ED PUBS

P.O. Box 1398 THE POSTAGE AND FEES PAID

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ACHIEVER EDUCATION
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March 15, 2003 • Vol. 2, No. 5 FIRST CLASS

“When it comes to
the education of our
children . . . failure is
not an option.”
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

NEW RESOURCE!
What Works in
entifically Based Research
Sci

s? How can we make sure

ow do we create better school

H that all children can read?

Clearinghouse (WWC) wi
makers answer such quest
The What Works
ll help education decision
ions. A project of the U.S.
’s Institute of Education Sc
iences,
-

Department of Education ed to
house was recently establish
the What Works Clearing into
t solid evide nc e from hig h-quality scientific research
pu grams and practices.
blic so the y ma y ma ke better choices about pro
licy-makers and the pu ation for
the hands of educators, po use of scien tifical ly based research as the found
Act of 2001 calls for the d other
The No Child Left Behind nse , the W W C is pre sently developing standards an
po
ssroom instruction. In res thesize its findings in evide
nce reports for an
many programs and for cla ng res earch an d wi ll syn
iews of existi
tools needed to conduct rev the What
online database. pd ate on the W eb at ww w.w-w-c.org. Also, contact
, subscribe to WWCU 1–866–WWC–9799.
To receive e-mail updates Bo ulevar d, 6M , Ro ckville, MD 20850, or at
77 Resea rch
Works Clearinghouse at 22
 THE

ACHIEVER www.NoChildLeftBehind.gov • March 15, 2003 • Vol. 2, No. 5

$17 Million Awarded to States for Developing Assessments

formula grants to all state education agencies, and approxi-

I
n February, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige
announced $17 million in new grants to fund projects that
will help improve the quality of assessment instruments
and systems used by states to measure the achievement of all
students—especially students with disabilities and those with
limited English proficiency—under the No Child Left Behind
Act (NCLB) of 2001. Funding for these grants was included
in the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) fiscal year 2002
appropriation.
Because of the critical importance of state assessments for
gauging state, school district, school and student progress
toward meeting state standards, the Department is providing
substantial funding to cover the costs of testing, Paige said.
Last summer, the Department provided
$370 million in state assessment
mately $387 million has been appropriated for 2003.
President Bush has requested $390 million for assessments for
FY 2004. All told, by FY 2004, states and other entities will
have received nearly $1.2 billion of support for assessments.
Under NCLB, states design and adopt their own assess-
ments, which must be aligned with state standards. The
assessments provide parents and educators with information
about how well each child is doing in school and whether
schools are making adequate yearly progress toward state
standards.
For more information, please visit
www.ed.gov/PressReleases/02-2003/02122003a.html.

Gaining Knowledge
ers
through Giving to Oth
National and
ast year, the Corporation for

L Community Service recognize

School in Chicago as a Natio
Leader, honoring the more tha
d Nicholas Senn High
nal Service-Learning
n 37,000 volunteer hours
en their community in the pas
t
that Senn’s students have giv
tinues to be a great need for
six years. Although there con
the relationship between serv-
more research that identifies
s in attendance and disci-
ice learning and improvement
enjoyed an improvement in
pline, Senn High School has
The Achiever spoke with
school culture in recent years.
their involvement:
three students at Senn about
ds
, volunteers at Red Cross, lea
Plamena Ivanova, a senior Great
h-graders through the
book group discussions for fift
new arrivals at the
Books Foundation, and tutors
Newcomer Center at Senn.
, tutors younger children at
“[O]nce you start helping people to do Shahbaz Jaweedan, a senior
nter. He also has volunteered
something, then you feel this satisfaction.
Chicago’s Indo-American Ce
That’s what keeps me going,” explained ior citizens center and a
Plamena Ivanova, above right, with at after-school programs, a sen
fellow service-learning student Shahbaz local church. continued on page 2
Jaweedan. Their school, Nicholas Senn High,
has been recognized by the Corporation for
National and Community Service as a
National Service-Learning Leader. Photography by David Joel
 continued from page
1 Rafiq Huda, a junior, performs services Achiever: In addition to your class
at Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in load, how do you find time to be
Chicago and refurbishes computers for involved in these projects?
community donations as part of Senn’s
U.S. Department of Education Plamena: I think that’s one of the
Youth Technology Corps. In addition, he
things I got out of doing community
The Achiever is published by the Office of is helping to implement a schoolwide
service projects: I learned how to man-
Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, battery recycling project.
U.S. Department of Education (ED). age my time. Before I got involved in
Achiever: What motivated you to vol- any projects, I would have the whole
Secretary of Education unteer your time? day on my own and still wouldn’t do as
Rod Paige much as I probably do right now.
Plamena: At the beginning, it was very
Assistant Secretary hard to get involved. ... You don’t Achiever: What do your fellow stu-
Laurie M. Rich know if you’re going to have fun or feel dents think about community service?
good about doing this. But once you
Senior Director Plamena: There’s always this group of
start helping people to do something,
John McGrath students who are like, “I don’t want to
then you feel this satisfaction. That’s
do that. How’s this going to make me
Executive Editor what keeps me going.
smarter? How’s this going to help me?”
Sarah Pfeifer
Achiever: How has your involvement ... Sometimes I see students who have
Editor in service learning projects helped you to just go and do a project because of
Nicole Ashby develop? the 40-hours requirement, but then
they start enjoying it and getting into
Designer Shahbaz: I was quite a shy person. ...
it. So people change. I think that our
Jason Salas Design But when I started this project, com-
school has proven that people are
municating with people, trying to get
involved here, that people care about
Questions and comments to know them, it made a lot of differ-
the community.
Editor ence in me. It improved my speaking
The Achiever skills. It helped me to get to know peo- Achiever: Does community service
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W. ple, what they’re like, how they behave. help make you a better student?
Room 5E217
Achiever: How has your involvement Rafiq: Personally, for my battery proj-
Washington, DC 20202
Fax: 202-205-0676 helped you develop academically? ect I have to do research on my own so
NoChildLeftBehind@ed.gov that makes me research and get knowl-
Rafiq: It happened in sort of a weird
edge. For my museum project, when
cycle in that I developed a special
Subscriptions and address I’m about to do exhibits or Webcasts,
changes
interest in my biology class almost at
I have to do research beforehand on the
the same time I started volunteering at
ED Pubs topic that I’m going to explain. And for
P.O. Box 1398 the nature museum. ... At the museum
my computer project, I’m actually
Jessup, MD 20794 I had the opportunity to break down
1-877-4ED-PUBS (433-7827) learning how to build computers.
that knowledge and interpret it for
edpubs@inet.ed.gov
people who could not understand the For more information about Senn High
Information on ED programs,
textbooks. School’s service learning projects, contact
resources and events Sara Leven at 773-534-2801 or at
Information Resource Center sleven25@yahoo.com.
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20202
1-800-USA-LEARN (872-5327)
usa_learn@ed.gov
www.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/IRC

The Achiever contains news and information

about public and private organizations for
the reader’s information. Inclusion does not
constitute an endorsement by the U.S.
Department of Education of any products or
services offered or views expressed.

Rafiq Huda, along with Senn teacher Manali

Sheth, prepares boxes for a battery-recycling
project they are implementing schoolwide.

2
“Fred Roge
taught a
lessons abo
ll o
rs
f
u
u
t
w

n
a
s,
u
s
a
a
s
rt
a
n
p
u
a
ri
co
A

n
m
m
re
g
e

a
ri

n
ca

d
n icon who
nts, important
loving our
passionate role
Tips for
Parents !!!!!
childre n. H e w a s
S
chools give teacher-made and

odel w h o lov e d America’s children standardized tests for many rea-

m est advocate, sons: to measure how children
. H e w as th e ir b
unconditionally
are doing and to identify problems

n ing , a lw ay s o n their side.” children may be having; to cover

always liste classroom material; and to meet
death of Fred standardized and proficiency stan-
in his remarks on the 2003.
Secretary Paige
rs’ Neighborhood on Feb. 27, dards required by the school district
r Roge
Rogers of Miste or state. Consider asking your child’s
school:

p: No Child • What tests will my child be given

-U during the school year?
Close

Left Behind • Is there a schedule available?

State Flexibility • Will someone be available to
Authority explain the meaning of test
results if I have questions?

T
he State Flexibility Authority program • How important are test scores in
under the No Child Left Behind Act of my child’s grade? Do you consid-
2001 will give up to seven states er other measures such as class
increased flexibility to demonstrate the different ways that certain federal projects, essays and participa-
funds may be used to raise student academic achievement and close the tion?
achievement gaps between groups of students. For a five-year period, this
• Do you review tests and test
program allows states—and between four and 10 districts within those
results with the children? Will my
states—to use certain federal funds in ways that they deem most productive.
child have a chance to under-
The “State-Flex” program, which is part of the law’s Title VI provisions
stand why an answer was
focusing on flexibility and accountability, was created because states and
wrong?
communities are often in the best position to make decisions about how to
target educational resources. This program— • Does the school require profi-
Focuses on what works: Each state must explain how the proposed uses ciency testing in order to move
of funds will increase the state’s capacity to make adequate yearly progress from one grade level to the next
and meet the state’s educational goals. or to graduate?
Reduces bureaucracy and increases flexibility: State-Flex permits state
education agencies to combine state-level funds across programs and specify
how all districts in the state must use certain Title V Innovative Programs The Price of Success:
$10,000
state grants if doing so will help the state raise student achievement and (Spending Per Pupil vs. Cost to Test)

eliminate achievement gaps. At least half of the four to 10 districts selected 8,000 $8,194
within each state must be high-poverty districts.
Increases accountability for student performance: States that fail to 6,000
make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years will lose flexibility
authority. 4,000
Empowers parents: All state education agencies with State-Flex authori-
ty are required to widely disseminate to parents and the public an annual 2,000

report that describes how the state and the districts with which the state has $5.81
performance agreements use the consolidated funds to make adequate yearly 0
Average Spending Testing Cost
progress and advance the education priorities of the state and districts. Per Pupil Per Pupil
For more information, call 202-401-0039 or visit www.ed.gov/
Source: National Bureau of Economic Research,
GrantApps/#stateflex. “The Cost of Accountability,” April 2002.
3