A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

U.S. Department of Education Strategic Plan, 1998-2002 - September 1997

Goal 1. Help all students reach challenging academic standards so that they are prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment.

The federal government has an important but limited role to play in education reform. Federal support seeks to help states and local communities strengthen schools and improve the educational performance for all children, so that the nation can meet the economic and social challenges of the 21st century.

The key to improving student performance is comprehensive and sustained education reform. States and communities--not the federal government--are developing and implementing challenging academic standards for every child to meet, to ensure that all children know that their schools and communities have high expectations for their academic performance. To further support student academic success, state school-to-work systems place learning in the meaningful context of the world of work and encourage students to prepare for postsecondary education and high-skill employment.

An environment conducive to learning is also important. To learn, students must have schools that are safe and orderly and promote positive values. Essential to high-quality learning are talented and dedicated teachers. In addition, teachers and students need access to advanced technology that assists instruction and helps students develop skills they will need for work and further education.

To achieve effective education reform that meets the needs of all students, everyone must be involved--students; parents; educational leaders at the school, district, and state levels; community members, businesses, and religious groups; and government at all levels.

Use of Evaluations and Assessments in Developing Goal 1

• In formulating Goal 1, the Department relied heavily on the findings from major research studies, national assessments, and evaluations of elementary and secondary programs and continues to be informed by ongoing studies. Studies of effective reforms documented the need to take a systemic approach to aligning all elements of schooling with challenging standards for student performance. Evaluations of programs prior to reauthorization helped identify areas that required major overhaul in Title I and other federal elementary and secondary programs to support whole school improvement in teaching and learning.
  • Evaluations of the Title I program for disadvantaged students found that the antecedent program, operating in isolation from state and local improvement efforts, was too weak an intervention to help close the learning gap. These evaluations influenced legislation such as the Improving America's Schools Act and the Goals 2000: Educate America Act.

  • The need for standards has been documented especially through international studies (the Third International Mathematics and Science Study) and national assessments such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress that showed mediocre overall achievement and uneven performance of U.S. students in different states and communities.

  • A number of studies also identified considerable complacency on the part of students and parents about their performance. Some of the studies suggested that parents cannot rely on student grades to inform them on how well their children are doing. An "A" in a high-poverty school might equal a "C" in a low-poverty school when measured against an external standard.

  • Recent studies on drug prevention programs have pointed to the need to strengthen the research base on effective strategies and their use in schools.

• Early findings from the evaluation of the implementation of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act indicated that states have begun building school-to-work systems but have not necessarily imbedded their efforts within general school reform.

Objective 1.1: States develop and implement challenging standards and assessments for all students in the core academic subjects.

Support for standards-based reform has deepened over the past six years and is now part of almost all state plans for education reform. The support for standards that came initially from subject matter experts and professional associations has broadened to include state policymakers, business leaders, and community coalitions. Even so, considerable work needs to be done to move from understanding standards to implementing them in the classroom.

Changing instruction and curricula will require even greater effort over the next five years than meeting the original challenge of developing support for the concept of standards. Survey results and other sources indicate that developing assessments and related student performance standards, improving professional development programs, and linking accountability to school and student performance may be the most effective policy levers for the Department. The federal government can assist by providing support and guidance on challenging standards and assessments, and by offering highly focused, voluntary national tests that can serve as benchmarks for parents and communities.

Core Strategies:

• Support for development of standards and assessments. Provide financial support to states to develop and implement clear, challenging academic standards and aligned assessments in ways that promote excellence and equity-through the Goals 2000: Educate America Act; Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs such as Title I Aid for Disadvantaged Children; Eisenhower Professional Development program; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education and Applied Technology Education Act; and other federal programs designed to help all students achieve to high academic standards.
• Technical assistance and information sharing. Use the Department's comprehensive technical assistance centers, regional education laboratories, research and development centers, and new, cross-cutting Department monitoring teams (integrated review teams) to assist states and school districts in implementing challenging academic standards and aligned assessments.
• Public awareness and community engagement.Conduct a national campaign of awareness and community engagement to increase public understanding and support for challenging academic standards and the national assessments in reading and math.
• Federal programs that support standards.
  
  • Implement federal program requirements calling for the adoption of state standards.
  • For Title I, provide technical assistance, guidance, and models of quality standards and their effective implementation to support the efforts of states to link Title I and other federally-supported programs to state standards.
  • Help guide the development of assessments that make appropriate accommodations for students with limited English proficiency or disabilities.

Objective 1.2: Every state has a school-to-work system that increases student achievement , improves technical skills, and broadens career opportunities for all.

Researchers, educators, employers, and policymakers have sought ways to make education relevant to students' future careers, adapt instruction to the ways in which students learn best, and ensure that students learn the habits and skills that employers value. By adding meaningful context from the world of work, educators hope to engage the interest and intellect of students and help them learn more effectively. Whether learning by doing and in context is accomplished at school or in a work setting, school-to-work systems (STW) seek to improve career prospects and academic achievement in high school--and thereby boost enrollment in postsecondary education and increase the likelihood of obtaining high-skill, high-wage employment.

Core Strategies:

• Financial support for STW systems. Help build comprehensive school-to-work systems in every state by providing grants under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act and by supporting high-quality technical training through vocational education and tech-prep education.
• Interagency and interoffice collaboration. Continue to work with the Department of Labor to administer the School-to-Work Opportunities Act; and align grant-making, monitoring, and technical assistance, financial audit, performance reporting, and other key processes in the school-to-work initiative with those in related education programs in both departments.
• System improvement. Assist implementation and improve the quality of school-to-work systems through technical assistance, identification of promising practices, and evaluation of states' progress.
• Involvement of schools, colleges, and employers in building school-to-work systems and stronger vocational education programs.
  
  • Engage high schools, postsecondary institutions, and adult high schools by sponsoring a national information center; creating networks that include educators, employers, and other key stakeholder groups; and sponsoring efforts to align postsecondary admissions policies with new methods of assessing high school student performance.
    
  • Build strong employer participation in school-to-work by targeting outreach activities at employers and their organizations and by collaborating with the National Employer Leadership Council.
• Professional development.
  
  • Prepare teachers to fully participate in school-to-work by helping colleges of education to incorporate school-to-work elements in their curricula.
  • Support teacher training efforts aimed at improving the skills of teachers in using contextual learning approaches to instruction of basic and technical skills.

Objective 1.3: Schools are safe, disciplined, and drug-free.

After more than a decade of declines, illegal drug use by American youth has increased significantly. Youth attitudes toward drug use, which are a strong predictor of changes in actual drug use, continue to show tolerance toward drug use. Rates of interpersonal violence are unacceptably high, and serious violent activity in and around schools appears to be escalating. Although the federal government has provided support to schools to help them develop and implement drug prevention activities, these efforts have not been universally successful. Definitive research findings about effective school-based practices have been slow to emerge. Indeed, a recent longitudinal study of 19 school districts found that although some drug prevention programs in these districts improved student outcomes, the effects were small. Moreover, the study found that few schools employed program approaches that have been found effective in previous research, and that program delivery was inconsistent.

Core Strategies:

• Promotion of effective approaches..
  • Implement principles of effectiveness for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to focus support on promising practices and use of sound information for program improvement.
  • Through research and evaluation, identify effective violence and drug prevention programming.
  • Disseminate effective programs and strategies through technical assistance and training, conferences, publications, and use of technology.
  • Provide teacher training under programs such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Professional Development program to improve teachers' skills in reducing conflict.
• Financial support. Continue to fund states and local school districts under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act program, while working to improve the quality of local activities.
• Public attitudes. Help youth and parents understand the harmful nature of drug use by participating in or conducting media campaigns and other dissemination activities, in conjunction with other agencies.
• Prohibiting drug and alcohol use. The Department will encourage state efforts to support existing local policies prohibiting drug and alcohol use in schools (97% of schools and districts have such policies) and also their efforts to cover all schools with such policies.
• Improved data systems. Improve the capacity of states and school districts to collect and analyze information on alcohol and drug use and violent behavior.
• Interagency coordination. Work with other federal agencies--including the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation; the President's Crime Prevention Council; and the Office of National Drug Control Policy--to coordinate strategies to reduce drug and alcohol use and violence.

Objective 1.4: A talented and dedicated teacher is in every classroom in America.

A talented, dedicated, and well-prepared teaching force is one of the most important ingredients for education reform. Research indicates that teachers' knowledge and skill make a crucial difference in what students learn. Research also demonstrates the value of intensive and sustained high-quality professional development when developing skills in new models of teaching and learning. The current teaching force needs high-quality professional development if all teachers are to be able to teach a diverse student population to challenging standards. Further, new teachers must be well prepared to help diverse learners master challenging content and performance standards. It is estimated that about one-fourth of newly hired teachers lack the qualifications for their jobs. There is also high turnover in beginning teachers--22% of beginning teachers drop out of the teaching profession within the first three years. Key reasons include lack of support and typical "sink or swim" approaches to induction.

Core Strategies:

• Improving the quality and retention of new teachers.
  • Support programs to recruit talented people from all backgrounds into teaching.
  • Improve the quality of teacher education for new teachers.
  • Encourage and support special efforts to retain new teachers.
  • Support career ladders that will enable bilingual paraprofessionals to become certified teachers.
• Financial support and interagency coordination. Provide funds to states and schools through the Eisenhower and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) professional development programs, as well as other programs in which professional development is an allowable activity (e.g., Title I, Vocational Education, Bilingual Education, and Technology Literacy Challenge Grants). Coordinate with the National Science Foundation to implement strategies to improve the skills of teachers through the professional development programs of both agencies.
• Licensing standards. Through the Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching, support states' efforts to align licensing and certification requirements with challenging content standards and performance-based assessments.
• Teacher recognition and accountability. Support the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and programs that reward good teachers and address the problems of incompetent ones.
• Research, development, evaluation, and dissemination.
  • The National Evaluation of the Eisenhower Professional Development Program will evaluate the program's alignment with high state standards and principles of duration and intensity.
  • Provide educators and policymakers with valid, research-based strategies for improving quality.
  • Increase support for quality teaching and professional development among government, business, community leaders, and the general public through outreach and dissemination of information.
  • Establish the Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching to work with stakeholders and carry out applied research.
  • Establish a Teacher Policy Center to conduct research on policies related to teaching.
• Monitoring trends. Issue a biennial national report card on teacher quality starting in 1998.

Objective 1.5: Families and communities are fully involved with schools and school improvement efforts.

Over 30 years of research clearly shows that all families--whether they are rich or poor, whether the parents finished high school or not, or whether kids are in preschool or high school--can help their children learn. Greater family involvement in children's learning is a critical link to achieving a high-quality education and a safe, disciplined learning environment for every student.

Core Strategies:

• Public understanding and outreach. Promote family and community involvement in the learning of children in school and after school through public awareness campaigns in major newspapers and educational organization publications; outreach efforts to provide information on programs, research, and best practices; and by making materials in Spanish available to families.
• Partnership for Family Involvement in Education.
• Sign on 1,000 new members annually by outreach efforts of current partners and membership drives at public forums.
• Develop opportunities and capacity for schools, families, communities, and employers to work together through continuing nationwide activities of the Partnership (Read*Write*Now; America Goes Back to School, and a new initiative focused on middle schools).
• Program assistance and support for family involvement. Provide support for parental involvement by expanding Goals 2000 parent assistance centers to every state, providing technical assistance to support Title I compacts, continuing parental outreach and information in School-to-Work, supporting parents of children with disabilities through the IDEA Parent Training and Information Centers, and implementing the 21st Century Learning Centers.
• Family involvement in civil rights to education. Create partnerships among parents, community groups, and a broad range of stakeholders to engage in collaborative efforts to ensure equal educational opportunity for all students. Provide civil rights information, technical expertise, and other assistance in building these linkages.
• Research, development, and evaluation.
  • Launch a systematic analytic agenda to identify and highlight programs and practices that successfully engage families, schools, and communities in school improvement efforts.
  • Disseminate the latest research findings that help prepare teachers to support family involvement activities to institutions and organizations that provide pre-service and in-service programs.
  • Evaluate the activities of the Partnership and its members.

• New after-school programs. To support students and families after school and to extend learning time and promote safety, help create new after-school programs by expanding the role of the Community Partners and by providing federal program assistance (Title I, 21st Century Learning Centers, and dissemination of materials). Legislation needed.

Objective 1.6: Greater public school choice will be available to students and families.

Research on public schools that provide choice suggests that the sense of ownership by school staff, students, and parents helps to galvanize effort towards common goals. Information on the educational effects of choice programs is limited; most charter schools are just getting started. Further work needs to be done on documenting the implementation and quality of public schools of choice and sharing the most promising strategies with the field.

The Department of Education is encouraging expansion of choice within the public school system with alternatives such as charter schools, magnet schools, and systemwide strategies that make every public school a school of choice, thereby enabling all students and their parents to choose their school.

• Charter schools are intended to give teachers, parents, and other members of local communities the flexibility to experiment with innovative methods of achieving educational excellence. At the same time, they should help all students have access to quality schooling. Because they are new schools, charters require start-up funds and support that the Department helps to provide through its Charter School program.

• For several decades, magnet schools have provided the most widespread opportunity for families to exercise choice. The Department's Magnet School program provides support for magnet schools that are intended to achieve desegregation goals, particularly in our largest cities.

Core Strategies:

• Engage the public. Expand support by the public and policymakers for the development of high-quality charter and magnet schools.
• Financial support and technical assistance.
• Through the Charter Schools Grants program, help states and schools effectively plan and implement charter schools that have flexibility from state and district rules, are open to all students, and are held accountable for improving student achievement.
• Continue to support implementation of magnet schools through grants to school districts under the Magnet Schools program, providing opportunities and choice for students and promoting desegregation within high-quality education settings.
• Research and development. Support research on public school choice, including evaluations of the effectiveness of charter schools and magnet schools, and promote the development of models and materials to help parents, teachers, and communities to design effective school choice programs.
• Outreach.
  • Disseminate information on strategies for expanding high-quality school choice programs that improve student achievement and share lessons learned from research about school choice.
  • Increase awareness and support for effective public school choice programs among government, business leaders, and community leaders, and the general public through outreach and dissemination of information.

Objective 1.7: Schools use advanced technology for all students and teachers to improve education.

Hundreds of studies have found that, when properly used, technology improves many aspects of education, including student learning, teacher professional development, classroom management, and school administration. As an instructional tool, technology helps students master basic skills, solve complex real-life problems that require advanced skills, and prepare for the world of work.

Few schools have adequate numbers of modern computers or access to the Internet, and relatively few teachers are prepared to use technology effectively. Further, access to computers and other technologies is not enough; integration of technology into the curriculum is also needed. We must create an infrastructure that will enable all students to leave school with the technology skills needed for work and further education. Finally, we must encourage development of software and universal design interfaces that make advanced technology fully accessible to students with disabilities.

Core Strategies:

• Technology connections, especially for high-poverty schools.
  • Use the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund discounts and "NetDays" to wire schools for using educational technology and to connect them to the Internet.
  • Encourage use of technology connections, such as voice mail, faxes, and e-mail, to stimulate communication between families, communities, teachers, and schools.
• Access to modern computers and other technology.
  • Encourage local, state, federal and private sector partnerships to provide access to modern computers for all teachers and students, including those in high-poverty schools.
  • Provide financial support through the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund and other programs to states and districts to plan, purchase, and use modern computers and other educational technology.
  • Support development, dissemination, and use of assistive technology that enables students with disabilities to participate fully in education programs. Key programs include research by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research and support from the Assistive Technology program and IDEA.
• Effective software. Using state and local standards as guides and building on research and development of effective practices, including those developed with support of the Technology Literacy Challenge Grants, work with the private sector to develop effective and engaging software and on-line learning resources as an integral part of school curriculum.
• Program coordination. Through our technology initiative, coordinate Department technology programs (Technology Challenge programs, regional consortia, Star Schools, IDEA technology and media services, assistive technology, Ready-to-Learn Television, and telecommunications math programs); other programs that can support technology, such as Title I and IDEA; and programs and services in other federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation.
• Professional development. Building on new teaching standards, support teacher training through federal programs such as Eisenhower Professional Development, Technological Literacy Challenge Fund, Star Schools, Bilingual Education, Vocational Education, and Title I programs, and by working with the National Science Foundation. In partnership with states, local districts, and the private sector, create new incentives and approaches and provide technical assistance that will help teachers use technology more effectively.

[Framework of Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives]

[Goal 2. Build a solid foundation for learning for all children.]