*I wonder how many other professions are judged upon the results of other people on one day in a particular year.
*I wonder when we will understand that money may not directly improve student performance but the lack of it certainly doesn't improve it either.
*I wonder when society will tackle the inequities of poverty which is the root of the problem.
*I wonder when parents will begin to realize that they have the power to influence MOST of their child's success.
*I wonder when people will realize that a 1% increase in funding of education is not an increase when the inflation rate is at roughly 2%.
*I wonder how many connections I will make with students this year. Something crucial in the education of kids but unmeasurable on an AYP scale.
See the results at the Department of Education website
Education Minnesota has a nice response to the roll out of AYP:
State educators explain what AYP designation really means for local schools
The president of Education Minnesota, the state educators’ union, cautioned today against judging the quality of a school using the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) report issued Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Education.“Many parents are shocked when they see their school on the failing list because it just doesn’t reflect their personal experience,” said Tom Dooher, president of Education Minnesota. “In fact, some of the schools listed as failing to make AYP this year are on the 2006 Newsweek list of the top schools in the country.”
Education Minnesota wants parents to understand what the results mean for the local schools where they are sending their kids in just a few days. “It is important to understand that Adequate Yearly Progress is a misnomer because it actually is based on proficiency and not progress,” said Dooher. Under No Child Left Behind, AYP status does not reflect the tremendous growth most students make during the school year, but instead provides a snapshot of their proficiency.
“This way of labeling schools is too simplistic. School accountability cannot be reduced to a simple rating like a movie or dining review. Schools and students are much more complex and cannot be evaluated by a one-time snapshot. Consider your driver’s license photo. That is a representation of you at one moment in time but in no way accurately represents who you are. The same is true of the AYP results,” Dooher stated.
Education Minnesota and its national affiliates, the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association, are seeking significant change in this area as the No Child Left Behind law is reauthorized. “We are not against accountability,” said Dooher. “But we want accountability that makes sense, accurately represents our schools and gives parents and teachers the information they need to improve student performance.” Priorities include:
· Using growth models to measure changes in each student’s performance
· Shifting AYP from a system that labels and penalizes schools to one
that rewards growth· Providing a fair and equitable system for assessing and counting test
scores for students with disabilities and English Language Learners· Reducing class sizes to improve learning and allow for more individual
instructional time· Ensure teachers have appropriate professional development to enhance
instructional skills and tailor lessons to help students grow.
