Comments on: “Exceptional” Schools in Texas http://www.coreknowledge.org/blog/2008/07/01/exceptional-schools-in-texas/ Closing the Achievement Gap: Teaching Content Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:02:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Mary http://www.coreknowledge.org/blog/2008/07/01/exceptional-schools-in-texas/#comment-4215 Mary Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:21:37 +0000 http://www.coreknowledge.org/blog/?p=541#comment-4215 Are the students reading fiction 2 hours a night at home? Until that happens, you can just forget improvement. It's all about the reading, stupid. And if it isn't happening at home, and from the age of 4 on, on a daily basis and for long enough a period of time, nothing else the schools can do (except add 2 hours and have the students do their reading at school) is going to make any kind of sizable difference. The schools aren't failing the kids. The PARENTS are failing their kids. Duh. Are the students reading fiction 2 hours a night at home? Until that happens, you can just forget improvement.

It’s all about the reading, stupid. And if it isn’t happening at home, and from the age of 4 on, on a daily basis and for long enough a period of time, nothing else the schools can do (except add 2 hours and have the students do their reading at school) is going to make any kind of sizable difference.

The schools aren’t failing the kids. The PARENTS are failing their kids.

Duh.

]]> By: Robert Pondiscio http://www.coreknowledge.org/blog/2008/07/01/exceptional-schools-in-texas/#comment-4214 Robert Pondiscio Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:40:57 +0000 http://www.coreknowledge.org/blog/?p=541#comment-4214 I'm not sure I follow your argument about redefining success as failure. I have issues with the unintended consequences of our test-driven accountability culture. It narrows the curriculum to an unacceptable degree, most notably. But I support the idea of a accountability in principle. And from that it stands to reason that if a school can dismiss the performance of a particular subgroup from its accountability measures, it lowers the bar for that subgroup. And isn't that how we got into this mess in the first place? I’m not sure I follow your argument about redefining success as failure. I have issues with the unintended consequences of our test-driven accountability culture. It narrows the curriculum to an unacceptable degree, most notably. But I support the idea of a accountability in principle. And from that it stands to reason that if a school can dismiss the performance of a particular subgroup from its accountability measures, it lowers the bar for that subgroup. And isn’t that how we got into this mess in the first place?

]]> By: bill klimko http://www.coreknowledge.org/blog/2008/07/01/exceptional-schools-in-texas/#comment-4213 bill klimko Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:21:20 +0000 http://www.coreknowledge.org/blog/?p=541#comment-4213 So, the inverse is true in your argument. "Redefining success as a failure" is the way to go. Suppose that you had one demographic that pulled the school up? You are saying that this group should be discounted because they improved the school's rating and offset the rating of the non-performing groups. It sounds like the strange factoid that "Smoking is the leading cause of statistics." I teach in a Title 1 school in Texas, and would teach nowhere else. But I've always wondered that if we redirected "measurement money" to actually improving curriculum, teacher training, and classroom supplies this argument would be even more pointless than it already is. So, the inverse is true in your argument. “Redefining success as a failure” is the way to go. Suppose that you had one demographic that pulled the school up? You are saying that this group should be discounted because they improved the school’s rating and offset the rating of the non-performing groups. It sounds like the strange factoid that “Smoking is the leading cause of statistics.”

I teach in a Title 1 school in Texas, and would teach nowhere else. But I’ve always wondered that if we redirected “measurement money” to actually improving curriculum, teacher training, and classroom supplies this argument would be even more pointless than it already is.

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