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High School Graduation May Require More Than Just Grades, Test Scores

High School Graduation May Require More Than Just Grades, Test Scores

By Brenda Iasevoli, The Hechinger Report (TNS)

LOS ANGELES — Looking smart in a blue button-down shirt, Jorge Magana, 18, zipped through a PowerPoint presentation with the confidence of a Fortune 500 CEO.

Seated in front Magana in a classroom at Los Angeles High School of the Arts was a panel of three judges: the school’s assistant principal, a school coordinator and a former student. It was time for his senior defense. Magana had to convince the panel that he was ready to graduate.

If you thought high school graduation remains solely dependent on report cards and standardized tests, a quick, less costly measure of student performance, welcome to high school graduation 2.0. It could be coming to a school near you.

Magana had 45 minutes to present a portfolio emblematic of his high school work. His also included a personal expression: a piece he wrote for AP English about his father’s alcoholism and its effect on his family.

Then came the grilling by the panel: What was your research process? What obstacles did you face? How did you overcome them? How will the skills you learned help with your future plans?

Portfolio assessments like this one, which look a lot like doctoral dissertation defenses, are on the rise in California and across the nation.

“When you see your students reflect on what they’ve learned, and see how that learning has affected them, it’s hard to say this isn’t a good idea,” said Isabel Morales, a 12th-grade social studies teacher at Magana’s school, where many faculty members initially viewed the portfolio defense as unnecessary torture. “Watching the defenses taught me how much my lessons count, how crucial it is for me to provide a transformative learning experience for my students.”

Since 1999, California has primarily tied school rankings to test scores, using the Academic Performance Index. Under a new index set to debut in the fall, test scores will account for only 60 percent of a school’s ranking. The balance will factor in graduation data and “proof of readiness for college and career.”

Portfolio assessments can supply this data. The tricky part is convincing skeptics that they’re reliable. Harvard education professor Daniel Koretz said the criteria for what makes a good portfolio can vary widely from school to school, making comparisons difficult.

“The standardized assessment is standardized precisely so that there is nothing extraneous that differs between kids or between schools,” he said.

The question is how can portfolios meet that same test of objectivity.

In a recent report, Stanford University professors Soung Bae and Linda Darling-Hammond recommend that the state allow schools to use “well-designed” portfolios, comprised of work from each of five subject areas. It would include research essays, art work and other sophisticated projects that can’t be captured on a test in place of traditional exit exams.

“Some say U.S. kids are the most tested and the least examined in the world,” Darling-Hammond said. “We have a lot of tests, but we don’t have high-quality examinations of thinking and performance.”

Stanford’s Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity has teamed up with ConnectEd, a Berkeley-based organization that promotes a mix of academic and career-centered school programs called “linked learning” to develop reliable data.

The result: an online tool, ConnectEd Studios, which tries to take the subjectivity out of evaluating portfolios. A student writing an argumentative essay, for example, can upload the essay to the site where his teacher can evaluate the work according to a scoring rubric with criteria for grading.

Dave Yanofsky, director of strategic communications for ConnectEd, estimates that 20 school districts, including Houston and Philadelphia, have expressed interest in working with the group to build portfolio programs.

The expectation is that an online platform like ConnectEd Studios would create a secure place for students to share videos, audio files, photos, writing samples, resumes and letters of recommendation, showcasing their qualifications for universities and potential employers.

“Students can sell themselves short,” said Nadia Schafer, a digital specialist with Philadelphia Academies, a nonprofit that works with area high schools to provide students with career training and college preparation. “But the portfolio shows them all that they’ve accomplished. A portfolio tells their stories so much better than just a resume ever could.”

For now, the goal at the Los Angeles Unified school district is to make the portfolio defense a graduation requirement. Ten high schools are piloting the initiative and there are plans to get more schools on board next school year.

“Students have improved immensely since we first started,” said Cathy Kwan, portfolio coordinator at Los Angeles High School of the Arts, who schedules the defenses, recruits panel members and trains teachers. “But it still wouldn’t be fair to hold them back based on the defense. We haven’t yet learned how to prepare kids adequately to do this.”

Half of the district’s schools testing portfolio defenses have partnered with Envision Schools, a network of three small charter high schools in the San Francisco area that has systematized the portfolio model over the past 13 years. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to build a portfolio program.

Morales says students can simply “go through the motions” in class, taking in information without really retaining it. But portfolio defenses force them to explain what they’ve learned, and to apply it in different ways.

Magana failed his portfolio defense because he was unable to demonstrate content knowledge and sound research skills. Since the program started, Morales has discovered that the best preparation for a defense is for students to share their work and what they learned in the process, something she didn’t always make time to do.

According to a survey of students at Los Angeles High School of the Arts, 90 percent of students who passed and 68 percent of students who failed said the portfolio defense was a “worthwhile experience.” Magana, who passed his second defense a week later, said he’s learned from his mistakes and won’t repeat them at the University of California Riverside, where he’ll major in computer science this fall.

“I’m worried that in college I won’t have anyone there to push me,” Magana said. “But I have this experience to refer back to. I will remember this. I won’t allow myself to fail again.”

Of the 92 seniors who defended their portfolios this year, 33 failed. Like Magana, they were scheduled to redo their presentations.

In the end, everyone passed and received diplomas.

“They worked their tushes off,” Kwan said. “Not one of them gave up.”
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(This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news website focused on inequality and innovation in education.)

Photo: No longer can you complain about the slacker who doesn’t do any work and still gets this. acearchie via Flickr

Obama Warns Of Threat That Climate Change Poses To National Security

Obama Warns Of Threat That Climate Change Poses To National Security

By Christi Parsons, Tribune Washington Bureau (TNS)

NEW LONDON, Conn. — President Barack Obama warned Wednesday that climate change poses an “immediate risk to our national security” so significant that U.S. military forces will have to adjust how they train and operate.

In a speech to the graduating class of cadets at the Coast Guard Academy here, Obama noted the dangers of rising sea levels that threaten health and safety in coastal areas and pointed to volatile new storm systems, droughts, and wildfires that endanger the rest of the world.

“This is not just a problem for countries on the coast or for certain regions of the world,” he said. “Climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to our national security, and make no mistake: It will impact how our military defends our country.

“We need to act,” Obama said, “and we need to act now.”

The call to action comes as Obama pursues a global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The White House hopes to close an ambitious deal with sweeping goals at a December summit in Paris.

Crucial to that push is a good-faith display by the U.S. to cut its own emissions. Obama wants the country to cut greenhouse gases dramatically over the next decade.

In his address to the new class of Coast Guard officers, Obama made a sales pitch for his climate agenda: that national and global security depend on it.

It’s a strategy that he has employed recently in an effort to sell his trade and economic policies, as he argues that U.S. security depends in part on building new and strong commercial and financial ties to the rest of the world.

The argument is based on the world’s common problem of climate change and related security concerns.

Drought and famine have made basic resources like food and water scarce, leading to instability around the world, he said. Violent storms force people from their homes.

The stakes, Obama argued Wednesday, are high.

Denying climate change or refusing to deal with it undermines American readiness, he said.

“We cannot and must not ignore a peril that can affect generations,” Obama said, noting that some in Washington don’t believe in taking action to deal with climate change.

Scientists know it’s happening, Obama said, and “the Coast Guard knows it’s happening.”

Climate change poses a threat to the readiness of American forces, he said, ticking off floods at bases in Norfolk, Va., damage from thawing permafrost at military facilities in Alaska and the possibility of extensive droughts and wildfires threatening training areas in the West.

For its part, the Pentagon is assessing the vulnerability of more than 7,000 military bases, installations, and other facilities around the world as a result of climate change.

The departments of Defense and Homeland Security have been studying how to deal with the security implications of melting sea ice in the Arctic.

If the military is taking steps to deal with climate change, said one member of Congress, it should inspire others to do the same.

“Our military takes the world as it is, not as ideologues would hope it to be,” said Representative Ted W. Lieu (D-CA), a veteran. “Our nonpartisan military is telling the American public that climate change is real, it is happening, and we must act.”

Obama urged the officers to embrace the challenge before them.

“You are part of the first generation of officers to begin your service in a world where the effects of climate change are so clearly upon us,” he told the graduating cadets. “Climate change will shape how every one of our services plan, operate, train, equip, and protect their infrastructure, today and for the long term.”

Photo: U.S. Department of Defense via Flickr

North Texas Students Petition For A Speaker Other Than Texas Governor Abbott

North Texas Students Petition For A Speaker Other Than Texas Governor Abbott

By Anna M. Tinsley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TNS)

Texas Governor Greg Abbott will speak at the University of North Texas graduation next month even though some students promise to boycott their own commencement ceremony if he gives the keynote address.

More than 2,000 students have signed an online petition asking UNT officials to choose a different speaker for their May ceremony.

“While Governor Abbott’s story is inspirational, his views on inequality cannot be overshadowed by this,” the petition states. “Our Mean Green Pride comes from being heard and respected. Which is why we ask University President Neal Smatresk to find a new keynote speaker for graduation.”

Smatresk said he’s not changing speakers and he’s excited that the state’s 48th governor will speak at the ceremony.

“He’s a new governor, he’s supportive of higher education,” said Smatresk, who became UNT’s president last year. “Why wouldn’t we want to celebrate the success of our institution in its 125th year with him?

“I feel it’s a great way to celebrate.”

Despite the controversy swirling around his appearance — most via social media — Abbott, a Republican, plans to honor his commitment.

“Governor Abbott is honored to accept the invitation to address the University of North Texas’ commencement, and he looks forward to recognizing the great work UNT is doing to elevate Texas’ higher education system, as well as the contributions that the UNT Class of 2015 will make to build a better future for Texas,” said Amelia Chasse, press secretary for the governor.

Students have said they oppose Abbott for reasons ranging from his opposition to gay marriage to his opposition to Denton’s ban on hydraulic fracturing in city limits.

“College students are young adults with passion, and they often express it as a challenge to authority,” said Jim Riddlesperger, a political science professor at Texas Christian University. “It isn’t terribly surprising to see this come in Denton, where the anti-fracking ordinance has already galvanized feelings.

“And, of course, it shows in some ways the increasing partisan polarization in our society where elections seem never truly to be over.”

The UNT graduation is scheduled for May 16 at Apogee Stadium.

Texas universities have been announcing their commencement speakers, with retired General Colin Powell speaking at Rice University; Ford Foundation President Darren Walker talking at the University of Texas, Austin; former President George W. Bush speaking at Southern Methodist University in Dallas; and actor Matthew McConaughey talking at the University of Houston.

Smatresk announced earlier this month that Abbott would deliver the address at UNT’s first university-wide graduation ceremony, honoring students who completed their degrees at any point through the 2014-2015 school year.

“I would love to show him all the wonderful things that are going on at our incredibly diverse campus,” Smatresk said. “When you engage the governor in a dialogue about higher education, higher education wins.”

He said he’s not surprised by the student reaction, which has been mostly negative on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, but he notes that he has personally heard from “quite a few” students who are excited Abbott is coming to campus.

“One of the things we are proud of is that we have truly engaged students,” Smatresk said. “They are passionate, they care. Certainly we have students who want to make their opinions known.

“They are the future leaders of the world.”

After the announcement, a new page on Facebook — Abbott Free UNT — was created, urging students upset about the governor’s presence to protest by walking out of the ceremony once he takes the stage.

And a firestorm of comments have been posted on the UNT Facebook page, many opposed to Abbott being the speaker.

“You have failed your students, UNT,” wrote Emily Eells, a member of the UNT College Democrats. “We hosted one of the largest college campus rally’s for Wendy Davis in the fall. How on EARTH did you think Greg Abbott was an appropriate speaker for commencement?”

Abbott and Davis, a former Fort Worth state senator, went head-to-head in the November general election, each hoping to become the next governor of Texas. Abbott handily won, claiming 59 percent of the vote to Davis’s nearly 39 percent.

“I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I will not be attending my commencement ceremony this semester due to this poor choice in speaker,” Eells said.

“As an alumni, this is a disappointing choice,” wrote Scott Davis. “Instead of somebody that represents such a partisan and narrow world view, it would be better to have somebody that can speak to all of the students.”

James Thomason said he won’t attend the graduation.

“He’s a more cunning evil than Perry ever was,” he wrote. “God help Texas (if it isn’t too late already).”

And John Barnes, a 1968 UNT graduate, said he is “disgusted” by the university’s choice.

“You have insulted every minority, LGBT, poor, and physically challenged person within the UNT system. NTSU/UNT has a long, proud history of challenging the status quo. This choice reduces UNT to a tea party mouthpiece. How in the hell can you be proud of this choice? Shame on you.”

Hailey Carlson is graduating in May but she wasn’t planning on going to the ceremony until she learned about the petition.

Now she’s going to show support for the governor.

“I think it’s very disrespectful to petition or walk out,” said Carlson, 22, who heads the Young Conservatives of Texas at UNT group and will graduate with a psychology degree. “I wasn’t surprised though because our campus is primarily made up of liberal students.

“I know they do not like his views. They were all big supporters of Wendy Davis.”

So she plans to show her support with her presence.

UNT alumni Ron Ellis believes college leaders made a good choice.

“Glad to see my old school occasionally has some good news,” he wrote. “He has my full support. Thanks for having him!!!”

Smatresk said he appreciates the petition and the sentiment behind the protests, but they won’t change his mind.

“We are not changing speakers,” he said. “We have the governor and we are happy.”
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The online petition

“The University of North Texas’ student body is made up of students from all walks of life. Therefore, it is pivotal that our keynote speaker be someone who reflects not only our student population but our views on equality and representation. Governor Abbott is an advocate for immigration reform, border patrol, and anti-equal marriage laws. This does not align the spirit of the University of North Texas which prides itself in providing equal opportunities for their students. While Governor Abbott’s story is inspirational, his views on inequality cannot be overshadowed by this. Our Mean Green Pride comes from being heard and respected. Which is why we ask University President Neal Smatresk to find a new keynote speaker for graduation.”
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High-profile commencement speakers for 2015

In Texas

University of Houston: Matthew McConaughey
University of Texas, Austin: Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation
Rice: Colin Powell
SMU: George W. Bush

Nationwide

Wake Forest: Stephen Colbert
Dillard University (New Orleans): Denzel Washington
Princeton: Christopher Nolan, director
Pepperdine: Anthony Hopkins
University of Virginia: Ed Helms
Tulane: Maya Rudolph
University of Wisconsin, Madison: Katie Couric
University of Georgia: Amy Robach, news anchor for Good Morning America
Stanford: Richard Engel, chief foreign correspondent at NBC News
MIT: Megan Smith, chief technology officer of the U.S.
George Washington University: Tim Cook, CEO of Apple
Emory: Kenneth Cole and Sir Salman Rushdie
Harvard: Deval Patrick, former governor of Massachusetts
Tufts: Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State
College of William and Mary: Condoleezza Rice
Xavier University: Magic Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder

Photo: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Bill Maher Will Keep His Speaking Date At UC Berkeley Despite Furor

Bill Maher Will Keep His Speaking Date At UC Berkeley Despite Furor

By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times

After a weeklong debate over free speech and campus climate, political satirist Bill Maher said he intends to deliver a December commencement address at the University of California, Berkeley despite a controversy surrounding his invitation.

“I want to come, I’m planning to come,” the comedian said Friday night on his “Real Time with Bill Maher” cable show.

Some students last week sought to have his invitation rescinded because of his on-air remarks last month that they allege denigrated Muslims. But citing free speech rights, UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks insisted the speech go on as planned.

Maher kept quiet publicly about the situation for a few days. Then, on Friday’s show, he delivered a lengthy riff about it, explaining that he was delighted to accept the invitation to speak at the midyear commencement Dec. 20. “I’m happy to because although I never attended Berkeley, I was very aware of their place in the American debate on the far left,” he said.

“They invited me because it was the 50th anniversary of something that is legendary on that campus, the Berkeley Free Speech Movement,” he said, referring to influential student protests against rules that limited on-campus activism. “I guess they don’t teach irony in college anymore.”

A campus student organization that helps choose commencement speakers voted to rescind Maher’s invitation. Its leaders said it took that position not because of Maher’s views but because the debate about his presence would have harmed the celebratory nature of the graduation event.

Dirks then overruled the student group and said the invitation will stand. His statement noted that the decision “does not constitute an endorsement” of any of Maher’s views, although it supports the television personality’s right to express them.

“More broadly, this university has not in the past and will not in the future shy away from hosting speakers who some deem provocative,” Dirks’ statement said.

Protesters wanted Maher disinvited because of statements he made on his Oct. 6 show that they contend portrayed Islam as a violent faith and suggested that most Muslims believe that anyone who leaves the religion should be executed.

The Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian Coalition on campus and other groups started an online petition drive seeking to block the speech, calling Maher’s comments racist, divisive and offensive to many students. UC Berkeley should not “invite an individual who himself perpetuates a dangerous learning environment,” the petition said in part.

On Friday’s show, Maher insisted that he is not a bigot. He said that students and others who signed the online petition don’t seem to understand the open nature of universities and a democratic society: “That’s how it’s done, kids. Whoever told you you only had to hear what didn’t upset you?”

His only regret, he said, was that he feared the speech might prompt a media blitz that could detract from the graduation festivities.

Photo via WikiCommons

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