With all that's going on in Wake County, it's no surprise that the latest test results have become caught up in the school diversity controversy.
As noted in today's article, critics of the board majority say this year's results show the socioeconomic diversity policy shouldn't have been scrapped. But critics of the diversity policy think it's a stretch to attribute the gains to the policy.
"While the new board majority speaks about the achievement gap, the problem was being addressed many years ago," said Calla Wright, president of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African American Children.
Wright credited the work of the curriculum management audit implemented under former Superintendent Del Burns with helping focus attention on the achievement gap.
Wright said it will be "interesting to see how people can distort the facts" about the new test results to discredit the diversity policy.
Yevonne Brannon, chairwoman of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, said the test results show the board majority's criticism of staff over academic achievement was "unfair."
Brannon said that abandoning the diversity policy will lead to more high poverty schools that scare away good teachers and lead to lower academic achievement.
School board member John Tedesco wasn't buying the connection between the diversity policy and the test results.
"This doesn't prove that the assignment model works," Tedesco said of the new results. "This proves that teachers are making it work for our students."
Tedesco said some of the credit can also be given to the attention put on helping minority and low-income students that was generated as far back as last fall's election campaign.
Tedesco said community schools should boost academic achievement even more as kids spend less time on the bus and parents are more able to get more involved in schools closer to where they live.
Terry Stoops, education policy analyst for the conservative John Locke Foundation, cautioned against drawing a direct link between the diversity policy and the new test results.
Stoops said you'll get a better sense of how Wake did when you can compare the gains against the statewide test results coming out Aug. 5.
Comments
GUILFORD COUNTY --
Mon, 07/19/2010 - 18:53 — AngelaWGUILFORD COUNTY -- Preliminary End of Grade and End of Course testing results show that many schools in Guilford County are making positive progress. In fact, 10 of last year's low performing schools raised their scores by at least 11 points. Officials said they've got a lot of work to do in order to meet their goals in 2012.
"It's an exciting day for us, we're really proud of the progress we've made," Chief Academic Officer Dr. Beth Folger said.
Eighty eight out of 113 schools improved on their testing. "The school's that were lower performing schools received a lot of support from multiple people, from the community and from central office," Folger said.
Those improved test scores mean an improved status with the state. "But we can talk about, at least preliminarily, that seven of the 10 schools are likely to already be out of low performing status because their composite scores are above 50," Superintendent Mo Green said.
While several schools could be moving out of low performing status, the scores show other schools might get that designation. "A couple of schools have dropped below 50 percent so we'll have to see whether they make growth or not, but if they do not make growth then we may have two schools that are considered low performing for this coming year," Green said.
District officials said they've still got a lot of work to be done in order to reach their test score goals in 2012, but this is a step in the right direction. "This can be done," Green said. "But it takes all of us, excluding myself, to make it happen."
-- Students at
Mon, 07/19/2010 - 18:50 — AngelaW-- Students at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are improving their performance, according to recent test results. Monday afternoon Superintendent Dr. Peter Gorman unveiled the results of End of Year and End of Course testing. It shows overall gains in every subject areas.
School leaders said they are very pleased with the results but are not satisfied. Among the positives are overall students are doing better on their state tests, the achievement gap is closing amongst African American and Hispanic students when compared to white and the graduation rate increased to about 70 percent.
But the district still has to do a better job of reaching low-income students. No progress was made in closing the achievement gap of students who receive free and reduced lunch when compared to their more affluent peers.
While over four years, the gap between the achievement of African American and Hispanic students has gotten smaller in some areas, especially science, the gap is still very large. The overall gains come at a time when the district has endured severe cuts to staff.
Gorman warned next year could be worse. "We're going to have some other resource reductions and changes," he said.
CMS will consider closing more than 10 schools in the 2011 school year. Gorman said the ones that the test results show are low-performing are likely to be targeted
Congratulation Del .... the
Fri, 07/16/2010 - 12:55 — user12345Congratulation Del .... the new board has a high mark to try to build on.
Oh Please
Fri, 07/16/2010 - 13:05 — Duhhuh666Is that why scores constantly dropped during Del's tenure? I get it let them drop and then when you see a slight increase you claim victory.
According to WCPSS website
Fri, 07/16/2010 - 17:15 — Dove314According to the WCPSS website information posted in the last couple of days regarding test scores, the test scores have been increasing since 2006-07. Are the results presented there inaccurate?
Point of clarification
Fri, 07/16/2010 - 21:28 — TrailerParkGirlIf my memory serves me right (haven't looked at the older test scores in a while), I believe that in general from when EOGs began, test scores increased until the tests were renormed (Math first then Reading). At the point each test was renormed the scores notably declined and then began to increase. This would be expected as the test was "new" to teachers and students and as they gain experience with it (now know what types of questions to expect and can better prepare), the scores increase.
"Decreases" relate to relative to state average. In the earlier years of EOGs, WCPSS ED students scored above state average but that "advantage" began to decline and at a point (2007-08) the WCPSS ED scores dropped below state average and in 2008-09, they decreased even further relative to state average. In other words, the scores are increasing but not at as high of a rate as the rest of the state, so relative to other districts our students have been losing ground. I thought I had a spreadsheet somewhere with the data, but can't find it.
This begs the question of if a "diversity" policy benefits achievement and WCPSS is the only district with that policy, shouldn't the trend of WCPSS relative to state be opposite? Obviously, there are other factors at play. Unfortunately, as this county publicly is so utterly consumed by the concepts of "resegregation" and "liberals v. tea-baggers", it never gets to the conversation about analyzing what those other factors are.
Edited to add link:
Below is a link to the NC Report for WCPSS. On the High Student Performance tab, you'll find the data for WCPSS and state by demographic group and some graphs of the overall. Before people get too excited about the fact that WCPSS is above state average, keep in mind that WCPSS is the lowest ED district in the entire state. You can see other school years back to 2001-02 by using the school year drop down at the top of the screen.
http://www.ncreportcards.org/src/distDetails.jsp?Page=2&pLEACode=920&pYear=2008-2009&pDataType=1
Different point
Fri, 07/16/2010 - 21:52 — Dove314Two different points then that need to be distinguished. Duh is wrong in stating that test scores have declined as test scores at least since 2006-07 have risen. Despite the rise though, based on the links you provide, the rise in WCPSS scores has lagged behind other districts in the state. Honestly, I don't think you can attribute this to only one factor like placing total blame on how students were assigned. It is multi-factorial and to do so does an injustice to finding and rectifying all the reasons why students in WCPSS did not see the same relative increases that were noted in other districts. In the end, whatever assignment model regardless of type will be a lesser factor in student achievement and other factors will be more important determinants of student achievement.
I think there is a nuance
Fri, 07/16/2010 - 23:22 — TrailerParkGirlI think there is a nuance here. I don't place total blame for lagging scores on how students were assigned, but rather am saying that how students were assigned did not help advance scores either as some have tried to suggest. If that theory was correct then WCPSS, as the only SES diversity assignment district, should be outperforming is all categories.
I don't think scores lagged directly because of how students were assigned, but rather because 1) when how students were assigned became the primary factor of focus of the district, it left all the other factors lacking focus, 2) the "trade-off" impacts (like added instability for ED students)* and 3) the "at risk" theories given to justify implementing and having SES diversity (to replace race) reinforced a lower expectations, downward spiral to self-fulfilling prophecy.
*I have heard more than one educator lament because they felt their school was making progress with a group of ED students (i.e. they had been working on the other factors and making progress) and those students were being reassigned. By that I mean the students were either chosen to increase F&R at a low-F&R school or their current school was considered too high F&R and so they needed to be moved out of that school - yes, opening of new schools due to growth allowed for there being open seats to which those students were sent, but those particular students were chosen to fill those seats due to their SES. I don't want to get in a debate about whether you call that growth or diversity. The point is that those students were selected based on SES without regard to whether it was in their best interest.
Good point.
Sat, 07/17/2010 - 16:39 — Apexter"I think there is a nuance here. I don't place total blame for lagging scores on how students were assigned, but rather am saying that how students were assigned did not help advance scores either as some have tried to suggest."
Good point. I'll take it a step further, and add that one of my major concerns over the "diversity policy" was that it was not showing strong benefits in student performance, but because it was trumpeted "See? We're doing something about the achievement policy! We've got this "diversity policy" right here, and everyone thinks it's the greatest," there really wasn't ever really an effort to see if it was really working, or to replace/supplement it with something else if it wasn't achieving the desired results. As an analogy, think of the number of alternative medicine scams that claim to cure cancer. The greatest damage from these scams frequently isn't from the alternative treatment themselves; it's the fact that the patients are taken in by the hype, and choose to forego proven standard treatments in lieu of alternative treatments such as coffee enemas.
Stability
Sat, 07/17/2010 - 10:51 — Dove314Whether via a diversity model or via community schools model, what you are describing is the benefit of having the same child attend the same elementary school for all 6 years; the same middle school for the 3 years, or the same high school for all 4 years. But also inherent in stability is that there be low teacher turnover (or else those who know the students are lost), stability in the principal, an engaged staff and administration collaborating to find the best ways to assist students and more. Again, stability in assignment is helpful but is not the whole story with regards to maximum achievement for each student.
Wake County has had more
Fri, 07/16/2010 - 22:19 — virginiadareWake County has had more growth to deal with than any other district in the state, and ranks in the bottom quartile for funding. Since the curriculum audit in 2007, the district has been focusing on achievement and erasing the achievement gap, by means of such initiatives as the PLT's, which are finally beginning to bear fruit. However, since the new board majority has canceled the designated time for the PLT's to meet, they will be catch-as-catch-can and the benefits will decrease. The chaos that is being created by the new assignment plan will also stop the momentum, and once the high poverty schools are created, we will have more problems to deal with. The three-year assignment plan and slowed growth could have allowed us to focus more on gains in achievement, but that will not happen now.
Well
Sat, 07/17/2010 - 00:52 — TrailerParkGirlWell, growth was exacerbated by the concepts of "balancing" and "comparable" schools and the challenges of creating "balancing" and "comparable" schools were exacerbated by growth. Normally, growth tends to not happen uniformly across a county. Rather one area goes through a "growth spurt," then becomes stable as it is built out while a different area then sees high growth. Usually new schools would be built in the growth spurt areas and filled with the new growth. However, in Wake due to having a SES "balancing" goal and the "node" method in which it was attempted to be accomplished 1) some schools were built in growth spurt areas but others were built where they would be convenient for diversity bussing purposes even though not a high growth part of the county and 2) opening of new schools created a domino effect as "sending" schools had to be rebalanced by reassignment of certain nodes on down the line. It is not growth, so much as the instability caused by the growth in conjunction with "balancing" that has been an issue. Interesting that you feel that the chaos of the creation of the new assignment plan will stop momentum, but the previous chaos of assignments was apparently OK. The three year assignment plan included pulling some ED students out of their community area school where they are achieving so they can provide "diversity" >10 miles away. I don't think that would have helped their achievement gains. Based on my understanding of the new assignment plan vision, it would be a more permanent assignment plan. You apply to schools for K and once your school is determined you stay in it until MS and so on similar to what magnet applicant students have been able to do all along.
Funding - yes, this community needs to get its act together on that angle. People can start by writing their CC and BOE rep to support reinstating funding for the Parent Counseling portion of Project Enlightenment (you can skip Tedesco as he is already on board with funding Project Enlightenment as he was the only one to vote against the budget cut because he gets the concept that parent training is a factor that has a positive impact).
PLTs - it sounds like overall people have mixed opinions about PLTs. IMHO if WCPSS had done a much better job rolling out the concept and Wake Wednesdays, it could have worked out, but they fumbled WW big time with no hopes of recovery. You can't slam through a scheduling change like that, which will impact every family schedule in the district in some manner and only let four parents know about it and why you are doing it ahead of time. They needed a much larger buy-in effort and to have worked out the major kinks (like addressing the inconvenience of having to leave campus and return for sports) ahead of time. What were they thinking, especially knowing that they were operating in an atmosphere where many parents had already had it with the way the district treated them? Was it because they honestly thought that parents who voiced their displeasure with the district were a vocal minority, in which case WW was ultimately the victim of hubris? IMHO it likely was, which is unfortunate. Before someone jumps in with the survey results about how satisfied parents are - you can be happy with your school and unhappy with the district (administration, BOE, district policies). The survey asked about individual schools, not the district overall. I suspect that you may be experiencing that situation now (satisfied with your school, dissatisfied with district overall) - shoe is just on the other foot.
Once the individual school scores are released that may give some indication regarding the overall effectiveness of PLTs. Given that all schools had PLTs and they were all done on WW then one would expect to see some consistency between individual school score improvements. If by school results are all over the place then it would indicate that merely the fact one has PLTs and holds them on WW in and of itself is not the answer, but rather that there is more to it.
If the district really had been working to erase the achievement gap why had they continued to defend use of home-grown assessment models that discount expected scores for ED students? Eliminating use of those types of models, assessments and mentality should be an obvious step. Why weren't they pushing Principals to use objective data for assessments and placements? Why weren't they doing more to address the suspension issue?
Good insights
Sat, 07/17/2010 - 17:44 — Apexter"IMHO if WCPSS had done a much better job rolling out the concept and Wake Wednesdays, it could have worked out, but they fumbled WW big time with no hopes of recovery. You can't slam through a scheduling change like that, which will impact every family schedule in the district in some manner and only let four parents know about it and why you are doing it ahead of time. They needed a much larger buy-in effort and to have worked out the major kinks (like addressing the inconvenience of having to leave campus and return for sports) ahead of time. What were they thinking, especially knowing that they were operating in an atmosphere where many parents had already had it with the way the district treated them? Was it because they honestly thought that parents who voiced their displeasure with the district were a vocal minority, in which case WW was ultimately the victim of hubris?"
Good insights, as usual.
I know I'll get slammed for this, but I wonder sometimes if this type of miscue comes from the fact that many of the drivers behind this decision are educators? In the classroom, it is the job of the educator to make the decisions, and tell the class how things are going to be, and then make the students follow that path. In the frame in which they are working, that is a workable leadership model.
When it comes to working with the community, however, that model doesn't work. The teacher:student relationship is not the same as the school district:parent/taxpayer relationship. While students are clearly subordinate to the teachers in the classroom, taxpaying parents are not in a subordinate role to the school system. There should be more of a partnership in this pairing. While the educators should be expected to make recommendations and requests, there should be some attempt to cooperate with the community and meet its needs as well. With WW, as well as with the earlier unilateral imposition of MYR and forced distant assignments, there was not an attempt to work with the community; it was just a decision forced down the throat of the taxpayers. As you noted, there was never attempt to achieve buy-in; it was just a "This is what you're getting; take it" message.
Yes..
Sat, 07/17/2010 - 17:54 — Bob_SconceClearly a mistake that an administrator with a business background would not have made.
not 'diversity'?
Fri, 07/16/2010 - 22:29 — red_balloonSince the curriculum audit in 2007, the district has been focusing on achievement and erasing the achievement gap, by means of such initiatives as the PLT's, which are finally beginning to bear fruit.
A one year old PLT program has achieved what a decades old 'diversity' policy could not?
It seems premature to credit
Thu, 07/15/2010 - 10:19 — red_balloonIt seems premature to credit any particular policy initiative. Gains (and losses) at individual schools need to be analyzed before the factors are identified. The BOE should keep an open mind until the detailed results are released and analyzed.
Congratulations go to the
Thu, 07/15/2010 - 10:10 — CaryCurmudgeonCongratulations go to the students and teachers, everything else at this point is just unproductive speculation.
As well as to the
Thu, 07/15/2010 - 10:13 — virginiadareAs well as to the administrators and staff who supported them, without whom teachers' jobs would be that much harder!
Good Test Scores?
Thu, 07/15/2010 - 09:37 — willynilly....thanks the teachers. Please keep in mind that (at least for the science EOG) you need only get 31 of 60 questions correct to be "proficient." We may also thank DPI for putting the test online so that we can print it off as a "test assistant." The Form on the DPI web site provides a number of the EXACT test questions for that test. As a teacher hoping to better prepare my students for the EOG I did as directed and used that test form with my students. My students were amazed at the number of questions from the PRACTICE test that they found on the actual EOG. Hmmmmm....are there other test forms for math? For reading?
The public school's label of
Thu, 07/15/2010 - 10:31 — red_balloonThe public school's label of proficiency serves dumbed down standards and lowered expectations. I see the raging debate about 54%, etc. and I wonder if perhaps we should dumb down further to boost the number crossing the finish line. That way everyone qualifies for a job in WC (and this should be fine assuming a kid from another county or country doesn't take the job away from the local kid).
Are you saying that DPI
Thu, 07/15/2010 - 09:46 — jeffrey1Are you saying that DPI pre-released some of the exact questions that appeared on the test? May I ask how many?
At my best estimate (walking
Thu, 07/15/2010 - 19:18 — willynillyAt my best estimate (walking around the room as my students took the test) at least 8 questions were on the state science 8th grade EOG that could be found on FORM E released science test. Look at question number 2 of the plane transmitting to the ocean surface and ocean bottom. This EXACT question was on the actual test. There were others as well.
The only thing Tedesco is
Thu, 07/15/2010 - 07:21 — JoeTarheelThe only thing Tedesco is qualified for is the 'creepiest' guy in the bar.
the bafoons supporting eliminating diversity will, of course, spin this every way they can. They elected two boneheads without children or college educations to the school board. Why would they pay any attention to actual evidence that diversity in our schools has benefits well beyond just the classroom?
Perfect Exhibition Of Gross Dishonesty
Thu, 07/15/2010 - 06:53 — fiveblindmiceTedesco and the paid propagandists at Locke have trumpeted the link between diversity and test policies loudly and frequently - it's literally been a mantra for them. They have not been shy about using these same sets of test scores from previous years to tell us that the diversity policy doesn't work - in fact the test scores have been pretty much their entire evidence-based argument. Now all of a sudden out of the blue they decide there is no link and good scores don't have anything to do with the policy!
Regardless of the whether there is or is not a direct link between the scores and the policy, their willingness to take whichever side of the issue is currently most politically convenient tells us a lot about them.
These are spectacularly dishonest people who lack basic moral compasses.