Parents, teachers, and school administrators in Dayton are no doubt confused over the state report card results and the paradoxical message they convey. While Performance Index scores are rising--along with some charters' and Dayton Public's ratings--the number of area schools meeting Average Yearly Progress (AYP) targets is declining.
Parents, teachers, and school administrators in Dayton are no doubt confused over the state report card results and the paradoxical message they convey. While Performance Index scores are rising--along with some charters' and Dayton Public's ratings--the number of area schools meeting Average Yearly Progress (AYP) targets is declining.
Fortunately, reading and math scores offer two clear indicators of student achievement in the Gem City.
Overall, Dayton's public school children-both district and charter-made significant gains in reading and mathematics as measured by the state's 2004-05 and 2005-06 achievement tests. Over the course of one year, scores for both district and charter sixth and eighth grade students rose, while third grade reading scores declined slightly for students in both types of schools (see Graph I). Fourth grade reading scores rose for Dayton's charter students but declined slightly for district fourth graders.
In math, charter school students showed marked improvement from 2004-05 to 2005-06, posting significant gains in third, fourth, sixth, and eighth grades. District students scored higher in third, fourth, and eighth grades, while sixth grade results showed a slight decline from the previous year (see Graph II).
Charter school students scored particularly well in both reading and mathematics. Fourth graders in 2005-06 scored 8 percentage points higher in reading and 21 percentage points higher in math than the class before them. Last year's sixth graders scored 27 percentage points higher in both reading and math than sixth graders in 2004-05. And the charter eighth graders of 2005-06 surpassed their predecessors by 5 percentage points in reading and 15 percentage points in math.
These are truly impressive gains, driven in large measure by students in a handful of charter schools: The Richard Allen Academies, Edison's Dayton Academy, the National Heritage Academies' Pathway School of Discovery, the World of Wonder School, and East End Community School. These charter schools, along with some district high performers, are showing the community of Dayton that its children can perform at high levels if they are given access to good schools and quality instruction.
It's been a long, hard road for all of Dayton's public schools--district and charter alike--but charter and district educators' focus on providing a high quality education for their students is beginning to show measurable results. There's still much work to be done, and too many schools are still not delivering the necessary results. But these reading and math gains indicate that school choice--and school improvement efforts--are paying off for Dayton's children.
"Charter Schools Show Uneven Improvement," by Scott Elliott, The Dayton Daily News, August 21, 2006.
Ohio's largest cities are rapidly shrinking. According to recent U.S. Census figures, Cincinnati was the biggest loser, hemorrhaging 6.8 percent of its total population--over 22,000 residents--from 2000 to 2005, a larger percentage than any other city in the nation.
To repopulate urban neighborhoods and boost enrollment in local schools, a coalition of Cincinnati-area leaders are launching "Strive," a growth plan based on the "Kalamazoo Promise"(see here) that would guarantee college scholarships to regional universities for students completing their education in Cincinnati or nearby Covington and Newport, Kentucky. Kalamazoo's program, funded by anonymous donors, is credited for raising home values and generating inquiries about the city from all over the country.
Area education and civic leaders are sanguine about the plan's potential benefits. CPS Superintendent Rosa Blackwell said, "It's all about giving students and their families great hope." Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory was even more enthusiastic, insisting the program could usher in a "new way of life" in the city.
But there's a problem. Strive doesn't detail the necessary steps districts and schools must take to raise the level of classroom instruction and adequately prepare students for college. CPS currently rates in Continuous Improvement on the state's report card and graduates just 77 percent of its students.
That figure does not account for the number of students actually prepared for college. ACT recently found that just 24 percent of Ohio's tested high school graduates from the class of 2006 were adequately prepared for college-level coursework in English, math, science, and social sciences. Just 57 percent of said graduates pursued a core curriculum (one comprised of four years of English and three years of math, science and social studies) in high school-and that number is falling every year. The average composite ACT score of African Americans (who make up 70 percent of CPS's student population) that pursued a core curriculum in Ohio is 18 (on a 36 point scale), well below many college admissions requirements and hardly an augur of future academic success.
The truth is that hope alone will not help students become successful academically. Better instruction and greater course rigor (as put forth in Governor Taft's Ohio Core plan, for instance) will. Strive and similar programs (Dayton is considering its own "Dayton Promise) represent a wonderful opportunity for Ohioans, but students unprepared to take advantage of it will find this promise a cruel one.
"Strive Takes Plans Public," by Scott Wartman, The Cincinnati Enquirer, August 17, 2006.
"Scholarship Fund to Pay Way," by Howard Wilkinson and Jennifer Mrozowski, The Cincinnati Enquirer, August 16, 2006.
"Dayton Schools Discuss Ways to Keep Students in the City," by Scott Elliot, The Dayton Daily News, July 28, 2006.
Check out ACT's recent Ohio report here.
It's no secret that the state's education funding system is broken--the Ohio Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional four times. But how to fix it?
Both of the state's gubernatorial candidates had a chance to answer that question last week at a meeting of the Ohio School Boards Association. Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell reiterated his devotion to the 65 Percent Solution, which would require districts to spend at least that much on classroom instruction--as opposed to administrative costs. He also called for reforming collective bargaining and outsourcing some administrative duties.
And Democrat Ted Strickland? He won't say. "I will do that if I win this election," he insisted (and still managed to be the darling of the crowd). Nevertheless, Strickland is confident that his "secret plan" would satisfy the Supreme Court's concerns.
A 65 Percent Solution doesn't begin to fulfill the needs of Ohio's children (see here and here), but a secret not worth telling is just plain sad. Voters deserve better.
"Strickland Mum on Details of His School-Funding Plan," by Jim Siegal, The Columbus Dispatch, August 18, 2006.
"Blackwell Gets Cold Reception, Strickland Applauded," by Patrick Cain, The Akron Beacon Journal, August 18, 2006.
Parents, teachers, and school administrators in Dayton are no doubt confused over the state report card results and the paradoxical message they convey. While Performance Index scores are rising--along with some charters' and Dayton Public's ratings--the number of area schools meeting Average Yearly Progress (AYP) targets is declining.
Fortunately, reading and math scores offer two clear indicators of student achievement in the Gem City.
Overall, Dayton's public school children-both district and charter-made significant gains in reading and mathematics as measured by the state's 2004-05 and 2005-06 achievement tests. Over the course of one year, scores for both district and charter sixth and eighth grade students rose, while third grade reading scores declined slightly for students in both types of schools (see Graph I). Fourth grade reading scores rose for Dayton's charter students but declined slightly for district fourth graders.
In math, charter school students showed marked improvement from 2004-05 to 2005-06, posting significant gains in third, fourth, sixth, and eighth grades. District students scored higher in third, fourth, and eighth grades, while sixth grade results showed a slight decline from the previous year (see Graph II).
Charter school students scored particularly well in both reading and mathematics. Fourth graders in 2005-06 scored 8 percentage points higher in reading and 21 percentage points higher in math than the class before them. Last year's sixth graders scored 27 percentage points higher in both reading and math than sixth graders in 2004-05. And the charter eighth graders of 2005-06 surpassed their predecessors by 5 percentage points in reading and 15 percentage points in math.
These are truly impressive gains, driven in large measure by students in a handful of charter schools: The Richard Allen Academies, Edison's Dayton Academy, the National Heritage Academies' Pathway School of Discovery, the World of Wonder School, and East End Community School. These charter schools, along with some district high performers, are showing the community of Dayton that its children can perform at high levels if they are given access to good schools and quality instruction.
It's been a long, hard road for all of Dayton's public schools--district and charter alike--but charter and district educators' focus on providing a high quality education for their students is beginning to show measurable results. There's still much work to be done, and too many schools are still not delivering the necessary results. But these reading and math gains indicate that school choice--and school improvement efforts--are paying off for Dayton's children.
"Charter Schools Show Uneven Improvement," by Scott Elliott, The Dayton Daily News, August 21, 2006.
Ohio's largest cities are rapidly shrinking. According to recent U.S. Census figures, Cincinnati was the biggest loser, hemorrhaging 6.8 percent of its total population--over 22,000 residents--from 2000 to 2005, a larger percentage than any other city in the nation.
To repopulate urban neighborhoods and boost enrollment in local schools, a coalition of Cincinnati-area leaders are launching "Strive," a growth plan based on the "Kalamazoo Promise"(see here) that would guarantee college scholarships to regional universities for students completing their education in Cincinnati or nearby Covington and Newport, Kentucky. Kalamazoo's program, funded by anonymous donors, is credited for raising home values and generating inquiries about the city from all over the country.
Area education and civic leaders are sanguine about the plan's potential benefits. CPS Superintendent Rosa Blackwell said, "It's all about giving students and their families great hope." Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory was even more enthusiastic, insisting the program could usher in a "new way of life" in the city.
But there's a problem. Strive doesn't detail the necessary steps districts and schools must take to raise the level of classroom instruction and adequately prepare students for college. CPS currently rates in Continuous Improvement on the state's report card and graduates just 77 percent of its students.
That figure does not account for the number of students actually prepared for college. ACT recently found that just 24 percent of Ohio's tested high school graduates from the class of 2006 were adequately prepared for college-level coursework in English, math, science, and social sciences. Just 57 percent of said graduates pursued a core curriculum (one comprised of four years of English and three years of math, science and social studies) in high school-and that number is falling every year. The average composite ACT score of African Americans (who make up 70 percent of CPS's student population) that pursued a core curriculum in Ohio is 18 (on a 36 point scale), well below many college admissions requirements and hardly an augur of future academic success.
The truth is that hope alone will not help students become successful academically. Better instruction and greater course rigor (as put forth in Governor Taft's Ohio Core plan, for instance) will. Strive and similar programs (Dayton is considering its own "Dayton Promise) represent a wonderful opportunity for Ohioans, but students unprepared to take advantage of it will find this promise a cruel one.
"Strive Takes Plans Public," by Scott Wartman, The Cincinnati Enquirer, August 17, 2006.
"Scholarship Fund to Pay Way," by Howard Wilkinson and Jennifer Mrozowski, The Cincinnati Enquirer, August 16, 2006.
"Dayton Schools Discuss Ways to Keep Students in the City," by Scott Elliot, The Dayton Daily News, July 28, 2006.
Check out ACT's recent Ohio report here.
