In fact SPPS students ARE learning more, they are thinking more, and along
the way they are also learning more about the topics on the tests. Neither
the school board nor any staff member would settle for just teaching to the
tests, however -- and we've so stated. We're teaching to national and
international standards, and luckily the state of MN is coming along there,
too, so the match is improving.
One of the key struggles is that the current system tests different students
each year. While there is a commitment at the state level to what's called
"value-added" testing, which measures growth/progress of students from one
year to the next, the state has not yet made that shift. The upshot is that
when a school experiences a dramatic shift in its student population --
which as you know has been the case quite often in St. Paul over the last
several years -- it can have a huge impact in a single year.
And while we're ecstatic at the great work done on these tests by all our
students with tremendous support from great staff and families, what's more
important is to look at what happens to student achievement over their time:
The longer students are in our system the better they perform -- a statistic
that is particularly worthy of note for students new to either the US or the
district (from Laos, Russia, Somalia, or Chicago) as well as students born
here to families in poverty, who don't speak English, or who did not benefit
from a strong education themselves. They learn more than one year's worth of
material each year so they can catch up and excel along with students who
walk in the door having had every opportunity available -- everyone has
access to and preparation for a world-class education.
Yet there are still some extremely troubling gaps that aren't being closed
as quickly as they should be, as well as those that can't be explained by
language or poverty. Everyone is committed to closing those gaps and it's
important not to forget that even as we celebrate great successes.
We are beginning our search for a new superintendent this fall. You can be
sure that the Board will continue to support the marvelous directions in
curriculum/instruction, site-based decision making, school choice, and other
initiatives that Pat Harvey has either led or strengthened, while
aggressively building on and moving forward to the next level. These are all
OUR children and OUR future, and if they're well educated at school, home,
and in the community to contribute in meaningful ways, St. Paul will just
get better every year.
Rest of post
-- Anne Carroll, St. Paul School Board
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Anne R. Carroll
Carroll, Franck & Associates (Public Involvement, Strategic Planning,
Communications)
1357 Highland Parkway
St. Paul, MN 55116 USA
<email obscured>
Ph: 651-690-9162 School Board: 651-690-9156; blog
http://annecarroll.blogspot.com
"The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice." -- Martin Luther
King, Jr.
"A politician worries about the next election. A true states[wo]man worries
about the next generation, and children yet unborn." - e.e. cummings