A new report by LFA and Grunwald Associates, with support from AT&T, examines how parents perceive the value of mobile devices, how they see their children using mobiles, and what they think of the possibilities for mobile learning.
Statement By the Learning First Alliance on TIMSS-R Benchmarking Study
Delivered by Gordon Ambach, Executive Director, CCSSO, member of the Learning First Alliance Board of Directors, and U.S. Representative to the IEA General Assembly. Washington, D.C. - The Learning First Alliance, a permanent partnership of 12 leading national education organizations, commends the states and districts who participated and Boston College and the IEA who conducted this path-breaking benchmarking project as part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R). The Alliance has three major observations about this study. First, the project fulfills a long-standing hope of states and districts to compare their student achievement directly with 38 nations. Second, the study shows that results of the 13 participating states cluster near the United States average; this finding signals the importance for states of comparing their achievement and their education practices to those of high-performing nations where achievement varies more extensively than performance among the states. Third, the contrast in performance among the participating districts is dramatic. The gap between student performance in Chicago and its suburbs is greater than the gap between the United States and Singapore. This report starkly displays the enormous challenge in our nation to provide the opportunity that will close the achievement gap within the U.S. These points are elaborated below. First, in our increasingly global economy, mathematics and science knowledge and problem-solving skills are essential. When students enter the workforce, they automatically compete in the international job market. When corporations decide where to locate, the quality of the schools and education of the workforce greatly influences whether they locate in a particular state in the United States or abroad. For years, many have hoped for a valid and reliable method of comparing state and district performance with the performance of other nations. Now this is finally possible and, for the first time ever, a significant number of states and districts know their comparative international performance and can compare key factors about their education practices. We applaud the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education for supporting this effort. In 2003, there is another opportunity for state and district benchmarking; we urge the participation of states and districts. Second, the fact that looking at the performance of the 13 participating states in an international context shows that their performance clusters around the U.S. average is significant. To examine major differences in achievement, states must look outward to high-performing nations and analyze what might be relevant to improving state and U.S. performance. TIMSS provides a rich set of comparative data on student achievement and a wide range of educational factors (e.g., curriculum, instruction, teacher preparation, homework, school conditions) states can use to pinpoint areas for further investigation, to shape their improvement efforts, and to communicate with the public about the status of mathematics and science education. The use of TIMSS data to inform state and district practice has already occurred. For example, the First in the World Consortium, which first participated in TIMSS in 1995, has used TIMSS to analyze and align curriculum with instructional practices, to assist teachers in improving their instruction, and to better use assessment and technology to improve student learning. Other examples of how states will be using TIMSS-R as a benchmark and tool are: Third, the benchmarking study displays wide disparities among district achievement in both mathematics and science. Some districts score among the best in the world and some - particularly districts with high percentages of low-income students -- perform far below the national and international averages. In low-performing districts, few students are achieving at levels that would predict success in college and the workplace. To illustrate the extreme gap in performance consider this: in the highest performing districts about 90% of students were at or above the international median, while in the lowest performing districts about 30% of students were at the international median. Put differently, a student who performed in the top 5% of all students in a low-performing district would have just average performance in the top U.S. districts. These results confirm prior data showing wide differentials in performance between high and low-income districts. But placing this in an international context shows that within our nation there are districts where student performance compares to that of students in Singapore, Japan and the other highest-performing nations, and districts where student performance is similar to low-performing nations such as Indonesia, Turkey and Tunisia. The differences in U.S. district performance reflect the opportunities for learning available at home and at school. Students tend to perform at higher levels when they are taught math and science by teachers trained in those fields, in classes that emphasize problem-solving and reasoning and that use high quality instructional materials, and in schools with adequate supplies, libraries and physical plant. Students do better in schools where there are lower rates of absences, classroom disturbance, and cheating. These findings do not surprise us. They confirm, from an international perspective, the types of actions that must be taken. These results highlight the urgent need for the nation to focus attention and resources on low-performing schools and districts - and to use data from TIMSS as part of a comprehensive improvement effort. They suggest the recommendations of the Learning First Alliance's 1998 Mathematics Action Plan - which responded in part to the original TIMSS results - by calling for a rigorous curriculum in all schools for all students targeted toward mastery of the content of Algebra I and Geometry by the end of 9th grade. To support this goal, our Action Plan also calls for high-quality, aligned assessments; teachers well-prepared in the content matter they teach; professional development required over the span of teachers' careers; use of data for continuous improvement; and family and community engagement in support of student achievement. TIMSS shows that practices in the classroom - the rigor of the curriculum and the quality of teachers - make a difference. We are convinced that if all students had access to the curriculum we propose taught by well-prepared teachers, student performance would rise and move U.S. performance toward top levels. The Learning First Alliance urges particular attention to investment in the quality of teaching. In the U.S., there is a great disparity between teachers' belief that they are well prepared to teach mathematics and student performance. Coupled with the lessons from the first TIMSS videotape study, this suggests gaps between what teachers think they do in the classroom, what research suggests teachers should do, and what many actually do. It compels the need for effective professional development on a massive scale. The Alliance will work with and through its members to support national, state and local efforts to ensure every student is mathematically and scientifically proficient. As part of our work we are developing guidance on how states and districts can support productive systems of professional development. The findings of this TIMSS-R Benchmarking Study are very important. We urge educators, parents and policymakers across the nation to review them and renew commitments toward education improvement in a worldwide context. The Learning First Alliance, founded in 1997, is a permanent partnership of leading education organizations working together to improve student learning. The Alliance members are: the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Council of Chief State School Officers, Education Commission of the States, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Education Association, National PTA and the National School Boards Association. Learning First Alliance publications, including Every Child Mathematically Proficient: An Action Plan, are available on this website.
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