Posted on 05/03/2007 8:10:43 AM PDT by devane617
LAND O'LAKES - About 950 Pasco County third-graders - that's 260 more than a year ago - might have to repeat the grade after failing the FCAT reading exam this spring.
Things look worst for Cox Elementary in Dade City, where fewer than half of the school's 85 third-graders performed at grade level on either the reading or math sections of the test. Last year, more than 60 percent of the school's third-graders were reading at grade level.
Cox is one of nine county schools facing sanctions under the federal No Child Left Behind Act if it does not show overall improvement in student achievement this year.
FCAT results released Wednesday also showed that just 63 high school seniors passed the exit-level reading exam, of 347 who took it, and 63 passed the math section, of 185 who took it. The success rate on reading was up slightly, but still below 20 percent, while the math rate sank a bit to 34 percent.
The remaining FCAT scores are not expected for at least two weeks.
Most of the attention this year goes to the third-grade results because they went down after several years of increases.
State and local officials pointed to a continued upward trend since 2001, calling last year's results a "spike" that did not follow the otherwise smooth line of improvement. In Pasco, for instance, the outcome is better than that of 2005, though below last year's numbers.
This year, 19 percent of Pasco third-graders scored at the lowest level on the reading test. That's worse than the 14 percent of a year ago, but better than the 20 percent of 2005. In math, 14 percent received the lowest mark, improved from 15 percent a year ago and 17 percent in 2005.
"When you look at the scores over a six-year period the trend is moving in a positive direction and it's continuing that way. There was a spike in that trend last year, " superintendent Heather Fiorentino said.
She used Cox as an example. Though the school showed a one-year 17-point swing down in the percentage of children reading at or above grade level, it actually had a slow but steady increase since 2003, when just 35 percent of Cox third-graders were reading at grade level, Fiorentino noted.
That's despite having 95 percent of its students receiving free lunches and 89 percent having limited English abilities.
"We're not saying we don't have more work to do, " she said. "But they have moved up and that's a positive thing."
She and her staff did not buy into what some are calling the "cohort effect." That's where you explain away a year's results by saying the students were exceptional.
"I don't think you can just explain it away by saying ... 1998 was a really great year to be a baby, " said research and evaluation director David Scanga, who figured it would take some time to figure out why last year's third-graders did so well.
Fiorentino liked to look at several positive aspects within the test results. For instance, a majority of Pasco third-graders did better than the national average in reading and math on the Stanford Achievement Test section of the FCAT.
Also, Mary Giella Elementary reduced the percentage of lowest-performing students in reading to 11 percent from 24 percent; and Lacoochee Elementary saw its percentage of Level 1 readers drop to 9 percent, from 19 percent, while it increased the percentage of students at grade level or higher in math to 73 percent.
Pine View, Sand Pine, Longleaf and Trinity Oaks elementary schools continued to have success, with more than 80 percent of their students reading at or above grade level. Longleaf had just 1 percent of students at Level 1 in math, with 91 percent at grade level or above.
The state releases much less information about the senior retakes. No school by school results, for instance. Still, Pasco officials were heartened by the general improvement of the district passing rate, noting that those few who continue to take the FCAT as seniors are "our most struggling students" yet they have not dropped out.
Scanga added that a preliminary look at 11th-grade repeaters shows improvement in the passing rate, too. Most important, assistant superintendent Sandra Ramos said, is that Pasco sophomores succeed on the exit-level exam, which is first given in 10th grade.
"We want 10th-graders passing on the first time, " Ramos said.
Along those same lines:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269826,00.html “New York City Educator Gets ‘F’ in English After Poorly Written Note is Sent to Parents”
How nmany clasrooms have you ever managed?
I had 22 years experience, and let me tell you you don't know anything about a classroom.
ping
My, my, my, aren’t you touchy!
Looking back over your posts on this thread I detect a bit of over emotionalism. I don’t see ANYWHERE anyone said you WERE/ ARE/ or HAVE BEEN a member of the NEA. But be that as it may, I did not either.
The assertion that you use the SAME excuses as NEA, does not make anyone a member of that group does it? NO, I thought not.
Tell me where it has been actually posted that you are a member of said group on this thread? No one said “SoftballMominVA” is a member of the NEA. NO ONE.
Show me where I said that you are a member of the NEA.
I did not. You like to imply lies don’t you?
The real problem you have with homeschoolers is that they do not buy, repeat, quote, or believe any of the usual nonsense that passes for eduspeak buy those who think we should just shut up and sit still and take the crap the government indoctrination centers pile onto the tax paying citizens of this nation.
We are not going away, we are here and educating our children, and the precious education edifice of BS will fall someday.
Deal with it.
As far as emotionalism, yeah, maybe, but I'm passionate about what I do as a teacher of learning disabled children. If that is my worst mistake today, then I'm feeling pretty good about myself. At least I don't stoop to childish chiches such as the "walks like a duck.." and "aren't we touchy?" the use of yelling through all caps, and sly insinuations of another conservative poster's motives.
Tell you what - I'll live with my fault of being somewhat over-emotional, but I'll happily take that over your immaturity.
We are not going away, we are here and educating our children, and the precious education edifice of BS will fall someday.
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Hopefully, sooner rather than later.
The sooner the Citadels of Corruption fall the fewer the number of damaged children.
By the way, my tag line states: “ Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.”
Now that we have an open and free market in ideas, I know that the corruption of the government school will lead to its own downfall. Why? Because people are NOT stupid.
Please read message #94.
I have also sent you a private message.
Your comment about “immaturity” is uncalled for.
Knock it off.
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I am sick and tired of the high handed tactics that some use around here. It is repetitive and demeaning.
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It is you that is doing this.
I saw that. It is very frustrating.
What’s funny is ya’ll are jumping all over her as an NEA shill for suggesting, GASP, that parents have a role to play in a child’s education. In this same thread, I suggested bad teachers deserve most of the blame and GASP I was attacked for being an NEA shill.
Please learn to disagree respectfully and avoid such ad hominem fallacies, thank you. If everyone resorts to such ad hominem debates, real discussion is impossible.
Ah, yes, the lets jump all over on the false pretext.
If you can’t be respectful, then I would say your post is worthless. Talk about ad hominem!!!
Good Day to you!
bump to read later
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No one here has used the word “shill”.
But,,,I have, and will continue to point out, arguments, that to me, sound like NEA talking points.
Please explain to me how this can be “disrespectful”?
By the way, there are distinct differences in the words “disagree” and “disrespect”.
The dumbing down is accelerated by several factors. First, education schools mostly get relatlvely low-performing students. Second, education schools don't teach education, they teach indoctrination. Third, the inferior graduates of these education schools then teach the next generation, which falls even further behind. And so on.
I know there are some great teachers out there, and there are even some great schools where such teachers can thrive. But such cases are rare.
I know there are some great teachers out there,
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Those “good” teachers who aid an abet the government schools are enablers. They are putting a dead horse on life support and dragging him around the race track.
In fact, “it do be hugh!”
A never ending downward spiral to functional illiteracy.
“A never ending downward spiral to functional illiteracy.”
Yep. All at taxpayers expense. And at the expense of the futures of all of those children not taught the basics.
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