Contents of this issue:
- Education officials urge more students to participate in MEAP
- Assistant principal plants drugs in student's locker
- Legislation would allow districts to suspend convicted teachers
- Federal standards relaxed for English testing
- Lawmakers debate over volunteer requirement for merit award
- President Bush responds to criticism of 'No Child Left Behind'
EDUCATION OFFICIALS URGE MORE STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN MEAP
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — State and local education officials are urging
more high school students to participate in the Michigan
Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests to help schools meet
the "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP) standard set by the federal
government.
A number of high school students do not take the MEAP test, which
is used to grade schools' annual progress and qualify students
for the Michigan Merit Award scholarship program, which provides
Michigan college students a scholarship. This lack of
participation hurts schools' ability to receive a positive AYP
rating, which requires that 95 percent of students take the test.
Some school officials believe the standards for student
participation are too high, as some students drop out of high
school or opt to not receive the Merit Award scholarship. But
federal officials count dropout rates and academic apathy as
reasons to deny a positive AYP rating.
SOURCES:
Ann Arbor News, "More MEAP participants urged," Feb. 21, 2004
https://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-7/
107736221372622.xml
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
Michigan Education Report, "President signs 'No Child Left Behind
Act,'" Winter 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4082
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL PLANTS DRUGS IN STUDENT'S LOCKER
SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — Police are investigating an assistant
principal they say admitted to planting drugs in a student's
locker.
Police report that the South Haven High School official, Pat
Conroy, told them he planted marijuana in the student's locker in
an attempt to get the student expelled for drug possession.
Conroy suspected the student of dealing drugs, but stated that he
"lost his perspective" and had done something "stupid, arrogant
and unethical," according to a police report.
A search of Conroy's office turned up bags of marijuana and other
drugs in pill form, said police. Conroy admitted to holding the
drugs for evidence in school board hearings, but school board
president Ed Bocock said he never saw the drugs used in any
expulsion hearings.
SOURCE:
Associated Press, "Assistant principal admits planting marijuana
in student's locker," Feb. 20, 2004
https://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-12/
1077339319178900.xml
LEGISLATION WOULD ALLOW DISTRICTS TO SUSPEND CONVICTED TEACHERS
LANSING, Mich. — A bill passed last week by the Michigan House
of Representatives would require greater scrutiny of teachers and
school staff convicted of felonies and serious misdemeanors.
If passed as law, school officials would be required to
individually evaluate every felony conviction and determine
whether a suspension or hearing is necessary for each case.
Currently, school districts must appeal to the state board of
education for every case of suspension based on criminal
convictions.
The bill passed 98 to 6, but some questions have been raised
about certain provisions included in the legislation. Michigan
Education Association spokeswoman Margaret Trimer-Hartley said
her organization is not behind the bill because, "We think
there's quite a bit of work that needs to be done so that it
doesn't unduly penalize a crime of civil disobedience." Martin
Ackley, spokesman for state school superintendent Tom Watkins,
said Watkins supports the concept of the bill. "We have staff
working with the sponsor to craft a bill that works to protect
the public while upholding the constitution," Ackley told the
Detroit News.
SOURCE:
Detroit News, "Bill would put teachers under more scrutiny,"
Feb. 18, 2004
https://www.detroitnews.com/2004/schools/0402/18/b02-67709.htm
FEDERAL STANDARDS RELAXED FOR ENGLISH TESTING
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Increased concern over federal standards under
the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2002 led the Bush
Administration last Thursday to relax requirements for the
English portion of state assessment tests.
Under the new rules, English-language learners will be allowed
leniency for one year, meaning their English test scores will be
excluded from aggregate scores for that time. Twelve percent, or
5.5 million, of all U.S. K-12 students are eligible for the
language leniency.
The regulation change comes after several high-profile officials
publicly decried the federal law, saying it is not feasible for
schools to meet current expectations. At a news conference,
Education Secretary Rod Paige announced several changes to the
law, including the definition of a "highly qualified" teacher.
"We want the law to make common sense," he said.
SOURCES:
Washington Post, "'No Child' Tests for Schools Relaxed,"
Feb. 20, 2004
https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A56123-2004Feb19
Michigan Education Report, "President signs 'No Child Left Behind
Act,'" Winter 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4082
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Will More Money Improve
Student Performance?" June 1998
https://www.mackinac.org/527
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "More Spending Not the
Solution to School Woes," December 1993
https://www.mackinac.org/137
LAWMAKERS DEBATE OVER VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENT FOR MERIT AWARD
LANSING, Mich. — In her State of the State address last month,
Gov. Jennifer Granholm proposed a plan to require volunteer
service for all recipients of the Michigan Merit Award
scholarship.
Granholm's plan would require that students eligible for the
scholarship perform at least 40 hours of community service prior
to graduation in order to receive the award, a $2,500 one-time
grant given to high school graduates going to college. Currently,
the scholarship is given based on satisfactory marks on the
Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests. "Merit
demands more than high test scores," Granholm said. "Merit
demands high character as well."
But some parents and lawmakers say the requirement would be an
unnecessary burden on high schoolers, who already are busy with
college applications, extra-curricular activities and their own
volunteer work. "Community service is not a bad idea," state Rep.
Sue Tabor, R-Delta Township, told the Lansing State Journal. "But
it should come from the heart, not forced by government."
Gov. Granholm suggested a similar volunteer program in her State
of the State Address in 2003.
SOURCES:
Lansing State Journal, "Families, lawmakers debate merit award
volunteer plan," Feb. 23, 2004
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/news/capitol/040223merit_1a-4a.html
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Gov. Granholm Proposes 14
Expansions of Government, 6 Limitations," February 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5011
PRESIDENT BUSH RESPONDS TO CRITICISM OF 'NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND'
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Bush administration is responding to
criticism of the requirements of the federal education standards
laid out by the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) Act of 2002.
Several representatives from the federal Department of Education
are currently traveling around the United States defending NCLB
legislation in front of school boards and town hall meetings.
"I've been in some, I don't want to say hostile, but very
contentious environments," deputy assistant secretary Ken Meyer
told the Washington Post. "This law is largely misunderstood by
the public because of its enormity, so people get emotional about
it, and you've got pent-up frustrations."
Most of the dissent comes from arguments over where funding for
certain NCLB initiatives should come from and the influence of
the federal government over an issue normally left to the states.
Recently, administration officials have been working with the
states and schools to make proficiency rules more flexible and to
counter some of the dissent.
SOURCES:
New York Times, "Bush Education Officials Find New Law a Tough
Sell," Feb. 22, 2004 (registration required)
https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/22/national/22CHIL.html
Michigan Education Report, "President signs 'No Child Left Behind
Act,'" Winter 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4082
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Will More Money Improve
Student Performance?" June 1998
https://www.mackinac.org/527
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "More Spending Not the
Solution to School Woes," December 1993
https://www.mackinac.org/137
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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