[Vision2020] Fwd: NY Times

[Donovan Arnold]

Wow, this might make Bush look stupid?

Donovan J Arnold



>From: Tom Trail <ttrail at moscow.com>
>To: vision2020 at whale2.fsr.net
>Subject: [Vision2020] Fwd: NY Times
>Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 16:02:50 -0700
>
>>>Visionaires:
>
>
>This article on Charter Schools appered in the NY Times.  Apparently, it 
>had
>been sitting around the U.S. Department of Education for some time, and the
>rumor is that someone leaked the story to the Times.
>
>Tom Trail
>
>>>
>>>Nation's Charter Schools Lagging Behind, U.S. Test Scores Reveal
>>>
>>>By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
>>>
>>>WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 - The first national comparison of test scores among 
>>>children in charter schools and regular public schools shows charter 
>>>school students often doing worse than comparable students in regular 
>>>public schools.
>>>
>>>The findings, buried in mountains of data the Education Department 
>>>released without public announcement, dealt a blow to supporters of the 
>>>charter school movement, including the Bush administration.
>>>
>>>The data shows fourth graders attending charter schools performing about 
>>>half a year behind students in other public schools in both reading and 
>>>math. Put another way, only 25 percent of the fourth graders attending 
>>>charters were proficient in reading and math, against 30 percent who were 
>>>proficient in reading, and 32 percent in math, at traditional public 
>>>schools.
>>>
>>>Because charter schools are concentrated in cities, often in poor 
>>>neighborhoods, the researchers also compared urban charters to 
>>>traditional schools in cities. They looked at low-income children in both 
>>>settings, and broke down the results by race and ethnicity as well. In 
>>>virtually all instances, the charter students did worse than their 
>>>counterparts in regular public schools.
>>>
>>>Charters are expected to grow exponentially under the new federal 
>>>education law, No Child Left Behind, which holds out conversion to 
>>>charter schools as one solution for chronically failing traditional 
>>>schools.
>>>
>>>"The scores are low, dismayingly low," said Chester E. Finn Jr., a 
>>>supporter of charters and president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, 
>>>who was among those who asked the administration to do the comparison.
>>>
>>>Mr. Finn, an assistant secretary of education in the Reagan 
>>>administration, said the quality of charter schools across the country 
>>>varied widely, and he predicted that the results would make those 
>>>overseeing charters demand more in the way of performance.
>>>
>>>"A little more tough love is needed for these schools," Mr. Finn said. 
>>>"Somebody needs to be watching over their shoulders."
>>>
>>>Mr. Finn and other backers of charter schools contended, however, that 
>>>the findings should be considered as "baseline data," and could reflect 
>>>the predominance of children in these schools who turned to charters 
>>>after having had severe problems at their neighborhood schools.
>>>
>>>The results, based on the 2003 National Assessment of Educational 
>>>Progress, commonly known as the nation's report card, were unearthed from 
>>>online data by researchers at the American Federation of Teachers, which 
>>>provided them to The New York Times. The organization has historically 
>>>supported charter schools but has produced research in recent years 
>>>raising doubts about the expansion of charter schools.
>>>
>>>Charters are self-governing public schools, often run by private 
>>>companies, which operate outside the authority of local school boards, 
>>>and have greater flexibility than traditional public schools in areas of 
>>>policy, hiring and teaching techniques.
>>>
>>>Federal officials said they did not intend to hide the performance of 
>>>charter schools, and denied any political motivation for failing to 
>>>publicly disclose that the data were available. "I guess that was poor 
>>>publicity on our part," said Robert Lerner, the federal commissioner for 
>>>education statistics. Mr. Lerner said further analysis was needed to put 
>>>the data in its proper context.
>>>
>>>But others were skeptical, saying the results proved that such schools 
>>>were not a cure-all. "There's just a huge distance between the sunny 
>>>claims of the charter school advocates and the reality," said Bella 
>>>Rosenberg, an special assistant to the president of the American 
>>>Federation of Teachers. "There's a very strong accountability issue 
>>>here."
>>>
>>>Of the nation's 88,000 public schools, 3,000 are charters, educating more 
>>>than 600,000 students. But their ranks are expected to grow as No Child 
>>>Left Behind identifies thousands of schools for possible closing because 
>>>of poor test scores.
>>>
>>>Once hailed as a kind of free-market solution offering parents an escape 
>>>from moribund public schools, elements of the charter school movement 
>>>have prompted growing concern in recent years. Around the country, more 
>>>than 80 charter schools were forced to close, largely because of 
>>>questionable financial dealings and poor performance, said Luis Huerta, a 
>>>professor at Columbia University Teachers College. In California, the 
>>>state's largest charter school operator has just announced the closing of 
>>>at least 60 campuses, The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday, stranding 
>>>10,000 children just weeks before the start of the school year.
>>>
>>>The math and reading tests were given to a nationally representative 
>>>sample of about 6,000 fourth graders at 167 charter schools in February 
>>>2003. Some 3,200 eighth graders at charter schools also took the exams, 
>>>an insufficient number to make national comparisons.
>>>
>>>The results are not out of line with earlier local and state studies of 
>>>charter school performance, which generally have shown charters doing no 
>>>better than traditional public schools. But they offered the first 
>>>nationally representative comparison of children attending both types of 
>>>schools, and are expected influence public debate.
>>>
>>>Amy Stuart Wells, a sociology professor at Columbia University Teachers 
>>>College, called the new data "really, really important."
>>>
>>>"It confirms what a lot of people who study charter schools have been 
>>>worried about," she said. "There is a lack of accountability. They're 
>>>really uneven in terms of quality."
>>>
>>>Detractors have historically accused charters of skimming the best 
>>>students, those whose parents are most committed, from the poorest 
>>>schools. But supporters of charter schools said the data confirmed 
>>>earlier research suggesting that charters take on children who were 
>>>already performing below average. "We're doing so much to help kids that 
>>>are so much farther behind, and who typically weren't even continuing in 
>>>school," said Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform, 
>>>in Washington, which represents charter schools. She said the results 
>>>reflect only "a point in time," and said nothing about the progress of 
>>>students in charter schools.
>>>
>>>That, she said, could be measured only by tracking the performance of 
>>>charters in future tests. For the moment, however, the National 
>>>Assessment Governing Board has no plans to survey charters again.
>>>
>>>One previous study, however, suggests that tracking students over time 
>>>might present findings more favorable to the charter movement. Tom 
>>>Loveless, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the 
>>>Brookings Institution, who conducted a two-year study of 569 charter 
>>>schools in 10 states found that while charter school students typically 
>>>score lower on state tests, over time they progress at faster rates than 
>>>students in traditional public schools.
>>>
>>>The new test scores on charter schools went online last November, along 
>>>with state-by-state results from the national assessment. Though other 
>>>results were announced at a news conference, with a report highlighting 
>>>the findings, federal officials never mentioned that the charter school 
>>>data were publicly available.
>>>
>>>Researchers at the American Federation of Teachers were able to gain 
>>>access to the scores from the national assessment's Web site only 
>>>indirectly: by gathering results based on how schools identified 
>>>themselves in response to a question.
>>>
>>>In a significant departure from earlier releases of test scores, Mr. 
>>>Lerner said the charter school findings would be formally shown only as 
>>>part of a larger analysis that would adjust results for the 
>>>characteristics of charter schools and their students.
>>>
>>>In the 1990's, the National Assessment Governing Board had rejected 
>>>requests from states for such analyses, with Mr. Finn, then a member of 
>>>the board, contending that explanatory reports would compromise the 
>>>credibility of the assessment results by trying to blame demographic and 
>>>other outside factors for poor performance.
>>>
>>>But Mr. Lerner said he thought such an analysis was necessary to put the 
>>>charter school test scores in context. He called the raw comparison of 
>>>test scores "the beginning of something important," and said, "What one 
>>>has to do is adjust for many different variables to get a sense of what 
>>>the effects of charter schools are."
>>
>>
>
>--
>Dr. Tom Trail
>International Trails
>1375 Mt. View Rd.
>Moscow, Id. 83843
>Tel:  (208) 882-6077
>Fax:  (208) 882-0896
>e mail ttrail at moscow.com
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