No one disputes that more should be done to help the low-performing students at Enloe High School but the problem seems to be finding the right solution.
As noted in today's article, the rejection of the block schedule has left Enloe's leadership looking for alternatives. The challenge is finding something that will help the low-performing students without causing too many changes that would draw complaints from magnet students and their parents.
And with one current Enloe parent and two former Enloe parents now elected as school board members, what else is in store for the magnet school? Enloe has the dubious distinction of having the lowest passing rates on state tests among Wake's high schools for black and low-income students.
“We certainly need to be concerned if the minority and the economically deprived students at Enloe are not performing well,” said new school board member Susan Evans, the mother of two Enloe graduates.
“We have to realize there’s a huge concentration of those students there.”
At Enloe, 2010-2011 scores show that 54.5 percent of African-American students and 51.2 percent of low-income students passed state exams.
The high schools where students from these groups scored highest were Green Hope, with 83.1 percent of African-American students passing, and Panther Creek, with 84.6 of low-income students passing.
As Evans noted, those groups made up much smaller segments at the Western Wake schools than at Enloe. At the school, about 40 percent of those taking the tests were African-American, who posted a 62 percent passing rate on ninth grade English. At Green Hope, only about 6 percent of those taking the test were African-American, of whom 84 percent passed the night grade English tests.
New board member Jim Martin said a numbers of factors — such as functional illiteracy among some students — means it’s unwise to put too much weight on a single statistic like the low passing rate among black students at Enloe.
“We need to make sure a kid can read before a kid takes biology,” said Martin, who has a daughter at Enloe.
New board member Christine Kushner, whose son attended Enloe, agrees that the school must address the achievement gap, citing efforts that are already under way. The tutoring program CONCERT, for Communities Organizing to Nurture and Celebrate East Raleigh Talent, is one step Enloe parents have taken toward getting under-achieving students up to speed.
“We use teachers at Enloe who know the students,” Kushner said of the grant-funded program. “They know the course of study, they know the students, they know the parents. The point is that we a reaching kids who need academic support, and we’re using teachers to provide it.”
School board vice chairman John Tedesco says that the block schedule proposal for Enloe was not mandated by the board or Superintendent Tony Tata's office. But he said now that it's been dropped, Enloe needs to come up with something else to address the problem.
"How can we challenge our most gifted students while also raising our most vulnerable students?” Tedesco said. “That’s the crux of the challenge at Enloe. But that’s not only a problem at Enloe. This is something we need to address at all our schools.”
Jennifer Mansfield, a longtime critic of Wake’s magnet program, questioned the fairness of leaving the decision up to Enloe when the block schedule is required at the other Wake high schools. She said the Enloe community is acting as if they’re so much better than everyone else that they should be entitled to not have to use the block schedule.
“People don’t want to see kids left behind,” said Mansfield, who ran for school board this year. “But the moment you think of taking away something they feel they deserve, it all goes out the window."
Click here for a prior blog post with more background on the block schedule discussion at Enloe.
Comments
is Ligon still underenrolled?
Tue, 11/22/2011 - 09:37 — EBDarcyBased on the capacity figures Keung linked a few days ago it appears that Ligon has 90 seats available. I may be reading that incorrectly.
It looks that way to me
Tue, 11/22/2011 - 10:02 — jenmanIt looks that way to me too. Interesting.
I haven't read through all
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 08:12 — jenmanI haven't read through all of the comments yet but I wanted to clear something up. I didn't say that Enloe acted as if they are 'so much better than everybody else". I expressed frustration at some of the comments from parents and students about the damage to high achievers at Enloe if they adopt the block schedule. What about the high achievers at every other Wake high school? Do they not matter? If those kids can do it, then Enloe students certainly can.
While Enloe certainly attracts high achieving students, there isn't an admissions test to get in. The majority of Enloe magnet students are there based on where their parents could afford to live and how much money their base school's families had. Plenty of very high achieving, motivated students get denied admission to Enloe (and other magnets) every year.
Majority of Enloe Magnet Students
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 13:54 — Solon77The majority of Enloe magnet students are there based on where their parents could afford to live and how much money their base school's families had.
Your statement implies only the rich get in. This is where you lose me. I wouldn't say I live in a wealthy neighborhood. My son's friends and my daughter's friends before him, live in very modest homes in Knightdale, Wake Forest, and the Eastern parts of Raleigh. Their parents are teachers, policeman, minister, and other middle class professions. I would hardly call them the priviledged elite.
Your perceptions are all wrong.
I didn't say they were rich
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 15:12 — jenmanI didn't say they were rich or the 'priviledged elite'. But until last year, entrance into Enloe (or any magnet) depended on the F&R of your node and of your base school. Living on one side of Capital or the other can largely determine whether or not you got into a magnet school. Same could be said of Durant Rd. Doesn't mean you had to be 'rich' to get in, but you were much better off if you could afford to live in a low F&R node that was assigned to a low F&R school.
My main point is that it's not as if students are at Enloe (or any other magnet) because they are special or high achieving. Most of the magnet students were selected based on how non-poor their neighborhood and their base schools were. If we want to have entrance requirements to get into Enloe so high achievers can avoid the block schedule, that's one thing. But its a bit frustrating to listen to some parents and students to talk about how horrible the block schedule is for advanced students knowing that there are hundreds of high achieving students in Wake who are subjected to it. Enloe students didn't do anything extraordinary to get in--they lived in the right place.
I think of the 60 magnet seats left unfilled at Zebulon Middle under the previous board because they didn't want those applicants to have a direct line to Enloe.
Still Lost
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 22:24 — Solon77Doesn't mean you had to be 'rich' to get in, but you were much better off if you could afford to live in a low F&R node that was assigned to a low F&R school.
Still lost with this. Afford to live in a low F&R node - ok this applies to a significant part of the county including neighborhoods like Bedford and Wakefield. Assigned to a low F&R school - what do you consider low ? Our base ES that we attended was nearly 50% and the base Middle School was close to 50% when we applied to Ligon. I also know of many kids that went to Ligon and Enloe from Knightdale. While these kids did not live in a high F&R node, the base schools they were assigned to were high F&R. I do not pretend to know how things worked behind the curtains, but it seems the generalizations you are making better fit neighborhoods like Wakefield, Bedford, Apex, Cary, and the Leesville area.
But its a bit frustrating to listen to some parents and students to talk about how horrible the block schedule is for advanced students knowing that there are hundreds of high achieving students in Wake who are subjected to it.
No matter what the issue is - parents and students only think about how it impacts them. I found it a bit frustrating listening to ES parents talk about how horrible Wednesday PLTs were when for thousands of families and students it was a good thing. Convenience of scheduling appointments, extra time for home work......
10% of all magnets seats
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 23:24 — jenman10% of all magnets seats were reserved for a true lottery--it appears that's how you got into Ligon. I know I've told you before that you were very very lucky to get a seat at Ligon. I've met people who've applied for 4 and 5 years in a row to get into a magnet but got denied each time. We tried for Ligon two years in a row but didn't get in, as did some of our friends. I've also met several families over the years (most were assigned to Fox Road) who were told by magnet office staff that they had very little chance of getting in because they were 'needed' at their base schools.
After siblings were placed, here were the priorities:
Rounds 1 & 2: your node was less than 27% F&R, your base school was less than 27% F&R, crowding factor greater than 100%. Round 1 is for people who applied for the same magnet program the previous year and were denied.
Round 3: node and base school less than 27% F&R, crowding factor at least 85%
Round 4: base school no more than 40% F&R & crowding factor at least 85%
Round 5: last 10% of seats were a true lottery
These priorities got adjusted a bit for 2009-10 to be 33% F&R instead of 27% and the round 1 crowding factor was reduced to 95%.
I never said that you had to be affluent to get into a magnet. I said that you were much better off if you could afford to live in the right neighborhood. A friend of mine who is a Hunter/Ligon parent told me that several years ago (7?), she was in the office at Hunter when a prospective parent came in for a tour. The parent asked the principal how you get in to Hunter and he told her to buy a house in Falls River, Woodspring or Woodbridge & she'd likely get in. People in WCPSS know that there are certain neighborhoods that have the best chance of getting into the magnets and others that don't.
Heck, the pre-2009 school board left 60 magnet seats unfilled (there were applicants) at Zebulon Middle because they didn't want those kids to be able to get an automatic seat at Enloe. I'm sorry, but that's just sickening.
Interesting
Tue, 11/22/2011 - 00:08 — Solon77Interesting - thanks for taking the time.
Just another bit of
Tue, 11/22/2011 - 10:07 — jenmanJust another bit of info--when we applied to Ligon for our current 8th grader's 6th grade year, they weren't even able to seat all of the students who had magnet priority before they got to the last 10% of seats. That is what I was told when I called Growth Management.
You Know You Might Be Careful.....
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 22:34 — JanisTangoabout judging anyone that was complaining about PLTs. For some people that had inflexible job situations, it was an added a cost that many couldn't afford. I know of several families that had a hard time coming up with the money to pay for the added cost of watching their children for 2 hours every week on Wednesdays. We came up with some funds to help several of them. To try to paint the people that didn't like it was a bunch of whiners that were afraid they would have to cancel their tennis appointment is just plain wrong.
Whiners
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 23:32 — Solon77What makes an issue legitimate concern or just a bunch of whiners ? There are legitimate concerns with nearly every issue - whether it be a block schedule, PLT's, starting school 10 minutes earlier or later to accommodate bus schedules, early release times ........
I'm Just Saying...
Tue, 11/22/2011 - 09:50 — JanisTangowe cannot keep categorizing people we disagree with as having the same set of priorities. I agree we will never satisfy everyone, but I wouldn't call the people that were trying to decide between food versus childcare costs a bunch of whiners! That is all I'm saying.
Does it not seem odd that we
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 15:19 — shearertwDoes it not seem odd that we have a school system that doesn't want parent's to choose where they live based on where their children will go to school is controlling access to Enloe based on where people live?
I've often thought that as
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 18:08 — jenmanI've often thought that as well. They are actually discouraging people from living in diverse areas by letting those who live in the least diverse areas have the best access to magnets.
I think if you look
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 14:45 — shearertwI think if you look deeper...you'll find a "disproportionate" number of Raleigh elite attending Enloe.
FYI-There are a lot of "teachers, policemen, ministers, and other middle class professions" with high achieving kids who are locked out of Enloe for a variety of reasons. They're needs are being completely disregarded by the school system at large in favor of the ED population whilst special attention and favor towards these kids "appears" to be occuring at Enloe, potentially at the cost of ED students.
Can you not understand why that could be upsetting to families living in the suburbs? Can you not agree this is a potential major flaw with the magnet system in general? Contrary to what many would like us to believe, life is not a lottery. In general, outcomes in life are related to your personal decisions and hardwork. In WCPSS, it appears outcomes are either due to your proxity to Raleigh or luck of the draw.
If you look deeper
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 19:23 — Solon77By Raleigh elite, I assume you mean inside the belt line. And what HS would you have them attend if not Enloe or Broughton.
High achieving kids are locked out of Enloe - no disagreement. There are very talented students across the district. As far as the resources for these talented students in across the district - maybe you should talk to the board about increasing funding to the suburban schools. The R majority ruled for 2 years and had the opportunity to balance the scales and did nothing.
As far as why the Enloe parents and students put up a stink - I think Bob Sconce says it well. Like you would not roll over for something you would not agree with - why is there an expectation the Enloe parents and students should.
BTW - life is a bit of a lottery and hard work does not always lead to just rewards.
Frankly, RCHS is in the mix partially because we're not satisfied with stuff like the block schedule -- we know it's an impediment to high-performing kids. My kids are high-performing. Therefore, the block schedule will be an impediment to my kids. Part of my job as my kids' parent is to help them be successful by removing such impediments.
Of course, there's a balancing game -- RCHS has other impediments, some of which are more important than others. The distance, for example, is a big deal (and is why we never thought about putting our kids in magnets). But, the lack of a football team isn't.
I'd have them attend Enloe,
Tue, 11/22/2011 - 11:12 — shearertwI'd have them attend Enloe, but it would be a regular HS just like the rest of our kids have access too....
Unfortunately, 2 years was not enough time to reverse decades of stacking the deck...particularly with the band of wacko liberals at the highest levels fighting against you every step of the way.
My expectations of the Enloe parents and students are very low...I only expect them to think of themselves.
Can you define "just rewards" for me? Is is something given to you or something earned? Is it the quantity or the quality? Is a "just reward" an "opportunity" or an "outcome"?
Edited
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 20:38 — jenmanEdited:
Sorry--I thought this post was in response to me. As Emily Litella says, "never mind"
'BTW - life is a bit of a
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 19:40 — loriac'BTW - life is a bit of a lottery and hard work does not always lead to just rewards'
My problem is when MY tax dollars are used to fund a private school education that is only accessed via a stacked lottery. And, to add insult to injury, these 'magnet winners' would have us believe the anyone not in magnets just doesn't have a broad outlook. And, it doesn't matter if our kids have the block schedule, since they can't possibly be as high achieving as the magnet kids. The magnet kids deserve every consideration for winning the 'lottery'. Got it.
Stacked Lottery
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 22:29 — Solon77I guess you didn't live in a low F&R node assigned to a low F&R school.
And the fact that it makes a
Tue, 11/22/2011 - 00:29 — loriacAnd the fact that it makes a difference is mind boggling.
And...
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 10:22 — Bob_SconcePlenty of very high achieving, motivated students get denied admission to Enloe (and other magnets) every year.
As the father of two high achieving (usually) motivated students, I note that plenty of them don't apply to Enloe or other magnets.
Aren't you?
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 12:47 — Dove314Aren't you the one who wants your children in Raleigh Charter?
WEll..
Mon, 11/21/2011 - 14:14 — Bob_SconceWe're thinking about it, although my kids aren't old enough for us to have to decide. However, I understand that odds of getting in are less than 1-in-10, so really the question is "aren't I the one who hopes to win the lottery?"
Frankly, RCHS is in the mix partially because we're not satisfied with stuff like the block schedule -- we know it's an impediment to high-performing kids. My kids are high-performing. Therefore, the block schedule will be an impediment to my kids. Part of my job as my kids' parent is to help them be successful by removing such impediments.
Of course, there's a balancing game -- RCHS has other impediments, some of which are more important than others. The distance, for example, is a big deal (and is why we never thought about putting our kids in magnets). But, the lack of a football team isn't.
Student Performance and the Block Schedule
Sat, 11/19/2011 - 20:28 — nriemannThere is no particular reason to believe that the black and ED students at Panther Creek and Green Hope are similarly situated to those at Enloe, and thus no reason to condemn Enloe's low passing rate on that basis. On the other hand, there is no particular reason to believe that having more black and ED students at Enloe is any sort of excuse for them to perform worse, as Susan seems to suggest. We need to look at how they arrived at the school and see if they improved or declined once they got there.
As for the block schedule, it is inaccurate to suggest that there is no evidence of benefit for poorly performing students. Wake did not invent the idea of block scheduling to help low performing students. There was evidence elsewhere that it helped. In addition, Evaluation and Research looked at this when the block schedule was implemented, and there was evidence suggesting it was a positive change for low performing kids. There was also evidence suggesting that it was a negative change for those taking AP exams. In this case, the latter group won out, so it would be fair to consider what additional measures we might take to address the disadvantage Enloe's schedule imposes on low performers. It would also be appropriate to consider whether, and if so why, Enloe should be treated differently than other schools.
Enloe has fewer ED kids
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 08:48 — snordonethat all the other HS (with the exception of Green Hope) and those few children are performing far below ED children at other schools. Greg Decker (Sanderson principal) was on the equity subcommittee for a reason - all his children do exceptionally well. Based on his EVAAS data within all subgroups he is an excellent school leader. Leesville HS also does well with all subgroups. The problem at Enloe is a weak leader who does not value all children and who kowtows to NED parents who want all the resources for their children. Central office should remove her, impose block scheduling, and put in a school leader who actually values all children. NO MORE EXCUSES.
If Susan wants to blame something for the low academic achievement, she needs to blame the magnet schools. Those children likely came up through the likes of Hunter and Underwood and Martin and Daniels, they have been treated like crap for their entire education, they have been devalued from day 1.
FACT CHECK
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 13:32 — carson79You need to check the figures again - wcpss.net demographics show you are way off on your claims about number of ED kids... You are saying that enloe has the 2nd LEAST amount of ED students??
Enloe ED kids
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 10:11 — Solon77Your information is incorrect. For 2010/2011 - ED - Enloe 36%, GH - 6% and Sanderson 27%.
Graduation Rates
Enloe Sanderson
ED 68.3 63.2
Black 71.9 62.6
Hispanic 69.6 58.0
White >95 89.7
Asian >95 50.0
LEP 56.2 29.6
Disabilities 64.1 65.4
Where are you getting the ED%?
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 13:17 — nmoskalAccording to wcpss.net demographics site Enloe was at 32.6%, not 36% for 2010-11. I think that was the first year that Enloe was higher. As recently as 2008-09, Enloe's ED % was only 21.2% (and no the achievement results weren't better then). Also, I assumed snordone was referring to either EOC proficiency results or academic growth measures - 73.4% of Black students and 71.8% of ED students passed EOCs at Sanderson versus 54.5% of Black students and 51.2% of ED students at Enloe.
The US News report of Best High Schools has been repeatedly mentioned by a variety of people. Enloe didn't make the list because US News changed their methodology such that schools that failed to educate ED kids didn't make the cut. The wcpss schools that made the list were Athens, Cary, Green Hope and Sanderson and of those only GH has an ED% significantly different than Enloe.
The measure
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 15:26 — Solon77The measure is the % of ED taking the test(s). Enloe - ED 1,298 / Total all 3,577 = 36.2% Sanderson - ED 766 ED / Total 2,736 = 28%. When looking at test scores and achievement it doesn't make any sense to consider the population not taking the exam.
As far as ED being a reliable segmentation - it is questionable especially as one gets beyond ES.
It is interesting though - Sanderson has higher % of test score success but a much lower graduation rate. I wonder why this is.
Starting this year the only EOCs will be English I, Algebra I, and Biology. I am not sure how 3 exams typically taken in Freshman year will be a good predictor of academic achievement. I know a number of HS are concerned about the smart kids taking Algebra I in 8th grade instead of a Freshman. The results will be skewed.
Performance
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 14:16 — nriemannI don't think she could have been referring to growth measured by EVAAS, because (as far as I know) EVAAS does not provide results based on ED status, and she made a claim about ED kids.
As for EOCs, why are they a better performance measure than graduation rates? Which EOCs are you talking about? Are the EOC differentials the same for all subjects? Do you know how the entering students differed in their subject proficiency for whichever subjects you are talking about? Are the results affected by the different dropout rates at the two schools?
It seems to me like we would want to know these things before we made any definitive pronouncements about the relative merit of these schools, a subject on which I have no particular opinion.
you can't see ED
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 15:35 — snordonebut you can drill down into racial subgroups. If you look at the 9th grade algebra I EVAAS data and then drill down into the black subgroup it is identical. We know that all magnet kids took algebra I in 7th or 8th grade, so we are looking at base. The bars are several SDs below the mean for all achievement levels - I-IV. If you look at the same group at Sanderson or LRHS the bars are several SD above the mean. I showed Christine the data before the election so that she would have accurate info about what is really going on at that school. She seems committed to making sure things change for all students.
Here is an assumption
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 18:10 — Solon77Here is an assumption - Ligon, being a primary feeder to Enloe has one of the highest Albegra I placements for all students, inlcuding AA. For 70% and higher EVAAS probability, Ligon failed to place 6 ready students. Leesville failed to place 109 ! Don't you think these 109 students have an impact on LRHS 9th grade Algebra I results ? What if we were to take these 109 out - what would LRHS look like then ?
Then there is the question of - what is the right measure ? Judging a school on soon to be 3 EOC data points ? How does one explain the good EOC test scores but lower graduation rates ? BTW - Enloe graduation rates beat LRHS in 7 of the 8 groupings, with Hispanic being less than a 1pt difference.
assumption?
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 16:02 — turnerk1How can you assume that only magnet students take algebra I in 7th or 8th grade? I personally know magnet students who didn't take algebra I in 7th or 8th grade. Do you just mean a majority of magnet students take algebra I before 9th grade?
I sent Neil and Christine the data
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 20:00 — snordoneit is not pretty. Yes, the majority of magnet students take Algebra I before high school. Also, according th NCDPI the F&R at Enloe was 39.58% and Sanderson was 39.64%. They are equal but their academic growth is not. WHY?
It is not pretty
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 21:22 — Solon77The thing about using % is there is no perspective.
In an earlier post you used Black as a proxy for ED, so continuing with that. While Enloe and Sanderson have similar ED rates, Enloe has twice the number of Blacks (228) taking Algebra I as Sanderson (103). So while you are claiming the schools are the same - they are not. While I do agree there is room for improvement there are many variables that need to be considered.
Important question
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 20:11 — lferreriI think that's the important question that needs to be asked. What is being done at schools that have good academic growth for all subgroups?
I suspect that a number of different actions contribute to their success. One thing to look at would be the placement of students into honors classes. From the information provided about 8th grade Algebra placement, it seems likely that placement in other top track classes may follow a similar pattern. Developing objective placement criteria would be a good place to start. Another thing to look at would be the different expectations for different tracks. Is a wide gap in the expectations leading to a wide gap in performance? I would also look at the same issues at the schools that feed into these high schools. They may be major contributors to the problem as well.
So..
Sat, 11/19/2011 - 22:39 — Bob_SconceThe premise behind the block schedule is that students can fail a class and then retake it, without falling behind for the next year. It seems to me that the district should collect statistics about how often this actually happens here, regardless of the results in other districts -- after all, we've seen cases where a policy doesn't play out as the theory would predict. If it only happens a handful of times every year, that seems poor justification for the schedule.
I would like that too
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 11:45 — turnerk1There is actually a lot of evidence that just retaking a course does NOT help students pass it. Though this seemed counterintuitive to me at first, the explanation does make sense. Most kids fail either because of (1) oppositional behavior -- refusal to come to class, not doing homework or being so disruptive they don't learn anything or (2) not having the basic skills to understand the material -- a kid who reads at a third grade level will never pass 9th grade english. Of course (1) and (2) are often related to each other. Anyway, without a new approach and lots of support, most students will continue to fail a course no matter how many times they take it.
I'd really like to know what schools around here are actually doing. The block schedule would seem to give them a chance to do some exciting things, but friends I have with students who are failing say that their kids are just put into the same class with no extra interventions. However, my friends are certainly not a big enough sample to be able to tell what's really happening.
it's not block, it's the accountability model
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 12:56 — mom2teensThe thinking that gives us block scheduling, or the extra opportunity to retake classes, comes from the same place that says a student can fail an EOG or EOC course and with a few days of remediation, "miraculously" become proficient. This problem with block goes way beyond the ones stated here. Are parents aware that the testing period,with required review sessions and retest days, is close to two entire weeks of school in most of our high schools--EACH SEMESTER? That means that for the high majority of students who will pass their EOC exams the first day, they get a long winter break only a few days after their holiday break. They come back after New Year's, have about a week of instructional time (typically review days in my kids' experience), and then begin the review day, then the series of four half days (exam in the am, review session for next exam right after) and THEN, if they have passed, they are off for two-four days while the small number of students who do not pass get "remediated" and retested. For students taking honors or AP classes, this means they lose a MINIMUM of 4 instructional days and up to 7 or 8 in many cases. So they either don't get to material or they rush through it all. But it's okay, because the honors and AP kids typically pass thier state tests so the school looks proficient. Enloe is just one example of a system of low expectations for all students,not just ED. This is not just a WCPSS problem but a NCDPI problem. I wish our high school had had the option to decline block scheduling as well.
Interesting...
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 13:12 — Bob_SconceSo, a side question:
When do grades come out relative to when students need to select their next semester's courses? A few years ago ('06, maybe?), 3rd grade students didn't get their EOG results until well into their 4th grade year; a bit too late to do anything about it. Does the same thing happen at the high school level?
HS Course scheduling
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 19:08 — Dove314HS schedules are typically set for the year in August. The kids put in their schedules in March to April of the previous school year. There can be shuffling at the semester breaks (if needed) but the full year's schedules are typically known before the school year starts.
Test results
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 14:19 — mom2teensThe schools know students' test results very soon after administration of the exam, regardless of EOG or EOC. The composites and rolled up performances for the school come out much later. The schools need the data immediately to determine the number of retests to administer and to target remediation.
my experience
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 14:16 — turnerk1In high school the EOC works differently from the EOG. The EOC is typically 25% of the final grade, so a student can pass the EOC but still fail the course. Also, the EOC grades come back very quickly. Students sign up for classes for the whole year, but if they fail a class then their schedule is modified.
Why does this happen?
Sat, 11/19/2011 - 10:04 — Bob_SconceFrom the article:
the block schedule wouldn't work for academically gifted students, who often take multiple high-end arts classes and Advanced Placement courses to earn high GPAs and build an attractive college résumé.
There are academically gifted students at ALL district high schools, all trying to take multiple AP courses to earn high GPAs and build attractive college resumes.
Why is Enloe allowed to avoid the block schedule when every other high school in the county is forced into it?
Perhaps
Sat, 11/19/2011 - 10:52 — Solon77Perhaps the other schools should follow Enloe's lead and protest the block schedule. There is no evidence the block schedule improves achievement and the arguement that kids get to take the course again in the same year if they fail is admitting defeat before even starting and certainly does not address the root of the problem. It would be like a company saying - we have a quality problem so we are going to put more inspectors and technicians at the end of the line.
To improve the metrics to a level comparable to other schools, it means getting approx 200 students to do better. This is not overwhelming but it would require attention on the part of the teachers and a willingness of the students. I do not know the student body of other schools but Enloe is a tough crowd. Do schools like Green Hope and Panther Creek know what a lock down is ?
Due to scheduling conflicts my son was placed in general class. During the first week we asked him how it was going. He was very frustrated - kids would not show up, didn't do homework and were often disruptive. Fortunately we are able to work with the administration and get his schedule reworked.
we used to know what a lock down was
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 20:08 — snordoneat West Millbrook MS. We had them 2x month at the height of the dysfunction. Then we got a strong, effective school leader...and we have not had one since. Hmmm.... maybe there is something to be said for leadership?
Lock downs
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 21:24 — Solon77By your description the root cause of the lock downs at West Millbrook had to do with activities in the school. At Enloe the lock downs were due to events in the surrounding neighborhood. I am sure you can agree the neighborhood surrounding West Millbrook is nothing like the neighborhood surrounding Enloe.
...
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 21:33 — SideburnsNot sure I get your point.
Your first post talks about Enloe students being a "tough crowd" with some having an unwillingness to learn -- which leads you to ask about lock downs. Now you're saying the lock downs are a result of the neighborhood surrounding Enloe. What are you getting at?
Environment
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 22:00 — Solon77The base students are from the neighborhoods around the school. Do you not think the environment has an influence.