Time to Celebrate Big, Broad Jumps in Test Scores - WP

[Burma Jones]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9764-2004Jun2.html

THIS is what happens when you make a real, concerted effort to improve EVERYBODY's future. THIS is what happens when you don't demonize teachers, unions or minorities. I am very proud, I grew up here. People need to take a lesson from this.

We do not pay outrageous taxes here in MD. In fact, we were in Westchester County NY, in a similarly valued house, and paid four times the local taxes we pay here.

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Montgomery County can genuinely celebrate what is happening in its elementary schools. Second-graders in schools with the poorest populations are scoring at levels where second-graders in wealthy schools were a few years ago. And at many of the wealthy schools, second-graders are doing substantially better than their older brothers and sisters did a few years ago.

-snip-

[eyesroll]

1. I wonder, though -- in a generation, will we have artists,

musicians, scientists, historians, electricians, etc., since many schools are cutting the arts, science, social studies, trade/shop classes, and extracurriculars in order to get in more time for reading, and more specifically, test prep?

That "student achievement" and "test scores" have become interchangeable bugs me greatly. I think I would be bored silly, if I was in school now -- I was an early reader, and a strong test-taker, back when they didn't count for much. If I had to sit through reading drills and fill-in-the-bubble exercises at the expense of field trips, looking at bugs in the nature garden, the "history with Principal Hall" class I got to take for enrichment, even recess, etc., I would have gone nuts.

[Burma Jones]

2. No Arts et al cutting here in Montgomery County

I think this is a big deal, particularly with Second Graders. I don't have a problem with getting kids this young really knowing the basics of reading and math. Because Montgomery County has the highest educated populace in the nation, parents do not sit still for the sort of rote learning you're rightfully condemning.

We have fairly extensive pre-school programs here as well