-3 is student motivation and, if so, how can more of these students be drawn to participate in upper level mathematics and science courses? Many states are already in the process of gathering the data to make more precise determinations of their actual needs, as our Task Force is documenting. Federal dollars would be best leveraged within this context. QUESTION #3: Should there be any "rule of thumb" we should follow in determining the proportions of funds to be expended on teacher training, for example, as opposed to instructional equipment? ANSWER: No "rule of thumb" can be applied. Again, the unevenness of the problem across states and local districts makes federal proportioning difficult, combined with the uncertainty of continued federal resources. The history of Title I funding apparently demonstrated that in the early years, when schools were unsure of long-term future funding, more money was spent on "equipment." Again, if a state develops a comprehensive plan, multiple funding sources could be addressed through this plan, with possible arrangements in certain states for equipment donations from private industries. There seems to be a general consensus that funding should be limited in the instructional equipment area, and that perhaps, a percentage limitation should be placed on the amount of dollars spent for hardware. QUESTION #4: I asked the previous panel about the question of loan forgiveness. Do you believe loan forgiveness would be an effective mechanism to help improve the quality and increase the quantity of mathematics and science teachers? ANSWER: Loan forgiveness does not address the underlying problem of what needs to be changed to create an environment with the growth and reward structures necessary to attract and keep the best teachers. Loan forgiveness only lowers the price tag; this strategy does not address the question of what long-term career incentives are available to encourage the best students to become and remain teachers. In 1979, the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) formed a special Commission composed of 31 leaders in business, education and government to explore the relationship between higher education and the economy in the six-state region. The first phase of the Commission's work was completed in March 1982 with the publication of a report entitled, A Threat to Excellence, which was disseminated to each of the region's governors, selected legislative leaders, college and university presidents, corporate presidents and the general public. The report identified three major problems confronting higher education and the economy: • a fundamental weakening of the public school system; erosion of the commitment to finance higher education; and a negative change in the perception of New England as a region of The Commission concluded that the central task facing NEBHE is developing a more complete understanding among New Englanders of the strong influence of the quality of the region's educational system on the performance of the region's economy. Recommendations for addressing each of the three problem areas identified are designed for the purpose of regaining the competitive strength of the "knowledge intensive" New England region. In the area of particular interest to the Hunt Task Force--concern over weakening of the public school system--recommendations include: carrying out an assessment of teacher certification procedures in each of the six states, including a review of legislative constraints which may not allow flexibility for the employment of qualified teachers in such areas as science and mathematics; suggesting that senior personnel officers in the major New England corporations assist high school staff in developing curriculum relating to business and industry; and suggesting that partnerships between single high schools and individual corporations be systematically established in all states. NEBHE's action plan focuses on highlighting projects in each New England state which carry out recommendations advanced in the Commission report. A scoreboard of progress by state will be published and widely disseminated in the Spring of 1983. An ad hoc committee is also planned, composed of members from each of the six state legislatures, including members of the finance, education, and appropriation committees. Work of the committee will concentrate on assessing the conditions in each New England state regarding the recommendations presented in A Threat to Excellence. A central goal of these state reviews is to identify the level of progress and the ways in which the public and business sectors can facilitate the contributions of educational institutions to economic development in the region. NEBHE membership encompasses the following six states: Connecticut, Maine, rev. 2/24/83 Chairman: Principal Staff: SOUTHERN REGIONAL EDUCATION BOARD Task Force on Higher Education in the Schools S. Jack Davis, Superintendent of Public Instruction Winfred L. Godwin, President Eva C. Galambos, Task Force Director Lynn Cornett, Task Force Research Associate 1340 Spring Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30309 FOCUS: Coordination between higher education and public education to strengthen the quality of education at all levels in the South remains the thrust of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) effort. Under the leadership of former Task Force chairman and newly elected Florida Congressman, Buddy McKay, the Task Force conducted six months of meetings from January to June of 1981 among southern state policymakers, business and education leaders. From these meetings, 25 recommendations focusing on proposals for joint action by these leaders were embodied in what has become a key resource document, "The Need for Quality Report," published in June 1981. Recommendations range from proposals to strengthen college higher education admission standards, to approaches for relieving the mathematics and science teacher shortage, to suggestions for reciprocal agreements between states in such areas as teacher testing and certification. SREB has been involved in a continual effort since the publication of the report to work with the southern states to document what each has done in relationship to these 25 recommendations. A final report, scheduled for publication in April 1983, will summarize specific actions SREB states have taken in these recommended areas and highlight those areas in which the Task Force believes further attention should be placed. SREB has recently published two information flyers, one focusing on the issue of variable pay and other rewards for teachers, and the second, highlighting activities underway in the region on raising requirements for high school graduation and college admission. A new publication entitled, "Preparation Programs and Certification Standards for Science and Mathematics Teachers," in the SREB states will be available in early March 1983. Work encompasses an analysis of certification requirements for mathematics and science in each southern state, the shortages faced by the state in these subject areas, and an outline of some of the approaches states in the region are taking to deal with the problem. The following states are included in the SREB membership: Alabama, Arkansas, rev. 2/24/83 Co-Chairmen: WESTERN INTERSTATE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION Western Technical Manpower Council The Honorable Victor G. Atiyeh, Governor of Oregon Principal Staff: Phillip Sirotkin, Executive Director Holly Zanville, Director of Economic Development P.0. Drawer P, Boulder, Colorado 80302 (303) 497-0232 FOCUS: The Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE) is involved in an extensive two-year regional effort involving governors, state legislative leaders, presidents and chancellors of major universities and industrial and business leaders across the west to focus in on the education and manpower for the high technology industries critical to the western states in the 1980's. Funded by six separate foundations and corporations, the Council met for the first time in June 1982. Work encompasses four basic thrusts: • State Profiles. Data collected in the Spring of 1982 and currently being updated, provides a snapshot of the supply and demand picture for high technology manpower in each western state. Information includes general statistics on the state's economy, the number of students enrolled in these courses and examples of state higher education and industry initiatives in high technology. Staff has already completed completed a document providing an overview of national and regional issues in high-technology manpower. Strategies for Action Report. This report catalogs 34 strategies divided into 9 chapter headings, one of which focuses on elementary and secondary education. Recommendations focus on leadership responsibilities for the following sectors: elementary/secondary, postsecondary, regional professionals, industry, state and federal government. Examples of where in the nation and the West these strategies are underway is also included. • State Meetings. Plans are to conduct state meetings in conjunction with the legislative sessions in each western state between January and June of 1983 with a goal of each state developing its own plan in the high-technology area. It is expected that 150 state policymakers, industry and university leaders will participate. The updated state profiles, the Strategies for Action report and a regional high-technology fact book will be used as the basis for identifying what state actions should be taken for determining who should be responsible for implementation. • Interstate Activities. Plans are underway to initiate interstate projects that address high-technology manpower issues of high priority to states in the region. WICHE is a nonprofit regional organization designed to help its 13 member states to work together to provide high-quality, cost-effective programs to meet the education and manpower needs of the West. Member states are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. rev. 2/24/83 MIAMI, March 19 - Sweeping changes in education policy are being pursued throughout the South by a growing number of political leaders who assert that the ability of their states to attract growth industries hinges increasingly on the educational depth of the work force. This year voters in Mississippi, the nation's poorest state, approved substantive changes in the State Constitution. The vote cleared the way for legislative action making it mandatory that children attend school, establishing a state kindergarten program and raising teachers pay 10 percent. The changes will require Mississippi to raise more than $100 million in tax revenue. Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Governor Graham of Florida are now traveling their states in behalf of ambitious education proposals they have put forth in recent weeks. Governor Alexander's four-year plan would require $1 billion in additional revenues, which would be raised through a penny increase in the state sales tax, a premium tax on insurance companies and a video arcade tax. Governor Graham's $1.5 billion, twoyear package would require a property tax increase of $1 on each $1,000 of assessed property value. That is one reve nue-raising proposal offered to finance the package. Leaders of Legislature have said education will get priority in their forthcoming session. Florida, the South's fastest-growing state, is expected to adopt its first set of minimum requirements for graduation from high school, a part of several plans being pursued by leading state lawmakers and Gov, Bob Graham. Alabama and Kentucky have began an innovative low-interest program of finan-petitive with the best in America." cial aid for college students under which part of a loan would be forgiven if the student became a teacher in a public school. In Texas and Virginia, teachers of mathematics and science are paid bonuses. Echoing several Southern governors, Governor Graham said, "In order for us to be competitive, we have to be able to guarantee businesses and their employees' children that they will be able to attend a public school that is com Graduation Requirements The Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board says that nine of its 14 member states are increasing or considering increasing their high school graduation requirements, requiring more credits in such basic studies as mathematics, science, history and English and reducing the number of electives students can choose, like art, drama and speech. Also, nearly a third of the member states have raised their college admission standards in the past year. Half the states in the region are considering adopting the low-interest loan program that provides for partial forgiveness of the debt in exchange for service. "I doubt that there is another region in the nation that is pursuing quality improvement in education as is the South," said Mark D. Musick, the state services officer of the Southern Regional Education Board. "For better or worse, we're getting people who are tending to take action rather than study things to death." Interstate Board Dates to 1949 The education board, founded in 1949 as as interstate compact of Southern states and states bordering the South, completed a special report in 1981, "The Need for Quality," that has been a blueprint for some changes emerging today. Bob E. Childers, executive director of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, also based in Atlanta, says he sees emphasis extending beyond attendance to encompass student performance. Officials of both organizations said Gov. Winter Led Campaign Seeking Higher Teacher Pay In Texas, where plunging revenue is forcing cutbacks in state spending. Gov. Mark White is pushing lawmakers to approve a 24 percent pay increase for teachers over the next two years. The Legislature is calling for an increase of at least 18 percent. The Governor and legislators say better pay is essential to attract top college graduates to the teaching profession and keep good teachers in it. Noting the recent wave of education reforms in the South, Russell Vlaanderen, coordinator of information clearinghouse services for the Denver-based Education Commission of the States, said: "The South has at least said that in order to compete economically they are going to have to beef up their education systems. I think that as a region they are trying to move forward." He noted that several years ago the Southern states began what became a national movement to improve teachers' competency by developing knowl edge and skills tests for teachers as a prerequisite for a teaching certificate. The South had historically lagged in educational support and student achievement, although dramatic gains were made in the past 30 years, according to numerous studies on Southern education. A study of Federal Census data by the Southern Growth Policies Board, an interstate compact of governors of 12 Deep South states, showed that from 1970 to 1980 the percentage of high school graduates in the board's member states rose by 35.5 percent, to 59.2 percent of all people 25 years old and older. The figure for the nation was 66.3 percent, and 68.6 percent for states outside the South, that study reported. The policies board also found that ex. penditures per pupil in public elementary and secondary schools in its member states rose to $1,546 a year in 1980 from $602 in 1970 but continued to lag behind the national figures of $2,021 in 1960 as against $816 in 1970. The level of spending for non-Southern states was $2,124 in 1980 and $827 in 1970. There is concern that the gaps be tween the South and the rest of the coun try could remain wide. "Although some of the rich states are getting poor, Southern states are poor states, with poor tax bases, and they can't spend as much per kid," said Mr. Vlaanderen of the Education Commission of the States. 18 |