The issue of whether schools have much of an independent effect on the learning gap is a hot topic in education, and on the mpls issues list prior to school board elections in 2001 and 2002. Selected comments from the mpls issues list discussion in 2001 and 2002 can be found in "The Coleman Report," prepared for classroom use (for teachers in training) by the Department of Sociology, University of Washington http://staff.washington.edu/agnone/servicelearning/coleman_report.htm
It is my opinion that schools have a very large independent effect on the learning gap. As Dr. Cheryl King (superintendent finalist) noted, one commonly finds the least experienced teachers concentrated in schools with the highest concentrations of low-income students. How much of the poor student performance can one attribute to teacher expertise, how much to poverty and a culture of poverty? "In an analysis of 900 school districts, Ronald Ferguson found that teacher expertise - as measured by scores on a licensing examination, master's degrees, and experience - accounted for about 40% of measured variance in students' reading and mathematics achievement at grades 1 through 11..." - Nov. 1997 "Doing What Matters Most: Investing in Quality Teaching," by Linda Darling-Hammond, Prepared for the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. -Doug Mann, King Field Mann for School Board web site: www.educationright.com - - REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
