Welcome
Are you trying to make sense of state test scores and graduation rates released by the NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI) last week? Did you just find out that DPI released state test scores and graduation rates last week? This week’s CommenTerry may help.
Bulletin Board
- Learn what politicians, left-wing economic professors and the liberal media don’t want you to know about economics, all without the confusion and clutter of complicated mathematical equations. Attend the Civitas Institute’s Free Market Academy on Saturday, August 20 from 9 am to 3 pm at the Jesse Helms Center in Wingate, NC. (Please note: There will be an hour break for lunch.) Cost is $5.00. Register online at http://www.nccivitas.org/events/ or call 919-834-2099.
- The North Carolina History Project would like educators and homeschool parents to submit lesson plans suitable for middle and high school courses in North Carolina history. Please provide links to NC History Project encyclopedia articles and other primary and secondary source material, if possible. Go to the NC History Project website for further information.
- Visit the "Monticello of Research," also known as JLF’s research newsletter archive.
CommenTerry
The bottom line: In a comparison between the 2009-2010 and the 2010-2011 school years, North Carolina’s graduation rates increased and average pass/proficiency rates on state standardized tests decreased.
Not even omnipotent state education leaders know why graduation rates and pass rates went in different directions, but they did offer a theory. State Schools Superintendent June Atkinson blamed state budget cuts for lower pass rates, which was a clear, perhaps unintended, indictment of the Democratically controlled legislature responsible for last year’s state education budget. (Remember that the Republican controlled legislature passed their budget after students took their tests.) Logically, Superintendent Atkinson’s theory would also suggest that budget cuts raised graduation rates, but she was mum on that particular complication.
I argue that there are two, considerably more plausible, explanations for last year’s student achievement results. First, the dismal job market may have encouraged academically weak students to stay in school and earn a high school diploma, thereby raising graduation rates and possibly lowering test scores. Alternatively, the declining pass rates have something to do with the exceptionally high 2009-2010 rate. I examined trends over the last four years, and the 2009-2010 percentage (88.0 percent) appears to have been an anomaly. Last year’s pass rate was 81.4 percent, which was slightly higher than the 2008-2009 rate of 80.9 percent and slightly lower than the 2007-2008 rate of 82.1 percent. In other words, the percentage of schools meeting or exceeding expectations on state tests has hovered around the 80 percent mark for three of the last four years. That would make last year’s pass rate consistent with the two school years that preceded the 2009-2010 spike.
Unfortunately, state education leaders continue to confuse the public by both celebrating and lamenting North Carolina’s mixed achievement results. For example, the News & Observer reported,
"I do believe that these drops reflect the continued education cuts we’ve had to make the past few years," Atkinson said.
Democratic leaders had cited figures such as the state’s rising graduation rate to argue that North Carolina’s education system was working, despite criticism from Republican lawmakers who have pushed for various alternatives including expanding charter schools, merit pay for teachers and some limited vouchers for private schools.
"There are people who are beating up our schools," Harrison said today after the results were released. "We need to celebrate the great things that are happening."
It is difficult to reconcile the Atkinson and Harrison quotes. So, are the latest results an indication of success or failure? Perhaps we need to ask a different question. Why didn’t Atkinson and Harrison simply admit that they could not explain incongruities in two key measures of student achievement? Perhaps politics got in the way of candor.
Random Thought
The Onion headline for Monday was, "Scientists Trace Heat Wave to Massive Star at Center of Solar System." If you need a laugh, this article will do the trick.
Facts and Stats
Charter schools vs. traditional public schools: A preliminary analysis of 2010-2011 state test scores
- Last year, the average performance composite of 2,351 traditional public schools was 76.1 percent. The average performance composite of 98 charter public schools was 79 percent. The performance composite is the percentage of students performing at or above grade level (Level III) on all state tests taken at the school during the 2010-2011 school year.
- Only around nine percent of traditional public schools received the state’s top classification — Honor School of Excellence. Over 23 percent of charter public schools received that honor.
- Last year, charter public schools had a graduation rate of 78.8 percent, which was slightly lower than the 80.9 percent rate posted by traditional public schools. Over 104,000 traditional public school students were eligible for graduation, compared to around 1,400 charter school students.
(Note: Schools classified by the Department of Public Instruction as "alternative" were not included in the above analyses.)
Mailbag
I would like to invite all readers to submit announcements, as well as their personal insights, anecdotes, concerns, and observations about the state of education in North Carolina. I will publish selected submissions in future editions of the newsletter. Anonymity will be honored. For additional information or to send a submission, email Terry at [email protected].
Education Acronym of the Week
EOG — End of Grade
Quote of the Week
"I believe these drops reflect the continuous educational cuts we have had to make over the past three years… But we can’t use our financial times as an excuse to let our schools’ performance slip."
Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson, "Schools chief blames falling scores on budget cuts," WRAL.com
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