The results of last spring's spring testing came back yesterday and of course the local media is trying to make a story out of it.
I spent 32 years in the testing game. What never get explained when interpreting results from each school is the demographics of each school. These questions need to be asked: What is the average income of the school population; two parent families, level of parents' education; individual rooms; Internet access, etc.? Our kids attended one of the school in the higher economic areas of Casper along with positive demographics. The school's results were good. The school I worked in was above the district average results because we also enjoyed very positive demographics. By themselves numbers are numbers. It's the influences that make the results meaningful. What to do with them becomes the challenge.
With federal education funding rewarding high test scores, a good share of the monies won't go where they could do the most good. We need remediation programs as well as enrichment activities to be funded but they shouldn't be tied to testing.
The Casper Ghosts are tied for first place in second half of the season with a record of 2-1. I know it's early but this the only time this season first place and the Ghosts could be used together.
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As "W" once said... "we gotta test the schools and hold them accountable so that one day all of our schools will be above average."
ReplyDeleteHe must have taken abstract algebra to figure that out.
I'm impressed if W figured out something from Abstract Algebra, because I sure didn't. You know you're in trouble when you never use a calculator let along numbers in a math class.
ReplyDeleteSandy and I have a letter to the editor to show our Stat kids- the author is raving on and on about how we need all of our students to be above average in reading. Someone wrote in response to that letter said sometimes innumeracy (not understanding math) is just as dangerous.