Saturday, September 28, 2013

New JCPS Slogan: "Not as bad as we used to be, but almost"

Jefferson County Public Schools have reportedly (in stories that were the journalistic equivalent of happy faces) improved under Kentucky's new "Unbridled Learning" assessment system, but not much, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal:
In Jefferson County, 41 percent of the district’s elementary students, 42 percent of middle-schoolers and 52 percent of high-schoolers scored proficient or better in reading, compared with last year’s rates of 42 percent, 38 percent and 51 percent, respectively.
And behind these lackluster numbers was this little tidbit:
Overall, JCPS saw a decline in three areas — elementary reading, middle school science and high school math.
If you can't teach students to read in elementary school, then the future is not bright. And high school math? It's not pretty:
Math proficiency fell slightly, ranging by grade level from 33 to 41 percent proficiency, compared with 33 to 46 percent last year.
In fact, some schools tanked altogether:
All of the district’s high schools scored worse this year in algebra II end-of-course exams. Nine schools — Butler, Doss, Manual, Fern Creek, Iroquois, Male, Pleasure Ridge Park, Southern and Western — posted double-digit declines in the subject.
Double digit declines. And, overall, only 23 percent of schools in Jefferson count scored proficient.

All this after having adopted Common Core standards in 2010. But the important thing is that the school unions are still in control and that teachers colleges are still the gatekeepers of teacher training.

Have a nice day.

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