An Oklahoma State University researcher wants to know how you deal with the terrible twos.

Bob Larzelere is seeking volunteer mothers of tots between ages 18 months and 30 months. You could get paid $60 to tell how you handle your toddler’s misbehaviors.

Contact Dr. Larzelere at (405) 744-2053 and (405) 338-8094.

Susan Simpson, Education Writer

Let a cow be your compass.

You’ll know this if you’ve already read today’s issue of “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.” Some German and Czech researchers found that most cows align to the north and south, seemingly drawn to magnetic poles.

Ummm, give me a minute to call cowpies on this study. I grew up on a dairy farm, and our cows didn’t seem to have a directional preference. Maybe they were directionally challenged. Maybe they were rebels.

I even called a relative to make sure I hadn’t missed something in my bovine-bound past. Nope, as usual, the cattle were facing any which way.

I hope no one is lost out there.

Susan Simpson, Education Writer 

But there were still 4,708 students enrolled in charters here last year — more than 4,000 students to whom charters do matter.

That figure is according to the new Annual Survey of America’s Charter Schools by The Center for Education Reform.

Jeanne Allen, the center’s president, calls the results “educational for the uninitiated, solace for the skeptics and fodder for the fans.”

So whether you find this information to be educational, solace or fodder, here are some highlights:

• -There are 1.2 million students in about 4,100 charter schools nationwide. There are about 4,700 students in 15 charters in Oklahoma.
  -Demand is growing, based on the size of wait lists that grew 33 percent over the previous year. However, growth dipped for the first time ever due to caps in some states.
  -Charter schools operate with less public funding than regular schools.
  -About 40 percent of charters serve majority-minority populations.
  -A sampling of state data shows charter schools consistently outperform their conventional counterparts. (Locally, Dove Science Academy, a charter school in Oklahoma City, has the highest API score in the state.)

And while the report did not draw the conclusion that all schools should be able to close the racial achievement gap because charter schools are raising minorities’ performance, others have used this type of data to make that argument.

That thought reminded me of something a presenter said at the Hechinger Institute seminar I attended earlier this month in New York.

Professor Douglas Ready said that there is a selection bias in play, that the low-income, single-parent, minority children in the charter schools are not the same as the low-income, single-parent, minority children in traditional schools.

Their parents are in some way different in that they found reason and time to take a proactive stance in enrolling their children in such a school, Ready said.

Share your thoughts on charter schools in the comment section below.

Wendy Kleinman
Education Reporter

Six Oklahoma districts made the list:

• Tulsa, 123rd largest with 41,568 students
• Oklahoma City, 128th largest with 40,322 students
• Moore, 374th largest with 20,028 students
• Putnam City, 398th largest with 19,207 students
• Edmond, 400th largest with 19,178 students
• Lawton, 462nd largest with 17,020 students

None made the top 100, which is what most of the report focuses on. Nevertheless, Tulsa and Oklahoma City were close, and you may find the highlights of the report interesting.

According to the NCES, these are some characteristics of the 100 largest public school districts in the U.S. and its territories:

• -The 100 largest educate 23 percent of all public school students even though they make up less than 1 percent of all school districts.
• -The 100 largest have an average school enrollment of 695, compared to an overall average of 518 for all districts. They also have a higher student-teacher ratio.
• -The percent of nonwhite students is 71 percent, compared to 44 percent in all school districts.
• -The lowest per pupil expenditures among the 100 largest districts are $5,104 and $5,503 for the Puerto Rico Department of Education and the Alpine District in Utah, respectively.
• -The highest per pupil expenditures are $17,988, in Boston, and $18,878, in the District of Columbia.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

Researchers found that they couldn’t tell whether the No Child Left Behind Act has indeed left fewer children behind. But what the law did give the researchers was more data because of the required testing and reporting.

Here’s what that data showed about Oklahoma.

-The percent of all students proficient in reading and math saw a moderate-to-large gain all levels — except middle school reading — from 2002 to 2007. The percent of middle school students proficient in reading saw a slight gain.

-In reading, the achievement gap narrowed between blacks and whites, Hispanics and whites, and American Indians and whites on all grade levels except for high school Hispanics. There was no change in the gap between high school Hispanic and white students in reading.

-In math, the gap narrowed between whites and the other racial groups on elementary and middle school levels, but widened across all racial groups at the high school level.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

A study released this month by the National Academies, completed at the request of Congress, finds that the certification does make a difference in the classroom, for both student performance and teacher retention.

Here are some statistics provided by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which created National Board Certification:

• -There were about 63,800 National Board Certified teachers working in all 50 states and Washington D.C. as of March 2008.
• -Nearly one-fourth of 2008 State Teachers of the Year were National Board Certified, and such teachers won National Teacher of the Year four times since 2001.
• -Half of 369 education preparation institutions say they align their master’s degree programs with National Board Standards to a great extent.

 However, Milton Hakel, chairman of the committee that wrote the report, also said that cause-and-effect is not clear.

“We don’t know whether the certification process itself makes teachers more effective as they become familiar with the standards and complete the assessment, or if high-quality teachers are attracted to the certification process,” Hakel said.

Are you or did your child have a National Board Certified teacher? Share your comments about the program below.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

Shawn McCollough, superintendent of the struggling Greene County Schools about an hour east of Atlanta, told parents, “If we’re going to take some steps, let’s take some big steps,” according to news reports.

McCollough said benefits of the plan include curtailing behavior issues borne of the need for students to impress the other sex; breaking down barriers of intimidation that may keep students from speaking up in front of the other sex; and allowing teachers to tailor their lessons to the ways boys and girls best learn, which research shows is not always the same.

Opponents, including some parents and teachers, have said the move violates federal law because it removes the option of a public coeducational environment. (Under the plan, the preschool, the charter school and likely some electives would remain coed.)

Spokeswoman Shelly Hickman said the State Department of Education does not track exactly how many schools here have single-sex classes.

Do you think separating boys and girls into different classes is a good idea or not? Share your thoughts on the Education Station blog at NewsOK.com (http://blog.newsok.com/educationstation).

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

Maybe I should just enjoy these chatty times, because apparently it can be very difficult to communicate with adolescents.

Some Oklahoma State University researchers are studying communication styles between parents and teens ages 14-18. They are looking for families to talk about adolescent Internet and cell phone use, parental monitoring and discipline. And they are paying $120 to participating families.

You could use that money to pay off the cell phone bill or maybe bribe your teen into a 5-minute person-to-person conversation. Or, if you also have a talky 4-year-old, buy lots of earplugs.

If you’re interested, contact the Child and Adolescent Relationship Lab at 405-334-3904.

And if you have tips for me, e-mail ssimpson@oklahoman.com.

Susan Simpson, Education Writer

Their study found that students drank more on football game days than on Halloween or New Year’s Eve, other holidays with a reputation for inebriation.

Male students drank more for all games. Female students tended to chug-a-lug most during away games.

Said one study author: “Most events associated with heavy drinking occur only one a year, such as Spring Break, or once in a lifetime, such as a 21st birthday, but the weekly football schedule presents students with more regular opportunities to drink.”

The study is published in November’s issue of Addictive Behaviors.

Susan Simpson, Education Writer

The Education Department says the site is meant to turn research into practice – and spread good practices.

The site includes slideshows and videos of teachers using specific strategies in their classrooms.

Currently the site has content about teaching English Language Learners, but more topics are to come, including early childhood education, literacy, math and science, and school restructuring.

To visit the site for ideas, go to http://dww.ed.gov.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter