Dear Commons Community,

Schools in the state of Washington are being subjected to harsh punishments because the state legislature refuses to require that teacher evaluations be based in part on student test scores. In fact, nearly nine in 10 Washington State public schools, including some high-achieving campuses in the state’s most moneyed communities, have been relegated to a federal blacklist of failure, requiring them to set aside 20 percent of their federal funding for private tutoring or to transport students to schools not on the failing list, if parents wish. The New York Times chronicles the issue as follows:

“Three years ago, Lakeridge Elementary School, where most pupils come from lower-income families, was totally remade. A new principal arrived and replaced half the staff, and she lengthened the school day and year. Working with a $3 million federal grant, the staff collaborated with the University of Washington to train teachers in new instructional techniques. The results were powerful: Test scores soared.

Yet just before school resumed for this fall, Lakeridge learned that it had been declared a failing school under federal education law.

The schools in Washington are caught in the political crossfire of a battle over education policy. Because the State Legislature has refused to require that teacher evaluations be based in part on student test scores, schools are being held to an outdated benchmark that is all but impossible to achieve — that by 2014, every single student would be proficient in reading and math. Thousands of schools in California, Iowa, North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming have also been declared failing for the same reason.

The 100 percent requirement was set under No Child Left Behind, the 2001 signature law of the George W. Bush administration once hailed as a bipartisan project to hold schools accountable for the academic achievement of all students, especially children of color and those who live in poverty. While educators have increasingly pushed for revisions, Congress has failed to change the law, as Democrats and Republicans squabble over what role the federal government should play in public schools.

Faced with congressional gridlock, the Obama administration two years ago bypassed Congress and issued waivers to 43 states, excusing them from the requirement on the condition that they put into effect rigorous academic standards, such as the Common Core, and incorporate student test scores into performance ratings of teachers. A handful of states, including California and Vermont, refused to use test scores in teacher ratings, and either did not apply for or were denied waivers.

Washington State originally agreed to rate teachers with student test scores as a required component. But the Legislature decided instead to let districts choose whether to use the scores. As a result of that gap between can and must, the United States Department of Education in April revoked the state’s waiver from No Child Left Behind, triggering a cascade of paperwork for the state and school districts to identify failing schools, and diverting about $40 million in federal funding, the 20 percent set aside.

Oklahoma also lost its waiver in August, but for a different reason: The state has withdrawn from the Common Core, a set of reading and math standards adopted by more than 40 states, and reverted to older, less rigorous academic guidelines. Janet Barresi, superintendent of public instruction, anticipated the state would spend an extra $4 million to $6 million simply processing paperwork for schools now marked as failing.”

Only in the United States and especially with the Arne Duncan United States Department of Education do we punish children for the incompetence of our elected and appointed policy leaders.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

The New York Times has a featured article on the long road many community college students have to graduation. To people in higher education, the issues raised are well known. Students needing extensively remediation. Remedial mathematics being the greatest academic hurdle. Students balancing their education with family and work responsibilities. Students stopping out for a while. The article examines the life of Vladimir de Jesus, a student at LaGuardia Community College. Here is an excerpt:

“To move on to Hunter [College], Mr. de Jesus needs to accumulate 60 credits, in addition to passing Math 96, a [remedial] course that confers no credit. In his six semesters at LaGuardia, he has acquired 27 credits.

In the spring, he decided that he would not take algebra again this fall and would instead postpone it for a time when he could focus on it exclusively. He ended the term with an A-minus in art and a C in English. Mr. Scheindlin said that when the papers in English composition became more research-intensive, Mr. de Jesus seemed to produce them hastily. “Here’s a very, very intelligent student, with an intelligence of the best kind, an intelligence guided by an intuitive sense of how to make connections,” Mr. Scheindlin said. “There’s no question in my mind that had he had the time to do the work, he would have written really wonderful work.”

Over the spring, Mr. de Jesus looked for additional work in art galleries in Manhattan and Brooklyn to supplement his income, but he had not found anything and he remained conflicted about the wisdom of taking a full-time job. “If I had a regular job I’d have such a hard time staying in school,” he explained one afternoon over the summer. “I see people leave all the time for jobs that pay $15 an hour.”

When he first started at LaGuardia in 2008, he worked at a clothing store, the Children’s Place, while attending classes and helping to care for his infant daughter. But the schedule became too overwhelming, and he dropped out that December. It took him four years to return.

During his time at LaGuardia, Mr. de Jesus has been particularly moved by his art teacher, Mr. D’Amelio, who inspires his students to believe that art is not inimical to making a living and that a career born of passion is not simply a right of the privileged. Twice over the past few months Mr. de Jesus has shown his paintings at a gallery on Roosevelt Island. In February his work was selected for inclusion in an exhibition at LaGuardia about race in the 20th century.

This semester he is taking a class in the philosophy of art and another in design. He began the fall term with a 3.49 G.P.A., but he has been unable to shake his despondency. His worries about money have escalated to the point that he has recently begun to think about a job with the Sanitation Department.

“I don’t just want to be in school. I want to learn in school,” he said. “I know that I can pass these classes, but my mind is always elsewhere. I’m thinking all the time of the future, the future, the future, but I’m stuck here in this present.”

Vladmir’s story is playing out for millions of community college students throughout the country. Only extensive student support and counseling services combined with low or better yet free tuition are critical parts of the solution for these students.

Tony