Posted on 05/13/2015 2:14:34 PM PDT by MichCapCon
When Gov. Rick Snyder recently proposed creating a new school district organization to serve Detroit schoolchildren, he cited a “lack of educational success” and “failing academics” and pointed out that Detroit is the “nation’s lowest performing urban school area.”
However, the Detroit Public School district's most recent evaluations of its own teachers paint a picture of success in 2013-14. The district gave 8 out of 10 teachers the highest evaluation possible — “highly effective.”
Full email response from DPS Spokeswoman Jennifer Mrozowski. Starting with the 2011-12 academic year, school districts have been required by state law to report on their teachers, classifying each into one of four different categories of effectiveness: highly effective, effective, minimally effective and ineffective.
According to data filed with the Michigan Department of Education, 2,542 DPS teachers (79 percent) were rated “highly effective,” 541 teachers (17 percent) were rated “effective,” 73 teachers (2 percent) were rated “minimally effective,” and 52 teachers (2 percent) were rated “ineffective.”
The percentage of teachers rated highly effective by DPS was twice the state average of 38 percent in 2013-14, the latest year statewide data is available.
“Detroit Public Schools administrators seem to believe they have twice as many highly effective teachers as the statewide average,” said Audrey Spalding, the director of education policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “And yet DPS is in academic and financial array. How can the state justify taking $50 from each Michigan student to bail out DPS when the district won’t even acknowledge that its teachers are underperforming?”
Snyder’s plan to reform schools asks that the state fund a new school district at a cost of $72 million a year. According to an analysis by the Citizens Research Council, the proposal would cost each school district in the state about $50 per pupil.
Jennifer Mrozowski, spokeswoman for Detroit Public Schools, said the district has been working on improving its evaluation tools since they were first used in 2011-12.
"DPS teachers are a passionate, hard working group of individuals dedicated to providing the students of Detroit Public Schools with the a quality education," Mrozowski said in an email. "Our teachers face a multitude of issues such as poverty, homelessness, and hunger that affect their students' ability to learn and achieve academically. That being said, the state of Michigan has mandated teacher performance evaluation, and DPS is in compliance with that mandate."
The gold standard is to compare those who won the lottery to attend a private/charter school with those who did not.
In **every** study using this comparison the child who won the lottery does significantly better than the child who continues to languish in the government's single-payer K-12 indoctrination camp.
The gold standard is to compare those who won the lottery to attend a private/charter school with those who did not.
In **every** study using this comparison the child who won the lottery does significantly better than the child who continues to languish in the government's single-payer K-12 indoctrination camp.
You are both right. My wife teaches in a school where many of the kids come from single parent households and many are brick stupid. There is a group of teachers in that school who attempt what I call polishing a turd and do their best to work with the dummies. My wife in particular has a reputation for dragging kids over the passing line for standardized tests. Do they succeed in imparting knowledge, results vary, but I would defy someone to do better. OTOH there are many teachers who are just there for the paycheck and do little more than house the kids for 8 hours.
If I saw that two or three in 10 teachers received the highest marks, even in a horrible district, I would believe it. 8 in 10 means they are not properly evaluating.
“You know sometimes it is the kids.”
You know, these teachers gotta have brass balls to even try teaching in Detroit.
Let’s give as many children who won’t be kicked out an opportunity to attend a private/charter school.
We should begin the process of privatizing K-12 schooling. Vouchers, tax credits, charters, On-line schooling, homeschooling, and neighborhood dame schools could begin the process of building the private infrastructure.
I am realistic. A fully privatized system with charity educating the poorest is likely not possible but the goal should always be moving toward Complete Separation of School and State.
Good point.
I was approaching from a different starting point, which was that poor, inner-city students who attend a private or charter school are not differentiated by native intelligence, family structure, income, or cultural milieu. The one factor that gets a child from the general public school population to another school is the parent’s determination.
Therefore(!), as your additional data strongly emphasizes, it is the school itself that produces a better educational outcome, not something intrinsic to the private/charter student population.
I agree. Like you (iirc) my dream system would be private pay or private charity, no government involvement at all. However, within interstellar-travel distance of reality, a universal voucher system could provide many of the same benefits.
There is state and Federal Bonus money available for teachers rated as “highly Effective” in “at-risk” schools, in most places.
The wife is getting a $1250 bonus for getting that rating for the 2013-14 school year.
That would explain this. It is Detroit, after all.
"It all depends on what the meaning of the word "is," is.."
Make EBT and welfare contingent on the chilren going to school and PASSING (and learning)....then maybe something will change...until then....fat chance
The only way this would work is if we eliminated social programs. If they knew that thee were no safety nets for them, then they would take advantage of the education. Until then, they choose to remain slaves.
Haha! Similar FR handles, similar posts!
http://www.propublica.org/article/charter-school-power-broker-turns-public-education-into-private-profits
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-weillgreenberg/public-school-teachers_b_5104289.html
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-lehigh-university-diane-ravitch-20150211-story.html
http://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/1464/2013-11-18/pearsons-big-ed-biz-is-under-fire.html
http://populardemocracy.org/news/exposing-charter-school-lie-michelle-rhee-louis-ck-and-year-phony-education-reform-revealed-its
http://bizmarts.com/wordpress/archives/8967
Get used to the smell. It's coming. Every year the number of charters grows. Homeschooling increases yearly and is now, by government estimates, 4% of the school-age population. ( It is likely twice that).
Every time a child leaves the government's K-12, single-payer, socialist-entitlement, godless, and price-fixed monopoly-cartel indoctrination camps, there is that much less support for them in the voting booth.
Ideas are the most powerful things in the universe. That we exist at all began as an idea in the mind of God. The idea that schooling can and should be delivered privately is catching on rapidly. The idea that parents are fully capable of choosing a school for their child is growing. Hey! if their 12 year old daughter is supposedly capable of finding a competent abortionist then ( Gee! ) her parent should be able to pick a school! Is a “duh” needed here?
Large intractable institutions, (due to a mere idea), can lose their legitimacy seemingly overnight. A few examples are the Protestant Reformation, The American Revolution, Slavery, and Jim Crow. Government K-12 single-payer indoctrination camps can, too. They aren't special.
It's best not to make assumptions, especially about people.
I am one of many reasons why homeschooling is growing. People see how effective homeschooling can be, and how successful adult homeschoolers are socially and professionally and they are persuaded to homeschool their own children.
The following definitely counts as “personal experience in teaching”.
My **homeschooled** children entered college at the ages of 13, 12, and 13. All finished Calculus 3 and all college general courses by the age of 15. Two finished B.S. degrees in mathematics by the age of 18. One earned a masters in math by the age of 20. The oldest pursued a degree in accounting at night and trained full-time as an athlete during the day. Although he traveled the world representing the U.S., he still managed to finish a masters in accounting an age typical of those who are institutionalized for their education.
By the way, my kids aren't any smarter than the children of other Freepers. They were merely homeschooled.
Massive “grade inflation.”
like a chicken or the egg thing. I don’t know. ive seen numbers from these “failing” schools though that show Asian students excel while blacks fail. same school, different outcomes based on race, family...basically expectations. Asians push their kids to excel and raise the bar of expectations while more often than not black kids don’t kid that kind of pressure to succeed. im not saying the schools couldn’t do better for blacks but I just think it starts at home and that goes a long way towards “fixing” the school
I agree. my kid is starting catholic school this fall as a kindergartner. we are excited that she will be getting a moral based education.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.