2. AP: Wisconsin "Best in Midwest"
Wisconsin retained its "Best in the Midwest" title for both participation and performance on Advanced Placement (AP) exams taken by 2009 graduates, according to a report from the College Board.
Twenty-five percent of Wisconsin graduates took an AP exam in high school—up one point from 2008. The percentage has increased by almost a third over the last five years.
Along with the participation increase, 17 percent of Wisconsin AP-takers earned a three or higher on the five-point AP scale, qualifying them for credit or advanced standing at most colleges and universities. Wisconsin was among 20 states with the greatest percentage of seniors scoring three or higher on an AP exam.
"Wisconsin has been making a concerted effort to expand AP participation throughout the state. It is great news for AP performance to increase along with growth in participation," said State Superintendent Tony Evers.
Through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Wisconsin has expanded AP participation by 11 percent in partner schools and increased the number of minority students in AP courses in participating schools by 10 percent.
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3. STEM funds available
STEM has become a ubiquitous subject recently. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—and the synergistic interplay of these subjects with each other and with other fields—are vital for growing Wisconsin's economy, for fulfilling the aspirations of many types of students, and for transforming communities and quality of life.
Wisconsin offers competitive grants of up to $5,000 to help school districts develop innovative STEM instruction, to support pupils typically under-represented in STEM, and to increase academic achievement in STEM subjects.
The application deadline is May 1, 2010, for 2010-11 funds.
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4. Helping Haiti in Ellsworth
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Ellsworth Community Middle School will be responsible for sending no less than 10,000 meals to Haiti.
Student council and faculty council members teamed up to launch a school-wide fundraising effort to help those in Haiti as well as educate all students on the effects of the recent earthquake.
In just a few days, more than $1700 was raised.
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Ellsworth's final total, displayed by student council members (from left) Rachel Pieper, Reegan Spriggle, Mylon Anderson, Emily Leonard, Ashly Matzek, Ben Leonard, and Caleb Conway. |
The money will go to Feed My Starving Children, based in Minnesota, to create balanced, healthy meals, at the cost of 17 cents each, for earthquake survivors.
Student Council Committee Chair Rachel Pieper called the joint effort a response showing “support and compassion.”
Staff members incorporated information on Haiti into their classroom lessons. Fifth grader Cory Marek offered, “It is important to help the people in Haiti because they have a lot of damage from the earthquake. They have to rebuild houses and bridges. They need tools, supplies, blankets, food, water, and shelter.”
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During the fund drive, fifth grader Emily Leonard used her math skills to keep a running tally of how many meals her classroom was able to sponsor.
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5. Curriculum Survey
ACT has released the findings of its periodic National Curriculum Survey. The survey queries educators at the middle level through postsecondary school in order to help align secondary school curriculum with postsecondary expectations. Among this year's findings:
- High school teachers tend to cover a wide range of content, including advanced content, while postsecondary educators prefer students to be better prepared in a smaller field of fundamental knowledge and skills.
- High school teachers are much more likely to believe their students are prepared for college-level reading than are postsecondary instructors.
- Even though educators at all levels tend to feel college readiness and workforce readiness demand similar preparation, high school teachers overwhelmingly say expectations are lowered for students not bound for college.
- In contrast to business and education leaders represented in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) and the DPI Business Summit on 21st Century Skills, high school and postsecondary educators currently do not value 21st century content as highly as traditional core subjects. However, ACT also found that college science instructors highly value "process skills"—echoing the importance of "thinking and learning skills" in the P21 vision and in DPI's conversations with Wisconsin business leaders.
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