Posted on 08/22/2006 2:25:21 PM PDT by eraser2005
WASHINGTON -- Fourth graders in traditional public schools are doing better in both reading and math than students in charter schools, the government says in a report fueling fresh debate over school choice.
Tuesday's report said fourth graders in regular public schools scored an average of 5.2 points better in reading than students in charter schools on the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress test. Students in traditional schools scored an average of 5.8 points better in math.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
The way they do it is they "adjust" the scores for various socio-economic factors, including parental involvement. I read an analysis of that last time these numbers came out.
But! Are the Charter schools separating the "special needs" kids out of class like they do in public schools? These numbers no doubt reflect the 4th graders that have no learning disabilities, including deslexia, ADD, Bi-polar etc. Any kid on a drug (lots of them) are put in the special needs classes. Do the charter schools?
I don't know about this study....
But the state report cards don't adjust for these students - they are ALL included, even in the public schools... the charters simply STINK...
Well, when you toss in the "art" charter schools, the "gay" charter schools, the afro-centric charter schools, etc, its no wonder. Why don't they compare the regular public schools with those charters whose charter it is to improve the education, not the namby pamby crap.
Uh, OK, um...
We are considering a charter school for next year. This is a serious question--why do you think they stink?
Yes, charter schools treat special needs kids like other public schools.
NYC even has a school specifically dedicated to homosexual children.
I think you have to take massive test results like this with a grain of salt and look at the individual school. An adult with reasonable intelligence can tell if a given school is effective after touring the classes, speaking with teachers, and looking at the materials used.
Not sure about today, but up until a few years ago, NO classified child's scores were included in the scores for public schools in NJ.
How are public school kids doing compared to those homeschooled?
They stink because they are filled with students who hate school and hate having to learn anything and hate having to obey any rules whatsoever.
They have smelly gyms.
Fine by me... but are you suggesting that of the 28 charter schools in my area that all but 6 are "namby pamby"?
There are 24 schools in the area listed "Academic Emergency", and 24 listed "Academic Watch", the two lowest ratings. Charter schools account for 8 of each category, or about 30%. Yet they only make up 8% of the schools. NO complete school district is rated in either of these categories, although some schools within the districts are....
Check out the difference in these two schools:
http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/ca/cat6_bytest/5648/
Allen at Steinbeck is a regular public school. Only 36% of the 3rd graders were reading at the proficient or above level. In 5th grade, only 28% were at the proficient or above level. This is where my daughters went to school last year, and it was horrible.
Now, here are the results from a local charter:
http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/ca/cat6_bytest/5409/
Their 3rd grade reading is at 66% and their 5th grade science is at 68%. Other grades and subjects are in the 80%.
We tried to transfer to the charter, but couldn't get in because it is so full. The families that go there love the school.
The thing is that the good charters will stay open and the bad ones will close. Parents can decide if they want to keep their children in the charter.
WTF?
For a serious question, a serious answer:
I am not opposed to the idea of a charter school. But in the metropolitan area I live in, there are 33 charter schools. They make up 8% of the total number of public schools. Yet they account for 30% of all the lowest rated schools. Our state gives schools one of five ratings - Academic Emergency, Academic Watch, Continuous Improvement, Effective, or Excellent. There are some excellent schools that get continuous improvement ratings because of failure with one subgroup of students.
But there are NO schools in the lower two categories (because of the way the scoring system works) that are good ones.
Sure, there are two fantastic charter schools. But a success rate of just 6% is a very poor record...
Be certain that any charter school you consider actually performs well. Get those test results....
NYC is a sewer run by an idiot for a Mayor. The Education Commissioner is Klein, the attorney against Microsoft for slick willie. Knows nothing about education. The school administration is filled with perverts and idiots.
I don't get why the charter schools would be filled with those kinds of kids. We are checking into it for next year because the regular public schools stink. I attended a meeting for it on Saturday and it sounds like it will be promising. The trouble will be getting in. It's going to fill up quickly once it gets the charter. The public schools in our area are stuffed beyond capacity because of the influx of illegals.
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