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Courtesy New Haven
Register, Josiah H. Brown All
content is copyrighted and may not be republished or distributed without
permission. ________ New Haven Register Josiah Brown Published: April 20, 2005
The 2004 Connecticut Mastery Test scores are out for grades 4, 6, and
8. The Connecticut Academic Performance Test is under way for 10th graders,
weeks after a national education summit called for high school reform. While
"teaching to the test" is a hazard when tests obscure actual
learning, they are one measure of students' preparation. Both the problems
that tests reveal, and the promise of solutions, are evident in New Haven .
Too many high schoolers drop out, 15 to 30 percent nationally. Many who do
graduate are insufficiently prepared for college and work. We debate how much
responsibility for teens' academic shortcomings rests with high schools
versus with students' previous teachers, neighborhoods, families, peers or
themselves. Learning is cumulative, with all those influences at play. Yet research echoes intuition that good teaching matters. Through the
"value-added assessment" technique, we know that students
benefiting from several years of effective teaching surpass youngsters with
less-skilled teachers. The National Assessment of Educational Progress and Mastery Tests
indicate that most Connecticut elementary and middle school students attain
proficiency. Teachers deserve credit. Still, thousands of students' skills
are deficient, and stiffer goals elude many more. Teens' academic limitations
are further exposed as they encounter high school. In 2004, only in writing did more than half, 54 percent, of
Connecticut 10th graders reach the CAPT's demanding goal range. In math,
science, and reading, between 46 and 48 percent achieved that range. The
proportion reaching the CMT's ambitious goals is 10 to 15 percentage points
greater. Considerably smaller percentages of students attained the goals among
low-income districts. The relationship between affluence and achievement is
real. Overall Connecticut students do well - reflecting progress since the
1986 Education Enhancement Act and our state's wealth. Average SAT scores are
relatively high given the number of students taking the exam. This state's
and city's investments in pre-kindergarten are yielding dividends;
policy-makers are right to pursue the over 20 percent of kids who still don't
attend pre-kindergarten in cities like New Haven . Our state, like others, has sought exemptions from increasing federal
No Child Left Behind Act testing requirements. Attorney General Richard
Blumenthal is suing over the costs, while the Connecticut Coalition for
Justice in Education Funding seeks more dollars statewide. Here's how the annual Quality Counts study by Education Week rates
Connecticut : one "A" for efforts to improve teacher quality; two
"B"s for resources equity and school climate; and a "C"
for standards and accountability. Achievement gaps are the glaring issue
here, as in other states. Correlating student performance and teacher performance isn't simple.
Larger districts face higher hurdles, including scale, family mobility and
student needs. Seven in 10 New Haven students qualify for a free/reduced
price lunch. Connecticut's teacher of the year, Burt Saxon of New Haven's Hillhouse
High School , can testify that within a district certain schools and classrooms
thrive while others struggle. Three new small high schools have opened here to provide more intimate
settings. Greater academic rigor is planned. As educators recognize, this
will require steady effort across grades and time. The district is pursuing
five strategies, beginning with implementation of a pre-K-12 standards-based
curriculum. Among the other strategies are to create professional learning
communities and to boost constituency engagement. New Haven is working to
develop and keep its best educators and to attract additional talent; an
event for prospective teachers is scheduled for April 28. We are also
fostering more environments where these colleagues can share information,
continually reflect and support one another. Every spring and summer, the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute
cultivates such learning communities in seminars that Yale faculty members
lead. The teachers who participate are familiar with this collaborative
approach, including work across different schools, disciplines, and grade
levels. The CMT and CAPT gauge not only individual students and teachers but
also the climates in which they operate. With time, resources, and coherent
focus, student test scores should respond. ------------------ Josiah H. Brown is associate director of the Yale-New Haven Teachers
Institute, a partnership between Yale University and the New Haven public
schools. E-mail: josiah.brown@aya.yale.edu. Caption: Black and white illustration |