Education letters 11/9

The score gap between state and federal tests

Michael Dib: Since 2004, Fulton County schools have seen a year-over-year drop in eighth-grade scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. In fact, the drop has been 18 percent over this time frame for math. Since 2005 we have seen a 40 percent drop in the number of students passing algebra and geometry End-of-Course Tests. We have seen no increase in SAT scores since 2004 — they have been flat. Last year, many of the ninth-graders took the PSAT, but the state has refused to release the scores. Based on anecdotal information, the new Georgia Performance Standards may be more rigorous for Ms. Cox and her team, but for our kids it has been a failure.

Teacher in Ga.: The culture in the South is completely different than anywhere else. Our country has fostered the idea of “don’t work for it — we’ll give it to you through the welfare system.” There are generations of children growing up with this mindset. And now with No Child Left Behind, we are sending the same message in education.

Catlady: We have fifth-graders who have never passed the CRCT, yet here they are. The only way a kid is retained at my school is if the parents demand it. The three who were retained out of 630 all had parents who demanded it. They were all ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) parents who seem to think their child should be at grade level.

New reform efforts that focus on teacher quality

UGA Accountant: I feel that now kids are taught to memorize what will be on the test for that grade, get a 70 percent on that test and move on to the next year.

Education CEO: It’s not that teachers can’t teach; they are not given the time to teach. There is a difference. It’s amazing how so many people who have never been in a classroom believe they have the solution.

Return of mandatory recess to DeKalb schools

Gwinnett educator: It’s about time. I spent 10 years teaching in DeKalb County with no recess. The only time I even got away with taking my second-graders out was when I was pregnant. My school even went four years without a playground. Once the equipment was “found” by the county, it took another three months or so for them to finish putting it together.

V for Vendetta: Good! Let others follow DeKalb’s lead. (I can’t believe I just typed that sentence.)

JB: I wholeheartedly agree with children having recess, but the fact that it cannot be withheld for behavior or academic problems is ridiculous. As a teacher, there is nothing I can do to my students other than take away recess that will enforce the fact that there are consequences to every action. If they do not bring their homework or if they misbehave, they should not be rewarded by getting to have “fun time” on the playground.

Philosopher: The best thing about the DeKalb policy is that the teachers can’t hold it over the kids’ heads and withhold recess from them as punishment. My child spent most of her elementary school years with no recess because the teachers were always withholding recess from the class. If she got out one day a week, it was an anomaly.

My daughter was an angel, won the teacher’s citizenship awards, and the worst behavioral consequence she ever earned was changing her color from green to yellow three times in seven years. But there was always some kid who was badly behaved ... and they are totally unfazed by the threat of no recess. It never, ever worked. And so the good kids were always punished. It’s time to stop it. Kids need to play.