The Report Card and The Nation’s Report Card

by Kathy Belcher
STEM Cluster Specialist

School is out and the results are in!  By now, teachers, students, and parents across Texas have seen “The Report Card” for 2010-2011.  Did your students’ knowledge, skills, and performance improve? Do you know how your students’ achievement compared to others at your school, other high schools in your school district, across Texas, or the nation? How did your CTE students do in comparison to students in other programs?

At a time when local, state, and federal budget cuts are a reality, knowing how your CTE students’ rank in comparison to other students, can make a case for continued CTE funding. It is important to know that we are preparing our students with the knowledge and skills to become both college-ready and career-ready for the workforce.  According to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, “CTE has an enormous, if often overlooked impact on students, school systems, and our ability to prosper as a nation.”  If we want to be able to make better decisions to improve our education system in America, it is necessary to know how prepared our students are for the future challenges of this globally-competitive and knowledge-based economy.  

The National Assessment of Educational Process (NAEP), referred to as “The Nation’s Report Card,” provides results on the performance of students in public schools in various states and urban districts. The National Assessment Governing Board sets policy for NAEP and is responsible for developing the framework and test specifications that serve as the blueprint for the assessments. The 26-member Governing Board, created by Congress in 1988, is an independent, bipartisan group whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public.

Because of the importance of technology and engineering, the National Assessment Governing Board decided that an assessment of technological literacy would be important, and created the first ever national assessment Technology and Engineering Literacy Framework for the 2014 NAEP.  “The framework focuses on ‘literacy’ as the level of knowledge and competencies needed by all students and citizens. People who are literate about technology and engineering are not expected to ‘do’ engineering or produce technology in the professional sense.”  It is becoming common knowledge that engineering and technology literacy benefits ALL students and society.

The 2014 NAEP is designed to measure performance of a representative sample of the American students in grades 4, 8, and 12 and is organized around three interconnected areas of technology and engineering literacy:

·         Technology and Society

o   Interaction of Technology and Humans

o   Effects of Technology on the Natural World

o   Effects of Technology on the World of Information and Knowledge

o   Ethics, Equity, and Responsibility

·         Design and Systems

o   Nature of Technology

o   Engineering Design

o   Systems Thinking

o   Maintenance and Troubleshooting

·         Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

o   Construction and Exchange of Ideas and Solutions

o   Information Research

o   Investigation of Problems

o   Acknowledgement of Ideas and Information

o   Selection and Use of Digital Tools

Many of the essential knowledge and skills that will be assessed in The 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are apparent in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career and Technical Education.  Looking to 2014 - How will “The Report Card” for our CTE students compare to “The Nation’s Report Card”?

For information about The 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), visit the National Assessment Governing Board Web site: http://www.nagb.org/ and click on “Interactive Framework for NAEP Technology and Engineering Literacy Poster”.

References:

Rigor, Relevance, and the Future of Career and Technical Education. Remarks of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (April 19, 2011)Retrieved April 26, 2011 from U.S. Department of Education Web site:http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/rigor-relevance-and-future-career-and-technical-education

Technology and Engineering Literacy Framework for the 2014 NAEP. Retrieved April 26, 2011 from the National Assessment Governing Board Web site:http://www.nagb.org/publications/frameworks/tech2014-framework/ch_toc/index.html

Visit the Dallas Arts District

by Gary Juren, Architect

Did you know Dallas is home to the largest urban Arts District in the United States? The Dallas Arts District has been a thirty year plan in the making. The 68 acre district is in the heart of downtown Dallas and has become a living museum of architecture. Within a few blocks you will find buildings by Pritzker Prize winning architects Norman Foster, Rem  Koolhaas, I.M. Pei and Renzo Piano. The Dallas Center for Architecture provides a 90 minute walking tour which is led by trained docents on the first and third Saturdays of each month.  More information on these tours will be found at:  info@dallascfa.com

I want you to take notice of four buildings in particular as you explore the 19 block district.  The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Nasher Sculpture Center, Winspear Opera House and Wyly Theatre are stunning components of this rare neighborhood.

The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center was designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect I.M. Pei.  Opening in September of 1989, the Meyerson has become the model expression of a modern symphony center.  Its soaring panes of glass and beautiful expanses of white marble are home to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The 2062 seat concert hall is ranked as one of the world’s greatest concert halls.

The Nasher  Scultpture Center was designed by 1998 Pritzker Prize winning architect Renzo Piano.  Opening in October of 2003, the museum houses one of the world’s finest collections of modern sculpture.  The 54,000 square foot glass and marble center is a quiet refuge within downtown Dallas. The innovative cast aluminum sunscreen device controls and filters the natural light into the galleries, eliminating the need for artificial illumination most of the time. The 2 acre outdoor sculpture garden designed by landscape architect Peter Walker exhibits pieces from Picasso, Rodin, Miro, Moore, Matisse, Lichtenstein and many others.

The Winspear Opera House was designed by Prizker Prize winning architect Norman Foster.  Opening in October of 2009, the 198,000 square foot facility is home to the Dallas Opera.  A grand louvered portico radiating from all sides of the opera house provides shade and creates a temperate outdoor oasis thereby reducing the energy requirements.  The bright ruby red glass panels create a bold signage in both the day and night time.

The Wyly Theatre was designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Rem Koolhaas.  Opening in October of 2009, the 80,000 square foot 575 seat is home to the Dallas Theatre Center. The Wyly is one of the most innovative theatre buildings in the world.  The traditional arrangement of support spaces wrapped around the stage are instead organized vertically into a stacked design. Aluminum tube extrusions encasing the exterior glass panels give an effect of a giant metal stage curtain.

The Dallas Arts District architectural richness extends beyond these beautiful projects. Examples of significant buildings constructed in the 1880s, which is only 40 years after the founding of Dallas, can be found within this cultural landmark.  Make time to visit and appreciate this rare jewel.

What Effective Schools Do

Dr. Jerry Wircenski
CTE Project Director

Educators from across the United States and Canada met at the 28^th Annual Effective Schools Conference in March.  The mission of Effective Schools has been to create successful educational environments where all students can reach their academic potential.  The keynote address, given by Dr. Larry Lezotte, focused on what effective schools do.  It was interesting to note that across the audience, regardless of location or grade level, educators agreed that there are some foundations that effective schools all have:

1.       In the effective school, all staff members believe that all students can and will obtain mastery of the intended curriculum and in their professional capacity to enable all students to attain that mastery.

2.       In the effective school, the administrator acts as an instructional leader by persistently communicating the mission to staff, students, parents, and the larger community.  The administrator understands the principles of effective instruction and uses that knowledge in the management of the instructional program.

3.       In the effective school, staff develops a clearly articulated mission, focusing on successful learning for all students.  Through collaboration;, the staff forms a shared understanding of and a commitment to instructional goals, priorities, assessment procedures, and accountability.

4.       In the effective school, teachers manage instructional time to ensure that, for a high percentage of the time, students are actively engaged in teacher-directed learning activities focused on essential skills.

5.       In the effective school, student progress is monitored frequently using a variety of assessment procedures.  Assessment results are used to improve individual student performance and to adapt the instructional program to meet student-learning needs.

6.       In the effective school, an orderly, purposeful, and businesslike atmosphere free from the threat of physical and emotional harm exists.  The school culture and climate are conducive to teaching and learning.

7.       In the effective school, parents and other members of the community are familiar with the school’s mission, and the leadership provides a variety of opportunities for them to support the mission.

These principles can be used to gauge the present effectiveness of a school.  Each member of the school community has a role in advancing the school climate and operation to meet these principles.

For more information about Effective Schools to  www.effectiveschools.com.  A valuable resource on this topic is What Effective Schools Do: Re-Envisioning the Correlates (Lawrence W. Lezotte and Kathleen McKee Snyder).