NEW YORK POSTCITY SCHOOLS FAILING
33% FALL SHORT OF FEDERAL STANDARD
By YOAV GONEN Education Reporter
December 21, 2007 -- One in three city public elementary and middle schools are in need of improvement - a significant increase since last year, state education officials announced yesterday. The percentage of city schools failing to meet federal academic benchmarks climbed from 29 percent to 33 percent, while the statewide total climbed from 14 to 16 percent. Sixty-four city schools were added to the state's list of so-called "failing schools" this year, including one charter school, Harriet Tubman in The Bronx. Eighteen city schools were removed from the list, bringing the city's total to 318. Education officials were quick to point out that the jump in schools unable to meet student-progress goals stemmed from the larger pool of youngsters, from grades three to eight, now tested by the state. Until 2005, only fourth-graders and eighth-graders were tested annually in English and math. Schools make the state's naughty list by missing targets for particular groups of 30 or more students - such as special education, English-language learners, or racial/ethnic minorities - two years running. They get off the list by making targets for two years. Coming six weeks after the city released its own grading system for schools, the state's assessment pointed to many instances where schools were given conflicting feedback. At least two schools that the city Education Department will close for poor grades after this year - PS 79 in The Bronx and PS 183 in Brooklyn - actually met the state's standards and were considered "in good standing." "This discrepancy serves as a big red flag showing that there is something wrong here and that these schools should get another look before they are closed," said United Federation of Teachers chief Randi Weingarten. And an additional 66 schools that got D's or F's from the city are in good standing with the state, while 170 A or B schools failed to make enough progress by state measures, according to the city Education Department. "A mixed message? It's outrageous!" said the principal of a D school in Queens that fared just fine with the state. "We're still trying to reconcile [the grade] with the fact that we did so well with the state." A spokesman for the city Department of Education acknowledged there were discrepancies between the two systems, but said there was also a significant correlation. "As a school's grade gets higher, it's much more likely to be in good standing with the state," he said. http://us.f620.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=yoav.gonen%40nypost.com
No comments:
Post a Comment