Independent Women's Forum - Research Areas > Standards, Curriculum, and Testing

Rhee-markable

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:28:00 EDT

Over at Critical Mass, Erin O'Connor points to this profile of DC School Chancellor Michelle Rhee.

O'Connor sums it up perfectly: "Rhee is fearless, determined, inventive, and utterly unique. Her approach combines tough-minded handling of resources, unwavering accountability for teachers and administrators, and sincere, personal investment in local urban communities, grounded in the area's black churches."

Check out the whole article here.

Food for Thought

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:56:00 EDT

Over at Marginal Revolution, Alex Tabarrok provides some interesting observations about the gender gap (or lack thereof) between males and females in average math ability.

The First Lady on Education

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:31:00 EDT

Over at USA Today, Laura Bush talks education and specifically defends the testing requirements of No Child Left Behind.

Check it out here.

Rhee to the Rescue

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:18:00 EDT

Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is taking positive steps toward meaningful education reform in Washington, D.C. The Washington Post has the details:

D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee is proposing a contract that would give mid-level teachers who are paid $62,000 yearly the opportunity to earn more than $100,000 -- but they would have to give up seniority and tenure rights, two union members familiar with the negotiations said yesterday.

Under the proposal, the school system would establish two pay tiers, red and green, said the union members, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential. Teachers in the red tier would receive traditional raises and would maintain tenure. Those who voluntarily go into the green tier would receive thousands of dollars in bonuses and raises, funded with foundation grants, for relinquishing tenure.

Teachers in the green tier would be reviewed yearly and would be allowed to continue in their jobs only if they passed an evaluation and boosted students' test scores, the union members said.

Fancy that -- paying teachers for performance and not for seniority! More here.

Education News

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:38:00 EDT

Teachers in Oklahoma City are resigning their union memberships to protest union protection of unqualified teachers. The Oklahoman has the story.

Hat tip: The Union Label

Title IX Invades Academia

info@iwf.org (Stacy Chin) — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:45:00 EDT

In a paper released today, "Studying Women and Science: Why Women's Lower Rate of Participation Rate in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Courses Isn't a Problem for the Government to Solve," Carrie Lukas argues that this application of Title IX would be unnecessary and an inappropriate use of government power. This paper explores claims that discrimination is the primary cause of men's and women's different participation rates and details the many other factors-such as differences in aptitudes, temperament, and interest-that likely contribute to this outcome.

IWF's Allison Kasic also wrote a piece that was published last week on Townhall.com which warns about the potential consequences of expanding Title IX in the academic arena.

Position Paper No. 608 Studying Women and Science

info@iwf.org (Carrie L. Lukas) — Mon, 19 May 2008 09:53:00 EDT

Executive Summary

In 2007, the National Academy of Sciences released a report, Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering, which examined the causes of the different rates of participation among women and men in science, technology, engineering, and mathematic disciplines (STEM).[i] The report explored several potential factors that might contribute to fewer women than men pursuing STEM degrees, but concluded that discrimination was the central impediment to women's progress in these fields. The report called for greater government action and oversight to reverse this trend. The media have reported these findings, and many policymakers have embraced the report and explored legislation to codify the report's recommendations.

Yet policymakers and the public should not simply accept the report's conclusion that discrimination is the primary cause of enrollment differences and should consider the potential pitfalls of greater government involvement in students' decisions about what field to pursue. Innate differences in aptitudes, temperament, and interest likely play a role in leading fewer women than men to pursue and commit to STEM disciplines. Attempts to steer students toward one area of study to achieve a politically correct gender balance would ignore students' true preferences, potentially leaving them worse off.

Greater government intervention to encourage institutions to reach an outcome closer to parity in enrollment in STEM fields could also have a discriminatory impact on men. While policymakers and bureaucrats attempting to institute policies to encourage institutional change would undoubtedly claim not to be creating a "quota" or encouraging the creation of different expectations for male and female students, the experience with the use of Title IX in the athletic arena should serve as a warning to the public. Title IX has encouraged schools to embrace a quota mentality in college athletics, leading many schools to eliminate men's teams in order to reduce the number of male athletes so that men's and women's participation rates are more equal. If this approach is applied to academic subjects, it could adversely impact students and scholarship.

Even those who champion women's interests alone should be concerned about the potential for Title IX's application to academy. After all, women now account for six in ten undergraduate students, and earn the overwhelming majority of degrees in biology, psychology, and much of the humanities. If Title IX is applied to STEM, it would be reasonable to assume that Title IX also would have to be applied to other academic areas. As a result, women may find themselves discouraged from pursuing disciplines that, for a host of reasons, they have traditionally found most attractive.

To the extent that there are barriers to women pursuing STEM, including discrimination against women and stereotypes that deter women from pursuing these fields, individual institutions are best suited to counteract these problems. Numerous nonprofit organizations reach out to young women to encourage them to pursue degrees in STEM fields. Individual schools are attempting to reach out to prospective female students as well as find ways to make STEM departments more hospitable to female students. These are the best ways to alleviate social pressures without undermining the independence of the academy.

[i] National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2007.

Teachers Union 1, Kids 0

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:47:00 EDT

Longview, Washington's Daily News rightfully gives a "thumbs down" to the Washington Education Association for rejecting a $13.2 million grant to improve AP classes:

That $13.2 million grant Washington state won last year to enhance the teaching of Advanced Placement courses in math and science is history. It's lost because of the financial incentives it would have provided for teachers who improve test scores. The Washington Education Association didn't much like the idea of tying teacher pay to student performance on exams. Neither did the teachers union like the involvement of an outside party, the grant provider, in teacher-pay decisions.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which provided $10 million for the grant, couldn't understand why a compromise couldn't be worked out. Other states receiving similar grants had teachers unions and found ways to accept the grant money, said foundation official Steve Seleznow. "Honestly, I can't figure out why they couldn't solve this." Neither can we.

More commentary here.

Hat tip: Union Label

The Challenges We Face

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:30:00 EST

Over at Human Events Online, IWF's Carrie Lukas recaps the issues covered at IWF's global economy summit, including education:

Despite our massive spending on elementary and secondary education, too many of America's children receive a mediocre education that simply does not prepare them to compete with their peers internationally. Scores released just this week on the International Student Assessment show that U.S. 15 year olds ranked 17th out of the 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in science and 24th in math. The United States is clearly failing to prepare much of the next generation to participate and contribute to our increasingly knowledge-based economy.

Read her article here.