McRel Rural E-News, October 2008

1. Urban school superintendents hard to keep
USA Today
A recent study found that the average urban superintendent nationwide stays on the job only about three years, despite the fact that superintendent tenure has a direct tie to student achievement. Superintendents often have to walk a tight line trying to satisfy school boards, teachers unions, and parent organizations while trying to raise student achievement and meet the increasing demands of NCLB.
Learn about McREL's research on the impact of superintendent tenure on student achievement.

2. Report: Retool instruction, or U.S. will fail
eSchool News
A report from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills warns that the United States needs to improve the teaching of 21st century skills if we want to remain competitive globally. The report suggests that it is critical that the United States graduate students capable of filling service-sector jobs and keeping pace with the change in skill demands. Communication, collaboration, innovation, and critical thinking are identified as the key skills required in the 21st century.

3. Who wants to be a teacher? A whole lot of people, a new survey finds
The Christian Science Monitor
According to a new survey from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, 42 percent of college-educated 24- to 60-year-olds would consider teaching as a career. However, if schools want to tap into this pool of would-be teachers, they will need to identify better alternative paths to certification and increase teacher salaries.

4. Learning from mistakes only works after age 12, study suggests
Science Daily
New behavioral research has shown that 8- and 9-year-olds respond inaccurately to negative feedback, compared with 12-year-olds and adults. For younger children, positive feedback works far better than negative feedback. Brain studies have confirmed this research, showing that the cerebral cortex responds strongly to positive feedback in younger children, and largely ignores negative feedback. The opposite tends to be true for older children and adults.

5. Researchers identify best strategies for supporting new science teachers
Science Daily
Research shows that, without proper support, 66 percent of new teachers will quit the profession within three years. Research from George Mason University's New Science Teachers' Support Network (NSTSN) has identified the key elements required to keep science teachers in the classroom. By providing new teachers with in-classroom support and quality lessons on how to teach science, NSTSN was able to reduce the teacher attrition rate and improve student achievement.

6. Leadership gap seen in post-NCLB changes in U.S. teachers
Education Week (Subscription required)
Many teachers are modifying their teaching methods to help them meet the increasing demands of NCLB. But a new survey conducted by the RAND Corporation found that principals and district leaders are not necessarily in control of those changes. This suggests that school and district leaders need a stronger focus on their roles as coordinators of school improvement efforts.

7. Thinking & Learning Skills: What Do We Expect of Students?
This descriptive study identifies the thinking and learning skills-such as using decision-making strategies and monitoring one's own learning progress-that students should acquire, as described in standards documents from state departments of education, from national subject-area organizations, and from organizations concerned about adequate student preparation for post-secondary work.

8. Strategies for Recruitment and Retention of Secondary Teachers in Central Region Rural Schools
MCREL
This study describes ways in which rural high schools in the Central Region have attempted to recruit and retain teachers. For this study, REL Central analyzed data from the 2003-2004 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and interviewed principals from high and combined (K-12, 6-12) schools that have been successful in recruiting and retaining teachers.

REPORT ROUNDUP

9. Parent and Family Involvement in Education, 2006-07 School Year, From the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2007
National Center for Education Statistics
This report presents data on parents' and families' involvement in their children's education. It also incorporates basic demographic information about the population of students in kindergarten through 12th grade, their parents'/guardians' characteristics, and the characteristics of the households in which they live.

10. A Call to Restructure Restructuring: Lessons from the No Child Left Behind Act in Five States
Center on Education Policy
The first large study examining NCLB-mandated school-restructuring programs found that the number of schools requiring restructuring increased by 56 percent in 2007-2008. Many of the schools have remained in restructuring status for years without any clear guidance on how to move forward.

11. The Misplaced Math Student: Lost in Eighth-Grade Algebra
The Brookings Institution
Eigth-grade students nationwide are being pushed to take algebra courses in an attempt to keep pace with students in foreign countries. Despite the best of intentions, however, this report finds that many of the students pushed to take algebra in 8th grade are woefully unprepared, and taking advanced mathematics classes does more harm than good.

12. Major New Study Shatters Stereotypes About Teens and Video Games
The John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation
The first national survey of its kind finds that virtually all American teens play computer, console, or cell phone games and that the gaming experience is rich and varied, with a significant amount of social interaction and potential for civic engagement. The survey found that game playing is universal, game playing experiences are diverse, and game playing is social. It can incorporate many aspects of civic and political life, and sometimes involves exposure to mature content.

Events & Opportunities

13. Help improve McREL's Compendium of content standards and benchmarks for K-12 education
McREL is upgrading our compendium of content standards and benchmarks for K-12 education, and we need your help! If you are a teacher interested in science education, especially for the middle grades, we want to hear from you.

Individuals selected to participate in the hour-long review of the new compendium features will win our sincere appreciation and be entered into a drawing to receive a $25 Visa gift card.

McREL in the News

14. Training Young Brains to Behave
The New York Times
September 14, 2008
A 2007 study of Tools of the Mind-an early-childhood curriculum co-developed by McREL Principal Researcher Elena Bodrova to improve executive function in young children-found that students taught with Tools of the Mind outperformed their peers, and that the benefits can last for years.