Assuming that achievement test scores are adequate measures of how good schools are (they're not, but that's what we're stuck with), then it's clear that K-5 schools "outperform" the middle schools. If that's the case, why don't we chuck the middle school model and keep kids in elementary schools through grade 8?
This morning's Tribune article extolling Ball Elementary for it's high test scores should be read carefully by all those concerned with school reform. The key ingredients in the success at Ball, as I read the article, are collaboration, focus, and flexibility:
"The teaching staff works collaboratively and continually to assess how each student is doing, and where he or she may need help, Newsome and Fielding said.
"The school focuses especially on reading, giving students guidance during traditional reading classes. Students who need extra help can get it during smaller group sessions and one-on-one sessions throughout the school day."
That's much more difficult in middle schools, where specialization kicks in. Student proficiency, as measured by test scores, invevitably drops off--way off-- by the eighth grade. Portsmouth Middle School eighth graders, where the high scoring Ball students end up, reach reading and math benchmarks at about a 60% rate. That's true across the city.
As I wrote in "Why not K-8 schools?", middle school reform is all about emulating elementary schools:
"What better way to finish that reform than by turning middle schools back into grade schools? The self-contained grade school classroom is a perfect small community of learning, the most fundamental feature of a restructured school. It allows for integrated instruction and provides the flexibility to group and regroup students according to their needs and abilities."
Research strongly supports the move back to K-8 schools:
"In fact, more and more school districts--urban, suburban and rural--are scrapping their middle schools in favor of K-8s. The move is being prompted by several factors, including growing discontent with middle schools, the district’s own research on the link between grade configuration and academic achievement and the wishes of parents."
"Current national research on K-8 schools may be a shallow body of literature, but consistent, positive findings surface while wading through it. In a number of published studies comparing K-8 schools to junior high schools in Milwaukee and New York City, K-8 schools outperform junior high schools in almost every category assessed."
********************************
The other key issue in the Tribune article is the ethnic diversity at Ball, which is typical of most grade schools in Portland. As a proponent of public education and neighborhood schools, I believe that in itself is important, regardless of test scores. It's also an underlying principal of the movement to create "common schools", which were envisioned as necessary for inculcating civic and democratic values in a country as culturally diverse as America.
But Portland's system of open enrollment and school choice is at odds with that principal. As I've written before, parents, when given the choice, will opt for a school with a better "class" of students.
The Boulder Valley School District in Colorado struggles with the same issue. "White flight" within the district has skewed student demographics:
"Choosing a school outside a family's neighborhood is a popular option for Boulder Valley parents, but open enrollment also is criticized for fueling 'white flight' and causing inequities among schools.
"Critics also say parents too often choose schools based on state test scores. Schools with more diverse student populations tend to have lower test scores and, in turn, bad reputations. The result is minority and low-income students are increasingly concentrated in a few district schools."
Sounds like Portland.
In defense of diverse schools, Eileen Gayle Kugler has written a book called Debunking the Middle Class Myth: Why Diverse Schools Are Good for All Kids. In the book, she says this:
"It happens every year. Well-meaning parents begin their exploration for a new home, a place where their kids can attend a 'good' school. And what’s usually their primary tool for measuring a school’s worth? They look at the school’s standardized test scores, assuming the highest average scores definitively mean the best schools. They check out demographic statistics, fearing that high populations of minority students translate to schools where gangs rule, violence is common, and expectations are low. Far too often, they don’t dig beyond the most basic statistics. They never learn that many diverse schools have challenging curricula, high-achieving graduates, and low rates of violence. The parents never investigate research that clearly shows the benefit of being educated in a diverse environment."
Again, sounds like Portland.
Comments