Pass rates on 2010 state math tests shocking

By Laurie H. Rogers

(Updated Nov. 14 to reflect adjusted scores, per the OSPI Report Card.)


Mathematics is a “gatekeeper” subject. Math guards the “gate” to college, the trades, the military, and entrepreneurship. If high school graduates don’t have sufficient math skills, they cannot pass through these gates.

Washington State’s pass rates for the spring 2010 standardized tests came out this week. I have a few of the math pass rates here, including some for Spokane Public Schools. I hope you’re sitting down.

Pass rates for Washington's 2010 math tests


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	Washington students:	Spokane students:
4th grade	53.7%	59.1%
7th grade	55.3%	55.4%
10th grade	41.7%	38.9%

Spokane Public Schools middle school math pass rates

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	Chase	Garry	Glover	Sacajawea	Salk	Shaw
7th:	61.0%	44.8%	44.2%	67.5%	59.2%	50.8%
8th:	49.1%	43.3%	30.6%	69.2%	61.4%	31.2%

Spokane Public Schools high school math pass rates
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Ferris	Lewis and Clark	North Central	Rogers	Shadle
54.0%	54.2%	27.1%	21.1%	44.4%

Folks, it's bad. But don’t get up from your seat just yet. It's worse than you think. According to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), our students needed to earn slightly more than half of the possible points on these tests in order to pass them.

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Grade	Points needed to pass:	Pct. needed to pass
3	21 out of 34	61.76%
4	20 out of 34	58.8%
5	20 out of 34	58.8%
6	23 out of 40	57.5%
7	22 out of 40	55%
8	22 out of 40	55%
10	unchanged from 2009	56.9%

Washington State’s 10th-grade students needed just 56.9% on their math tests in order to pass, and yet 61.3% of Spokane’s 10th graders couldn’t do it.
I’ll bet you also didn’t know:

1. OSPI looks at the completed tests first, and THEN decides where to set the cut scores. The State Board of Education approved these cut scores in August 2010, several months AFTER the students took the tests in the spring of 2010. The cut scores moved to fit -- not math standards nor academic content -- but test outcomes.
2. All of the cut scores dropped from 2009 (thereby making the tests easier to pass), with the exception of 7th grade, which rose 1 percentage point, and 10th grade, which was unchanged.
3. OSPI considers the passing scores noted above to also mean that students are “proficient” in mathematics. Therefore, a 10th grader is supposedly “proficient” in mathematics if he or she earns just 37 points out of a possible 65.

The takeaway message from these numbers is that our students are completely unprepared in mathematics. Worse, our administrators perpetuate this failing system deliberately, purposefully, willfully, stubbornly. It obviously is NOT working for the students. Despite what administrators like to claim, the math problem is NOT because of poor parenting, unmotivated students, unhelpful legislators, insufficient money, ineffective teachers, difficult social issues, insufficient "professional development," changing standards, or raging hormones. The math problem is because students are not being given enough mathematics, and that is because school administrators stubbornly REFUSE to allow the teachers to teach enough mathematics. Instead, our students are fed a steady diet of pretend mathematics, designed to suck up learning days with busy work, group work, “student-centered” activities, and student-created processes and definitions. These programs do NOT provide students with sufficient usable skills in mathematics. You can see for yourself how well the current programs work.

Parents and teachers: You are being betrayed. The children are being purposefully and persistently miseducated. They are not being given the math skills they need for college, for a trade, for business ownership, or for any postsecondary life that depends on or even uses mathematics. Most are unlikely to ever become engineers, doctors, attorneys, pilots, air traffic controllers, architects, or dozens of other types of well-paid professionals. Recent high school graduates who have not had outside intervention are likely to need remedial math classes before beginning college – perhaps several remedial math classes.

And that brings me to one more piece of bad news. In Spokane, nearly half of all SPS-educated students who take remedial math classes at our area two-year colleges fail those remedial classes or withdraw early. And what are their career options then?

Parents and teachers: Rise up. Take back the classroom from those who have stolen it. Go to board meetings, write letters, call school board members. Hold state and district administrators accountable for this education horror. Make the superintendent and the curriculum department personnel answer to you – specifically, out loud, and in public. And if they can't, if they won't ... call for their resignation or firing.

Meanwhile, please take the necessary steps to save the children. Supplement the math program, homeschool in mathematics, provide the children with tutors, or pull them out of the school system entirely. Do not let public-education administrators squander their futures. To those in Spokane: Please let me know if you plan to speak to the school board. I will do my best to be there, to support you and to cheer you on.


Please note: The information in this post is copyrighted. The proper citation is: Rogers, L. (September 2010). "Pass rates on 2010 state math tests shocking." Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com/

Grammar problems caused by "hyper-constructivism"

Guest column by Robert Archer, teacher
Shadle Park High School, Spokane, WA


What is a dangling participle? How about a future perfect progressive verb? What’s the difference between intensive pronouns and reflexive pronouns? How do you parse a sentence?

OK. So maybe those were a little too complex for anyone other than English-major uber-nerds. I get that. In fact, anyone who can answer those previous questions simply wants to show off his/her outstanding grammatical knowledge for all the world to witness and, consequently, to have that world bask in his/her pedantic glory. Let’s go a little easier. How about these?

What’s a noun? How about a verb? Can you tell the difference between a complete sentence, a fragment, and a run-on? Can you make sure your subject and verb agree?

Were those better? Was the latter set of questions more apropos for anyone with a high-school education to have as s/he enters the “real world” of being both a productive and an intelligible member of our modern society? Actually, more specifically, isn’t the latter set of questions completely suitable for any American middle schooler to answer correctly before even taking a step into the halls of the modern high school? To answer: Yes. Yes! And just for emphasis, YES!!!

However, in my 14 years of experience as a high school English teacher, such is absolutely not the case. In fact, I would argue that fewer than 10% of my 10th graders could answer each one of those latter questions correctly (and I believe I’m being generous). Simply put, students these days do not know basic grammatical skills and concepts.

Honestly, it’s gotten to the point that trying to make my way through the grammatical land mines that await me anytime I assign a writing assessment becomes so painstakingly tedious that even the solid content of any given essay becomes lost in the ghastly-writing-skills shrapnel. (And don’t even get me started on the spelling skills of this generation of non-phonics-learning texters! OMG!)

Let’s face it—when high school students cannot use their own language correctly, their overall communication skills—both in written and oral form—suffer tremendously. And if their communication skills are sub-par (and, again, I believe I’m being generous), then they are simply not ready to move on to the next level, whether that level is continuing in post-secondary education or becoming a part of our educated work force. Yet, we in education continue to do just that—pass them on to the next level, washing our hands of their complete language inadequacy.

So, where exactly may I point my flaming finger of blame when 15- and 16-year-olds do not know extremely rudimentary grammar skills as they enter my high school classroom? At first glance, it would seem both easy and logical to blame my middle-school peers (since they didn’t force the knowledge into the students’ brains) or even society at large (since we have allowed written communication to be reduced to little more than texting and emailing). However, the first victim of my intended scorn is unfair, and the second is too broad.

Rather, I tend to blame those involved in curriculum development because somewhere along the line, teaching grammar has become something that we teachers can simply “imbed” into the reading and writing curriculum. I guess grammar is just too “boring” and, therefore, will not “engage” our “modern-day students” into true learning.

I'm sorry, but in my experience, the term "imbedded" is nothing more than educationalese for "not ever specifically taught." Somehow, this grammar-is-imbedded movement is supposed to help students naturally take in what proper grammar is (i.e., grammar by osmosis). It's very much a hyper-constructivist approach to education; the students are supposed to "discover" proper grammar on their own as they read good pieces. Then, somehow and some way, they are to emulate these proper mechanical structures in their own writing. And if the students don't quite "take it all in," the teacher may take 2.5 minutes here and there to show them what a damn verb is.

Allow me a moment to let curriculum developers in on an English-teacher trade secret: It ain’t working! When I’m hoping for nothing more than 3-4 grammatically correct sentences being strung together at a time as the sign of a “good” paper, then my expectations have dropped far, far too low. Yet, sadly, this is exactly to what I’ve resigned myself.

I honestly believe that the English curriculum needs to return to its roots—teaching and drilling proper grammar at younger ages—for the sake of helping our students be better communicators. I don’t believe there could be any other answer.



Note from Laurie Rogers: If you would like to submit a guest column on public education, please write to me at wlroge@comcast.net. Please limit columns to not more than 1,000 words. Columns might be edited for length, content or grammar. You may remain anonymous to the public, however I must know who you are. All decisions on guest columns are the sole right and responsibility of Laurie Rogers.

Remedial rates: Spokane's big, dirty secret

By Laurie H. Rogers


What are the college remedial rates in mathematics? How many high school graduates have to take remedial classes in college BEFORE they can take college-level math classes? Our state education agency -- OSPI -- has previously estimated a 2% remedial rate at the University of Washington. Others have estimated anywhere from 30% to 90%, depending on which colleges they're talking about.

The problem with estimating remedial rates is that one must be specific about which students, which classes, which colleges, and which years. The numbers change, from year to year, they are higher for community colleges, and they are higher for public school students than for privately taught students.

As with any statistic, the numbers can be worked to say whatever we want them to say.

Public? Or private?: The remedial rates tend - almost without fail - to be higher for public school students than for privately educated or homeschooled students.

Mathematics? Or reading and writing?: Public schools teach reading and writing slightly better than they teach math. (This is not a "success," however. Schools still fail to teach sufficient grammar, spelling, and writing skills. Just ask any college English teacher, or any business owner who is looking for graduates who can write.)

Recent graduates (just got out of high school)? Or all graduates?: Remedial rates tend to be higher for people who have been out of high school for a few years. This seems obvious, however students don't have to be out for long to forget the little they were taught. That's because many weren't taught very well to begin with. (This is not - despite what you might have heard from district administrators - necessarily the teachers' fault. This has more to do with curriculum, methodology, and district policies.)

Community colleges? Or four -year colleges?: Remedial rates are much higher at community colleges than at four-year colleges. This is partly because many students begin their schooling at four-year colleges by picking up remedial classes at the community colleges.

College programs that cater to the technical fields? Or those that cater to the liberal arts: The remedial rates in mathematics tend to be higher at colleges that cater to the trades and technical fields.

Everyone? Or just students from specific high schools?: The numbers below are from six Spokane high schools, not from everyone who attended SCC and SFCC.

Everyone who tested? Or everyone who tested and enrolled in a remedial class?: The numbers below are for SPS graduates who tested at SCC and SFCC and then enrolled in a remedial math class.

Spokane's numbers are bad.

• It's true that the numbers below are just for SCC and SFCC. They don't include graduates who went to the four-year colleges or other colleges out of state.
• However, they also don't include students who dropped out in middle school or high school. Spokane currently has a 28.7% dropout rate, along with a serious dropout problem in middle school.
• Nor do the numbers below include students who tested into remedial math at SCC and SFCC but then declined to enroll.
• Nor do the numbers below include students who didn't drop out, who didn't have the math skills for college, but who decided to just not go to college.

Therefore, for students who graduated from a Spokane high school in 2008 and then enrolled at SCC or SFCC in 2008/2009 -- the number of students requiring remediation in mathematics (Source: Data extracted from May 27, 2010, tables provided by CCS Institutional Research):
Lewis & Clark High School:
SCC: 94.2%
SFCC: 71.8%

Joel E. Ferris High School:
SCC: 100%
SFCC: 69%

North Central High School:
SCC: 100%
SFCC: 91.8%

Shadle Park High School:
SCC: 100%
SFCC: 91.8%

John R. Rogers High School:
SCC: 95.8%
SFCC: 90.9%

Havermale:
SCC: 100%
SFCC: 87.5%

• All told, the overall remedial rate in mathematics from six Spokane high schools at SCC and SFCC is 87%.
• Most of these students tested into Elementary Algebra or below.
• Of the ones who took remedial math classes at SCC and SFCC in 2008/2009, almost 47% of them failed their remedial classes or withdrew early.

These numbers are damning of K-12 mathematics in Spokane Public Schools.
Spokane Public Schools could determine actual remedial rates by providing students with exit exams as they leave high school (based on college placement content). Of course, the administrators would have to want to know the remedial rates. They would have to want to engage in transparency, and to learn from their mistakes.

The Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) has not been good a indicator of college readiness because it was a 10th-grade test, it was based on low-level content, and to pass in 2009, students needed just 56.9%. (And yet, in Spokane in 2009, 57.7% of our 10th-grade students could not pass this low-level math test.)

In 2010, just 43% of Washington State students passed the new test, the HSPE. OSPI did tell everyone this -- 19 paragraphs down in its June 16, 2010, press release.

I have been told that students can deal with the weak math curricula in Spokane Public Schools by enrolling in Advanced Placement classes ... But the AP classes are being opened to everyone, including students who lack skills in arithmetic. Since Spokane Public Schools does not value arithmetic, going so far as to have actively and deliberately prevented teachers from teaching arithmetic -- this could be nearly every student.

This situation is unconscionable, destructive, and deceitful. The school board must get its act together and hold its superintendent and curriculum department accountable. Some firings are warranted -- one firing in particular.



Please note: The information in this post is copyrighted. The proper citation is:
Rogers, L. (June 2010). "Remedial rates: Spokane's big, dirty secret." Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com/

Teachers and parents: Take back the classroom from those who have stolen it

[Edited Oct. 12, 2011, to correct spelling of a name.]

By Laurie H. Rogers


Dear Teachers, Parents and Students in Spokane, WA:

In March 2010, Spokane’s high school math adoption committee recommended Holt Mathematics to the school board as its new high school math curriculum. This was based on:

• the adoption committee’s work over six months
• various assessments of Holt that had been done at the state level
• feedback from piloting teachers in Spokane
• feedback from students and parents in Spokane
• Holt’s superior alignment with the state math standards.

The state assessments chose Holt. Every piloting teacher in Spokane who expressed a preference between Holt and the other finalist chose Holt. Students chose Holt. The Spokane adoption committee chose Holt. The Spokane board adopted Holt. Holt is needed. The math situation in Spokane is desperate.

At SCC and SFCC, the remediation rate in mathematics for recent graduates of Spokane Public Schools is 87.1% (verified). Most test into elementary algebra or below (verified). Of those who take remedial math classes in the SCC system, almost 47% do not pass their remedial classes (also verified). Just 42.3% of Spokane’s high school students passed the 10th grade WASL in 2009. That test was based on 7th and 8th-grade material, and it required a score of just over 56% to pass. But 57.7% of our high school students couldn’t do it. This is not, despite what you’ve heard, the fault of teachers, students, parents or society. This is a direct result of weak math curricula in Spokane, from K-12.

The adoption committee and the piloting teachers chose Holt because of its order, structure and logical presentation. After we voted, Associate Superintendent Karin Short told us all to support the decision. But a few people – several from Ferris High School – continued to agitate against Holt. As of May 2010, Holt Mathematics is suddenly not the new curriculum in Spokane. Teachers are now being told that the standards are the curriculum, and that Holt Mathematics is just "a resource." Teachers will not be allowed to begin on page 1 of the Holt textbook. Instead, the high school program will start with a later chapter, then skip around the book, along with heavy “supplementing” with a program from some folks at Ferris High School.

The Ferris program was supposedly based on the Washington State PEs and the Common Core Standards. But the CCS weren't released in final form until after Ferris began building this program. Additionally, Washington State has not yet adopted the CCS. And yet, the people at Ferris skipped ahead to plan a program based on these national standards.

This is the district’s run-around. They lost the battle, but they intend to win the war. This deceit is supported by curriculum staff and by Superintendent Stowell. They didn’t like how the adoption committee chose, so they are changing the rules to suit them. You are the ones who will pay. These people - this rogue element - in the central office and at Ferris High School apparently believe they know better than:

• the publisher and the math professionals who built Holt Mathematics
• the mathematicians who assessed Holt Mathematics
• the adoption committee that chose Holt Mathematics
• the piloting teachers who chose Holt Mathematics
• the students and parents who chose Holt Mathematics
• the school board director who is a physics professor and who recommended the adoption of Holt Mathematics
• the school board that adopted Holt Mathematics
• the state administrators and legislators who have not yet officially adopted the national standards

Take a lesson, folks. This is true arrogance. They have no research to support their new program, no data that supports their ideology or methodology. They have nothing except their own certainty. And apparently, that's all they think they need. This bastardized program is likely to fail. They will then probably say that Holt failed when in actuality Holt was never given a fair chance. And another entire generation of students, a million taxpayer dollars, and several teachers will be tossed under the bus.

On May 27, 2010, Dr. Stowell, and Board Directors Sue Chapin, Bob Douthitt and Rocky Treppiedi hosted "Educating Spokane," a call-in show on PBS. Asked about Holt Mathematics being shoved aside, Dr. Stowell said that Holt is not the curriculum. The standards are the curriculum, she said.

Another question was asked: "The piloting teachers recommended a curriculum. The committee recommended a curriculum. The board adopted a curriculum. How is it that Holt is not the curriculum?" The superintendent answered that the Holt book was just instructional material, not the curriculum. It wasn't perfect, she said, and so they were “supplementing” it.

Supplementing?? Is it “supplementing” to pick apart the textbook, skip chapters, cut out chunks and bring in their own materials to replace it?? This “process” was fraudulent, and it’s breathtakingly unfair to teachers and students. No longer will it be enough for teachers to just do as they’re told. The system is being set up so that ALL teachers are at risk. Because this process will not work for the students, the math remediation and dropout rates will continue to rise. With the new federal, state and local emphasis on firing "ineffective teachers," teachers will be assessed based on how students do on standardized tests for which the students will not be prepared. Many teachers (at least the ones who do not work at Ferris High School) will be at risk of being disciplined, demoted, retired or fired for being “ineffective” or “insubordinate.”

This is the school district you have right now. It's embarrassing and shameful. But they are not shamed. Nothing will change for you until we have a new superintendent. This district is corrupt. Teachers, parents, students and taxpayers need to rise up and organize, become our own force. We need to take back the classroom from these cynical, self-centered people. Teachers have no protection, not from the unions, not from administrators, not from their state leaders, and – so far – not from the media. But you can rise up en masse and take the classroom back. You can organize in basements, backyards and living rooms, vote no-confidence in your superintendent, and fight for your right to teach. Please come to the next school board meeting – or write to the school board – and tell them to ensure fidelity of implementation of Holt Mathematics.

Ask them to also investigate this fraudulent process.


Please note: The information in this post is copyrighted. The proper citation is: Rogers, L. (May, 2010). "Teachers and parents: Take back the classroom from those who have stolen it." Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com/

On May 12, tell school board to vote no to RTTT

By Laurie H. Rogers


(Updated May 30, 2010: see comment at bottom.)

On May 12, at 7 p.m. Spokane Public Schools board directors will vote on whether to support Washington State's Race to the Top application. I'm asking you to attend that board meeting, or call school board directors, and tell them to vote no. Ask others you know to come or to call. Your rights as a citizen, parent, teacher and taxpayer hang in the balance.

Race to the Top represents a de facto federal takeover of public education. Its intent is unconstitutional and banned in 20 USC 3403. This bare fact is not stopping people at federal, state and local levels from enthusiastically pressing for a handover of state rights and responsibilities for public education to the federal government.

At the school board's May 5 work session, Spokane Superintendent Nancy Stowell articulated her reasons for why the school board should vote to support Washington's Race to the Top application. Note that none of these reasons has to do with improving student learning.

Nancy Stowell argues (paraphrased, unless in quote marks):	Laurie Rogers argues:
Almost everyone else is doing it.	1. Not true. Some states, districts, and policy-makers are saying no. Others are hesitating. 2. Maybe those who are saying yes are making a mistake. 3. If everyone said no, it wouldn’t happen.
Race to the Top is coming, so Spokane might as well get some money for it.	1. This is a revolting, embarrassing argument. When a bad thing looms, we should just sit back and get money for it? What does that make us? 2. This is not "their money," "the money," "federal money," or "some money." This is taxpayer money, all of it. And taxpayers should have a say in how it is spent. Once public education is managed at the federal level, this right will be de facto removed, possibly forever.
Spokane would get about $6.4 million over four years.	1. Half of all "grant" money for Race to the Top stays with administrators at the state level. (That's their cut of the take.) So, if the total is $250 million, the state gets $125 million. 2. IF Washington State gets all $250 million dollars it could get, Spokane will get $6.4 million over four years, which is less than $60 per student per year. 3. Much of the $56.82 per student per year will pay for administrative overhead and bureaucracy. How much will go to the classroom? Any?
Most of what's in the RTTT application will be required by the recently passed Senate Bill 6696.	This is a circular argument. SB6696 was expressly designed to set Washington up to apply for RTTT. But SB6696 is not in stone. It can be reversed.
Many educators said "hallelujah" to SB6696 and said it didn't even go far enough. SB6696 takes us forward to doing business very differently from how we've been doing it.	1. And there you have it. I urge you to read SB6696. It was a bad bill that should not have been passed. It is just the beginning of more bad policy. 2. SB6696 shows you exactly why RTTT is all wrong.
Spokane will have "better positioning" to be "part of the reform movement."	What does this even mean? Education is ALWAYS being reformed. How does RTTT help the students learn better?
People will ask whether Spokane is on board.	Tell them Spokane said no to this federal takeover of public education and to another complete waste of billions of taxpayer dollars.
We have 90 days AFTER getting the money to come up with a plan for spending it.	Superintendent Stowell doesn't have a plan now? So, it's get the money, then figure out how to spend it?
The money is earmarked for things required by U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan.	1. Superintendent Stowell acknowledged that there will be "considerable oversight" of RTTT spending and procedure. She has already complained about the punitive nature of NCLB. Constant hovering by the federal government already takes precious time, money and resources away from the classroom. 2. Superintendent Stowell acknowledged that not everything that is required by RTTT will actually be useful for our students. 3. If RTTT is implemented in this state, bureaucrats in Washington, DC, will decide how to spend our money, educate our children, set policy for our state, assess our teachers - perhaps bargain with our teachers - and run our school district. 4. If you think Arne Duncan has all of the answers, remember that he will not be there forever.
Spokane is "desperate" for money. "We're going after every dollar we can."	1. The Department of Education says $658 billion was spent (from all sources) last year on K-12 education. Much of this was poorly spent. It just vanishes, spent on things that have little public accountability and nothing to do with the classroom. 2. Look at the plans for Race to the Top -- at the 50% going to the state, plus another (unknown) percentage for local administration. All of this vs. the pittance that goes to the classroom.
Signing on to the state application doesn't "bind us" to doing anything.	I keep getting told this, by the ED, the governor's office, and state and district superintendents... I don't see anyone offering a plan or conditions for saying no. Don't believe this false reassurance. None of these people will say no.
We can apply for more money under other aspects of the application.	1. Policy will continue to be set by running after money, instead of doing what is best for the children. 2. What is best for the children has to do with what happens in the classroom. Little of the RTTT money is destined to go there.
This is a quick turnaround, so we have to decide now.	1. The deadline for Washington's application is on June 1, the same day as the projected release of the final draft of the national standards ("common core standards"), the adoption of which is required as part of a successful application. 2. Previous drafts of these national standards indicate that they're weaker than our own state standards. 3. No one will have a chance to see or comment on the final draft of the national standards before Washington's application is sent in. 4. Why the big rush? Why are administrators not taking a moment to ask hard questions about this critical shift in policy?
The two successful state applications had huge district sign-on.	This argument is a red herring. It doesn't support any supposed benefits of the application itself.
"Many educators" believe that if we want our children to be able to compete, we need common standards that all states accept. The national standards will bring needed consistency.	1. Having "common" standards isn't what helps children compete. Having GOOD standards that lead to GOOD curricula is what helps them compete. 2. The national standards that are required as a part of RTTT have so far been WEAKER than Washington's state standards.
"The common core standards is a very small part of this."	The national standards are a HUGE part of this. The national standards are already leading to national tests and plans for national curricula. At that point, the federal government will control the K-12 classroom.
This gives us the opportunity to make some changes we've been wanting to make.	There is nothing stopping this district from making changes it wants to make. However, in exchange for a few dollars, it will be forced to make changes it should not be making.
If we say no now, we can't say yes later.	"Buy NOW or miss out" is a red herring. If Spokane says no, it will be harassed to say yes later. There will always be another chance to say yes to this federal takeover. The real question is: If Spokane says yes now, will it ever have an opportunity later to say no?

Many people want Spokane to sign on: President Obama, Secretary Duncan, Governor Chris Gregoire, Superintendent Randy Dorn, various unions (WASA, AWSP, WEA and WSSDA), and Superintendent Stowell. This is some heavy-duty pushing. None of these people have articulated how RTTT money will help students learn better. Why the big rush? Why the heavy coercion? Why are they not asking nor answering hard questions about this critical shift in policy? Why has so much of the federal and state process on RTTT been done away from the public eye?

I am asking you to go to the school board meeting on May 12 and tell the school board to say no to supporting Washington State's Race to the Top application. If you can't go, please write to them or call them individually. This might be the last chance you get.

(Update May 30, 2010: Comment from Laurie Rogers.
On May 12, 2010, The school board voted 3-2, with Dr. Jeff Bierman and President Sue Chapin dissenting, to sign on to Race to the Top. The argumentation for signing on was as weak as the argumentation noted above. Directors didn't answer the concerns from the public - or even concerns from within their own ranks. It was a truly embarrassing display. This school board sold its teachers, parents and students for a nickel it isn't even certain to get. Shameful.)

Please note: The information in this post is copyrighted. The proper citation is: Rogers, L. (May, 2010). "On May 12, tell school board to vote no to RTTT." Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com/

Is Spokane Public Schools a "dropout factory"?

By Laurie H. Rogers


(Updated: May 30, 2010)In 2010, The Spokesman-Review reported that Spokane Public Schools has a 40% dropout rate. If true, that would make the district a "dropout factory," as defined in a 2007 report from Johns Hopkins University that called some schools "drop-out factories" because they had a 40% (or worse) dropout rate.

The Spokesman-Review article didn't quote anyone taking issue with the validity of that figure, so I quoted it at a town hall meeting, and later in a Letter to the Editor. However, the 40% figure for Spokane is incorrect. The actual dropout rate for the cohort of students who were supposed to graduate in 2009 was 28.7%. Part of the confusion lies in the definitions. Who is a “dropout?”

• Students who formally file papers saying they’ve chosen to drop out.
• Students who haven’t been seen for a few months, so it’s assumed they’ve dropped out, but no one knows for certain. Maybe they’re foster kids, they’ve been in jail, they’re living in abusive homes, or their parents are homeless, transient or migrant. They do what they can. They don’t know when or where they’ll be going next.
• Students who graduate with a credential other than a high school diploma (such as a General Education Development (GED) credential).
• Students who need more than 4 years of schooling to complete graduation requirements (also known as “extended graduation rates”).
• Students who left to be homeschooled or to attend a private or alternative school.

In 2008, former Education Sec. Margaret Spellings criticized states’ methods for reporting dropouts, saying the states tended to inflate on-time graduation rates. She said some reported only those students who said officially that they were dropping out, while others marked as “graduated” the students who left the school but promised to get a GED in the future. In April 2008, Sec. Spellings took steps to "ensure that all states use the same formula” to calculate graduation and dropout rates; to make the rates public; and to tie graduation rates to annual targets for the No Child Left Behind Act.

It's important to properly report dropout and graduation rates. Students who don’t graduate are at high risk of having limited futures. Speaking at a May 2007, summit in D.C. called “America’s Silent Epidemic,” Sec. Spellings said, “Today, a quality education is more important than ever and solving our dropout crisis is not just a moral imperative, it's an economic necessity. The United States has the most severe income gap between high school graduates and dropouts in the world.” In April 2008, she reiterated the message: “Over their lifetimes, dropouts from the class of 2007 alone will cost our nation more than 300 billion dollars in lost wages, lost taxes and lost productivity. Increasing graduation rates by just five percent, for male students alone, would save us nearly eight billion dollars each year in crime-related costs."

I note this difficulty in defining “dropout” as a way of showing support for administrators and journalists who struggle to put together relevant and consistent data that are based on fine statistical distinctions and the vagaries of human beings. After the Spokane superintendent and a board member told me the 40% figure is incorrect, I called the state education agency (OSPI) twice to ask for clarification of the data, and two helpful souls carefully led me through the numbers. Besides the issue of how to define a "dropout," there is the need to assign static numbers to mobile human beings. Additionally, the desire for clarity requires multiple representations of the data. It’s easy to misunderstand.

For the class of 2007/2008, Spokane’s on-time graduation rate was just over 60%. It had an estimated 29.3% dropout rate for all of the students who were supposed to graduate in 2008 (the cohort). The district's "extended" graduation rate was just 61.9%, meaning that once students fell behind, they tended to stay behind for good. The remaining 9.2% of students in that particular “cohort” were “continuing,” as in continuing to work on their diploma.

For the class of 2008/2009, Spokane's on-time graduation rate was 62.1%. It had an estimated cohort dropout rate of 28.7%, and an extended graduation rate of 65% for all students who were supposed to graduate in 2009.

In Washington State, graduation and dropout rates are reported on the OSPI Web site at this address: http://www.k12.wa.us/

• Click on the link (at the top) for "Research and Reports."
• Choose "School Report Card."
• In the dropdown menu, choose your school district. (You also can define further, by school.) The resulting screen gives you data for your school district.
• At the very bottom of the Report Card page, click on the tiny link for "Data Files." The resulting screen gives you "Demographic Data Downloads," "WASL Data Downloads," and "AYP Data Downloads."
• Click on "Graduation Rates By District." (It's an Excel file.) You will see several categories for student data that are pertinent to graduation for all school districts in Washington State.

I looked at Data Files for 2007/2008 for Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Vancouver.

• The estimated cohort dropout rates for the four districts for 2007-2008 are: Seattle: 32.1%; Spokane: 29.3%; Tacoma: 24.8%; Vancouver: 22.4%.
• Spokane and Seattle also have a serious dropout problem in 7th and 8th grades. Spokane lost more than 5% of its middle-school students for that cohort, nearly 250 students. The dropout problem dropped off slightly in 9th and 10th grade, then roared back to life in 11th and 12th grades.
• Spokane's problems continued throughout high school. At the start of 10th grade, 97.5% of students in that cohort were still on time to graduate. At the beginning of 11th grade, that figure had dropped to 93%. From there, the drops were dramatic. At the start of 12th grade, just 83.3% were on time. At the end of 12th grade, just 70.7% were on time. The cohort ended with just 60.3% actually graduating on time.

Is Spokane a "dropout factory"? It depends on your definition. Even with a 28.7% cohort dropout rate, the district obviously has a serious dropout problem. I have wondered what the district is doing about it, and I asked Superintendent Nancy Stowell the question at a February town hall meeting. She said the reported dropout figure was wrong (which it was), then she blamed the dropout issue on more rigorous learning standards. (That was odd.) In March, when Dr. Stowell clarified the dropout figures for me, she said, "The dropout rate at 28.7 is still much too high so we aren't making any excuses, just looking for programs that will work to keep our students on track to graduate and then making whatever technical fix we can to ensure that the numbers we report to the state are correct."

Three ideas that would help "keep students on track" would be: 1) Give the teachers and students better curricula that contain more content, 2) Allow the teachers to actually teach the students instead of forcing the students to teach themselves and each other, and 3) Remove from the school day 90% of the activities that distract from academic learning (such as the constant school assemblies, computer and calculator classes, games, parties and character classes). These ideas would improve so much yet cost so little.

I keep saying all of this to administrators, and I might as well be talking to the wind.

Meanwhile, the "Children's Investment Fund" (CIF) is a new tax initiative purportedly designed to help with the dropout rate. According to a Feb. 21, 2010, Spokesman-Review article, the fund would pay for "early childhood learning, abuse and neglect prevention and treatment programs, mentoring programs and before- and after-school activities." These CIF programs supposedly could improve the dropout rate by "up to 20 percentage points." There was no support whatsoever for this fantastical claim, and none of the CIF programs was connected in any clear way to dropout rates.

The CIF is just another grab for money from taxpayers' pockets to pay for nebulous, unproved, supposedly well-intended programs. Like all nebulous programs before them, they will be a bottomless pit, a black hole that sucks in taxpayer money and emits just 40-60% of available light. There are better, more effective solutions available that don't require additional money from you.

Dr. Lorna Spear, Spokane's Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, is conducting a study of middle schools. I'm told this is partly to address the dropout problem in the middle schools, but I can't say for sure. I've been asking questions about this study since Feb. 25. Initially, Dr. Spear was too busy to answer my email. Someone else directed me to the school board minutes, which didn't explain the study. Finally, after more queries from me, Dr. Spear replied on April 26 with exactly this: "The Board of Directors is convening an Advisory. I am working with administrators to read the research and determine best practices for middle level."

I thought that was her regular job. If it isn't, what is her regular job? Lorna Spear has a doctorate, she makes more than $100,000 per year, and this is the best she can do in answering a question about a taxpayer-funded study? It isn't good enough.

(Update: I called Dr. Spear's office on April 26 to ask for a meeting. A few days later, she called me back. I couldn't talk at that moment, so she offered to have her assistant call to set up a phone appointment. She had no time to meet, she said. Her assistant offered me 15 minutes over the telephone in the second week of May.)
(Update#2: Dr. Spear called me May 12 and told me she isn't doing a special study. She's just doing what she always does, she said - reading research and trying to improve the schools. I came away from that conversation without any sense of what specifically the district is doing with regard to the dropouts.)

Today, I gave Spokane Superintendent Nancy Stowell another opportunity to tell me what the school district is doing to address its low on-time graduation rate and its serious dropout problem. I'll tell you what she says.
(Update: As of June 11, 2010, I have received no response from Dr. Stowell. I think we can safely say I'm unlikely to ever get a response to this question.)




Please note: The information in this post is copyrighted. The proper citation is: Rogers, L. (April, 2010). "Is Spokane Public Schools a 'dropout factory'?" Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com/

Spokane board adopts Holt Mathematics

On March 24, shortly after 10 p.m., the board of Spokane Public Schools voted to adopt Holt Mathematics as its new high school math program. The vote was 4-1, with the president, Sue Chapin, casting the only "nay" vote.

This is a positive step in the right direction for the students in this district. They have been waiting for a decade. I want to say to the students, "I'm sorry it has taken so long. I feel your pain. I know you have suffered. But I believe you will be happier with this book. It has most of the things you asked for - examples, explanations, descriptions, details, directions, tips & hints, instruction, clarity, 'real math,' definitions, procedures, answers, online help, videos, support materials, and helpful visuals. It will help prepare you for life after school, whether you go to college, begin a trade, start your own business, or just want to run your personal lives more effectively."

To the parents, I want to say, "I believe you will be much happier with this book. It has most of the things you asked for, too - clarity, examples, instructions, structure and 'real math.' You will be able to help your children. Your children will be able to help themselves. Please step away from any negativity you might hear and give the Holt program a chance. I think you'll appreciate it."

To the teachers, I want to say, "I know this book represents a change from what you've had for the last decade. I know you have been beat to death with reform and discovery, and when the result was a 42.3% pass rate on the 2009 10th-grade math WASL, you were blamed. I think you will find that the Holt program helps you, helps the students, and helps the parents. This is NOT a 'traditional' book from the 1940s. It is a balanced book. Some people want to scare you off of this book by saying it removes all of the conceptual learning, but this is not so. This book does contain discovery, application and conceptual learning. But room has been made in this book for actual content, and your students will benefit. The publishers have spent a lot of time developing support for you, including a good teacher text, online resources, examples, tests, and lab work. I hope you will give this program a chance."

To the school board, I want to say, "'Thank you,' especially to Dr. Jeff Bierman, who helped shepherd this process through the gate. I know you're all getting mixed messages from people, and that it's difficult sometimes to sort out the best action. This is a good thing you have done for almost 30,000 students. It will require follow-through. Students need more than this - like a better curriculum for K-8 so that they head into Holt Mathematics prepared. But this is a positive step in the right direction. You can feel proud of this vote. I am proud of you."

To the administrators who organized the high school math adoption committee, I want to say, "Thank you for allowing me to participate. Thank you for giving parents, students and teachers a voice in this particular adoption. It's been a long time coming, and every person who participated appreciated the opportunity. I hope you will continue to allow parents a voice. It is, after all, our children that all of this is for."

To the math and science professionals, and the math and literacy advocates who are so generous with their time, expertise and work, I want to say, "'Thank you,' especially to the folks with 'Where's the Math?' The last three years were a steep learning curve for me, and I couldn't have continued to advocate for these children without you. There is a special place in heaven for those who spend their days fighting for a better education for our children. It's an often-thankless task with many setbacks and few rewards. On the rare occasion we do get somewhere, we have done an immeasurably good thing for our children, our community, and our country. Many of you risk your jobs to be advocates. Many of you fight on, even though the decision-makers around you reject everything you say. Still, you share your heart, your time and your work with the rest of us. I appreciate you."

To my husband and daughter, I want to say, "Thank you for your patience, kindness, love and support. 222-222-2222 x infinity."

Onward, folks, to the K-8 math curriculum. Let's get it done.


Please note: The information in this post is copyrighted. The proper citation is:Rogers, L. (March, 2010). "Spokane board adopts Holt Mathematics." Retrieved (date) from the Betrayed Web site: http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com/