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Read comments (7)The report, released July 28, cited Harris Middle School and Shelbyville Central High School, along with 132 other Tennessee schools, for failing to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for two years in a row.
While the state as a whole showed improvement in the progress report (there are five fewer schools on the high priority list this year compared to 2007), Ed Gray, school superintendent, said he was disappointed with the news.
"We're not proud of some of our test scores and we're making improvements in several areas," Gray said.
Tennessee measures whether schools and districts are making AYP toward goals for 100 percent of students being proficient in reading and math, and a 90 percent graduation rate, by 2014. Schools not meeting benchmarks in the same subject area for two years are considered high priority and receive additional support and interventions from the state, according to a Department of Education press release.
Gray said Harris Middle School failed to make goals in math and reading for students with disabilities and Central failed to make goals in reading for economically disadvantaged students for the second year in a row.
"We failed in two subgroups," he said. "There are 35 different (subgroups) you can fail in AYP ... we missed (these subgroups) for two years in a row so now we have to make (the goal) two years in a row," in order to come off the high priority list.
Gray said that both schools must submit improvement plans of action to the state by Oct. 15. The schools are currently working on their plans of action, Gray reported Wednesday.
"We are going to do quite a few things differently," he said. "We are hiring an intervention coach for Harris Middle and an instructional coach for all county schools. We have areas to improve on but we can't forget the other areas because there are 35 different (subgroups) we can fail."
Tennessee performance benchmarks for achieving AYP increased for the second time this year, making it more difficult to attain AYP across the board. The percentage of students that must test proficient in math and reading/language increased on average five to six percentage points at the elementary and high school levels, according to the release.
"Tennessee schools are showing excellent progress in meeting demands of No Child Left Behind," said Tim Webb, education commissioner. "However, Tennessee's primary focus remains our state's work to raise the academic standards to which we hold students in order to prepare them for a better future after high school. The education Tennessee students receive, not testing, is our mission."
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This is sad news because both of these schools have great teachers and for the most part great student bodies!
What is sad is that the no child left behind act is what is being used as a yard stick and the act is only going by test scores and not by actual accomplishments that the students are making. That is what happens when people grade by test scores and nothing else. We have become a country of serial numbers and groups. There is not individuality and differences are not celebrated, we all need to be the same. Don't blame the ways the school systems is on illegals. Yes, it is a problem, but the whole problem is that the teachers are frantic to make sure that these students pass tests in order for them to keep their jobs. There is no higher learning in the classroom. It is short term memory stuff that allows the kids to pass a test. Think about the way we could read books, do posters, activities and reports that taught us all about science, history and literature. We even could read graphic novels (comic books) and enjoyed it. Now children only read what is on the accelerated reading list, not what they would enjoy reading about. We read biographies about people who had accomplished great feats, now kids see their sports heroes put in jail for drugs, rape and DUI's Sometimes all of the media attention given to the evils of society is bad for the psyche of children. They don't need all this information. I think that several of the blogs were right, many parents, grandparents aunts and uncles need to form a group and INSIST that changes be made in the system. Get to all the meetings, find out what is going on and if a teacher tells you your kid is not doing his/her homework, find out why and give extra things for your kids so that when they graduate, they will be able to go to college and actually know something. Find great books for your kids to read. Look into some science projects that are fun to experiment with and check out projects that make math enjoyable and fun. These things are available but it takes a few minutes of time and money to make your kids understand the value of a good education. Rock on Bedford County, Rock on!!!
The fact is that we spend countless resources trying to assist the Latino population...yet this same population cares so little that they refuse to even learn a small amount of OUR language. As a nurse at the hospital we spend a myriad of time simply trying to find out what the patient is even here for because they speak NO English. The schools must spend our resources trying to teach OUR language to a group of children whose own parents are here illegally and cannot even call an ambulance without a translator. This is the United States of American and our language is ENGLISH!!! In Germany they speak German, in Russia they speak Russian and here we speak ENGLISH!
Just one more way AMERICANS are being shafted by illegals. Our kids suffer from lack of teacher time and the curriculum being 'dumbed down' to accommodate those who are not English speaking and have no desire or interest to become proficient.
One of the worst UNRECORDED aspects is the number of intelligent kids who flat loose interest due to no challenge scholastically. Those kids end up mentally and often physically dropping out due to boredom. Yes, those who physically drop out are recorded but what of the intelligent ones who barely graduate and end up doing menial work ??
One answer to this is parent involvement. When my kids were growing up I was a frequent attendee of PTA meetings, always seemed to find time for parent/teacher conferences and if what was going on I didnt like I had no problem going to the school board for resolution.
Parents must teach their children. They learn by watching what we do and what we DO NOT do. If parents do not stand up for their kids... Who will ??
Parents have rights too.
DEMAND orientation be in English only !!!
DEMAND documentation on ALL pupils.
DEMAND clothing codes be for 100% of all students.
DEMAND a proper curriculum for your children.
If you take no for an answer then it will only get worse each year as the small percentage of minorities DEMAND more and more. Look at what they have demanded already and have... ALL DUE TO LACK OF PARENT PARTICIPATION IN MASS !!
One or two parents cant do it but one or two HUNDRED parents at school board meetings, city council meetings and county commission meetings can achieve what needs to be done.
Getter done parents !! Take back control of OUR schools in behalf of YOUR kids !!!
This is exactly what happens when you dilute the schools systems with those who come from homes where education is not valued.
It sickens me that the Supreme Court ruled that these illegals or anchors are entitled to the same education as everyone else. IF they spoke the language OR were responsible for their own tutorng to bring them to grade level, that would be one thing. But they expect the schools to do it for them. Most parents with struggling children would pay any amount for a tutor to get past these issues, but these expect the government to do everything.
Also compulsory and universal education is the worst idea anyone ever had. If kids want to quit school let them. If the students have no hope of ever excelling we are wasting precious resources on them.
Kids that are average or above average are where our future lies. They will be tomorrow's leaders, not the illegal who can barely speak the language, the academically challenged who struggles with simple math, or the child from a family that does not value education.
I know this sounds harsh, but by now we should see that our current way of doing things is not working. We can't keep throwing money into that pit, things must change.
I'm sure the new dress code (the only thing the school board has accomplished) will raise those test scores. I know I always made better grades wearing a collared shirt!
Don't get me wrong, I love fashion as much as the next person. However, it infuriates me the education system is obviously failing these kids & all the board worries about is what they're wearing. We as a community need to get our priorities straight!
Isn't it ironic that the two county schools that are on the watch list also have the largest Latino population per capita. It's not the fault of the Latino children or their parents, but the scores are graded the same. Those Latin children work hard but their parents cannot be much help at home when they do not understand the subjects being taught.
Hard to work on reading with your children, when the parents can't read. If they want the scores to increase then they need to put more into getting the Latino children the help they need.