Robert P. Goldman wrote: > With all due respect to Mr. Atherton, As a parent of public school > children, I haven't seen a lot of evidence of public school employees > being obstacles to my children's education. My experience is pretty > limited to Jefferson Community school, but I have been very, very > impressed with the teachers, principal, vice principal, and even the > much-maligned office staff. > > I am not happy with everything, but my impression of the employees I > see in day-to-day contact with students and parents is very favorable.
Jefferson Community School Minnesota Basic Skills Test Percent Passing Grade 8 Reading 51% Math 33% Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment Percent Proficient Grade 3 Reading 39% Math 58% Grade 5 Reading 51% Math 55% Percent of Students Making A Year's Growth Reading 53% Math 59% Tests scores are not everything, but they are general indicators of typical performance. My personal opinion is that the performance level at Jefferson Community School is unacceptable, but I'm sure there might be a lot of nice people who work there. Nice and student achievement don't always correlate, neither do management style and organizational success. Mr. Goldman's disconnect with the overall performance for students at Jefferson illustrates why testing is so critical for educational reform, without it we could go on for years believing that everything is just fine and dandy. Michael Atherton Prospect Park 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
