Search

The purpose of this science education document is to provide resources and advice for teachers, professional development personnel, and teacher educators to help them implement state standards in Oregon's schools. To move all students to these standards, educators must have an environment where several things occur: (a) all teachers are informed and committed to improvement of science education; (b) professional staff are provided appropriate release time to reflect, plan, and implement district and school plans for science education; (c) teachers have job-embedded professional development opportunities; (d) parents are kept informed; (e) students take responsibility for their own learning with input from parents and teachers; and (f) teacher educators and pre-service teachers stay informed, collaborate with skilled classroom teachers, and are actively engaged in the improvement of science education. This document lays out key aspects of the current knowledge of teaching and learning in science including standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment. It also provides clear descriptions and examples of encouraging practices from Oregon schools. Teachers and other professional educators can pull these descriptions, examples, and essays together and apply them in ways appropriate for their own classrooms. Standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment must be tightly aligned if Oregon students are to meet Oregon's science standards. With congruent standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices, student achievement should meet or exceed expectations. Teachers and administrators should use this document during the 2005-2007 school years for examples of encouraging practices in Oregon schools, references to key documents and Internet resources, and for contacts to build a network of professionals working on implementing Oregon science standards. The following are appended: (1) Science Education Safety; (2) References; (3) Glossary; and (4) Science Content Standards Adopted 2001 (In use since the 2002-03 school year).

Susan Castillo, Superintendent of Public Instruction in Oregon, named closing the achievement gap as a top instructional priority in Oregon. Superintendent Castillo notes three aspects to the achievement gap: (1) Performance gap: The discrepancies between the educational achievement and performance of students of diverse races, ethnicities, income levels and other groupings (e.g., students with disabilities, English Language Learners); (2) Resource gap: The disproportionate access of students to equitable funding, highly competent and trained teachers and administrators, highly engaging and rigorous curriculum, and opportunities for educational supports and experiences beyond the classroom; and (3) Willingness gap: The collective will of society to tolerate or reject the inequities in both the educational system and society at large that disproportionately and negatively affect students who are poor, minority, disadvantaged and disabled. This document summarizes where the achievement gap appears and who is affected by it.

Fourteen schools in Oregon have completed their three-year implementation plans as a part of Oregon's Round 2 funding cycle. Seven schools are currently in Round 3 and eight schools are currently in Round 4. Oregon SEA staff worked closely with these schools as they evaluated progress made during their implementation. This report includes an analysis of Rounds 2, 3 and 4. Round 1 schools had already completed their implementation by 2002-2003 and were included in the last state evaluation. Table 1 provides Round information by year. From 1999 to 2004, a total of 52 schools have received CSR funding in Oregon.

This presentation describes the mission, programs, and organization of Oregon's Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development (CCWD). Together with the State Board of Education, the CCWD distributes state aid to community colleges, approves new programs and courses, and adopts rules for the general governance of community colleges. The Agency also implements and oversees state implementation of Title IB of the Workforce Investment Act. Approximately 97.3% of the Agency's budget goes to local service delivery: 17 community colleges, 7 local workforce investment areas, and numerous youth conservation corps service entities. The programs administered by the Agency are: (1) Community College Support Fund; (2) GED Testing; (3) Oregon Youth Conservation Corps; and (4) these Federal Grants: Adult Basic Education, One-Stop Program Services, Even Start Family Literacy, and Carl Perkins Technical and Applied Technology. This document includes a breakdown of the agency budget, a list of the community colleges served, state funding broken down by college, local workforce investment areas, local workforce area funding, and links to benchmarks. (NB)

This report, required by the Oregon legislature, describes the state's Head Start prekindergarten program and the program's achievements during the 2001-2003 period. The report delineates the federal and state funding for the program during this period, and the number of programs, classrooms, and children served, noting that 61 percent of all eligible children are served, a considerable increase from the 5 percent served in 1988. A pie chart depicts the average cost per child/family for child health services, family services, and child services. The report also summarizes information on risk characteristics of many of the children and families served, emphasizing that Head Start prekindergarten family income eligibility levels are lower than the federal eligibility level for free/reduced lunch in public schools and that more than two-thirds of Head Start prekindergarten families are employed, participate in training programs, or attend school. Information is then presented on the following characteristics of Head Start children/families in Oregon: (1) ethnicity; (2) children's dominant language; (3) child health screening results; and (4) child disabilities incidence. Findings of the 2002 Oregon Kindergarten Readiness Survey are presented to illustrate how well the Head Start prekindergarten is meeting its goal of preparing children to enter kindergarten comparable to their peers. Findings from the national Family and Child Experiences Survey are then presented to show Head Start's effectiveness in improving disadvantaged children's literacy and social skills. The report concludes by outlining a long-range plan for the Oregon Head Start prekindergarten program, noting that the state's current budget shortfall does not allow for state expansion in 2003-2005, and identifying possible program economies while maintaining program quality. A map showing the locations of the state and federally funded Head Start prekindergarten programs in Oregon completes the report. (KB)

This final report details the activities and outcomes of a federally sponsored Oregon project designed to address the expressed and identified needs of students with deafblindness, their parents, and the services provided to them. As a result of the project, services (including the availability of technical assistance, information, and training that addressed early intervention, special education, related services, and transitional service needs of students with deafblindness) were increased, improving outcomes for children and their families statewide. Specific accomplishments of the project included: (1) increased identification of children who are deafblind; (2) increased knowledge and application of appropriate educational evaluation for all children in Oregon who are deafblind; (3) provision of focused statewide and regional training, including an annual week-long summer institute course specific to deafblindness; and (4) provision of all services and supports in each child's home environment. The report discusses problems encountered by the project, solutions to the problems, and recommendations for future technical assistance. A chart details activities and products resulting from the project. Appendices include a list of advisory council members and a time-line for the completed activities. (CR)

This paper reports on Oregon's Database Initiative Project (DIP). In response to inconsistent financial reports and a lack of automation, a project team was assembled by Oregon's Department of Education in 1997 with the goal of providing detailed school-level data for the 1997-98 school year in 16 Oregonian school districts. Among the project's many goals were to review, modify, update, and improve existing chart-of-accounts and identify chief factors influencing student performance. The report draws on these results to present a plan to streamline school-data collection and business processes, improve reporting, and increase the information available for educators, policy makers, and the public. The text outlines the development and implementation of DIP. It describes the resulting education database, a web-based system that will eventually collect, store, and report on data from all the state's K-12 school districts and education-service districts. The article outlines the scope and assumptions of the project; the implementation strategy; implementation activities, such as managing the project; expanding the pilot-project database; enhancing reporting capability; confirming the technical architecture; and managing organizational change. It advises educators to expect obstacles, and it encourages program implementers to assign clear responsibilities for putting the program in place. (RJM)

This report examines current policies and practices in regard to Oregon high school student participation in college courses and programs. A total of 112 of Oregon's public and private high schools responded to a January 1998 mailed survey concerning early college options programs and policies. It was found that an estimated 6,660 students were participating in early college options programs of some type, and that the demand for such programs was increasing. Nearly two-thirds of the schools provided students with advanced placement classes, about one-third offered College High programs (cooperative agreements between high schools and colleges that offer college-level courses for credit in the high school), and about half had students attending courses at community colleges. In general, larger high schools provided more early college options for their students than did small- and medium-size schools. The report calls for the development of a statewide early options program with multiple options. The report also provides an overview of early college options policies and practices in other states and descriptions of advanced placement, College High, International Baccalaureate diploma, and 2+2/Tech Prep programs. (MDM)

This document is comprised of two reports, the first detailing findings of a 1997 Oregon survey to determine the status of the state's current kindergarten children and their developmental readiness for school, and the second providing county data from the survey. Surveys were mailed to 1,141 public school kindergarten teachers and 245 private school kindergarten teachers to obtain teachers' views on children's physical well-being, language usage, approaches toward learning, cognitive and general knowledge, motor development, and social and emotional development. The findings indicated that 48.2 percent believed that children's readiness was about the same as 5 years ago. A total of 49 percent of kindergartners who did not attend formal preschool were identified as not meeting one or more of the readiness areas; 35.8 percent of children who did attend preschool did not meet one or more of the areas. Almost half of the males and about one third of females did not meet one or more readiness area. Over 40 percent of public school kindergartners and about 30 percent of private school kindergartners did not meet one or more of the developmental areas. About 70 percent of teachers identified "physically healthy, rested, and well nourished" as the first and most important area of readiness. Over 60 percent of teachers reported that one or more of their students were in special education. Over 40 percent of teachers reported that one or more of the children did not speak English well or at all. (KB)

This report discusses the findings of a study that attempted to investigate the participation rates of students with disabilities in the Oregon statewide testing program. The study joined individual student data from the Oregon Statewide Assessment Program and the Oregon Special Education Child Count to examine participation rates. The report discusses the problems encountered in merging two extant data sets and highlights these findings as relevant for any state department with a testing program that creates and uses a database separate from the special education child count files. The study found an unsettling level of disagreement between various indicators of special education membership. The data collections are operated by different offices under separate statues and federal regulations, and data are maintained in separate unrelated files. Recommendations for examining the capability of the assessment program to assess and report on all of its students adequately are provided, including: (1) examine various data collections involved; (2) conduct an analysis of how statues affect which data; (3) include demographic information on testing answer sheets; (4) investigate the circumstances surrounding the marking of exclusion codes; and (5) improve the ability to both aggregate and disaggregate summaries. (Contains 16 references.) (CR)

The 1997 Oregon Technology Plan sets a course for Oregon and its Department of Education in using technology to improve student learning, manage resources, and increase accountability. It supports the integration of instructional and administrative technology to help achieve the goals of Oregon's school improvement plan. The Goals of the Technology Plan correspond directly to the four national technology goals intended to improve education by addressing issues of equipment, connectivity, instruction and professional development. After an overview of the Plan, each of the following goals is outlined in terms of progress and action plans: (1) All Oregon students and teachers will have access to appropriate technology including modern computers; (2) Every school and classroom in Oregon will be connected to the Internet; (3) Effective software and online learning resources will be an integral tool to support the school curriculum in Oregon; and (4) All Oregon K-12 teachers, administrators and staff will have the immediate and specific education and support they need to help students learn through technology including computers and the Internet. The remaining sections focus on: monitoring, evaluation, and reporting; oversight, staffing, and future directions; the budget; and guidance for Oregon local districts in preparing a technology plan. Three tables outline the phases of a model plan, and present a sample worksheet and sample table of contents for a district educational technology plan. Appendices include: (1) Oregon Senate Bill 994-Information Technology Policy; (2) Oregon Benchmarks; (3) ORS Chapter 329; (4) Oregon Common Curriculum Goals, Content Standards, and Performance Standards; (5) 1992 Technology Plan; (6) 1994 Goals Technology Plan; (7) Open System Description and Technology Sub-Committee Report; (8) OITC Description; (9) Action Plan in Technology/Distance Education; (10) Fast Packet Contract; (11) Implementation of Telecommunications Act in Oregon; (12) Innovative Engine Competition; and (13) TigerNet Model. (AEF)

Oregon is in the process of raising expectations for its students. The state will now require students to prove their proficiency through a series of classroom assignments and state tests. Students who achieve the grade-10 standards on the required assignments and tests will receive a Certificate of Initial Mastery, and those who achieve the grade-12 standard will receive a Certificate of Advanced Mastery. This document describes the four key parts of Oregon's curriculum and assessment system: (1) the Common Curriculum Goals for kindergarten through grade 12; (2) content standards; (3) benchmarks that establish what students must know and be able to demonstrate on tests and assignments in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10; and (4) performance standards. A question and answer section provides answers to some of the frequently asked questions about curriculum, assessment, and the certificate programs. Content standards describe what will be assessed for the Certificates of Mastery, and performance standards describe the scores students must achieve on state tests and classroom assignments to receive the certificates. This document contains information related to the Certificate of Initial Mastery and its common curriculum goals for English, mathematics, the natural sciences, the social sciences, the arts, second languages, health education, physical education, and essential learning skills. The Certificate of Advanced Mastery is still being developed. Criteria for scoring student work are outlined, and a development timeline shows how the academic content standards and the benchmarks were developed. (SLD)

Oregon is raising its expectations for students. The current academic standard, which allows students to graduate with only a D-minus average in 22 credit hours of classes, is being replaced by the requirement that students prove that they are proficient in English, mathematics, science, history, and other academic subjects. Students will demonstrate their proficiency through a series of classroom assignments and state tests. This document lists the performance standards that have been established for content areas. Performance standards are the specific number, type, and minimum scores required on classroom assignments and state tests constructed to progress toward the state's Certificates of Initial and Advanced Mastery. State performance standards have not yet been developed for science and the social sciences, and they will not be determined for the arts and second languages. Students who meet the grade-10 performance standards will receive a Certificate of Initial Mastery and those who meet the grade-12 standards, to be developed later, will receive the Certificate of Advanced Mastery. Certificates of Initial Mastery will be awarded in 1998-99 for English and mathematics and will be phased in for other subjects through 2003. Performance standards for classroom assignments and state tests are defined for grades 3, 5, 8 and 10 in this publication for: (1) reading and literature; (2) writing; (3) speaking; and (4) mathematics. (SLD)

Oregon is raising its expectations for students. The current academic standard, which allows students to graduate with only a D-minus average in 22 credit hours of classes, is being replaced by the requirement that students prove that they are proficient in English, mathematics, science, history, and other academic subjects. Students will demonstrate their proficiency through a series of classroom assignments and state tests. This document defines the academic content standards for the new expectations. These content standards are the part of the curriculum goals that will be assessed statewide for the Certificates of Initial and Advanced Mastery. They are defined in this publication for the benchmark years of grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 for the areas of: (1) English (encompassing reading, writing, speaking, literature, and media and technology; (2) mathematics; (3) science; (4) social sciences (history, civics, geography, and economics); (5) the arts; (6) second languages; (7) health education; (8) physical education; and (9) technology. The essential learning skills are the skills students should demonstrate to receive a Certificate of Initial Mastery, which will represent successful achievement at the grade-10 level. These are: reading, writing, problem solving, communicating, learning, thinking, retrieving information, using technology, and working effectively alone and in groups. These academic content standards will be assessed through the performance standards in Document 2 of this series. (Contains nine charts.) (SLD)

Oregon is raising its expectations for students. The current academic standard, which allows students to graduate with only a D-minus average in 22 credit hours of classes, is being replaced by the requirement that students prove that they are proficient in English, mathematics, science, history, and other academic subjects. Students will demonstrate their proficiency through a series of classroom assignments and state tests. This document contains the four key parts of Oregon's curriculum and assessment system for kindergarten through grade 5. These are: (1) the common curriculum goals; (2) content standards for the subjects of English, mathematics, science, social sciences, second languages (school districts will define second language standards), the arts, health education, physical education, and technology; (3) benchmarks for grade 5; and (4) performance standards, defined as the scores students must achieve on the classroom assignments and state tests that demonstrate required mastery. Students who achieve the grade-10 standards will receive a Certificate of Initial Mastery and those who achieve grade-12 standards will receive a Certificate of Advanced Mastery. In addition to the goals and standards, this document presents common questions and answers about the state's new curriculum and assessment system, a chart that shows the shared responsibility of parts of the educational system, a timeline for adopting these educational changes, and resource information. (SLD)

Oregon is raising its expectations for students. The current academic standard, which allows students to graduate with only a D-minus average in 22 credit hours of classes, is being replaced by the requirement that students prove that they are proficient in English, mathematics, science, history, and other academic subjects. Students will demonstrate their proficiency through a series of classroom assignments and state tests. This document contains the four key parts of Oregon's curriculum and assessment system for grades six and eight. These are: (1) the common curriculum goals; (2) content standards for the subjects of English, mathematics, science, social sciences, second languages (defined by districts), the arts, health education, physical education, and technology; (3) benchmarks for grade 8; and (4) performance standards, defined as the scores students must achieve on the classroom assignments and state tests that demonstrate required mastery. Students who achieve the grade-10 standards, defined in other publications, will receive a Certificate of Initial Mastery and those who achieve grade-12 standards will receive a Certificate of Advanced Mastery. In addition to the goals and standards, this document presents common questions and answers about the state's new curriculum and assessment system, a chart that shows the shared responsibility of parts of the educational system, a timeline for adopting these educational changes, and resource information. (SLD)

Oregon is raising its expectations for students. The current academic standard, which allows students to graduate with only a D-minus average in 22 credit hours of classes, is being replaced by the requirement that students prove that they are proficient in English, mathematics, science, history, and other academic subjects. Students will demonstrate their proficiency through a series of classroom assignments and state tests. This document contains the four key parts of Oregon's curriculum and assessment system for grades 9 and 10. These are: (1) the common curriculum goals; (2) content standards for the subjects of English, mathematics, science, social sciences, second languages (defined by school districts), the arts, health education, physical education, and technology; (3) benchmarks for grade 10; and (4) performance standards, defined as the scores students must achieve on the classroom assignments and state tests that demonstrate required mastery. Students who achieve the grade-10 standards will receive a Certificate of Initial Mastery and those who achieve grade-12 standards will receive a Certificate of Advanced Mastery. In addition to the goals and standards, this document presents common questions and answers about the state's new curriculum and assessment system, a chart that shows the shared responsibility of parts of the educational system, a timeline for adopting these educational changes, and resource information. (SLD)

Before the passage of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act in 1972, pregnant and parenting students throughout the United States were often expelled from school. This manual for Oregon school administrators and social-service personnel provides information on the school-enrollment laws that affect pregnant and parenting students and describes some of the resources available to meet their unique needs. The introduction describes the impact of teen pregnancy and parenting and presents related Oregon vital statistics. Section 2 specifies requirements for complying with federal legislation and section 3 describes Oregon legislation, policies, and goals. The fourth section provides an overview of related Oregon statutes and administrative rules and the fifth section describes programs for pregnant and parenting students. Statewide plans for implementing 1993 legislation and local plans for programs are highlighted in the sixth section. A list of statewide resources is included. Appendices contain a checklist, sample forms, and tables showing the 1993 incidence of pregnancies and live births to teens in Oregon counties and 1993 statistics for pregnancy and live births to Oregon teens under age 18. (Contains 10 references.) (LMI)

This report describes activities and accomplishments of the Oregon Project for Services to Children and Youth with Deaf-Blindness, a 3-year federally supported project to ensure effective educational services for this population and provide support for families and service providers. The project focused on: (1) identifying additional children with deaf-blindness and providing support, counseling, and training to families of all children who are deaf-blind; (2) providing technical assistance and training for the service providers involved in the education of these children; (3) coordinating the activities of regional consulting teachers who provide consultation and inservice training to families and teachers; (4) coordinating and collaborating with other agencies; and (5) maintaining the state count of children and youth who are deaf-blind. The project served an average of 90 to 110 families and 300 professionals per project year. Individual sections of the report describe the project's purpose, goals, objectives, accomplishments, problems and resolutions, and products developed. Appendices include samples of products developed (project brochures in both English and Spanish versions, and a pamphlet about Usher Syndrome), advisory committee meeting agendas, training agendas, and publicity materials. (DB)

The manual provides information to assist secondary school level program and curriculum designers in the creation and administration of second language programs. It is not a how-to manual, but includes descriptive data about program types in existence and criteria for evaluating language proficiency. It contains: a list of terms used and their definitions; American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) guidelines for assessing second language proficiency at four benchmark levels; a second language scoring guide for communication of messages, interviews, narration, and skit performance; and descriptions of sample oral proficiency tasks at each of those levels. Appended materials include a list of commonly-asked questions about secondary school language instruction, a chart detailing enrollments in 14 languages in each elementary grade (kindergarten through sixth) and the percentage of total students they represent; additional ACTFL proficiency guidelines; notes on the secondary school foreign language programs of other states; national foreign language standards for each of five goals; a summary of higher education second language requirements for 1997-98 and 1999-2000; and a list of contributors. (MSE)

The manual provides information to assist elementary school level program and curriculum designers in the creation and administration of second language programs. It is not a how-to manual, but includes descriptive data about program types in existence and criteria for evaluating language proficiency. It contains: a list of terms used and their definitions; a chart detailing enrollments in 14 languages at each grade (kindergarten through sixth) and the percentage of total students they represent; a list of early foreign language program goals; descriptions of the characteristics of program models (total immersion, two-way immersion, partial immersion, content-based language instruction, Foreign Language in Elementary Schools/FLES, and Foreign Language Exploratory Programs/FLEX); American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) guidelines for assessing second language proficiency at four levels; and a second language scoring guide for communication of messages, interviews, narration, and skit performance. Appended materials include a list of commonly-asked questions about elementary school language instruction, lists of characteristics and principles of effective second language teaching, legislative materials, lists of references and additional information sources, professional contacts, and lists of Oregon elementary school foreign language program sites, by program type. (MSE)

This document reports on data, covering 1976 through 1994, on the number of minorities interested in teaching and the soundness of the "pipeline," the paths leading minorities into higher education, teacher education, and successful placement in a classroom. The data were analyzed according to 10 indicators, arranged in 3 groups. The first group surveyed progress up to the baccalaureate level, focusing on the number of minority students enrolled in community colleges, and those applying to, accepted by, and graduating from public four-year institutions. The second group of indicators followed minority students through the pipeline to the achievement of certification as teachers, including the number applying to teacher education programs, the number accepted and enrolled in those programs, the number completing the programs, and the number receiving certification as a result of their professional training. The third group of indicators measured the changing racial and ethnic composition of education professionals, showing newly employed minority teachers and minority teachers already in the classroom. Data are presented in nine tables. The "Minority Teacher Act of 1991 Senate Bill 122" is appended. (ND)