WHEATFIELD, LEW-PORT EXAMPLES OF HIGH SPENDING, POOR SCORES

Niagara Falls Reporter

WHEATFIELD, LEW-PORT EXAMPLES OF HIGH SPENDING, POOR SCORES By Lenny Palumbo
While devoting most of its energies and almost all of its economic resources to lobbying for increased salaries and benefits, the New York State United Teachers has remained silent on the well-documented decline of education standards and falling test results of students throughout the state. For the last eight years all 50 states have been required to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Despite ranking 31 out of 50 states on the 2009 NAEP math and reading tests, New York teachers ranked #1 in annual salary at $72,708 per year. New York was one of only three states that made no progress during this eight year period. Last year, New York was the only state whose 4th grade math scores declined. “The NAEP scores make clear a tough but necessary truth,” New York State Education Commissioner John King admitted, “Our students are not where they should be.” Mr. King’s deputy commissioner, Ken Slentz came up with a plan: Test scores compared to other states were making New York’s teachers look bad. His memo to the Board of Regents: Stop taking tests. Mr. Slentz paints a grotesque picture of the present state of education in New York when he wrote, “Less than one-quarter of students performed at or above the Proficient level in 2010 (20 percent of 4th graders, 17 percent of 8th graders, and 12 percent of 12th graders), and there were no significant changes in percentage of students at the Advanced level. To put it another way, most 4thgraders were unable to say why Abraham Lincoln was an important figure, fewer than one-third of 8th graders could identify an important advantage that American forces had over the British in the American Revolution, and less than one quarter of the 12th graders knew that China was North Korea’s ally during the Korean War.” Mr. Slentz recommends “the use of an approved college and career ready CTE (Career and Technical Education) technical assessment in lieu of a required Regents exam.” CTE and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) diploma options could be substituted for a passing grade on the Global History Exam and STEM ”diplomas” for a second math or science assessment for the Global history requirement. There is no test and no standard. “Diplomas” are granted by the teacher (or a board of teachers) who can decide whether the material has been learned based on criteria they choose. A teacher could merely say—this student knows enough to graduate. Then the teachers would not have to concentrate on getting students to pass regents tests that would prove they know who Abraham Lincoln was and concentrate instead on getting more money. Despite having among the highest expenditures per pupil in the area, Lewiston-Porter and Niagara Wheatfield school districts continue to produce mediocre test scores, particularly at the mastery level, the level where students are considered to have learned the material that one would expect the highest paid teachers in the USA should be able to teach. Last year only 5 percent of 3-8th graders at Niagara Wheatfield achieved the mastery level on their English Language Assessment (ELA) exams. At Lew-Port, it was less than 3 percent. Only 7 percent of Niagara Wheatfield 8th graders achieved mastery level in math. In fact only 25% of students in both districts achieved even Level 4 in math- which is hardly learning that most parents would expect for their children. The vast majority of students in the district are unprepared for high school math, a fact overshadowed by the recent defeat in Wheatfield of a $60.25 million budget. The proposed fiscal package would have increased the tax levy by 9.9%. What most educators decline to admit, at least publicly, is that annual increases in salaries and retirement benefits of teachers come out of the pockets of school children. Unfortunately for Wheatfield students, money made by teachers at the negotiating table is unavailable to save sports, music and art when voters finally said, “Enough is enough!” The cost of teachers retiring on $80,000 per year pensions are being paid by the students of Lewiston-Porter, Niagara Wheatfield and the rest of the state’s public schools.

By Lenny Palumbo

While devoting most of its energies and almost all of its economic resources to lobbying for increased salaries and benefits, the New York State United Teachers has remained silent on the well-documented decline of education standards and falling test results of students throughout the state.

For the last eight years all 50 states have been required to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Despite ranking 31 out of 50 states on the 2009 NAEP math and reading tests, New York teachers ranked #1 in annual salary at $72,708 per year.

New York was one of only three states that made no progress during this eight year period. Last year, New York was the only state whose 4th grade math scores declined.

“The NAEP scores make clear a tough but necessary truth,” New York State Education Commissioner John King admitted, “Our students are not where they should be.”

Mr. King’s deputy commissioner, Ken Slentz came up with a plan: Test scores compared to other states were making New York’s teachers look bad. His memo to the Board of Regents:
Stop taking tests.

Mr. Slentz paints a grotesque picture of the present state of education in New York when he wrote, “Less than one-quarter of students performed at or above the Proficient level in 2010 (20 percent of 4th graders, 17 percent of 8th graders, and 12 percent of 12th graders), and there were no significant changes in percentage of students at the Advanced level. To put it another way, most 4thgraders were unable to say why Abraham Lincoln was an important figure, fewer than one-third of 8th graders could identify an important advantage that American forces had over the British in the American Revolution, and less than one quarter of the 12th graders knew that China was North Korea’s ally during the Korean War.”

Mr. Slentz recommends “the use of an approved college and career ready CTE (Career and Technical Education) technical assessment in lieu of a required Regents exam.”

CTE and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) diploma options could be substituted for a passing grade on the Global History Exam and STEM ”diplomas” for a second math or science assessment for the Global history requirement.
There is no test and no standard.

“Diplomas” are granted by the teacher (or a board of teachers) who can decide whether the material has been learned based on criteria they choose.

A teacher could merely say—this student knows enough to graduate.

Then the teachers would not have to concentrate on getting students to pass regents tests that would prove they know who Abraham Lincoln was and concentrate instead on getting more money.

Despite having among the highest expenditures per pupil in the area, Lewiston-Porter and Niagara Wheatfield school districts continue to produce mediocre test scores, particularly at the mastery level, the level where students are considered to have learned the material that one would expect the highest paid teachers in the USA should be able to teach.

Last year only 5 percent of 3-8th graders at Niagara Wheatfield achieved the mastery level on their English Language Assessment (ELA) exams. At Lew-Port, it was less than 3 percent. Only 7 percent of Niagara Wheatfield 8th graders achieved mastery level in math.

In fact only 25% of students in both districts achieved even Level 4 in math- which is hardly learning that most parents would expect for their children.

The vast majority of students in the district are unprepared for high school math, a fact overshadowed by the recent defeat in Wheatfield of a $60.25 million budget. The proposed fiscal package would have increased the tax levy by 9.9%.

What most educators decline to admit, at least publicly, is that annual increases in salaries and retirement benefits of teachers come out of the pockets of school children. Unfortunately for Wheatfield students, money made by teachers at the negotiating table is unavailable to save sports, music and art when voters finally said, “Enough is enough!”

The cost of teachers retiring on $80,000 per year pensions are being paid by the students of Lewiston-Porter, Niagara Wheatfield and the rest of the state’s public schools.

Niagara Falls Reporter www.niagarafallsreporter.com June 05 , 2012