Five myths about America’s schools

[proud2BlibKansan]

The end of the school year and the layoffs of tens of thousands of teachers are bringing more attention to reformers’ calls to remake public schools. Today’s school reform movement conflates the motivations and agendas of politicians seeking reelection, religious figures looking to spread the faith and bureaucrats trying to save a dime. Despite an often earnest desire to help our nation’s children, reformers have spread some fundamental misunderstandings about public education.

1. Our schools are failing.

It’s true that schools with large numbers of low-income and English-as-a-second-language students don’t perform as well as those with lots of middle- and upper-middle-class students who speak only English. But the demonization of some schools as “dropout factories” masks an important achievement: The percentage of Americans earning a high school diploma has been rising for 30 years. According to the Department of Education, the percentage of 16-to-24-year-olds who were not enrolled in school and hadn’t earned a diploma or its equivalent fell to 8 percent in 2008.

Average SAT and ACT scores are also up, even with many more — and more diverse — test-takers. On international exams such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, U.S. elementary and middle school students have improved since 1995 and rank near the top among developed countries. Americans do lag behind students in Asian nations such as Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan on these tests, but so do Europeans. The gap in math and science scores may be an East-West divide.

2. Unions defend bad teachers.

Unions have proved amenable to removing the bad apples in their ranks — with due process. Montgomery County, for instance, implemented its Peer Assistance and Review program with union cooperation a decade ago. It requires every new teacher and those flagged as “underperforming” by a principal to be observed by a specialist over a school year. All teachers get support, advice and a chance to do better; then they are reevaluated.Those who fall short lose their jobs. Between 2006 and 2010, 245 teachers resigned or were dismissed. Many districts have similar programs, but, as a Harvard study pointed out, they are expensive.

Reformers who attack unions for school problems should mind their logic: Some school systems show better results than others, yet most have teachers’ unions. If unions are universally problematic, why are some students succeeding while others languish?

more . . .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-americas-schools/2011/05/09/AFunW27G_story.html

[donheld]

1. k & r

[Hannah Bell]

2. kr

[Starry Messenger]

3. k&r

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

4. I am nothing but sympathetic to teachers for the hands they are dealt

but glossing over the severe problems in certain schools with a "Steve Jobs walks into a room and the average net worth jumps to..." analogy isn't helpful, some of the worst schools in all of California are in my immediate area and they are drop-out factories in every sense of the word. If somebody wants to try innovating in this area and with those communities... more power to them because a worse outcome than status quo isn't possible in some of these places.

Sociologically speaking I have some thoughts on what is at fault, but I have found that questioning purity and virtue the prevailing value system found in blue collar and minority communities is verboten around here.

[themadstork]

6. eh?

Purity and virtue?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

12. Yes,

I have been told in the harshest possible language is prejudiced, insensitive and possibly racist to question the parenting where education is concerned in certain communities and the local values that influence those decisions - or lack there of.

[raccoon]

5. K&R. nt

[Recursion]

7. Well said. Surprised the Post printed this (nt)

[knitter4democracy]

8. Someone not only gets it but got it published. I'm impressed.

#2 is far too logical, and #5 contains too much level-headed thinking. This will be immediately dismissed as bunk.

[bigwillq]

9. K and R (nt)

[IndyPragmatist]

10. While I agree with some of the points....

that article seems to give off the tone that we should be happy with the state of public schools and they are perfect the way they are. I completely disagree with that. SOME schools ARE failing, and there is no arguing that. Is the system failing? No, but some schools within the system are.

The republicans started the push for public school reform, and the democrats opposed it. My issue is that very few democrats are offering any new solutions, instead, most just want to keep things the way they are.

I'm with the President on charter schools. We shouldn't be promoting them, but we shouldn't be limiting them either. Some charter schools do a great job, and some do not. Just like some public schools do a great job, and some do not. Hold charter schools to a slightly higher standard and allow them to grow.

[progressoid]

11. The biggest problems my daughter's school have is administrative.

Which reminds me. Time to call the Executive Director of Curriculum & Instruction. :grr: