The Kraken recently sent me this link.
You know, it was a very clever remark
by Arne. Reading that you might imagine you are near Lake Wobegon
where all the “Women are strong, the men are handsome, and the
children are above average”. You might imagine that Mr. Duncan is a
sensible public servant dishing out the hard truth that nobody wishes
to hear. But he is not.
Standardized tests are normalized,
meaning that students' raw scores are converted to percentiles that
follow a normal distribution curve. In other words in addition to a
score of minimal, basic, proficient, or advanced (in the case of the
WKCE), students are given a number between 1 and 99. This number
indicated the percentage of students who scored less than the
student. While giving more “difficult” tests might change the raw
scores (numbers converted to minimal, basic, proficient, advanced)
the more difficult tests will not change the normalized scores
(percentile rank). So white suburban mom's can rest comfortably
knowing that if Johnnie is scoring in the 90th percentile
on the current test he will also score in the 90th
percentile on the new test.
However, the raw scores are important.
According to the WKCE data available on the WI DPI school report
cards only 36% of students in the state scored proficient in reading
(41% for West Bend West). As bad as the schools maybe believed to be,
certainly at least half of our local high school students can read!
One might be tempted to laugh off the ridiculousness of such results,
but the scores have consequences.
Schools who fail to make AYP (adequate
yearly progress) will have their school taken over. Principals and
school boards will lose the ability to make funding choices, will be
forced to adopt curriculum, replace staff, hire school repair
“experts”, and eventually the school will be turned into a
charter school.
The provisions for this are under NCLB.
Have no fear Arne's is improving NCLB! He is not just going to punish
schools: forcing public schools to turn into charter schools, forcing
states to adopt the curriculum and teacher training/rating that he
approves. Under Race to the Top, Arne is going to let each state
voluntarily adopt standards and lift charter caps for a chance to win
millions of dollars.
Arne Duncan, Nice Guy
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