Schoolhouse bullies

—Rollie Atkinson
Neither shame or sympathy has stopped the “Budget Bullies” in
Sacramento and Washington, D.C. from demanding our local schools
“do more with less.” As they cut more and more funds for books,
counselors and teachers’ hours, they have continued to demand
higher test scores, increased accountability and academic
excellence.
Well, bully on them because the large majority of our local
schools just posted higher annual Academic Performance Index (API)
scores for the eighth year in a row.
Just imagine what our teachers and school leaders could do with
restored special programs, workable class sizes, updated libraries
and other funding support.
The API improvements registered by most Sonoma County schools
show a continued steady improvement for student achievements and
overall school performance. Results from the federal AYP scores
also showed positive, if somewhat, more modest gains.
County schools chief Dr. Carl Wong called the scores “a
continuation of our upward trend,” acknowledging that “some years
are better than others.”
All in all, the story appears to be one of building success and
merit against toughening odds and fiscal obstacles, thanks to the
aforementioned Budget Bullies.
The API index is a composite score from the California Standards
Test, the High School Exit Exam and other tests given annually to
students, grades two to 11. It was originated in 1999 as part of
the state legislature’s Public Schools Accountability Act. API
scores range from a low of 200 to a high of 1000. State
Superintendent Jack O’Connell has set a goal score of 800.
Sonoma County schools have gone from a 23 percent to 54 percent
achievement of the 800 goal since the testing started 10 years
ago.
O’Connell, Dr. Wong and other educators this week have
challenged themselves and fellow teachers to not allow the Budget
Bullies to lower expectations, test score goals or academic
standards. (O’Connell wants to raise the 800 goal closer to
1000.)
Faced with the reality of a shortened school year, larger class
sizes and pay freezes, such challenges sound very bold. And, we
applaud them.
Standardized test scores — especially the more complicated
matrix of the federal No Child Left Behind — are not the single
measure of student achievement or school performance. As far as
they go, the API scores offer a fair comparison between all
schools.
But there are many other criteria to be included in an overall
assessment of how well our schools perform. Learning, or acquiring
“an education,” after all, is not the end goal for teachers and
their students. These are just preparations for what follows after
a K-12, college or vocational training career. After school comes
the “real world.”
The higher standard of our schools’ performance will always be
graded by the roles and contributions today’s students complete as
tomorrow’s citizens.
Just as there is no single written test to measure each and
every individual student’s scholastic fitness, there is no one path
that leads to a productive, self-fulfilling adult life.
But if there was one single school measurement, it might be
obtaining a high school diploma. And, here is where there is much
more work to be done.
Last year, one of five students in California dropped out of
high school. The overall graduation rate was just 68 percent,
according to Superintendent O’Connell’s office.
And, other surveys have shown that fewer and fewer students who
finally get a high school diploma are “college ready.”
We can applaud the improved API scores announced this week. But
obviously we can’t stop there. We need to have more students become
part of our schools’ overall successes and we must continue to
raise the bar in some areas of academic standards. We should also
continue to “enrich” all students’ school experiences as we
recognize some of their “non-standard” ways of learning.
And, we need to kick those Budget Bullies away from the front of
our school doors.