Statewide, there were gains in math, but reading scores were stagnant. At Racine Unified, scores are, again, below state averages, but district officials say students have made some gains. "One year of test data does not signify a trend," said Unified officials. "However, the results of the Fall 2009 state testing are encouraging."
According to figures from RUSD, students in four out of five grades improved their reading scores over last year, although all are below state averages. In math, three out of five improved, but all are below state averages. Here's the table of results Unified provided (click to enlarge):
A statement from Supt. James Shaw, Stephen Miller, director of Standards, Assessment, and Accountability, and Jeff Weiss, director of Curriculum and Instruction, says:
The fall 2009 WKCE results suggest that Racine Unified School District students are becoming better readers, writers, and problem-solvers. Overall, these results present a mixed picture of continuing achievement gaps along with some “early wins.”The state slices and dices the results many different ways. Here are comparisons of Unified's scores with some regional districts ("athletic conference") chosen by the state. (FAY stands for Full Academic Year.)
Achievement gaps persist for African-American and Hispanic students, as well as for economically disadvantaged students. However, the one-year change in mean scale scores in math (45.6 points) for grade 4 African-American RUSD students exceeded the growth of all other racial groups in RUSD over the same period. Additionally, there was growth in mean scale scores for all racial groups in both reading and math, although very modest among some groups at selected grades.
The biggest wins occurred in WKCE proficiency results for grade 3 reading and math with increases of five and four percentage points respectively. Equally encouraging wins were grades 6, 7, & 8 reading and math proficiency increases ranging as high as eight percentage points.
Want to find the results from a specific RUSD school? Go HERE.
Unified points out that the number of students living in poverty within the district continues to increase, which is perhaps no surprise in this economic downturn with City of Racine unemployment rates in double digits."We know that economically disadvantaged circumstances remain a factor in students’ readiness to learn," says the RUSD statement.
This school year, 62.3% of elementary, 56.8% of middle, and 44.3% of RUSD's high school students have been identified as economically disadvantaged (by their eligibility for subsidized lunch), compared to 57.7%, 52.1%, and 36.7% respectively last school year. The state's percentage is 37.2% eligible for subsidized lunch; last year the state figure was 33.6%.
A huge factor in all of this is basic nutrition yet RUSD is doing nothing to allow organically raised
ReplyDeletefood (some raised by the kids themselves) to be used in the schools, why? Kim P RUSD member was at the Seed meeting, does she not care? Can she enplane the long time line to get local organically raised food into the schools?
There is now a a farm starting to get going within the Urban area of Racine to grow food organically to sell at Farmer's Markets that they plan to start yet no help from the local Alderman, why?
Is it because the Alderman likes having his area be a food desert? Is it because he dislikes good food coming into his district?
It's going to take a hell of a lot more than nutrition.
ReplyDeleteBut kids who eat healthy food do better then kids who eat junk
ReplyDeleteSure - it's the junk food that's creating 50% drop out rate, gangs, guns, knives - if we could only get them on a good diet.
ReplyDeleteUntil we lift our people out of poverty, American public education will remain a sick joke. Needed: federal social programs galore financed by confiscatory taxes on the oligarchy.
ReplyDeleteMajor Tv news is reporting a majority of school districts claiming progress from higher scores! The pressure and embarisment from the states low ranking may have resulted in an easier test. The progress RUSD claims, may be a bit premature!
ReplyDeleteOrganic food for breakfast and lunch at school.....a happy meal and pork rinds for dinner. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteDear 5:50 PM, I'm pretty sure that you're right about the pressure to administer an easier test in order to raise scores. Back in the seventies, the edu-clowns in Detroit did the same thing to make their district look good after a batch of tests had revealed the truth about the Motor City's public schools. Alas, the scam didn't fool anybody then and doesn't deceive anyone now. Testing tricks notwithstanding, bad schools remain bad schools, period.
ReplyDeleteMr. Angry where have you been? We have missed you - The Oligarchy
ReplyDeleteThe union is there to protect the jobs of the teachers. They don't have to teach. We are cramming a bunch of stuff at them real fast and expecting them to memorize it pass the test and move on to more data. Why not spend more quality time actually learning something and not rushing to pass daily or weekly tests and not really learning the data?
ReplyDeleteArthur Fremont Gilmore is not a real person. Puhleeze
ReplyDeleteeducationreform - I think your spelling is an "embarrassment." Is that what you call education reform?
ReplyDeleteSorry there...anon..8:51 AM ....Me spelz er dus lic day taut me too in der scuel....
ReplyDeleteAnon 5:26, the resident socialist, fascist. Everything is the fault of the rich and the conservatives. It is not OUR place to lift anyone out of poverty. It is their place to make the effort to do so. And I have no problem with helping someone who truly wants to put for the effort. But there are just too damn many of them that just sit back month after month with their hand out and do nothing to try to improve themselves. We should rename Anon 5:26 as the "entitlement czar."
ReplyDeleteAnon 8:15, you've got it mostly right. But the unions are not just there to protect teacher's jobs, but also to push the NEA's political liberal agenda. It seems that the thing the schools have stopped teaching students, as they did in my day, was to teach students HOW to learn and research things for themselves. Memorizing data and testing on it is not "learning."
Anon 5:26, the resident socialist, fascist. Everything is the fault of the rich and the conservatives. It is not OUR place to lift anyone out of poverty. It is their place to make the effort to do so. And I have no problem with helping someone who truly wants to put for the effort. But there are just too damn many of them that just sit back month after month with their hand out and do nothing to try to improve themselves. We should rename Anon 5:26 as the "entitlement czar."
ReplyDeleteAnon 8:15, you've got it mostly right. But the unions are not just there to protect teacher's jobs, but also to push the NEA's political liberal agenda. It seems that the thing the schools have stopped teaching students, as they did in my day, was to teach students HOW to learn and research things for themselves. Memorizing data and testing on it is not "learning."