Ever since all five FWCS high schools got off probation, I've been waiting to see the actual results of the ECA exams that helped get them off the hook. No results have been announced by the district or their mouthpiece at the JG, so I dug around on the IDE web site and found them. And they're still pathetic. But the "improvement" required to get off probation was based on the 8th grade scores and ECA scores for "cohort" groups which obviously bears no relation to actual passing rates in the high schools, which are shown below (sorry, but for some reason making a table doesn't work):
State, FWCS, Wayne, SSHS, NSHS. Northrup, Snyder
Algebra I
63.9 (61), 36.54 (43), 29.15 (20), 28.35 (19), 32.46 (32), 33.63 (47), 36.9(47)
English 10
63.6 (63), 50.27 (52), 44.31 (38), 39.83 (53), 46.09 (48), 58.84 (61), 58.9 (57)
Last year's passing rates are shown in parentheses. Overall FWCS declined in both areas. Wayne was the only school which improved in both categories. , The algebra scores are roughly the same as Gary and Indianapolis. I'm confused how the high schools in a "high performance", "A" rated district could perform this poorly. How could they get off probation? Maybe I got the numbers wrong.
No doubt these results will be announced to the public and discussed in a press conference and an upcoming board meeting after they're done "analyzing" them, although they may turn off the TV first. That's part of their policy of "engaging the public" by telling us what they want us to hear. I'm looking forward to the meeting.
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38 comments:
Here is one possibility why ECA test scores are so low. Last night my son was upset because his AP teacher at North Side told him to stand closer to the TV so ESPN would come in better. (my son has big ears) My son's response: "I'll just flunk my ECA so he gets fired." It's great that the decision was made to bring in all these "professional" teachers that screw with the kids in AP classes that actually are able to Pass+ their ISTEP and submit their assignments on time. Where do we get those vouchers again?
I heard that Carrolll's students have SO much homework, that they don't have time to watch ESPN. Then, again, the parent that allows his kids to watch ESPN, instead of cracking the books should be reported to CPS.
What is just as bad anonymous #1 is that FWCS got rid of a good principal in Chuck DeFord and replaced him with a jerk name Chad Hissong. Hissong is just, if not more, as unprofessional as the silly AP teacher that made the inane and hurtful comment to your son. Hissong loves to insult and bully teachers. Where is Wendy Robinson when this is going on? Lack of professionalism starts at the top and goes all the way to the bottom. I am sorry if the comment hurt your son's feelings. Most teachers would never dream of saying something like that.
Your son doesn't have to flunk it on purpose when 60% of the kids coming into NSHS cna't pass it if they try. The "A" rating hasn't made it to the middle schools but GiaQuinta has declared victory so Wendy can try for another building project.
I agree with you about Hissong. While he has never done anything personally to me or my kid, I miss DeFord's personable approach to students and parents. For example, at sports events Chuck would mingle in the crowd and talk to parents. I don't see that now. I also am very disappointed that they got rid of shop class and offered nothing of any value in return. My kid was learning neat things and now they offer team sports. When your 15 year old states they only teach to the test, do you believe her or an attorney known to hold numerous "lucrative" board positions and harbor questionable ethics?
I had a couple of conversations with Thomas Smith when he was at SSHS about the his dependence on the middle schools for his "bottom line". About all the high schools can do is serve as remedial middle schools. The principals are just caught in a bind but they knew what they were signing up for.
I didn't think the changes they made in the high schools would make much difference. I was amazed when they all got off probation until I looked at the actual scores. It's just the way the IDE manipulates the numbers.
It only takes one bad teacher to lay waste to a student's motivation to succeed. Anon @3:52 experience is hardly an isolated example of how that happens, and to think that student's experience was witnessed by an entire class.
That teacher is a BULLY and is teaching others how to bully. You need to file a written complaint concerning this teacher/incident --and I wouldn't simply file it with the school administration; I'd send a copy to the School Board and IDoE.
Code Blue,
I know how North Side, South Side, and Wayne got off of probation. It is spelled Elmhurst. Look at the scores and tell me that Wayne would have improved by 8% if it was not for the new Elmhurst kids and Portage kids helping Wayne's scores. The small improvements at South and North can also be traced back to the infusion of Elmhurst students. What is sad is that this is a one time fix. What will FWCS do in five years? I know. I bet they will close Snider and send those students to the other four high schools to help their scores. It makes a lot of sense considering Snider's building is in worse shape than Elmhurst's building is. (Or should I say was since it will probably never be used again.)
The only reason they got rid of the shop class was because Hissong did not like one of the shop teachers and he had to get rid of the entire department in order to get rid of that teacher. Great job Hissong. GO BACK TO EAST ALLEN!!!
They got off probation because the state based performance on how much a given group of kids improved going from 8th grade to high school. So the worse the kids scores are in 8th grade the easier it is to raise them. That's how the whole grading system worked. It really measures remediation. The better the school the harder it is to improve and vice versa. It's a screwed up way to do it and Bennett admitted as much.
With that kind of system, the Elmhurst kids probably hurt the ratings more than they helped them.
Those ECA tests should be given to teachers, not the students who are not learning because the 'teachers' cannot/will not teach!
Don't understand your comment. High school teachers' abilities fall on a curve just like any profession. It's just that the die is cast for the kids before they leave grade school and high school teachers have to deal with what they get. The products of social promotion are dumped on the high schools. No matter how good the teachers are, they can only do so much remediation.
Do high school students even take the ISTEP? I thought they took end of course tests in biology, math, and English and that they compare the scores of the tests from year to year to see who has improved and who has not.
ISTEP+ is given in 3-8. ECA's are given in the high schools in Algebra, Eglish and science and to middle schoolers who take the high school courses early. ECA's replaced the GQE's which were given to high school sophomores in the fall. In moving all testing to the spring, the baselines chaged two years ago.
How are ECAs and the ISTEP scores tied together then? I believe the high school scores stand on their own and to get off probation you have to increase your scores by a certain percentage.
It's based on "growth" from 8th grade ISTEP+ to ECA for the same group of kids. Otherwise Northrop, whose ECA's got worse in both subjects would not have gotten off probation.
Code Blue said, “Don’t understand your comment.”
For your edification:
http://youtu.be/QVGuQ5gFx8I
http://teachers.net/gazette/JUL08/page/
When kids fail to learn year after year after year, it’s systemic. No system can change what it refuses to acknowledge.
Kate-
I've tutored in high school algebra classes with a half dozen teachers. They all tried to do their best but they had nothing to work with coming out of the middle schools. They had to spend too much time on remediation to cover the required course material. The teachers will acknowledge the problem privately but they're not going to stick their necks out to say so publicly.
The board is mostly clueless and the Administration isn't going to admit there's a problem. It's a no win situation. They know eventually FWCS is going to become irrelevant. Theye're just trying to drag it out as long as they can.
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