Tuesday, April 11, 2017

The White - Black "Opportunity Gap";
Any Real Progress in Seattle Schools?

The Seattle Schools on 4/11/2017 webpage has a first 
link to: "Eliminating Opportunity Gaps".

Where you can learn the "supposed" good news.


The good news is that since 2011, the number of gap eliminating
schools has increased. We now have eight schools that are 
rapidly increasing achievement for students we have 
not historically served well. 
These schools have a common foundation and approach.
They are focused on:
  • data driven decisions;
  • matching the right support and interventions to student need;
  • teachers collaborating to innovate and problem solve;
  • supporting leadership from strong instruction-focused principals;
  • partners working with staff to provide whole child supports; and
  • teachers’ unwavering belief in their students is reflected in the school culture, the rigor in the classroom and students’ sense of belonging.
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But is Seattle's Good News connected to reality or is it only an attempt to 
make you believe significant progress is being made in closing the gaps?  
Look at those six bullet points are they making a difference?

Check the Seattle 8th grade MATH data for 

White - Black / African American gaps from State testing 2016 in Math:

Level 4 exceeds standard :  

White = 51.4%  :: Black = 12.1%    
[White results are over 4 times "Black" results at level 4]

Level 1 well below standard:

White = 7.6%  ::  Black = 37.5% 
[Black results are about 5 times "White" results at level 1]

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English Language Arts
Check the Seattle 8th grade ELA data for 
White - Black / African American gaps from State testing 2016 in ELA:

Level 4 exceeds standard :  

White = 41.3%  :: Black = 5.9%    
[White results are 7 times "Black" results at level 4]

Level 1 well below standard:

White = 4.5%  ::  Black = 29.1% 
[Black results are over 6 times "White" results at level 1]

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There is a term "Instructionally disabled"
in which a student appears to have a learning disability,
but there is no organic disability.  That child has been
"disabled" by poor instruction.

Check the data.  Why are things allowed to continue this way?

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Teachers are now in a system, which may be convenient
for administrators but is poorly serving students who may
live in less than ideal circumstances.

The one-size fits-all method of evaluating teachers is
based on largely measures of compliance with practices 
pushed from the top on down.  These practices are
not working well but woe be to the teacher that chooses
to do something different.

There have been a profusion of changes and demands 
on teachers with zero payback in learning for many
students living in less than ideal circumstances.

Why no protest over this?  

2 comments:

dan dempsey said...

There is a large difference between "eliminating" and "reducing" surely administrators in Seattle know the difference.

The good news is that since 2011, the number of gap eliminating
schools has increased
. We now have eight schools that are
rapidly increasing achievement for students we have
not historically served well.


Perhaps the number of gap reducing schools has increased,
but I question if there are any "gap eliminating schools".

Check the data. SPS is likely finding it convenient to mislead.

dan dempsey said...

There are not two sides. The disastrous pro reform oligarchy controls it all. Poor results do not matter. Math Teachers whether they know it or not are victims of a one party system. The Reform Party rules no matter how bad the results. Math Education PhDs know better than to heed results as ideology rules in this bizarre ongoing circus.