Waivers Create Conflict In Indianapolis Schools
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Patricia Hawke
Mar 29, 2013, 8:50:03 PM3/29/13
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Article Title: Waivers Create Conflict In Indianapolis Schools
Author: Patricia Hawke
Word Count: 517
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=161901&ca=Education
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Indianapolis Schools face the same challenges as most of the nation�s urban schools: lack of resources and funding, high poverty levels, and increasing pressure to meet testing standards. The 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act that required all states to have all students to proficient levels in state tests by 2014 was created to raise national standards and demand accountability. No one in Indianapolis Schools is surprised that meeting those standards is proving to be a challenge. That�s the whole point.
While educators and parents in Indianapolis Schools are divided in their support for NCLB, and testing in general, the recent use of waivers for graduation has created more than its expected amount of tension. Here�s the issue. Indianapolis Schools, along with all other public districts in the state, test children using the Indiana Statewide Test for Educational Practice (ISTEP) exams. In order to graduate, Indianapolis Schools� seniors must pass the Graduation Qualification Examination (GQE). The students are given five chances to pass the test, and it is designed to test mainly eighth and ninth grade knowledge. Sound reasonable right?
That�s why a recent Indianapolis Star editorial blasted Indianapolis Schools for what it called, �failing in its job of providing a rigorous education for all students�, based on reports that 17% of students graduated with waivers and had not passed the GQE. The angry responses generated by parents of Indianapolis Schools� students were surprising.
But is the backlash based on anything more than a few miffed moms? Here�s the rest of the story. Every single student in Indianapolis Schools is required to take the ISTEP and the GQE in order to graduate. This includes students with special needs, like autism, who have specialized individual educational plans (IEPS) to measure their success. Indianapolis Schools� parents and educators are furious that a child could meet all the requirements of an IEP, bring home great report cards, and still not be issued a diploma.
The other area of controversy is in testing students who do not have English as their primary language. Should they be denied an Indianapolis Schools� diploma if their grasp of core subjects in their native language is solid? The tests (in every subject) are only given in English. While this spurs national debate, no one in Indianapolis Schools really seems comfortable with denying students with disabilities diplomas. But the desire to uphold strict standards has some Indianapolis Schools� supporters fearful of lowering accountability measures.
The Indianapolis Star opinion cited above expresses concerns that waivers will �undermine the value of a high school diploma.� It points out schools like Frankfort where 14% of seniors repeatedly failed the exam. The 17% waiver rate puts Indianapolis Schools three times higher than the state average for granting waivers. Indianapolis Schools need to look at the numbers and determine exactly how many waivers are granted for legitimate reasons, and how many are just glossing over standards. But defining those terms, and coming up with just solutions, is likely to spur more heated debate in Indianapolis Schools in the upcoming year.
About The Author: Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Indiana/Indianapolis/index.html
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Message delivered directly to members of the group:
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*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Patricia Hawke
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=161901
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=161901
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Waivers Create Conflict In Indianapolis Schools
Author: Patricia Hawke
Word Count: 517
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=161901&ca=Education
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=161901
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=161901
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Indianapolis Schools face the same challenges as most of the nation�s urban schools: lack of resources and funding, high poverty levels, and increasing pressure to meet testing standards. The 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act that required all states to have all students to proficient levels in state tests by 2014 was created to raise national standards and demand accountability. No one in Indianapolis Schools is surprised that meeting those standards is proving to be a challenge. That�s the whole point.
While educators and parents in Indianapolis Schools are divided in their support for NCLB, and testing in general, the recent use of waivers for graduation has created more than its expected amount of tension. Here�s the issue. Indianapolis Schools, along with all other public districts in the state, test children using the Indiana Statewide Test for Educational Practice (ISTEP) exams. In order to graduate, Indianapolis Schools� seniors must pass the Graduation Qualification Examination (GQE). The students are given five chances to pass the test, and it is designed to test mainly eighth and ninth grade knowledge. Sound reasonable right?
That�s why a recent Indianapolis Star editorial blasted Indianapolis Schools for what it called, �failing in its job of providing a rigorous education for all students�, based on reports that 17% of students graduated with waivers and had not passed the GQE. The angry responses generated by parents of Indianapolis Schools� students were surprising.
But is the backlash based on anything more than a few miffed moms? Here�s the rest of the story. Every single student in Indianapolis Schools is required to take the ISTEP and the GQE in order to graduate. This includes students with special needs, like autism, who have specialized individual educational plans (IEPS) to measure their success. Indianapolis Schools� parents and educators are furious that a child could meet all the requirements of an IEP, bring home great report cards, and still not be issued a diploma.
The other area of controversy is in testing students who do not have English as their primary language. Should they be denied an Indianapolis Schools� diploma if their grasp of core subjects in their native language is solid? The tests (in every subject) are only given in English. While this spurs national debate, no one in Indianapolis Schools really seems comfortable with denying students with disabilities diplomas. But the desire to uphold strict standards has some Indianapolis Schools� supporters fearful of lowering accountability measures.
The Indianapolis Star opinion cited above expresses concerns that waivers will �undermine the value of a high school diploma.� It points out schools like Frankfort where 14% of seniors repeatedly failed the exam. The 17% waiver rate puts Indianapolis Schools three times higher than the state average for granting waivers. Indianapolis Schools need to look at the numbers and determine exactly how many waivers are granted for legitimate reasons, and how many are just glossing over standards. But defining those terms, and coming up with just solutions, is likely to spur more heated debate in Indianapolis Schools in the upcoming year.
About The Author: Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Indiana/Indianapolis/index.html
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=161901
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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