<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">
<html><head><style type="text/css"><!--
blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { padding-top: 0 ; padding-bottom: 0 }
--></style><title>Re: [English] American senior Maths and English
results</title></head><body>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Mary,</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Have you visited primary schools in
Victoria? My experience is that there is a similar emphasis
on the things you mention in Victoria in lower primary that has also
been moving into upper primary over the last years. The
Education Department and Catholic Education have both been
increasing the emphasis on collection of data regarding student
literacy achievement and teacher use of this to inform teachng.
Teacher observation is also key. I ageree that more could be
done regarding explicit deconstruction of text and teaching about that
as well as increased teaching of vocabulary and languge study - both
issues that havve been included in VELS at upper primary to some
degree. Though here, as in the States, there is not necessarily
consistency across all classes. or schools. </blockquote>
<div>Maybe part of the issue is that primary and secondary teachers
rarely have the time to access each others PD opportunities - or talk
to each other regarding what is occurring in their schools.</div>
<div> I'd also recommend secondary teachers attending the ALEA (
Australian Literacy Educators Association<font color="#000080">
www.alea.edu.au</font> ) conferences and P.dD as well as VATE
events ( Just as I recommend primary teachers to attend VATE
events). This will give a broader view of literacy and
English education across all sectors. </div>
<div> regards</div>
<div>Debra.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">Debra
Edwards</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">Lecturer in
Literacy Education and English Methods.</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">School of
Education <span
></span
> <span
></span
> <span
></span> Ph (03) 54
447-483</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">La Trobe
University <span
></span
> <span
></span> Fax (03)54
447-777</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">P.O. Box 199,
Bendigo,
Victoria <x-tab
>
</x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab>
Mobile 0414 077 796</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">Australia,
3552<x-tab> </x-tab></font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab> <x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab>d.edwards@latrobe.edu.au<x-tab
>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab> </font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab> <x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab>www.latrobe.edu.au</font><br>
<font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000"></font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">President Central
Victorian Local Council,<br>
Australian Literacy Educators Association.</font></div>
<div><font size="-2"
color="#000080"> www.alea.edu.au/vic</font></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br>
<br>
<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>I'm in the states at the moment looking
at Literacy. It is doing some</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>fantastic things at lower primary. The
'No child left behind' program<br>
has put loads of money into lower primary. I am in Minnesota at
the<br>
moment and have seen the support they are giving to teachers to
change<br>
their practice and deliver a balanced curriculum model. The stress
all<br>
the time is on higher level thinking, reciprocal thinking - by that
they<br>
mean teaching students to question, clarify, summarise and predict.
They<br>
also teach them inferential thinking. The problem is that as for them
so<br>
for us. We do all this stuff about teaching students to read at
lower<br>
primary and then we assume they can read - particularly in secondary.
We<br>
do not give them the necessary scaffolding to read. We are not
explicit.<br>
There is also not enough deconstructing of texts at both upper
primary<br>
and lower secondary. Our teachers at these levels of the school
need<br>
much more explicit PD on how to deconstruct a text - how metaphor
is<br>
used - how gaps are used - why this sentence structure - why this<br>
setting - how is setting used - how is character being built -
what<br>
about point of view - what about the use of narrator for setting
up<br>
complexity. I am not saying teachers are not doing this in Australia
but<br>
it is not systemic. I suspect - although I do not know - that
this is<br>
the same as the States. We could learn lots from lower primary. Here
it<br>
is data driven and they observe, they interview, and the teachers
do<br>
some work. They test twice a year and modify their program if they
pick<br>
up difficulties with students. Incidentally, I have been in
schools<br>
which have 90% subsidised lunches and I have seen real engagement at
the<br>
primary level.<br>
<br>
The focus in Minnesota is on the importance of teacher learning and
of<br>
study groups within the school.<br>
<br>
Cheers<br>
<br>
Mary<br>
<br>
Mary Mason<br>
Director of Teaching and Learning<br>
<br>
ph: (03) 52263157<br>
mob: 0402022012<br>
>>> stephen@melbpc.org.au 02/25/07 5:40 AM >>><br>
Hi all,<br>
<br>
Last Thursday the NAEP released the latest report on the academic<br>
performance of American Year 11 and 12 (senior) students.<br>
<br>
"The (US) National Assessment of Educational Progress -- often
called</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>the<br>
nation's report card -- is viewed as the best way to compare
students<br>
across the country because it's the only uniform national yardstick
for<br>
how well students are learning." (quote CNN)<br>
<br>
<http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/><br>
<br>
According to results, almost 40 percent of high school seniors
performed<br>
<br>
below the *basic* level on the math test, and more than 25 percent
of<br>
students failed to reach the *basic* level on the reading test.<br>
<br>
On the math test, about 60 percent of high school seniors performed
at<br>
or<br>
above the basic level. At that level, a student should be able to<br>
convert<br>
a decimal to a fraction, for example.<br>
<br>
Just one-fourth of 12th-graders were proficient or better in math.
To<br>
qualify as "proficient," students might have to determine
what type of<br>
graph should be used to display particular types of data.<br>
<br>
On the reading test, about three-fourths of seniors performed at
or<br>
above<br>
the basic level, while 40 percent hit the proficient mark.<br>
<br>
Seniors working at a basic reading level can identify elements of
an<br>
author's style. At the proficient level, they can make inferences
from<br>
reading material, draw conclusions from it and make connections to
their<br>
<br>
own experiences.<br>
--<br>
<br>
Cheers people<br>
Stephen Loosley<br>
Victoria, Australia<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe,
unsubscribe<br>
VCE English Teachers' Mailing List<br>
--<br>
Message protected by MailGuard: e-mail anti-virus, anti-spam and
content<br>
filtering.<br>
http://www.mailguard.com.au/tt<br>
<br>
Click here to report this message as spam:<br>
https://login.mailguard.com.au/report/1s57vbWVbD/7k6DS3ZvTiH1aYbCSRgI<span
></span>a1/2.538<br>
<br>
<br>
--<br>
#####################################################################<span
></span>###########<br>
This e-mail and any attached files are confidential and intended
solely for the person to whom it is addressed. If you have
received this e-mail in error then please notify the sender
immediately. The contents represent the views or opinions of the
author only and are not necessarily made on behalf of the School.
The recipient should check this e-mail and any attachments for the
presence of viruses; the School does not accept liability for any
damage caused by a transmitted virus.<br>
#####################################################################<span
></span>###########<br>
<br>
Message protected by MailGuard: e-mail anti-virus, anti-spam and
content filtering.<br>
http://www.mailguard.com.au/tt<br>
<br>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe,
unsubscribe<br>
VCE English Teachers' Mailing List</blockquote>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<x-sigsep><pre>--
</pre></x-sigsep>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">---------<br>
</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">Debra
Edwards</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">School of
Education <span
></span
> <span
></span
> <span
></span> Ph (03) 54
447-483</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">La Trobe
University,
Bendigo <span
></span
> <span
></span> Fax (03)54
447-777</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">P.O. Box 199,
Bendigo,
Victoria <x-tab
>
</x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab>
Mobile 0414 077 796</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">Australia,
3552<x-tab> </x-tab></font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab> <x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab>d.edwards@latrobe.edu.au<x-tab
>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab> </font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1"
color="#000000"><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab> <x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab>www.latrobe.edu.au</font><br>
<font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000"></font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">President Central
Victorian Local Council,<br>
Australian Literacy Educators Association.</font></div>
<div><font size="-2"
color="#000080"> www.alea.edu.au/vic</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000">-</font><font
color="#000000">Confidentiality and Privacy Statement</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">This message is intended for the use of the
individual(s) or entity named above and may contain information that
is confidential and privileged. If you believe you are not the
intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination,
distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you believe you are not the intended recipient and have received
this communication in error, please notify me immediately by
telephone/email and destroy the original message. La Trobe University
respects the privacy of your personal information in accordance with
privacy laws. Personal information will only be disclosed in
accordance with the University's privacy policy. For further
information visit http://www.latrobe.edu.au/privacy/</font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1"
color="#000000"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Courier" size="-1" color="#000000"><br></font></div>
</body>
</html>