Fewer top scores on more robust high school progress reports

making the grade

October 24, 2011

Fewer top scores on more robust high school progress reports

by Rachel Cromidas, at 2:26 pm

Nearly half of students who started ninth grade in 2006 are enrolled in college right now, but only a quarter of them were ready for it, city data shows.

The numbers were revealed today when the Department of Education released high school progress reports for last year. For the first time, the reports include data about each school’s course offerings and college enrollment rate, although that information will not be factored into schools’ grades until next year.

Schools that receive a grade of F or D, or get three C grades in a row, could face closure. This year, 41 schools received D’s or F’s, an increase over last year, while fewer high schools received A grades than in any year since the progress reports were created in 2007.

Speaking to reporters this morning, Shael Polakow-Suransky, the chief academic officer, attributed those changes to a tougher set of requirements around student performance on state tests, credit accumulation, and documentation for student discharges.

“I think we’re tightening things up and we’ve gotten a more precise result,” he said.

Ninety-three recently-opened schools received progress reports without grades because they have not yet graduated a class. The DOE is witholding grades from seven schools and placing them under investigation for problems with their data.

Only one quarter of students who entered high school four years ago are graduating “college ready,” based on the city’s newly-adopted standards for college readiness that were devised by officials at the City University of New York, where close to 60 percent of the city’s public school graduates attend college.

“Just over 50 percent of our kids that enter CUNY have to take some kind of remedial coursework, and that fact is of serious concern to us because a lot of those kids are set up at a disadvantage,” Polakow-Suransky said.

A distribution of what percentage of schools received what grades since 2007 (Source: DOE web site)

Michael M. (parent still)

We don’t need more rationale from Tweed to CLOSE schools; we need more commitment from Tweed to IMPROVE schools.

And “distribution” aside (which looks semi-steady, squeeze on the A’s notwithstanding), how much randomization was present during the Edumacation Mayor’s election year scores?
Michael M. (parent still)

From a whole nuther angle: Are we doing enough to prepare the NON-college-bound 50% for life after high school, if high school (graduated or no) is the end of their academic road?
Tiredofyou

Many of us saw when they went to a single diploma that it was going to backfire.Every child is not going to college but with one diploma what do you expect. No nothing is being done for these students.Except to tell us that they aren’t doing well in college. Big surprise.
Stars and Jailstripes

“Just over 50 percent of our kids that enter CUNY have to take some kind of remedial coursework, and that fact is of serious concern to us because a lot of those kids are set up at a disadvantage,” Polakow-Suransky said.
How in the world did the DOE allow these kids to graduate? Head should roll at Tweed for a truly stunning performance
Stars and Jailstripes

“Just over 50 percent of our kids that enter CUNY have to take some kind of remedial coursework, and that fact is of serious concern to us because a lot of those kids are set up at a disadvantage,” Polakow-Suransky said.
How in the world did the DOE allow these kids to graduate? Head should roll at Tweed for a truly stunning performance
Sean DeSilva

This is a joke. These reports are impossible to understand and prepare for. Schools are not told how they are graded and rubrics change every year. Putting a grade on a school discourages students from going there, reinforcing the likelihood that a school will perform poorly next year. This is a disservice to the school system and has completely taken the focus off of students and put it on nonsense.
Sean DeSilva

This is a joke. These reports are impossible to understand and prepare for. Schools are not told how they are graded and rubrics change every year. Putting a grade on a school discourages students from going there, reinforcing the likelihood that a school will perform poorly next year. This is a disservice to the school system and has completely taken the focus off of students and put it on nonsense.
old unionist

This data coupled with todays New York Times article regarding remedial course work needed by greater numbers of students should be enough to call for an investigation of the entire system than the administration has created at a cost of more than 12 billion additional dollars. The city council, the state education department, and the city and state comptrollers should investigate the expenditures, contracts, hiring practices, and computor records accrued during the Bloomberg/Klein administration and offer a full explanation of the results. If fraud and corruption are at the center of such an investigation than some individuals should be held accountable and brought to justice if need be.
99%

heads roll at Tweed? How about the Mayor’s head rolling! He asked for Mayoral control. This has been all his idea.
99%

That’s what Mayor Mike’s money is for. He’ll throw his own personal money at the problem to clear his conscience. It’s nice to have money to fix problems that you created with your $1 salary.

He should take his personal fortune and pay the city back for all technology projects; ARIS, SESIS, IZONE, etc., etc., etc.

Can we reboot this Mayoral Control? Cntrl + Alt + Delete?

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making the grade

October 24, 2011

Fewer top scores on more robust high school progress reports

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