The campaign to save Gordon Parks school is in full swing this week with an important hearing coming up on Thursday.
Now . . .
GORDON PARKS SUPPORTERS ARE TOUTING NEW MAP TEST SCORE DATA THAT SHOWS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT!!!
This is interesting for two reasons . . .
First - Gordon Parks is mainly a school for "at risk" students and some of the special needs work performed at the school seems to go beyond the scope of traditional education that can be quantified by MAP tests.
Also, KC Insiders tell us that overall, KCPS officials are attempting to temper expectations regarding test scores this year . . . Gordon Parks progress is kind of the exception to the rule right now . . . Take a look:
KC’s Gordon Parks Elementary Improves Its Latest State MAP Test Results
School Continues Fight To Renew Charter; Court Hearing Is Thursday
(Kansas City, Missouri) – Students at Gordon Parks Elementary School improved their latest Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test scores, according to preliminary numbers released by the state. Importantly, with Gordon Parks’ mission of teaching Kansas City’s most at-risk urban core students, in every category tested there were significantly fewer children scoring “below basic” levels.
For 14 years, Gordon Parks Elementary has served Kansas City’s most at-risk children in grades K-5, providing a safe and stable environment for learning and growth. Because of many special factors, these children are the hardest and most costly to nurture to basic learning and growth levels. The improved test scores, which were particularly strong in science, were reported as Gordon Parks prepares for a state court hearing this Thursday to win renewal of its state charter. As the latest MAP tests were being administered in late spring, state education officials were relying on results of 2012 MAP scores to justify voting against renewing the charter for Gordon Parks.
“Gordon Parks’ specific mission is teaching children who are hardest to teach, and these latest state numbers show we are moving in the right direction, in some cases in dramatic fashion. Unfortunately, the State Board of Education and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education relied on old data to make their flawed case for rejecting renewal of our school’s charter,” said Doug Curry, president of the Gordon Parks Elementary School Board.
“The State Board and DESE acknowledged to the news media that Gordon Parks was being singled out, and they relied on old data while refusing to consider Gordon Parks’ more recent internal testing indicating steady improvements between last fall and this spring,” Curry added. “While we are never satisfied and can always improve, the new MAP results validate Gordon Parks’ confidence and optimism that our students are learning and growing. It’s a mission we are fighting to continue.”
DESE shared the annual MAP test results with schools this week. MAP test scoring is calculated through a complex formula. Gordon Parks Elementary’s MAP scores were analyzed by an educational consulting firm, Informed Improvement LLC of Denver, and were reviewed by and confirmed by the school’s sponsor, the University of Central Missouri (UCM). The analysis found significant progress for students progressing from “below basic” status, in every category tested:
* In science, 36 percent fewer students scored “below basic,” far surpassing improvements in the Kansas City Public Schools and dramatically closing a gap with schools statewide.
* In math, 5 percent fewer students scored “below basic,” closing a gap relative to Kansas City schools.
* In reading and writing, known as Communication Arts, 4 percent fewer students scored “below basic,” again closing a gap relative to Kansas City schools.
Bruce Hensel, consulting analyst and president of the educational consulting firm Informed Improvement, said: “Gordon Parks’ improvement on this year’s state assessment was solid and student growth this school year on another nationally standardized assessment was phenomenal.”
Hensel also noted: “It appears that DESE used comparison data from Kansas City and students statewide from Grades 3 through 12 in their report to the State Board of Education recommending against renewal of Gordon Parks’ charter. Because Gordon Parks’ tests covered Grades 3 through 5, this resulted in an unfavorable comparison to Gordon Parks. This is an apples to oranges comparison that is curious at best, and is not a fair or valid comparison.’
Gordon Parks is arguing in court that DESE and the State Board of Education did not follow the law in considering the school’s charter renewal application that was strongly supported by its sponsor, UCM. Gordon Parks was in clear compliance with its charter school contract with UCM in pursuing its longstanding specific mission of teaching the most at-risk children from Kansas City’s urban core, and the new MAP results show clear improvements in student growth. The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday in Division 2 of Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City.
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Check info on Gordon Parks Test Scores
Hensel also noted: “It appears that DESE used comparison data from Kansas City and students statewide from Grades 3 through 12 in their report to the State Board of Education recommending against renewal of Gordon Parks’ charter. Because Gordon Parks’ tests covered Grades 3 through 5, this resulted in an unfavorable comparison to Gordon Parks. This is an apples to oranges comparison that is curious at best, and is not a fair or valid comparison.’
ReplyDeleteThis sounds just like a bunch of government bureaucrats who don't know better than to compare a swan with a rooster. The DESE should be the first to have its budget cut if they're paying fools to do stupid comparisons like this. I'm glad Gordon Parks is calling them out.
The testing issue in Missouri is made manifest by this situation. The MAP is not being used to measure student growth. Instead it is used to compare one group of students to another. People who wonder why teachers bitch about using test scores for evaluations should take note of this. State testing should establish what the student learned over the course of the year by comparing it to the previous year's test score. The current MAP test is not designed for this purpose.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, one year you could have a strong group of kids who score higher than usual, but the next year you might get a group a little below average. It would appear the teacher did a horrible job when they compare the two scores.
Gordon Parks is never going to have stellar scores if they are solely based on a comparison to other schools. A school like Gordon Parks should be judged by comparing the growth each student makes.
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