IN THE MIX:Focus on teachers, not tests

So we parents got our STAR testing scores back. In the newsroom every year we write stories about the STAR and API scores. I’ve written them, I’ve edited them and now I’ve read them as a parent to better understand our school district.

All that and I still don’t really understand them. I’m not sure what they really mean. I was telling my sister about my kids’ scores and she asked me what they meant for their schools and education. Well, nothing, not for them individually. It’s nice that I know how my kids measure up on these standardized tests, but it’s really about the schools and how they measure up.

If students at a particular school are not performing up to standards the school can lose money and parents will have the option of transferring their kids to another school and the district will pick up the transportation tab.

All that I know. What I don’t know is what those numbers mean for my kids specifically and even what the scores really say about the schools themselves.

On the website you can compare scores with other schools. To be fair, you have to look at the different categories of students. You have to compare economically disadvantaged kids with economically disadvantaged kids and non-economically disadvantaged kids with non-economically disadvantaged kids.

What that usually tells you is that economically disadvantaged kids generally have much lower scores. What’s up with that? I’ll never really understand it even though I’ve had it explained by principals and parents.

They say that when you come from a low-income family the chances are greater that both parents are working instead of being there after school to help with homework and keep the kids out of trouble.

When you add to that parents who didn’t value education themselves and don’t value it for their kids you have students who don’t have the motivation or the resources to do well. Even when I’m trying to understand the difficulties it’s hard to understand how and why these kids themselves, at least the older ones, don’t see the need for education and grab for it.

I’m aware that there’s often an English-as-a-second-language issue going on, but most of these kids who start school in kindergarten know English by first grade. I’ve been told that they still have issues with writing English, but that doesn’t explain the math scores.

Thank goodness for the Shalimar Learning Center and for other after-school tutoring programs offered through the schools themselves. Of course, it’s not enough. Somehow the numbers on these tests continue to show that low-income minority kids are not scoring up to standards on these tests.

So this information leads me to another issue, one more personal.

It makes me wonder what would happen if I put my children in a school that has high scores for most of its students. That usually translates into the school being primarily non-socio-economically disadvantaged.

When I compare the non-economically disadvantaged scores at our schools, Davis Middle School and Sonora Elementary, with a school like East Bluff Elementary in Newport Beach, there’s a much higher percentage of proficient and above students at East Bluff.

I have been told by teachers and district administrators that if my kids do well on the test they’d do well at any school. OK, but if they were at the other school and surrounded by 10 kids vying for the top spot in the class as opposed to the three or four vying for the top spot, would the extra competition push my kids even further?

And would that be worth it? Wouldn’t I rather my kids be surrounded by kids who are from their neighborhood and primarily in their income level and who don’t have every toy and outfit they want? Also, in this day and age it seems it would be a strong disadvantage for my kids to be around children all of one race and income — especially since it’s a different race and income than them.

But if those reasons aren’t compelling and you still want your kid in a school with high scores across the board, there are options.

The director of elementary education for the Newport Mesa Unified School District, Bonnie Swann, said if your home school has below-standard scores they are put into the “program improvement” category. Parents can then opt to transfer to another school. Students are guaranteed a spot at another school, though not the campus of their choice.

Swann said many parents prefer to keep their kids at the local school so there are surprisingly few who leave.

Sometimes parents want an inter-district transfer from a school not in a low performance category. In that case they have to go through a process that is usually unsuccessful.

It was validating to hear that Swann has the same opinion that I’ve come up with after years of discussions with my kids’ teachers. It’s really about making sure the teacher your kid has clicks with you and your kid.

You are allowed to visit the school and take a tour into the classrooms — though the tour doesn’t include a long stay in any one classroom. But most parents don’t feel comfortable calling up their school and having the principal take them on a tour. It seems like such an inconvenience to ask of them. But it may be worth it if you’re worried. The unknown is always more frightening than the known.

The bigger problem I have with the test is the same problem many teachers have. There is a popular complaint that teachers have to teach to the test. We are creating a nation of test takers, but will that method of learning help them be successful in life?

Another concern is that the tests do not reflect the intellect of children who don’t learn well with traditional methods.

But there’s a good reason tests exist. We need a way to hold teachers and schools accountable.

There are other ways to hold schools accountable. You can check out Massachusetts’ method at www.fairtest.org. I also have a little fantasy that we improve our education system by getting better teachers by paying them what they’re worth to society.

The reality is we pay based on profits. CEOs, stockbrokers and baseball players who can make someone a lot of money will earn a lot of money. We don’t pay based on importance to society.

People like police officers, firefighters and teachers get paid OK, but if we really felt education was as important as we say, we’d pay teachers a high salary increasing the competition, the skill level and the ability for administrators to get rid of the teachers who consider their work baby sitting.

Once again, I’m dreaming. In the meantime I guess I just have to keep using the tools they do give us and keep trying to decode the scores they hand out every year.