It is a sad truth that in America today the quality of school a child attends is largely determined by the color of their skin and the wealth of their parents--educational opportunity and achievement are very highly correlated with race and class. US students are also outperformed on international tests by students from other countries. While there is widespread agreement that American public schools are in need of major reform, there is major disagreement about how they should be reformed. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is the most aggressive federal attempt in history to improve schools but its requirements-particularly standardized testing-- have proved very controversial. This seminar will examine the law, the politics surrounding it, its impact on schools, and President Obama’s proposals to change it, and use the law as a launch point for a broader debate about the role of K-12 education in promoting democracy, economic development, and social justice.

Required Texts:

Hess and Petrilli, No Child Left Behind Primer (2006)

Rebell and Wolff, ed. NCLB at the Crossroads (2009)

College Seminar Information and Guidelines

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the College Seminar, students will be able to:

Enter into and participate in a scholarly conversation both orally and in writing;
Comprehend, evaluate and analyze materials and texts [written, aural, visual numeric] as well as think synthetically and creatively about them;
Evaluate and explain the appropriate use of different kinds of information from a variety of academic and non-academic sources

Grading Policy
The College Seminar is a collective exploration of a topic. Its success depends on the thorough preparation and participation of each of its members. Missing class means depriving yourself of the insights you will gain through discussion and depriving others in the room of your contributions. Therefore students are expected to be present at each meeting of the seminar and prepared to participate fully in the conversation. The College Seminar will be graded as follows:

Attendance and Participation (50%)
Students will not be penalized for absences covered by a Drew Policy (Religious Observance, Athletics, Serious Illness, Death in the Family) (e.g. Athletes are allowed a maximum of two absences, i.e. x/24 rather than x/26). However, it is possible for a student to miss so many classes that they cannot be considered to have taken the class and will not earn credit for it.
Participation will be evaluated on the basis of a rubric.

Course Assignments (50%)
Writing to learn exercises are not counted if you are not in class; missed in-class writing assignments or oral presentations or activities cannot be made up. NOTE: No extra credit will be offered in this class.

Academic Accommodations
Should you require academic accommodations, you must file a request with the Office of Educational Affairs (BC 114, extension 3327). It is your responsibility to self-identify with the Office of Educational Affairs and to provide me with the appropriate documentation from that office at least one week prior to any request for specific course accommodations. There are no retroactive accommodations.

Academic Integrity
All work in the College Seminar must adhere to the College Standards on Academic Integrity. You must do your own work. You must cite sources appropriately in all papers and presentations. You must acknowledge the contribution of other students to your work. Any student who is in violation of this policy will be referred to the Dean’s Office for further action. The policy can be found at: http://www.depts.drew.edu/composition/Academic_Honesty.htm]

DoNUt and Library Training. This seminar is designed with the assumption that you will have completed both the orientation to the Drew Computing environment (DoNUT) and the orientation to basic use of the Drew Library, both of which are a part of the Common Hour, within the first four weeks of the semester.

Course Website (for research): http://www.drew.edu/depts/library.aspx?id=80070

More on Attendance and Participation:

It is expected that students will attend all classes, come having read and thought about all assigned material, contribute to the class discussion, and be prepared to answer questions from the professor and their classmates. Class participation will be graded according to student attendance, student preparation, and the caliber of student comments and questions. Showing up is necessary but not sufficient for earning a good participation grade!!

The study of politics and policymaking is made much more interesting and relevant through reference to the “real world.” It is thus strongly recommended that students follow current events by reading a major daily newspaper such as The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. I will often begin class with a discussion of recent developments surrounding education---please bring in stories that you come across as well.

I welcome your ideas, opinions, and questions at any time, and encourage you to speak freely during the class. The discussion of political issues inevitably generates controversy and disagreement among students--indeed that is what makes the study of politics interesting--and I will regularly play devil’s advocate in order to press you to consider alternative perspectives. But it is important that students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas, so please express your opinions in a respectful manner.

Communication and Feedback: Please be sure to communicate with me about your progress throughout the semester, particularly if you will have to miss class or are struggling with the course material or assignments. Also please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions about how the course could be improved.

Course Topics and Readings:

August 30 and Sept. 3: Introduction to course and American Education System

Reading: Rebell and Wolff, “Introduction”

Sept. 6: No Class, Labor Day

Sept.10: School Governance and the Politics of Reform

Reading: Michael Kirst “Turning points: A history of American school governance.” In Noel Epstein (ed.) Who’s in Charge Here? The Tangled Web of School Governance and Policy. (Handout)

Sept. 13 and 17: The Historical Evolution of American Education

Reading: Lynn Olson, “The Common Good” (Handout)

“Introduction” and “The Background of NCLB,” in Hess and Petrilli

Sept. 20 and 24: Social Policy or Education Policy? Different Theories of School Reform

Reading: Amy Stuart Wells, "Our Children's Burden": A History of Federal Education Policies That Ask (Now Require) Our Public Schools to Solve Societal Inequality,” in Rebell and Wolff

Sept. 27 and Oct. 1: What Does NCLB Do?

Reading: “NCLB Testing, Accountability, and Choice” in Hess and Petrilli

Oct. 4 and 8: The Racial Achievement Gap

Reading: Michael T. Nettles, et al. “The Challenge and Opportunity of African American Educational Achievement,” in Rebell and Wolff

Oct. 11 and 15: Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students and Students with Disabilities

Reading: Eugene E. Garcia, “Educational Policy for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students: Foundation or Barrier?” in Rebel and Wolff

OR Margaret J. McLaughlin, et al. “Standards, Assessments, and Accountability for Students with Disabilities: An Evolving Meaning of a "Free and Appropriate Public Education" in Rebell and Wolff

Oct. 18: No Class, Reading Days

Oct. 20 (Wed.) & 22: The Teacher Quality Challenge

Reading: Susanna Loeb and Luke Miller*, “*A Federal Foray into Teacher Certification: Assessing the "Highly Qualified Teacher" Provision of NCLB” in Rebell and Wolff

OR Hess and Petrilli, “Highly Qualified Teacher Provision”

Oct. 25 and 29: What Role for Standardized Tests?

Reading: Rothstein and Wilder, "Proficiency for All"-An Oxymoron” in Rebell and Wolff

AND Robert Schwartz, “Standards, Tests, and NCLB: What Might Come Next” in Rebell and Wolff

Nov. 1 and 5: Accountability, School Improvement, and Choice

Reading: Robert L. Linn, “Improving the Accountability Provisions of NCLB,” in Rebell and Wolff

Nov. 8 and 12: The Challenge of Implementation

Reading: Richard F. Elmore*, “*The Problem of Capacity in the (Re)Design of Educational Accountability Systems” in Rebell and Wolff

AND “Politics, Implementation and Future Challenges,” in Hess and Petrill

Nov. 15 and 19: The Future of NCLB and the Federal Role in Education

Reading: Rebell and Wolff*, “*A Vital and Viable Agenda for Reauthorizing NCLB,” in Rebell and Wolff

Nov. 22: Guest speaker

Nov. 26: No Class, Thanksgiving break

Nov. 29 and Dec. 3: Obama, Race to the Top and ESEA Reauthorization

Reading: TBA

Dec. 6: No Class (Wednesday schedule)

Page tree

McGuinn CSEM Fall 2010

Required Texts:

Reading: Michael T. Nettles, et al. “The Challenge and Opportunity of African American Educational Achievement,” in Rebell and Wolff

Oct. 11 and 15: Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students and Students with Disabilities

OR Margaret J. McLaughlin, et al. “Standards, Assessments, and Accountability for Students with Disabilities: An Evolving Meaning of a "Free and Appropriate Public Education" in Rebell and Wolff

Oct. 18: No Class, Reading Days