Scott Joftus, Alliance for Excellent Education
September 2002
Hoping to prevent policy makers from focusing all their resources on toddlers and primary students at the expense of older students, the Alliance for Excellent Education's Scott Joftus has conceived a "Framework for an Excellent Education" directed at improving the achievement of U.S. middle- and high-schoolers. Joftus reminds his readers that less than 75% of today's eighth graders will graduate from high school in five years, and approximately 25% of all high school students read at below-basic levels. He then introduces four initiatives on adolescent literacy, teacher and principal quality, college preparation, and small learning communities. He would expand the federal Reading First program to support literacy specialists in high-need secondary; add financial incentives for teachers and principals in high-need schools; strengthen the "highly qualified" teacher provisions of NCLB to include a requirement that all secondary school teachers have the equivalent of an academic major in their content area; and break down large, factory-like high schools into smaller learning communities. Joftus's most interesting recommendation centers on having all entering ninth graders develop a college preparation plan with the assistance of teachers, counselors and parents. Few of his initiatives are new ideas, but he presents useful research in support of them, and it's hard to argue with the view that students need more personal attention and better support if they are to succeed. The report is available at http://www.all4ed.org/policymakers/Every/index.html.
