Last week every school district in the state got a gift of a five point increase in test scores courtesy of the Indiana Department of Education and State Superintendent Tony Bennett. By moving the test to spring, dumbing it down and adjusting cut scores, Mr. Bennett was able to claim victory for himself and everybody in the public schools.
But these scores were only for grades 3-8. In August the state is supposed to release the "End of Course" (EOC) or Core Forty test results given to high school students to cover their first algebra and English/language courses. These have replaced the Graduation Qualifying Exams covering similar material previously given to high school sophomores. But again they're muddying the waters and shifting the baselines so that we won't know where we're at for another few years. And you can bet that this will give FWCS another opportunity for mutual backslapping and self congratulations.
I saw a sample algebra test last year, and it was a surprisingly thorough test. Not surprising was the overall state passing rate of just 40%. The FWCS passing rate was an abysmal 20%. At Elmhurst it was 8%. These results were not published on the state web site and were not mentioned by FWCS. This is supposed to be a test given to high school freshmen the term after they have taken the course. You can bet more than 20% at FWCS passed the first algebra course and had moved on to geometry and advanced algebra even though they didn't have a clue how to do beginning algebra. It was so bad that the first 30 minutes of geometry and advanced algebra classes had to be dedicated to reteaching freshman algebra so they could do better next time. Of course that meant those courses were only able to cover 2/3 of the material they should have. But that's OK because there are no standardized tests over those courses.
So now that we have declared victory in 3-8, what's going to happen in the high schools? Mr. Bennett can't afford to see a disaster in the high school results that contradicts the 3-8 results. So look for the EOC's to show some really dramatic statewide improvement over last year, again courtesy of the IDE. Then consider our three designated failing high schools. With a change in the test and artificially inflated results, these schools may instantly be turned into incredible success stories. Had she known the IDE would make it that easy to fool us, Wendy could have avoided all those painful pink slips and administrator shuffles.
We're all looking forward to the next press release and another jubilant press conference. Let's see if the local media, like Fort Wayne's only "dedicated education reporter" on WANE, catches on this time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
It is true that Elmhurst did horrible in Algebra, but what you failed to mention is that Elmhurst did very well in English and Biology. Matter of fact, Elmhurst was ranked first in English and second in Biology in the district. Did it matter? No it did not. Elmhurst is still closed and three inferior high schools live to fail another day.
Part of the problem at Elmhurst was that many of the kids coming in had taken algebra in middle school, (like Portage and Kekionga) and were not required to take it as freshmen. They didn't learn much in middle school and forgot most of it by the time they took the test. The were also put into geometry and advanced algebra even though they couldn't do the basics and they failed those courses as well.
I don't know how they did at the other three failing schools but it couldn't have been much better. Closing Elmhurst sent a bad message about how the district values academic achievement. That should have been the primary factor in the decision which school was closed.
I hope you also blog about FGray's column concerning what to do with Elmhurst. School officials said the building must be appraised and sold at market value, since it is a public building. Huh? Give us that Indiana statute. I would be very surprised if that is the truth.
Siestagirl:
I would not be a bit surprised if Wendy and her minions attempts to sell the building within the next sixty days. Of course sosehs would stop it until the lawsuit is settled, but it would help illustrate what type of people we have running FWCS and how little the voters care for allowing it to continue.
I've been told the Leona Group, which runs charter schools and is looking at the Taylor U. was interested in the property. But Wendy said no. Don Willis has also expressed interest. So if she has the option of selling to a charter school versus tearing it down at our expense she'll have a fun time explaining that one.
USA day cash advances in Il possesses many alternative loan selections therefore on be smart that embody, day cash advances, day and Fitting cash advance financial loans, to boot to Automobile construct financial loans. most folk concentrate on aiding you opt for the correct loan product or service that will assist you to satisfy your own economic needs.
Post a Comment