Tests don’t tell the whole story

Wendy Leece

We asked our parent panelists this week: What are your impressions of

the Academic Performance Index scores released last week? Are the

improvements significant? Where would you like to see them get

better? And are API scores in general a fair assessment of a school’s

performance?

API reports are written for educators, not parents and taxpayers.

But even if we can’t totally understand how API works, we should be

thankful we have a system that holds our tax-supported public schools

accountable.

Since the advent of API in 1999, rigorous academic standards have

been established that dictate what our children must learn and be

tested on in each subject.

Recently, the API has been tied to the federal No Child Left

Behind requirements that place more responsibility on teachers to use

proven methods to teach the basics.

Each year in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, the API

gains are steady, with only a few schools sliding backward. The same

Newport schools are on the top, Mesa schools are in the middle and

the Westside schools are on the bottom. It’s a mystery why there are

no scores for Estancia. In comparing scores from the last few years

it’s good to see the great progress Wilson, Whittier and Rea schools

have made. But Westside schools have a long way to go to catch up to

Newport.

New education is a political hot potato and is extremely partisan.

The Republicans and Democrats who write education policy rarely agree

about the best ways to improve instruction and raise student

achievement.

Simply put, Republicans are for kids learning the basics: reading,

writing, math, history (not revised) and science facts. Democrats,

who have controlled education policy for a long time, usually favor

trendy, politically correct ideas such as bilingual education, whole

language, tolerance and self esteem classes and school-based

healthcare. But teaching to the state standards doesn’t leave

teachers much time to waste on nonessentials. API and No Child Left

Behind curtail the nonacademic to some degree.

The API was implemented because lawmakers realized students were

not getting the quality, tax-supported education that taxpayers

demand. API may not be the best indicator of student achievement, but

it does force teachers to stay on track. Parents still need to pay

attention to everything that is going on in the classroom and read

the books and textbooks their children use.

Parents and taxpayers must be vigilant to make sure our schools

are accountable.

* WENDY LEECE is a parent who lives in Costa Mesa and is a former

Newport-Mesa school board member.

The API scores themselves are not good enough. What makes more of

an impression on me, however, is the spin that we get this year and

every year.

The overall average is down, but the comments from the school

district officials don’t even acknowledge that fact. We hear instead,

“We’re on our way to 800,” and that some gains are more meaningful

than others.

Those things may be true, and there is no doubt that teachers and

officials are trying hard to improve scores, but I’d prefer that

officials publicly acknowledge the facts.

The facts are that we’re making some progress on some fronts, but

it’s not enough. I don’t really understand what’s to be accomplished

by painting these rosy pictures with carefully chosen statistical

nuggets. Putting lipstick on this pig will only prolong the problem.

The bottom line, as usual, is money. We continue to strangle our

school systems by under-investing in them. API scores and every other

academic measure would skyrocket if we simply reduced class sizes.

We started down that path a few years ago and made some decent

progress, but the financial rug was pulled out from under that plan

before it was completed. Even the best, most dedicated teachers can’t

be effective in a classroom with 35 to 38 students, 80% of whom are

English learners.

We can do lots of things with technology, specialized curricula,

and teaching techniques, but I am simply not sold that we can do more

with less. Those things, along with the rosy spin on the lackluster

scores, seem like denial or resignation -- maybe both.

There may be some fat in the system, but even if California public

school administrations were wrung out to Walmart-like efficiency

levels, we wouldn’t come close to providing the necessary funds to

take class sizes from 35 to 20.

Raising the money it would take to make that kind of investment

would mean that taxpayers would have to pay more taxes -- something

that hardly anybody is willing to do. Shortchanging this most

critical piece of our social infrastructure has long-term costs that

far exceed the short-term investment requirements.

* MARK GLEASON is a parent who lives in Costa Mesa.