Guilford County Schools' Mission Possible program is often cited by school board critics in Wake County who argue that intensive funding is a better way than busing to help high-poverty schools.
Well, the newly released state ABCs test results may put a dent in that idea. Guilford County has 10 of the state's 75 low-performing schools this year, meaning the school's passing rate was under 50 percent and it didn't meet growth expectations.
Of the 10 low-performing Guilford County schools, nine are in the Mission Possible program. The passing rate was as low as 29.7 percent at one of the Mission Possible schools - Oak Hill Elementary.
Keep in mind these passing rates are under 50 percent even though the state required schools to provide retests this year for math, reading and science in elementary and middle schools. Who knows how much worse the scores might have been if not for the inclusion of the retests.
While Guilford County Schools touts having 10 Honors Schools of Excellence (90 percent passing rate and making growth) on a district press release, no mention is made of the low-performing schools.
In contrast, no one in the Wake school system is classified by the state as low performing this year.
For those who aren't familiar with Guilford's Mission Possible program, it involves providing teachers additional pay to work in high-poverty schools. It's largely been funded out of federal grants.
Comments
I probably should have
Wed, 08/12/2009 - 22:28 — KeungHui (author)I probably should have included this in the original post. Keep in mind that Guilford has a goal of getting the Mission Possible schools to 74.8 percent passing in the ABCs by 2011. Unless you treat it about as serously as you expect Wake to raise its graduation rate by 20 percentage points in the next 5 years, Guilford will have to get greater than 25 percentage point gains at the Mission Possible schools in the next two years to reach its goal.
Keung, That's a fair
Thu, 08/13/2009 - 07:47 — shearertwKeung,
That's a fair point but not a reason to through the baby out with the bath water. Goals are nice, perhaps they won't reach theirs. Perhaps the program is not working as well as they had originally hoped, but it does appear to be working, at least somewhat with regard to improved performance in the targeted population. I believe that's more than WCPSS can say for policy 6200. That's where your apples to oranges comparison fell short.
Is Keung sluggish after his long vacation?
Wed, 08/12/2009 - 10:48 — thegloveKeung dropped the ball completely on this story. He usually gets things and is able to wade through the minutiae to get the the relevant apple to apple relationships. Mission Possible school are of course low performing at this time, (duh!) the entire point of them is to turn low performing schools around. The program is only two years in ...and already progress is evident.
I saw that this out-of-character article actually was in the paper today. Come on Keung, you set a high bar for yourself and we're counting on you to maintain it.
Glove, Its glad to see
Wed, 08/12/2009 - 14:07 — shearertwGlove,
Its glad to see someone else picked up on this. I was beginning to feel a little lonely. I have a great deal of respect for Keung's reporting but was a little dissappointed with this one, however. Not because I don't agree with the opinion, but the conclusions drawn (as you point out) are completely out of context.
Low performing schools
Tue, 08/11/2009 - 09:53 — sstarksA check of CMS's website shows that 68.1 % of schools made AYP. Isn't Wake at 64.1%, with a lower FRL level than Mecklenburg County? Perhaps CMS scores should be used as a benchmark rather than the Guilford County scores. Meck's been using the high funding method longer than Guilford--could it be that this method works in the long run? Wake has been busing for socio-economics for an even longer period of time--exactly when will the benefits kick in? (Pro-busing folks in Charlotte liked to say that 30 years of busing wasn't long enough to solve the problem, but demanded instant results from any other type of assignment plan. They are kind of quiet now.)
"Wake has been busing for
Tue, 08/11/2009 - 12:07 — MorrisVMorris"Wake has been busing for socio-economics for an even longer period of time--exactly when will the benefits kick in? "
I thought it already had? WCPSS spends 6% less per student than CMS and gets 6% lower performance using your AYP numbers. Many taxpayers in Wake are happy to have the lower taxes than the high funding model.
The release here shows 98
Tue, 08/11/2009 - 10:11 — Eric_BThe release here (http://www.wcpss.net/news/2009_july21_ayp_release/) shows 98 out of 156 made AYP in WCPSS. That's only 62.8% compared to 68.1% in CMS, over 70% in Guilford County and about 64% in Forsyth County.
Well.... That kinda
Tue, 08/11/2009 - 11:58 — shearertwWell....
That kinda puts a "dent" in the busing for diversity "idea" doesn't it?
Did you write this headline?
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 07:51 — shearertwKeung,
I was just wondering....did you write this headline/lead in?
Test scores dent arguments of Wake school critics Guilford County Schools'
Mission Possible program is often cited by school board critics in Wake County who argue that intensive funding is a better way than busing to help high-poverty schools.
Updated: Aug. 7, 2009 9:59 AM | Full story
Seems a little slanted to me. As someone else said here, this program has only been in place for 2yrs vs 8+ for Wake's diversity bussing. In addition, Guilford Co. as a whole performed better than Wake with regard to AYP. Not to mention, you can’t compare apples to oranges as the Mission Possible goals are different….improve student performance, not make a healthy “looking” school. You are typically more balanced than that so I was hoping an editor came up with the lead in. Can you confirm?
I wrote it. My editors have
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 08:59 — KeungHui (author)I wrote it. My editors have no involvement in the blog. The headlines are usually meant to be a little coloful when I have the time. The blog is meant to have a bit more attitude than what's in print without becoming a partisan on a particular issue.
OK, I get it.
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 09:11 — shearertwOK, I get it. Unfortunately, the headline and the article are one-sided and in my opinion fail to tell the entire story. The compare and contrast between the Mission Possible program and Wake’s diversity policy falls short of reality and leaves out some very important details. The uninformed reader would no doubt be left with a misunderstanding of the facts. I have to say, this is one of the first articles of yours I do find partisan and misleading. It was a little disappointing.
For example, how about
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 09:50 — shearertwFor example, how about pointing out that while 29.7% for Oak Hill ES is not good, its up from 24.9% from the year before. Show me where WCPSS has made a 20% increase in passing rate in 1 year in the F&R population. FYI, Oak Hill ES is listed as 97% ED. I'd say the Mission Possible program is actually showing some promise based on these results.
Sure, they could bus in some EOG ringers and increase their scores but what would that actually be doing to improve anything.
GO GUILFORD Co. We city folk could learn a few things from you!
Ridiculous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 09:55 — supportwcpssIt's the last few posts like this that give us all the opinion of your lack of objectivity.
First, you criticize Mr. Hui's slant when on multiple occasions he has slanted it the other way (due to his admitted colorfulness) and you never said a peep. Then in this post you take a s 29vs. 25 and preach about a 20% increase. Give me a break. So I guess if the school went from 1 to 2% you would be preaching the 100% increase.
What a joke.
Well...
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:28 — Bob_SconceGuilford's experience shows that it's possible to improve the scores of poor students without busing them around. Of course they still have a long way to go. But, then again, so does Wake.
I would be interested to see the curve of raw scores. For example, it could be that Guilford did a fantastic job of getting kids who previously scored 1s to score in the 2s, but they didn't quite make it into the 3s. Or, it could be just a statistical abberation and the average score really didn't move at all.
Bob, That’s exactly my
Tue, 08/11/2009 - 08:01 — shearertwBob,
That’s exactly my point and why I’m upset with the article. Most people barely get past the surface of an article and when negative numbers are thrown about completely out of context it is misleading. The media is a powerful too and article’s such as this one can leave lasting impressions on people that could be made from false conclusions.
Sure, those scores are not good. But, this program has been in place for only 2 years. That means most of the kids who took the EOGs were NOT in the program for the majority of their school age years. The basic point is, the raw scores should not matter. What’s important in evaluating a program like Mission Possible are the improvements made over last year and the trends over time which are still to be determined. I think throwing a school like Oak Hill ES under the bus (no pun intended) when they’ve made significant gains over last year is just plain wrong.
Support, why does the success of poor people scare you so much?
The "joke's" on you!
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 13:05 — g88ky07And your continued blind following of the policies you think are the only way to the educational utopia!
Maybe in about 8 weeks you can start fighting for change YOU believe in instead of drinking the same juice and sniffing the fumes of your beloved!
Also
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 12:34 — shearertwAlso, from
http://www.gcsnc.com/eoc.htm
Results also show that the gap between African-American and white students has narrowed in both reading and math. In 2007-08, there was a 37.1 percentage gap for reading and a 29.3 percentage gap for math. The latest results show a 33.1 percentage gap for reading and a 22.6 percentage gap for math. “It is exciting to see that we are making progress in closing the achievement gap,” said Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green. “To eliminate this gap completely, we need to accelerate academic growth even faster.”
Support, I think you in
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 12:26 — shearertwSupport,
I think you in conflict with your buddy user on this one. He is constantly stating how progress should be measured from where you started (i.e. bring up a low score to a higher score instead of maintaining a high score).
The ES "bashed" in this article (Oak Hill) made an 7.8pt and 8.5pt gain for math and reading EOGs in an population of 97% ED. WCPSS had a relatively modest 3pt gain in th same population. Of course, you cannot remove yourself from the "healthy school" mindset long enough to see that improvements in real students is what matters, not improvements in "schools" through equaling out the test scores.
Lets show some of Guilford Co.'s other accomplishments in the process
EOG Reading (proficient students) - 11 percent increase
EOG Math (proficient students) - 9.6 percent increase
EOG Science (5th Grade) - 13.3 percent increase
EOG Science (8th Grade) - 10.1 percent increase
Well...
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:42 — supportwcpssDiscussing point increase in a vacuum is realy easy. As for the other numbers I can cherry pick number from all over Wake COunty to give you a certain 'view'.
Pick Away
Tue, 08/11/2009 - 05:50 — JanisTangoPlease pick away! I would love to see what you come up with. To be honest I'm appalled that we are using a small increase in numbers where retesting was included and saying WOW look how great we did!
I would have graduated Magna Cum Laude from college if I had a chance to retake all of my tests!
Neuse Charter School Recognized As School of Distinction
Sun, 08/09/2009 - 19:06 — AngelaWIn only its 2nd year, Neuse Charter received a performance composite score of 82.3% and a perfect 100% performance composite score in Science
http://johnston.mync.com/site/Johnston/news/story/39802/neuse-charter-school-recognized-as-school-of-distinction/
Mission Possible schools
Sat, 08/08/2009 - 07:13 — Eric_BOf course in any one year Mission Possible schools will tend to be the lowest performing schools. The point of the program is to improve these lowest performing schools! Over time, with improvements, hopefully these schools will no longer be the low performers.
By the way, in Guilford County 70.6% of schools made AYP while in Wake County only 62.8% made AYP. What does WCPSS have to say about the fact that a district allowing "neighborhood schools" has more schools meeting AYP than WCPSS does?
WCPSS and WEP would like to pass judgment on this program after only 2 years of operation while reserving judgment on the socioeconomic diversity program and not studying its effects after 8 years of operation now.
Here are the Mission Possible schools in Guilford County and whether they made AYP or not. Compare these results to some of the high F&R schools in Wake County to see if the program is successful before passing judgment:
Bessemer Elementary - Yes
Cone Elementary - No
Fairview Elementary - No
Falkener Elementary - Yes
Foust Elementary - Yes
Gillespie Park Elementary - Yes
Hampton Academy Elementary - Yes
Kirkman Park Elementary - Yes
Oak Hill Elementary - No
Parkview Elementary - No
Washington Elementary - Yes
Wiley Elementary - No
Union Hill Elementary -No
Allen Middle - Yes
Aycock Middle - No
Ferndale Middle - Yes
Jackson Middle - Yes
Hairston Middle - No
Penn-Griffin School for the Arts (Middle) - Yes
Welborn Middle -No
Andrews High - No
Dudley High - No
Eastern High - No
High Point Central High - Yes
Smith High - No
The Middle College at NC A&T - No
Southern High - Yes
The Academy at Smith - Yes
The Academy at High Point Central - Yes
The Middle College at Bennett - Yes
29.7 %
Sat, 08/08/2009 - 06:25 — fiestamom29.7% passing rate is beyond shameful. The state and these kids' school board are letting them down.
The kids in this school deserve better. This is what a state education department should be used for. I have no answer of why the state is letting innocent children fall by the wayside.
Unfortunately, the geniuses at the State Board will only ask for one thing.... MONEY. As with the worst school district in the nation, Washington DC, (they get more money per student than any other in the nation), it will only get worse.
Tell me it ain't so
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 13:29 — stevemichaelsWhat! You mean pouring more money in a failed system doesn't fix it? What about the children? We cannot reduce funding, in fact we must increase funding and even have them consumed by the public schools at age 4 or even 3. Any findings such as these must be buried in a blog - we do not want the public to finally realize that we have failed in our eductaion approach - we must continue to ring every dime out of the stupid working taxpayer - after all its for our "future"
Love - Bev
And the scores in Mecklenburg County proves that
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 19:59 — Platowasrightincreased funding of the predominently black schools does increase their scores.
WEP, right on schedule
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 11:51 — RichardAnderson.... A neighborhood school program for poor students in Guilford County featured earlier this year at an education forum in Cary appears to have come up short in the newest round of test data. Called Mission Possible, the program works to improve student achievement by attracting better teachers to high poverty schools with incentive pay. Despite some initially encouraging results, nine of the state's 75 low-performing schools were part of the Mission Possible program. About 30 Guilford County schools participate in the Mission Possible program. They have attracted at least $10 million in grants the past few years, according to the program's web site.
A Broader View
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 10:32 — designmanMission Possible Schools have been in existence for 2 years. Below are links to a bigger picture.
http://www.unctv.org/takinginitiative/schools/mission_impossible.html
http://www.gcsnc.com/depts/mission_possible/background.htm
And if we want to discuss performance, consider the graduation rates of economically disadvantaged (ED) students at Mission Possible High Schools in Guilford County compared to some high schools in Wake County.
Graduation Rate of ED Students
at some Mission Possible High School
Andrews - 71.7%
Dudley - 75.9%
High Point - 68.5%
Smith - 95.0%
Southern - 85.6%
Graduation Rate of ED Students
at some Wake County High Schools
Apex - 62.1%
Millbrook - 66.3%
Fuquay Varina - 50%
Leesville - 50%
The overall graduation rate for Wake County is 78.8 (down from last year) and Guildford County is tops in the State of NC at 79.5%
Which county is facilitating greater success for students overall as well as the economically disadvantaged students? Clearly Guilford is doing a better job.
Also, there is significant economic disparity between Guilford and Wake Counties, which creates some contrasting dynamics that results in increased challenges for Guilford, for instance:
Poverty Rate – Guilford: 15.5%
Poverty Rate – Wake: 8.5%
Median Income – Guilford: $46K
Median Income – Wake: $66.3
Thanks Designman, I
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 14:27 — CaryCurmudgeonThanks Designman,
I didn't have the time today to look beneath the numbers, glad you did. As expected, WEP has already released an "In Context" on the numbers.
And I lose the bet, they actually did mention the graduation data.
There are 3 measures that
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 10:46 — shearertwThere are 3 measures that really matter:
1. Graduation rate
2. Oveall performance of ED students
3. Individual student performance amoung all groups.
WCPSS is falling behind in at least 2 of 3 of these measures. #3 is likely but no one seems to measure that one, which is probably most important.
School passing rate is irrelevant, but that is all WCPSS seems to care about.
hmmmm...
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 10:42 — AngelaWI do believe this presents a "dent" in the topic, eh?
Dent Repair!
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 12:06 — g88ky07Maybe they can hire "Dent Wizard" to pull out the dings! Although, it would take about 642 of those companies with 18 guys each working 20 hour days for the next 83 years and no breaks JUST to make a dent in that job!
;c )
Maybe this will open some eyes
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 09:09 — RichardAndersonThis shows what I have said all along - there is no one answer that works. We need a dynamic, data driven system that puts results, not dogma, first.
The problem is that the diversity dogmatists will use this to defend their beloved program. The two are not related. Furthermore, these results don't mean there is nothing to be learned or copied from Mission Possible. The best lessons are often in failure, not success.