McRel Rural E-News, November 2006

1. College Degree Worth Extra $23,000/year Boston Globe
According to new data from the Census Bureau, the average gap in earnings between adults with bachelor's degrees and those with high school diplomas is $23,000 a year. College graduates made an average of $51,554 in 2004, the most recent figures available, compared with $28,645 for adults with a high school diploma. High school dropouts earned an average of $19,169 and those with advanced college degrees made an average of $78,093.

2. Scientists Say Video Games Can Reshape Education Seattle Times
The Federation of American Scientists has declared that video games can redefine education. Capping a year of study, the group called for federal research into how the addictive pizzazz of video games can be converted into serious learning tools for schools. The theory is that games teach skills that employers want: analytical thinking, team building, multitasking and problem solving under duress. Unlike humans, the games never lose patience. And there's already an audience: More than 45 million homes have video-game consoles.

3. Study Says Ed Schools in Poor Shape Washington Post
A growing number of educators say ed schools fail to give teachers enough background in their subject matter, fail to prepare them for the difficulties of urban schools and fail to recruit the best students. Arthur Levine, former president of Columbia University's Teachers College, surveyed administrators with firsthand knowledge of these problems: principals. Only two of every five principals surveyed said ed schools were preparing teachers very well or moderately well to get new curriculum and performance standards into the classroom. Only one-third said their teachers were very or moderately well prepared for maintaining classroom order. Only one-fifth said their teachers were that well prepared to work with parents.

4. Web Pages for All Regional Educational Laboratories Institute of Education Sciences
All 10 Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs), including the REL Central, housed at McREL, have websites that present information on their organization and their activities. Learn about the individual regional needs that each is facing. Get information on their current and upcoming projects.

5. Join a McREL Research Study
McREL is seeking Colorado districts to participate in a study of Rick Stiggins� Classroom Assessment for Student Learning program. The study offers teachers in Colorado districts the opportunity to participate, free of charge, in a unique professional development program.

7. Synthesis Finds District Leadership-Learning Link Education Week
Education Week reported on McREL�s study of district leadership and student results. The article reports, �the paper could shape policy discussions on the development of district leaders� and notes that a �McREL meta-analysis on school leadership, for example, has informed the training and evaluation of principals in a number of states.�

8. School administrators join leadership group Springfield (Missouri) News Leader
Twenty-five Missouri school administrators have joined the Leadership Legacy Consortium, sponsored by the Missouri Association of School Administrators. The consortium focuses on the Balanced Leadership Framework from McREL.

WHAT'S NEW FROM McREL

9. McREL study affirms link between superintendent leadership and student achievement

A new McREL research report finds that superintendents positively influence student achievement, especially when they keep their districts focused on teaching and learning. Using a sophisticated research technique called a meta-analysis, McREL combined data from separate studies into a single sample, creating what McREL believes to be the largest-ever examination of research on district leadership. The study produced three key findings.

Finding 1: District-level leadership matters
The McREL research team, led by McREL President and CEO Tim Waters and McREL Senior Fellow Robert J. Marzano, found a statistically significant relationship (a positive correlation of .24) between district leadership and student achievement.

Finding 2: Effective superintendents focus their efforts on creating goal-oriented districts
McREL researchers also identified five district-level leadership responsibilities that have a statistically significant correlation with average student academic achievement. All five of these responsibilities relate to setting and keeping districts focused on teaching and learning goals.

Finding 3 Superintendent tenure is positively correlated with student achievement
McREL found two studies that looked specifically at the correlations between superintendent tenure and student achievement. The weighted average correlation in these two studies was a statistically significant .19, which suggests that length of superintendent tenure in a district positively correlates to student achievement. These positive effects appear to manifest themselves as early as two years into a superintendent's tenure.

REPORT ROUNDUP

10. Yes We Can: Telling Truths and Dispelling Myths About Race & Education in America
Education Trust

A new Education Trust report examines the educational practices and policies that have raised academic achievement for low-income and minority students, and offers compelling evidence that children of color excel in school when given the right teaching, right classes and right support. The report rejects the myth that low academic achievement is inevitable among children of color and students from low-income families and provides examples of high-minority and high-poverty schools where children perform at high levels.

11. New Reports from the What Works Clearinghouse What Works Clearinghouse

In October, the What Works Clearinghouse, a federally funded clearinghouse of scientifically based research on education programs, released six new evaluation reports on the following programs: