Advocates Putting Lens on High School in NCLB Renewal
Education Week
December 13, 2007
“There are very few people who truly believe that testing in three more years is going to lead us to the promised land” of better high schools, said Bethany Little, the vice president for federal advocacy and policy development for the Alliance for Excellent Education.
http://www.all4ed.org/files/EdWeek_121307.pdf
Calculation of Grad Rates Differ
Boston Globe
November 9, 2007
If Congress doesn't get the job done, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings says she'll consider using her authority to require states to report high school graduation rates in a more uniform and accurate way.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2007/11/09/calculation_of_graduation_rates_differ/
1 in 10 Schools are 'Dropout Factories'
Associated Press via USA Today
October 29, 2007
"The vast majority of educators do not want to push out kids, but the pressures to raise test scores above all else are intense," said Bethany Little, vice president for policy at the Alliance for Excellent Education, an advocacy group focused on high schools. "To know if a high school is doing its job, we need to consider test scores and graduation rates equally."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-10-30-dropout-factories_N.htm?csp=34
High Schools in Crisis
The Hill
September 18, 2007
By Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas) and Bob Wise
For decades, the truth was hidden. Misleading drop-out rates, often as low as 5 percent, were reported for years by schools and districts across the country. As a result, the scope of the crisis in our nation’s high schools was concealed from the public and policymakers. Only recently have those dropout rates — a fundamental indicator of how schools are performing — been rigorously scrutinized and the true extent of the epidemic revealed.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/high-schools-in-crisis-2007-09-18.html
Our Opinion: The NCLB Debate
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
September 17, 2007
"Under current law, graduation rates are not defined consistently, not disaggregated by subgroup, nor required to improve significantly over time in the same way that test scores are. It's as if we are clocking runners in a race every mile but then do not pay attention to whether or not they cross the finish line." Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education.
http://www.all4ed.org/files/AJC_091707.pdf
Congress to consider reauthorization of NCLB
Kingman Daily Miner (AZ)
September 3, 2007
"Chairman George Miller and Ranking Member Buck McKeon, along with their colleagues and staff, should be applauded for creating an open process and dialogue on the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act," Wise said. "The staff discussion draft marks a true step forward for high school reform at the federal level."
http://www.kingmandailyminer.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=13017&SectionID=4&SubSectionID=&S=1
Editorial: Modifying No Child Left Behind
Philadelphia Inquirer
July 5, 2007
Working with the [Campaign for High School Equity] is the Alliance for Excellent Education, an advocacy group focused on high school education. Alliance president Bob Wise, a former governor of West Virginia, says coalition members spent two years deciding its core mission. Now they're ready to act - both separately and collectively.
http://www.all4ed.org/files/PhilInq_070507.pdf
Democrats Blast Education Plan
U.S News and World Report
February 5, 2007
Education, once a model for bipartisanship, looked more like a battlefield as President Bush released his budget proposal to Democratic discontent.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070205/5education.htm