Oh yeah, can't besmirch the privileged !!
Hey Folks,
It's the same old shit!!! The old double standard!!!
Ever since the Republicans started their insane Proficiency Testing scheme and right through Dubya's nutcase Child Behind testing, the Media Masters (such as the Columbus Dispatch) have NEVER said an unkind word about the boondoggle - because it did what it was supposed to do:
1. Make Republican state officials (and now federal ones) look like they were doing something, but without increasing taxes (that was handed to the local districts - who often had to cut program to make ends meet).
2. Disparaged big city teacher unions since it was clear from the start that these economically/racially segregated schools would do "poorly," and that could be blamed on the union as well as be used to generally disparage public education.
3. Give impetus to privatizing schools (i.e. de-public-izing education) so that entremanures could rake off the goodies in their new and "better" schools.
Everything was fine - UNTIL an upscale suburb got caught in the intracacies of the shenanigans!! Oh, my god!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, the Dispatch saddled up and charged into editorial battle (below).
They made it clear that the testing was just A-number 1, hunky-dory, fine - EXCEPT - if a suburban district gets screwed. Then it needs some "tweaking."
Damned hypocrites. At long last, have they no shame?
- Uke Man
Not there yet
State report-card system for schools is working but should be tweaked
Friday, August 18, 2006
Rising rankings for Ohio schools and districts on the state’s educational report cards show that this program can improve performance.
Ohio’s system of holding schools accountable and giving them data to track their success needs some tinkering to more fairly represent the performance of some districts. Nevertheless, the experience of the past six years shows that the program has been effective.
Statewide, 200 districts moved up at least one mark on the five-step rating scale, roughly equivalent to grades of A through F. None of the state’s 610 districts remains at the F level of academic emergency, and only seven remain at the D level of academic watch. Regrettably, Columbus Public Schools is one of those seven, but the district improved over the previous year and missed the continuous improvement, or C level, by only a hair.
Schools and districts can point to a variety of new approaches they’ve employed to help students master the material covered in standardized tests. Most have adapted their curricula to ensure that the most important material is covered, and many have offered study sessions and extra preparation for the tests.
A key point: Armed with the information contained in previous years’ test results, districts know what areas need work and can target their efforts for better results.
Penalties embedded in the accountability program motivate districts to improve, and data from the program help them figure out how to do it.
One element of Ohio’s program should be revisited.
Under Ohio rules, districts must break out and report the performance of several subgroups of students, including those who are disabled, speak limited English or belong to certain racial and ethnic groups.
Any district in which two or more subgroups fail to improve enough from the year before is barred from any rating higher than continuous improvement, regardless of how well it performed on every other measure. Conversely, if a district’s subgroups show a strong enough performance, it will receive an overall ranking of at least continuous improvement, regardless of overall performance.
This rule has the laudable purpose of forcing districts to pay attention to students with special needs, but it results in inaccurate ratings.
Hilliard City Schools languishes at the C level for the second year in a row, despite having met 21 of 23 standards in 2004-05 and every one of the 25 standards considered in 2005-06. The indignity has prompted the district to launch an ambitious program this year to raise the English proficiency of its growing immigrant population.
That’s a happy result, but the C rating in no way reflects the higher quality of education most families can expect from the Hilliard district.
Consideration of subgroups shouldn’t be dropped, because working toward all students’ success is the very essence of the No Child Left Behind law.
Districts with struggling subgroups should be required to help them and not be able to hide deficiencies under an overall good rating.
But the state Department of Education should find some way to do this without slapping the whole district with a label that understates overall quality.
It's the same old shit!!! The old double standard!!!
Ever since the Republicans started their insane Proficiency Testing scheme and right through Dubya's nutcase Child Behind testing, the Media Masters (such as the Columbus Dispatch) have NEVER said an unkind word about the boondoggle - because it did what it was supposed to do:
1. Make Republican state officials (and now federal ones) look like they were doing something, but without increasing taxes (that was handed to the local districts - who often had to cut program to make ends meet).
2. Disparaged big city teacher unions since it was clear from the start that these economically/racially segregated schools would do "poorly," and that could be blamed on the union as well as be used to generally disparage public education.
3. Give impetus to privatizing schools (i.e. de-public-izing education) so that entremanures could rake off the goodies in their new and "better" schools.
Everything was fine - UNTIL an upscale suburb got caught in the intracacies of the shenanigans!! Oh, my god!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, the Dispatch saddled up and charged into editorial battle (below).
They made it clear that the testing was just A-number 1, hunky-dory, fine - EXCEPT - if a suburban district gets screwed. Then it needs some "tweaking."
Damned hypocrites. At long last, have they no shame?
- Uke Man
Not there yet
State report-card system for schools is working but should be tweaked
Friday, August 18, 2006
Rising rankings for Ohio schools and districts on the state’s educational report cards show that this program can improve performance.
Ohio’s system of holding schools accountable and giving them data to track their success needs some tinkering to more fairly represent the performance of some districts. Nevertheless, the experience of the past six years shows that the program has been effective.
Statewide, 200 districts moved up at least one mark on the five-step rating scale, roughly equivalent to grades of A through F. None of the state’s 610 districts remains at the F level of academic emergency, and only seven remain at the D level of academic watch. Regrettably, Columbus Public Schools is one of those seven, but the district improved over the previous year and missed the continuous improvement, or C level, by only a hair.
Schools and districts can point to a variety of new approaches they’ve employed to help students master the material covered in standardized tests. Most have adapted their curricula to ensure that the most important material is covered, and many have offered study sessions and extra preparation for the tests.
A key point: Armed with the information contained in previous years’ test results, districts know what areas need work and can target their efforts for better results.
Penalties embedded in the accountability program motivate districts to improve, and data from the program help them figure out how to do it.
One element of Ohio’s program should be revisited.
Under Ohio rules, districts must break out and report the performance of several subgroups of students, including those who are disabled, speak limited English or belong to certain racial and ethnic groups.
Any district in which two or more subgroups fail to improve enough from the year before is barred from any rating higher than continuous improvement, regardless of how well it performed on every other measure. Conversely, if a district’s subgroups show a strong enough performance, it will receive an overall ranking of at least continuous improvement, regardless of overall performance.
This rule has the laudable purpose of forcing districts to pay attention to students with special needs, but it results in inaccurate ratings.
Hilliard City Schools languishes at the C level for the second year in a row, despite having met 21 of 23 standards in 2004-05 and every one of the 25 standards considered in 2005-06. The indignity has prompted the district to launch an ambitious program this year to raise the English proficiency of its growing immigrant population.
That’s a happy result, but the C rating in no way reflects the higher quality of education most families can expect from the Hilliard district.
Consideration of subgroups shouldn’t be dropped, because working toward all students’ success is the very essence of the No Child Left Behind law.
Districts with struggling subgroups should be required to help them and not be able to hide deficiencies under an overall good rating.
But the state Department of Education should find some way to do this without slapping the whole district with a label that understates overall quality.
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