Four Out of Five Older Children Academically on Track

/PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 80 percent of students ages 12 to 17 were academically on track in 2006, up 8 percent from 1998, according to a new report by the U.S. Census Bureau. Students were considered to be academically on track if they were enrolled in school at or above the grade level appropriate for their age.

The report, A Child's Day: 2006 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being), relies on
in-person household interviews to examine how well children are progressing into adulthood, using indicators like academic performance and school engagement.

For children ages 6 to 11, the odds of being on track were 36 percent higher if they had never changed schools and 26 percent higher if they participated in a club. For 12 to 17 years olds, the odds of being on track were 48 percent higher if they were in a gifted class and 34 percent higher if they had never been suspended or expelled from school.

Parents' educational attainment, family income, place of residence and parental expectations also contributed significantly to children being academically on track.

Other trends examined in the report include school engagement, parental interaction with children and participation in extracurricular activities.

In 2006, 59 percent of children ages 6 to 11 were highly engaged in school, up 3 percent from 56 percent in 1998. Likewise, 52 percent of 12 to 17 year olds were highly engaged in school, up 5 percent from 47 percent in 1998.

The index for measuring a child's engagement in school is based on three questions: whether a child is interested in schoolwork, whether a child works hard in school and whether the child likes school. Parental interaction, school experience, participation in extracurricular activities and parental expectations for students played a significant role in school engagement.

"The report highlights the choices parents make in the amount and quality of interaction they have with their children," said Jane Dye, a demographer in the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division. "If they are available to praise, play with or eat dinner with their child more often, they will potentially increase the odds that their child will be highly engaged in school."

The data show that the percentage of parents who praised their children three or more times per day increased from 48 percent in 1998 to 58 percent in 2006. Over the same period, the percentage of parents who talked or played with their children three or more times in a typical day increased from 50 percent to 59 percent.

Participation in sports was the most popular extracurricular activity, regardless of a child's age. From 1998 to 2006, the percent of children who participated in sports rose 7 percent, from 34 percent to 41 percent.

This is the fourth report since 2001 examining children's well-being and their daily activities both at home and at school based on data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. The report highlights trends in parental interaction with children and children's participation in extracurricular activities, focusing on two outcome measures, whether children are academically on track and school engagement. It also considers the relative importance of characteristics such as race, Hispanic origin and parental education on those outcomes.

SIPP produces national-level estimates for the U.S. resident population and subgroups, and allows for the observation of trends over time, particularly of selected characteristics, such as income, eligibility for and participation in transfer programs, household and family composition, labor force behavior and other associated events.

These data were collected from June 2006 through September 2006 in the Survey of Income and Program Participation. As in all surveys, these data are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. For further information on the source of the data and accuracy of the estimates, including standard errors and confidence intervals, go to http://www.sipp.census.gov/sipp/source.html.

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Growing Demand for Online Learning Not Yet Matched by Opportunities at K-12 Schools, Districts

/PRNewswire/ -- Despite growing interest in online learning, the availability of online classes have not kept pace with demand in K-12 schools and districts, according to a survey report from Project Tomorrow(R), a national education nonprofit organization, and Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBB) , a global leader in education technology.

According to the survey, more than 40 percent of 6-12th graders have researched or demonstrated interest in taking a course online, but only 10 percent have actually taken an online course through their school. Meanwhile, comparable percentages of middle school students (7 percent) and high school students (4 percent) have instead pursued opportunities outside their school to take online courses, underscoring the disconnect between the supply and demand of online learning in today's classrooms.

At the same time, a majority of school principals, 58 percent, say that online classes currently offered in their districts are primarily for teachers; just 31 percent say the classes are primarily for students. Additionally, while a full one-third of teachers have taken an online course for professional development - a 57 percent increase from 2007 - only 3 percent of teachers surveyed say they have taught a class online, a number that has not changed in three years. Just 13 percent are interested in teaching online, a considerable mismatch with the growing student desire to learn online.

The findings are included in the report Learning in the 21st Century: 2009 Trends Update, which offers an analysis of data from Project Tomorrow's Speak Up project, an annual survey which has collected and reported on the views of more than 335,000 U.S. K-12 students, parents and educators about online education and 21st century learning.

"While many of our nation's K-12 schools clearly recognize the advantages of online learning and instruction in teacher professional development, there remains a lag in utilizing this technology for student achievement," said Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow. "Educators must embrace these emerging technologies to enhance student learning and fully prepare today's students for future success."

"Today's students are eager to embrace technology in school but there is still a wide gap between the way they live and the way they learn," said Jessie Woolley-Wilson, president, Blackboard Learn K-12. "As schools and districts look to complement traditional learning methods with digital and online tools, teachers and principals must learn how to effectively use technology in a way that gives students more control of the learning process and contributes to student achievement."

The report revealed that K-12 students want to pursue online learning to gain more control of their own learning experience, have access to more courses and work at their own pace. When asked why learning through an online class might make school more interesting, 47 percent of 9-12th graders, 39 percent of 6-8th graders and one in four 3-5th grade students said they want to learn online to "be in control of my learning." Students do not expect courses to be easier online, but they do expect the online format to make it easier to succeed because they can review materials when they want and are more comfortable asking teachers for help.

The desire for online opportunities is best expressed through the words of students themselves. When asked, "What is the one thing that you would do to improve schools to ensure that all students had the skills they needed to be successful in life," a 10th-grade student from Alcoa High School in Tennessee responded, "I would provide personal laptops for each student and provide online classes. Every school does not have all the classes a student is interested in and online classes (provide) another option."

Teachers who have experience teaching online overwhelmingly agree: 76 percent believe that online learning benefits students by giving them greater control of their learning, compared to just 10 percent of all teachers surveyed.

School principals cited funding and teacher preparation as key barriers to offering expanded access to online courses, with 22 percent reporting that online learning was not a funding priority in their district. Specific to teachers, principals felt that teachers are not comfortable using the tools (18 percent) or teaching online (17 percent), are reluctant to try (14 percent), or their school does not have the expertise to create online courses (14 percent).

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GSU research focuses on improving teacher retention

Nearly 50 percent of teachers leave the profession within five years, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Georgia State University researchers and their public school partners have been investigating how to reduce this troubling trend.

Barbara Meyers, chair of the Department of Early Childhood Education and Assistant Professor Susan Swars, along with doctoral student Brian Lack and recent doctoral graduate Lydia Mays, spent more than two years studying teacher retention and mobility at a high needs school in the metro Atlanta area.

Using surveys, interviews and open-ended questionnaires, the research team collected 134 teachers’ perceptions of why teachers choose to remain at or leave their school. The researchers found the teachers stay in the classroom if they have positive relationships with other educators and administrators, a diverse student population and an environment that emphasizes academic student achievement.

But, educators may leave when they disagree about teaching philosophies and school policies, the researchers found. Teachers are also more likely to exit the profession if they fear they cannot express concerns or have a lack power.

Based on their findings, the research team developed a two-dimensional model that may help educators determine what school environments are best for them.

“Our model can help teachers be more informed job hunters,” Meyers said. “If they identify shared educational beliefs when they interview, they may be more likely to stay at that school.”
Further, the model could also be used to help administrators screen and hire educators that will work well in their schools and perhaps promote retention.

An analysis by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission indicates the cost to the state of Georgia to replace teachers lost to attrition was almost $400 million in 2005, an increase of nearly $60 million from 2001.

“When universities and schools engage in collaborative inquiries about critical issues facing the teaching profession, authentic, constructive, and pragmatic solutions may be found,” Associate Professor Swars said.

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