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October 31, 2007

Apparently, SC schools are bad. But not really.

Categories: EDUC 110

An important aspect of NCLB is "Adequate Yearly Progress." Schools are supposed to demonstrate that they are improving every year by having gains in test scores, especially among groups that are low performing. This is supposed to culminate with every school in every state becoming 100% proficient by 2014.

Well, no school district met AYP goals for 2006, as this article in the Herald shows.

If you read the article closely, the problems with NCLB that people have been complaining about for years are all apparent. Each state chooses their own set of tests. SC tests are generally recognized to be difficult, so it's no surprise no district met the benchmarks. Other states, with easier tests, do better.

Second, look at what the article says about Fort Mill -- a district that has lots of resources and high achievement. Even it did not meet AYP. Because districts must improve every year (in order to reach that unattainable 100%), one year where things are slightly down means the district fails. It could literally be the case that six kids in one school get the flu, do crappy on the tests because of it, and thus the entire school fails to meet AYP.

So the school fails to meet AYP? Big deal? Yes, because failure to meet AYP for a certain number of years leads to students being able to transfer out of that school. This isn't an option most students take (less than 2% is what I have heard). But we've already talked about what type of parents are most able to actualize choice scenarios like this -- families with more money and flexibility. Another consequence is the state could take over the school or mandate changes.

One of the thing that worries me from the article is Harriet Jaworowski's plans for curriculum mapping in Rock Hill. This is telling teachers what to teach and what days to teach it. Isn't autonomy supposed to be a requirement for a profession?

Posted by Nakia at October 31, 2007 11:01 AM