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FIRST IN THE WORLD CHALLENGE FOR MATH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
January 22, 1997
Today, President Cli,nton began his second term calling for national standards of
excellence in education. He announced that the suburban Chicago-area First in the
World Consortium of local school systems had scored among the top countries in the
world in 8th grade science, and among those ranked 2nd in the world in math, on an
'international test of math and science achievement. President Clinton issued a "First
in the World" challenge, calling on local communities and states to use the same
international test and benchmarks to set and work to meet high standards of
excellimce for their students.
',;.
.
PROOF THAT THE U.S. CAN COMPETE WITH THE WORLD'S BEST. The First in
the World Consortium of Chicago-area school districts participated in the 1996, 41-nation
Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), the only local school systems in the'
United States to do so. Eighth grade students in the First in the World Consortium school
districts scored among the best in the world in science ,and math. While overall results
(released last November) showed the U.S. 8th graders to be below average in math and
slightly above average in science, the Consortium students scored in the top tier of nations in
science, and in the top tier of nations below Singapore in math. '
Approximately 50 percent of students in the Consortium districts take algebra and geometry
, , by the end of the 8th grade, compared to 20 percent of eighth graders nationally who take
algebra. While the U.S; as a whole remains short of the goal of being first in the world in
math and sCience, these results show what is possible, when teachers, students, parents and '
communities, set high expectations and work to meet them.
FIRST IN THE WORLD CHALLENGE TO ALL STATES AND COMMUNITIES:
USE THE TIMSS TEST TO RAISE STANDARDS.' Today, the President is,challenging
states and school districts across the United States to follow the example set by the First in
the World Consortium, to set and work to achieve national standards of excellence, and to
begin this work by comparing their own academic standards and achievement levels against
the best in the world.
The President's First in the World Challenge: To help spark faster progress the President
challenges states and school districts across the country to use the TIMSS test to set high
standards for math and science.
o Testing: The U. S. Department of Education announced today it will assist up to 60
states and school districts to take the TIMSS test in 1997 or 1998, interpret the results, and
examine their performance 'against 41 nations to learn how they can do better.
o Benchmarking: The Department of Education will help participating states and districts
,compare their standards, assessments, teaching and curricula to world-class levels of
�excellence.
Federal Support for Improved Teaching: The Education Department and the National
Science Foundation will assist participating states and school districts make the most effective
use of federal education resources. such as Goals 2000 to help set standards of excellence. the
Eisenhower Professional Development program and NSF's Teacher. Enhancement Program to
help train teachers to teach challenging material. and NSF's Instructional Materials
Development Program to provide curriculum materials aligned with national standards.
.0
o Helping Communities Learn from What Works: .The Education Department and the
National Science Foundation will provide support in establishing networks of states ~d
communities that want to learn from each other as they improve math and science education,
including over the Internet.
TIMSS: NATIONAL STANDARDS, INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKS OF
EXCELLENCE, AND A ROADMAP FOR IMPROVEMENT. TIMSS is the most
thorough international study of mathematics and science education ever conducted. The
study, conducted in 1995-96. compared th.e performance of 500.000 students in 41 countries
worldwide~ including a random sample of 40.000 American students, in grades 4, 8, and 12.
. National Standards and International Benchmarks of Excellence: TIMSS has established.,
for the first time, international benchmarks of world-class student achievement in math and
science. The tests reflect an international consensus on what students should know and be
able to do in mathematics and science at grades 4, 8 and 12. The TIMSS test also reflect the
kind of high. expectations called for in the United States by the National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics (NCTM) standards. as well as the National Science Education Standards
developed by the National Academy of Sciences and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy
developed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
A Roadmap for Improvement: :The TIMSS findings released last Fall provide a roadmap
for boosting math and science achievement in the U.S. The study found that the relatively
low performance of U.S. students in math was due to the fact that the U.S. students receive a
less demanding and less focused curriculum. teachers have inadequate professional
development opportunities. and classroom instruction focuses more on teaching mathematical
procedures and less on helping students understand mathematical concepts. In contrast,
discipline problems, diversity among students. the amount of school time spent on instruction,
or the amount of time students spend doing homework or watching TV did not account for
differences in performance between the U.S. and higher performing countries such as Japan
and Germany.
AMERICA IS MAKING PROGRESS IN MATH AND SCIENCE, BUT MUCH
IMPROVEMENT IS NEEDED. Since the early 1980's, students are taking much tougher
courses and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores have improved in
both math and science, with gains in mathematics equal to at leaSt one grade level. On the
SAT, average math scores are at their highest in 25 years, even as the number and diversity
of test-takers have increased. However, the recently released 8th grade results on the 41
�.'
nation Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) shows that the U.S. is just
slightly above average in science and below average in math. That isn't good enough; in this
, inf~.)fmation era, our students need to perform much better in order to succeed economically.
A RENEWED CALL TO RAISE EXPECTATIONS FOR ALL STUDENTS: The
Chicago':'area consortium and other States and districts -- urban, rural, and suburban -- that
accept ,the First in the World challenge will provide leadership, and reform models that other
communities can benefit from. Noting that, in this information ag~, today's students will be
judged against international standards in the workplace, the President called on schools
nationwide to help all students master the basics and advanced skills in math and science to
','"
world-class levels.
�FIRST IN THE WORLD CHALLENGE FOR MATH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
January 22. 1997
Today, President Clinton began his second tenn calling for national standards of
excellence in education. He announced that the suburban Chicago-area First in the
World Consomumof local school systems had scored among the top countries in the
world in 8th grade science, and among those ranked 2nd in the world in math, on an
international test ofmath and science achievement. President Clinton issued a "First
in the World" challenge. calling on loealcommunities and states to use the same
international test and benchmarks to set and work to meet high standards of
excellence for their students.
.
PROOF THAT THE U.S. CAN COMPETE WITH THE WORLD'S BEST. The First in
the World Consortium of Chicago-area school districts participated· in the 1996. 41-nation
Third International Math and Science. Study (TIMSS). the only local school systems in the
United States to do so. Eighth grade students in the First in the World Consortium school
dismcts scored among the best in the world in science and math. While overall results
(released last November) showed the U.S. 8th graders to be below average in math and
slightly above average in science. the Consortium students scored in the top tier of nations in
science, and in· the top tier of nations below Singapore in math. .
Approximately·50 percent of students in the Consortium districts take algebra and geometry
.
.
by the end of the 8th grade. compared to 20 percent of eighth graders nationally who take
algebra While the U.S. as a whole remains short of the goal of being first in the world in
math and science. these results show what is possible when teachers, students, parents and .
communities set high expectations and work to meet them.
FIRST IN THE WORLD CHALLENGE TO ALL STATES AND COMMUNITIES:
USE THE TIMSS TEST TO RAISE STANDARDS. ·Today. the President is. challenging
states and school districts across the United States to follow the example set by the First in
the World Consortium. to set and work to achieve national standards of excellence, and to
begin this work by comparing their own academic standards and achievement levels against
the best in the world.
.
The President's First in the World Challenge: To help spark faster progress the President
challenges states and school districts across the country to use the TIMSS test to set high
standards for math and science.
o Testing: The U. S. Department of Education announced today it will assist up to 60
states and school districts to take the TIMSS test in 1997 or 1998. interpret the results. and
examine their performance against 41 nations to learn how they can do better.
o Benchmarking: The Department of Education will help participating states and districts
.compare their standards,assessments, teaching and .curricula to world-class levels of
�excellence.
Federal Support for Improved Teaching: The Education Department and the National
Science Foundation will assist participating states and school districts make the most effective
use of federal education resources, such as Goals 2000 to help set standards of excellence, the
Eis.enhower Professional Development program and NSF's Teacher. Enhancement Program to
help train teachers to teach challenging material,'a.nd NSF's Instructional Materials
Development Program to provide curriculum materials aligned with national standards.
.0
o Helping Communities Learn from 'What Works: .The Education Department and the
National Science Foundation will provide support in establishing networks of states and.
communities that want to learn front each other as they improve math and science education,
including over the Internet.
TIMSS: NATIONAL STANDARDS, INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKS OF
EXCELLENCE, AND A ROADMAP FOR IMPROVEMENT. TIMSS is the most
thorough international study of mathematics and science education ever conducted. The
study, conducted in 1995-96, compared the performance of 500,000 students in 41 countries
worldwide, including a random sample of 40,000 American students, in grades 4, 8, and 12.
. National Standards and International Benchmarks of Excellence: TIMSS has established,
for the first time, international benchmarks of world-class student achievement in math arid
science. The tests reflect an international consensus on what students should know and be
able ,tQ do in ~athematics and science at grades 4, 8 and 12. The TIMSS test also reflect the •
kind of high. expectations called for in the United States by the National Council of Teachers
, of Mathematics (NCTM) standards, as well as the National. Science Education Standards
developed by the National Academy of Sciences and the Benchmarks 'for Science Literacy
developed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
A Roadmap for Improvement: The TIMSS findings released last Fall provide a roadmap
.for boosting math and science achievement in the U.S. The study found that the relatively
low performance of U.S. students in math was due to the fact that the U.S. students receive a
less demanding and less focused curriculum, teachers have inadequate professional
development opportunities, and classroom instruction focuses more on teaching mathematical
procedures and less on helping students understand mathematical concepts. In' contrast,
discipline problems, diversity among students, the amount of school time spent on instruction,
or the amount of time students spend doing homework or watching TV did not account for
differences in performance between the U.s. and higher performing countries such as Japan
and Germany.
AMERICA IS MAKING PROGRESS IN MATH AND SCIENCE, BUT MUCH
IMPROVEMENT IS NEEDED. Since the early 1980's, students are taking much tougher
courses and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores have improved in
both math and science, with gains in mathematics equal to at leaSt one grade level. On the
SAT, average math scores are at their highest in 25 years, even as the number and diversity
of test-takers have increased. However, the recently released 8th grade results on the 41
�nation Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) shows that the U.S. is just .
slightly above ~verage in science and below average in math. That isn't good enough; in this
. information era, our students need to perform much better in order to, succeed e~nomically.
A RENEWED CALL TO RAISE EXPECTATIONS FOR ALL STUDENTS. The
Chicago-area consortium and other states and districts •• urban, rural, and suburban -- that
accept the First in the World challenge will provide leadership and reform models that other
communities can benefit from. Noting that, in this information age,today's students will be
judged against international standards in the workplace. the President called on schools
nationwide to help all students master the basics and advanced skills in math and science to
world-class levels.
�1.. '
THE FIRST IN THE WORLD CONSORTIUM
The First in the World Consortium is a group of school districts. from Chicago's North
Shore that came together in 1995-- the outgrowihof discussions among the local
superintendents -- and made a serious committment to work together to reach the
National Education Goals codified in the Goals 2000 Act. and to provide a "world
class education" for their students;
<
OBJECTIVES OF THE FIRST IN THE WORLD CONSORTIUM
The Consortium's initial efforts are directed toward three objectives:
o Benchmarking Consortium school's performance against international standards
in math and science. using the Third International Mathematics and Science Study.
o Creating a forum to clarify world-class standards for business leaders, policy
makers. educators and community members.
o Establishing a network of learning communities involving educators, parents. and
community leaders within the Consortium school districts and beyond, as a means of
achieving the Consortium goals.
BENCHMARKING CONSORTIUM PERFORMANCE: TIMSS RESULTS
TIMSS revealed that the ConsOrtium is well within reach of its goal of becoming first
in the world in both math and science.
o Among the first in the world in eighth-grade science. Students in the First in the
World .Consortium performed as well as students in the top tier of countries, with an
average score of 584. Only Singapore's students performed better, but not significantly
better, with an average score of 607. The average score of U.S. eighth grade science
students on TIMSS was 534, comparedto an international average of 516.
o Among the second in the world in eighth-grade math. Only Singapore's
students, with an average score of 643, performed significantly better than Consortium
students. Students in the First in the World Consortium scored 587 on average, ranking
in the top tier of countries below Singapore, including Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and
Belgium. The average score of U.S. eighth grade math students on TIMSS was 500,
compared to an international average of 513.
o Higher expectations are a key to the success of the First in the World
Consortium. A key difference between teaching and leatning in the First in the
World districts and the U.S. as a whole is that more is expected of Consortium
students. Approximately 50 percent of students take algebra and geometry by the end
of the eighth grade compared to 20 percent of eighth graders in the U.S. overall who
take algebra.
The consortium met all the guidelines for student selection and test administration set
�.'
by the international guidelines.
CONTINUING WORK OF THE FIRST IN mE WORLD CONSORTIUM
o In September 1996, the Consortium received a $150,000 grant from the U.S.
Department·of Education to support their efforts to improve curriculum, professional
development, teaching, assessment, and parent involvement in learning, based on their
TIMSS. The grant also supports sharing this information with other districts across
the country.
o Illinois granted the Consortium $300,000 in federal Goals 2000 funds to support
their efforts and link student performance on statewide achievement tests to
performance on TIMSS.
o Teacher Learning Networks have been formed across the Consortium districts so
that teachers can share best practices, teaching techniques. and look at their textbooks
and other materials. The Learning Networks will be creating a comprehensive
curriculum plan from kindergarten to grade 12 that will be available for other districts.
�.'
FIRST IN THE WORLD CONSORTIUM SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Dlinois·
Wheeling School District 21
Northbrood School District 27
Northbrook School District 28
Sunset Ridge School District 29
Northbrook/Glenview School District 30
Glenview School District 34
Glencoe School District 35 .
Avoca School District 37
Wilmette School District 39
~t.
Prospect School District 57
Golf, School District 67
Niles Elementary School District 71
Lincolnwood School District 74
Frankfort CC School District 157-C
New Trier Township Community High School District 225
Niles Township Community High School District 219
Glenbrook High School District 225
Northern Suburban Special Education District
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
�.
i
THE FIRST IN THE WORLD CONSORTIUM
The First in the World Consortium is a g(Oup of school districts. from Chicago's North
. Shore that came together in 1995-~ theoutgrowih'of discussions among the local
superintendents -- and made a serious committment to work together to reach the
National Education Goals codified in the Goals 2000 Act, and to provide a "world
class education" for their students.
OBJECfIVES OF THE FIRST IN THE WORLD CONSORTIUM
The Consortium's initial efforts are directed toward three obJectives:
o Benchmarking Consortium school's performance against international standards
in math and science, using the' Third International Mathematics and Science Study.
o Creating a forum to clarify world-class standards for business leaders, policy
m,akers, educators and community members. .
o Establishing a network of learning communities involving educators, parents, and
community leaders within the Consortium school districts and beyond, as a means of
achieving the Consortium goals.
BENCHMARKING CONSORTIUM PERFORMANCE: TIMSS RESULTS
TIMSS revealed that the ConsOrtium is well within reach of its goal of becoming first
in the world in both math and science.
o Among the first in the world in eighth-grade science. Studtmts in the First in the
. World Consortium performed as well as students in the top tier of countries, with an
average score of 584. Only Singapore's students performed better, but not significantly
better, with an average score of 607. The average score of U.S"eighth grade science'
students on TIMSS was 534, compared to an international average of 516.
o Among the second in the world in eighth-grade math. Only Singapore's
students; with an average score of 643, peiformed significantly better than Consortium
students. Students in the First in the World Consortium scored 587 on average, ranking
in the top tier of countries below Singapore, including Korea, lapan. HongKong, and
Belgium. The average score of U.S. eighth grade math students on 'TIMSS was 500.
compared to an international average of 513.
,
,
o Higher expectations are a key to the success of the First in the World
Consortium. A key difference between teaching and learning in the First in the
World districts and the U.S. as a whole is that more is expected of Consortium
students. Approximately 50 percent of students take algebra and geometry by the end
of the eighth grade compared to 20 percent of eighth graders in the U.S. overall Who
take algebra.
The consortium met all the guidelines for student selection and test administration set
�".;'
by the international. guidelines.
CONTINUING WORK OF THE FIRST IN THE WORLD CONSORTIUM ..
o In September 1996. the Consortium received a $150.000 grant from the U.S.
Department of Education to support their efforts to improve curriculum. professional
development; teaching. assessment, and parent involvement in learning. based on their
TIMSS. The grant also supports sharing this infonnation with other districts across
the country.
o nIinois granted the Consortium $300,000 in federal Goals 2000 funds to support
their efforts and link student perfonnance on statewide achievement tests to
perfonnance on TIMSS.
o Teacher Learning Networks have been fonned across the Consortium districts so
that teachers can share best practices. teaching techniques, and look at their textbooks
and other materials. The Learning Networks will be creating a comprehensive
curriculum plan from k~ndergarten to grade 12 that will be available for other districts.
�FIRST IN THE WORLD CONSORTIUM SCHOOL DISTRICTS
IDinois·
Wheeling School· Distri·ct 21
Northbrood School District 27
Northbrook School District 28
Sunset Ridge School·District 29
Northbrook/Glenview School District 30
Glenview School District 34
Glencoe School District 35
Avoca School District 37
Wilmette School District 39
Mt. Prospect School District 57.
Golf, School District 67
Niles Elementary School District 71
Lincolnwood School District 74
Frankfort CC School District 157-C
New Trier Township Community High School District 225
Niles Township Community High School District 219
Glenbrook High School District 225 .
Northern Suburban Special Education District
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
�..
,
!
1 .•
1'
/
'l,
THIRD INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE STUDY (TIMSS)
The Third International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS report, is the most
thorough international study of mathematics ~d science education ever conducted. During
the 1995-1996 school year, TIMSS compared the performance of 500,000 students in 41
countries worldwide, including 40,000 Americans, at levels corresponding to U.S. grades 4, 8,
and 12.. In addition to tests and questionnaires, it included a curriculum analysis, videotaped
observations of mathematics classes, and case studies of policy issues.
TIMSS was coordinated by the Internationat Association for the Evaluation of Educational
Achievement (lEA), ,a Netherlands-based organization of ministries of education and research
institutions in its member countries. Each country participating in TIMSS paid for its own
national data collection. TIMSS in the U.S. was was supported by more than $30 million
from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of
Education and the National Science Foundation (NSF). '
KEY FINDINGS FROM THE 8TH GRADE STUDY
Last Fall the 8th grade results of TIMSS were released. Results from the 4th and 12th grade
portion of the study will be released later.
Achievement
o
Among the 41 countries participating in TIMSS, U.S. 8th graders scored below the
international average iIi mathematics and above the international average in science.
o
In comparison to our key trading partners, the scores of U.S. students in math were
similar to those in England and Germany, while behind scores in Japan, France and
Canada The scores of U.S. students in science were above those in France, similar to
scores in England, Canada and Germany, and behind those in Japan.
Curriculum
o
The content taught in U.S. 8th grade math classrooms is at a 7th grade level in
comparison to other countries.
o
The 8th grade math curriculum is less focused in the U.S. compared to other countries
such 'as Japan and Germany. However, the 8th grade science curriculum is similar to
that of other countries.
o
U.S. 8th grade students actually spend more hours per year in math and science classes'
than German and Japanese students.
Teaching and Teachers
o
U.S. mathematics classes require students to engage in less high-level mathematical
thought than in Germany and Japan.
o
U.S" mathematics teachers' typical goal is to teach students mathematical procedures,
while Japanese teachers' goal is to help them understandJl1athematical concepts. '
�o
Japanese teachers widely practice what U.S. mathematics reformers (e.g., National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics) recommend, while U.S. teachers do so
infrequently.
o
Unlike new U.S. teachers, new Japanese and German teachers imdergo long-term
structured apprenticeships.
o
U.S. teachers have more college education than their colleagues in all but a few of the
41 countries participating in TIMSS
o
Japanese teachers have more opportunities to discuss teaching-related issues with
colleagues than do U.S. teachers.
Students
o
In Japan and Germany, all 8th grade students are expected to learn the same material
in mathematics, while in the U.S. students in different ability groups study very
different material.
o
Heavy TV watching is as common among U.S. eighth graders as it. is among their
Japanese counterparts.
TIMSS IS AN IMPORTANT TOOL FOR IMPROVING TEACHING AND LEARNING
o TIMSS has established international benchmarks of world-class student achievement
in math and science. Because of TIMSS, we now have for the first time clear information
about what other countries expect their student to learn in math and science, and how well
they actually achieve. We know now what world-class standards of excellence are. And, as
a result of President Clinton's First in the World Challenge, states and communities around
the country can now compare their academic standards and performance with the highest .
performing nations in the world, and develop concrete plans for meeting international
benchmarks of performance.
o TIMSS showS the importance of high expectations. TIMSS shows a link between
.having higher expectations for students and getting .better results. High performing countries
introduced more challenging material, in earlier grade levels, than the U.S. The topics taught
to eighth graders in the U.S. math curriculum are comparable to those taught in the 7th grade
in other countries.
o TIMSS provides a road map for improvement. The TIMSS findings pinpoints specific
areas where American education can improve: the need for higher standards, including giving
more students algebra in the 8th grade; better teacher preparation and increased opportunities
for professional development for teachers; a more focused curriculum and more focused
textbooks, to enable students to study subject matter in greater depth; and, instructional
practices that help students more deeply understand mathematical and scientific concepts as
well as master procedures.
�THIRD INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE STUDY (TIMSS)
The Third International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS report, is the most
thorough international study of mathematics and science education ever conducted. During
the 1995-1996 school year, TIMSS compared the performance of 500,000 students in 41
cOuntries worldwide, including 40,000 Americans, at levels corresponding to U.S. grades 4, 8,
and 12., In addition to tests and questionnaires, it included a cUrriculum analysis, videotaped
observations of mathematics classes, and, case studies of policy issues.
TIMSS was coordinated by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational
Achievement (lEA), a Netherlands-based organization of ministries of education and research
institutions in its member countries. Each country participating in TIMSS paid for its own
national data collection. TIMSSin the U.S. was was supported by more than $30 million
from the .National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of
Education and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
KEY FINDINGS FROM THE 8TH GRADE STUDY
Last Fall the 8th grade results of TIMSS were released. Results from the 4th and 12th grade
portion of the .study will be released later.
Achievement
o
Among the 41 countries participating in TIMSS, U.S. 8th graders scored below the
international average in .mathematics and above the international' average in science.
o
In comparison to our key trading partners, the scores of U.S. students in math were
similar to those in England and Germany, while behind scores in Japan, France and
Canada. The sCores of U.S. students in science were above those in France, similar to
scores in England, Canada and Germany, and behind those in Japan.
Curriculum
o
The content taught in U.S. 8th grade math classrooms is at a 7th grade level in
comparison to other countries.
o
o
. The 8th grade math curriculum is less focused in the U.S. compared to other countries
such as Japan and Germany. However, the 8th grade science curriculum is similar to
that of other countries.
U.S. 8th grade students actually spend more hours per year in math and science classes'
than German and Japanese students.
Teaching and Teachers
o
U.S. mathematics classes require students to engage in less high-level mathematical
thought than in Germany and Japan.
o
. U.S. mathematics teachersl typical goal is to teach students mathematical procedures,
while Japanese teachersl goal is to help them understand ;nathematical concepts.
�,
,
o
Japanese teachers widely practice what U.S. mathematics reformers (e.g., National '
C(,)Uncil of Teachers of Mathematics) recommend, while U.S. teachers do so
infrequently.
o
Unlike new U.S. teachers, new Japanese and German teachers undergo long-term
structured apprenticeships.
'
o
U.S. teachers have more college education than their colleagues in all but a few of the
41 countries ,participating in TIMSS
o
,Japanese teachers have more opportunities to discuss teaching-related issues with
colleagues than do U.S. teachers.
Students
o
In Japan and Germany. all 8th grade students are expected to learn the same material
in mathematics, while in the U.S. students in different ability groups study very
different material.
o
Heavy TV watching is as common among U.S. eighth graders as it is among their
Japanese counterparts.
TIMSS IS AN IMPORTANT TOOL FOR IMPROVING TEACHING AND LEARNING
o ' TIMSS bas establisbed' international bencbmarks of world-class student acbievement
in math and science. Because of TIMSS, we now have for the first time clear information ,
about what other countries expect their student to learn in math and science, and how well
they actually achieve. W~ know now what world-class standards of excellence are. And, as
, a result of President Clinton's First in the World Challenge, states and communities around
the, country can now compare their academic standards and performance with the highest
performing nations in the world, and develop concrete plans for meeting international
benchmarks of performance.
o TIMSS sbows the importance of bigb expectations. TIMSS shows a link between
having higher expectations for studentS and getting ,better results. High performing countries
'introduced more challenging material, in earlier grade levels, than the U.S. The topics taught
'to eighth graders in the U.S. math curriculum are comparable to those taught in the 7th grade
in other countries.
TIMSS provides a roadmap for improvement. The TIMSS findings pinpoints specific ,
areas where American education can improve: the need for higher standards, including giving
more students algebra in the 8th grade; better teacher preparation and increased opportunities
for professional development for teachers; a more focused curriculum and more focused
textbooks, to enable students to study subject matter in greater depth; and, instructional
practices that help students more deeply understand mathematical and scientific concepts as
well as master procedures.
'
'0
�FIRST IN THE WORLD CHALLENGE FOR'MATH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
HOW THE CHALLENGE WILL WORK The TIMSS test will be administered in the
Spring of 1997 and again in the Spring of 1998. Interested states and school districts should
apply to the U.S. Department of Education by January 31. 1997 for the Spring 1997 testing,
and.. by July 31, 1997 for the Spring 1998 administration. The application materials will
describe the commitment that they are willing to' make in terms of:
'
•
•
•
•
Examining math and science standards for academic rigor.
Carefully reviewing their curricUlum and student achievement testing.
Providing intensive professional development.
Paying the cost of administering and scoring TIMSS ($50,000 per grade participating,
with the option of taking 4th, 8th, and/or 12th grade exams).
The U. S. Department of Education will make its selections to achieve a mix of states and
districts, urban and sub~rban areas from around the country. Additional criteria will include:'
•
•
•
The level of reform activity focused on raising standards already underway.
The commitment of the applicant, as well as parents and the business community, to
significant and sustained education improvement.
Innovation in bringing together a mix of federal, state, and local resources in support
of n,eeded reforms to improve performance based on TIMSS.
.
Depending on the number and quality of submissions received by the end of January, the U.S.
Department' of Education will identify between 5 and 15 school districts, consortia of districts,
or states for participation in the Spring, 1997 administration of TIMSS. The Education .
Department will select 45-55 participants for the Spring, 1998 test, to be ,announced in the
Fall of J 997.
The Education Department will fund the ongoing structure and activities necessary for TIMSS
to be made available and the results analyzed for all First in the World States and
Communities.
' '
Assistance, to districts and states that accept the challenge will come from the Education
Department working in conjunction with the National Science Foundation. Both agencies will
make available a range of resources, as appropriate. These may include, for example, the
technical resources of the Regional Education Labs. the Eisenhower Regional Math and
Science Consortia, the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse. and the programs of the Office of
Elementary and Secondary Education. It will also include the financial resources provided by
programs such as GOals 2000, Eisenhower Professional Development Funds, and Title I funds
(which pay for extra help in basic and advanced skills in core subjects). The NSF will
continue to provide support to state-level and urban-district math and science reform efforts,
as well as supporting, high quality training for teachers.
"
�FIRST IN THE WORLD CHALLENGE FOR MATH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
HOW THE CHALLENGE WILL WORK The TIMSS test will be administered in the
Spring of 1997 and again in the Spring of 1998. Interested states and school. districts should·
apply to the U.S. Department of Education by January 31, 1997 for the Spring 1997 testing,
and. by July 31, 1997 for the Spring 1998 administration. The application materials will
describe the commitment that they are willing to' make in terms of:
•
•
•
•
Examining math and science standards for academic rigor.
Carefully reviewing their curricUlum and student achievement testing.
Providing intensive professional development.
Paying the cost of administering and scoring TIMSS ($50,000 per grade participating,
with the option of taking 4th, 8th, and/or 12th grade exams).
The U. S. Departrilent of Education will make its selections to achieve a mix of states and
districts, urban and suburban. areas from around the country. Additional criteria Will include:
•
•
•
The level of reform activity focused on raising standards already underway.
The commitment of the applicant, as well as parents and the business community, to·
significant and sustained education improvement.
Innovation in bringing together a mix of federal, state, and local resources in support
of needed reforms to improve performance based on TIMSS.
.
Depending on the number and quality of submissions received by the end of January, the U.S.
Department of Education will identify between 5 and 15 school districts, consortia of districts,
or states for participation in the Spring, 1997 administration of TIMSS. The Education .
Departnient will select 45-55 participants for the Spring, 1998 test, to be announced in the
Fall of 1997.
The Education Department will fund the ongoing structure and activities necessary for TIMSS
to be made available and the results analyzed for all First in the World States and
Communities.
. .
Assistance. to districts and states that accept the challenge will come from the Education
Department working in conjunction with the National Science Foundation. Both agencies will
make available a range of resources, as appropriate. These may include, for example, the
.technical resources of the Regional Education Labs, the Eisenhower Regional Math and
Science Consortia, the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse, and the programs of the Office of
Elementary and Secondary Education. It will also include the financial resources provided by
programs such as Goals 2000, Eisenhower Professional Development Funds, and Title I funds
(which pay for extra help in basic and advanced skills in core subjects). The NSF will
continue to provide support to state-level and urban-district math and science reform efforts,
as well as supporting high quality training for teachers.
�l
...
l
i
\
I
FIRST IN THE WORLD CONSORTIUM
PROOF THAT THE U.S. CAN COMPETE WITH THE WORLD'S BEST
•
Today, President Clinton announced the results for 8th grade mathematics and science
.of the Chicago-area First in the World Consortium school districts that participated in
the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS). Students in these districts '
scored in the top tier of nations in science, and in the top tier of nations below
Singapore in math:
8th Grade Science Results
8th Grade Math Results
Top Tier Nations
Average
Singapore!
607
Consortium
584
Czech Republic
574
Nation
Japan
Korea
Bulgaria
Netherlands
Slovenia
Austria
United States
International
Average
Nation
Singapore2
Top Tier Nations
Average
643.
565
565
560
560 .
558
Korea
Japan .
lIong Kong
Consortium
Belgium-Flemish
Czech Republic
Slovak Rep~blic
607
605
588
587
565
564
547
534
United States
500
516
International
Average
513
571
1. Differences in scores among countries in this
category are not significantly different from one
another.
2. Singapore's scores are significantly higher than
.thoseof the other nations on this list. Scores of the
other nations are not significantly different from
each other.
�FIRST IN THE WORLD CONSORTIUM
PROOF THAT THE U.S. CAN COMPETE WITH THE WORLD'S BEST
•
Today, President Clinton announced the results for 8th grade mathematics and science
of the Chicago-area First in the World Consortium school districts that participated in
the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS). Students in these distncts
scored in the top tier of nations in science, and in the top tier of nations below
Singapore in math.
8th Grade Math Results
8th Grade Science Results
Top Tier Nations
Average
Nation
Singapore l
607
Consortium
584
Czech Republic
574
Japan
571
Korea
565
Bulgaria
565
560
Netherlands
Slovenia
560
Austria
558
Nation
Singapore2
Top Tier Nations
Average
643
Korea
Japan
Hong Kong
Consortium
, Belgium-Flemish
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
607
605
588
587
565
564
547
United States
534
United States
500
International
Average
516
International
Average
513
L Differences in scores among countries in this
category are not significantly different from one
another.
2. Singapore's scores are significantly higher than
those of the other nations on this list. Scores of the
other nations are not significantly different from
each other.
�E X E CUT I V E
OFF ICE
o
F
THE
P R E S I D E N T
..
26-Jan-1997 04:02pm
'"
TO:
cohen m
FROM:
','
Jennifer Davis
.. SUBJECT:
McCurry Press Briefing Today -- Education Standards
Message Creation Date was at 22-JAN-1997 17:01:00
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
. (Northbrook, Illinois)
For IIlU1l~diate
Release.
January 22, ,1997
PRESS BRIEFING
BY
MIKE MCCURRY
Glenbrook North High School
Northbrook, Illinois
12:40 P.M. CST
MR. MCCURRY:. Here we go. All right, just in case the news
from that speech might have been somewhat opaque to you ~- (laughter) -- let
me just fill in a little bit to go with the President's full-throated cry for
standards. How often over the last four years. have you heard President
Clinton talk about the need for world-class standards in education?
We now have those world-class standards with respect to math
and science through the TIMS testing, and the success here in the consortium
schools that we celebrate today is the success the President wanted to lift up
to show how the application of these standards can be used to reform education
nationally, how the application of standards can really make a difference as
teachers, as parents,' as. communities, as administrators come together to
really build better schools for the future. Education is a key element of
that foundation for the bridge to the 21st century. The President, in his
very first trip of the second term was determined to put the spotlight on an
issue which arguably will dominate .hisdomestic agenda during a second term.
He also today is doing something that increasingly he will do
in exercising the power of the presidency in a second term, which is to not·
just talk about the conversation up and down Pennsylvania Avenue with
�Congress, but to go out where the real work is being done in communities to
build the 21st century that we want for our children, and demonstrate what
works and encourage Americans to replicate that success.
If we could see all throughout the 16,000 local school
districts in this country, the kind of commitment to standards of excellence
that we've seen in these school districts here, we could make significant
progress, toward the education goal reforms'that we have.
Now, how does, the federal government help these school
districts come together? In this case here, with the consortium, the
Education Department provided a lot of technical assistance to this consortium
during the course of 1995 and '96 as they worked through the restructuring of
their curriculum and applied new techniques and 'new discipline to the teaching
of math and SCience, and they also provided a $150,000 grant last year, last
fall, to help I guess with some of these guys -- with the costs of
administering the test and applying the lessons learned from the test, which
is an evaluative process to the teaching of their curriculum here.
,
So what we can do is, in a sense, provide the cookie
cutter that allows local school districts to go out and emulate
the success that we see elsewhere by providing a tool that people
can use for the administration of this test. Now, this is
"clearly a school district in which they have the kinds of
,
resources, the kind of community involvement, the kind of
commitment from parents and teachers and administrators to really
do the discipline of applying standards of excellence, but what
the ,President will suggest is that we need to do that everywhere.
And as you know"later today'he goes down to
Chicago, a school district that has had considerable trouble
dealing with schools in distress and which is actively in the
process of reforming and actively applying, in a way, their own
set of standards by putting schools that are not cutting it on
probation and demanding a strategy for improvement. And the
President wants to complimen~ the effort that they're making down
there. So you see two much different types of school districts
doing different types of things.
Now, the President -- the Education Department's
involvement here comes in really two different fashions on how
they help, or two different programs that are critical. One is
Goals 2000, which is the commitment to help states develop their
own standards, and then apply them using local resources, and the
President in his FY '98 budget when it goes up to the Hill on
February 6th will propose a 26 percent increase in funding for
Goals 2000. He will propose a FY '98 expenditure of $620
million, which is an increase from, the 1997 enacted level of $491
million for Goals 2000. That represents a significant 'increase;
it's a commitment to the kind ofstandard~setting that weare
demonstrating the success of here north of Chicago today.
In the charter schools area, charter schools will be
also a subject of the President's discussions down in Chicago
later in the day. We are proposing nearly a doubling of the
amount for charter schools. The President's FY '98 budget, when
,it goes to the Hill on February 6th, will propose $100 million
for charter schools, an increase from the enacted 1997 level of
�$51 million.
So more resources where appropriate within the
context of the balanced budget plan to those things that can
improve education for the future, eduqation being a central
element of the President's second term agenda.
Q
To get these increases in these two programs,
do you just shuffle money within the Education Department, or
does the education spending -
MR. MCCURRY: Well, the Department, like other
departments, has had to live within the contours of a balanced
budget discipline, but I'm not going to comment on other aspects
qf the Education Department's budget. We're just providing the
figures on these two programs because they are centrally
connected to the standards that the President is talking about
today.
,Q
Mike, she's not asking about" other parts of the
budget, she's asking about
MR. MCCURRY: I know; she was asking about a budget
process that I'm not going to be amplifying on right now.
Q
Can you just say whether the overall 'Education
Department budget has gone down?
MR.
because we'll be
you two specific
the President is
MCCURRY: I'm not going t~ give you that answer,
doing more on that at future times. I've given
program elements today that are related to what
talking about today_
'
Q
Will these elements take money away from other
existing programs?
,
MR. MCCURRY:
I'm not going to write budget stuff
foz-you. I've given you two pieces of information to help you
understand the commitment to providing more resources for these
efforts, connected to standards.
Q
Who is it who is selling the schoolchildren
down the drain? Is it the local school boards who are blocking
this, or is it the Republicans in Congress who wanted to
eliminate Goals 2000?
MR. MCCURRY: No. Look, in the era of goodwill and
I'm not going to walkthrough the history of what
almost happened to Goals 2000 and some of our priority investment
in ed~cation for the future. But I would say that in some sense,
that -- we had·a debate last year about that type of commitment,
and I think the American people by and large rally to the view
that we need to invest more in education because it's a building
b10,ek for the future. Better learning means better earning.
It's centrally connected to our economic strategy for the long
term. So it's connected to what we measure as success as we look
ahead to the year 2000, and in any community there are different
elements that lead to success and, to answer your question,
.
sometimes different elements that account for failures.
partisans~ip
�The key thing is to have -- I mean, it's
interesting, one of the lessons learned from some ,of the testing'
that~s done here that it's not necessarily more time in front, of
a television or a lack of commitment on the part of teachers or
students: it sometimes is the way in which things are taught, or
how you teach the subject matter itself, which is what you learn
from the discipline of having a testing process itself. '
o
Mike, this school
MR. MCCURRY: A couple of minutes, and then some of
the guys from the Education Department and Domestic Policy
Council can help out.
o
This school district aside, can you talk about
why you think that setting higher standards makes people able to
achieve them just by, like, writing them down?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, because learning how to measure
progress and learning what is internationally recognized as
standard is the only way you can tell where you are,' It's like
having the North Star in the sky that ybucan navigate against.
You need to have a fixed point of reference so you know whether
you're behind or ahead, which is what was established through the
TIMS process. And then once you know what the standard is or
what the b~nchmark is you can begin to evaluate your teaching
methods, your curriculum, make sure that you've got yourself
organized in order to acc~mplish those objectives.
I've got plenty of people here who can tell you more
on that, and you'll also see in the pool report, I think -
Allison~ didn't Secretary Riley talk a little bit about that,
too?
,,0
Mike, in the Morris book, he suggests that the
President backed away from requiring national standards because
you took polls; is this true?
MR. MCCURRY:
I've said all I have to say on the
Morris book.
o Mike, the President drew a distinction between
the federal government setting standards and establishing
national standards. Who does he envision setting these
standards?
,
"
MR. MCCURRY: Well, standard setting,'as envisioned
by Goals 2000, is a state and local process, but in this case
,
we're providing a little bit of help at the federal ' level in
seeing how we apply now internationally recognized standards.
There have been some common -- a lot of hard work
going into establishing the criteria evaluated in the TIMS test,
and that is something that the President today is challlenging
local school districts and states, as they do their own standard
setting, to look at, to emulate and perhaps to administer in
their districts because it's a way in which we measure whether we
in fact become world class.
If the goal is world-class performance, measured by
�a world-class standard, then that ought to be something that
those who are responsible for setting the standards at the local
level embrace.
Q
Who is responsible for the TIMS standards, do
you know that?
MR. MCCURRY: TIMS was developed internationally.
think there is some good background in the little handout that
we've got on how they actually developed that.
John, one last thing forme before
I
I'
go.
Q
If national standards is the goal, why would
you not have a national curriculum and a national test by which,
you could do it?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, in a sense, that's what the TIMS
test now is. It is a test that -- what the President is saying
today is, this is, in effect, something that you can look at and
know where you are as measured against 41 other countries that
'have been folded into this testing standard. So it is, in
effect, almost a way that you measure your ranking
internationally, and of course obviously you can make
cross-comparisons nationally as well.
Q
What about a national standard test for
teachers ,Mike?'
MR. MCCURRY: Look, why don't I turn it over to some
experts on the subject. Anything else you want to get me on
before I go?
Q
Could you just briefly give a run
MR. MCCURRY: We'll do that. Anything else? Any
other subjects you need me for? Because I've got to go. Okay,
thanks.
MR. COHEN: My name is Mike Cohen. I'm a special
assistant to the President for education, the domestic policy
councIl.. Let me say a couple things about questions that came up
already about national standards and who develops them and where
this TIMS testing fits in. I'll be happy to take any other
questions you've got, and I've got colleagues from the Education
Department here who can help out, as well.
There are national standards in math and science.
They've been developed by the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics, a private group. They've been developed by the
National Science Teachers Association and the National Academy of
Sciences and other scientific groups that have basically looked
within the discipline, within the profession and said, what's
important for kids to learn.
The international testing built on those things and
also basically asked the question, what is it that kids in other
countries are expected to learn. That',s how you get an
international standard; you ask the question, working with
,
educators from other countries, what is it that students in those
�other countries learn, and what· would. be a test that ref·lects the
common expectations and high expectations in all the. c·ountries.
That's what the TIMS test does. It's been done by
an international group of educators. They are not.part of the
federal government, though the federal government provided the
bulk of funding for that effort, both for the participation of
the United States and for most of the international support for
it in each country, though each paid their oWn way for that.
In other subjects, there have been other efforts to '
develop national standards by private groups, some with federal
funding and some without federal funding. And states are working
at developing their own standards. We're at a point in a lot of
subject areas where you can begin to see the common expectations
from stat~ to state, and how they fit ,with those expectations
that national groups have set, which when you put it all together
is what begins to give you a foundation for national standards.
With regard to the question on,national testing, the
President has been very clear that he wants to see a national
testing program in place. This TIMS test is a good first start
at ito While it was given to a sample of students nationally in
its original administration, every school district in the country
was also invited to participate in that~ This is a test given to
a sample of kids, kind of 'like a poll. .So you had a national
poll and each school distric't was given the opportunity to
administer its own polIto· a sample of kids in its district.
The 20 districts that we're visiting today were the
only ones in the country that came forward about a year ago and
agreed to administer the test. So this is the only places -
just one second -- these are the only places in the country that
have administered the test asa sample in their own districts so
they can tell how well they are doing -~ pot how well th~ whole
. country is doing, but how well they are doing.
What the President has done today is challenge other
districts to come forward and do the same thing. And the U.S.
Department of Education will make that test available so other
districts can replicate it.
Yes, you look confused.
Q
I am confused on this test •. If they said a
sampling of students, but not the entire district, that's how we
know that 8th graders are performing -
MR. COHEN:
Q
That's right.
This is from a sampling.
- below ave+age because they've already taken
this test?
MR. COHEN: Here in thi~ district, these
have already taken the test and the results are back.
~-they
Q
-- the whole district wide, but nationwide,
where do 'you get this figure where you say 8th graders are
performing below average? And that's because they took the test
already, right?
MR. COHEN:
The test was 'taken a year ago.
The
�national results -- the international results were released last
November. Okay, Pat can brief you in more detail on that. But
the short version of it -- last November, when these were
released -- and I bet everyone of your papers had stories on
this, okay -- the U.S. ranked slightly above average in science
among the 41 countries and slightly below average in math among
the 41.
,
Q
The question is, did every 'American student
take this test?
MR. COHEN:
Q.
No.
I think the answer is no.
MR. COHEN: No, a sample of students nationally took
the test .and in addition to that, a special sample of students
from these 20 districts also took the test. So you have -
Q
random or some
-- school district plucked out a few kids at
MR. COHEN: It ',s a scientific sample representative
of the country in the first instance, and. representative of ,these
districts in the second instance~
Q
MR. COHEN: No, this is '-- these -- samples were
selected under international guidelines to make sure you had a
fair sample of kids. This is not picking out the best kids.
This is really designed, again like you would do a ,poll to get a
representative sample.
Q
Just a question here. These school districts
are weal thy school districts. The class s'izes, the one we saw
had only 18 kids in it. Why did you choose this kind of district
to come to to make your first point on education? I mean, they
,obviously have a luxury in a way to do this kind of testing that
another school might not think is their priority.
MR. COHEN: The President came to these districts to
make this point again because they are the only districts 'in the
country that stepped up and administered this test so they could
find out how well they're doing on the standards. If other
,districts around the country had done the same thing, we would
have had a choice of districts togo to.
But the fact that these districts are suburban and
wealthier than others doesn't mean that these international
standards should only apply to them. Because the kids in inner
cities, whether they know it or not, are competing against the
same international standards. And. if they don't have an
.
opportunity to find out what those standards are, to know how
well they're doing compared to them, and have their schools put
in place curriculum and teaching practices that will teach them
the standards, they will never meet them. That's the President's
point
These are the first ones to do it. But in fact, this is
something that every district in the country ought to be doing.
0
�Q
So what kind of resources are available to
inner city schools to do'this, to follow upon Allison's point?
What kind of resources, federal, are available for this?
MRo COHEN: Let me answer that in a couple of wayso
First of all, the Education Department has -~'working with 'the
National Science Foundation -- has resources to help apout 50 to
60 school districts or consortium school districts or states
around the country administer the test in the next -- in this
spring or the following spring. So there's a challenge for a
small number to come forward and do that, though., If 60 came
forWard, that 'would be a 60-fold increase in the number that we
have right now. So it's a big step up, if you will.
Secondly; the federal government provides a '
significant amount of resources targeted to districts with large'
concentrations of poor students, ,in particular, to focus on basic
skills and on math andscience~TheTitle I program concentrates'
its funding on inner city districts and districts with large
concentrations of poverty. The Eisenhower Professional
Development Program provides training for teachers particularly
in math and science. The 'National Science Foundation has a
program de~igned ,to improve math and' ,science, teaching and
learning in about 20 urban school districts around the country,
!i3omething like that.,
So there are federal resources available to help.
But it is also the case that th~ bulk of the resources still come
from the state and local level, as they do with everything else
in education. But it is not the funding level that ,is depressing
the, curriculum in/schools. It's.not the funding level that's
keeping ou~moded teaching practices in place. It's not the
funding level that's holding the expectations down for students.
That's a pretty big" part of what the President's been saying.
Q
When you double the amount for charter schools, .
do you have numbers on how many additional charter schools can '
receive -- is there' a number on -'
,
MR. COHEN:, I'm not sur~ I can give you the number
-- do you have the number of charter schools for next year?
We're aiming for 3,000 charter schools by the year 2000. ,We have
about 400 in 'place now. Arid the money that we're proposing for
next year would fund start-up costs for about 1,000 to 1,200
charter schools.
Thank you.
Q
So
Q
Twelve hundred new charter schools(,
MR~
Q
~-
COHEN:
1,000 to 1,200 new charter schools?
Yes, that's right'.
For next year?
MR. COHEN:
For next ,year.
Q
Explain how the Goals 2000 money helps set
standards in precise terms as possible? I don't really
�.
understand what the money pays for.
MR. COHEN: Sure. Yes. The Goals 2000 money does
several things, right-- th~ money first of all is dist,ributed by
'the 'federal government to states according to a formula and the'
number of kids in the state and how much poverty they have. The
state then distributes the money to local school districts on a
competitive basis. Now, there are several ways in which the
Goals 2000 money helps set standards.
Some states. have used the money to form committees
of teachers to go look and see what other states expect of kids,
what other countries expect of kids, to try to come to agreement
on what standards ought tOo be set in their state. Pat Forgione,'
before he came to the U.S. Department of Education, was
'Commissioner of Education in Delaware, and if I'm not putting
words in your mouth, I think that's essentially what you did .with
Goals 2000 money. So it literally supported the process of .
coming to agreement on what the standards ought to be and getting
the information necessary to do that.
Secondly, I think I'm going to take another Delaware
example if I can, Pat. Pat used the money that he had that was
given out to local school districts to help local schools develop
model curriculum that were tied to the standards so that teachers
allover the s'tate could not only look at. the. state standards,
but also begin to look at curriculum to see how to translate that
into classroom practice.
,
In Colorado, they used the money to develop model
standards at the state level, and then each district or districts
could apply for money and use that to set their own local
standards, because it's more of a local control tradition in
Colorado.
One last pOint on that -- an awful lot of states
around the country are using the money once they've set the
standards to train teachers in new teaching practices and in the
subject matter that they will need so they can teach kids to
those standards. Does that help?
.Q
You said that. there are now 400 charter
schools. How long have they been around? Has it been just been
a year or two?
MR. COHEN: 'When President Clinton took office in
'92 I think there was maybe one or two charter schools in
existence. Now there are approximately 400. When we took
office, I think Minnesota was the only state in the country that
,had a charter school law. Now, 26 states and the District of
Columbia have -- it's been a tremendous explosion in the last
four years, and I think our start-up funds probably pay for
roughly 300 out of the roughly 400 charter schools in some way or .
another; we're stimulating and supporting those efforts.
Q
Mr. Cohen, I wonder if I could ask you two
quick questions. Is there a dollar figure attached to this push
towards standards? The things the President talked today,
wanting to do in a second term, is there a rough dollar figure
that can be attached to the combination of tuition credits and
�all of the things you listed, and can you break out standards
separately and say that there's a figure attached to them?
MR. COHEN: I don't think so. The Hope Scholarship
that he talked about, for instance, I believe we've got that at
about $42 billion over six years. I'll double-check those
figures for you if you need it, because that's off the top of my
head -- it is much more difficult to come up with a set figure
for standards, but' what I can tell you is that ove~ the last four
years between Goals 2000, which is now $490 million, we're asking
for $620 million, the Title I program, which provides the lion's
share of federal support for elementary and secondary education
and is aimed at helping low-income kids in particular meet the
same high standards that states set is about $10 billion -
roughly $10 billion an year. And the School-To-Work program,
which is also focused on high standards, is about $400 million a
year between the Education Department and the Department of
Labor. So we're looking at almost $11 billion by rough
calculation. I can again check figures for you if you need me
to.
Q.
That's all money that needs to be appropriated
by Congress this session?
MR.· COHEN: Every year, the Congress needs to
appropriate. money • The figures that I gave you are pretty ,
consistent with what we've got in place right now, though.
Q
I guess what I'm saying, then, is how ·much more
is he asking them to spend this year to do the things·he·thinks
will be new and necessary?
MR. COHEN: As Mike indicated, the only two parts of
the budget we're prepared to talk about right now are the charter
schools figure and the Goals 2000. figure; but not the rest of it.
Q
Is there an ideal number of charter schools you
want in the country? Do you want to kind of control it so that
you don't have too many sort of -- since this is a relatively new
phenomenon, can you talk on that a little bit?
.
,
MR. COHEN: Well, the President's goal is to get
3,000 charter schools in place by the year 2000 or 2002. Again,
I'll have to check what we said about that -- 3,000 charter
schools by the year 2000. That would be a sustained, significant
growth each year. But we are also investing some money in
monitoring them, in -- we've got some evaluation reports that the
Education Department will release in the near future that are
trying to learn how do you help manage these charter schools so
that they're focussed on quality, so that .they remain accountable
for results, so that they -- as states and local school systems
begin to put them in place, they in fact get implemented in a
sensible fashion. So part of our responsibility is to help
people learn how to do that.
Q
How can you explain the fact that only one
group of school districts came forward to take this test? Is
that because other school districts are afraid of losing local
control?
�MR. COHEN: There were -- there may be a number of
reasons in that. There were only a handful of others that had
come forward and said, gee, we'd like to take the test but we
either can't quite get the money together or we don't -- you ,
know, we can't get our act together in time to meet the deadlineo
But I think it takes a real push to convince local
school districts that in fact the right thing to do is to aim for
the highest standards in the world. That is not something that
comes naturally to local school districts. It really takes some
leadership and some push to get them to recognize the value in
doing that and to be willing to take the risk in discovering that
they are falling short of the mark for their students. That
'
takes some courage to compare yourself to the best in the world
-- as opposed to how we did last year, where we can always show a
little bit of improvement and tell the community we're doing
well. This takes a real risk to commit yourself to finding out
the truth.
'
Q
The President seemedto·be saying, too, that
there is some concern out there about losing local control.
MR. COHEN: Well, you know, a lot of the debate
about Goals 2000 'in the last -- well, since it started, has been
this debate that somehow the federal government is going to take
over the curriculum in school systems, which I should point out
has not happened in any state or any school district that's
receiving Goals 2000 money, but there has been this myth
generated that there is sort ofa federal effort to undermine
local control.
'
And as the President pointed out, local school
boards don't ,determine algebra and don't determine the laws of
physics. There are some things that kids, ought to learn pretty
much in common allover the country. We need to figure out what
that is, people need to commit to those goals and standards and
figure out the way to reach that. And that's not going to take
away local control from everybody.
Q
Just a question on the nitty-gritty of the
costs of giving these tests. What does it cost to give the test
'in a school'district, and is that for overtime for teachers to
administer it or is it for the testing service? Where does that
money come and go?
MR. COHEN: Pat Forgione is the commissioner of the
National Center on Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of
Education that administers the TIMS testing program.
MR. FORGIONE: Thank you, Mike. The main cost in
doing this is to ensure the quality control. Historically, these
kinds of studies have not been trusted because you don't know
what the sample is, the follow~through, were selected kids
tested. So the main cost here will be $50,OOO'at a grade level
to do math and science. If a district wanted to do grade 8 math
and SCience, $50,000 would be the cost.
The main costs are to bring out the team to select
the sample. This school district had 3,000 kids at grade 8; 750
were selected. They did not select them. 'They were selected
�independently. There was monitoring to make sure the right kids
took the test. If you're absent, you have to follow up. You
have to have a lot of quality control so when you release the
results we can really say, here's the way the United States is
versus other countries -- in this case, how school districts are.
Q
So those 750 were chosen at random, or how does
that happen?
MR. FORGIONE~ Were chosen randomly by the
contractor, using a sampling model to assure that we would get a
random sample of children in the district, across all the regular
classroom. So this is including all the kids in this district
-- from the very best to the' weakest academically, were all on a
list, and .we selected them. We went in, got those kids, tested
them, collected the data, followed up if they were absent, and
put together a database in which today· we're able to report to
you that this district would rank first in the world in science
and second in the world in mathematics. And that's a far call
from the United States' position, if you remember the results
that we released last November, where the United States had a
number of countries -- 20 countries in math were better than us,
and in science, nine countries. So this district really has set
an example,.,of what's possible.
Q
But is this really a fair comparison, because
what you
I would assume in the other 40 countries -- is that
how many other countries?
MR. FORGIONE:
Right.
QThat their sampling would have been taken
across the,board and across the country, .as opposed to one
affluent school district that got $150,000 from the federal
government and some sort of Department of Education ~- I'm
confused about that. Did you come in and coach the students on
how to take the test? What was that about?
MR. FORGIONE: Well, let's take the fairness first.
None of those grants happened until after the kids were tested.
In the United States, we selected 13,000 kids at grade ato test.
We picked the schools and the kids for the United States data.
So we have a fair, accurate estimate of" the United States grade a
population from TIMS. We also have the same accuracy in
.
Singapore, Germany, England ~- our economic competitors· that were
in TIMS.
In this district, we took a sample of the children.
Now the children may be of a certain type here, but this is a
fair, accurate estimate of how this district does.
Q
Yes, but I think the comparison could'be made:
It's like putting the Dream Team up against everybody else in the
'Olympics last summer. We blew them away. That's because we took
-- we selected the cream of the crop and essentially put them on
the floor. Isn't that what was done here?
MR. FORGIONE:
Okay, Mike wants to -
MR. TOIV: Mike wants to answer that question. Now,
we have folks here from the consortium who can answer your
questions and concerns about how the test was administered and
�how the students
Q
No, that's not my question. My question is, is
this an accurate comparison to the other 40 countries where, I
would assume, these tests were administered across the. country as
opposed to in the one single school. district.
MR. FORGIONE:
Q
Look-
You see the point I'm getting at?
MR. FORGIONE: I understand your point completely.
These districts are.not representative of America. These
districts are better off than most distridts in America -- the
Dream Team, right? The important point, though, is that this
isn't basketball. This is math and science and every kid has got
to learn math and science. Sure, these districts -- no, wait a
second, though. These districts.did a lot better than other
districts will do. There's no doubt about that. That may partly
have to do with the nature of the community they come from. It
also has to do with the kind of expectations that they've set.·
Fifty percent of the kids in this district take algebra compared
to 20 percent in the rest of the country •.
We know from the international studies that the
curriculum throughout the country here in math and in science is
far less focused, far less challenging, far less -- far less easy
to learn. It's more chaotic, more unfocused, more. fractured .in
this country, around the country, in math and in science compared
to other countries. .
.
Now, that may be less true here than it is in other
districts around the pountry, but those are things that can be
corrected regardless of the background of the kids and regardless
of the level of funding in the district. In that sense, the
message here is not that they did·first and is it fair or not,
but other districts need to step up to the plate and benchmark
themselves against the same standards so they can change the
things in education over which they have control. And we know
from lots of research and lots of experience that that will lead
to improvements in math and science performance of those kids.
necessarily.
Absolutely.
Will every district do as well as these did? Not
Can a lot of them do a lot better than they are?
END
�
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Michael Cohen - Subject Series
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Domestic Policy Council
Michael Cohen
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<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36062">Collection Finding Aid</a>
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<p>Michael Cohen held the position of Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy within the Domestic Policy Council from 1996 to 1999. Prior to being detailed to the White House, he served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Education.</p>
<p>This series of Subject Files contains materials relating to education reform, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (1994), America Reads initiative, bi-lingual education and the ballot initiative in California which proposed to eliminate bi-lingual instruction and limit the amount of time for bi-lingual students to transition to English only, test standards, teachers, tribal schools, school safety and school violence. The records include correspondence, reports, faxes, emails, handwritten notes, schedules, publications, and memoranda.</p>
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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Michael Cohen
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2012-0160-S
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Box 17
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/Systematic/2012-0160-S-Cohen.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763316" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
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