RAS Closing the Gap"NCLB did not try to create a monolithic curriculum... It tried to ensure that every student is competent in Reading English, Writing English and Math. Nothing more. Nothing less.
It seems like a pretty rational goal given English is our National language and Math/Critical Thinking sneaks into every aspect of our lives.
The schools could do whatever they wanted beyond these basic expectations. Unfortunately the school system personnel chose to spend the years complaining instead of changing...
Their is too much bureaucracy and job security... If these remain, improvement will be near impossible... No matter which curriculum you pick."
RAS Improvement Plan
Do these presentations make sense to you?
Will we make the necessary improvement?
Any ideas on how to accelerate the improvement?
Other thoughts?
10 comments:
There's a great deal of information in those charts, and it looks to me like too much detail without further summarizing, so let me try:
conclusion 1: There is an achievement gap, but it is constant over the grades.
conclusion 2: The longer our kids are in RAS schools, the less they learn, relative to what they SHOULD be learning.
That identifies the problem. The next set of slides represents the solution. To summarize that: more of the same but with better publicity. I do not doubt that all intentions are of the highest caliber, but there is a vast gulf between promises and reality; I see nothing here that convinces me that the desired improvement has any prayer of actualization.
J. Ewing
I don't see it as quite that bleak, however I do see that there are going to be significant challenges. Also, it seems that they do not have line of sight to the goal.
Back to the challenge... How to accelerate the learning of those that are most challenged, have the least support and are most mobile? The following make sense, but is there something else that would help these kids? What out of the box thinking is RAS missing because of their specific perspective?
- Response to Intervention
- Data-driven Instruction
- Best Practice Instructional
Strategies and Differentiation
- Research-based Curriculum
- Materials and Assessments
- Parent Involvement
What would have to change in RAS to make these improvement ideas possible?
(and J, NO Vouchers in not the short term answer I am looking for... I want something our current District and Community could do to help these kids...)
OK, you want a solution, I suggest we look to... Mississippi. Incoming 1st graders (no public K) were tested and placed in one of (4, depending on school size) classes based on their current level of "academic achievement." These classes were further divided into (usually 4, but depending on class size-- typically about 28!) subgroups on the same basis. THEN (I think the secret) the "best" teacher was assigned to the "D" group, and the (usually youngest) teacher given the "A" class. Lessons were framed separately for the 4 sub-groups in each class, with the topmost group being mostly independent while the bottom group received more personal teacher time. At the end of the year, the kids were re-tested and re-assigned accordingly, into second grade. BY THIRD GRADE, the achievement gap was sufficiently closed that kids could be assigned to classes (4 were still needed) at random. There's no great secret, really. Get a good teacher [I should say "good enough," based on the "raw material"], have an effective discipline policy, and a curriculum that allows each kid to proceed at their most rapid pace-- challenging but not overwhelming-- from where they are. Somehow, I don't think all of the complexity in these two slides is going to get RAS to this simple conclusion.
J. Ewing
There's that "D" word again - discipline. That's where I'd start. You would need some help from the Legislature to hold off the lawyers and other hustlers, but instead of listing reasons why you can't discipline students (and some teachers), find the ways you can.
J,
Mississippi's system may make sense and offer some good ideas.
However, remember the links I posted awhile back that showed MN results are significantly better than Mississippi's... Not sure what to take from this.
Speed,
Though I agree that better discipline is critical. I am not sure the citizen's are ready to budget for more lawyers and settlements. Thoughts?
Anyone,
How did the Cooper lawsuit work out? Disability Case
Any other relevant cases that are striking fear into the heart of Teachers and Administrators?
I know it is real real hard to get severely troubled kids out of the classroom, and it requires a whole lot of paperwork...
Mississippi has the poorest kids in the country to work with and though they spend a little higher percentage of their state budget on education, that's quite a bit less in real dollars. One might expect, by conventional wisdom, that overall academic achievement would be lower. HOWEVER, their achievement gap is far better--i.e. smaller-- than Minnesota's. Seems to me that ought to be directly applicable to the problem at hand and, again, it isn't complicated at all.
J. Ewing
I thought you were against shrinking the achievement gap by making the smart kids dumber?
But seriously, I agree that there may be some useful aspects to their technique/process.
Sorry, I forgot to mention that this wise policy is no longer in place. The federal government "discovered" that the "D" classes were predominantly black and the "A" classes were predominantly white, and forced elimination of the policy. Now A and D students are placed in classes willy-nilly, with a random teacher, meaning the D kids never come up to speed and the A kids are dragged down waiting for them. The result is obvious.
Again, I see in these charts a great deal of high-sounding edu-speak, but nothing of real substance. I also see a tendency, even a deliberate effort, to complicate something that is exceedingly simple but unpalatable to the nanny-state, politically-correct, union-blinkered, over-educated fantasists who run our schools.
J. Ewing
So you know how I like chicken and egg problems...
Which came first:
The policy discontinuation ???
or
The lawsuits by Parents claiming damages because their kids were being unfairly labelled by the policy???
or
The lawsuit by the ACLU swearing that someones rights were being violated???
or
The grievance by the Union about Teacher's being labelled???
or
Some lawyer instigating a class action law suit to line their pockets???
My point is that there are a lot of people driving this Political Correctness within Gov't/Society. Mostly a fear of law suits, financial liability and being labelled rascist, biased, discriminatory, etc. I agree that it is preventing some great improvements. I mean if you can't put the kids and teachers where they need to be, how can we most effectively help the kids...
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions and self centeredness..."
And we are back to... Who wants to fund the LAWYERS by being brave and challenging the status quo ???
Well, to my knowledge it was federal civil rights attorneys who brought the Feds into the issue. That was no doubt driven by some busybody, white or black, who judged people by the color of their skin first, last and always. It is, or ought to be, a mortal sin to harm black kids like that, in the name of "helping" them. The better-advantaged white kids will always find a way to succeed, somewhat, but the poor black kids suffer lifelong harm. It is, or ought to be, a criminal offense.
And I don't care who it is that started us down this disastrous road; anybody that continues it or tolerates it is complicit in it.
J. Ewing
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