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Tips about education from Indiana University

Indiana has made excellent strides in K-12 mathematics, according to the results of the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress. In 2003, fourth- and eighth-graders tested as part of the nationwide testing program scored essentially 1.5 to two grade levels higher than their Indiana counterparts in 1990. "Indiana students have fared somewhat better than the nation as a whole since 1990, when NAEP scores for individual states first became available," said Peter Kloosterman, a professor of mathematics education in Indiana University Bloomington's School of Education. "Our NAEP analysis shows that Indiana students performed substantially better than what would be expected given average income levels in the state." Key factors, according to Kloosterman, include hard work by Indiana teachers, Indiana Project Primetime (which more than a decade ago began successfully reducing the size of kindergarten through third-grade classes), clear standards for what students should be learning, and state leadership that has promoted the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards. Nationwide, the most recent national scores indicate mathematics achievement at the fourth- and eighth-grade levels is much higher than at any time since NAEP began testing math performance in 1973. These gains over time are greater in mathematics than any other subject area. Kloosterman and IUB math education Professor Frank Lester wrote about these and other national findings in the book Results and Interpretations of the 1990 Through 2000 Mathematics Assessments of the National Assessment of Education Progress, published in November by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Kloosterman can be reached at 812-856-8147 and klooster@indiana.edu. Lester can be reached at 812-856-8152 and lester@indiana.edu.

Instead of pursuing a tan, Indiana University students will teach English to young public school children in Costa Rica, work in a homeless shelter and community kitchen in Washington, D.C., and perform environmentally-focused service-learning projects as part of four alternative spring break classes. The eight-week spring semester courses are designed to challenge students' worldviews while providing them unique opportunities to learn through service. "It's a special type of student who participates in this type of course," said Catherine Gray, director of professional development for the School of Education and liaison for the program. "The service learning experience changes their lives." The courses include a spring-break trip to one of four locations in Costa Rica, Jamaica and Washington, D.C. In the course "Constructing a Culture of Nonviolence," held in Costa Rica, students will look critically at how different societies can often create systems of injustice based on competition, unequal power, domination and violence. Another trip to Costa Rica will help inform students about "Communicating Nature," as they study environmental issues from the combined perspectives of communication studies, folklore and anthropology. Students will travel to Jamaica to learn about "Roots, Fruits and Jamaican Ecologies." Here they will examine the cultural dimensions of the historical roots of oral, musical and spiritual traditions of Maroon communities in Jamaica, fundamental ecological principles characteristic of mountainous regions, and how indigenous agricultural practices shape the local environment. Students will travel to Washington, D.C., as part of the course "Voices of Poverty," where they will be involved in service and civic engagement activities relating to issues of poverty. The class will host a public forum in Bloomington, Ind., to present their findings, inform public discussion on issues of poverty, share insights and offer recommendations. Gray can be reached at 812-856-8547 and catgray@indiana.edu.

Early identification of children with reading and math difficulties is at the heart of a partnership between Indiana University Bloomington's Institute for Child Study, the Richmond Bean-Blossom Community School Corporation and Spencer-Owen Community Schools. The Academic Well-Check Program provides benchmarking and progress-monitoring three times annually for 1,100 students in four of the district's primary schools. According to ICS Director Rebecca Martinez, assistant professor in counseling and educational psychology, graduate students analyze the reading and mathematics test data and promptly provide results to teachers so they can adapt their curriculum for struggling children throughout the school year. "The five-minute curriculum-based measurements have been found to be as effective as longer evaluations," Martinez explained. "It's like taking the child's academic temperature -- it's a quick, easy screener that will help teachers know as early as possible which students are at risk academically." This spring the second prong of the Academic Well-Check Program will be implemented to assess at-risk students monthly and monitor the effectiveness of instructional changes. In addition, the program will likely be implemented in one of the participating districts' middle schools during the 2005-06 school year. As part of the IUB School of Education's school psychology practicum, graduate students are using the AIMSweb data management and reporting application to document children's academic levels. Martinez can be reached at 812-856-8324 and rma@indiana.edu.

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