The 2008 nationwide SAT results have just been published and it showed declines of 3 points in Reading and 2 points in Math for the New York City Public School high school students . Here again, another national test which the State and City does not control, shows no progress in the academics of New York City students. In fact, the statistics show that the SAT scores have declined 12 points in Math and 5 points in Reading since 2003, during the Kleinberg administration! Both the Daily News and New York Post have published the data and were less than kind to the DOE about the results.
Most interestingly was the DOE response to the decling scores. Tweed stated "that more students were encouraged to take the SAT's". Really? Nationwide the same thing happened and there was no nationwide decline in SAT scores! I guess the DOE has chosen to ignore that fact as they try to spin the unspinable data.
As school starts and the Bloomberg administration has decided to cut teachers parking permits by 82%, forced teachers to start before Labor Day, and we still have an ATR crises as well as overcrowded "rubber rooms", the Kleinberg anti-teacher crusade keeps on going.
Kleinberg's "children last" program continues into the 2008-2009 school year.
7 comments:
The PSAT and SAT are both administered for free now in NYC schools. Special education children are taking them as well. This appears to me to be largely an exercise in futility; very few students labeled "LD" actually are, and at least 90% won't be going to a 4 year school that requires SAT scores for admission.
I disagree with you. Not only can the DoE spin this, but they most certainly will. In fact, spin is what they do best--as far as I can see, it's the sole area in which they truly excel.
Of course none of this well be discussed during the first day of school. The principal and assistant principals will deliver speech after speech for hours about how lovely it is to be back to work and what a great year it will be working collabratively and colegeilally(spelling) with the teachers. The ladies will all kiss each other and the males will all smile with each other and a week from now it will be back to business as usual. The adminstration will choose the teachers to torture for the year, frightened teachers near retirement will make themselves invisible, the union rep will so "busy" you can not find him or her and the children will arrive bright eyed and bushy tailed eager and ready to learn(the ones that want to) and will figure out what a crock of shit the school is in terms of organization and see their new "buddies"(the newbie teachers)with exciting lessons but no knowledge of where they come from and what problems they have and how to connect with them!
Every year it is the same shit--just a new year. But Kleinberg are in the cutting edge of urban school reform--all the papers say it and the TV too!
nyc educator:
Normally, I would agree with you. However, the data is so clear that
even today's New York Post editorial has seen through the DOE spin. When was the last time the New York Post has questioned the DOE on student academic progress?
Let the unravelling begin!!
Those parking permits were useless at my school anyway. It's no loss unless something is taken away. Still, shame on you Mr. Mayor!
They won't spin it because they don't need to. Far more kids in NYC have been taking the SAT under Klein. This is a good thing, but this greater access will inevitably lead to lower scores. I guess you would prefer that the DOE only let the kids who are going to do well on the SAT take it. That's really great for kids.
With such an elevated graduation rater in the last few years, it only makes sense that more kids would be taking the SAT. But the kids who are now graduating but weren't before are not the ones at the high end of the SAT scale. This is pretty elementary stuff, Chaz.
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