Five Unconscionable Public Education Practices
It is a scenario that I just don't want to believe because it affirms my (our!) worst impressions of public education for the poor in America. This post has everything you would expect from a massively flawed and inertial monolith: a system failed, a bureaucracy corrupted, teachers subverted, and young people disserved. It has all the makings of a tragedy for students, teachers, and the public education system as a whole.
Let me begin with a disclaimer that the information in this post comes from just a few sources and that it may not represent a complete or balanced picture of what is happening. Nonetheless, the flagrant abuses that I describe provide, at a minimum, a glaring illustration of the massive problems that stand in the way of meaningful reform of public education for the poor. Also, except for one key player, I have kept all other parties anonymous to protect the innocent (and, unfortunately, also protect those who may be guilty).
Let me introduce you to Leonard Isenberg, a veteran teacher of 23 years who possesses not only a master's degree in Education and a teaching certificate, but also a law degree. After a career in the motion-picture and real estate industries, he gave up the income and trappings of success to pursue a career in teaching, first as a university professor and, for the last 15 years, as a teacher in Los Angeles-area high schools that serve disadvantaged children. Sounds like one of those unsung heroes of public education to me.
Here's where the tragedy begins. In the fall of 2009, Mr. Isenberg filed a formal complaint with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) challenging the validity of high school diplomas that students at the high school at which he taught received the previous June based on his review of students' Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) reading test scores. The STAR is a state-wide, computer-based assessment given by teachers several times during the school year, the purpose of which is to evaluate students' initial reading level upon entry into class and their progress through the school year. Mr. Isenberg found that almost 50% of the graduates who had STAR scores on record were reading at an elementary school level, with some as low as 2nd grade proficiency. The response from the high school's and LAUSD's administrations was uniform: students just blew off the test because they were already guaranteed their diploma. One LAUSD official formally determined that Mr. Isenberg's allegations were without merit without ever interviewing him or reviewing the evidence he had collected. By the way, having this particular official, who is just two steps removed from teachers in the same school district food chain,
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/jtaylor/detail??blogid=180&entry_id=62665#ixzz0msQ4Op4C