India passes free education bill

A quarter of private school places will be reserved for poor children

The Indian parliament has approved a landmark education bill which seeks to guarantee free and compulsory education for children aged between six and 14.

The bill, passed by the lower house of parliament, will set up new state-run neighbourhood schools.

It will also force private ones to reserve at least a quarter of their places for poor children.

Currently about 70 million children receive no schooling, and more than a third of the population is illiterate.

The bill was passed by the upper house last month.

It now needs presidential assent - a mere formality, correspondents say - to become law.

'New era'

India's Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal described the passage of the bill as "harbinger of a new era" for children to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

"We as a nation cannot afford our children not going to schools," he said.

The minister said the bill covers children with disabilities and that the government is planning to set up special schools for them.

"This bill provides for the inclusion of children who are disadvantaged because of disability. The government is not only setting up special schools for them but doing all it can to provide education to them in all types of schools," Mr Sibal said.

The bill also ends widespread practices by which schools impose admission fees on parents to guarantee their children a place and bureaucrats enjoy discretionary powers on deciding who to let in.

Achieving universal education is one of the UN's Millennium Development Goals to be met by the year 2015.

Critics of the bill, however, say it is not clear how the government plans to pay for this.

Also, they say it does not cover children below the age of six and therefore fails to recognise the importance of the early years of a child's development.

They say it also does little to address India's inequitable school system under which there are vast discrepancies between well-funded private schools and state-run schools with poor quality teaching staff and infrastructure.

At the moment India spends a little over 3% of its GDP on education.

Rules fuel more 'exemplary,' 'unacceptable' ratings for Texas schools

The number of campuses and school districts receiving the state's highest "exemplary" rating more than doubled this year, while the number of districts performing poorly also reached a high point.

Also Online

School ratings

Link: TEA ratings page

Both trends were caused by two major changes in the state's school ratings rules. One tweak helped schools by considering some students as passing state tests who did not. But tougher new dropout standards caused some schools and districts problems.

Without either of the changes, the number of best- and worst-rated Texas campuses would have remained virtually unchanged.

School ratings are closely watched, as they are considered marks of quality that matter to parents, lawmakers, campus educators and neighborhood reputations. Ratings are based mainly on TAKS scores and how many students stay in school.

A report from the Texas Education Agency shows that 73 districts and charter operators and 1,111 campuses were rated "exemplary" only because they benefited from the so-called Texas Projection Measure, which overlooks failing scores if students are predicted to pass in the future.

The Dallas school district, for example, was helped by the projection measure -- with 40 percent of 201 campuses ranked "acceptable" or higher because of the new rule, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis.

Advocates say the measure is fairer to struggling campuses and students because it gives credit for big improvements, but critics say it waters down the meaning of coveted ratings such as "exemplary" and "recognized."

State Education Commissioner Robert Scott on Friday gave full credit to the new adjustment factor in helping schools jump in the ratings, but he also noted the change was approved by both the federal government and the Texas Legislature this year. He added that the projection numbers are proving to be very accurate predictions where they've been checked out.

"I know there has been some concern [about the measure], and I share that concern," Scott said at a briefing. "It is going to help schools in their ratings. But I don't want it to help too much, and I don't want it to create a false impression of excellence when the performance is not there. We will continue to monitor the data, and if it doesn't bear out [the results], we won't use it."

Of about 1,100 North Texas schools rated "acceptable" or higher, nearly 400 got a boost from the new measure, according to an analysis by The News.

But the measure didn't keep Dallas' Spruce High School off the low-performing list.

Spruce received the state's lowest rating of "academically unacceptable" for a fifth straight year. The campus was affected by the stricter way of counting dropouts.

The Pleasant Grove school faced closure if its rating did not improve, but the state gave it permission to open this year.

DISD officials say Spruce was spared because of big gains on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test and a major restructuring of the campus last school year that allowed only incoming freshmen and graduating seniors who wished to return. Also, the completion rate is based on 2007-08 information, before the school reorganized.

DISD projected that Spruce would receive the state's second highest rating -- "recognized."

Scott said he plans to talk to the district about its plans for Spruce. He said the school would be "subject to closure" if it doesn't get off the state's low-performing list next year.

Samuell High School, which remained on the state's low-performing list for four consecutive years, became "academically acceptable."

Scott said two factors contributed to the high number of "unacceptable" campuses -- low scores on the TAKS science test and the tougher dropout standards. The number of "unacceptable" school districts jumped from 32 to 87 -- a record in the history of the Texas accountability system, according to TEA.

The commissioner gave school districts a break the past two years by delaying implementation of the new dropout standards -- based on the new federal definition of a dropout. But the reprieve was lifted this year and 48 districts dropped to "unacceptable" because of it.

"We set a very high standard on dropouts this year, but I am still not happy with a standard that only requires 75 percent of students to complete high school," he said.

The dropout rule had an impact on McKinney ISD, a suburban Collin County district used to high state ratings. McKinney High School received the "unacceptable" rating because of completion rates for Hispanic and low-income students, district officials said. McKinney school officials plan to appeal the rating.

Richardson ISD, which had predicted that all of its schools would be at least "recognized," had one school fall to "acceptable" because of the dropout rate. Lake Highlands High School fell two students short of an 85 percent graduation rate for Hispanics, Richardson schools spokesman Tim Clark said. The district also plans to appeal the rating.

In Dallas, the number of schools rated "recognized" and "exemplary" increased from 103 to 128. At the same time, the number of "academically unacceptable" schools increased slightly from 21 to 22, in large part because of the completion rate rule, the district says.

Dallas schools Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said in a news release that some ratings would be appealed, but did not name the schools. Overall, Hinojosa said, the TEA ratings "are a fairly accurate assessment" of where DISD is right now.

Staff writers Sam Hodges and Jeffrey Weiss contributed to this story.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM AREA DISTRICTS

Garland

The Garland district is celebrating its improved "recognized" status. Officials said the district was helped by the new Texas Projection Measure. And the district's high school completion rate was more than 85 percent in all schools across all student groups, so that factor did not pull the district's rating down. Overall, the district has 33 "exemplary" campuses, 20 "recognized" and 13 "academically acceptable" schools.

Karel Holloway

McKinney

The McKinney ISD plans to appeal McKinney High's rating of "unacceptable," an embarrassing turn of events for the suburban Collin County district. Superintendent Tom Crowe said the rating was due to high school completion rates for Hispanic and low-income students. But those rates, he said, are owed to a handful of coding errors by McKinney High officials as they tracked students. He said the district accepts responsibility and has put in systems to avoid more mistakes. "It is a real shame that one indicator has caused this rating," Crowe said.

Sam Hodges

Lancaster

The Lancaster school district received an unusual "unacceptable" rating because of a high dropout rate among middle school students. The district reported a 2.1 percent annual dropout rate for seventh- and eighth-graders. The state requires a rate of no more than 2 percent.

Holly K. Hacker

Carrollton-Farmers Branch

The district slid to an "academically acceptable" rating this year from a "recognized" rating the previous year. The district has flip-flopped between those two ratings for several years. The district did not meet required improvement on high school completion rates for Hispanic students.

Katherine Leal Unmuth

WHERE ARE FINAL TAKS SCORES?

Normally, the Texas Education Agency releases school-by-school TAKS scores during the summer, before school ratings come out. This year, the state's test score release has been delayed because of retesting related to the swine flu. A date for the 2008-09 results has not been set.

COMPLETING HIGH SCHOOL

Completion rates take on new meaning, as they are now figured into Texas school ratings. Here is a sampling of the area's latest district rates, which were released Friday.

District
Completion rate

Dallas
77.8

Lancaster
81.9

Irving
85.9

Texas
88

Carrollton-Farmers Branch
91.1

Garland
91.8

Richardson
93.4

McKinney
93.8

Mesquite
94.6

Lewisville
95.1

Rockwall
96.2

Frisco
96.3

Plano
97.4

Allen
97.7

Carroll
99.2

Highland Park
99.6

Note: The completion rate is the percentage of students graduating from high school in four years or continuing in high school for a fifth year.

SOURCE: Texas Education Agency

A STRICTER DEFINITION OF 'DROPOUT'

Statewide, 88 percent of the Class of 2008 graduated from high school four years after the start of their freshman year or were enrolled for a fifth year. This year, the following students are now counted as dropouts.

Those who fail the TAKS graduation test. About one in seven seniors failed the exam last year.

Those who return for a fifth year of high school, but fail to show up during the first month of the new school year. Previously, students could return any time during the fall semester.

Those enrolled in GED programs but who have not received their GED. Previously, students in GED classes were not counted as dropouts.

Resources for the Development of Natural Sciences Education

The goal of this project is to provide fully furnished learning environments for the natural sciences, which in the Macedonian curriculum include biology, chemistry, physics, geography, and mathematics. In order for students to have optimal circumstances for learning they must have access to the necessary equipment. In the natural sciences experimentation and tactile discovery are an integral part of the learning process. To this end, this project aims to supply the natural sciences teachers with necessary instruments and equipment. In addition to scientific instruments, a laptop is needed to be used in conjunction with the LCD projector that the school is providing. Teachers can then incorporate many more visual and audio materials into their lesson plans. Instead of simply reading about an experiment, students will be able to watch a video of the experiment on the projector and then conduct the experiment themselves with the equipment purchased. Natural sciences education will be made more accessible to more students who have learning styles that do not conform to the traditional textbook method.
The school is providing an LCD projector, a printer, and a photocopier to the project. Teachers will be able to use these to create supporting materials for their lessons, from supplemental handouts to assessments of what students have learned. In order to complete the project the school is requesting the funds needed to purchase classroom equipment for the natural sciences and a laptop to go along with the LCD projector.

Education in Chicago: Why School Reform Won't Happen

At the end of my last blog, I said that in my next post I would show why so-called "school reform" has become another empty abstraction, a slogan for politicians. I said I would demonstrate why there is no chance that real school reform will ever happen in Chicago. Here are half a dozen reasons:

(1) For 50 years we -- the public, the critics of education, the education establishment itself -- have known that schooling is in deep trouble, and not just public instruction in ghetto schools. Yet no substantive reforms have been carried out.

Everything has been proposed, everything tried -- several times. The latest cure-all promises tough, real action and painless, revolutionary, unprecedented, serendipitous, timely benefits. Its results have proven to be mixed -- and puny.

The more we talk, the greater the uncertainty about what to do grows. The more ideas put forward, the more difficult practical action becomes. The more we "innovate," the more resistant and hardened the problems of removing ignorance become.

Lately, we babble about "choice," "market forces," "competition" and charter schools. They will automatically, magically make our instructional shortcomings disappear. Would that it were so!

(2) "Excellence" is a fine slogan. But, as Jacques Barzun said 30 years ago, in academics we don't want excellence and we won't have it. Not in any school activity except sports.

And this despite the fact that everybody pays lip service to the ideal of fostering in our lower schools a group of students who achieve superior intellectual power -- for that is what "excellence" means, and only that -- while pushing the rest to surpass themselves, making school difficult and demanding for everybody.

(3) The army of M.A.'s and Ph.D.'s and EdD.'s turned out by our university schools of education and teachers colleges, the huge group of professional educators and administrators, has failed for the last 50 years to lead, innovate, reform or do anything to justify the faith that Chicago mayors, parents and the public placed in them.

University schools of education have no intention of changing their deeply flawed preparation of teachers. They continue to inculcate methods, approaches, models and paradigms into aspiring teachers, while they ignore subject matter as beneath their dignity.

Add the flood of white papers and reports produced by educational researchers and the special commissions taxed with investigating this or that "problem." They mostly end by showing the extent of our failure and misery. We are helpless to change even the tiniest sliver of public education.

That is why Ph.D. and EdD. "leaders" in Chicago are now irrelevant, forgotten, reduced to carping from the sidelines. They have nothing to suggest of the slightest worth to the Chicago Public School system.

(4) The power of the "study" to prevent practical action.

Our education experts obsessively study and re-study the effects of this or that action. These endless preliminary efforts delay and sabotage the very measures they seek to justify. As we all know, every group, every administration, every committee must have its very own study of the problem it faces.

Custom forbids that we should rely on the findings of other studies gathering dust on the shelves of our libraries. As a result, studies ultimately have no effect because we can't resist the temptation to do them over again. In repeating research, we discover the same things, or the very opposite; it makes no difference. Our revolutionary new findings end by numbing us to further revelations, and creating paralysis by confusion and indecision.

(5) The 9-year-old black schoolboy who decides that he is not going to learn to read.

This astonishing phenomenon began in the l960's and has gotten worse every decade since.

What on earth? Fourth-grade boys refusing en masse to learn to read because it's "sissy" or "white" or "girls' stuff"? Who have they been listening to?

This is a huge and terrifying problem, arising partly from gangs that tell these youngsters that learning to read is a plot by whites to keep them down, partly from the idolization of basketball and football players that begins before the children enter first grade, and partly from the deeply skeptical attitudes of some impoverished black parents towards all authority, teachers and principals included.

I wish our Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, and the President himself would stop talking to the press -- completely! -- about playing pickup basketball and the Final Four and about instituting a playoff for BCS football schools.

No more photos of Obama and Duncan shooting hoops!

I wish black parents across the country would organize a total boycott of basketball by their sons. The worship of basketball, by seducing young black men to scorn reading and writing as unmanly, has ended by maiming and killing more of them than alcohol or drugs, more than anything since slavery. Basketball is a scourge in the black community.

(6) The breakdown of classroom discipline.

The newest statistic: In more than 100 elementary schools in Chicago, the annual teacher turnover is 25 percent or more.

This statistic means that for tens of thousands of Chicago children, getting schooled is a pipe dream. It will never happen, no matter what else we do. When teachers leave in these numbers, year after year, at the same school, it means that the school is in chaos.

To sum up: These six obstacles will sabotage any chance of reform for many years to come, and the last two are especially powerful reform-stoppers.

This half-dozen by no means exhausts the list of insuperable roadblocks that Mr. Ron Huberman faces. I could name off the top of my head another dozen reform-killers.

But the spreading sickness of classroom bedlam, and the thousands of male fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders who can't and won't read, are the very heart of our problems.

If Mr. Huberman is to succeed where Paul Vallas, Arne Duncan, Ted Kimbrough, Argie Johnson, Ruth Love, Angeline Caruso, Manford Byrd and Joseph Hannon failed in the last 30 years, he must un-riddle and kill these two sphinxes before he does anything else.

All new reforms will founder on these shoals, and we'll have to wait for a new civilization to rise on the ashes of the old before we see a revival of respect for the classroom as a place sacred to democracy.