Yesterday, the state senate approved legislation that would give yearly letter grades to schools. It has come under quite a bit of fire as being unfair and stigmatizing schools, mostly urban schools with large minority populations. So is it a good idea or not? Here's the breakdown:
Yes: Having legislation and state based evaluations of schools could do a lot to bring awareness to the entire TEXAS community that some of our schools are full on dumpster fires of education. The kids, teachers, and administrators in these schools know the schools are functionally daycare centers. The parents that come from these schools know. The district knows. The only ones who don't know are often those parents that are lacking in formal education, who see all schools as the same. "School is school" is something we need to fight more against and this could help that.
No: Rating systems like this already exist by the boatload. We need to stop reinventing the wheel. If the metrics don't allow for you to walk into a failing school, see how hard teachers are working, see how effective instruction is, and acknowledge that some teachers can be doing everything in their power but kids won't learn, then the system is the wrong one for our state and our schools.
Being honest about our schools is key. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. It's true that some of our worst schools are the ones that are in large urban centers with high minority populations, but that's not something to sweep under the rug for fear of making the communities look bad. They ARE bad. This is what happens when you cram people together, don't give them any resources, and they reproduce for generations with each being less educated than the last. The system has created these pockets of poverty and neglect. If a letter system forces everyone to see that, I'm for it. The "achievement gap" is something we built ourselves by allowing whole communities to falter for decades. We need to own up to that by giving out a few "F"s then fighting to make them "A"s.
Responding to: DMN
Yes: Having legislation and state based evaluations of schools could do a lot to bring awareness to the entire TEXAS community that some of our schools are full on dumpster fires of education. The kids, teachers, and administrators in these schools know the schools are functionally daycare centers. The parents that come from these schools know. The district knows. The only ones who don't know are often those parents that are lacking in formal education, who see all schools as the same. "School is school" is something we need to fight more against and this could help that.
No: Rating systems like this already exist by the boatload. We need to stop reinventing the wheel. If the metrics don't allow for you to walk into a failing school, see how hard teachers are working, see how effective instruction is, and acknowledge that some teachers can be doing everything in their power but kids won't learn, then the system is the wrong one for our state and our schools.
Being honest about our schools is key. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. It's true that some of our worst schools are the ones that are in large urban centers with high minority populations, but that's not something to sweep under the rug for fear of making the communities look bad. They ARE bad. This is what happens when you cram people together, don't give them any resources, and they reproduce for generations with each being less educated than the last. The system has created these pockets of poverty and neglect. If a letter system forces everyone to see that, I'm for it. The "achievement gap" is something we built ourselves by allowing whole communities to falter for decades. We need to own up to that by giving out a few "F"s then fighting to make them "A"s.
Responding to: DMN
RSS Feed