In 1954, Congress
added the words "under God" to contrast the difference between
America's democracy and communist states that outlawed religion.
SOURCE:
USA Today, "Supreme Court to consider Pledge," Oct. 14, 2003
https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/
2003-10-14-scotus-pledge_x.htm
BILL WOULD ALLOW COMMUNITIES TO SECEDE FROM DISTRICTS
LANSING, Mich. — Rep. Shelley Goodman Taub, R-Bloomfield Hills,
introduced late last month a bill to allow a community's
residents to vote to secede from a school district and to
transfer their community to an adjacent district.
The bill would permit a greater level of parental choice, said
Taub. "If families are not happy in their current school
district, they should have the opportunity to change their school
district. Parents ought to know what's best for their children,"
she told the Oakland Press.
However, school officials in the Pontiac area say the proposal
would be detrimental to schools. "It just opens up a Pandora's
box," Pontiac school board President Richard Seay said. "I don't
fault any parent who does the best for their children. But a
decision like that has long-term detrimental effects for poor
school districts."
SOURCES:
Oakland Press, "Bill ignites district fight," Oct. 9, 2003
http://www.zwire.com/site/
news.cfm?newsid=10343905&BRD=982&PAG=461&dept_id=467992&rfi=6
MichiganVotes.org, House Bill 5065
https://www.michiganvotes.org/2003-HB-5065
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Impact of Limited School
Choice on Public School Districts," July 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/2962
NEW EDUCATION GROUP CALLS FOR FEDERAL LAW CHANGE
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A newly formed group of educators and civic
leaders called upon the federal government to revise the "No
Child Left Behind" Act of 2002.
The group, called Citizens for Effective Schools, said
punishments for schools failing to meet adequate yearly progress
as required by the Act are too harsh and should instead focus on
giving suggestions so as to help schools improve. Group members
include the New York Urban League, the Education Law Center of
New Jersey and a number of teachers and administrators from
around the country.
Currently, the law provides specific sanctions for failure to
meet yearly progress in standardized test scores and teacher
quality, such as requiring schools to pay for private tutoring
and transportation to other schools. Dan Lanagan, spokesman for
the Department of Education, told the New York Times that there
are "no plans to amend the law."
SOURCES:
New York Times, "Education Group Calls for Revised Law,"
Oct. 16, 2003
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/16/education/16SCHO.html
Michigan Education Report, "No Child Left Behind law demands
'adequate yearly progress' and offers school choice options for
parents," Fall 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4846
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Case for Choice in
Schooling," January 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3236
Michigan Education Report, "President signs 'No Child Left Behind
Act,'" Winter 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4082
REPORT: WISCONSIN HAS GREATEST PERCENTAGE OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED
TEACHERS
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — An analysis of data submitted to the U.S.
Department of Education shows that of all the states, Wisconsin
has the highest percentage of highly qualified teachers in
classrooms.
The Associated Press reports that almost 99 percent of
Wisconsin's public school classrooms are taught by what the
federal government identifies as highly qualified teachers.
Alaska is the lowest-ranked state, at 16 percent; Michigan
reports that at least 95 percent of its teachers are highly
qualified.
Under the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2002, "highly qualified"
teachers must have a bachelor's degree, state certification, and
demonstrated mastery of each subject they teach. Each state sets
its own standards for licensing.
SOURCES:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Study gives teachers near-perfect
grade," Oct. 20, 2003
http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/oct03/178820.asp
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Must Teachers Be Certified to
Be Qualified?" February 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/1651
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org), a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
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