Jan
04
2009
New York Schools Plan for the Future
Posted by admin in Middle School Article, tags: Achievement Goals, Graduation Rates, Poor Students, State Assessments, Waiting ListsNew York Schools encompass two different worlds: New York City and New York State. Assessments of the two are generally separate since the thriving metropolis of New York City is a different world from the New York Schools that make up the rest of this rural and suburban state.
Johanna Duncan-Poitier, recently named senior Deputy Commissioner of Education
P-16, recently revealed the Board of Regent’s plan for the New York Schools outside of the city limits. While these New York Schools retain a national reputation for excellence, they still face challenges in educating the vast and diverse students in its many districts. Duncan-Poitier announced an unprecedented $1.7 billion budget that New York Schools will use to improve graduation rates, raise learning standards and increase accountability.
Among the issues that New York Schools are dealing with are: charter schools, time for instruction and inequity in learning. The last, a learning imbalance, seems to occur during the middle school years. 70% of New York Schools’ fourth grade students passed the reading and writing exams, while only 48% of eighth graders passed. This challenge is compounded by the gap black and Hispanic children face in reaching similar achievement goals.
One way some New York Schools addressed this challenge was by extending the length of the school day in 2006. Their results will determine whether other schools follow suit.
New York Schools also struggle with the success of its charter schools. Since implementing the charter school concept in 1999 New York Schools have debated their success. Success or failure of charter schools is highly individual. Some New York Schools in the charter system boast success and have waiting lists of children hoping to enroll. Other educators in the New York Schools argue that the success of these charters rests partially in the fact that they take fewer Continue Reading
Jan
18
2008
Report Cards Out — New York Schools Show Progress in Student Achievement but Graduation Rates in Trouble
Posted by admin in Middle School Article, tags: Class Of 2005, Graduation Rates, New York Schools, Report Cards, State Education CommissionerThe spring 2006 statewide report cards for New York Schools show that more schools are making progress in meeting their achievement goals for improvement in English and mathematics, as mandated by the state. Though achieving standards in middle school English is still a problem, fewer students have serious academic problems at the elementary and middle school levels, while more of these students are demonstrating higher standards in mathematics.
The performance of the elementary and middle schools has improved significantly. For example, the percentage of students meeting all standards almost doubled from 22 percent in year 2000 to 41 percent in 2005. The percentage of fourth graders with serious academic problems declined from 19 percent in year 2000 to only eight percent in 2005.
At the high school level, 64 percent of the students in the Class of 2005 graduated in a four-year period. More students are graduating each year and more are earning Regents Diplomas, but the graduation rate still is too low.
The New York schools report cards also showed a correlation between attendance and graduation rates. When attendance falls below 92 percent, the graduation rate declines significantly. When attendance is below 88 percent, the graduation rate plummets.
State Education Commissioner Richard Mills believes the graduation rate is much too low. Though student achievement is improving, Mills believes that new reforms are needed to improve the graduation rates of the future New York schools classes.
During the next few months, the New York schools will take a series of aggressive actions to solve the problem. Actions under consideration are:
• Set both graduation and attendance goals, measuring the results annually, and raising the levels each year;
• Hold each school accountable for meeting the targeted goals in both graduation and attendance by Continue Reading