LWVeducation
The League asked the Florida State Board of Education: “What Next?” What should be happening to fix problems, not just point fingers?
The New York Times published some solutions that are working in Union City, New Jersey. Note that it is not Newark, New Jersey where big money and celebrities tried to impose charter school solutions. Less hoopla and more methodical, careful community planning make a difference in Union City. See how click here.
Testing, school grades, and funding bills were filed at the last minute. Some bills may have an impact. Will alternative tests, revised school grade formulas and changes (not increases) in funding improve Florida’s education system?
A reader sent this thoughtful article by Ben Levin. I was pleased because I too have been musing about Canada’s high ranking on the international PISA test. Canada significantly out performs the U.S. in math, science and reading.
I looked for reasons–Canada has a strict immigration policy based on skill levels of applicants. Canada has a lower poverty rate. These things are true, but according to Politico, if you use scores only from white U.S. citizens, Canada still outperforms the U.S. fifteen year old students. To make it to the top of the score scale, the U.S. can only use schools with less than ten percent enrolled from families living in poverty. Even in those schools, math scores would only be ranked 8th, but reading and science would be second to Shanghai.
Florida paid to get its own PISA scores. The results were surprisingly low. Our students were well below the U.S. average PISA scores in science and math and just average in reading. As a leading proponent for school reform, this is not good news for Florida.
The U.S. has the largest income gap in the world. Depending upon how it is measured, however, basic living conditions for the poor in the U.S. are not worse than in other developed countries. Yet, PISA scores have gone up in many countries, ours remain stagnant.
In the following article, Ben Levin compares U.S. and Canadian educational systems and finds some similarities and four very real differences. Perhaps we can learn from our northern neighbors. How uneven is the funding for U.S. schools? How uneven is the quality? This has to be a serious concern. There are lawsuits over equity and funding all over the U.S., and yes, in Florida.
Commissioner Stewart’s school grade proposal is calculated differently, but its results are similar to those earned last year. Now John Padget, the Vice Chairman of the State Board of Education, is proposing tougher standards.
We need to think about this. The SBE meets January 6th to consider the school grade alternatives. We want students to meet proficiency standards, but the legislature needs to make it possible. How does the public make that happen?
We need to understand what a school grade really means–and does not mean. We have to ask if school grades motivate school districts, teachers and staff to do more. Good intentions are necessary but often insufficient. What else is required to improve learning? How do we make the system work for all children?
In a Tampa Bay Times article, LWV Florida board member Paula Dockery lists her legislative priorities for 2016. Extracted from the list are the following education priorities:
• Properly fund our traditional public schools for instructional costs and facility building, maintenance and repair before funding nonpublic assets.
• Drastically reduce the standardized testing in our schools and stop the practice of using test results for high-stakes purposes.
• Return the education commissioner to an elected position and member of the Cabinet by passing the joint resolution sponsored by state Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, and state Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah.
• Fully fund our colleges and universities to accommodate growth and facility needs.
If the legislature met these goals, perhaps the push to privatize our schools would diminish.
Family income and student achievement rise together. You know that. The Economic Policy Institute published its top graphs of 2015 showing it once again, but one chart focuses just on preschool.
If you compare kindergarten readiness for the lowest income groups to the highest, there is a full standard deviation difference. I wondered how many children were in the lowest groups, and how much money it would take to improve preschool education.
Poverty, race, and educational opportunity are intertwined. In a report by the National Educational Policy Center, housing is added to the mix. The authors explain the interaction between where we live and the opportunities available to us.
Divided communities have greater inequities in access to quality education and employment. Perceptions of the quality of schools based on the neighborhood income level become the reality. The more divided our communities, the greater the problems become. What can be done to reduce the inequities?
by Meredith Machen
League of Women Voters of New Mexico Study
Charter School Regulations: Public School Funding, Accountability, and Transparency
Scope of Study: In the context of the growing emphasis of some governmental policy-makers on promoting charter schools, this study will review information regarding the regulations and policies from which charter schools are released to determine if the exemptions from regulations may impede the progress of traditional public schools and the sufficiency of funding for public schools.
Because charter schools are publicly funded, the study raises the question of whether they should be held to standards of accountability and transparency that are at least as rigorous as those of traditional public schools. The study will also examine the need for changes in charter school regulations regarding their missions (which now allow adults to get their high school credentials, have specialized curricula, and alternative assessments), their governing bodies (which are not publicly elected or complying with the Open Meetings Act), their operations (which are not publicly audited), and rules for authorization and reauthorization.
Too many charter schools are money making machines at the expense of students and tax payers. The money designated for children and teachers ends up in the pockets of others. The National Education Policy Center explains how this works. This is all about money.
by Meredith Machen
New Mexico’s League has become alarmed at the shift in funding from traditional public schools to charters. Too much charter funding is misused according to the National Education Policy Center.
Please see the chart below from the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee which shows that from FY08 to FY15 charter schools received 46 percent of the change in funding while educating only 6.6% percent of all students. Over the last 7 years there has been a steady increase in funding for public education. School districts received about $114 million in additional funding while charter schools received about $98 million.
| Table xx: Change in Funding from FY08 to FY15 for Charter Schools and School Districts | ||||
| FY08 Funding | FY15 Funding | Number of Students, FY15 | Change Funding | |
| Charter Schools | $92,723,831 | $190,656,486 | 22,008 | $97,932,655 |
| School Districts | $2,234,708,899 | $2,348,700,663 | 309,178 | $113,991,764 |
| Statewide | $2,327,432,730 | $2,539,357,150 | 331,187 | $211,924,420 |
| Source: PED | ||||
For the larger context, please see the report from the National Policy Education Center below.
The Business of Charter Schooling: Understanding the Policies that Charter Operators Use for Financial Benefit
Four major policy concerns are identified in the report:
Recommendations to address these concerns are listed in the NEPC report. Charters should be public in more than name only. They financial data should be transparent, their facilities should be publically owned, oversight should be improved to include major contracts between EMOs and charters. More attention must be paid to open meetings, independence of boards and other agents involved in the charter schools, and funding oversight based on tracking the movement of students from school to school or for students with special needs must be improved to reduce gaming incentives.