Tennessee Education Deserves An F (rent, home, law school) - City-Data Forum

LauraC · 09-21-2010, 09:11 AM

"Gov. Phil Bredesen issued a shock warning to parents Monday that the standardized test scores Tennessee students bring home over the next few weeks will be low. Statewide, records show only 30 percent of sixth-graders, 29 percent of seventh-graders and 26 percent of eighth-graders met or exceeded the new benchmarks on last spring’s TCAP test."

This is awful and is a result of low standards applied in the past.

Bredesen warns parents of

"In 2007, the U-S Chamber of Commerce gave Tennessee an "F" for truth in advertising about classroom standards, citing a gap between state and national test scores. Governor Phil Bredesen says 'we found the numbers were about 22 or 23%, not 75% but 22 or 23%. That is way too big of a difference to be explained by anything other than we've got really easy tests.'"

http://www.wdef.com/news/tennessee_w...udents/09/2010

mrs1885 · 09-21-2010, 11:00 AM

Sad. I truly believe the scores reflect not only issues in the schools, but also at home. Kids don't just learn in the classroom. They need parents that are active in their education and I think that's a big problem here.

The county we're in has a great school, though it's very tiny. But I think that's part of what makes it so great too. The admins and teachers honestly care about these kids and getting them a good education and the parents put a strong emphasis on it at home. It shows in many ways. Sadly I don't think all areas of the state are that way.

mtneer · 09-21-2010, 02:53 PM

If you want shocked they should do the same tests on the parents then you'd see where the problem lies. Education is not valued as much as it should be here. Its also not helping the young people with all the stuff they are enduring at home. Families are at the root of the problem though they are not the whole problem. I truly feel sorry for the children of today and I cry inside how I have witnessed my neighbor's treat their children.

hiknapster · 09-21-2010, 11:54 PM

Tennessee is far from the only state that had lower standards. Many, many states purposely set low standards so that they could jump through the "No Child Left Behind" mandate and receive funding.

But what sets Tennessee apart is they won "The Race to the Top." Part of the reason they were picked and received over $500 million was because they raised their standards.

Further, it is not all doom and gloom. Some counties did not do badly. And there has been an enormous cause for celebration in our household. Our daughter who struggled in the earlier years actually met all of the standards and FAR exceeded them in social studies. She especially excelled in economics, civics and government. Hmmm...I wonder where that comes from.

Tennessee should be proud. Our standards are now much higher than other states. Be prepared to be on the bottom of those dreaded lists. It won't matter. Our children will exceed expectations. Our fifth grader is well on her way to her dream of law school at this rate!

Meanwhile, the other states haven't raised a darn thing, but they look like the "winners."

Reason Foundation - How Schools Underreport Violence, Cheat No Child Left Behind

Beretta · 09-22-2010, 04:58 AM

There are SO MANY reasons and issues with education today and as citizens we ALL share responsibility for the accountability of the education of our young people.

I do want to throw my 2 cents in and say that not just teachers or not just politicians or not just parents are to blame. EVERYONE needs to stop the blame game and focus on positive change! Our most precious resources are the minds of our youngsters. They are our tomorrow!

jabogitlu · 09-22-2010, 08:53 AM

Part of it, as well, is just plain old simple historic continuum. Good jobs and good education are cyclical in nature; as parents have better jobs, they are better (higher) educated, which makes them, in general, better prepared to help their children succeed.

Plus, in many counties we pay our teachers such low wages. We literally get the bottom of the barrel. Now, I'm not saying that we don't have amazing teachers, we do, but we also get what nobody else will take.

mrs1885 · 09-22-2010, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Part of it, as well, is just plain old simple historic continuum. Good jobs and good education are cyclical in nature; as parents have better jobs, they are better (higher) educated, which makes them, in general, better prepared to help their children succeed.

Plus, in many counties we pay our teachers such low wages. We literally get the bottom of the barrel. Now, I'm not saying that we don't have amazing teachers, we do, but we also get what nobody else will take.

Some of the most important career fields have low pay, but the people dedicated to those positions still take the jobs because they believe in what they're doing. My husband and I were both in law enforcement in Florida and had to work 70+ hours a week each just to barely make ends meet. When it became obvious that we were going to start falling way short of meeting bills each month because the housing market went crazy and our rent skyrocketed, I left the agency and went into banking. It paid better but I hated it and would have stayed in law enforcement in a heart beat if we'd been able to scrape by.

Like education I think it's an admirable career. And like education and being a paramedic, fire fighter, or soldier, it's way under paid. Doesn't mean you're not good at what you do. You can't pay a teacher more and expect their students to be smarter. They only have the kids a few hours a day. It's the parents that make a huge difference and the teachers can't do a thing about that.

Vanderbilt just published an article on a study they did that followed the state offering huge bonuses to teachers who's students did better. Very little got bonuses. Because the teachers were failures or didn't care? No. Because they can't change what's going on at home.

hiknapster · 09-22-2010, 01:26 PM

There is an enormous disparity from county to county in educational quality.

Hopefully, with The Race to the Top plan now in place, things will turn around.

Notice, though, that the same counties are stepping up to the plate, but the state will now have mandates regarding those counties that can't seem to keep up.

Knox County worked toward those higher goals, starting last year, and it paid off. They haven't released the individual school grades, yet, but at my daughter's school the marks look good, so far.

Tennessee First to the Top - TN.gov