Fwd: [arn2-strategy] USA Today Debate on NCLB Tutoring Value

[Susan Harman <susanharman@igc.org>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>
> Date: Wed Jun 20, 2007  8:07:17 AM US/Pacific
> To: ARN Main List <arn-l@interversity.org>,  arn2-strategy 
> <arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [arn2-strategy] USA Today Debate on NCLB Tutoring Value
> Reply-To: arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com
>
> Worth noting because the USA Today editorial page has previously given
> strong support to NCLB
>
> TAXPAYER-FUNDED TUTORING FAILS NEEDY STUDENTS
> PROGRAM COSTS UP TO $2.6 BILLION A YEAR BUT SHOWS FEW GAINS
> USA Today Editorial -- June 20, 2007
>
> Back in 2001, when the No Child Left Behind law was being crafted,
> President Bush wanted students from failing schools to get vouchers to
> attend private schools. The idea was that this would help the students
> and put pressure on the schools to improve. But Democrats, fearing that
> public education would be undermined, hated that idea. So a compromise
> emerged: Students whose schools repeatedly fell short of performance
> goals would be eligible for free tutoring, courtesy of federal 
> taxpayers.
>
> Six years later, hundreds of thousands of students across the USA are
> receiving such tutoring. No one knows exactly how many. Estimates range
> from 450,000 to 600,000. Nor does anyone have a handle on the costs.
> Estimates range from $700 million to as much as $2.6 billion a year.
>
> In everyday terms, that means every man, woman and child in the country
> is contributing $2 to $9 annually for a program that for all its good
> intentions is poorly administered and shows scant evidence of 
> effectiveness.
>
> That's not to say tutoring is a bad idea. Watching effective school
> tutoring — such as the "book buddies" program designed by the 
> University
> of Virginia — is akin to viewing fine ballet in action, with a series 
> of
> carefully choreographed interactions among students, tutors and regular
> teachers. By contrast, many of the federally financed tutoring programs
> under No Child Left Behind resemble a clumsy polka.
>
> The tutoring providers are a mishmash of non-profits, for-profits, 
> local
> school districts and faith-based organizations. Classroom instruction
> and tutoring are often misaligned, according to numerous education
> researchers, think tank studies and news reports. Time gets wasted when
> tutors don't show up. Overly large tutoring sessions of 10 or even 15
> students per teacher produce no gains. Services are scarce for special
> education or limited-English students.
>
> Sometimes this leads to scandal: In Georgia, one tutoring company was
> caught paying students $5 to forge parents' signatures for non-existent
> sessions.
>
> Next week, the U.S. Department of Education will release a report 
> citing
> schools with successful tutoring programs. No doubt some exist. But 
> much
> more is needed to ensure that students are benefiting and that federal
> taxpayers are getting their money's worth:
>
> * Real accountability. States are charged with oversight, but most
> struggle to tell the good from the bad, according to Congress'
> Government Accountability Office. The only true measure is proof of
> learning.
>
> * Research-based programs. Schools are not required to use tutoring
> programs that have been proven effective. In the absence of that,
> fly-by-night outfits have moved into some schools, recruiting students
> by handing out gifts.
>
> Defenders of tutoring argue that states are starting to assert
> accountability over the program. And they argue that you can't measure
> improvements when a child gets only 40 or so hours a year of tutoring.
> Their solution is more of the same, which is a very hard sell.
>
> If a program can't be proven effective, it should lose the money. There
> are other ways to help those kids, who remain very much in need.
>
> http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/06/our_view_on_no_.html?csp=34
>
>
> <>OPPOSING VIEW: TUTORING SHOWS SUCCESS
> STUDENTS WHO GET THE EXTRA HELP MAKE GAINS: PROGRAMS SHOULD GROW
> USA Today Editorial Response -- June 20, 2007
> by Margaret Spellings
>
> Don't give up. That's what we tell our children when they fall behind 
> in
> school. What kind of message would it send to give up on a program that
> helps them get back on track?
>
> The program is called Supplemental Educational Services, or SES. Here's
> how it works: A school must offer low-income students free tutoring and
> after-school instruction if it has not met its achievement goals for
> three years running. Many of these schools are in poor neighborhoods 
> and
> have a poor track record of reform. Students who need extra help should
> not be held hostage to their school's broken promises.
>
> Today, more than 500,000 children receive tutoring through SES, part of
> the No Child Left Behind Act. Now we have concrete evidence of the
> program's success.
>
> A new U.S. Department of Education study found significant improvements
> in reading and math for African-American and Hispanic students in the
> districts surveyed. Students who received the tutoring for longer than 
> a
> year made even greater academic gains. Parents have told me they
> credited the SES program with helping their child learn to read proof
> that a little help goes a long way.
>
> Our only regret is that more students have not benefited. The 450,000
> figure is just a fraction of the 2.4 million who qualify. Many parents
> do not learn their child is eligible for free tutoring until it's too
> late. In some cases, a letter written in bureaucratic jargon and 
> stuffed
> in a student's backpack is considered proper notification.
>
> We are working to solve this problem. We've established pilot programs
> in several states that offer greater flexibility in exchange for 
> greater
> results; in one district Anchorage the SES participation rate tripled.
> We are helping states monitor and evaluate providers to improve the
> quality of tutoring. Finally, President Bush has proposed offering SES
> one year earlier and increasing the per-child funding amount for some
> recipients so they get help when they need it.
>
> Next week, I will host a summit for states, districts, providers and
> parents to share ways to help more children achieve. They're counting 
> on
> us to make SES work not shut it down.
>
> Margaret Spellings is the U.S. secretary of Education.
>
> http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/06/opposing_view_t.html
>
>
>
>
>
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