ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 8, Number 14 February 12, 1999 In this issue: [1] Secretary of Education Richard Riley Appears Before Senate Committee [2] Secretary Riley Appears Before House Committee; State of American Education Address On February 16 [3] National Assessment of Educational Progress Reading Scores Announced On February 9 U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley -- accompanied by Dr. Judith Johnson, deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and Under Secretary of Education Dr. Marshall Smith -- appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to discuss the Administration's education budget for FY2000. Secretary Riley thanked the Senate for their support for reading -- a reference to the passage of the Reading Excellence Act in the preceding Congress. He stressed the Clinton Administration's emphasis on high expectations for student achievement and that over 95 percent of all dollars go to local school districts. He explained the three-part strategy: (1)early intervention for disadvantaged students (2) improving teacher quality, and (3) requiring real accountability. Riley said the Department would press for an end to "social promotion" and that schools that insisted on that policy or did not show improvement would not receive federal funds. He said that a recent Government Accounting Office report had shown that states considered Goals 2000 funds a significant catalyst for change. He added that efforts to improve teacher quality in FY2000 would be establishing a set-aside in Title I for professional development for teachers. Sen. James Jeffords (R-VT), chair of the Committee, asked Riley when he expected to present the Administration's legislative proposal for Elementary and Secondary Act reauthorization. Riley replied he expected to have the proposal ready around the middle of March. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) expressed the need to expand coverage for the Individuals with Disabilities Act. He added that there had been significant increases in education funding from FY96 to FY99, and that teachers had been given courses in education and instruction in how to include parents, the other side of the coin was to be sure students were not just repeating the same grade. Riley replied that there was need to stress early intervention in cases of students who were not doing well academically, the Department did not have a policy of failing students, but presented more options to help in terms of summer school, after school programs, and a plan to deal with students who need special help. Sen. Chuck Hegel (R-NE), a new member of the Committee, asked Riley to explain the President's educational philosophy and followed up with a question about the role of the federal government. Riley responded by outlining many of the main education programs, stressing the Administration's strong educational standards and assessment, and emphasizing how critical it was to make sure the standards reached the classroom in this year of reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Riley followed-up by saying it was not the federal role to control but to share what is working in other states. He concluded his remarks by stating that the President's budget would consolidate Eisenhower Professional Development, Goals 2000 and Title VI to ensure that standards would reach the classroom. The Department feels there should be more funding for professional development, but that states would use the funding as they see fit to reach high standards in the classroom. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) asked for more details about evaluation of teachers and whether there would be a test like that in Massachusetts. Riley answered that new teachers would be tested, that they would have annual contracts and peer review after two or three years with receipt of professional license thereafter. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) said that in his state there was a large drop-out rate of Hispanic students who leave school before graduation. He was concerned that in the budget $100 million was in the Department of Labor to deal with school drop-outs and questioned why that funding was not in the Department of Education. Riley replied that the Hispanic Caucus had been helpful with expansion of bilingual education and he felt smaller class size would also help the problem. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) asked whether there were results in evaluation of the twelve demonstration states where class size reduction was conducted. Riley said it was too early for an analysis. Reed also remarked that he was concerned about the President's budget zeroing out ESEA Title VI. Reed expressed concern about what would happen to school libraries. [2] Secretary Riley Appears Before House Committee; State of American Education Address On February 16 On February 10, the Secretary appeared before the House Education and the Workforce Committee to discuss the President's FY2000 Budget. Later in the day Secretary Riley appeared on The Lehrer Hour in a discussion with Rep. William Goodling (R-PA), chair of the House Committee. Goodling stated that while he agreed with the President's emphasis on teacher training and accountability "the devil was in the details." Secretary Riley will give the Sixth Annual State of American Education Address on Tuesday, February 16. To register and for further information about satellite coordinates call 1-800-USA- LEARN, or go to http://www.ed.gov/inits/stm. [3] National Assessment of Educational Progress Reading Scores Announced On February 10 the Department of Education and Vice President Al Gore announced the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading Report Card to the Nation. The report card showed that average scores increased since 1994 for students in grades 4, 8 and 12, with lower performing 4th graders and most middle school students making especially significant progress. "These results are encouraging and show that we are beginning to move in the right direction," said Gore, adding there was a lot of room for improvement. He stressed that reading is the most basic of all basics and said there was need to work together to improve this "critical skill for all of our nation's children." The framework for the test was developed by the National Assessment Governing Board. The test measures students' performance in situations that involve reading different kinds of materials for different purposes, i.e., reading for literary experience, reading to gain information, reading to analyze, and reading to perform a task. The report demonstrated that at all three grade levels in 1998, students who reported watching three or fewer hours of TV each day had higher average reading scores than students who reported watching more TV. State results of the NAEP test will be available in March. Copies of the report are available by calling 1-877-4ED-PUBS (1-877-433- 7827) or online at http://www.nces.ed.gov. ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. 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