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Welcome

I know that it is hard to believe, but I do not have all of the answers.  No, really.  In fact, this week’s CommenTerry addresses ten unanswered questions about the performance of North Carolina’s public schools.  (Note to enterprising doctoral students, college and university faculty, think tankers, and state education researchers: you’re welcome.)

Bulletin Board

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  • Share. 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.  Go to the N.C. History Project website for further information.
  • Discuss. I would like to invite all readers to submit brief announcements, 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. Requests for anonymity will be honored. For additional information or to send a submission, email Terry at [email protected].
  • Revisit. We have archived all research newsletters on our website.  Access the archive here.

CommenTerry

1. Why is North Carolina’s graduation rate on the rise?

As I have said many times in the past, state education officials speculate that graduation rates rose in concert with adoption of state-level initiatives.  Yet, there is no empirical evidence that DPI dropout prevention or school support initiatives produced higher graduation rates.  Indeed, many factors may be working behind the scenes to raise the graduation rate, including the economy, changes in attitudes, etc.  Studies dedicated to fleshing out these complex issues are past due.

2. What produced North Carolina’s impressive performance in math?

On the rigorous National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math tests, North Carolina’s fourth- and eighth-grade students have had higher average scale scores than the national average since 2000.

Similarly, North Carolina’s public school students fared well in the math portion of the Trends In International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).  In fourth-grade math, North Carolina scored higher than students from 50 other nations, states, and territories.  Our state also scored higher than 48 nations on the eighth-grade math test.  In both cases, however, our state scored lower than all of the representative nations from the Pacific Rim — Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR, Chinese Taipei, and Japan.

So, what produced these encouraging math results?  Do we have better math teachers, improved methods, and/or higher quality instructional materials?

3. Given gains in math performance, why haven’t we seen comparable gains in reading achievement?

Once upon a time, North Carolina’s public school students scored several points higher than the national average on the fourth- and eighth-grade NAEP reading assessments.  Unfortunately, North Carolina’s scores have remained at or below the national average since 2005.  Did the rest of the nation catch up to North Carolina or have we declined?

4. Did the in-migration of teachers help or hurt North Carolina’s public schools?

According to data released by the federal government, nearly one-third of teachers who were awarded initial certification/licensure in North Carolina received their training in another state.  Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

5. Similarly, did the in-migration of families help or hurt North Carolina’s public schools?

The Yankees are coming!  The Yankees are coming!  No, it is not the War of Northern Aggression.  It is the Age of Northern Regression and thousands of Yankee families (like mine) are moving to North Carolina’s growing urban and suburban communities.  Those of us who live in these areas have heard much about the "problems" associated with population growth — need for additional roads, school buildings, policemen, firemen, and the like.  But have these newcomers improved North Carolina’s public schools? 

6. Why is our community college remediation rate so high?

Last year, the overall remediation rate was 65 percent for students enrolling at a North Carolina community college immediately after graduation.  The rate was 57 percent for the 2007-2008 academic year.  If academic standards were raised, then why does the NC Community College System have to spend millions of dollars every year to remediate incoming high school graduates?

7. Have our charter schools "turned the corner" on academic performance?

In 2008, I asked, "Have charter schools turned the corner?"  On the surface, it appears they have.  For the last four school years, charter schools (as a group) have outperformed district schools on measures such as performance composite, that is, the percentage of students’ scores in each school that were at or above grade level on state end-of-grade and end-of-course tests. Last year, for example, the average performance composite for 99 charter schools was 80 percent (median = 83.7).  The average performance composite for 2,294 district schools was 77.3 percent (median = 78.7).

Many of the charter school studies cited by charter opponents analyze student performance prior to 2008, so it is time for researchers to compare recent academic achievement trends in charter and district schools.

8. How productive are North Carolina’s public schools?

I have written about educational productivity or "bang for the buck" a number of times.  Researchers should examine district and school productivity to ensure that public schools are using taxpayer funds wisely.

9. Has the Teacher Working Conditions Survey improved teacher working conditions?

I like the Teacher Working Conditions Survey and believe that superior working conditions are an essential part of a well-functioning, high-performing school.  But I fear that districts and schools are not using the data to truly improve working conditions for teachers and staff.

10. Does the media do a good job covering education issues?

Overall, I think North Carolina-based reporters do a decent job of covering the state’s big education issues, particularly during the legislative session.  On the other hand, reporters need to ask tougher questions of representatives of the Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education.  Specifically, state education leaders have a habit of making unsubstantiated cause-and-effect claims, and I believe that the media has a responsibility to question those claims.

Facts and Stats

Seriously?  You want more facts and statistics after reading the CommenTerry?

Education Acronym of the Week

NCCCS — North Carolina Community College System

Quote of the Week

"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers." — Voltaire

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