AJC.com > Blogs > Get Schooled > Archives > 2005 > October
October 2005
The Welcome Wagon
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Are parents really welcome at school?
I just came across some additional notes from the state board meeting. The principal at Rigdon Elementary School in Muscogee County was praised for getting out in her community and finding out what’s going on. She was lauded for the excellent job she does keeping parents informed. “Schools way they want parent involvement, but they get offended when parents show up in the classroom,” said a state official (I assume Superintendent Kathy Cox, but my notes are frustratingly void of the speaker’s identity).
I’ve heard this before from parents who say teachers welcome parents to get involved, but only on the teacher’s terms. As soon as a parent disagrees with a teacher or the principal, his or her involvement is no longer welcome.
Parents, have you ever felt this way? Teachers, do involved parents sometimes get in your way?
Cover to Cover
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A recent blog poster lamented that his child was studying “The Grapes of Wrath” in school, but the students weren’t expected to read the whole book. They read exerpts and chapter summaries instead.
Several years ago I went to a textbook fair for Gwinnett County teachers. Scott Foresman was the major player, and the sales rep was proud of a literature textbook that “targeted the MTV generation.” Much of the readings were short, and they included a lot of contemporary stories, such as Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club.” The sales rep reminded teachers (as if they need reminding!) that today’s kids have short attention spans.
Parents, are your kids reading challenging literature? Are they reading books from cover to cover? Teachers, how do you address students’ short attention spans?
How I Told Atlanta’s Story
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I knew I was going to have to take some heat for this story about Atlanta Public Schools and the findings of an independent consultant hired by business leaders to assess whether Atlanta schools are moving forward fast enough.
Although I attended a presentation, which touched on some of the 150-page reports findings, my job was to cover the contents of the report. So when my story ran the next day, those who were at the presentation were understandably perplexed. How could we have been at the same meeting and emerged with such different perspectives? Like I said, I read the report. And while Atlanta schools are clearly making impressive strides in graduation rates and other areas, students are still struggling mightily in middle and high school.
There is no obvious solution to fixing schools that serve so many students from single-parent homes, from families that move around a lot, from neighborhoods where going to college is the exception rather than the norm. That doesn’t mean successful kids don’t emerge from Atlanta public schools every day. They do, and I’ve written about them. But, come on, no school system anywhere has figured out how to reach every child - a point touched on at the presentation.
The report and the presentation also dealt with how Atlanta needs help “telling its story,” so the public will know the good things going on. Because of this context, I knew some readers would not be happy with the story I wrote.
I have looked back over the story and if I had it to do over again I wouldn’t change my approach. That doesn’t mean I haven’t appreciated hearing from the people who thought I was unfair, biased and cynical. It gave me a chance to think hard about how to cover Atlanta schools, something I’ll be doing more of in the future. My belief is that I have to cover Atlanta the same way I have covered Gwinnett, Henry, Clayton and DeKalb - the bad along with the good.
Get Schooled readers, what do you think?
The SAT & HOPE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Okay, in the interest of moving on, I’ll dump the previously unreported contents of my notebook on Kathy Cox’s recent SAT presentation :
Regarding the PSAT: Scores for tenth graders taking the test are flat over the past three years. On a personal note, she mentioned her son took the PSAT. He is also learning to drive. She said she requires him to work an online practice question for every minute she spends teaching him to maneuver the car.
Regarding the ACT: “We’re not moving on this test, which is cause for concern.” Far fewer kids take the ACT than the SAT, but the results are similar. Georgia is below the national average, though not last. (Thank you, Mississippi, Louisiana and South Carolina) The takeaway message is the same: Too many kids are not ready for college. Said Cox: “The results unfortunately of both tests mirror the reality that our kids who want to go to college aren’t prepared.”
Which brings us to… Regarding why three-quarters of Georgia seniors take the SAT, when only a third will go to college? Said Cox: “HOPE.”
The HOPE Scholarship gives Georgia kids hope that they can go to college. But while the lottery offers them a chance to afford college, many crash into a wall when it comes to academics. They just don’t have the foundation for college work. That’s a tragedy nobody can spin.
It’s About Attitude
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I was going to post about Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox, who introduced herself yesterday to schoolchildren as “the queen of testing.” But that can wait…
“Teacher Too” has some far more interesting thoughts:
“With all the news regarding test scores and the college boards, I felt it was necessary to talk about school climate. I teach middle school, and I don’t, and haven’t, seen an academic atmosphere. Students come to school with a social attitude rather than an attitude focused on learning.
A couple of weeks ago, Good Morning America did a comparison of two high school students, one in the North and one in China. The differences in attitude were alarming. The telling statements occurred at the end of the segment, when the American student said she was going to college to play a sport, and the Chinese student said she was going to college to study engineering.
Until our teachers, parents, administrators, and our society in general, begin to value education- across ALL economic fronts, nothing is going to change. Students do not study at home, homework is not valued, and if anything is too challenging, parents create a fuss. One reason we have an extremely watered-down curriculum is because students are too busy after school to actually study. Until everyone accepts that a challenging curriculum cannot be taught in 50 minute classes, and that if test scores are indeed going to rise, then students must study at home, complete meaningful assignments- in school and at home, and come to school focused on learning.
Students have more learning tools than ever before, yet they seem to be learning less. What a shameful indictment on our state of education.
Just a few observations. If I sound bitter, I guess I am. People talk and talk about reform. But for true change to occur, we must make sweeping changes- starting with the question of what is education supposed to do? And, where does a “free and public education” begin and end? And finally, should education become a privilege that can be taken away under specific circumstances? Should we continue to try to educate those students who are severely disruptive, who time and again, are suspended? who interfere with the learning processes of other students who continually fail, year after year? And, why do we only seem to value those students who may be college-bound? Why not have more focused technical programs for students who aren’t going to college?”
Georgia Is Not Last
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In a recent presentation on SAT scores, state Superintendent Kathy Cox screeched: “DON’T TELL ME GEORGIA IS LAST … IT’S JUST NOT TRUE!!!”
Well, on the SAT Georgia is tied for last with South Carolina. But why does last on the SAT have to translate into last in education? More Georgia kids take the SAT in Georgia than in other states, making state-to-state comparisons statistically invalid.
For a more accurate last-place dishonor, look to to my home state of Mississippi, which was last in reading on the NAEP with 52 percent of fourth-graders below basic, compared to 42 percent in Georgia. Or New Mexico, last in fourth-grade math, with 35 percent below basic, compared to 24 percent in Georgia. Or Hawaii, pulling up the rear in eighth-grade reading with 42 percent below basic, compared to 33 percent in Georgia. As for eighth-grade math … it’s again Mississippi, where 48 percent were below basic compared with 38 percent in Georgia.
Check out your home state here.
Yes, Georgia has a loooong way to go in education. Yes, Georgia has a lot of problems over which we should all hang our heads in shame. Dropouts, for example, as well as our dismal SAT performance (No matter how Cox spins it, the fact is there are a lot of Georgia high school students who want to go to college but don’t have the academic foundation.) But Cox speaks the truth when she says Georgia isn’t last.
Thoughts? (And, yes, I’m prepared to take the blame along with the entire media establishment for reinforcing the notion that Georgia is last in education.)
Three Cheers for Small Businesses in S. DeKalb
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I enjoyed writing this story about the support tiny Peachcrest Elementary enjoys from its business partners.
No Georgia Pacific. No Coke. No BellSouth. Peachcrest Principal Marchell Boston instead signed on a sales rep for Mary Kay, who came to the school to drop off an order. She ended up donating a copier. (I bet teachers heard angels singing!)
John Kwon, owner of Beauty & More, a shop on Columbia Drive near the school, donated $500 worth of gift cards that Boston gives away to parents who come to PTA meetings. Kwon said he was happy to help. “He came by, and I saw how serious Dr. Boston is about education and the children,” Kwon said. “I think small businesses should get more involved. The effort is well worth it.”
Small business owners, what have you done for your local school lately?
THIS PRIZE HAS BEEN CLAIMED! TRY AGAIN NEXT TIME… And now for what could be the best prize offered at Get Schooled. This time, you have to do more than just e-mail me that you want it. If you want The Great Forensic Challenge, a game for kids 9 and up, as well as Forensics the Easy Way, a book about how police use fingerprints and DNA evidence to solve crimes, you need to e-mail me your suggested blog topic. Both products are by Barron’s, and I assume they are in response to the popularity of crime-oriented TV shows. First come, first served. My e-mail address is pghezzi@ajc.com.
Science…Why wait?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jake politely asks if we can talk tomorrow about the editorial in today’s paper calling Georgia’s science curriculum “flabby” and calling for better qualified teachers.
Why wait? I have a list of eight blog topics I hope to get to soon…
Here’s the editorial, the gist of which is: “And what’s not being taught — or taught very well — across the state is science. This year, 29 percent of first-time test-takers failed the science portion (of the state graduation test). In comparison, only 5 percent of test-takers failed math and 3 percent flubbed language arts.
The high failure rate on the science test reflects a flabby science curriculum, too much rote instruction and too few qualified teachers.”
Note: Editorials reflect the majority opinion on the editorial board, and the editorial department is separate from the news department. Most education-related editorials are written by veteran journalist Maureen Downey, who covers the beat the same way I do: talking to parents, teachers and students, reading studies, calling up experts.
So, what do you say? Is the science curriculum flabby? Or is the science graduation test flawed? Is science getting stuck on the back burner as teachers in lower grades focus more on reading and math?
Oh, Wait, It’s Reading Where We’re Weak
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Less than a week after Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox told the state board, “math is killing us,” in reference to the state’s SAT average, NAEP scores are rolled out.
And on this measure … “Georgia students are making steady progress in math…But like the rest of the nation, Georgia just holding the line in reading.”
Here’s the rest of the news release. And here’s Heather Vogell’s story.
The NAEP is a federally mandated test given to a sampling of students nationwide in grades 4 and 8. The results are sometimes regarded with a yawn because the results do not show how individual school districts or schools compare.
But NAEP score are useful. They show that Georgia is not at the absolute bottom when it comes to education, as folks sometimes perceive when they look at SAT rankings. And it serves as a reality check when compared with Georgia’s curriculum test, the CRCT. In fourth grade, 87 percent passed the reading portion. But on NAEP, only 23 percent of Georgia’s fourth graders were deemed “proficient or above” in reading.
What’s your take?
The Field Trip Quandary
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sorry, folks. Technical difficulties prevented me from posting this yesterday, bouncing off a story by arts writer Pierre Ruhe about how programs like the Center for Puppetry Arts are suffering because school districts have cut field trips.
Even before fuel prices soared, some schools cut back on field trips in favor of bringing arts programs into the school. In-house field trips take less time out of the day for students and enable the schools to work with the artists to tie the performance to curriculum.
Proponents of field trips - the leave-the-school-building variety - say kids, especially those from poor families, need exposure. Not all families have the time and money to take their kids to museums, musical performances or even the zoo.
But clearly some school officials are questioning whether a field trip is the best use of time. Teachers are under pressure to cover a lot of material before the state curriculum test.
What do you think about field trips? Do you like the trend toward in-house field trips? Do you think schools should take kids on at least one field trip per year? Or should field trips be dumped in favor of more classroom time?
Where the Boys Aren’t
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Sunday editorial lamented the 24,000 Georgia boys who started high school in 2002 but did not graduate in 2005. Women are also outnumbering men on college campuses.
Maureen Downey writes, “For reasons not entirely clear, schools are disconnecting with boys, who are slipping in academic achievement and abandoning school in record numbers.”
Downey suggests schools figure out how to get boys excited about learning. “Boys need to run around during the day. They need to touch to learn. They need to build simple machines rather than read about them in sixth-grade science.”
Reading lists need to offer more to appeal to boys, Downey says. And educators need to recognize that boys approach the classroom differently than girls.(She speaks from personal experience)
Why do you think boys tune out, and what can be done to get them to tune back in?
Puzzle answer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As promised, here’s the answer to the crossword puzzle I posted yesterday:
Permalink | |
‘Math is Killing Us’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Thursday I covered the state school board meeting and, not surprisingly, I gathered quite a bit of Get Schooled fodder. Hmmmmmm… where should I start?
Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox gave a presentation on high school test scores including the SAT, ACT, PSAT and AP exams. Her slogan is “leading the nation in improving student achievement,” and she offered the SAT scores as evidence her administration is accomplishing that.(On AP exams,improvement was evident, but not on the PSAT and the ACT)
Georgia’s average rose six points to 993, tying with South Carolina for lowest average among states. (More on that in a later post…)
Cox pointed out that Georgia’s verbal score is not last, it’s our math score that is so weak. In that regard, we are dead last. Most states have seen their math scores increase over time and their verbal scores are flat. Georgia has seen its verbal scores increase. But when it comes to math … that happy upward trend has proven elusive.
Cox used this opportunity to remind everyone that the state adopted a new math curriculum, which is supposed to require more of Georgia students and give teachers better guidance on what material to cover. Will this be enough? What’s at the root of our math weakness?
A standardized puzzler
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Once upon a time, kids took a standardized test every spring. Now, testing is a year-round part of education. Fulton County, for example, already gave the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, and DeKalb County is giving the test now.
The Iowa is required for students in grades three, five and eight, though some districts give the test to additional grades. But you knew that, right?
Test your testing knowledge with this puzzle. Here’s a hint: Though most of the answers are related to testing, some are not.
Sorry, it’s not a clickable puzzle, so you’ll have to print it out. I’ll post the solution tomorrow.
Across:
1. No Child Left Behind takes its name from this agency’s former slogan: Children’s _____ Fund.
3. These exams expose grade inflation. (abbreviation)
5. NCLB promoter
6. ___ Arbor
7. Random ______
9. Many schools’ NCLB downfall
11. Preschool accrediting agency: National Association for the Education of _____ Children
12. Mood among students on test day
13. Students who must pass state tests in 2014
15. Eardrum-shattering animal sound
16. Home of the TAAS
19. Revised to resemble its rival
20. Birthplace of standardized testing (abbrev.)
21. One way schools stay out of NCLB trouble: _____ Harbor
24. Helps adults from foreign countries learn English. (abbrev.)
25. Outdated term for students who can’t easily learn to read.
26. Spielberg film
27. Federal test compares states and tracks progress over time. (abbrev.)
28. State office that publishes report cards on Georgia schools. (abbrev.)
32. Not useful for a standardized test
——————————
Down:
1. A student with a ______ qualifies for a subgroup
2. NCLB defender
4. Backbone of NCLB
6. What all schools want to make
9. Self-satisfied (synonym)
10. aka “unfunded mandate”
14. Publishes guide to academic papers. (abbrev.)
17. Says Georgia will “lead the nation in improving student achievement.”
18. Often speaks of “the soft bigotry of low expectations.”
22. Scores the SAT (abbrev.)
23. Kids who need ESOL (abbev.)
29. Useful for a standardized test
30. Testing well is good for one’s ____
31. Test participation _____
33. Brand of footwear once favored by celebrities
Grad Test Dilemma
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The state school board is considering a change in how it considers waivers for students who have tried unsuccessfully to pass the state graduation test. Here’s Mary MacDonald’s story.
At issue is whether some students are being unfairly denied diplomas because of the state’s rigid rules regarding the graduation test. Students must pass exams in math, English, writing, social studies and science. Most students pass math, English and writing with ease, but the science and social studies tests are stumbling blocks for some students, especially those with disabilities or a limited command of English.
Advocates for students with disabilities note that under the proposed rules students would still have to pass standardized tests - the End-of-Course Tests for each subject. That would make it hard, even impossible, for some to graduate, the advocates say.
Should students who work hard, get good grades, come to school almost every day, prepare for the graduation test each time and miss the cutoff by just a few points have a chance at a regular diploma? Or would this represent a softening of the standards Georgia state school officials constantly tout?
Cursive
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A blog reader suggested this as a “rainy day” topic.
Do kids still learn cursive handwriting or has cursive instruction gone the way of the chalkboard? At what age do children learn cursive? Teachers, do you encourage children to use cursive or would you rather they print?
And another exciting Get Schooled giveaway: A recent college grad named Lerone Wilson made a film called “No Child Left Behind,” which is about, well duh, his take on this complex law.
For such a young guy - he was a student teacher at a school in New York - I’m impressed with how many aspects of NCLB he managed to touch on. If you don’t like Reg Weaver … maybe you want to skip this one. But he does give almost equal time to Education Trust and other pro-NCLB folks. Do you want this DVD? A blog reader kindly sent it to me and said I could pass it on to someone else. Shoot me an e-mail with your mailing address at pghezzi@ajc.com. First come, first served.
‘What am I to do?’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A teacher posted this on the thread about parent-teacher conferences:
“I don’t know how PTC went at other schools but our district had PTC day last Friday and it was a flop. One of our teachers managed to get two of the local radio stations to announce PTC day last Wednesday and Thursday.
Our home school facilitator sent the announcement to the 32 churches in our area (My pastor annouced it the last 2 sundays and the last two bible studies). The result was 1 parent showed up for our hall of 12 teachers.
In addition to the school’s efforts, I sent home progress reports via the mail the previous week with the announcement enclosed. This only resulted in 23 returned reports and I was called in by my principal because 11 parents had called to register their children’s complaints.
Being in a school that is fighting to meet AYP (3rd year missing) it is frustrating. The weekly telephone calls are virtually no use since most of the parents that you can contact are those of the students that are doing well and the other parents want to support their child’s reasons for failing or being disruptive. “She’s cutting your class because she says yo’’re too hard. I want her out of your class …”
What am I to do?”
Any ideas for this teacher?
Parent-Teacher Conferences
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Several recent blog posts have mentioned parent-teacher conferences. One teacher lamented the type of parent who “couldn’t be dragged to a conference even with a mule.” I’m sure no Get Schooled readers fall into that category…
So, tell us, how was your PTC? Did you get good information about how your child is doing in school? Did you talk frankly with the teacher? Will you do anything differently at home as a result of the PTC?
Teachers, did you get a good turnout? Do you think the PTC will help your students do better in school? What are the biggest concerns parents shared with you? What irritates you most, other than no-shows?
Fridays Off, Kids
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Is there really support out there for a four-day school week?
I’ve got to admit this is an education trend I would never have predicted would fly in Georgia - that is until Gov. Sonny Perdue’s fuel-cutting strategy of closing schools for two days took root. And from the blog comments, it seems the idea has some traction.
Nationally, a smattering of school districts - mostly small and rural - are already doing it as a way to save money. Here’s a link to a 2002 Christian Science Monitor story. And read here where CNN reported on the trendlet in 2003.
Could Georgia teachers get the job done in four days? Would working parents ever support such a policy? Would the cost savings be worth the lifestyle shift such a change would require? And how would this affect the debate over shortened summers?
Behind Sonny’s Decision
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What do you think about the story behind Gov. Sonny Perdue’s decision to ask school districts to shut down for two days to save fuel?
Diary Girl Back in the News
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Remember the Roswell High School student who got escorted from class by police for a story she wrote in her diary? If Get Schooled had existed back then … this one would have set the blogosphere ablaze.
In her story, a girl falls asleep and dreams she kills her math teacher. A teacher siezed Rachel Boim’s journal during class. School officials interpreted the girl’s comments as a terroristic threat and expelled her. National media attention and support from Georgia’s poet laureate led the school district to soften its stance, dropping the most serious charge and reducing her punishment to a 10-day suspension.
Now Rachel is a student at a private school, and her family is suing to have her disciplinary record cleared before she starts applying to colleges. They are seeking a dollar in damages. Here’s Mary MacDonald’s story.
So, Get Schooled readers, do you think the school district trampled on Rachel’s right to free expression? Are teachers and school administrators in a can’t-win situation trying to prevent another Columbine?
No Science Lab, No Library
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So I wasn’t surprised that I had a dozen or so e-mails waiting for me when I came in Monday, most from readers taking issue with my story about construction delays at Southwest DeKalb High School and the absence of a suitable makeshift library and science lab. Here’s the story.
Most criticism centered on quotes from a student suggesting that Southwest was getting dumped on because of its location in a black community.
Okay people, obviously I didn’t take that statement lightly. Nor did I use it to rachet up the level of controversy in the story. Rather, I quoted the student because she said what everybody else at the meeting had to be thinking. When is it okay to expect high school students to get by with no working science lab, no library and no Internet access?
This is a school with involved parents who raised their concerns publicly last summer. Thinking their reasonable requests would be taken care of, I chose not to write about the construction delays at that time. Delays happen so often I can’t possibly write about them all.
But when I went to Southwest DeKalb last week and saw the situation for myself … I have to say the neglect rose above anything I have seen since I covered a construction fiasco in Clayton County back in about 2000.
High school students need working labs, a library and Internet access. It’s the school district’s responsibility to provide something makeshift while a school is under renovation. DeKalb school officials took responsibility and vowed to fix the problems, but the question that never got answered was how the situation got as far as it did in the first place.
Okay, that’s what was going through my brain when I wrote the story. Your turn. Talk to me!
Who Needs an SAT Coach
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Sunday, I wrote about SAT coaches. Read the story here.
I learned a lot, especially about the importance of strategically skipping questions. This is a test unlike any other, and it makes sense to know how it’s scored. That said, it doesn’t take a tutor to learn how to maneuver through the SAT. There are online, library-based and school-based courses. And there’s the book put out by the College Board, which lays it all out.
So why don’t more kids strategically skip questions? Well, it’s counterintuitive. It’s so different than a classroom test. And, if they’re like me, they think they just might guess right. That’s not the right way to go with the SAT. If you can’t eliminate an answer or two, SKIP IT!
Tell us your experiences with SAT prep: coaches, classes, private companies etc. What worked for your kid? And what about the SAT … a student I interviewed who is bumping up against perfection decried the test as a terrible measure of a student’s ability to succeed in college. What do you think?
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