A Look at NC’s 2015 SAT Scores – #NCED

Posted on September 4, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

North Carolina’s ACT scores were ‘stagnant‘ and in the area of minority student scores, the ACT scores showed drops.

Now, the SAT scores for NC are out and they resemble results we saw with the ACT. One has to ask, how our state has an 84% graduation rate with scores dropping like they are on these tests.

The ACT is Common Core aligned. So is the SAT when it underwent a ‘redesign‘.

NC’s Superintendent blame-storms:

“In the SAT score drop “you see the impact of lack of resources for certain initiatives,” such as early childhood education services, extra help for struggling students and issues such as teacher retention, said State Schools Superintendent June Atkinson, a Democrat.” – News and Observer

Really?

So, Atkinson’s logic here is that a ‘lack of resources’ caused our scores to drop? Who was in charge (both at DPI and the NCGA) back when these 17 and 18-year-old kids would have had ‘early childhood’ services?  Mmhmm.

How does she reconcile that with the previous years scores? North Carolina’s scores have gone up and down over the last four years.

Was it lack of resources when the scores increased in 2013 and 2014? Was it lack of resources in 2012 when the SAT scores decreased?

2012 was the first year Common Core was implemented. Scores dropped but then recovered but not by much.  Now, in 2015, the SAT is ‘Common Core aligned’ and scores are dropping again.

The common denominators are the experimental Common Core standards and a testing industry clearly trying to provide cover.

View the SAT results by state at Washington Post, but bear in mind the number of students who sat for the exam when comparing the average scores.  The related Washington Post article has some other tidbits worth reading as well.

Also worth noting is News and Observer’s Ed Blog calling out WRAL for ‘overstating gains’ on state tests. The highlights of the News and Observer article are spot on:

  • WRAL reported schools made “marked improvement”
  • Report didn’t take account changes in testing system
  • Gains actually were much smaller than reported

A key point made by N&O’s Keung Hui is about how the state’s test grading system was changed:

In 2012-13, the first year of the new Common Core-based exams, passing rates statewide were at 44.7 percent. State education officials said students who passed were “college and career ready.”

Exams that school year were based on a four-tier scale, with students scoring at the third and fourth tiers considered to be at or above their grade level.

Last year, the State Board of Education added a middle level to create a five-tier scale of proficiency. Now, students who score in the third, fourth and fifth tiers are considered passing. But only students on the fourth and fifth tiers are considered “college and career ready.”

Remember what Dr. Atkinson said about our graduation rates in 2012-13:

“North Carolina reached an all-time high school graduation rate of 80.4 percent last year and these districts and schools played a significant role in this remarkable achievement,” said State Superintendent June Atkinson.

She said it was an “all time high”, yet 55.3% were not deemed ‘Career and College Ready’.

Here we are, two years later, and graduation rates are ‘historic’ at 84% yet the scores coming out are stagnant and declining.

How long will this set of magic standards take to kick in? How many kids are we going to lose along the way?

Someone needs to ask the questions…

Related Reading:

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, EDUCATION, June Atkinson, NC DPI, Testing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Progress NC Continues Politically Motivated Propaganda Push – #NCED

Posted on September 3, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Progress NC, the far left activist group and partner of Blueprint NC, is still pushing politically motivated and hyperbolic rhetoric when it comes to NC education.

Narrative keanuThis is the same stuff we saw back in 2013.

Their protest group, AIM HIGHER NC, has fizzled out and flopped.

Progress NC then took their education fear mongering show on the road. Did you hear about that ‘Truth’ tour? Yeah, no one did. Another flop.

Now it’s a new website promoting the same scare tactic crap we’ve seen out of them since Republicans took control of the legislature. The site is called “How Far We Have Fallen“.  Apropos, given how far Progress NC has fallen, using teachers to attack the legislature.

Hilariously, the website is privately registered, yet at the bottom there is a tag that says ‘paid for by Progress NC’.

Anyway, Progress NC has an odd way of promoting this new site. Apparently, part of that promotion includes sending their fan boy, Wes Kyatt, to launch an assault on me on Twitter. His glee at asking me for “data” was, frankly, pathetic and creepy. He didn’t care for me calling bullshit on the site as being pure political propaganda. Boo Hoo.

Kyatt never answered me about why the comparisons were being made between 2015 and 2008. The Republicans took over the budget in 2011, which means half of the blame falls on Democrats.  Also,  why stop at 2008? Why not go back father? Does that change the narrative? Yes, it would.

A lot of this Progress NC propaganda on their new attack website reminds me of that blog post  by James Hogan, which Washington Post reprinted. It was thoroughly debunked by Brenda Berg of BEST NC. Readers know she and I disagree on a number of things, but her article nailed it.

Back to the Propaganda – Let’s look at the sections on the website.

“Investing In Students”
What does that mean? No data points are linked to and the source is unclear. What is clear is the website wants to instill a sense of fear with the way it presents the data.

Is Progress NC talking about Per Pupil Spending? That rises and falls due to a number of reasons and varies from county and district.

“Not Enough Textbooks”
Yes, and?  The purchase of textbooks is cyclical in nature and are largely under the control of local county and districts. Textbooks have also become very expensive.

I notice there was no mention of the move to digital resources? Why? Also, no mention of the fact when parents ask to see textbooks or workbooks, they are treated to a tribunal style meeting at their related school.

“Teachers Struggling To Survive”
Once again, no mention of the county and local districts who have the power to set supplemental salary schedules.
[Related Read: Stokes County: Biggest Teacher Turnover Reason Was Local Supplement]

An example of the supplement in action is Wake county. Wake has set their average supplement at $5,444. That’s down from $6,318 in 2013 despite the giant budget this year.

Where is the outrage from Progress NC on that? Well of course there is no outrage, the Wake Board and County Commission are Democrat held.  It doesn’t fit the ‘bash the Republicans’ narrative.

Also, when talking about where NC “ranks” in teacher pay, one must realize that the scale is skewed by the top 2-3 states with high salary rates. The difference in average pay between states is often small.

Meanwhile, our Education budget continues to climb.

Superintendents in this state have fat contracts with perks and many at DPI make six figures.

In 2014, 433 people at DPI made over $70k and 45 made $100k or more. Rebecca Garland was top paid, even above June Atkinson, at $153,824.

I’m not seeing any outrage from Progress NC on this front.

“Listen to what Teachers have to say”
Both case studies are teachers Progress NC has used on their Education “Truth” tour, also known as the “First Person Project“.

More salary narratives just like we saw last week. No mention of former Democrat Governor Bev Perdue freezing teacher pay anywhere to be found.

Catherine Stennette says she went to Texas despite the average salary being nearly the same there as in North Carolina. Go Figure, Houston’s advertising was false? Also, it looks like she landed in Corpus Christie, not Houston?
[Related Read: Mystery Teacher Pay Group To Hold Another Rally]

The other, Callie Hammond, is still here.  Hammond is in Lee county, where the supplement is $2,911. Any outrage, Progress NC?

“Eliminating Teacher Assistant Positions”
There is no data out there suggesting Teacher Assistants improve classroom outcome. Having said that, I’ve seen them be a help with class management due to size in Kindergarten and First grade.

The current proposal out there would scale back Teaching Assistant positions over time. In doing so, the funds for those positions can be funneled into full-time teaching positions in conjunction with reduced class sizes.

Progress NC doesn’t mention any of this.

Instead, they go with more hyperbolic, fear mongering statements hoping that the average citizen out there will take these statements at face value.  In fact, that is what Progress NC counts on.

 

Useful Links:

Articles:

Video:

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), BlueprintNC, EDUCATION, NC DPI, NCGA | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Progress NC Continues Politically Motivated Propaganda Push – #NCED

A Look At The 2015 NC ACT Scores – #NCed

Posted on September 3, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

 

The 2015 ACT Scores are out and five years after the introduction and implementation of Common Core, the scores are ‘stagnant’.

“The needle is barely moving on college and career readiness, and that means far too many young people will continue to struggle after they graduate from high school,” said ACT Chief Executive Officer Jon Whitmore. “This should be a wake-up call for our nation.” – ACT Press Release, 8/26/15

Yes, a wake-up call that Common Core isn’t doing what supporters said it would.

isnt-common-core greatRemember – North Carolina adopted Common Core in 2010 and started using the standards four years ago, at the start of the 2012-2013 school year.

While the nation’s scores are ‘stagnant’, there’s no other way to say it for North Carolina. Our scores aren’t stagnant, they’re frankly bad.

The ACT website has a chart which shows the percentage of 2015 ACT tested graduates in each state who met or exceeded the ACT College Readiness Benchmark score in english, math, reading and science.

There is the capability to sort this ACT chart and North Carolina’s “College Readiness” benchmark scores, compared to the rest of the nation, were near the bottom of the pile in nearly every category.

  • Composite Benchmark score nationally was 21 and NC’s was 19, which was third from last place. If you discount Hawaii, who doesn’t test 100% of their students, North Carolina was tied for last with Mississippi.
  • English Benchmark score nationally was 64 and NC’s was 47, which was also third from last place.
  • Reading Benchmark  score nationally was 46. NC scored a 34 which was fourth from last place.
  • Math Benchmark score nationally was 41 and NC scored a 32. NC tied with Kentucky (Common Core’s first adopter) and only 5 states scored lower than us.
  • Science Benchmark nationally was a 38 and NC scored 26 with three states scoring lower than us.

In all five areas, North Carolina ACT scores have taken a nose dive since 2011.

 

The NC Profile report’s results have a section where they are broken out by ethnicity. Pay attention to the minority scores in “Table 1.5. Five Year Trends—Percent and Average Composite Score by Race/Ethnicity”.

Minorities, in particular African American students, have been hardest hit.  Given the historical results, one has to ask, is Common Core racially biased?

Related Reading:

Useful Links:

Access North Carolina’s Readiness and ACT Profile reports for 2015:

  • Readiness Report
    PDF; 20 pages
    Link: http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/2015_CCRR_North_Carolina.pdf
  • ACT Profile Report
    PDF; 34 pages
    Link: http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/new-research/2015_Profile_Report_North_Carolina.pdf

 

 

Posted in Common Core, EDUCATION, Testing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Mother of Jonathan Ferrell: AG Roy Cooper Doesn’t Care About My Son [VIDEO]

Posted on September 2, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Last week, the trial of Officer Randall Kerrick involving the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell ended.

A mistrial was declared and NC Attorney General Roy Cooper announced there would be no re-trial.

That decision set off Moral Monday’s Reverend Barber.

From the article embedded in SisterToldjah’s tweet:

“The loss of human life and the heartbreak of a family require a more just and wise response from our elected leaders,” Barber said in a statement released late Monday. “To say that a hung jury has spoken is simply wrong and Attorney General ought to know and do better.”

In announcing it’s decision not to retry Kerrick, who shot Ferrell 10 times during a late-night encounter, Coopers office said state prosecutors did not believe they could win a conviction.

Barber called that reasoning “callous,” “arrogant,” and “deeply disappointing.”

Barber is joined by Ferrell’s mother, stating ‘Cooper does not care about my son’.

WBTV reported:

Roy Cooper is running for Governor of North Carolina.

Cooper’s campaign site touts the slogan, “Moving North Carolina Forward. Keeping North Carolina Safe”.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EXCLUSIVE, LEGAL, Moral Monday, Reverend Barber | Tagged , | Comments Off on Mother of Jonathan Ferrell: AG Roy Cooper Doesn’t Care About My Son [VIDEO]

Pearson Is Everywhere: PARCC Contract Stays Alive In New Mexico

Posted on August 31, 2015 by A.P. Dillon
Pearson: Always Earning

Pearson: Always Earning

Welcome back to Pearson is Everywhere.

Last time, we reviewed Pearson’s data security worries.

 

Today, we have an update on the lawsuit filed by American Institutes for Research (AIR) against  New Mexico that claimed there was bid rigging involved with the award of the Common Core testing contract to Pearson.

NJ.com reported:

AIR argued the bidding rules were written so Pearson, one of the world’s biggest testing companies, would be the only company qualified to win the PARCC contract. AIR officials said they never submitted a bid for the work because of the narrow bidding rules.

The lawsuit was closely monitored nationwide because New Mexico’s contract with Pearson was used as a framework for similar deals in states around the nation using the test, including a $108 million agreement in New Jersey.

But New Mexico District Judge Sarah Singleton ruled Monday AIR “lacked standing” in the case because the company never submitted a bid for the PARCC contract. So, the court will not consider the rest of the lawsuit, including the questions about the bidding process, the judge said.

*Crossposted at StopCommonCoreNC.org

Related Reading:

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, Testing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

#SJW Gene Nichol’s Latest “Education” Op Ed

Posted on August 31, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Gene Nichol never ceases to amaze me with his works of education fiction.

The touchy-feely emotion invoking way in which this latest Nichol endeavor is written gives permission to the reader to ignore who he is and what the facts really are.

Liberal Op Ed writing 101 is now in session with this flaming piece of spin is titled, “NC Teachers being ‘voluntarily’ exploited“.

What a pile of intellectually dishonest and unhelpful rhetoric out of well-known social justice warrior, Gene Nichol. How much money do you make again, Gene? How much did your poverty center bilk out of tax payers? What an incredible hypocrite.

Narrative keanuThis article is a set of purposefully inflammatory narratives by Nichol;  they are of no help to further dialogue and pose no solutions. It’s a convenient, politically motivated slam piece.

The teachers Nichol ‘voluntarily’ exploits for his article are NaShonda Cooke, Angela Scioli, Brendan Fetters.

Of course, they are billed as ‘just teachers’ but Google knows better.

‘Just a Teacher’ Angela Scioli:
You claim to be a 20 year veteran teacher with a masters? That means you make at least somewhere around $56,700 ? Or near 66K with after the local supplement pay kicks in? Your husband is employed too? How are you not able to go to the grocery store?

Comparing your circumstances to poverty ridden children? Shame on you! Spoken like the true “activist” you are: http://red4ednc.com/meet-us/

Updated: The articles says this about Scioli’s experience,  “But last month, master’s degree, national board certification and past recognition as Wake County’s teacher of the year notwithstanding, she didn’t have the money to go to the grocery store. She is 44 and has been teaching in Raleigh for over two decades.”

I forgot the national board years on license. That means I was off by a few thousand. She should be making between 61k and 62k, plus the supplement pay for Wake County, which the average for is somewhere around $6,300.

‘Just a Teacher’ NaShonda Cooke:
How’s that bid for NEA director going?  Why are you still affiliated with the NCAE when they’ve done nothing but kept teachers in this state in a victim role?

Also — Is Moral Monday helping you any?
Did they provide this Blueprint NC style rhetoric for you?

Nashonda Cooke, an elementary school teacher in Durham, said, “There’s a hidden agenda. What our governor is doing is the very beginning steps of privatizing education. He’s trying to make it difficult for us to be successful in the classroom.”

‘Just a Teacher’ Brendan Fetters:
You have quite the resume, that lists being a NC teacher going back to 2006. How much do you make with all those certifications and experience?  Where was your outcry when Former Governor Perdue froze your salary?

Maybe your pal, the Moral Monday Wake Commissioner and NCAE attorney, can help.

Related Reading on Gene Nichol:

Related Reading on Red4EdNC:

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), BlueprintNC, EDUCATION, Media Bias, Moral Monday, NCGA | 2 Comments