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A Bad Report Card
The news from American high schools is not good. The most recent test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly known as the national report card, finds that American 12th graders are actually performing worse in reading than 12th graders did in 1992, when a comparable exam was given. In addition, 12th-grade performance in reading has been distressingly flat since 2002, even though the states were supposed to be improving the quality of teaching to comply with the No Child Left Behind education act.
The new scores, based on tests given in 2005, show that only about 35 percent of 12th graders are proficient in reading. Simply put, this means that a majority of the country’s 12th graders have trouble understanding what they read fully enough to make inferences, draw conclusions and see connections between what they read and their own experiences. The math scores were even worse, with only 23 percent of 12th graders performing at or above the proficient level.
Marginal literacy and minimal math skills might have been adequate for the industrial age. But these scores mean that many of today’s high school seniors will be locked out of the information economy, where a college degree is the basic price of admission and the ability to read, write and reason is essential for success.
Congress, which is preparing to reauthorize both the No Child Left Behind Act and the Higher Education Act, needs to take a hard look at these scores and move forcefully to demand far-reaching structural changes.
It should start by getting the board that oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress testing to create rigorous national standards for crucial subjects. It should also require the states to raise the bar for teacher qualifications and end the odious practice of supplying the neediest students with the least qualified teachers. This process would also include requiring teachers colleges, which get federal aid, to turn out higher quality graduates and to supply many more teachers in vital areas like math and science. If there’s any doubt about why these reforms are needed, all Congress has to do is read the latest national report card.
The NATIONS REPORT CARD Report
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007468
GET IN LINE IF YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR RESOURCES....Jennifer Granholm
Superintendent blasts school funding
Published Monday, February 26, 2007 4:16:06 PM Central Time
By JAN TUCKER
Globe Staff Writer
ONTONAGON -- Ontonagon Area School District Superintendent Matt Lukshaities had some harsh words about the funding of small Michigan schools in a letter to State Rep. Mike Lahti and State Sen. Mike Prusi this week.
He told the representatives "our kids deserve better than three years without an increase in the foundation allowance, a $210 increase that is consumed by rising retirement rates and insurance costs and a possible mid-year cut that surpasses the original $210 increase."
He also had some strong words about the inequity between the small schools of the Upper Peninsula and the rich school downstate.
"Why do schools like Bloomfield Hills with microscopic transportation mileage issues and an abundance of local wealth need $5,000 more per student to operate than schools in rural districts receiving the minimum foundation allowance? What kind of person accepts this position in any other aspect of life? Are their kids worth more? Given the exact same symptoms, would a doctor in triage actually take a kid from Bloomfield Hills to the operating room before a kid from Ontonagon because he is more valuable to society? Where does their train of logic go? Where does it come from? Kids deserve the best statewide, period," the superintendent wrote.
He also had other comparisons.
"If Bloomfield Hills and Grosse Pointe get the funding, why not raise their academic standards but leave ours alone; after all, our kids aren't as valuable in their preposterous arrangement of school funding.
"Because the rich deserve to be rich because they have always been rich begs the question and presents false logic. Proposal A was supposed to fix all the inequity, but no surprise -- those with the dollars have managed to hoard the bulk of the treasure chest for themselves."
Lukshaitis told lawmakers that he supports the Gov. Jennifer Granholm's plan, and urges them to "support any plan that provides for continued investment in our children."
The Ontonagon superintendent had another recommendation, one that might not meet the approval of all school superintendents.
"If you truly want to encourage shared services amongst ISDs (as recommended by the governor), you better mandate it through law," he wrote. "I have tried several times to share services with another school district in my county and with my ISD and the answer has been 'no' due to lack of trust. If it is ordered by law, then I believe you can start realizing a savings across the board. Just remember the GOISD and CCISD are in a different universe compared to Macomb and Oakland. I believe only through legislation can many of possible shared services be fully realized: The strong willed in each pond wishes to retain authority and right all the wrongs according to their current and/or most convenient institutional memory."
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