tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post115516218888703232..comments2024-03-25T13:42:25.771-05:00Comments on Advance Indianaâ„¢: New Rating System For Schools FlawedGary R. Welshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15185079937305083438noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-1155211506121704442006-08-10T07:05:00.000-05:002006-08-10T07:05:00.000-05:00It was a great news story, AI. Leslie Olsen may b...It was a great news story, AI. Leslie Olsen may be one of the most-thoughtful reporters in town.<BR/><BR/>I'm still a fan of Sue Ellen Reid. Mostly because she took on the Gov. and David Shane during the last session and won. But, they were lying in the tall reeds waiting. Shane is now a member of the State Board of Ed, and collectively, they're gonna slam Sue Ellen. MMM now controls the state board. Sue Ellen may be chair by law, but she's presiding over a board of her own executioners. Mary, Queen of Scots, are you listening?<BR/><BR/>The biggest problem with all this "acocuntability" is that the data has been put together by educators. They speak their own language, and the further they are from the classroom (read: administrators) the less sense they make. Their world isn't real...never has been.<BR/><BR/>Here's what we need to know, without a bunch of other extempraneous data factoring into the equation: <BR/>1. How many students?<BR/>2. How many advance, year-to-year?<BR/>3. Aggregate ISTEP scores (ultimately, change ISTEP altogether)<BR/>4. How many low-income?<BR/>5. Racial breakdown?<BR/>6. How many special needs students?<BR/>7. Migration factor: how many students moved in or out?<BR/><BR/>Graduation rate is a statistic that means little. So many things factor into that.<BR/><BR/>The above information. coupled with the annual (simplified) budget report, tells me all I need to know.<BR/><BR/>If the above info. is compileld for us (the taxpayers, customers) to sift, here's what you'll find: No. 7 is a huge factor. Some classrooms see complete turnover before first semester ends. <BR/><BR/>It's difficult to teach, particularly in younger formative years, if your classroom is constantly changing. Education Schools don't really teach how to cope with that. <BR/><BR/>Teachers are the real front-line in this abttle for quality education. Despite the fact there are teachers who need to retire or move on, an overwhelming number of them really care, and they don't get to really teach but about 60% of the time. Turn -em loose. Lengthen the school day, and pay them more.<BR/><BR/>We have the shortest school day in the industrialzed world. We spend a lot of money to get kids to school, and for the most part, we spend a lot of money in Indiana to house them once they're there. Factor in lunch and recess, and the school day is reduced at elementary level.<BR/><BR/>Our kids can take more rigorous instruction and longer school days. Our future demands it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-1155206390894354322006-08-10T05:39:00.000-05:002006-08-10T05:39:00.000-05:00Comparing one school system to another is ridiculo...Comparing one school system to another is ridiculous.<BR/><BR/>I want to know how my district's schools are doing. Period. With accurate data.<BR/><BR/>This should've been the first tipoff that this system is flawed: anyone who thinks a Pike diploma is equal to a North Central diploma...well, go back to ninth grade. It's not even a close call.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-1155175804908815902006-08-09T21:10:00.000-05:002006-08-09T21:10:00.000-05:00Anonymous is complaining about a system without ta...Anonymous is complaining about a system without taking any time to learn about it. The ratings are based on both current performance and improvement. In the "Park Tudor" example -- and any other school has more than 90% of students passing -- the automatic designation is "exemplary." In fact, Park Tudor's pass rate could FALL from 99% to 91% and it would still be labeled as "exemplary." <BR/><BR/>For the same reason, the Pike-Washington Twp comparison has a simple explanation. Both districts fell into the same passing range, 70-79%. Surely we can all agree that neither district can rest at that point. With 2-3 students out of every 10 still failing, they need show some improvement. So, as long as schools in this pass range show at least one percent of modest improvement, then they get the third out of five ratings (academic progress). (If these were grades instead of labels, then a C would make sense, right?) <BR/><BR/>But the Indiana accountability system gives additional credit for making additional progress. Schools in this range can earn a "commendable" rating (the 2nd highest) by showing at least two percent improvement. And like Pike, they can earn even more credit, earning the label of "exemplary," by showing at least three percent improvement. <BR/><BR/>It is quite embarrasing that our state superintendent could not explain this. But the system itself has some pretty good merits.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-1155170028944215132006-08-09T19:33:00.000-05:002006-08-09T19:33:00.000-05:00Isn't this, though, the whole dumbass focus of the...Isn't this, though, the whole dumbass focus of the federal "No Child Left Behind" program, that schools are to measured and each state has to have a plan for measuring "Adequate Yearly Progress" and grading schools on "improvement" each year? <BR/><BR/>Always struck me as exactly the kind of system that does "leave kids behind" because of the backassward focus. Theoretically, there are great schools out there that don't need to "improve" that much. If 99% of Park Tudor kids pass ISTEP one year and 99% pass the next year, it made zero improvement. But maybe it didn't need to. It's no way to compare schools. Meanwhile, individual kids get "left behind" (or pushed on, more like it, into dropoutland) because it doesn't measure the improvement of indivudal kids, or classes of kids, it's based on the group class to test... <BR/><BR/>So, great, a school can just make improvment with the next class of kids and get a great ranking. <BR/><BR/>Teachers have been quietly griping about the uselessness of this "accountabilty system" of NCLB (and Indiana's pre NCLB version) since it came in. This realy needs to be exposed more in the media; perhaps they will crib this blog again (credit being probably too much to hope for) and run with it. Not much real help for the kids that didn't do well, just plans to get a better "improvement" ranking by turning to the next class and helping them test better.<BR/><BR/><BR/>And no way did DOE not know about this whole issue. They're just faking ignorance because the Emporer has no clothes with this one. There is no rational explanation, and they know it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com