May/June 2004

Taking Care of Novice Teachers

Researchers suggest how administrators can keep their newer teachers teaching and maintain a first-rate faculty

By Reino Makkonen

Do novice teachers see their first jobs as stepping-stones to work in other schools or other fields? The evidence suggests the contrary. New teachers actually feel more fulfilled and satisfied than college graduates of the same age working in other jobs. But across the country, one out of five leaves the classroom altogether within three years, and almost 40 percent leave within five years. So what happens? How does enthusiasm turn to disillusionment so soon? And what can districts do to prevent this turnover?

The rest of this article can be found in the current issue of the Harvard Education Letter. Buy this issue.

Shared Decision Making: Access Denied?

By Reino Makkonen

With many teachers leaving their jobs because they feel they have little say in issues that affect their daily work, many districts have embraced site-based management to get classroom instructors more involved in school affairs. But according to one recent study, many institutions still deny teachers access to key decisions.

The rest of this article can be found in the current issue of the Harvard Education Letter. Buy this issue.

For Discussion
Assessing Young Immigrant Children: Are We Finding Their Strengths?

How all kindergarten students are assessed, and why we should be concerned about it

By Evangeline Harris Stefanakis

Currently, one in five public school students in the U.S. is either the child of immigrant parents or is an immigrant her- or himself. Yet it is far too easy for these children, especially those whose dominant language is not English, to "fail" preschool screening and later testing and to enter school with the label "special needs." Many teachers and specialists are sensitive to the limitations of standardized tests, but state law mandates that kindergarten screening take place so that the system is "in compliance."

The rest of this article can be found in the current issue of the Harvard Education Letter. Buy this issue.

Off the presses
A Core Curriculum for All Students

By Patte Barth and Kati Haycock

The single most important thing we can do to help students succeed after high school is to provide a challenging high school curriculum. Why? Because the biggest contributor to success in college isn't a student's SAT or ACT score, nor is it GPA or rank in class. Rather, the single best predictor of college success is the quality and intensity of a student's high school curriculum. Research from the U.S. Department of Education shows that high school students who complete math higher than Algebra 2 (for example, trigonometry or pre-calculus) earn a college degree at twice the rate of those whose high school math curriculum was less rigorous.

To read the article in full-text, click: http://www.edletter.org/past/issues/2004-mj/corecurriculum.shtml

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