6 thoughts on “Behold the Achievement Gap”

1. Hello Spencer, You should take your spreadsheet one step further by adding revenue per pupil a district actually receives. This can be accessed from the ODE as well. The more detailed the data, the clearer the picture becomes. For instance, the Cleveland school district from the PD story was one of the poorest in both median agi and ODE rating. Yet when the revenue per student the cmsd gets is added, all of a sudden the cmsd is 10th from the top for being one of the highest funded school districts in the state.

   IMHO, the PD story is deceptive by not adding additional data. Another small detail that the PD leaves out is that in Ohio, we have a school funding formula that allows poor performing school districts such as the cmsd to receive a boat load of funding to make up where property taxes fail and the state requires no accountability in return. The cmsd has been perpetually rated academic emergency and watch since the inception of the ODE rating system. The district did receive a mark of continuous improvement once, but the district quickly returned to academic watch once it was found that too many test scores were “scrubbed”.

   Once the additional data is added, then we can really talk about beholding the achievement gap and why a school district like the cmsd which receives almost $16,000 per student perpetually fails to perform while other districts can receive excellent ratings with half the funding. We can talk about things like parents who don’t value education; the dysfunction and enabling of poor urban areas where the poor can afford satellite tv and designer clothes. We can talk about fudging attendance numbers – the cmsd’s attendance is aroung 94% yet teachers will tell you that many times only half the class shows up. (Can’t wait to see what the ODE finds now that it is auditing some schools). We can talk about how disruption and violence is out of control in the urban classroom and how teachers complain that nothing is done because a principal may be demoted if her school is found to be out of control.

   For me personally, the bottom line is this – no amount of money; no amount of teachers; no amount of new school buildings or special programs can make a kid learn if that kid chooses not to learn or has no desire to learn. This is perpetuated by parents who do not value education and really care less about their kids’ education. But those are uncomfortable realities which few in the education community are willing to mention.

   GW

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   • Thanks for your input! I will probably be adding per pupil expenditure soon. Although, I would argue, the achievement gap really isn’t about money spent on students. That myth has pretty much been debunked. But, obviously, an affluent school district has other benefits that a low-income school district does not. For instance, affluent parents because they are more likely to feel entitled, are more likely to demand better schooling for their children. This is not to say low-income parents don’t care about their children’s education. It’s been my experience that they often care more. It’s just that they are more likely to accept the system the way it is, either because of learned helplessness or because of respect for authority. A loud, angry parent can do more for a school district than a couple thousand dollars can.

     You mention an uncomfortable reality. I humbly disagree with you. I don’t think that the uncomfortable reality has to do with parents but with teachers. We cannot control how parents feel about education or whether they are “good” parents or not. A teacher is charged with helping a kid learn no matter his or her background or home life. When we say we educate all children in this country, we don’t just say we are only going to educate the ones with good parents. We say ALL. I believe it’s uncomfortable to think that we may hold teachers responsible for where parents fail. But that’s the truth of the matter. And that’s how it should be.

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2. …the achievement gap really isn’t about money spent on students…

   No argument here. I agree. As I already said – no amount of money can make a kid learn if that kid chooses not to learn or has no desire to learn.

   …this is not to say low-income parents don’t care about their children’s education. It’s been my experience that they often care more…

   I don’t know what low income area you are experienced with, but it certainly isn’t Cleveland. From my own experience, many if not most parents do not care. Have you ever had a chance to visit Cleveland’s schools? To walk its halls? Do you realize that in the cmsd, every school has airport type security measures? Kids have to place their bags on x-ray machines and walk through metal detectors. Even the kindergartners have to do this. Yes, Cleveland has some real hindrances to education and it is not that the teachers aren’t teaching.

   Have you ever lived in Cleveland? How well do you know Cleveland?

   … I humbly disagree with you. I don’t think that the uncomfortable reality has to do with parents but with teachers. We cannot control how parents feel about education or whether they are “good” parents or not…

   Nor can we make kids learn. There is no control button for making kids want to learn.

   …A teacher is charged with helping a kid learn no matter his or her background or home life. When we say we educate all children in this country, we don’t just say we are only going to educate the ones with good parents. We say ALL. I believe it’s uncomfortable to think that we may hold teachers responsible for where parents fail. But that’s the truth of the matter. And that’s how it should be…

   And this is where we are really going to disagree. What makes you think that teachers aren’t doing their job of teaching? First of all do you realize that education is not a right in this country? You won’t find a right to an education written in any bill of rights in the good old USA. FDR wanted to amend the constitution to add the right to an education among other things, but he was unsuccessful. So if it isn’t a right, where does a free education fit in the scheme of things? To begin with, it is a law that the opportunity must exist for a kid to receive a free education. The school districts provide this opportunity by having schools, teachers, books, a school board and administration; all the things necessary for any kid to go to school and receive a free primary education. Then there is the other side of the equation, the part where by law a parent is responsible for ensuring their kids attend school. There are all kinds of laws in place that place the responsibility of parenting on the parent. And there are consequences written for parents who neglect their kids. Unfortunately in the big cities, rarely are those laws enforced to the extent they should be.

   A teacher’s job is to teach, not to fill in as parent. In fact, a teacher is obligated to report suspected child neglect and abuse. If a kid comes in hungry every day and it is suspected that the parents aren’t feeding their kids, it is to be reported. A teacher being responsible where parents fail is not how it should be. Show me where this is written in the law or is this simply your opinion?

   This is a free country. People are free to choose whether they have kids or not regardless if they are financially able to. People are also free to not value education. And kids are free to simply go to school and take up space. They do not have to learn, but they have to attend school. Teachers cannot make a kid learn. Teachers do teach. But there has to be some desire and interest on the part of the student in order for education to work. This is not the case in Cleveland as well as in many other urban school districts across the state and the country.

   You can lead a kid to education, but you cannot make him learn.

   GW

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3. “Have you ever lived in Cleveland? How well do you know Cleveland?”

   I have never lived in Cleveland. I have had some interaction with families from low-income areas in Cincinnati and Columbus and Appalachian regions of Ohio – a little closer to my hometown. Obviously, this interaction is limited considering I have never taught in a school or had a classroom of my own. However, I think it’s dangerous to cast all of the responsibility on negative stereotypes one may have of low-income areas. I fail to see, for instance, how metal detectors have anything to do with how much parents care about their children’s education.What it DOES show is that students in CMPS are living within a very specific range of racism and classism that expects them to be violent drug-users who don’t want to learn. This is not the case. Is the current K-12 system set up in such a way that it is relevant to all (even our low-income) students? Absolutely not. Does that mean that there are vast majorities of students who don’t want to learn.? I don’t think so.

   If I was a low-income gay black female student in CMPS, I certainly wouldn’t be interested in learning American history, the vast majority of which involves the oppression of people like me. English isn’t much better. The things I might read are all written by dead white men, set in much more middle-class settings. And science. Where are the black scientists? So maybe I pay attention in math. But if I am pulling C’s and D’s in all my other classes, why should I think that I’m smart even if I like math and am doing well in it?

   I bring this up not because I think my hypothetical situation is the trend for all students but because I think there is an important difference between saying not all children are interested in the content that is being taught and saying not all children want to learn. All people want to learn. Learning is a basic function of humanity. Perhaps low-income students just don’t want to learn the same material we’ve been trying to teach them for fifty years.

   “A teacher’s job is to teach, not to fill in as parent.”

   I absolutely agree. I was unclear when I spoke before. Teachers should be filling in the gaps *in learning* left by the parents. I came into kindergarten reading because my grandmother (a former first-grade teacher) had taught me to read. But my kindergarten teacher didn’t just throw her hands up and say, “Gosh, Spencer already knows how to read. I guess I won’t teach any of my other students literacy.” I recognize that this is a simplification, but I feel like this is what the discussion comes down to.

   I’m a naturally positive person. I wouldn’t describe myself as an idealist, but I don’t typically see limitations. I see opportunities. I don’t think teachers should get caught up in the things that hold their students back. That’s not what they are there for. Teachers are there to encourage their students to see opportunities and to seize them.

   “But there has to be some desire and interest on the part of the student in order for education to work. This is not the case in Cleveland as well as in many other urban school districts across the state and the country.”

   How many students have you talked to? Have you talked to every student in every urban school district? Although it would radically shake how I feel about the world, I challenge you to find links to studies that show that students in urban districts don’t care about education.

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4. …How many students have you talked to?…

   I lost count years ago (not that I was actually counting).

   There is a fallacy in logic called a hasty generalization. Spencer, you need to get out and observe for yourself what goes on in the urban classroom. You must experience it first hand to even try to comprehend it. There is much you just have to experience for yourself. You will be shocked. It will leave you shaking your head. You will wonder why people choose to live such a lifestyle. I like to use this analogy – it’s like trying to describe a high definition tv to someone who has never seen one. Words just can’t describe what must be witnessed.

   It appears that you want to tackle some of the problems of education in this country. Good. Go for it. But don’t rely in studies or other outside sources to base your opinions. If you want to understand why education fails especially in lower income areas, get out there and witness for yourself. See if you can get permission to spend a day with a big city school policeman. Many urban school districts have their own police force. Or see if you can get permission to ride with a city EMS ambulance that serves the inner city. Work with a big city school teacher in one of the many academic emergency rated schools and see what goes on during class. Observe, question. Perhaps you may even get a chance to speak with some parents. Go and visit some homes of kids who are chronically truant and ask them what they think of school.

   Until you do that, I fear that you will not believe anything I tell you. Your current mindset won’t allow it.

   You have a great day Spencer.

   Reply

   • “See if you can get permission to spend a day with a big city school policeman.”

     This is a great suggestion. I will see what I can do about making that a reality. Thanks so much for the conversation and dialogue. You have a great day as well!

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