San Diego schools making little headway
THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2010 AT 7:51 A.M.
SAN DIEGO — San Diego’s fourth- and eighth-graders made modest gains on a federal reading assessment administered in the nation’s largest urban school districts, according to data released Thursday morning
At least one expert believes the “relatively flat” performance may have something to do with the churn of superintendents in the San Diego Unified School District.
“San Diego has kind of been stuck. It hasn’t been moving very much lately compared to some of the other urban districts like Atlanta , New York andDistrict of Columbia,” said David Gordon, a member of the governing board that steers the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). “Improvements in reading have been made where there is consistent and stable leadership and focused professional development.”
San Diego is searching for its fourth schools chief in less than five years and the district has earned a reputation for fostering difficult relationships between its superintendents and school board.
Consistency with leadership, curriculum and teaching is a trend among urban districts that have made the most gains in reading scores, said Gordon, who is also the Sacramento County superintendent of schools.
In 2009, San Diego Unified’s eighth-graders were in the national spotlight for their impressive gains in math scores administered by NAEP. But progress in math, Gordon said, does not always rely as heavily on administrative consistency.
The release of the “Nation’s Report Card” shows results of reading tests taken by fourth- and eighth-graders last academic year in 18 big-city districts.
Administered by NAEP, the “Trial Urban District Assessment” tests students on their ability to comprehend,