The question that needs to be asked is where did these students who were not continuously enrolled come from.If they were enrolled in any mpls schools the expectations should be the same. The schools are suppose to be following the same curriculum throughout the system this is policy so transfering students don't get lost. The school system seems to place more importance in justifying their failures than in trying to correct them, I wonder why.Dain Lyngstad Phillips/edina --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Comment about > The Learning Curve (City Pages article) > http://www.citypages.com/databank/23/1133/article10648.asp > Doug Mann > > According to the US secretary of Education, Rod > Paige, 79 Minnesota schools > do not meet state standards. Of those substandard > schools, 31 are in > Minneapolis. > > The Minneapolis Public Schools administration, on > the other hand, issued > "measuring up" report cards which gave passing > grades to schools that do not > meet state standards, including Park View. These > conflicting appraisals are > explained away in The Learning Curve, which paints > the MPS administration as > the victim of unrighteous school > bashing. According to The Learning Curve, > > >In spring 2001, Park View students took the > Minnesota Comprehensive > Assessment test. In August, the Minnesota Department > of Children, Families > and Learning notified the school that its > fifth-grade students had not shown > "adequate yearly progress" in mathematics and that > it was "needing > improvement" in that part of the curriculum. That > designation alone was > enough to put Park View on Paige's list of failing > schools. > > >What the test didn't factor in was that the student > population at Park View > changed significantly during the period that was > evaluated. Of the 28 fifth > graders enrolled in 2000-01, 15 had attended the > third grade somewhere else. > In other words, the Department of Children, Families > and Learning was judging > two different sets of kids. "What you had was a > school that had a dramatic > change in the configuration of students that they > received," explains Rick > Spicuzza, assistant director for research, > evaluation, and assessment with > the Minneapolis Public Schools. [The Learning > Curve] > > As far as the district is concerned, only the > progress of those 13 fifth > graders continuously enrolled since the third grade > really matters. > > >The 13 students who were enrolled at Park View > continuously from third grade > to fifth grade improved their math scores at a rate > twice that of the > district average. What's more, according to the > Minneapolis Public Schools' > 2001 Measuring Up report, Park View's overall > performance, especially > considering the demographic makeup of its student > body, has been commendable. > The school was given a rating of 2.8 on a 5-point > scale, which puts it right > in the middle of the pack in Minneapolis. The > assessment takes into account > 33 different variables, ranging from student safety > to test results. > (Spicuzza says that the 2002 report is not yet > complete, but he believes Park > View's ranking will jump to over 3.) The school also > received two awards from > the school district in recent years for student > achievement. "This school has > made great strides from where they were," Spicuzza > maintains [The Learning > Curve]. > > This is not the first time the district has inflated > the rate of growth in > math and reading for continuously enrolled students, > and further claimed that > continuously enrolled students were making "great > strides," by comparing > different sets of students from one year to the > next. Typically, more > students with below-average test scores are > withdrawn from a school than > students with above-average scores. The district > used the same statistical > trick in the 1998 Better Schools Referendum Report > Card (dated January 1999) > to falsely claim that students in the Minneapolis > Public Schools were making > gains in math and reading growth above the national > norm. See "Perfuming the > Pig," the text of a speech I gave at the December > 15, 1998 meeting of the > Minneapolis Board of Education > http://members.tripod.com/educationright/id30.htm > > The "measuring up" report cards and the statements > of district officials, > including Carol Johnson, are designed to calm the > waters and whitewash a > school system where a majority of students are > failing to thrive > academically. That needs to change, and yesterday > won't be soon enough. > > -Doug Mann, Kingfield and the new 8th ward > Minneapolis School Board Candidate > http://educationright.tripod.com > _______________________________________ > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic > Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: > http://e-democracy.org/mpls
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