While schools shouldn’t be judged based solely on their test scores, and we shouldn’t be doing more tests, it is good to see strong improvement in California’s school ratings:
Nearly 40 percent of the state’s 5,781 elementary schools scored at least 800 on the API, which is considered excellent on the 1,000-point scale. Last year, nearly 37 percent of elementary schools did as well. But a decade ago, only 13 percent met the mark.
More than 30 percent of middle schools ranked at least 800, up from about 24 percent last year and just under 11 percent a decade ago. (SF Chronicle 5/21/09)
But don’t you worry all you pessimists, because the fact that elementary schools are improving isn’t necessarily a sign that the younger generations of kids are all that much smarter, so much as the fact that as children go through the school system they begin to lag behind.
But, while a strong elementary education isn’t sufficient for a quality education, it is a mandatory element of a strong education. And the fact that high schools marginally improved is also a good sign. Our schools are capable of wonderful things, but only if we imbue them with the resources that will allow them to succeed. They can only do more with less for so long until there are no more effeciency and productivity gains to be had. When we cut through the bone, we are making it harder on our students, and thus harder for the state to succeed in this new knowledge based economy.
California is dead last in the nation in what it spends on each student. The very real gains we have made are in spite of the highest class sizes, least number of librarians and counselors, and the very real difficulty of students learning in a second language. Now, with the budget crisis, we are getting even worse – more kids in each class, great teachers fired, and all “extras” (art, music, field trips, etc.) gone. Our standards are among the most difficult in the nation, the means for achieving it the most meager. Those of us in education often wonder if it’s a plot to undermine the very idea of public education. Put us in this no-win situation, then say “See? It doesn’t work!” This state’s budgeting is broken. I see many calls for redistricting, but very few for the most needed change : get rid of the two/thirds requirement to pass the budget.