Initial HSPE Results

State Superintendent Randy Dorn released preliminary statewide results from the High School Proficiency Exam in reading, writing and science at a press conference today.

See this press release and this AP story.

Comments

dan dempsey said…
"It's going to be difficult to sustain the increases in graduation rates" with state budget cuts taking money away from schools, Dorn said.

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But Mr. Dorn you are the one that pushed so hard for the Common Core State Standards adoption, which will require local districts to fund $165 million from local school district funds over the next 5 years.

Do NOT just blame state budget cuts for taking money away from schools .... as your CCSS direction effectively takes away $165 million that could have been used to positively impact classrooms in local schools and diverts it into more Gobbly-Gook.

$165 million over 5 years is equivalent to around 330 teachers per year for 5 years.
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Mr. Dorn take some financial responsibility for your actions.
6/15/11, 12:08 AM
Anonymous said…
Dorn's powerpoint presentation did not contain a single word about performance outcomes for hs students in special education. If I recall correctly, last time around there was only a 9%pass rate in SPS and only 1 person in the south end on an IEP passed the math. What is the message here. He simply forgets to mention the class of students whose metrics are, bar none, the worst?

Parent
6/15/11, 5:47 AM
Anonymous said…
Well... the last time I contacted Mr. Dorn's office for advice/assistance, I was told "We don't get involved in specific school districts."

And that is why that was the last time I contacted Mr. Dorn.

I wonder why he's so "engaged" now. Maybe because Gov. Gregoire wanted to cancel him and his office?

-JC.
6/15/11, 10:17 AM
Anonymous said…
Somewhat related - SPS has a job posting for new Math & Science Program Manager. Hopefully someone with a math and science backgound will apply...

- a reader
6/15/11, 2:01 PM
Anonymous said…
I know this is unrelated but I just noticed that student's MAP scores are posted on the Source. Jane
6/15/11, 2:23 PM
Bird said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
6/15/11, 2:46 PM
Bird said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
6/15/11, 2:48 PM
Bird said…
Every time I look at a new MAP score for my kid, my opinion of the test drops.

I went to a school performance yesterday, and was amazed at the fantastic skills my kid has developed during the year -- a credit to the teacher.

I look at the spring MAP scores and the kid is moving backwards (though on the whole the scores are erratic.)

Originally, I was pretty open to the possibility that the test would be of value. Now I can't help but think that it's a giant waste of money
6/15/11, 2:51 PM
Steve said…
I looked at the MAP scores for our son, and realized that a.) I'll never understand what they mean (the description page they point to us fairly useless), b.) his (terrific) teacher probably won't be able to explain what the numbers mean, and c.) no one will be able to explain to me how the numbers will or will not change the way my son is taught. Of what value is this?
6/15/11, 3:05 PM
Anonymous said…
One side note about MAP testing - a middle school teacher told me that kids are still being tested *but* that the teachers do not know who is being tested when or where

Students are being pulled out of classes without notice and sent to testing (wherever that may be).

This is a huge security issue - teachers are legally responsible for their students at all times. Teachers do not know where their students are and have no way of tracking them in the event of a fire, earthquake, or other security problem.

What is the pricipal doing about this? Nothing.

-JC.
6/15/11, 3:32 PM
Anonymous said…
Know my kids are bucking the trend here, but their MAPs improved. Much to their teachers' relief!!! One kid qualified for APP after going through MAP and Cognitive testing. If you open the MAP strand section, it does provide more details and you can see where the kid's strengths and weaknesses are.

My concern though what do you do with the 98-99% scores with standardization. It does seem a ridiculous test in the application end as teacher are paced and stuck using the same texts (with content unrelated to what is being tested by MAP.) It is quite apparent the stress the teachers are under to produce MAP scores gain. Don't know if I like that. Feel like kids are becoming commodity units rather than individuals with quirks.

Also what happens to science, languages, history, and writing? Are we focusing too much on the reading and math to the exclusion of other subjects?

-- Guess will rename mine as unit 1 and unit 2.
6/15/11, 8:00 PM
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