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Wednesday, August 31, 2005

U.S. Ed Secretary in ABQ, Applauds Hispanic Achievement

By Heather Clark/
Associated Press
      ALBUQUERQUE — U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said 9-year-old Hispanic students have received the highest ever scores in reading and math on national tests.
    "That is awesome, you guys,'' the mother of two teenage girls told students, parents and teachers at Chaparral Elementary School in Albuquerque on Wednesday.
    Spellings, speaking about the Nation's Report Card results released in July, also said Hispanic 13-year-olds have reached all-time high scores in math. The Hispanic students' achievements reflected those of all 9- and 13-year-olds tested nationwide.
    Reading scores for Hispanic 9-year-olds jumped 12 points over the last five years. From 1971 to 1999, their reading scores increased only one point, she said.
    Spellings hailed the results as proof that the nearly four-year-old No Child Left Behind Act is working.
    "We have figured out how to get results from schools, and you and I are part of that,'' she said. "More children are learning, scores are rising, and the achievement gap is closing.''
    In New Mexico, that's only partly true. Fifty-four percent, or 428 schools, failed to make adequate yearly progress under the act, the state announced earlier this month.
    Testing of 195,000 students showed a sizable achievement gap in ethnicity, income level, disability and English-language learning, state education officials said.
    Chaparral Elementary is one of the 359 New Mexico schools that made adequate progress last year.
    Spellings visited a third-grade classroom where she sat on the floor with the children and talked with 8- and 9-year-olds about Harry Potter and the importance of math.
    During her appearance, Spellings announced the release of 1 million information packets to help Hispanic families better engage with their children's schools.
    A "Tool Kit for Hispanic Families'' is printed in both English and Spanish and will be distributed nationwide by Hispanic organizations, like the National Migrant and Seasonal Worker Head Start and the National Council of La Raza.
    The packet — most of which already has been published in separate booklets — offers information for all ages. It includes sections on helping kids with homework, limiting television and getting tutoring for students who are falling behind in school.
    Spellings said only 10 percent of eligible families take advantage of tutoring offered under No Child Left Behind.
    She said she hopes the packets will get the word out to families that tutoring is available. She said some school districts have tried to stop private tutoring companies from encroaching on their turf and others have insisted on early deadlines for parents to sign up their children for tutoring.
    Spellings was heading to Chicago, where she plans to announce Thursday that Chicago Public Schools can provide tutoring, even though the district has not met federal academic standards. She also has allowed Virginia schools to offer tutoring before allowing struggling students to transfer to other schools.
    Asked after her appearance about these waivers of federal rules after her appearance, Spellings said, "We need to be sensible and workable and try some new theories. I am going to use this school year to experiment with some pilot notions.''
    Spellings suggested that should the pilot projects in Virginia and Chicago work, there might be future changes to No Child Left Behind.
    "I'm trying to get some data, see what's working around the country, try some things out and then maybe expand it further,'' Spellings said.
    Spellings said her office also is working on providing information packets to parents of black, American Indian and adolescent students.