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June 2008
Should more students repeat a grade?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A story in Sunday’s paper revealed few students were held back after failing the parts of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests kids must pass for promotion.
Georgia’s third-graders must pass state reading tests for promotion and students in grades five and eight must pass reading and math tests to advance. Between 11 to 23 percent of students failed the high-stakes tests on their first try in 2006 and 2007. Only 1 to 2.5 percent of them were retained.
A state law was supposed to stop social promotion — moving students to the next grade before they were academically ready. Many states have similar laws and they have long been controversial.
Opponents say it’s wrong to base such an important decision on a single test. They point to studies showing students who repeat a grade are more likely to drop out. Other reports show these students are more likely to be minorities, students with disabilities or kids who aren’t fluent in English.
Supporters say these high-stakes tests are needed to guarantee students enter the next grade prepared for more challenging lessons. Promoting students who haven’t mastered basic skills does more harm than good, they say.
Were local school leaders correct to promote so many students who failed the CRCT? Does the state need stricter rules over when students should be retained or should the law be scrapped?
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When 1 + 1 = poor math teachers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A new report says elementary school students struggle in math because their teachers didn’t get strong enough training in college.
The National Council on Teacher Quality says only 13 percent of undergraduate education schools require enough relevant math coursework for future elementary teachers.
The group looked at 77 education schools in 49 states. University of Georgia was singled out as an exemplary program. But the report says Georgia College and State University needs to make students take more math courses.
The report suggests Georgia and other states copy Massachusetts where future teachers take at least three courses in foundations of mathematics, algebra, geometry and data analysis tailored to what future elementary school teachers need.
Do you think Georgia should make teachers take more math courses in college? Does improving a teacher’s knowledge of math make that person a better teacher or are there other areas the state must address?
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Fixing student turnover
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Visit a school in a low-income neighborhood and teachers discuss a problem you won’t find in wealthier communities: school hopping.
That’s when children move from place to place (usually apartments) because families have trouble affording the rent. I’ve heard stories of kids attending three or more schools a year because their families move so much.
This constant moving causes some students to fall behind in class. Some struggle with basic reading and math skills. They’re more likely to fail state exams and repeat a grade.
But it doesn’t just affect them. When these children enter a classroom mid-year teachers typically spend more time reviewing old lessons. That means the rest of the class may not get as much new material.
Leaders are trying to fix this problem. That’s one reason why we have standardized curriculum in many districts. If students move from one school to another, they can still follow what’s going on.
Michigan is trying something different it will pay some families $100 a month to help with the rent so they won’t move around so much.
What do you think of Michigan’s plan? Is this a problem money can fix or are greater issues at play? How do you think schools should handle high student mobility?
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Are school districts outdated?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A story ran over the weekend about the latest attempt by some people in Buckhead to leave Atlanta. Those behind the plan said they would be free of Atlanta city schools and children would attend private schools or charter schools.
It’s too soon to tell if Buckhead will succeed, but it raises an interesting question over how the state set up school systems. For the most part, each county in Georgia has its own school district. Some cities - such as Atlanta, Decatur and Marietta - run their own.
Is this set-up antiquated? When you look at how large some of our counties are and how diverse each community is, one wonders if this is an effective way to design a school district.
Of course there are advantages. Larger districts allow for the economies of scale buying power. You also have a higher level of expertise among teachers and administrators. And large districts can provide for special programs — such as schools for the arts and technology — that smaller systems can’t afford to offer.
How would you set up a school district? Do we need a Fulton County school system or would it better to have different school districts for Roswell, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and College Park?
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Are we slipping in pre-K?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of Georgia’s long-standing achievements was being the first state to offer universal voluntary pre-kindergarten. But Georgia’s pre-k success isn’t what it once was, according to a report from the Atlanta-based Southern Education Foundation.
“While it remains highly regarded, Georgia Pre-K no longer leads in the nation in any vital area: enrollment, high-quality standards, or per-child expenditures,” according to the report. Read the story here.
I’ve heard parents say the state needs more pre-K classes. Some of the parents who camped out at Mary Lin Elementary this year for one of the 20 spots in that school’s single pre-K class said the state has failed to keep up with demand.
The state says it’s trying to free up more spots in pre-K classes. Part of the challenge in the metro area is some districts — like Gwinnett and Cobb counties — don’t participate in the program. Local school leaders say they need the classroom space for regular elementary school classes. Private centers also participate in the state program.
What do you think, is Georgia’s pre-K the success many said it would be? Are students starting elementary school better prepared because of this program? What needs to be done to improve pre-K?
CRCT Update: Official CRCT results are here! Use our database to check out results school by school, district by district or the whole state.
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What’s the biggest challenge facing schools?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Professional Association of Georgia Educators held its summer conference over the weekend. This year’s theme involved making sure all students succeed at a time when classrooms are becoming more diverse.
Some educators say that is the biggest challenge they face today. Others point to growing enrollments and shrinking budgets. We can add many other things to the list: hiring high-quality teachers; improving parent involvement; and making sure kids come to school ready to learn.
What do you think is the biggest challenge schools face? How should schools, parents, teachers and other go about meeting this challenge?
NOTE: Official CRCT results for all districts and public schools are here. The results differ little from the preliminary results we’ve had on ajc.com for about a week, but check out how othere schools in the state did.
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Where’s the love for arts education?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A new national study paints a poor picture about the quality of arts education in public schools.
The report repeats what similar studies have said before — arts education is a low priority.
Emphasis on the arts diminished during tough financial times in the 1970s. Arts were marginalized more in the 1980s through trends pushed reading, writing and math. Today we emphasize high-stakes testing and education reforms that focus on reading and math.
Many Georgia school systems have blamed arts cuts on increasing expenses from growing enrollments, state funding cuts and higher cots for utilities and employees’ salaries and benefits.
That doesn’t mean the arts are dead. Kids attend art summer camps and stay after school for drama and music and arts classes. About 50 students attended the Juilliard Summer Jazz Residency program this week at North Atlanta High.
Arts supporters say kids attend these programs after-school or pay for them because schools fail to give the subject the attention it deserves.
Are schools short-changing the arts? How can schools give more attention to the arts?
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Who’s teaching home school?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Aileen Dodd wrote an interesting story about a dad who’s planning to teach his daughter at home.
As a society, we’ve become more used to the idea of home schooling. About 39,500 students were home schooled in 2007, according to the Georgia Department of Education.
More times than not, the people teaching are mothers, not fathers.
The dad in the story is preparing for his new role. He’s learning about different curricula, planning field trips and activities and getting advice from others who home school.
This seems like a good start, but what kind of training and lessons do parents need before they start home schooling their children? Should we require parents to get some training before they start home schooling?
NOTE: The AJC is sponsoring a Clayton County School Board candidate forum Sunday. Submit your questions here.
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When should school begin?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia schools superintendent Kathy Cox is floating an idea to have a more uniform school calendar statewide for the benefit of using scores from summer retests in AYP calculations.
This is a sensitive issue and not because it deals with No Child Left Behind. The hot-button aspect deals with school calendars.
Many metro school systems start in early to mid-August. For years a group of parents have argued for schools to start post-Labor Day. These parents say a uniform traditional calendar preserves summer vacations and keeps students out of school during hot weather.
(A bill to require a later school start died in the Legislature in 2005.)
School board members and superintendents have long argued school calendars should be set locally. It’s a local decision, they say, based on what a community needs and thinks it important for students to succeed in school.
Who do you think should decide when school starts? Should Georgia schools start later?
NOTE: The AJC is sponsoring a Clayton County School Board candidate forum Sunday. Submit your questions here.
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Will fewer school days save gas?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In 2005, Gov. Sonny Perdue asked schools to close for two days to save money because of rising costs with diesel fuel. Nearly all of the state’s 181 school districts complied with this effort to conserve fuel in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Here we are a few years later and fuel prices continue to increase. Everyone is looking for ways to cut back and save.
Some Florida school districts are thinking of shortening the school week for the 2009-10 school year to make up for rising fuel costs and cuts in the budget.
“The price of gasoline doing what it’s doing, saving one day of driving hundreds of thousands of miles on a statewide basis can result in some very significant cost savings,” said Ruth Melton, director of legislative relations for the Florida School Boards Association.
What do you think of this idea? Is this something Georgia should consider?
NOTE: The AJC is sponsoring a Clayton County School Board candidate forum Sunday. Submit your questions here.
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The next education president
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I typically steer away from national politics on the blog, but now that we have presumptive presidential nominees from the two major parties it makes sense to look at where they stand on education, especially No Child Left Behind.
Sen. John McCain has said he supports the overall goals of the law and Sen. Barack Obama has vowed to overhaul it.
McCain has said he won’t release a detailed education plan until the fall. But his education advisor, Lisa Graham Keegan, recently shared some of his ideas. (Keegan is the former chief of Arizona schools.) Read more on his Web site.
He voted for NCLB, but expressed interest in moving away from the 2014 deadline for all students to be proficient on state tests. He’s also talked about making the sanctions kick in almost immediately. No longer would parents have to wait for schools to miss AYP for two or three years before being able to get the free tutoring or transfers to higher-achieving schools.
McCain has talked about freezing education funding until a review can be done of which projects work and which don’t. Money may get re-allocated among different programs but Keegan said McCain believes NCLB is adequately funded.
Obama wasn’t in the Senate when Congress passed NCLB. His Web site offers details about his education plan, covering everything from early childhood education to how to make college more affordable.
With respect to NCLB, Obama has said the assessments need to be improved. He also said the federal government must give low-performing schools enough money and resources to improve.
Obama’s site also provides a lot of information about teacher quality, such as expanding mentoring programs for new teachers and giving teachers paid planning time. He also described a new college scholarship for people who agree to teach for at least four years in a high-need subject or location.
What details do you want to hear about each candidate’s education platform? What would you like to see them do to NCLB and other issues, such as vocational education, teacher quality and funding for special education?
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Name your biggest school concerns
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fulton County’s new superintendent asked parents and teachers their top school concerns. Not surprisingly overcrowding and math got the most votes.
Give the same survey in other metro areas and you may get similar answers.
But there are other issues I hear parents talking about: discipline, teacher quality, long bus rides and “teaching to the test.”
Teachers have their own concerns as well, such as discipline, training, parental support and the quality of school and district administrators.
What would you list as your biggest school concerns? How would you fix these problems?
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How much freedom should districts get?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Decatur and Marietta school officials hope to be among the first school districts in Georgia practically free of state control.
Charter districts are similar to charter schools. You’re exempt from many rules others must follow and in exchange you promise to use innovative programs and to improve student learning.
How innovative will these districts be? Decatur plans to find a way to give students credit for the knowledge they know, not just the classes they take.
Charter status deals with more than instruction. Charter districts can be creative with their budgeting and give principals and teachers more say in how to spend the money.
Should more districts apply for charter status? Do you think school systems can be innovative enough to become charters?
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Who can make school boards stronger?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A group of education and business leaders are trying to improve school boards across Georgia.
This new Commission for School Board Excellence was formed at the request of the State Board of Education. The group includes representatives from the Georgia and Metro Atlanta Chambers of Commerce and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
A press release from the new group says some school boards struggle every year to meet the standards for accreditation. It’s no coincidence that this group was formed while Clayton County fights to keep their accreditation from SACS.
The new group listed a few places where weak board struggle: micromanagement of staff, poor decision-making and mismanaging money.
These are severe problems. This new group may have good ideas on how to help school boards, but do you think board members will listen to the advice?
What can we do to make school boards stronger? What additional rules should school board members follow and what training must they have?
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Who should sponsor candidate forums?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Good morning, everyone. Today you’re in for something different. Megan Matteucci, who covers Clayton County, wrote today’s posting about another interesting development with the school district. Here’s what she had to say:
Clayton students will question school board candidates tonight at a forum organized by the school system’s new superintendent.
With the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools mandating Clayton establish a capable school board or lose accreditation, many business and civic groups have organized political forums. But this is the first one hosted by the Clayton County school system.
Superintendent John Thompson organized the forum through his student advisory committee, a group of students that meet monthly with the superintendent to share concerns. The forum will be held at the county’s Performing Arts Center on Mount Zion Parkway, which is owned by the school district.
Clayton school board policy prohibits school facilities from being used for political purposes. School policy also prohibits candidates from campaigning on school property.
School officials say this is not a political event, but an educational forum. They say candidates will answer questions from three students, but will be prohibited from distributing campaign materials.
Should school officials get involved in the political process?
School budgets are so tight …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today’s article says some schools require parents to pick up their kids’ test scores because school leaders are trying to save money on postage.
Some principals found money in their budgets to spend about $1,500 on postage to mail the results. Other schools asked parents to bring in stamps.
The story, in an indirect way, shows once again how tight some school budgets are. Need more evidence? Just look at school supply lists. Some schools ask kids to bring in copy paper and boxes of tissues, along with classroom basics like pens, pencils and notebooks.
What are some of the “necessities” your students or children are asked to provide the school? How do you think this situation can be avoided?
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Show schools the money
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Regular blogger Jim D touched on something I’ve long wanted to blog about: corporate sponsorship of schools.
In response to a posting on school names Jim wrote: “I have long advocated allowing corporations to bid for the naming rights not just for the schools but for the athletic facilities as well … Why not capitalize on the advertising potential allowing corporations to assist in keeping taxes lower?”
Districts I’ve covered in other states have done this. The football stadium may be named after the local car dealership and the auditorium is named after a local bank. One school I covered in Indiana raised thousands of dollars for library books by letting businesses advertise on the back of check out cards.
Area schools already have partnerships where kids sell popcorn or wrapping paper and schools get part of the profit from the sales. Others turn to corporations and foundations for donated materials.
Colleges sell naming rights all the time, but people get nervous when schools attempt the same thing. Some worry we may get to the point where a social studies lesson is sponsored by Pizza Hut or kids count M&Ms rather than pennies.
How much advertising should be allowed in schools? Which companies should be allowed in?
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Who goes to community college?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The story about Atlanta Technical College got me thinking about two-year community colleges.
Many people have the misconception these colleges offer lesser programs for older, working adults.
Those views seem to be changing among high school graduates. Every year I meet more students who plan to attend two-year colleges. Their reasons are simple.
Many hope to save money. Studies show public community colleges are less than half the cost of public four-year schools and about one-tenth the price of private four-year schools.
Others hope doing well at a community college will improve their chances of getting into a four-year college that had rejected them. Many four-year colleges will focus on how well transfer applicants did in community college rather than SAT scores and high school GPAs.
Some students realize they can get all the schooling they need at two-year colleges. Community colleges offer everything from nursing to child-care to computer technology. That means in just two years, students can get all the training they need for a well-paying job.
How do you think community colleges have changed? Do you think more students should consider this option?
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Why don’t more students graduate?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A national report points out a problem many of you know about: Not enough Georgia high school students graduate.
About 58 percent of Georgia’s students graduated on time, compared to about 71 percent for the national average. (The figures are from 2005.)
The Diplomas Count 2008 report also looked at grad rates in the nation’s 50 largest school systems, which include four from the metro area. Cobb came in the highest at 71.6 percent followed by Fulton at 71 percent, Gwinnett at 68.4 percent and DeKalb at 58.9 percent.
The report’s researchers use a different formula to figure out graduation rates. Go here to see how Georgia and individual school districts perform using the state’s calculations.
Regardless what the number is, most people won’t be happy until it’s higher.
State officials have said they’re trying to improve the situation through more counseling to students and increasing the rigor of classroom lessons.
Why do you think Georgia’s graduation rate is so low? What else should we do?
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What’s in a name?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With so many people moving to the area, school districts keep building new campuses. These new schools need teachers, books, desks and names.
Sometimes districts rename existing buildings. Atlanta Public Schools recently took nominations to rename Southside High.
Schools are named after people, neighboring communities and local roads and landmarks. Some of these names are good; others are confusing.
What would you name a school? What rules should there be for school names?
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Getting DADS involved
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The superintendent of Clayton County schools kicked the father volunteer group DADS out of the 10 schools where they helped out.
Some volunteers say the action was retribution for efforts to recall school board members. School officials say all volunteers must undergo background checks before they can work with students.
Clayton isn’t the only district with groups for dads. Other districts, and many private schools, have started similar programs to get men more involved.
The situation has improved. Go to district PTA meetings and you’ll see more and more men serving as presidents of their local school chapters. I’ve seen fathers show up to have lunch with their kids or read books to classes or help with tutoring after school.
What do you think can be done to get more fathers volunteering in school? What unique benefits can they provide students?
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