Education News in Alabama

September 26, 2006 (archive)

By Sallie Owen

Mobile County schools earn big checks
More than 300 schools honored statewide
There was excitement in the air when the Alabama State Board of Education met Sept. 14 to give out reward money. Rewards honored schools that overcame the greatest challenges to student achievement during the 2005-2006 school year.

The board announced the recipients of nearly $3 million in rewards spread across five categories measuring how well students learned. Representatives from the selected schools got their pictures made with Gov. Bob Riley and State Superintendent of Education Dr. Joe Morton.

 Performance was measured using each school's adequate yearly progress (AYP) report, which primarily reflects scores on math and reading tests as well as the graduation exam. AYP is a key standard of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Rewards were organized in these five categories:

• Advancing the Challenge - School where the percent of students scoring advanced in reading and math exceeded the state percent scoring advanced. (School must have at least an 80% poverty rate.)
• Meeting the Challenge - School that met AYP for two consecutive years. (School must have at least an 80% poverty rate.)
• Exceeding the Challenge - School with a defined group whose percent of students scoring proficient in reading and math exceeded its state counterpart group. For example, a school would be selected if 90 percent of its students who receive free or reduced lunches scored proficient, while statewide only 85 percent of students who pay for their meals were proficient. (School will receive a monetary reward for each defined group.)
• Addressing the Challenge - School with defined group that closed the achievement gap in percent of students scoring proficient in reading and math by at least 15% when compared to its state counterpart. (School will receive a monetary reward for each defined group.)
• Torchbearer School - School meeting multiple criteria including poverty, high test scores, and making AYP for two consecutive years.

Hurricane-wracked Alba Elementary School in Bayou La Batre took home top honors, collecting $46,500. Alba, which is being renamed Anna Booth Elementary, was recognized in four of five possible categories, and the school received the most money that day.

Also in the top five, money-wise, were Councill Elementary in Birmingham ($41,500), W.C. Griggs Elementary in Mobile ($36,500), Calcedeaver Elementary in Mount Vernon ($31,500) and Highland Avenue Elementary in Montgomery ($31,500).

The Mobile County public school system has the largest student body in the state, enrolling roughly 65,000 pupils a year. The system, which educates one out of every 10 public school students in the state, also collected the most reward dollars this year with nearly $630,000.

Birmingham City came in second with $352,300, and Montgomery County finished third with $196,800.

Detailed listings of reward recipients are available online at
http://aplusala.org/rewards_analysis.asp

The rewards ranged from $800 to $15,000 in various categories, and schools could earn rewards in more than one category. Teachers will decide how to use rewards, which may be spent on bonus pay, instructional materials or professional development.

Quotable
"Alabama is really coming into the forefront on this issue. You really need to be proud of yourselves."
–Virginia-based consultant Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, referring to how teachers incorporate technology into their lessons. The comment came during a recent workshop she led for the East Alabama Regional Inservice Center, where teachers reported successes like these:

• Russell County schools have Game Boys (a handheld electronic game device) loaded with educational software that students can check out and take home. Parents are using them too, teachers reported.
• Tallapoosa County has one wifi (wireless Internet access) school campus.
• Third-graders in Phenix City create PowerPoint presentations with ease.

It was a good week for … the U.S. Constitution, which the founding fathers signed 219 years ago. Our nation's governing document was signed in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 1787. In honor of Constitution Day, State Superintendent Joe Morton asked students to observe the anniversary Monday, Sept. 18, by reciting the preamble ("We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union …") along with Gen. Colin Powell.

It was a bad week for … college affordability in Alabama. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education gave F's to Alabama and 42 other states after analyzing if students and families can afford to pay for higher education based on income levels, financial aid availability and the colleges and universities in a particular state.

Alabama families devote a large share of their income to pay for public two- and four-year colleges, researchers found. The state also invests little in need-based financial aid, according to the study "Measuring Up 2006." To view the report, go to http://measuringup.highereducation.org/

Tuition, room and board at one of Alabama's public four-year institutions costs 39 percent of the average annual income for the state's poorest families after financial aid is included.

Utah was the best-performing state on the college affordability measure, earning a C-. Sending someone to one of Utah's public four-year institutions costs 26 percent of the average annual income for that state's poorest families.

The Press-Register's coverage of Alabama's higher education report card is available below:

• Good News and Bad News
• State, nation suffering college affordability woes

Alabama’s AP scores, participation rise
And big boom just around the corner
The College Board, the company that administers exams for Advanced Placement (or AP) courses, recently released national statistics for the 2005-06 school year.

High school students may take more difficult versions of regular high school classes in preparation for an AP exam. Exams are scored on a five-point scale, and generally at least a three is required to earn college credit.

Last school year Alabama experienced growth in all three major AP indicators: numbers of exams taken; numbers of exam takers; and exam scores of three, four and five.

The state’s sharpest increase was in scores of three to five, which together grew 12.4 percent compared to the previous year and exceeded the nationwide increase.

Alabama also recorded significant increases in both the number of students taking exams (up 7.8 percent) and the total exams taken (up 6.9 percent). These changes did not outstrip national trends.

It is not unusual for students to take more than one AP exam per year. Of the 35 exams offered, U.S. History and English continued to be the most popular in Alabama.

The state is poised for tremendous growth in its AP programs, said Carol Crawford at the Alabama State Department of Education.

She said state officials have been promoting AP participation, and two efforts that began last year will have greater impact this year and in the future. The state began a distance-learning program called ACCESS that makes AP courses available for the first time in many smaller high schools. In addition, two school systems are benefiting from a National Governors Association Honors State Grant.

“This is a way to push rigor,” said Crawford. These classes “are not just for the very top 5 percent” of students.

Earlier this year the state Legislature increased funding for AP programs. Through a competitive grant program, school systems have applied for a share of the $1 million. Crawford said the state has received an avalanche of applications. “It’s an indication of the readiness and willingness of the districts,” she said.

Additional funding can help with professional development for AP teachers, exam fees, instructional materials and expenses linked to the PSAT, a test that can help identify candidates for AP classes.

Federal money is available to pay test fees for some low-income students, and in some cases fees may be waived. The fee is $82 per exam.

 “Every high school in the state ought to be able to offer AP in one way or another,” Crawford said.

SAT scores hold steady despite changes to college entrance exam
Alabama’s class of 2006 continued to outscore the rest of the nation on the SAT college entrance exam even with the test’s new writing section, according to information released by the College Board.

Those scores should be commended. But, as an editorial in The Huntsville Times sagely noted, “There’s some fine print that needs to be factored in too.”

Few students from Alabama take the SAT, and the ones who do are usually applying to top-tier colleges and universities. About 4,000 of Alabama’s 2006 high school graduates took the SAT, compared to the 33,000 taking the ACT, another college entrance exam. And Alabama’s scores on the ACT trail the national average.

The SAT’s writing section, which includes multiple-choice questions and an essay, helps the test better reflect the skills needed to succeed in college and life, according to the College Board. The writing section was first administered in March 2005.

SAT scores may range from 200 to 800 per section.

In writing, Alabama’s average score was 565, compared to the national average of 497. The state average on critical reading was also565, compared to 503. On math, state students earned an average 561, while the national average was 518.

To learn more about the nationwide picture on the SAT, visit http://www.collegeboard.com/press/releases/150054.html <http://www.collegeboard.com/press/releases/150054.html> 

Alabama’s state report is available from http://www.collegeboard.com/about/news_info/cbsenior/yr2006/reports.html

State Board of Education update:
Financial accountability and retired teachers
The rewards program dominated the board’s Sept. 14 meeting. In other business, the panel approved rules for implementing the School Fiscal Accountability Act, which the state Legislature passed earlier this year to strengthen existing financial guidelines.

The board also approved a plan that will let retired teachers return to the classroom on a part-time basis. The move is designed to ease a teacher shortage.

Attending the Sept. 14 meeting were board members Gov. Bob Riley, Randy McKinney, Betty Peters, Stephanie Bell, Ella Bell, Sandra Ray and Dr. Mary Jane Caylor. Dr. Ethel Hall and David Byers were absent.

In memoriam
Everyone at A+ wishes to express their sympathy to Dr. Ethel Hall upon the death of her husband, Alfred J. Hall Sr. He was a lifelong educator who served more than 30 years in the Jefferson County school system, and, upon his retirement, he generously supported his wife’s efforts to improve education for all children in the state.

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The A+ Education Partnership, based in Montgomery, publishes Education News in Alabama twice a month. A+ is a nonprofit organization that advances policies, programs and initiatives in Alabama's K-12 education system that result in high achievement by every child.

Past editions can be found at www.aplusala.org/ednews/index.asp