M arch 12, 1997 • Iin P oru ani ) O bservfr
P agi A4
Glickman announces pilot
Program For School Lunches
Oregon eighth graders
boost math scores
A 1996 national mathematics test
shows that Oregon eighth graders
scored significantly higher than they
did in 1990 Less impressive but still
above the national average were the
scores o f Oregon fourth graders.
Oregon eighth graders scored 276,
five points high than in 1990, on the
test administered by the National
Assessment of Educational Progress.
That’s a significant increase, ac
cording to NAEP.
“ I am pleased that the eighth grad
ers comparisons show we are clim b
ing up the ladder o f higher achieve
m ent,” said State Schools Supt.
Norma Paulus. "We know that we
are headed in the right direction. We
must stay the course and intensify
our efforts.”
Paulus said the national test vali
dates the results o f O regon's state
assessment which showed similar
gains for eighth graders between
1991 and 1996
NAEP ranks four levels o f math
achievement: below basic, basic, pro
ficient and advanced. Oregon eighth
graders advanced in each o f the top
three levels with a smaller percent
age in the below basic level.
‘It’s not just our top students who
raised our score,” said Paulus. "O r
egon students at all achievements
levels have improved.
“ It’s remarkable that Oregon ac
complished this growth in the lace
o f severe budget cuts and record
enrollment,” she added.
Eight states scored significantly
higher than Oregon on the eighth
grade test. They are North Dakota,
Maine, Minnesota, Iowa, Montana
Wisconsin, Nebraska and Connecti
cut. Oregon tied for 14th among the
40 participating states. The national
average was 271.
"W e need to build a solid founda
tion in the early grades," said Paulus,
“ it’s critical that we provide more
training for teachers. T hat's why we
held a M athem atics Summit for
A g ric u ltu re S e c re ta ry Dan
Glickman announced a pilot pro
gram that will provide additional
purchasing power to states that
adm inister the National School
Lunch Program.
Glickman made the announce
ment at a meeting o f the American
School Food Service Association.
“The program — which will be
piloted in South Carolina and Iexas
- will allow USDA to use its con
siderable purchasing power to buy
foods on behalf o f the states,”
Glickman said. “ Purchases will be
made with state and local funds
provided under the National School
Lunch Program. This is yet an
other example o f how federal and
state governments can work in part
nership to save money and im
prove services."
G lickm an noted that, for a
num ber o f years, states and local
school districts participating in
the N ational School Lunch Pro
gram have expressed an interest
teachers in February,” She said there
was room for 400 teachers, but 800
requested the training. So a second
summit will be held in April
At the M athem atics Sum m it,
Wells Fargo announced it will pro
vide $300,000 in grants to school
district to help students meet the
new high mathematics standards.
In Oregon 2,323 eighth graders
in 98 schools and 2,233 fourth grad
ers in 95 schools participated in the
national test. Students were selected
based on a random sample o f a cross
section o f Oregon students. NAEP
in June will provide a more compre
hensive report for Oregon. Among
other things, the report will list char
acteristics about students and teach
ers and describe how various factors
- some outside the classroom - affect
achievement.
Oregon eighth graders also took
the NAEP science test last year
Results o f that exam will be an
nounced in May.
in the D ep artm en t p u rc h a sin g
foods forthem . In accordance with
the national School Lunch Act,
USDA is m andated to purchase
prescribed levels o f foods for use
in the school lunch program . B e
cause USDA purchases in such
large quantity, it can buy at sig
nificantly lower costs -- as much
as 5 percent to 10 percent low er -
- than states or local schools.
In November 1994. the Healthy
Meals for Healthy Americans Act
amended the NSl.A and provided
authority for the Secretary ol Agri
culture to enter into agreements with
states to use funds available to them
under the NSLA to purchase food
for their participating schools.
“State interest in the pilot pro
gram is h ig h ,” G lickm an said
“They re excited about the potential
this program offers to better use
their shrinking funds and improve
th e ir p ro g ra m s
U sing
the
Departm ent's substantial purchas
ing power should lower the cost of
foods purchased by states and local
schools."
USD A ’s Agricultural Market
ing Service and Farm Service
Agency hosted a roundtable dis
cussion in May 1000, where repre
sentative from 10 states provided
valuable input on how to best struc
ture the pilot program to be respon
sive to state and local needs, in
cluding delivery schedules and
method o f payment.
Items identified by Glickman tor
potential purchase include bowl-
packed cereal in individual serving
size packages, assorted fruit juices
in 4 -once containers, fruit cups,
and low-fat shredded and sliced
processed American cheese.
"After the pilot is evaluated, the
program can be offered throughout
the country,” Glickman said. I his
is good, common-sense procure
ment policy and it allows us to help
state to get more high-quality and
nutritious foods for their school
lunch and other feeding programs."
OASIS and Sunset High team up for Intergenerational learning
teen student v o lunteers and 15
O A SIS m em bers meet for an hour
long session each Tuesday after
noon from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.,
March 1 1 through April 29th in
the high school com puter lab. (No.
class on 3/25.) The seven-w eek
class offers individualized instruc
tion in com puter basics.
OASIS participants in other cit
ies were enthusiastic about their ex
perience. “One-on-one tutoring is
terrific,” said an OASIS member.
“ It was because of this additional
support that I finally signed up for a
computer course.” Another senior
adult reported, “ My personal tutor is
very informed and has already helped
O A SIS (Older Adult Service and
Inform ation System ) and Sunset
High School are team ing up to
offer a unique intergenerational
learning experience called "B ytes
B u ild
B rid g e s :
An
Intergenerational C om puter E du
c a tio n P ro je c t.” T h ro u g h th is
project older adults are entering
the com puter age, and teens are
perform ing valuable com m unity
service.
The project “turns the tab les’
on the typical in tergenerational
ment«i*»g program. This tim e the
m entors are high school students
sharing their expertise w ith m em
bers o f an older generation. Fif-
Thinking
About
Thinking
Let’s have a “little tink,” as Ein
stein would say as he pondered a
stu b b o rn p ro b lem . L et us, fo r a
moment, think about thinking, how
o u r m in ds w ork, how we th in k ,
learn, remember.
We have had w hat som e have
called a “breakthrough” in discov
ering how kids learn, even com par
ing it to the educational equivalent
of life-saving vaccines.
T he d isco v ery som e 30 y ears
ago occurred som ething like this:
Researchers studied and compared
e x p e rts and n o v ic e s in v a rio u s
areas to figure out how experts got
to be that w ay. W hat w ere th eir
th in k in g p ro cesses? R esearch ers
then laid out the fram ew o rk s of
how e x p e rts cam e to gain th e ir
understanding, and how they used
their knowledge. Using these learn
ing frameworks, novices could then
build their learning, developing and
becoming experts.
A d e fin in g d iffe re n c e found
between the novice and the expert
was that the novice is naive about
w h at th e y 'r e d e a lin g w ith . T he
w o rd “ c lu e le s s ,” m ig h t a p p ly .
Novices see only small parts of the
la rg e r and com plex w h o le; they
don’t notice all the critical informa
tion that they must have to solve a
problem. At school, o f course, all
students delving into new subjects
are novices. But over tim e, in an
instructional atmosphere that gives
th e s tu d e n t’s b ra in th e tim e to
mature and notice, to encode and to
m odify memory accordingly, stu
dents m ove through enligh ten in g
stages from novice to expert.
Now comes the first results from
the Third International M athem at
ics and Science Study (TIM SS) that
te ste d a h a lf-m illio n k id s in 41
n a tio n s at five d iffe re n t g ra d e s.
K id s w e re e x a m in e d . C la s s e s
videotaped. Curriculum analyzed.
Policies probed.
In the initial results that pertain
to only the eighth grade, our math
scores overall were below the aver
age of the other TIMMS countries,
although there were some areas of
promise.
The findings are illum inating.
Japan w as the h ig h est scorer in
m ath, using
instru ctio n al a p
proaches sim ilar to those now on
o u r a c a d e m ic -re fo rm
ta b le .
Although TIMMS researchers cau
tion against drawing any solid con
clusions without further research on
th e in s tru c tio n a l a p p ro a c h e s o f
other high scoring countries, this
grueling examination showed clear
differences between American and
Japanese instruction.
The Japanese approach to teach
ing math is laser-focused and cen
tered on student understanding of
m athem atical c o n c e p ts— narrow ,
thorough. Our approach has been a
m ile w ide, an inch d e e p — co v er
more, faster. Just now our current
e d u c a tio n a l re fo rm e ff o r ts are
building on w hat we know about
how students learn— too early to
have an impact in this study. And
although most U.S. math teachers
said they were aware of the reform
m ethods, few said th at they use
them . T he point is that Japanese
teachers teach math the way that
our National Council of T eachers
of Mathematics says that we should
teach math. T hey’ve said it since
1989; y et we s tru g g le w ith
widespread implementation.
TIMSS results may cause reform
critics to re-think their position, and
the public to re-think how we teach
and w hat we teach in m ath. We
have a conspicuous “clue." Yes, it’s
time for a "little tink.”
This colum n is p ro v id e d as a
p u b lic se rv ic e by the N o rth w e st
Regional Educational Laboratory,
a nonprofit institution working with
schools and communities in Alaska,
Id a h o . M o n ta n a , O re g o n , a n d
Washington.
...
..
me more than you would imagine ”
Student volunteers shared their
enthusiasm, too. One student said,
“ I enjoyed helping the OASIS mem
bers learn how to use the computer
I found it challenging, yet reward
ing to teach something that has be
come second nature to me.” Another
.......
i.
i.:_
:.i
said, “ I thought working with older
adults might be a little difficult , but
it was fairly easy because my OASIS
partner is persistent and really wants
to learn.”
Student volunteers shared their
enthusiasm, too. One student said,
“ I enjoyed helping the OASIS mem-
National essay
scholarship competition
Through a national essay com
petition known as Project: Learn
MS '97, high school and college
students can compete for separate
$8,000 college scholarship awards
and raise funds to assist those suf
fering from m ultiple sclerosis.
Sponsored by the Multiple Sclero
sis Association o f America, Project:
Learn MS ‘97 is an awareness/
scholarship program open to high
school sophomores, juniors, and
seniors; and college freshm en,
sophomores, and juniors. Official
registration forms are available at
high school guidance offices or by
calling 1-800-Learn MS.
Now entering its fourth year,
MSAA’s Project: Learn MS ‘97
encourages students to write a 500-
1000 word essay on multiple scle
rosis, its effect on the family, and
how society can improve life for
the physically challenged. MSAA
will appoint two independent pan
els to judge the essays separately
for high school and college levels.
All essays must include an official
registration form, a minimum o f
$7.50 in prepaid sponsorship, and
must be postmarked by April 11,
1997. Students are encouraged to
raise additional sponsor money to
win various prizes.
Know as the most common neu
rological disorder o f young adults,
multiple sclerosis affects as many
as 500.000 Americans. Symptoms
can include blindness, extreme fa
tigue, tremors, and varying degrees
o f paralysis. At present, there is no
known cause, cure or prevention
for MS MSAA is a national non
profit health care agency provid
ing direct patient care programs
and services to assist those suffer
ing from MS MSAA services in
clude peer counseling, support
groups, free loan o f therapeutic
equipment, barrier-free housing,
symptom m anagem ent research
and therapies, educational litera
ture, no-cost MRI’s and other vital
patient programs.
a m hr>w
tn iisp
h e computer.
c o m m ite r .
bers lo
learn
how to
use t the
I found it challenging, yet reward
ing to teach something that has be
come second nature to me." Another
said, “ I thought working with older
adults might be a little difficult...but
it was fairly easy because my OASIS
partner is persistent and really wants
to learn,”
OASIS is a national education
organization designed to challenge
and enrich the lives o f men and
women 55 and older. 1 hrough stimu
lating classes and volunteer pro
grams, OASIS provides through
OASIS centers in 26 cities across the
United States. In Portland, OASIS is
sponsored by Legacy Health Sys
tem, BlueCross BlueShield o f O r
egon and Meier & Frank. The local
center is located in the downtown
Meier & Frank store.
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The result is a portrait of a
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