So much for bragging about public education.
Almost every press release from Gov. Ed Rendell, regardless of the topic, concludes with the following statement: "The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses."
The latest news about test scores for Pennsylvania high school doesn't say much about a "first-rate" education system.
Despite billions of dollars poured into public education since Rendell took office, Pennsylvania students continue to score poorly in standardized testing.
And did I mention that Pennsylvania teachers are among the highest paid in the country? And did you know that Pennsylvania leads the nation in teacher strikes?
Six in 10 Pennsylvania High School Students Fail State Science Test
2 comments:
Here in York County, the average pay for a teacher is roughly 1.5 times the median HOUSEHOLD income, and rising at 3-5% per year NOT counting raises for seniority and/or education level. School boards freely negotiate generous contracts, then claim they are saddled with "mandates" that provide no relief from incessant property tax increases they are "forced" to enact.
In our 16 districts, test scores exhibit these common characteristics: (1) PSSA proficiency rates have increased since the onset of NCLB; (2) PSSA scores DECREASE as students move from lower to higher grades (measuring the same populations of sutdents over time); (3) administrators change programs often enough to make it virtually impossible to evaluate the impact of curricula on test scores; and (4) there is no relationship between the scores and the amount of money spent per student.
Unfortunately, when students aren't well educated, they aren't smart enough to know it. Just teach them self esteem and they'll think they are!
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