DHS and Glennwood Fail to Make "Adequate Yearly Progress" in Math
Decatur Metro | July 26, 2008As reported by Decatur EDtv, 5th and 10th graders at their respective Decatur schools didn’t meet the “No Child Left Behind” standards (known as Adequate Yearly Progress or “AYP”) in math this past year.
EDtv followed up with Decatur Associate Superintendent Dr. Thomas Van Soelen about the District’s new Math Improvement Plan being implemented this coming school year.
If you still have unanswered questions post-video watching, you can also view the actual plan on Decatur EDtv’s website at the bottom of the page.
So, what happens when a school (or two) doesn’t make “Adequate Yearly Progress”? Well luckily, there are no consequences for not making AYP for one year, according to Georgia’s AYP website. However, if it happens for two consequetive years across the district (like this year), the district is labeled “Needs Improvement”. A “needs improvement” school is not a “failing school” according to the state, but is required to develop an action plan to turn things around after two consecutive years of not making AYP, and implement it after three years.
It sounds like Decatur has already developed and will implement a plan after just one year of not making AYP.
We expect nothing less, even if the 23% drop county-wide drop seems to speak more to the inadequacies of changes to the test, rather than the inadequacies of our students.
[h/t: InDecatur]
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Really, we are going to blame the test? And the SAT is racist, right?
OK, I must admit that I’m still learning in regards to GA education system.
But just by applying Occum’s razor this is scenario, I figured such a huge decline had to be due to the test…not that 23% of DeKalb students instantaneously got dumber in a single year.
And I’m correct up to a point. They made the test harder.
Here’s a quote from a different AJC article…
State schools superintendent Kathy Cox had predicted more schools would fail this year because of low math test scores. The state says it created harder elementary and middle school math tests to match the state’s more rigorous curriculum in this subject.
Also, more students in all grades were required to pass state math and English exams to meet testing goals. Passing rates will gradually increase to reach the federal mandate that 100 percent of students pass by 2014.
“We have increased rigor coupled with increased expectations,” Cox said in a telephone interview today. “It was harder this year, much more difficult than ever before.”
So yes, I shouldn’t have been so quick to label the test inadequate. But geez…a 13% drop state-wide? And 100% federally mandated passing by 2014? That’s one heck of an aggressive goal. But its all for the good of the kids, right?
Oh and full disclosure…I dislike standardized tests because I always did poorly on them. You’ll find that those that support them, generally have done well on them in the past. Yeah, I know…then how do we measure schools against one another?…no clue…not an educator.
Just a little gripe here….
Can I start a petition to stop calling those who are teachers “educators”?
I mean, I don’t remember these conversations growing up:
“Hey, who’s your homeroom educator?”
“Eric, did you hear what Chris’ educator made him do today?”
“Dude! This guy is an absolute animal! I have never had a harder Chemistry educator.”
Just a thought…..happy Monday
Yep, Glennwood’s gonna be interesting next year. Glad my kids have blown the heck out of there.
One more thing… that speech from Dr. V.S. didn’t answer any questions about what is actually going to happen. All he did is say that something was going to happen. OK, … what? I believe that parents would like more specifics.
I for one support the school system whole heartedly. Overall, they do a great job, and to me there isn’t a better school system in the state. Newsweek Magazine name DHS to their top 5% of all public high schools in the USA. I think if you take an overall look at the specific group of children that didn’t do well, it may tell an age old tale. I think parents should look at how their child is doing, and then evaluate a school system based on that information. For property values, it is best schools perform well. With a huge drop in success after these altered tests, I don’t think CSD performed that poorly!