A new report from test developer ACT shows that private school students are better prepared to succeed at the college and university level than their public school counterparts.  Results obtained from the most recent administration of ACT's College and Career Readiness Exam indicate that the percentage of private school students meeting or surpassing college readiness benchmarks outpaced that of public school peers by consistently wide margins in English (83% vs. 64%), Reading (68% vs. 50%), Math (60% vs. 44%), and Science (42% vs. 29%).  The full report, "The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2012," can be downloaded, here.
 
To establish benchmark scores in each of the four subject matter areas, ACT tracks the college grades of a representative sample of former test-takers and computes the minimum scores needed on each of the four subject area tests to provide a 75 percent chance of earning grades of "C" or higher, or a 50 percent chance of earning grades of "B" or higher in typical, credit-bearing, first-year college courses.  During the previous school year, a record 52 percent of the U.S. graduating class took the exams.  Nearly twelve percent of those examined were enrolled in private religious and independent schools.

The report's opening section notes that, "while encouraging, far too many students are graduating from high school ill-prepared for the academic rigors of college and career. The results again indicate that the US education system must do better at helping our young people to compete with their peers in other nations for meaningful jobs and careers in the 21st century global economy." Only a quarter of the test-takers met or surpassed the benchmarks in all four subject matter areas.

According to the Council for American Private Education:  "In every racial and ethnic subgroup, ACT-tested students in private schools
outscored their public school counterparts. Hispanic students in private schools had a composite score of 21.5, while Hispanic students in public schools scored 18.6. Private school African American/Black students scored 18.6, compared to 16.9 for the same group in public schools. And the scores for White students in private schools (23.9) represented a 1.8-point advantage over those for the identical public school cohort (22.1)."  This month's edition of the CAPE Outlook newsletter provides additional analysis and commentary in its front-page article (see "Read the CAPE Outlook" in the Quick Takes section, below).

The California Private School Advisory Committee, K-12 is pleased to announce several multi-day professional development workshops for private school educators.  Each of these high-quality-at-low-cost programs is funded in part by Title II, Part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and is provided in cooperation with the California Department of Education. 

Below, you will find basic information about each workshop. Please click on the relevant accompanying links for descriptions of each program's content, information about the presenters, and downloadable registration forms.



Presenter:  Larry Lewin, M.S.

Dates:        October 16, 17 and November 15, 2012

Location:   St. Cecilia Catholic School
                  1311 S. E. Sycamore
                  Tustin, CA  92805

Hours:        8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. each day.

Registration Fee:  $50.00 per person if postmarked or faxed on or before October 1, 2012.  Otherwise, $70.00 per person.  Fee covers all three days of the program and includes materials, continental breakfast, and lunch.

Presenter:  Julie Adams, M.A.T., NBCT

Note:  This three-day workshop will be offered at each of three different locations.

Locations and Dates
 
Rancho Cordova - October 23 & 24, and November 27, 2012
Sacramento County Office of Education
10474 Mather Blvd.
Rancho Cordova, CA  95655

Redwood City - January 30 & 31, and February 28, 2013
St. Pius School
1100 Woodside Rd.
Redwood City, CA  94061

Fresno - January 23 & 24, and February 15, 2013
St. Anthony of Padua
5680 N. Maroa
Fresno, CA  93704

Hours:        8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. each day, all locations.

Registration Fee:  $50.00 per person for Rancho Cordova location if postmarked or faxed on or before October 5, 2012.  Otherwise, $70.00 per person.  $50.00 per person for Redwood City and Fresno locations if postmarked or faxed on or before January 7, 2013.  Otherwise, $70.00 per person.  Fee covers all three days of the program and includes materials, continental breakfast, and lunch.





Presenter:  Dodie Merrit, M.A.

Dates:        October 29 & 30, and November 29, 2012

Location:   Christ the King School
                  195-B Brandon Rd.
                  Pleasant Hill, CA  94523

Hours:        8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. each day.

Registration Fee: $50.00 per person if postmarked or faxed on or before October 12, 2012. Otherwise, $70.00 per person.  Fee covers all three days of the program and includes materials, continental breakfast, and lunch.

California Education Code Section 33190 requires every private school in the state to file an annual affidavit with the Superintendent of Public Instruction.  If your school fulfilled the requirement last year, your administration will shortly receive an e-mail advisory from the California Department of Education containing filing instructions for the current year, along with the password needed to access the CDE's online filing interface.   The law states that affidavits must be filed between October 1 and October 15.  Note: the informational email will be sent to the email address entered in last year's affidavit.  Please be sure to locate the email, print a copy, and read its contents carefully.

 

 

 

 

 

Read the CAPE Outlook

This month's edition of the  CAPE Outlook newsletter contains a variety of timely articles of relevance to K-12 private education.  In addition to its analysis of the recent ACT report on college readiness (see lead article, above), the Outlook reports findings of a joint study conducted by researchers at Harvard University and the Brookings Institution showing that African-American elementary school students who received school vouchers were 24 percent more likely to attend college.  Another article comments on a pair of studies exploring the impact of charter schools on private school enrollment, one conducted by the RAND Corporation's Richard Buddin, and the other by Adam Schaeffer, a policy analyst with the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom.  Yet another entry notes the adoption of new school choice legislation in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.  Finally, the newsletter's CAPEnotes section reveals the percentage of U.S. Olympic medal winners that attended private schools.  Is the percentage larger or smaller than the proportionate share of students (roughly 10 percent) enrolled in U.S. K-12 private schools?  Read the CAPE Outlook to find out!
 
The CAPE Outlook newsletter is published monthly during the course of the school year, and is available in PDF format at no cost.  Hard copy and bulk-rate subscription information can be found, here.



2012 "Blue Ribbon Schools"

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has named 269 schools recipients of the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon School designation.  Among the schools achieving the national recognition are 50 private schools, including two from California.  Stoneybrooke Christian Schools - Ladera Ranch is affiliated with CAPSO member Association of Christian Schools International.  Tehiyah Day School, located in El Cerrito, is affiliated with CAPSO member California Association of Independent Schools.  CAPSO extends congratulations to these fine schools, and all the national honorees.

Recipients of the Blue Ribbon Schools designation were selected either because their standardized test scores in reading and math placed them among the top-performing schools in the nation or state, or because they served disadvantaged students and made extraordinary progress in improving performance.  Interested private schools are screened and nominated by the Council for American Private Education, with the actual designation made by the Secretary of Education.  Additional information about the program can be found here, and a complete listing of 2012 "Blue Ribbon Schools" awardees can be found on the CAPE website, here.

 
Stop Bullying Video Challenge


State-CAPE Network Sponsors

Each summer, the executives of state organizations affiliated with the Council for American Private Education meet to share information, coordinate policies, and engage in professional development activities.  (CAPSO is California's CAPE affiliate.)  This year's summer meeting took place in Milwaukee, WI, and was hosted by the Wisconsin Council of Religious & Independent Schools, whose executive director, Matt Kussow, together with SCN Chair Gary Arnold organized a highly relevant, stimulating and informative program.
 
Matt and Gary's fine work could not have come to fruition were it not for the support of several sponsoring companies that are deeply committed to the K-12 private education community.  While it is not CAPSO's policy to endorse vendors, the companies listed below are deserving of recognition for their friendship and support.

eRate Program
9666 Olive Blvd., Suite 215
St. Louis, MO 63132
Contact: Robert Teegarden
(314) 282-3673
Learn more about eRate Program...


Smart Tuition
One Woodbridge Center, Suite 800
Woodbridge, NJ 07095
Contact: Tim Sember
(800) 762-7808
tsember@smarttuition.com
Learn more about Smart Tuition...


TADS
1201 Hawthorne Ave. N, Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN  55403
Contact: Jeremy Peyer
(612) 548-3335
jeremy@tads.com
Learn more about TADS...


Three W International
1801 Century Park East, Suite 2427
Los Angeles, CA  90067
Contact: Glenn Rosen
(424) 239-6367
Learn more about Three W International...


VSCHOOLZ
1999 N. University Drive, Suite 204
Coral Springs, FL  33071
Contact: Trina Trimm
(954) 661-8582
trina@vschoolz.com
Learn more about VSCHOOLZ...



Haitians Need Your Help

Still struggling to rebuild in the aftermath of the major earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation in 2010, Haiti now endures additional loss of life and destruction of property in the wake of Hurricane Isaac.  Dr. Serena Beeks, Executive Director of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles Diocesan Commission on Schools is no stranger to the ravaged nation and its people.  For more than 13 years, she has traveled to Haiti on a regular basis and has been instrumentally involved in supporting that nation's extensive network of Episcopal schools.  Following the earthquake, she stepped up the frequency of her visits, making multiple trips per year to assist with the rebuilding of schools and lives. 

The E-Mailer asked Dr. Beeks to recommend a couple of charities that are known to be particularly effective in meeting urgent needs.  Here are two that she identified:
 
Partners in Health: The organization provides medical care in remote areas and, more importantly, training for Haitian health care workers for at least 25 years.  Partners in Health is currently building a new public teaching hospital which will be a model for patient care and health profession training, in addition to providing hundreds of local jobs.

CODEP (Comprehensive Development Project): One of the reasons hurricanes do so much damage in Haiti is deforestation - with no tree roots to hold the topsoil, mudslides and river flooding are horrendous.  CODEP plants over 900,000 trees each year using volunteer labor, and trains local farmers in sustainable agriculture practices.  An incentive program insures that trees will not be over-cut for firewood.
 
Dr. Beeks, who also serves as a CAPSO officer, adds: "I have seen both organizations in action over the 13+ years I've been going to Haiti.  They were there well before the earthquake and will be there long after Haiti has faded from a prominent place in people's minds.  Both focus on educating and empowering the rural poor.  Both have made visible, measurable, impressive progress which I've had the good fortune to see for myself."
 
Please consider a charitable contribution to one, or both organizations!
 

Several months ago I received a phone call from Lucas Fitzgerald, a leading private high school principal, who called to enlist my assistance in determining whether private schools are permitted to administer the California Standards Tests.  Pacific Lutheran High School employs multiple measures, including the use of standardized achievement tests, for evaluating academic growth and providing timely, relevant and useful information to both pupils and teachers.  So why was Lucas interested in the California Standards Tests? 
 
His answer, in so many words, was that regardless of the lengths to which a private school may go to collect, organize, assess, judge and furnish information concerning student achievement, there are parents (of both current and potential students) who crave data providing "apples to apples" comparisons to public schools.

I have no doubt that Lucas has provided countless numbers of eloquent and compelling explanations of the pitfalls involved in attempting to base any such comparisons upon highly reductionist test data, particularly if and when the correspondence between what is being tested and what is being taught is less than exact.  I also have little doubt that other principals who are reading these words have been there and done that.  It doesn't seem to matter.  Parents still believe it's possible and desirable to draw the same sorts of comparisons between private and public schools that automotive magazines make between cars.  Just give us numbers, and the fewer the better. At least the car magazine authors invest the time required to test drive the products they're reviewing.
 
I was not unsympathetic to Lucas' request.  He's a solid educator who runs a fine school with a strong sense of identity.  His intent wasn't to use the CST as a short-cut substitute for authentic, or comprehensive pupil evaluation and instructional improvement.  He wanted to use the tests as a sort of "add on" that could provide additional feedback while serving to quell the insatiable cravings of some.
 
Nor was he the first to raise the question.  Others have inquired, and have been told that private schools are not permitted to administer the tests.  I told Lucas my recollection was that the reason had something to do with security concerns.  Lucas told me he'd be perfectly content to use the previous year's version of the tests.  That struck me as reasonable enough, and I promised to see if I could have the issue placed on the agenda of a forthcoming California Private School Advisory Committee (CPSAC) meeting to be held at the California Department of Education (CDE).
 
While awaiting the meeting, Lucas ascertained through direct contact with a CDE staff member that it was indeed the case that private schools were enjoined from administering the CST.  What he didn't receive was an explanation as to why that was so.  The answer was soon to come.
 
At the CPSAC meeting, a CDE colleague explained that a legal analysis of the matter had been furnished by the Department's staff attorneys.  In a departure from precedent, committee members were not provided with written copies of the analysis.  Instead, an oral summary identified three factors underpinning the Department's view that allowing private schools to administer the California Standards Tests is impermissible.  In a nutshell:

1. It was not the intent of the Legislature to authorize the use of the tests for private schools;
2. The California Constitution prohibits gifts of public funds to individuals or private companies, and,
3. Providing copies of the CST to private school officials would introduce considerable risk with respect to test integrity and security.   

One could quibble.  For example, private schools opting to do so were permitted to administer the Golden State Exams (GSE) prior to the elimination of the tests, in 2002.  Admittedly, there were important differences between the GSE and the CST.  The former tests were voluntary, were developed for students in grades 7-12, only, and were created with different authorizing legislation.  Still, one wonders why neither constitutional nor security concerns proved a bar to private school participation.
 
The more significant question, however, is this: where does one draw the line between public and private in the sphere of education?  It is by no means a simple matter.  Private schools clearly contribute to the education of the public, though they are not regarded as a form of public education.  (CAPSO employs the phrase partners in the education of the public to express the relationship.)  The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that "the child is not the mere creature of the state," while affirming in the same decision, "the power of the State reasonably to regulate all schools."  What constitutes "reasonable" regulation is largely nondescript.
 
CAPSO is, admittedly, more sensitive to and vigilant about government regulation of certain areas - admissions, personnel, curriculum, instruction, assessment, and governance - deemed central to the establishment and preservation of a private school's identity and mission.  But we don't oppose all forms of government regulation, even when it comes to these critical spheres of activity.  Instead, we seek to maintain a reasonable balance between state regulation and autonomy.
 
By the same token, CAPSO supports forms of private school participation in publicly funded programs that are structured in ways that respect and maintain the above-mentioned balance.  Just as pushing back too hard against reasonable regulations can precipitate attempts to impose unreasonable requirements, so, too, can "over-reaching" in the realm of publicly funded benefits.  Which is why we must always exercise caution when it comes to what we ask for, how we ask for it, and what we are likely to receive in return.  Our colleagues in government are generally mindful of the same need for the preservation of balance, which might explain why the CDE thought better of providing an in-house legal analysis to members of the Private School Advisory Committee.  Call it boundary maintenance.
 
Does requesting permission to administer the California Standards Tests constitute "over-reaching?"  As is true of what constitutes "reasonable" regulation, answers are likely to be variable, subject to the vicissitudes of personal viewpoint and political culture.  But it's an interesting question, nonetheless, and readers' responses are welcome.

Ron Reynolds

The next edition of the CAPSO Midweek E-Mailer will be published October 3, 2012.