There is no secret that the ever rising high school graduation rate does not result in increasing the college and career readiness rates that see 78% of high school graduates forced to take remedial courses in college. The graduation rate increases every year and is now 72%. However, the career and college readiness rates are stuck at 36% and if you excluded the screened and specialized high schools, its in the 20% range. Here are some extreme examples.
The reason that the typical New York City High School graduate has such abysmal career and college readiness rates are due to many factors. In order of importance they are:
Social-economic factors:
80% of a student's academic growth can be attributed to the social-economic factors. They are the child's family, community, and income. Poor urban school districts and New York City are no exception, suffer from academic differences and struggle in college and a career as an adult.
Class Size:
New York City has the largest class sizes in the State and the DOE uses class size reduction funds to fund their own pet projects. Class sizes have increased since 2008 and the DOE only funds the schools at 90% of their fair funding. By contrast the DOE budget increases every year from 23.2 billion in 2014 to 29.2 billion dollars this school year. A 22% increase!
Teacher Recruitment and Retention:
The DOE has installed policies that incentivizes principals to hire "the cheapest and not the best" teachers for their school. The result is the schools hire "newbie" teachers who have a steep learning curve and 80% leave their first school by year three. Not good for a stable educational environment. This DOE policy is known as "fair student funding" that's school-based and not fair whatsoever.. The use of Danielson as an evaluation toll and is used as a weapon against teachers pushes far too many teachers out of the City school system to pursue better opportunities in the suburbs and more respect in office work.
Academic Fraud:
The DOE allows high schools to manipulate the system by reducing Science from six days to five and physical education to three days from five. Moreover, "credit recovery", grade changing, and scholarship requirements on teachers is really academic fraud.
Poor Administration:
Outside New York City most principals were long-term educators. However, in the New York City schools over 20% of the Principals are from the Leadership Academy and many have little or no classroom experience as a teacher. Finally, the Chancellor has discontinued the program but the damage has been done as many schools suffer from poor leadership, vindictive actions, especially against outspoken veteran teachers, and questionable academic policies.
The bottom line is until all the above issues are resolved, real student academic achievement is simply an illusion.
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20 comments:
Happy Leafership Academy is gone. But the problem will always be he unfair principals that came from there. Until the union and DOE stop them from abusing teachers things will stay the same unfortunately.
The UFT site said ratings were out 2 days ago. I checked and my final rating is not there. Did anyone receive their final rating yet? Thanks.
@ 7:40
The DOE tried (and failed miserably) to use a new website/app this year to deliver our ratings. They said to check our e-mails and that the website would be running next week to see the full ratings report. I got lucky and was able to access & print mine before they shut down the site.
Website is down. They sent out an email saying next week you can access the advance website app. However they just re-emailed everyone your rating with no figures. You can also go into payroll portal to see your current rating as well.
I just got my final rating.
Wells Fargo is caught in a scandal because its employees, under pressure from bosses to boost the sales data, created millions of fake or unauthorized accounts. According to the article I read, it said that the employees were afraid for their jobs.
In the DOE, we are pressured to get pass rates up because, well, data. We are harassed, threatened with firing and bullied. Is it any wonder our pass rates go up every year and the student skill set goes down? It's not our fault. We are under the lash, and no, 'doing something else' is not an option for many of us. We spent years and years getting education, certification and training to be teachers.
When we look around we see tyrant admins bullying any teacher who doesn't pass everybody. What are we supposed to do, take a stand? The staff room in my school is filled with the sad memory of many a young, untenured teacher who was terminated after 'standing up for students.' Many great tenured teachers have been bullied out or excessed too. The DOE takes it tricks from North Korea. We learn to cheer the great leader and say everything is all right, or we get the big stick and the can.
I just received my end-of-year rating today by e-mail from the DOE. the email states that teachers were having trouble accessing their ratings through the website so they are sending this email. I also received an email from the ATR with my year-long school assignment. The DOE is not waiting until October to assign ATRS to year-long assignments. They are doing it now.
Well Chaz, another year of Danielson in the books. I received my 4th Effective in a row. The first year was September, 2014 all the way through now, September 2017. Effective Effective Effective Effective. If I do great things and go above and beyond, I'm Effective. If I do the minimum, I'm Effective. I'm not complaining. Just simply put, you can never be ranked Highly Effective overall and if you're Developing or Ineffective, well you're just not following the protocol. Next year at this time I will be rated Effective as well.
4.16, you're comment about not following protocol is not true at all. You're ineffective or developing if they don't want you or have a reason to come after you.
Danielson's is a cruel game that empowers small-minded tyrants, er, principals to live out their fantasies of being Lord of the Castle.
Absolutely @10:45. In my opinion, 4:16 is naive to believe his/her rating is solely based on performance. He/she proves my point by saying "above and beyond or minimum". Try using your voice and speaking up against administration's policies that negatively impact student learning and let us know if you receive an "effective".
Good luck in the new school year.
Keep doing what you're doing 4:16. The people on here are clueless. I know exactly what you meant by your comment buddy! Nice! "Try using your voice and speaking up against administration ......." 11:46 says. Hahahhahhahahhahhaa!!!! Why would anyone be so dumb as to do that? When you work for district 75 and make 17% of your salary for 6 weeks over the summer (about 20Kish on top of 113Kish and also get 12K for a 6th assignment) yeah you're at 145Kish. Battle of survival. Welcome to DOE Survivor Series babyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!! Voice your opinion to a supervisor? Why? Doesn't it make more sense to just go home and BBQ some burgers & hot dogs with your family? Where is MORM? What is wrong with people on here Chaz? They just don't get it.
"1:46" not "11:45"is absolutely right. I personally have seen it happen and almost all of us that are intelligent enough to know what really goes on behind the scenes (that doesn't include you 7:10) can relate. Besides you're a complete moron and a waste of skin.
none of that is the reason. its because most nyc teachers and all ATR's are terrible at they're jobs. if teachers just took the time and effort to focus on the education of the student and stop worrying about the lives of there families and themselves the students would all be yale of harvard bound. lets go nyc educators stop thinking about your self and get those geniuses to college!!!
Anon 9:11
Obviously you are not a teacher. Your ignorance about ATRs is astounding. The reason they do not have classroom positions is because of the DOE policy that incentivizes principals to hire the cheapest and not the best teachers for their school.
80% of a students academic growth is based upon family, community, and income, not their teachers.
@ chaz I realize you have beginning of the nightmare school year brain. my comment 9:11 was my attempt at sarcasm. you also learn that as a veteran nyshitty teacher. relax chaz there are only 183 more days left.
9:11 is so stupid it doesn't even pay to get the facts across to him. His argument is incredibly specious.
@6:08 where did you learn that word "specious" from. a teacher in the suburbs!!!
No I learned it from a novelty called a "dictionary"
@chaz your statement "obviously your not a teacher" this is true in nyshitty most of us are babysitters, sounding boards for abuse, referees of fights and stress absorbers! If we are lucky we get a little teaching in!
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