tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post6030641091538861382..comments2023-11-03T04:00:24.785-04:00Comments on Kentucky School News and Commentary: Kentucky juniors improve slightly on ACT, but most still aren't college-readyRichard Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-68175667361601217782011-08-30T01:15:49.206-04:002011-08-30T01:15:49.206-04:00Point to me seems to be that after boat loads of m...Point to me seems to be that after boat loads of multiple variations of curriculum and countless assessment, not to mention the endless amount of documentation from the classroom to KDE and thousands of hours of "professional development" that since 1990 we have spent a lot of money and a lot of time chasing our tail with different KDE mandates and our kids are really not much more ready than they were before all the reform according to this report. Wonder how the Chinese were ever able to best us without democracy and KDE?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-30916943517247161152011-08-19T14:21:29.302-04:002011-08-19T14:21:29.302-04:00Bull.
Whatever affection he may feel for Tennesse...Bull.<br /><br />Whatever affection he may feel for Tennessee blacks notwithstanding, his reasoning, as quoted in H-L, dealt with composite scores from which he drew a causal conclusion. <br /><br />The issue for Innes is that he is obliged by the ideological bent of those who pay him to promote charter schools and it apparently does not matter how he does it.<br /><br />Now let me be clear - for a politician, that's perfectly fine. But for one who claims to be an education analyst, thus suggesting some measure of scholarly rigor, it is a total sham.<br /><br />I have worked with Richard and I know he is not an ignorant man. He knows better, and that is my objection. He decries the poor state of scholarship in education (sometimes rightly) while contributing to the problem mightily.<br /><br />I chose not to write about the so called "research" he did,somewhere around December,where he literally invented a KDE program that never existed, (called it Fuzzy Math) and then criticized it. That part of the report was a shameful fabrication and the report would not have survived any respectable peer review. But no matter, because they are a political group, and not a research group (beyond looking stuff up), there was no peer review. Instead, there were press releases about this important research...brought to you by BIPPS.<br /><br />Go back and read some more. Then see if you can refute the fact that scant little data or commentary at BIPPS will ever get in the way of the political message: that public schools, writ large, are no good; that teachers are a sorry lot; those who join unions are worse; that government is incapable of producing anything good; and that public funds, including vouchers (but in the short term they will settle for charters) can't get into the hands of powerful private individuals fast enough. <br /><br />The confusion for many is that Innes is not always wrong. Occasionally he accurately points out areas in need of improvement in the public system. His early criticism of graduation rate calculations is perhaps the best example. The rest of the time he cherry-picks any data that fit his foregone conclusions. <br /><br />That is not science. <br /><br />That is not research.<br /> <br />That is politics.<br /><br />Apparently, new BIPPS honcho Phil Moffett wants the group to think less and do more (or something like that). That would certainly be a more honest approach.Richard Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-39099154602380513562011-08-19T13:06:52.047-04:002011-08-19T13:06:52.047-04:00Uh, Richard, you fussed so much about Innes that I...Uh, Richard, you fussed so much about Innes that I had to see what he was actually saying in the Bluegrass Institute web site. <br /><br />Looks like Tennessee's whites outperformed ours. <br /><br />If I understand this right, the only reason Kentucky beat out Tennessee in the overall ACT averages was because Kentucky has more whites, who score much higher than blacks, to average into the overall score.<br /><br />Louisiana also did better than we did, both for blacks and whites.<br /><br />Maybe Innes thinks that is important? Maybe Jim Warren does, too??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-81123377125098531232011-08-19T09:18:52.856-04:002011-08-19T09:18:52.856-04:00August 18, 2011 11:51 PM: In my mind, Kentucky sen...August 18, 2011 11:51 PM: In my mind, Kentucky seniors need to be college-ready. Kentucky juniors, somewhat less so. But with senior year being such a waste of time these days (especially spring semester) if a student is not college-ready by junior year, there doesn't seem to be a lot to help get them there during senior year.<br /><br />I hope what I've just said is an overstatement. But after putting four kids through "a fine Lexington high school" I got the distinct impression that the school encouraged slacking, especially from the college bound. <br />Anytime something came up outside of the school the faculty seemed to encourage the students to go there instead. <br /><br />I learned, after the fact one day, that one of my daughters was encouraged to attend the district wrestling championships during the school day. Aside from boys in singlets, I'm not sure what the attraction was since she had shown no interest in wrestling before or since. To her, it was, happily, an excuse for a day off. <br /><br />Community-based education programs were of questionable value and soon became an opportunity to get lunch off campus. It was like....check in, go to first hour, leave school, don't come back. Comments from my EKU students lead me to believe that our experience was nowhere close to unique.<br /><br />There seems to be a prevalent attitude among some school reformers (and nearly all legislators) that we only need to legislate the changes we wish to see...and presto. No new support for students or teachers - just new law. This is so incredibly stupid that it worries me when the American public puts up with it.<br /><br />KDE has made a valiant effort considering the steadily declining resources. The establishment of anchor standards for colleges allow for a more seamless P-20 system. They ought to be firmed up over the next couple of years. What remains is for Kentucky high schools to make every day, all year, a meaningful educational experience. <br /><br />I fear, at present, we are simply wasting too much of our precious time - in a state that teachers among the fewest days in America.Richard Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-67770572143514570512011-08-18T23:51:20.149-04:002011-08-18T23:51:20.149-04:00Do you think teachers shoulder responsibility for ...Do you think teachers shoulder responsibility for Kentucky juniors not being college-ready?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-42796745182110494402011-08-18T21:03:51.012-04:002011-08-18T21:03:51.012-04:00The Innes comment shows one can say anything these...The Innes comment shows one can say anything these days. One can even call a score on the ACT a readiness score. KDE and CPE should be fighting this stuff rather than endorsing it. <br /><br />I think Louisiana's 100 percent (I doubt it) beat Kentucky's 100 percent (doubt that ,too) because Louisiana has the Gulf of Mexico to swim in.Skip Kifernoreply@blogger.com