I attended my niece's graduation from high school today. I can hardly believe it. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I watched her mother and grandmother put her in a backward facing car seat. Today, Jada drove her mother and grandmother to the graduation ceremony.
Most ceremonies follow a familiar script. This one was no different. It went something like this:
Opening Scene: The graduates marched in to the "Pomp and Circumstance" theme song.
Rising Action: A few students addressed the audience, followed by the Valedictory speech.
Climax: School officials took turns reading off the list of graduating seniors one by one.
Falling Action/Resolution: The graduates marched out again to "Pomp and Circumstance".
I should stipulate that while it followed the script, ceremony wasn't as painful as it might sound. I actually couldn't have been more impressed with all of the student speakers. But I will admit, I was dreading the name call out portion of the program. Why? Because there were 412 graduates!
The ceremony was held in a very large church. We sat in the last row and occupied the four spots closest to the aisle (and a door). I had every intention of making my escape once her name was called, but my wife was having none of it. So I sat and watched and listened as parents and friends exploded in excitement, blurting out nicknames and cheers as their loved ones' names were called.
But in all my watching I also noticed a man, sitting in the same spot, one row in front of me. I started paying attention to him. I'm not sure why. Then a name got called, and I noticed him give just the slightest fist pump. It wasn't a gesture done for the entertainment of the crowd, like so many others, and it obviously wasn't meant for the graduate to see. It was just for him it seemed. I figured he was related to the kid whose name was just called in some way. I don't recall the first name , but I'm pretty sure the last name was Foster. Then, a few names later, another subtle fist pump, then another, and after a few more names another. It went on like that until the entire roster had been read aloud. I was intrigued.
So during the recessional, with "Pomp and Circumstance" once again playing in the background, I tapped him on the shoulder and asked him how he knew so many of the kids. He said, "Oh, I'm a math teacher here. I teach real world mathematics, which includes things like personal finance". It all made sense. Then he added, "I counted one hundred and fifty kids that I've taught up there today!" The sense of pride was evident in his broad smile and, in hindsight, in the very subtle yet emphatic celebratory gesture he performed with each familiar name called.
He made such an impression on me that I asked for his phone number and gave him mine with the idea that a future collaboration would be both fun and beneficial. I also concluded (once again) that there are lots of good teachers out there and that educators are probably not the biggest problem with education. That thought lead to my recollection of the following quote by the famous statistician and quality guru, W. Edwards Deming:
"A bad system will beat a good person every time"
And that quote lead me me on a bit of a quest for some perspective on the notion of the system as the real problem. It was during that research session that I came across some statics on education in the US that startled me in a good way.
The data is from PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) which tested around 510,000 15 and 16 year olds from OECD (the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. The top level summary data isn't surprising. WIth the stipulation that a higher score is better than a lower one, the US average score was 500 while the average OECD score was 493. Of the 34 OECD countries, the US ranked 17 overall. Again, this isn't new stuff.
But this next data set is, at least to me. You'll find it below. It's from some research done by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). They concluded that:
"A closer look at the data tells a different story. Most notable is the relationship between PISA scores in terms of individual American schools and poverty. While the overall PISA rankings ignore such differences in the tested schools, when groupings based on the rate of free and reduced lunch are created, a direct relationship is established."
| Free and Reduced Meal Rate | PISA Score |
| Schools with < 10% | 551 |
| Schools with 10-24.9% | 527 |
| Schools with 25-49.9% | 502 |
| Schools with 49.9-74.9% | 471 |
| Schools with >75% | 446 |
| U.S. average | 500 |
| OECD average | 493 |
With strong evidence that increased poverty results in lower PISA scores the next question to be asked is what are the poverty rates of the countries being tested? (Listed below are the countries that were tested by PISA along with available poverty rates. Some nations like Korea do not report poverty rates.)
| Country | Poverty Rate | PISA Score |
| Denmark | 2.4% | 495 |
| Finland | 3.4% | 536 |
| Norway | 3.6% | 503 |
| Belgium | 6.7% | 506 |
| Switzerland | 6.8% | 501 |
| Czech Republic | 7.2% | 478 |
| France | 7.3% | 496 |
| Netherlands | 9.0% | 508 |
| Germany | 10.9% | 497 |
| Australia | 11.6% | 515 |
| Greece | 12.4% | 483 |
| Hungary | 13.1% | 494 |
| Austria | 13.3% | 471 |
| Canada | 13.6% | 524 |
| Japan | 14.3% | 520 |
| Poland | 14.5% | 500 |
| Portugal | 15.6% | 489 |
| Ireland | 15.7% | 496 |
| Italy | 15.7% | 486 |
| United Kingdom | 16.2% | 494 |
| New Zealand | 16.3% | 521 |
| United States | 21.7% | 500 |
Leveling the playing field
A more accurate assessment of the performance of U.S. students would be obtained by comparing the scores of American schools with comparable poverty rates to those of other countries.
Schools in the United States with less than a 10% poverty rate had a PISA score of 551. When compared to the ten countries with similar poverty numbers, that score ranked first.
| Country | Poverty Rate | PISA Score |
| United States | <10% | 551 |
| Finland | 3.4% | 536 |
| Netherlands | 9.0% | 508 |
| Belgium | 6.7% | 506 |
| Norway | 3.6% | 503 |
| Switzerland | 6.8% | 501 |
| France | 7.3% | 496 |
| Denmark | 2.4% | 495 |
| Czech Republic | 7.2% | 478 |
In the next category (10-24.9%) the U.S. average of 527 placed first out of the ten comparable nations.
| Country | Poverty Rate | PISA Score |
| United States | 10%-24.9% | 527 |
| Canada | 13.6% | 524 |
| New Zealand | 16.3% | 521 |
| Japan | 14.3% | 520 |
| Australia | 11.6% | 515 |
| Poland | 14.5% | 500 |
| Germany | 10.9% | 497 |
| Ireland | 15.7% | 496 |
| Hungary | 13.1% | 494 |
| United Kingdom | 16.2% | 494 |
| Portugal | 15.6% | 489 |
| Italy | 15.7% | 486 |
| Greece | 12.4% | 483 |
| Austria | 13.3% | 471 |
For the remaining U.S. schools, their poverty rates over 25% far exceed any other country tested. However, when the U.S. average of 502 for poverty rates between 25-49.9% is compared with other countries it is still in the upper half of the scores.
Mathematically Speaking
The results of the latest PISA testing should raise serious concerns. However, the overall ranking of 14th in reading is not the reason to be concerned. The problem is not as much with our educational system as it is with our high poverty rates. The real crisis is the level of poverty in too many of our schools and the relationship between poverty and student achievement. Our lowest achieving schools are the most under-resourced schools with the highest number of disadvantaged students. We cannot treat these schools in the same way that we would schools in more advantaged neighborhoods or we will continue to get the same results. The PISA results point out that the U.S. is not alone in facing the challenge of raising the performance of disadvantaged students.
| U.S. % Poverty | Other Countries | PISA Score |
| U.S. (<10%) | 551 | |
| Korea | 539 | |
| Finland | 536 | |
| U.S. (10-24.9%) | 527 | |
| Canada | 524 | |
| New Zealand | 521 | |
| Japan | 520 | |
| Australia | 515 | |
| Netherlands | 508 | |
| Belgium | 506 | |
| Norway | 503 | |
| U.S. (25-49.9%) | 502 | |
| Estonia | 501 | |
| Switzerland | 501 | |
| Poland | 500 | |
| Iceland | 500 | |
| U.S. (Average) | 500 | |
| Sweden | 497 | |
| Germany | 497 | |
| Ireland | 496 | |
| France | 496 | |
| Denmark | 495 | |
| United Kingdom | 494 | |
| Hungary | 494 | |
| Portugal | 489 | |
| Italy | 486 | |
| Slovenia | 483 | |
| Greece | 483 | |
| Spain | 481 | |
| Czech Republic | 478 | |
| Slovak Republic | 477 | |
| Israel | 474 | |
| Luxembourg | 472 | |
| U.S. (50-74.9%) | 471 | |
| Austria | 471 | |
| Turkey | 464 | |
| Chile | 449 | |
| U.S. (over 75%) | 446 | |
The statistics are powerful, but the author's assertion that the system is not the problem may be a bit off the mark, at least the way W.E.B Dubois defines it below:
"Education is that whole system of human training, within and without of the schoolhouse walls, which molds and develops men."
Poverty does and always will exist. The US education system, if it is to improve the results of the most economically disadvantaged among us, will have to work at finding solutions that address the "whole" cited above. In other words, it has to be willing to help find solutions or at least experiment with ideas proposed by outsiders which might lead to better results for poor kids. I suspect those solutions are not incremental and traditional but rather sea change and radical and I hope we can soon muster the courage to begin the improvement process in earnest.
KM
No comments:
Post a Comment