The EDifierJuly 21, 2010 NBC has had a great idea and decided to put education in the spotlight with its Education Summit this September. However, I have to say NBC needs a little education itself on how to read data.
First off, NBC provides the statistic that U.S. students ranked 21st in the world in math and 25th in science on the international assessment PISA. First, PISA results are not designed to rank countries, as if testing was like a horse race (read more about in the Center’s Guide to international assessments).
Second, PISA is just one international assessment. In TIMSS, which assesses the math and science performance of 4th and 8th graders, U.S. students compare favorably to their peers by scoring significantly (see statistically significant) above the international average in math in both grades. At the 8th grade level, U.S. students scored significantly better than 37 out of the 47 participating countries. Only 5 countries (all Asian countries) scored significantly above U.S. 8th graders. We may not be number one, but we’re doing a lot better internationally than you would think from NBC’s press release.
When using international assessments NBC just didn’t give a full picture of how U.S. students really perform. When using national assessments, NBC just got it plain wrong. NBC claims that NAEP scores show that 68% of eighth graders can’t “read at grade level.” This is not true. Sixty-eight percent of eighth graders scored below Proficient in 2009.
If NBC had read our report The proficiency debate, it would know that NAEP’s “Proficient” level is not synonymous with “on grade level.” Proficient is a higher standard than being on grade level. So saying that two-thirds of eighth graders can’t read at grade level is plain wrong.
It’s not that all our schools are doing so well that we don’t need to do anything. NAEP’s “Below Basic” level shows that far too many students perform poorly in our schools. But exaggerating the problems and painting all schools with the same brush will do nothing to help the students that need the most help. Across the country, there are countless traditional public schools that are just as or even more successful than highly touted successful charter schools such as KIPP and Harlem’s Children Zone. Although you can read about the traditional public schools’ success stories here, they rarely garner the national media attention successful charter schools receive. If we focus too much on national averages, as NBC has done, we will lose sight of these successful public schools – and their lessons on how to improve other public schools.
So, when evaluating our public schools we have to be careful to get the picture right. We have numerous great public schools that parents, communities, and local businesses know are meeting the needs of their students. We also have too many schools that are struggling to meet tremendous challenges. Instead of painting all schools with the same negative brush, NBC should ask these questions: what are the problems, where are they, and what can we do about them? Basing our decisions about education on a couple of misinterpreted pieces of data will only impair our effective schools while denying ineffective schools the support they need. – Jim Hull
April 27, 2010 In case you didn’t get to Chicago for NSBA’s 2010 Annual Conference, or if you just missed the Center’s sessions, don’t fret, you can find the presentations here.
To check out Patte Barth’s session Planning for Pre-Kindergarten: A Toolkit for School Boards just click here. For Jim Hull’s session Meeting the Needs of Special Education and English Language Learners you can find it here. Click here for his session Preparing Students for Graduation and Beyond.
April 21, 2010 The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported on April 18 that the state of Pennsylvania is offering modified state tests in math for all special education students, and it is field-testing simplified-format tests in reading and science for this same group. The modified tests, called PSSA-M (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment-Modified), are offered in an effort to raise state proficiency scores.
Is a special test necessary for special education students? In our report Special education: A better perspective, we take a look at special education and the special education student. While a majority of special education students do not require special services, our study found that, regardless, there is an achievement gap between special education students and their peers. This is particularly important because many schools and districts, not just in Pennsylvania but around the nation, are missing AYP targets under NCLB based soley on the performance of special ed students. Of course, there are other reasons schools miss AYP, but the special ed population is one of the main reasons. Although the gap has narrowed recently, more research is needed to find out what’s working.
Our report found that the “vast majority of students who are identified with disabilities might have been classified as simply “low achieving” just a few years ago.” This raises the question: Are modified tests really a good measure of how well this population is learning? Of course, the jury is out on this one since there is no research to answer the question. We do know, however, that “when school districts target resources and support, the acheivement of students with disabilities does increase.” Learn more about the special education student and what schools and school boards can do by reading the Center’s full report. ~ Pamela Karwasinski
March 29, 2010 This week, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released the results of the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading for 4th and 8th graders. The reading assessment focused on understanding written text, developing and interpreting meaning, and using meaning as appropriate to the text and situation.
Results are provided for the nation as a whole and state by state (including Washington, DC and Department of Defense schools). As in other NAEP assessments, results are given in scale scores (0-500) and achievement levels (Basic, Proficient and Advanced) Scores are given for overall student performance as well as by racial, gender, and income groups.
Overall, there was no change from the 2007 scores at the 4th grade level, but scores did increase at the 8th grade level for lower and middle-performing students (those at the 10th, 25th, and 50th percentiles). However, achievement at both levels has risen since 1992, from 217 to 221 at the 4th grade level, and from 260 to 264 at the 8th grade level.
The findings
Fourth Grade State Level
- At the state level, scores increased from 2007 to 2009 in three states (Kentucky, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C.).
- Four states saw decreases in their scores (Alaska, Iowa, Wyoming, and New Mexico).
- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, and New Hampshire were the highest performing states, while Washington, D.C., Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arizona were the lowest performing.
Fourth Grade National Level
- Nationally, scores did not increase between 2007 and 2009.
- However, since the first year of NAEP reading in 1992, student achievement in reading has increased by nearly four points, or by about half a grade.
- Since 2007, achievement gaps have remained unchanged.
- The 26-point Black/white achievement gaps was not significantly different from the 2007 gap, but it was narrower than in all other assessment years. The white/Hispanic achievement gap remained basically unchanged.
Eighth Grade State Level
- At the eighth grade level nine states improved their scores from 2007 to 2009 (Kentucky, Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Utah, and New Mexico) while no state had a decline in scores.
- The highest-performing states were Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Department of Defense schools. Washington, D.C., Mississippi, Louisiana, Nevada, and California had the lowest scores.
Eighth Grade National Level
- Nationally, scores increased one point from 2007 to 2009. However, low- and middle-performing students’ scores increased more than high-performing students’.
- Scores were higher in 2009 than in 1992 for White, Black and Hispanic students. Since all three racial/ethnic groups have made progress, neither the white/black nor the white/Hispanic gap was significantly different from the gaps in either 2007 or 1992.
For more information on what NAEP achievement levels actually mean check out The Proficiency Debate: A Guide to NAEP Achievement Levels. And to learn more about what works in helping students to read and comprehend check out the Center’s From Beginning to Stellar and Still Learning reports.
March 19, 2010 The push is on to turn around the nation’s lowest-performing schools. As a matter of fact, the feds are offering $3.5 billion –that’s right, billion — in Title I school improvement money with the understanding that those receiving the money will use one of four turnaround models to fix their schools.
Here at the Center, we took a look at Sam Houston High School, which was ordered by the state of Texas to close and implement a complete make-over. Here’s what we found out.
The newly reconstituted Sam Houston High School for Science, Math, and Technology opened its doors on August 2008 with a new principal and staff. And in just this short time the school has shown dramatic improvement. Here are some of the lessons the school learned as it went from being a “drop-out factory” to one that has made remarkable strides in achievement in its first year of reconstruction:
- Commitment, experience, and high expectations of management and staff is crucial
- New management and staff can create the kind of culture students need to succeed
- Teacher mentoring and support are still necessary
- It helps when new leaders bring along seasoned staff
- Developing strong partnerships gives the school leverage
- Developing relationships with students, parents, and the community is key to success
- Change cannot happen without support from the district and other resources
About 88 percent of Sam Houston’s students are eligible for free- and reduced-price lunch. Almost 93 percent are Hispanic, though only 16 percent are classified as limited English proficient. Nevertheless, one of the things the new Sam Houston did was make all students apply to at least three colleges. “These kids have been beat up for so long, that they don’t think they can do it. Then when they get the [acceptance] letter, they start to believe that that they can,” says the school’s principal Jane Crump.
All students deserve access to good schools and a chance to succeed at life after school, and this school finally took the necessary steps to give its students what they need. To learn more about Sam Houston’s victories, read the Center’s success story, Good management and high expectations make a difference at this turn-around school. ~ Pamela Karwasinski
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