Why didn't we think of focusing on literacy in the schools before? Silly us, we just assumed that it was the top priority. Strangely enough (or not), the emphasis pepped up by the P & C's articles on literacy had an impact. See Sunday's Freshmen Show Improved Reading.
Don't celebrate too hard, though, because these improved scores show that fewer ninth graders are reading at the fourth grade level or below than they did as beginning eighth graders. If high school texts were written on the fourth grade level, maybe we could relax.
So, what does it mean that the deficient students at Baptist Hill showed a much greater percentage increase in skills than those deficient at Wando? Did Baptist Hill do a better job with its eighth graders, or was some other factor at work?
And, just in case you've forgotten, we were supposed to get the results from the summer's expensive reading focus programs to show if they were effective. WELL???? Does silence mean they weren't? This article would have been a good forum to discuss them.
McGinley says she's data-driven. She should prove it by releasing those results.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
Butzon'a op-ed in Monday's paper makes some interesting observations. Is there a small crack developing in the relationship between McGinley and her unequivocal supporters when it comes to literacy tests? I wonder what Dot Scott would say if the data driven superintendent were to release the stats showing the racial breakdown of all those CCSD is leaving behind. Want to bet CCSD is blatently covering up its excessively high percentage of failures among minority groups? What about the numbers of African-Americans who are left to become drop-outs, pushed-outs, below grade level readers and generally those who are being inadequately prepared at the lower grades? This is the albatross McGinley should be wearing and the elephant in the room Scott should be raising a storm over. Yes, reading is fundamental to everything, even if Butzon agrees.
BTW, Butzon should know that except for the editorial page, most newspapers in this country today are written to match an 8th grade reading level. That's quite a come down from the audience they were seeking 50 or more years ago. If raising the standards for literacy is a priority, it might be better to ask not where to begin but on how many fronts we need to be making progress immediately.
Post a Comment