Diversity in schools and an unintended, important, consequence.

[Carol Aliprando]

Hello all.

This input is in response to last night's discussion regarding school boundaries, attendance areas, and diversity.

• First ... diversity MUST be enhanced to the maximum extent possible.
• Second ... my concern is for less affluent communities.

The unintended consequence: School based performance data masks the TRUE performance of less affluent student communities.

Let me try to explain (and forgive me, this data is from 2013, but the concept still applies):

1.) Here were the attendance areas of the school system, at that time.

2.) Here were the rates of poverty for the county. The darker the area, the greater the rate of poverty.

3.) Here is the first map transparently placed on top of the second map.

4.) Here were the school boundaries for 3 lower performing middle schools - at that time.

5.) Here are the boundaries for one particular, lower performing middle school (at that time). It encompasses less affluent and more affluent communities. The orange colored area - the school boundary -  has both a light colored area and a dark colored area - areas of two different levels of affluence.
 

The over riding question is this: How exactly are those less affluent students performing, in that lower performance school, without being masked by the adjacent, and included, higher affluence student community performance?

And .... since I have your attention .. I'm suggesting that affluence is the only statistically significant variable that the standardized tests measure - not teacher performance, not curriculum, not this intervention, or that intervention. We live in an affluent county - of course our school system will be seemingly fantastic. Just like Massachusetts schools perform better than Alabama schools, because Massachusetts is a more affluent state. We will never really know how our county is doing until we tap the performance of those less affluent students, in that lower performing school - beyond the data captured for the students who receive Free and Reduced lunches -- and compare it to other communities with similar rates of poverty.

I have an idea about a possible solution.

Carol Aliprando

My additional comments, for your reading pleasure, on other details within the meeting:

1.) Start Time discussion. I believe the Start Time Movement is a national movement and is based on sound research -- but distracts time, attention and money from more pressing issues. It is popular movement - because who can deny the research? But in my mind, it is seemingly low hanging fruit, full of unintended negative consequences that cascade throughout the community.

2.) School Boundary and Diversity discussion. Defining communities by a family education level is "code" for defining a community's affluence or lack thereof. See the following;
https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/historical/fig10.jpg
https://trends.collegeboard.org/education-pays/figures-tables/poverty-rates-household-type-and-education-level-2008

3.) Criteria for Infants and Toddlers, 25% below average. In general, the term "Average" can be misleading. Average is an extremely large group, a fact school systems use to their advantage. A 6th grader can be reading at the 4th grade level is statistically average. Educational systems like to term this student as Low Average -- lower performing but not low enough to be eligible for additional services. Unbelievably, the MSA's labeled these students "Proficient" - its true. Education culture, as a whole, refuses to describe student performance in terms of "grade level" and justify this tactic with lengthy articles written in scholarly publications. Regardless, a low average student maybe reading two grade levels behind - possibly three. An average 6th grade student, in the spring of their 6th grade year, maybe reading at a 5th grade level, or a 7th grade level, and will still be considered dead-on Average. There is much more to this topic and how school systems hide true student performance.

4.) Community Childcare. I don't believe that FERPA would necessarily and categorically restrict HCPSS from inquiring about a student's previous participation in a childcare program, with related details. However, I do believe HCPSS is generally overwhelmed - and cannot in any way -- address this opportunity right now. But to simply assert FERPA would prohibit such an effort indicates a limited ability to problem solve, and a reinforces a systemic tendency to hide behind and fall back on "Data Privacy" or FOIA restrictions -  when challenged to do a better job.

5.) Is an intervention of 1/2 hr.per week, enough? My personal opinion, as a certified Speech and Language Pathologist, is that a preschooler performing at a level below the 1st Standard Deviation, at 25% below average, particularly in the area of language, definitely needs more intervention than 1 session of 30 minutes a week. An optimal intervention would be more like 3 to 5 sessions of 10 minutes a day. Again, repetition is key. However, there is no way a school system can provide this level of care. Yet, all educational systems will insist that they involve and train families and caregivers to the maximum extent possible - to make up for the difference between the county provided intervention and the optimal intervention. I don't' think so.

[Towanda Brown]

Thank you Carol!  Great information!

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 14, 2016, at 4:33 PM, Carol Aliprando <calip...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello all.

This input is in response to last night's discussion regarding school boundaries, attendance areas, and diversity.

• First ... diversity MUST be enhanced to the maximum extent possible.
• Second ... my concern is for less affluent communities.

The unintended consequence: School based performance data masks the TRUE performance of less affluent student communities.

Let me try to explain (and forgive me, this data is from 2013, but the concept still applies):

1.) Here were the attendance areas of the school system, at that time.

<image.jpeg>

2.) Here were the rates of poverty for the county. The darker the area, the greater the rate of poverty.

<image.jpeg>

3.) Here is the first map transparently placed on top of the second map.

<image.jpeg>

4.) Here were the school boundaries for 3 lower performing middle schools - at that time.

<image.png>

5.) Here are the boundaries for one particular, lower performing middle school (at that time). It encompasses less affluent and more affluent communities. The orange colored area - the school boundary -  has both a light colored area and a dark colored area - areas of two different levels of affluence.
 

<image.png>

The over riding question is this: How exactly are those less affluent students performing, in that lower performance school, without being masked by the adjacent, and included, higher affluence student community performance?

And .... since I have your attention .. I'm suggesting that affluence is the only statistically significant variable that the standardized tests measure - not teacher performance, not curriculum, not this intervention, or that intervention. We live in an affluent county - of course our school system will be seemingly fantastic. Just like Massachusetts schools perform better than Alabama schools, because Massachusetts is a more affluent state. We will never really know how our county is doing until we tap the performance of those less affluent students, in that lower performing school - beyond the data captured for the students who receive Free and Reduced lunches -- and compare it to other communities with similar rates of poverty.

I have an idea about a possible solution.

Carol Aliprando

My additional comments, for your reading pleasure, on other details within the meeting:

1.) Start Time discussion. I believe the Start Time Movement is a national movement and is based on sound research -- but distracts time, attention and money from more pressing issues. It is popular movement - because who can deny the research? But in my mind, it is seemingly low hanging fruit, full of unintended negative consequences that cascade throughout the community.

2.) School Boundary and Diversity discussion. Defining communities by a family education level is "code" for defining a community's affluence or lack thereof. See the following;
https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/historical/fig10.jpg
https://trends.collegeboard.org/education-pays/figures-tables/poverty-rates-household-type-and-education-level-2008

3.) Criteria for Infants and Toddlers, 25% below average. In general, the term "Average" can be misleading. Average is an extremely large group, a fact school systems use to their advantage. A 6th grader can be reading at the 4th grade level is statistically average. Educational systems like to term this student as Low Average -- lower performing but not low enough to be eligible for additional services. Unbelievably, the MSA's labeled these students "Proficient" - its true. Education culture, as a whole, refuses to describe student performance in terms of "grade level" and justify this tactic with lengthy articles written in scholarly publications. Regardless, a low average student maybe reading two grade levels behind - possibly three. An average 6th grade student, in the spring of their 6th grade year, maybe reading at a 5th grade level, or a 7th grade level, and will still be considered dead-on Average. There is much more to this topic and how school systems hide true student performance.

4.) Community Childcare. I don't believe that FERPA would necessarily and categorically restrict HCPSS from inquiring about a student's previous participation in a childcare program, with related details. However, I do believe HCPSS is generally overwhelmed - and cannot in any way -- address this opportunity right now. But to simply assert FERPA would prohibit such an effort indicates a limited ability to problem solve, and a reinforces a systemic tendency to hide behind and fall back on "Data Privacy" or FOIA restrictions -  when challenged to do a better job.

5.) Is an intervention of 1/2 hr.per week, enough? My personal opinion, as a certified Speech and Language Pathologist, is that a preschooler performing at a level below the 1st Standard Deviation, at 25% below average, particularly in the area of language, definitely needs more intervention than 1 session of 30 minutes a week. An optimal intervention would be more like 3 to 5 sessions of 10 minutes a day. Again, repetition is key. However, there is no way a school system can provide this level of care. Yet, all educational systems will insist that they involve and train families and caregivers to the maximum extent possible - to make up for the difference between the county provided intervention and the optimal intervention. I don't' think so.

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[calvin loyd hewitt II]

Hello Carol, Towanda,

I brought this topic up awhile ago to the CAC group in the context of AP offerings (see below). I think it is an extremely important discussion that needs to be had. Will it be continued during the next meeting? 

Thanks,
Calvin

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: calvin loyd hewitt II <clh...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Nov 18, 2011 at 9:12 AM
Subject: Re: [CACmembers] CAC 2011 AP Results
To: hcps...@googlegroups.com


Out of curiosity, my wife and I always wondered why certain courses were offered at one school and not another. 

For whatever reason, this fact feeds into a common [parent's] notion that certain high schools in Howard County will better serve their children than others. 

Specifically, those parents who have aspirations of their child or children attending America's highly competitive colleges and universities. Address this issue and Hammond's AP scores, for example, would go up as some parents, instead of moving or placing their child in JROTC so their child will attend Atholton, would attend Hammond. 

If Howard County, and you have heard me mention this before in meetings and in emails, does not address the systematic discrepancies between east and west schools then Howard will turn into a smaller version of Montgomery Cty. With Wilde Lake becoming a magnet like Blair. 

To Stephanie's point, in terms of students the issue comes down to apartments. For better or worse, children who live in apartments are more likely to change schools, have non-college educated parents, lower incomes...etc. Also, the presence of apartments results in the overcrowding of schools, as it allows for more children than if the same space was occupied by single family homes. Hence the overcrowding in the southeastern part of Howard County. 

Since the apartments aren't going anywhere (at least not yet), the BOE should make a concerted effort to improve the quality on the southern and eastern schools. Introducing distance learning and other innovations would go a long way to closing the east/west gap.    

On Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 9:53 PM, Bianca Chang <cch...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear All,

Here is my 2 cents.

Breaking the classroom wall is a future trend in students' learning disregard their ages. In addition to many universities, our neighboring counties such as PG County, they had adopted distance learning via internet offering foreign languages and other courses to their students in high schools and middle schools. Limited resource teachers can conduct classes across classrooms with a classroom monitor on site.

It can be done but we need to ask ourselves whether we are ready for the change.

Bianca Chang

On Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 12:20 PM, RONALD PUTZ <ron...@msn.com> wrote:

An impressive discussion of the AP exam results and the contributing factors to success.
 
I also agree w/the approach to remedy the shortfall; distance learning, etc.,
is being used by many US universities for grad work among employees of
major companies looking for specific certification and graduate degrees.
 
Altho the persons participating in these courses are generally older
and motivated (one of my sons doing in his 30s) the results are impressive.
 
Thus, this needs a feasibility study for our system
 
Thanks for info.
 
ron putz
 



 

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Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:46:06 -0500
Subject: Re: [CACmembers] CAC 2011 AP Results
From: mcga...@aol.com
To: hcps...@googlegroups.com

Hi All

We have been reading with interest the comments surrounding the publication of last school year’s AP results.  As former co-chairs of the GT Advisory Committee, we embarked years ago on a study to determine whether the same AP courses were offered at every high school.  We hypothesized that this was not the case.  However, to our surprise, we discovered that, with very few exceptions, all high schools offered the same AP courses.  The real inequity in AP offerings, we concluded, was due to differences in the number of times per day each AP course was offered.  In some high schools most AP courses are offered only once a day resulting in many scheduling conflicts so that, for instance, an individual student might not be able to take AP calculus and AP chemistry in the same year if both classes meet at the same time.  Furthermore, a student in orchestra or madrigals, which are also singleton (meet once a day) courses, will have even more conflicts.  In schools where many of the AP courses are offered multiple times a day fewer conflicts occur so that students’ choices are expanded.  It must be recognized that the number of times a course is offered each day is dependent upon the number of students enrolling in that particular AP class, so that this problem cannot be remedied by merely increasing the number of sections for a class.  One possible way to overcome this dilemma for which we have advocated many years is on-line or distance learning.  We recognize that this is not the perfect solution but for those students who are being denied access to a given AP class due to under enrollment or scheduling conflicts, at least this solution offers students a choice and an opportunity to take previously unavailable courses. 

As to the discussion about factors leading to success on the AP exams, we feel that there are three major factors determining that success.

Student motivation—First and foremost is the student’s drive, ambition, and determination to do whatever is necessary to do well on the test.  Does the student complete all assignments to the best of his/her ability and even do work above and beyond the class requirements?  Does the student vigorously prepare for the AP exam by studying and taking practice tests?

Value placed on education—Equally significant is the importance placed on education in the home.  Do parents encourage their children to strive for excellence?  Are high expectations an ever-present theme in the household? Do parents remove external pressures during exam time so that their children can focus on studying for the AP exams?  Do parents work with their children and if necessary seek help in areas where their children are experiencing difficulty such as free tutoring at the library, recommended web sites for academic help or assistance from their teacher?  Do parents explain to their children the benefits of doing well on AP exams? 

Teachers—While an excellent teacher is highly motivating and can make it easier for a child to be successful on the AP exams, anecdotal evidence suggests that diligent students perform well on the test even when the teacher is mediocre.  That is, for the most part, a hard working student will do well despite the teacher; however, an excellent teacher does make the path easier.  Contrary to some of the postings on the CAC site, in our experience, we have seen or heard about outstanding and unsatisfactory teachers in all of the Howard County high schools.  In those schools where the AP results are highest, when an AP teacher is deficient, this deficiency is overcome by the high motivation of the students and the priorities at home. 

Just some of our thoughts added to the discussion.

Stephanie Coakley

Sara Seifter

 

 

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