Comparison shows mixed results for U.S. students
Outstanding NYC teacher is top Disney award winner
Voucher program flunks First Amendment test

Comparison shows mixed results for U.S. students

The latest international comparison of eighth-grade students in math and science, released in December by the U.S. Department of Education, shows American students' standing is largely unchanged from four years ago. Among the 38 participating countries in the study--the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R)--the U.S. ranked 18th in science and 19th in math.

Despite that middle-of-the-pack ranking, the report did include some positive news. In both subjects, American eighth-graders scored above the international average. And in some math and science content areas, American students performed better than the international average. (In math, American students performed better than the international average in fractions and number sense; data representation, analysis and probability; and algebra. In science, they topped the international norm in earth science; life science; chemistry; environmental and resource issues; and scientific inquiry and the nature of science.

As with past studies, TIMSS-R also looked at factors such as students' study habits and activities in the classroom, as well as teachers' instructional practices, academic and professional preparation and beliefs about their teaching abilities.

The study confirmed the potentially harmful impact that severe shortages of math and science teachers are having in many school districts: Compared to their counterparts in other countries, U.S. students were less likely to be taught by teachers who majored in math and more likely to be taught by someone who majored in education. (See chart below.) In science, U.S. students were less likely to be taught by a teacher with a degree in physics, as likely as their international peers to be taught by a teacher who majored in biology, chemistry or science education, and more likely to be taught by someone with an education degree.

"These rankings show we're on the right track by insisting on high standards, but we have a long way to go to really surpass our international peers," said AFT president Sandra Feldman, singling out the relative lack of math and science training among U.S. teachers as a special challenge. The shortage of math and science teachers, however, "shouldn't give districts license to put unqualified teachers in classrooms," she noted. "Recruiting incentives, like higher salaries, can attract the most talented and qualified people into the profession."

The report also shows that American eighth graders complete considerably less homework than their international peers. The international average is about an hour per day of homework in both math and science; the figures for U.S. students are 45 minutes per day in math and 30 minutes per day in science.

More information on TIMSS-R is available at http://nces.ed.gov/timss.

Outstanding NYC teacher is top Disney award winner

Emotion and excitement--two important qualities that have helped make Ron Clark an effective educator--surged to the surface when the AFT member was named the Disney Outstanding Teacher of the Year. A sixth-grade teacher at a Harlem, N.Y., elementary school and a member of the United Federation of Teachers, Clark was honored for his creativity and commitment to his students.

Giving his students much of the credit for his teaching success, Clark accepted the award with his entire class by his side. The students had crossed the country with him, traveling from New York City to Los Angeles to support his nomination.

"I have enjoyed my experiences here in the city and loved every challenging minute of it," says Clark, who started his teaching career in rural North Carolina before moving to New York City in 1999.

Now in its 11th year, the Disney American Teacher Awards were developed "to honor members of the teaching profession whose talent, commitment and creativity have a profound and lasting impact on our children as well as our society as a whole," says the Disney organization. Honorees are chosen by a national committee of distinguished educators who nominate teachers in 10 teaching categories, including the humanities, team teaching, special education, wellness and sports, and the arts. Students, parents, educators and community members nationwide nominated 70,000 teachers for the awards.

As part of Disney's American Teacher Awards, honorees attend a summer institute to learn how to share their creative teaching practices. They will also be asked to develop a plan focusing on improving professional collaboration in their schools during the 2001-02 school year.

Voucher program flunks First Amendment test

A federal appeals court has scuttled the controversial Cleveland, Ohio, school voucher program citing violation of First Amendment guarantees against government-supported religion. When it comes to vouchers, Cleveland's religious schools are virtually the only game in town, the majority stresses in a 2-1 decision by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down on Dec. 11. In the 1999-2000 school year, 96 percent of all Cleveland voucher students attended religious schools, and 82 percent of participating schools were church affiliated. "This scheme involves the grant of state aid directly and predominantly into the coffers of private, religious schools and it is unquestioned that these institutions incorporate religious concepts, motives and themes into all facets of their educational planning," Judge Eric L. Clay wrote for the majority.

The AFT and its affiliates joined a coalition of parents, education and civic groups to fight the Cleveland voucher program as a violation of the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause.

The "court decision gives us a real opportunity to focus our energies and resources on proven programs that will continue the progress currently under way in Cleveland's public schools," says AFT president Sandra Feldman. She also noted that vouchers came up big losers in the court of popular opinion in the November elections--voters in California and Michigan rejected voucher ballot measures by large margins.

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