Putting focus on literacy
Test scores show 20 percent of rising 9th-graders read at or below 4th-grade level
By Diette Courrégé
The Post and Courier
An Alice Birney Middle School student reads aloud during reading specialist Sarah Donovan's class. The institution of basic reading classes at the school has helped make a difference in students' test results.
Failing our students
Over the next several months, The Post and Courier will run occasional stories focusing on reading in the Lowcountry, where one in seven adults is functionally illiterate.
By the numbers
The following are the estimated percentages of next school year's rising freshmen who read at a fourth-grade level or worse in Charleston County, according to eighth-graders' test scores from this fall. Schools Superintendent Nancy McGinley considers those reading at fourth-grade or lower levels in the most serious need of intervention.
School Percentage
Academic Magnet 0%
Baptist Hill High 44%
Burke High 43%
Garrett Academy 32%
James Isl. Charter High 16%
Lincoln High 31%
Military Magnet Acad. 23%
North Charleston High 46%
School of the Arts 1%
St. John's High 19%
Stall High 39%
Wando High 11%
West Ashley High 21%
District 23%
Compiling results
Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester 2 elementary and middle school students take the Measures of Academic Progress exam, a diagnostic test that teachers use to help guide their instruction. Schools typically don't summarize the results on this test because its purpose is to show an individual student's strengths and weaknesses so teachers can know where and how each needs help.
The MAP exam provides students' Lexile levels, and certain ranges of Lexile levels correspond to reading instructional or grade levels. There's no single number that defines specific grade levels. And multiple ranges could be used to define grade level.
Charleston officials used a Lexile cutoff score they felt defined third grade. The district included students who had disabilities as well as students who are English Language Learners. Charleston did its analysis on eighth-graders who likely will be ninth- graders in the district this fall, and it used eighth-graders' MAP scores from this fall.
Previous stories
Failing our students, published 05/03/09
'You can't believe they can't read', published 05/04/09
One out of every 10 Charleston County rising ninth-graders can't read better than a third-grader — so poorly that these students can't understand their textbooks or lessons.
The school district never had analyzed students' test scores in this way but did so after questioned about it by The Post and Courier. The newspaper pushed the issue after recently chronicling the life of a ninth-grade dropout who read on a third-grade level. At that time, school leaders knew the percentage of youths scoring below their grade level in reading, but they didn't know how many other students had the same, poor reading skills in terms of their grade level.
Schools Superintendent Nancy McGinley said some of the numbers were eye-opening, and she pledged to focus the district's attention on literacy.
Some of the other findings include:
--More than 20 percent of the county's rising ninth-graders read on a fourth-grade level or worse.
--Nearly half of the incoming freshmen at North Charleston High School read at a fourth-grade level or worse.
--Eleven percent of the incoming freshmen at Wando High School read at a fourth-grade level or worse.
The Lowcountry's problem with reading extends far beyond the school district. One in seven adults in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties is functionally illiterate, defined as reading below an eighth-grade level, and up to 20,000 tri-county adults have less than a ninth-grade education, according to the Trident Literacy Association.
Functionally illiterate adults can't understand a newspaper article, complete a job application, follow the directions on a prescription label or fill out a bank deposit slip.
Charleston students take the Measures of Academic Progress exam, and their results from those can be translated roughly into reading grade-level equivalency. McGinley initially said that looking at students' reading abilities in this way on a district level wasn't important, but she changed her mind after seeing the numbers.
"It is instructive for us to look at it this way because it really tells you where we have to strategically place the district's resources," she said. When it comes to the district's stimulus money, "This has to be the guide to tell us where we put more reading teachers and everything else."
McGinley highlighted the eighth-graders who are reading at a fourth-grade level or below as being in "the red zone" — those in the most serious need of intervention.
Research suggests that third-grade reading scores are a good predictor of students' later academic success. Students who can't read well by the end of third grade often struggle later to understand the content in their science, English, math and social studies classes.
McGinley wanted to see the numbers broken down by individual schools, and she said it showed the different achievement challenges facing the high schools.
"I am going to share this with all the principals and use this as a way to really target our district-wide resources," she said. "The focus has to be on literacy and, frankly, that's the only thing I care about is literacy — reading and writing. That's my main agenda for the stimulus money."
She has earmarked a vast majority of that money to go toward literacy initiatives starting in kindergarten and continuing until high school. Children who are reading this far behind are not going to overcome their difficulties by taking English 1 twice, she said. The district needs more reading specialists who know how to teach reading without demoralizing older students, and that money will be weighted heavily to schools that have a high percentage of students in the red zone, McGinley said.
Neither Berkeley County nor Dorchester 2 school districts had compiled their test scores this way, either; but both did so after the newspaper asked questions about them. However, the two districts analyzed the numbers differently from Charleston County. Each expected to recalculate its district-wide test scores in the same way as Charleston County by next week.
Some local school district officials said they never had looked at numbers that way because they hold little value for the district in terms of improving instruction. They said it's much more critical for individual schools to delve deeper into individual students' test results, determine their specific reading weakness such as fluency, comprehension or decoding, and help them.
Literacy experts held different opinions as to the necessity in compiling this type of information at a district level. Don Deshler, an adolescent literacy expert from the University of Kansas, said it's helpful for school districts to know this kind of information to make decisions on allocating resources to schools and on investing in training for teachers.
Knowing students' reading grade-level equivalency shows where the problems are, the depth of the problems and where to put money and time.
Reach Diette Courrégé at dcourrege@postandcourier.com or 937-5546.
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charlestt (anonymous) says...
If you can't read by the 8th grade it ain't going to happen. If any one student is willing to learn to read, then they will read. If one doesn't, well,the world needs ditch diggers too Danny!
This article doesn't mention why these kids can't read. Why can the other 9 out of 10 students read? Find the teachers and principles who promoted these kids and fire them! Put competition and discipline back in our schools and all things will improve.
May 17, 2009 at 4:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
stoney1 (anonymous) says...
It's time that PARENTS be actively involved in the education process! I am a transplanted Michigander and I was actively involved with my child's educational needs as I realized that if I held the instructors accountable I must hold myself accountable as well. Since reading is the basic resource to anyone accomplishing anything in life they(our children) must have the ability to read and comprehend those that we as adults take for granted. Our children were required to read 18 books of their choice per school year(approved by the teachers at the students reading levels)and after each book was read, the students then with parent volunteers held one-on-one short meetings discussing the book that the student read ensuring comprehension and progression. It has to start some where and it is with parents to contribute to the education of their children. This service is free and I for one think that each school should adopt such a program! This is not a quick fix, but this problem was something that took time to develop as well.
May 17, 2009 at 5:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
martin (anonymous) says...
Totally illiterate people go to Adult Ed and learn to read for the fist time, so 8th grade is not too late.
I just wonder what these what these overpaid administrators across the country - this in NOT just Charleston or SC - have been doing with testing results all these many years.
The tests should have allowed them to locate the kids AND the teachers who have the problems a long, long time ago. Then, identify the colleges the teachers attend which are not doing their job of teaching teachers how to teach and start holding them to some accountability.
When I was in college, one of the sorriest, laziest professors I ever had was in the education department. He was one of the reasons, I decided not to continue in that field. If we expect results from kids, it's way past time we expect them from colleges.
May 17, 2009 at 8:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mqc (anonymous) says...
Stoney1.. I agree completely. I attended school in the Midwest also. Reading and book reports were mandatory as early as 2nd grade. I am in my mid 50's and when my son was young the mandatory reading and book reports were still in place. I believe a lot of the problem can be attributed to nothing but laziness. There is a difference if someone has a documented learning disability and someone who just doesn't care.
May 17, 2009 at 8:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
belovedbliff (anonymous) says...
Well, McGinley, if you are going to be true to your word, are you not going to hold the teachers at my school accountable for the numbers of D's and F's we have because of no reading skills of the students and there lazyness.
May 17, 2009 at 8:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
yird (anonymous) says...
If a child in the ninth grade can only read at a fourth grade level how is it possible for them to have read and satisfactorily answered the tests that they had to take in order to advance in grades?
All the tests are written with language that is at a fourth grade level or lower?
All the fluffy appealing suggestion like those of stoney1 and those certainly to follow in future posts today will not help one iota as long as the methods of education are mandated by nonsensical bureaucratically controlled programs like Head Start or No Child Left Behind or any of the myriad of failed solutions conjured up by the inept Federal Department of Education.
Over the years the federal government has become more involved in local education and it has produced a constant negative result.
None of these feel good programs existed when I was a child and I have the ability to read fairly well.
Maybe the school systems (local voters) should examine the ratio between the amount of control the federal government has over our schools and the amount of money they contribute to the overall cost of running these school systems.
Get the fed out of the educational process at the local level. The chaos resulting from being dependent on federal funding is not only limited to the debacle we call the educational system.
I wonder how much better the schools and other areas of government would be if funds going to the fed were withheld and used for the sole benefit of the residents of the states where the funds were generated?
Will we ever learn?
May 17, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
PoliGadfly (anonymous) says...
You're in a different world with a differnt culture among those the article references, Michigander. You're trying to use logic in a place where for a very long time this group of non-readers have been made to feel that regardless of this lack of basic survival skill, the more progressive among us will not hold them to account for that failure and the lack of effort required will be excused. Those who allegedly want to help permit that notion to continue, making the most for themselves from it and continuing to perpetuate it for their own gain. Education in that subculture is only important to the social workers forced to work among them. Those who say they want to represent that group use the "backs" of their own constituency as a stepping stone to their own success and are as guilty of using the very ignorance they claim to deplore as subterfuge and aids to their own fiscal enrichment. You have no further to look than the increased money in the last twenty years foisted upon the taxpayer under the guise of improved education, and compare that with the "improvement" of the state's education ranking. No one has,nor will they be able to show, the correlation between the money spent and improved education statistics.
Your suggestion may well be the path to success but you'll never convince the group referred to in the article as long as "failure" and "consequences" continue to be banned as "politically incorrect" from their limited vocabularies.
May 17, 2009 at 8:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
yird (anonymous) says...
Well said PoliGadfly .
May 17, 2009 at 8:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
barterman1955 (anonymous) says...
this problem started when you were no longer allowed to discipline your children in your own home or in the schools.this has been going on for over 30 years and the results are now starting to show.people blame the school systems and educators and don't stop to think that the government is not supposed to be in the business of raising our children.the parents need to be involved in the educational process.the problem is that it will take another generation to get the reading skills up to par.you can throw all of the money in the world at one school and it won't make any difference unless the parents are involved.maybe they should start tying school attendance and completed homework assignments into welfare benefits and public housing.it might give the parents some incentive to make sure that little johnny goes to school and listens to what is being taught and not disrupt the classes.
May 17, 2009 at 9:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pkusmider (anonymous) says...
Thanks to Diette our Superintendent is finally admitting we have a problem! I certainly don't trust Dr. McGinley to do anything about it, though. She's clueless as to how to address the illiteracy problem in our district. It's too simple. Quit buying SMART boards, Dr. McGinley. Get rid of the teachers who allow the kids to play games on the computer and watch Disney movies. Then give the good teachers the small kindergarten classes necessary to get kids where they need to be for first grade. My kids watched Toy Story during library time for two weeks straight. And don't even ask me how many times they watched Kung Fu Panda during their "core subjects." Is that CCSD's definition of "coherent curriculum?"
Give me a break.
May 17, 2009 at 9:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tc1 (anonymous) says...
Ditto Poligadfly!
How in the name of anything can you expect a child to advance if they can't read?!?! Not teaching phonics also means a child has to be told every word there is an has to memorize it. He!! they can't even try to learn on their own if they want to. Job security for someone?
Continue to pursue this P&C. In case it hasn't dawned on you people who can't read also don't buy newspapers!
May 17, 2009 at 9:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
babeegurl (anonymous) says...
Definitely agree barterman.....I don't give a rats a@@ who gets mad the way I discipline my 2 children. I don't want them growing up in this mess and not succeed. They will know who is boss and understand what is important in life!!! It is ridiculous what is happening these days with education and crime! Parents really need to get their acts together and take control of their children. Stop letting children control their own lives until they turn 18 parents rule!!!! If you want children, understand the responsibilities you will encounter during the course of their life!
May 17, 2009 at 9:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ronnie47 (anonymous) says...
Why are these children being advanced to the ninth grade if they cannot read on that level? How can they possibly continue on to a higher-grade level without being able to read and comprehend their lessons? Being able to read and comprehend is the basis for all learning. If you cannot read you cannot learn Math, History, Literature, or Vocational Trades.
It is time for our educators to stop this out come based learning and get back to teaching the basics; Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, and not pass a child on to a higher grade until he or she is ready.
May 17, 2009 at 10:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
studley (anonymous) says...
In my opinion, what we have here is a sad situation that perpetuates itself. I'll bet the kids who are poor readers are the children of poor readers who, in turn, were the children of poor readers.
I'm all for parental involvement but in some cases the parents are incapable of helping. I think it would be worthwhile to identify the poor readers and give them additional classroom help - in a class separate from the kids reading on grade level.
How about a special intense summer program to get kids on grade level? How about not passing the kids if they can't read at the required level? How about doing something instead of ignoring the problem?
May 17, 2009 at 10:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
charlestt (anonymous) says...
The parents need to get involved? Wrong!
Haven't they done enough damage? A parents job is at home, not at the school. If they had done their job in the first place, they wouldn't have birthed a child into an a cycle of poverty and crime. They would have recieved their own education and worked their way out of the cycle! We think of "parents" as we think of ourselves. These parents are not even mature enough to balance a checkbook, hell they don't make concious decisions to have the kids, it just kind of happens on a saturday night. No, they can only bring more harm to these kids.
Two kids-
One has a bedtime and a loving family and food to eat. The other has a single mom with no food and watches TV until midnight.
They can sit in the same classes and hear the same things but they will NEVER have the same education!
There are some bad teachers out there.
May 17, 2009 at 10:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Reader (anonymous) says...
This is nothing surprising to anyone who has been even remotely aware of the schools in Charleston County. We have terrible schools. There are many reasons: (1) no accountability for poor teachers; (2) low parent involvement; and (3) too much micromanagement by outsiders.
I have no idea how to fix for the parental problem. Lots of parents in Charleston County are illiterate themselves and work two jobs. But, on the other two problems, there are easy fixes.
First, purge the schools of all of those silly requirements about teaching special lessons and following certain teaching methods. Just hire good teachers, give them objective goals, and promote/fire them at the end of a year based on whether they have done it.
Second, fire people. So, freshman cannot read in high school? Okay, I'd like to see just how many teachers and administrators were fired for poor performance in the feeder schools over the last eight years.
May 17, 2009 at 10:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ashleyriver (anonymous) says...
If only a fraction of these statistics are accurate; its deplorable. South Carolina's inattention to educating the poor of the state in past history has brought us the current status. But there's far more to this: namely the next generation in the welfare state.
We've now endured decades of subsidization. Kids watch as their parent goes through life with no ambition and darned few skills and is still given all they need. Their lack of discipline in the home (both educationally and socially) is primarily the cause for these horrific numbers. I don't want to watch anyone starve in the US and I firmly believe that access to public education is the right of every citizen, but until the perpetuation of the welfare underclass is at least significantly lessened we'll only see things get worse.
Good intentions have created a social monster.
(I'm also cognizant that at least a portion of these figure are the result of students who's primary language isn't English)
May 17, 2009 at 10:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gamecockgirl2008 (anonymous) says...
Alright folks, time to stir the hornet's nest.....
As a high school classroom teacher (and one who also teaches literacy), I can tell you that there are variety of factors that you are not considering when you first look at these statistics.
1. The Level of Parental Involvement/Parental Advocacy for Education: If the parents do not show how important school is, as in assisting with homework (or enlisting the help of those who can, if applicable), monitoring progress, speaking with teachers, etc, then the student learns that school performance is not valuable and thus, performs with the mindset that it does not matter.
2. Materials Available: If there is no access to reading materials, then students will not be good readers. This is not to say that every household must have a well stocked personal collection, but if the parents won't even take the kid to the library (or encourage them to use the school's library), literacy skills will be weak.
3. Percentage of Students who took the test seriously: Believe it or not, our students are so saturated with standardized tests that some simply bubble in answers to make peace signs or arrows. This can seriously skew results. From my personal realm of experience, a young man (9th grade) took a literacy performance test in the regular classrooom for me. When the results showed that he read on a 3rd grade level, we conferenced and I explained to him that due to his scores, he had the option of receiving extra tutoring in reading...blah, blah. It is then, that he informs me that he was "just trying to finish so he could go to sleep". He retook the test and scored at a 9th grade level.
4. YOU CAN'T BLAME EVERYTHING ON THE TEACHERS: This is not to say that there aren't some crap-tabulous teachers out there, because there are, but most of us, are there working our little fannies off to help as best that we can. However, at the end of the day, responsibility ultimately relies on the student (see point 1). I can't read for them. I can teach my heart out, have the best laid lesson plans to end all lesson plans, and if the kid won't try, then well, you have the P&C showing you results like these.
Descends soapbox....
May 17, 2009 at 10:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tc1 (anonymous) says...
gamecockgirl2008,
Very interesting and logical. If in order of importance I would swap #2 & #3. It appears that when negative consequences were immeadiate the student had a completely different attitude. There are no consequences for doing the wrong/stupid thing today, at least not at the point in life where it can encourage responsibility and make a difference.
May 17, 2009 at 11:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TheHawg (anonymous) says...
The education system is broken, but don't blame it on the teachers. Most teachers I know are quite conservative, not flaming liberals like most people think. We try to hold students back who do not or WILL NOT meet their grade's skill level. We are most often overruled by administrators (school based and county based).
Also, we, and the administrations, have to contend with laws concerning Special Education. What most people don't know is that a great number of students these days are labeled "Special" and have ridiculous ACCOMIDATIONS that have to be met. Try to teach a class, and have a stack of accommodations that dictate a different style you have to teach half of your students. According to the law and/or policies, these students very often cannot be held back. Also, I believe a student can only be held back twice before the 9th grade. He/she very often knows it and refuses to do any work, but is passed anyway. Is this the teacher's fault. "NO."
I am not knocking Special Education. There are certainly students who benefit from the special education programs, but I believe that it is being abused.
We also have to contend with irate parents, often accompanied with a lawyer, whenever we try to discipline or retain. "My little Johnny does no wrong."
The solution is simple. Make the students behave appropriately . Make them meet standards before passing them. Abolish mandatory attendance laws and some special education laws. Remove the trouble makers and the nare-do-wells. These students are forced to stay in school where they cause turmoil day in and day out. The system does everything to keep them in school, but little to make them work or behave.
Change the "No Child Left Behind Act" to read "You Better Get Your Rear-end in Gear, Or You WILL Get Left Behind".
May 17, 2009 at 11:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoelaces (anonymous) says...
CHARLESTT...we can't hold students back anymore...if they have an IEP they will not be retained. If the parent appeals the retention, they will be promoted. It isn't always the teacher/administration to blame.
....and CHARLES....I am willing to bet you there are MORE bad parents than bad teachers!!
MARTIN...I didn't learn how to teach anything in college. It wasn't until I had my own classroom that I was able to put things into practice. I couldn't even begin to recall what we did in school!!
BARTERMAN...we do reap what we sow, don't we? As our country leans farther and farther to the left we will continue to see a loosening of individual accountability and an increase in families who don't value education.
RONNIE47....I agreee...just let me TEACH!!! There are too many "fluffy" things people want us to try in the classroom. Don't tell me how you want my lesson plan to look, what posters should be up, what district posters need to be up....just let me teach and check the scores...they do go up.
May 17, 2009 at 12:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
babeegurl (anonymous) says...
I sure hope they are reading these comments....Everyone here is exactly right about the way the system is run today! I see parents today defending every little thing their child does wrong and argues with teachers about it, instead of taking in some suggestions and applying it toward the child's behavior! I would hate to be a teacher, because most parents wouldn't like me telling them like it is! Bravo to the great teachers out there it is definitely a tough job nowadays! Stop worrying about what grade a child SHOULD be in and worry about what level they are currently learning in so they can get the proper education! What happened to COMMON SENSE?....that is what we are lacking!
May 17, 2009 at 12:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoelaces (anonymous) says...
Reader....In theory your idea sounds good. But let's choose two equally qualified teachers and place them in two very different schools....One being a high performing "Advanced" school and the other being Title I, 90+% free/reduced lunch, poverty stricken families.
Do you honestly think these two equally qualified teachers will get equal results? You are comparing apples and rotten oranges.
GAMECOCK GIRL and HAWG....excellent points/posts.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it read!!
May 17, 2009 at 12:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mainermike (anonymous) says...
AS I SEE IT --- Mike "Mainer Mike" Brown.
It's unbelievable that in this day and age, so many schools aren't properly educating their students.
And teachers yap about wanting pay raises right to the students.
Real classy and appropriate.
May 17, 2009 at 12:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoelaces (anonymous) says...
Maybe we should withhold public assistance from those "parents" whose children cause problems....no WIC, no Welfare check...no more government cheese until your child straightens up!!
I wonder if some parents would take a more active role if they knew their gravy train would be linked to their student's performance in school.
**I realize this isn't PC, but I don't really care. Some of the things parents do and say to teachers and kids at school aren't exactly PC either.
May 17, 2009 at 12:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
yird (anonymous) says...
shoelaces, Last time I checked, the financial input to the total school operating budget from the Fed was about 6 or 7%. Does that pittance received from the federal government justify the mandates that dictate what you can teach and I imagine in some instances, how you can teach?
May 17, 2009 at 12:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
studley (anonymous) says...
shoelaces: I agree with most of your post. I disagree with your political comment.
Since 1975, SC has had exactly 2 democratic governors - Riley and Hodges. The demise, or more correctly the lack of progress, in public education had largely been on republican watches.
Gov. Hollings, a good democrat and my friend, started the outstanding system of Technical Education we have in SC.
It seems that all the righties want to do is take tax dollars to subsidize private schools.
May 17, 2009 at 12:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoelaces (anonymous) says...
MIKE....I don't complain about my pay. Any teacher who complains about the amount of money they make was a poorly informed individual before they chose this profession.
If you really want to see what teachers make go to the CCSD website and find the pay scale. Then divide that amount by 190 days (although this year is is 188 due to furloughs). The pay is not bad....the system is.
As teachers, our hands are tied in so many knots it isn't funny. People with "normal" jobs probably have no idea what we go through.
May 17, 2009 at 12:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoelaces (anonymous) says...
YIRD...I don't have a say in what I can teach. We have our curriculum documents with the SC adopted standards we are required to teach.
Now, I do have a say in HOW I teach these standards. However, I can be questioned at anytime by anyone observing or evaluating me as to why I chose to do something a certain way. I don't have a problem with that. As long as I can justify myself it isn't a problem.
STUDLY....you mean my comment about our country becoming so liberal that we are seeing a decrease in student achievement and personal accountability? We don't care if 12 year old girls are moms now...or that the dads are 18 (just an example). We don't care that the parents of children are not stepping up and doing their job. The only place anyone wants to see accountability is at the school level with the teachers and administrators. That's like blaming the football team's loss on the laundry detergent used on the uniforms....What do people want from us???
I really do want to hear solutions and not just people complaining....that never solves anything. I can bust my butt and feel like what I do doesn't matter at times but I go back day after day, year after year, trying to do my best for my children and I don't expect any pats on my back. I teach them because it is my job. But there are two other components...parents and students. It does take an effort from all three to make it work.
May 17, 2009 at 12:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wonderdog (anonymous) says...
So what about the reading scores? We DO have a very nice school administration building on Calhoun Street and a superintendent who made $184,000 last year, received an $8,000 PERFORMANCE bonus in addition to her contracted raise, and an increase in her (in-district only)travel allowance to $1100 per month.
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/20...
May 17, 2009 at 12:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whatelseisthere (anonymous) says...
It's the parents, or should I say, legal caregiver, who must be held accountable. A 1-3rd grader never gets the ABC's? The 4-6th grader is reading on a 3rd grade level?? WHERE ARE THE PARENTS? I seriously doubt that the south is inudated with lousy 1-6th grade teachers. Does anyone know the illiteracy percentages in the other regions of the country?
May 17, 2009 at 1:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
studley (anonymous) says...
Shoelaces: A decrease in either student achievement or personal accountability has nothing to do with being either liberal or conservative, or libertarian, or torry, or whig. It has everything to do with the TOTAL environment in which a child is raised.
I am not one to criticize teachers; I taught at the university level for 7 years - yes, I had poor achievers and students who blamed their failure on me, the text book, whatever, too. I think, on the whole, teachers do a very commendable job.
I would like to see discipline returned to the classroom. I would like to see unruly children either expelled or placed in a special school where they and their parents know their antics won't be tolerated.
Teachers should be allowed to teach; parenting should be left to the parents - liberal, conservative, or whatever.
May 17, 2009 at 1:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rocks66 (anonymous) says...
I was so optimistic when that last train-wreck of a superintendent left, but it doesn't appear things have improved in any significant way since her departure. This is yet another reason that Senator Ford's private-school voucher proposal made so much sense. At least some of these students would have a fighting chance to progress, even if that means some would be left behind.
May 17, 2009 at 2:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tc1 (anonymous) says...
Studley,
Your post at 1:24 p.m. does not seem to agree with what you imply on your earlier post at 12:25 p.m. and quoted (partially) below.
"studley on May 17, 2009 at 12:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
shoelaces: I agree with most of your post. I disagree with your political comment.
Since 1975, SC has had exactly 2 democratic governors - Riley and Hodges. The demise, or more correctly the lack of progress, in public education had largely been on republican watches."
When I was in school the teacher was ALWAYS right, I had NO rights and what ever punishment I got at school was NOTHING compared to when I got home. Was I wronged? Maybe once or twice but all other times I was guilty and it made me make sure there were D!@n few other times. Now when my first child started school, roughly the time period in your earlier post, he came home with a three legal page "students Rights" which we had to sign. IMO thats when it started downhill.
As for positive solutions one of the best ideas I've seen here is to tie childrens achievments to welfare checks. However there are some children that are truly unmanageble except Maybe by specialists. Not on welfare then kick them out of public school second time.
May 17, 2009 at 2:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JoanneH (anonymous) says...
For those of you who are not teachers, I feel the need to point out that Reading is a separate certification.
I am an English teacher in high school, but I am not trained to TEACH a student to read. I can try to point out what a student seems to have problems with, but I have not been trained to teach reading. Neither have science, social studies, or math teachers. It's the same with special needs. The resource teacher is the one TRAINED to work around the students' handicaps. I am not.
In our district, 8th grade is the last year that students focus on the skill of reading. By the time I get my seniors, I have to presume their skills are adequate to handle 12th grade literature (or higher). Many are not. No surprise there. I notice, however, that they can text...
Another thing, and this may or may not be a problem in Charleston and surrounding counties, the weeks after testing in May in middle, and to a certain extent in elementary school, are spent watching movies, taking field trips, cleaning teachers' rooms, packing things away, and just simply coasting. I really got sick of telling my daughters that they HAD to go to school in May. They'd whine that teachers weren't DOING anything! At the high school level, we are working overtime trying to get kids to exams.
Why aren't the weeks after PASS testing being used for focus on reading or basic writing or math skills? Sure, there should be some fun, but every day with no academic work just adds to the brain drain of the summer.
No wonder our county 9th graders come to the high school ill-prepared. The last view of school they have is fun and games instead of learning.
May 17, 2009 at 2:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
yird (anonymous) says...
studley " It has everything to do with the TOTAL environment in which a child is raised."
===================================================
You are 100% correct and that "TOTAL environment" includes years of left orientated polices that encourage underachievement.
Self esteem takes precedence over self control!
Numerous social programs enabling irresponsible behavior are at the root of much of the ills associated with poor learning by students.
Why bother, the government will take care of us one way or another?
It's a mindset developed over years of governmental largess.
It cannot continue. The government will eventually collapse under it's own weight taking the educational system with it unless some drastic changes are implemented.
Tea anyone?
May 17, 2009 at 2:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eatmorecollards (anonymous) says...
Its hard to believe that so many are reading on such a low level. Anything anyone does in life requires reading. I don't even know if one could be a successful thief without being able to read. Maybe this is why the prisons are so full.
The education system obviously needs to put more emphasis on reading.
May 17, 2009 at 2:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sdr35hw (anonymous) says...
Dyslexia stymies or prevents the ability to "break the code" of reading. Government education is fine for the 80% that can break the code. The rest cant and get trashed by the code breakers. Judge not lest you be judged
May 17, 2009 at 3:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoelaces (anonymous) says...
SDR....that's where the teacher comes in. When I detect a "problem" with a student I am solely responsible for referring that child for testing. Here's the process:
1. Get a meeting.
2. Gather all the data...this can be time consuming but is my job. It makes it easier if the child's records are complete and correct...good luck.
3. Provide ALL that you have already done prior to the meeting to help this child.
4. They look at the information and schedue a date to do some psych testing.
5. If the child falls into the dreaded "slow learner" category...end of process, back to the classroom and carry on as best you can.
**They may put some sort of intervention in place.
6. If there is a notable problem detected during initial tests the child will receive what is known as "Tier 2" intervention...pulled out to be worked with in a small group. Meet back in 6-9 weeks.
7. 6-9 weeks later let's review the Tier 2 data. Either end process or proceed to Tier 3.
8. After reaching Tier 3 then the child could be tested for actually qualification for special education.
Do the math...that could take at least half if not three fourths of the school year just to see if the kid qualifies for special ed. Meanwhile all that time has been lost if the child should be placed.
One of the biggest problems is that we have teachers in the lower elementary grades who do not refer these kids. They make it up to me in the upper grades and they are already 2-3 years behind. And I do have to echo what the article says, after 3rd grade, statistics show a child who is not reading on grade level is very unlikely to EVER read on grade level.
May 17, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoelaces (anonymous) says...
STUDLEY....maybe I am not making my point clear enough.
I believe that family values and the family unit is THE most important part of a child's core foundation. Without that a child is screwed from the get-go.
When we, as a society, accept behaviors that stray from what we deem acceptable, then we are giving the green light for these behaviors to continue and multiply....something kids don't know how to do either, but that will probably be in next week's paper.
I am my child's first and most important teacher. Someone posted earlier something about the parent not needing to teach our children because the schools will (very loose quote) is dead wrong. Anyone who even considers bringing a child into this world better be ready to put forth the effort, time, money, and all available resources to bring that child up properly. That starts in the womb and it doesn't end until that child's parent is dead and buried. I am a parent and I am STILL learning from my mother. I am pretty sure I will until the day she dies. Then it will be my job to continue teaching my child until I die.
That's the job a parent has. If people aren't willing to take on that life-long responsibility, then they should NOT reproduce.
May 17, 2009 at 3:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sdr35hw (anonymous) says...
Thanks for making my point Shoe.....
May 17, 2009 at 4:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
yird (anonymous) says...
sdr35hw , I have a very well developed case of dyslexia but was never aware of it until about 38 years ago when my son was diagnosed with it.
When an article in a magazine read "continued on page 37" I would get furious with the "idiots" who printed the magazine for not putting the continuation where they promised and in most case just trash the "damn" thing.
It never occurred to me to turn to page 73!
I'd occasionally look up a number and dial a wrong number. It used to worry me but now I take it in stride after learning that I was not perfect!
It (the dyslexia) never impeded my ability to read but it did give me a fit in school as I would often interpret what was said to mean something entirely different.
It can be a challenge for some to study but it can also be overcome by need. For instance, I barely passed math in school. I literally hated it. Today I am very handy with numbers since I had to use them constantly in some of the lines of work in which I was involved.
I had to support myself and my family and the need to be proficient with the use of numbers came naturally as a result of necessity.
Children in school will excel in what they want to. Creating that want is a real challenge I suppose and that's where some teaches have an edge. I could never be a teacher myself so I'm in no position to criticize or condone what they do although I've been guilty of such in the past.
Reading, to me, has been the greatest skill one can accomplish because with it, combined with desire, most folks can learn anything they wish to.
I see television as being the biggest threat to acquiring good reading comprehension.
It's much easier to look at "pictures" than it is to concentrate on words in a book, and it is human nature to seek the easy way.
May 17, 2009 at 4:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
edyckman (anonymous) says...
There is a way that churches can help schools and parents resolve this problem. It is called Reading Camp. Last week I sent an article to the Post & Courier concerning Reading Camp but they have not responded. If anyone would like to learn more about how churches can help resolve South Carolina's literacy problem, please contact me at edward.dyckman@att.net or 843-367-5647.
May 17, 2009 at 5:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lga2chs (anonymous) says...
My beloved,
I pray that you are a parent and not a school administrator. Grammar and semantics in public posts are very important, especially when you are talking about education!
Posted by belovedbliff on May 17, 2009 at 8:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, McGinley, if you are going to be true to your word, are you not going to hold the teachers at my school accountable for the numbers of D's and F's we have because of no reading skills of the students and there lazyness.
May 17, 2009 at 5:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eatmorecollards (anonymous) says...
It may interest some to know that, Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Leonardo de Vinci, Thomas Edison, George Washington, Winston Churchill, Walt Disney all suffered from dyslexia.
I don't know if we can use it as an excuse for underachieving.
May 17, 2009 at 6:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
AFWally (anonymous) says...
Why should Charleston County care about literacy now? They haven't cared for years......it's the same 'ole bullsheet over and over.
May 17, 2009 at 7:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
River_Rat (anonymous) says...
AFWally,
You're absolutely right. The nation's public schools have shown themselves to be failures over and over again. This State is the worst in the Nation when it comes to public education and as if that wasn't enough Charleston County has some of the worst public schools in the State. What continues to amaze me is when anyone suggests we try something different people loss their minds and scream, "You will destroy our public school system if you do that" It reminds me of the Emperor's New Clothes parable that too many Charleston County public school victims will never be able to read.
May 17, 2009 at 7:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
AFWally (anonymous) says...
Yeah scream for more money.....it's for the children ya know....horsesheet!
Last night I was listening to the President of the NEA giving a nice talk about how the educational system is broke.....yeah no sheet sherlock and your in charge of your neat little group....and so?
May 17, 2009 at 8:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
toldyaso (anonymous) says...
We have been reading to our son since he was a baby. He now reads several books at a time and is reading on 12th grade level and going to the Academic Magnet next year. His teachers have not always been the best, but my husband and I worked hard to be sure we knew what was/is going on in the classroom and question it when we had a problem. We are strict with making sure his homework is done (and sometimes not strict enough compared to some of his friends) but we care enough to find out what is going on.
It is not the teachers, I would say a great deal of it is parental supervision/interest in what the child is doing. The kids in his school that suffer the most seem to be the kids who have parents that don't give a rat's butt. Its really sad because it has nothing to do with income level and everything to do with parental responsibility. When you go to PTA meetings and awards ceremonies it is the same parents and the same kids all the time cheering on the kids and making a difference.
May 17, 2009 at 8:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TheHawg (anonymous) says...
AFWally,
I believe that a very low percentage of South Carolina teachers are members of the NTE. I'm not and I don't know anyone who is.
May 17, 2009 at 9:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Squidward (anonymous) says...
Shoelaces, you sre so right and thank you for what you do in the classroom. My wife is a teacher at a high school here in Georgia and she sees the exact same things happening. You can't make the kids care, and they care less and less every year.
May 18, 2009 at 9:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
crankyyankee (anonymous) says...
You folks are long on complaints and short on answers. May I suggest:
1. Stop incentives to parents (tax breaks, food stamps, free lunch) for having many many children. Make it a hardship to have a child and only responsible, finacially capable individuals will have children.
2. Drug test all entitlement recipients. They drug test you as a condition of employment when you apply for a job, why shouldn't they drug test those that receive those tax dollars but don't contribute? These are usually major contributors to illiteracy, crime and more enlitlements.
3. Privatize the school system! Government doesn't run anything efficently and the private sector has done a better job with less money for a whole lot longer.
4. Get the federal Government out of the education business. States have a better idea of what needs to be done than the sycophants in DC.
5. Change the perception that "those that can do and those that can't teach". Some of our teachers couldn't survive in a production oriented evironment let alone teach others and I'm talking about some college professors I know!
6. Stop pouring money into new buildings and transportation that the little dears will reduce to trash within a few years. Institute some discipline for a change!
7. When a student is disruptive get rid of him/her. Pandering to these malcontents only takes energy away from those sincere about getting an education.
8. Stop listening to parnets who insist the system is at fault and not their little dears! You send your kid to our school and they will get thier butts handed to them if they don't conform to our rules.
It's really very easy lead, follow or get out of the way! Not enough backbone in this State for that.
May 18, 2009 at 9:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
I don't see why every kid has to go to school 12 years. If thier circumstances, abilities, and efforts show that they have no chance of success at the ninth or tenth level, teach them something practical instead and/or let them go start to work.
May 18, 2009 at 10:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tatiasc1 (anonymous) says...
OK Teacher in elementary doesn't get it.
We are in North Charleston and a failing school
Our 5th graders-less then 20 percent are below 5th grade.
So Explain to me why in 9th grade it is over 40 percent.
What HAPPENED in middle school?
Why aren't they looking at all grades 3-9th?
Why are some that had higher grades in 5th grade then ninth?
I test no one cheats so what is happening at middle school?
Post and courier please request all grades!
May 18, 2009 at 4:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Luna (anonymous) says...
Posted by Luna on May 19, 2009 at 2:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow, I have been turning over a new leaf of late, but AFWally is a scum sucking, mud crawling, slope headed jerk.
I am no longer reading his posts.
May 19, 2009 at 3:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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