The district's reading curriculum and preferred methods of instruction are
either ineffective (not best practices) or those inner city kids just can't
learn.
K-6 teachers are generally expected to differentiate the reading / English
Language Arts curriculum by assigning students to instructional groups
within the classroom [and to separate classrooms] according to perceived
ability. The teacher's edition Grade Level Expectations manuals for grades
K-6 recommend ability-grouping and a guided reading strategy. And the
districtwide reading curriculum is based on the so-called "whole language"
(look-say / whole word recognition) method.
About half of the public school districts in Minnesota consider instruction
based on individualized educational planning to be consistent with best
practices, discourage ability-grouping / curriculum differentiation
in elementary grades, and don't take money from the state of Minnesota
that is specifically earmarked for gifted programs and the identification
of 'gifted children.' Some school districts (and most private schools) have
an undifferentiated, college-bound curriculum for the general student
population
at all grade levels.
Ability-grouping / curriculum differentiation has been done in secondary
grades in the US and just about everywhere else for about 100 years or
so. But ability-grouping in the elementary grades is a unique feature of
the public school system in the US. Public schools in the US began
to ability-group elementary school students in the late 1950s and
early 1960s, especially in the Deep South. Black students were
generally put into low-ability instructional groups when integrated
into white schools through small scale "voluntary desegregation"
programs of the 1960s. Ability-grouping was widely rejected in 1970s
and early 1980s, but has been widely reintroduced since the mid-1980s.
I think that it is not coincidental that on National Assessment
of Educational Progress exams the difference in average reading
scores between black & white 13 year olds declined by about
50% between 1971 & 1988. This test score gap has increased
by about 75% from where it was at in 1988. [The New Crisis
(NAACP magazine), Sept/Oct 2001, "Long Division," p. 25-31,
graph on page 28]
The 1983 report commissioned by the Reagan-Bush administration about
the status of America's public schools, A Nation at Risk complained
of a "rising tide of mediocrity," i.e., that the educational establishment
was
closing the gap at the expense of high-achievers. However, data from
National Assessment of Educational Progress exams from the 1970s
to late 1980s contradict that claim. [The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud,
and the Attack on America's Public Schools, 1995, by David C.
Berliner and Bruce J. Biddle, page 26-27]
Also see: "Evidence that school policies matter"
http://educationright.tripod.com/id173.htm
-Doug Mann
http://educationright.tripod.com
"Power doesn't take a step back in the face of a smile, or in the face of a
prayer, or in the face of a loving nonviolent action. Power only takes a
step
back in the face of greater power. And power in defense of freedom is
greater
than power in defense of tyranny, because the power of a just cause is based
on conviction, and leads to resolute and uncompromising action."
--Malcolm X, "Prospects for Freedom," Militant Labor Forum, New York
City, 7 January 1965
In a message dated 11/15/2002 9:06:32 PM Central Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Grouping kids in a classroom by ability is the most effective and proven
> method to helping kids become better readers. This is called
> "differentiation" in education lingo. It is BEST practices. Grouping kids
> allow the teacher to best meet the needs of each student. (Not a separate
> classroom but within the same classroom.) Elementary classrooms have a
> very wide range of reading abilities. My third grade classroom has some
> students reading at a first grade level while others are reading at a fifth
> grade level. Those students reading at a first grade level are still
> learning to decode words and need instruction on phonics. Those students
> reading at a fifth grade level need instruction on learning words in
context
> or understanding word origin. Much different instructional needs! How
> would you propose to do that in a heterogeneous group Mr. Mann???
>
> Terry Erickson
_______________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
