Penn Live: 50 WORST school districts in Pa. Mine checks in at #13. Yours??
- Thread starter TheGLOV
- Start date
Some of those percentages of proficiency in reading and math are nothing short of embarrassing and scandalous.
It’s s damned joke (and a real shame) is what it is. The incompetence is staggering on all levels.
#3
You could have the best teachers in the country all converge on my beloved Alma Mater and it wouldn't change much. It's not the school but the people/families that live in the city.
Reading offers the same opportunities as the area schools but it lacks students that are willing to take advantage of them.
You could have the best teachers in the country all converge on my beloved Alma Mater and it wouldn't change much. It's not the school but the people/families that live in the city.
Reading offers the same opportunities as the area schools but it lacks students that are willing to take advantage of them.
I know nothing about school funding---why are the 2 worst schools the biggest spenders?
I believe those two are under state control, so they spend as much as they want.
Not surprised to see so many small schools on the list, a lot of those areas have kids who know they are not going to college so they never graduate and get a construction or laborer job early.
back in the 90's my HS had some of the highest SAT scores in the state, a rep from Harvard even came out to talk to the kids and study some things at our school. But we only had 52 kids in a graduating class so our level of proficiency probably was only in the 70% range because I know of about a dozen of my classmates who never would have passed a state test.
I’m still not sure what some of those proficiencies represent. If it’s based on their standardized testing it’s not surprising as many of those kids will never pass no matter how many times you test them. In the meantime, I suppose we will spend more dollars trying to get them to pass said at the expense of other learning.
I didn't see my old district on the list, so I guess that's good
GLOV. You can't hold an entire school district responsible for the failings of a few poor students. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the entire state school system? And if the entire state school system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, GLOV. Isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can say whatever you want about your school district, but I'm not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America! Good day sir!! 
How can 12% proficient in math + 19% proficient in reading = 82% graduation rate?
Not sure about PA but in NY state aid is given out in inverse proportion to average incomes in the district. School board members oppose higher end housing developments because that means less state aid.
Do you think they want those kids coming back? No student left behind means they advance to the next grade no matter what. Then when it comes time for graduation I have a feeling that all of those credits they never earned while being pushed through for four years are simply accounted for in other ways.
There are simply way too many kids who don't have the credits to graduate and there is no way the administrators would survive a graduation rate that reflected reality so they make sure they graduate.
That's the new math that everyone is talking about... Reading is 19%, and 9 minus 1 equals 8. Math is 12%, and 1 times 2 is 2, so then 8 plus 2 equals 82. Duh!!!
Dopey article and mislabeled. It's not really the worst school districts because nobody has any idea how to define that.
What it is actually is school districts with a lot of low-income kids, a lot of kids who speak Spanish and Asian languages at home, and a low local tax base so per-pupil spending is low.
But here's what the stats don't measure at all. For kids who are bright and have good study habits, would these schools be capable of preparing them for college and/or a trade? The answer in many cases would be yes.
It's ridiculous how test scores are used to rate schools. Test scores tell you almost nothing about a school and everything about the socioeconomic status of the kids who attend the school.
You could take the best teachers in the state, the best facilities in the state, and pair them up with a low-income high-immigrant student population -- and you would instantly have a "bad" school as measured by test scores. That's the problem with exercises like this.
GLOV. You can't hold an entire school district responsible for the failings of a few poor students. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the entire state school system? And if the entire state school system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, GLOV. Isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can say whatever you want about your school district, but I'm not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America! Good day sir!!
Time to walk out the door humming a patriotic tune while the Dean screams.
In NJ, starting in 2019, passing the state-wide proficiency tests is to become a requirement for graduation. The newly-elected Governor has vowed to eliminate or replace the tests, which are highly controversial, so we'll see.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...8b8600ade23_story.html?utm_term=.d806d9fa0fde
The teachers are pressured to pass the kids even though they cant read. Without getting too political its a sad state in a lot of places.
The teachers are pressured to pass the kids even though they cant read. Without getting too political its a sad state in a lot of places.
I’m amazed at the poor performance across the board with student : teacher ratios averaging 14, with some as low as 11. When I was in school, the average ratio was probably in the low 20’s.
92% of a student’s score on standardized tests is determined by factors beyond a school’s control. So any rating based on test scores tells you about the students, not the school, just as some posters have pointed out. Using test scores to rate schools has nothing to do with education. It is a political action.
I administered the math PSSA test. In our school, 65% of the students who were not proficient, who applied to higher education, were accepted including acceptance to Penn State and Temple. This test does nothing but waste taxpayer’s money.
Checking in at No. 15, Farrell. 15% and 25% proficiency in math and reading, respectively. Yet their motto: "Academic Achievement for All."
Seems to me some superintendents need to be fired.
I’d like to see data on the reading/math proficiency at charter schools.
Axe, you want to expand upon that for the benefit of us non-educators. How are standardized tests a political action?
Look closely. Spending is many of these poor performing districts is quite high.
Standardized tests are fine if they provide useful information to the student and his parents. Using them to rate schools and teachers is a political decision aimed at finding ‘failed’ schools and publicizing them for partisan purposes.
Not sure how PA does it but here in MD, many kids dont come to school those days and then end up doing a 'project' to count as a passing score. Its a terrible game that the schools play just to get kids through.
In NJ, parents can refuse to have their children take the tests, a widespread practice, particularly in high- achieving districts.
Haha mine slips in at #12 (West Perry) that means I win. Higher number is better right??? That and I've been out of there for 35 years.
I will start by stating that I am not in the education business .. but my youngest is and she teaches biology in a high school outside of Pittsburgh - the school is not on the list. She doesn't have the "honors" kids.
Listening to her talk makes me realize the societal issues that impact her ability to teach the kids - too many kids have family issues, some living with grandparents, some dealing with drug/alcohol issues within the family, lots of "special needs" kids who need personal attention. Quite frankly, too many kids don't give a damn about anything academic and their parents simply don't care enough to encourage them.
Behavior issues occur all too frequently that take entirely too much time and effort in the day. The school administration appears (to me) to be inconsistent in dealing with the behavior problems but I really can't judge that since I'm not there.
She tries very hard to get the material across in a way that is understood and truly learned ... the material is not what I learned in high school biology and I think that it's a tough course.
All kids take the PSSA exam in biology. I think her "pass rate" is about 2 in 3 and in her eyes, that is not good enough.
You can lead a horse to water ....
Listening to her talk makes me realize the societal issues that impact her ability to teach the kids - too many kids have family issues, some living with grandparents, some dealing with drug/alcohol issues within the family, lots of "special needs" kids who need personal attention. Quite frankly, too many kids don't give a damn about anything academic and their parents simply don't care enough to encourage them.
Behavior issues occur all too frequently that take entirely too much time and effort in the day. The school administration appears (to me) to be inconsistent in dealing with the behavior problems but I really can't judge that since I'm not there.
She tries very hard to get the material across in a way that is understood and truly learned ... the material is not what I learned in high school biology and I think that it's a tough course.
All kids take the PSSA exam in biology. I think her "pass rate" is about 2 in 3 and in her eyes, that is not good enough.
You can lead a horse to water ....
I agree. It all begins with the family. I know if I came home with a bad report card then I got beat. Cannot thank my parents enough for the tough love. Which reminds me of an anecdote.
As a teenager I had a summer job working for my gym teacher. The commute was only a few miles. He always drove. Anyway, one day on the ride home he asks me who has the toughest job. Being the smart ass that I am I said the President of the United States. It wasn't the answer he was looking for. As he berated me my mind began to race. I knew I had best come up with an acceptable answer. So naturally with he being a teacher, I said teacher. But that only satiated him temporarily. He was about to throw me out of a moving vehicle traveling 55 mph when he asked who else?! Time for some quick thinking again. I spot a PA State Trooper cruiser in the highway median. He did not. So I said policemen. He then asks why. At this point he was visibly agitated by my apparent stalling. I had to get creative. So I said, "Because they have to enforce the rules." He said emphatically, "That's right!" He then proceeds to give me a lecture on the challenges of being a teacher. It lasted all the way home.
The moral of the story is this: support 'the thin blue line' as much as you do teachers. Let us not be so quick to blame our socioeconomic woes on them, either.
I thank you and have a blessed day.
True, Some kids are given everything or told they dont have to abie by rules, why should they care about education. Their parents then blame the teacher for the kids bad grades when the parents dont make the kid do anything. Not only that but they expect A's for their kids.
A former student of mine is a grad student in Biomedical Engineering at UNC, he works as a TA in some freshman calculus class and said he has had parents email him about 'what can my kid do to get a better grade?" One of the moms even went to the dean about the grade.
Washington attempted to have a state test requirement for a student to graduate. This link describes the requirements (note the dates):
http://www.k12.wa.us/GraduationRequirements/StateTesting.aspx
Time went by. A lot of kids were not going to graduate. (Believe the schools looked the other way to a large extent when these requirements were supposed to go into effect.)
This link shows the tip of the iceberg where the legislature went about modifying the requirements:
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattl...mpromise-on-high-school-testing-requirements/
Now there are assessment alternatives allowed. See this:
http://k12.wa.us/assessment/GraduationAlternatives/default.aspx
Yes, the barn door is wide open. If a kid and/or the school, wants the kid to graduate, they'll find a way. That's probably what will happen at some point in New Jersey or any state with a similar requirement.
This. Plus schools not being allowed to discipline students anymore have led to a decline in the education system. Students don't care, and neither do most teachers. With the state of the education system as it is I also don't think you get the best and brightest wanting to become teachers. It's a vicious cycle and getting worse.
Not true from my experience. Most local governments prefer higher end developments and they LOVE senior housing because there are more taxes and less students. They oppose high density low priced housing because there will be more students per home.
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