Об образовании
Пришло мне не так давно по мылу от стула нашего департмента:
Once you normalize math test scores for family income and student
background, students in public schools do about the same as those in
charter schools, and a little better than those in private schools.
January 28, 2006
Public-School Students Score Well in Math in Large-Scale Government
Study
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 - A large-scale government-financed study has
concluded that when it comes to math, students in regular public
schools do as well as or significantly better than comparable
students in private schools.
The study, by Christopher Lubienski and Sarah Theule Lubienski, of
the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, compared fourth- and
eighth-grade math scores of more than 340,000 students in 13,000
regular public, charter and private schools on the 2003 National
Assessment of Educational Progress. The 2003 test was given to 10
times more students than any previous test, giving researchers a
trove of new data.
Though private school students have long scored higher on the
national assessment, commonly referred to as "the nation's report
card," the new study used advanced statistical techniques to adjust
for the effects of income, school and home circumstances. The
researchers said they compared math scores, not reading ones,
because math was considered a clearer measure of a school's overall
effectiveness.
The study found that while the raw scores of fourth graders in Roman
Catholic schools, for example, were 14.3 points higher than those in
public schools, when adjustments were made for student backgrounds,
those in Catholic schools scored 3.4 points lower than those in
public schools. A spokeswoman for the National Catholic Education
Association did not respond to requests for comment.
The exam is scored on a 0-to-500-point scale, with 235 being the
average score at fourth grade, and 278 being the average score at
eighth grade. A 10-to-11-point difference in test scores is roughly
equivalent to one grade level.
The study also found that charter schools, privately operated and
publicly financed, did significantly worse than public schools in
the fourth grade, once student populations were taken into account.
In the eighth grade, it found, students in charters did slightly
better than those in public schools, though the sample size was
small and the difference was not statistically significant.
"Over all," it said, "demographic differences between students in
public and private schools more than account for the relatively high
raw scores of private schools. Indeed, after controlling for these
differences, the presumably advantageous private school effect
disappears, and even reverses in most cases."
The findings are likely to bolster critics of policies supporting
charter schools and vouchers as the solution for failing public
schools. Under President Bush's signature No Child Left Behind law,
children in poorly performing schools can switch schools if space is
available, and in Washington, D.C., they may receive federally
financed vouchers to attend private schools.
Howard Nelson, a lead researcher at the American Federation of
Teachers, said the new study was based on the most current national
data available. The federation, an opponent of vouchers that has
criticized the charter movement, studied some of the same data in
2004 and reported that charter schools lagged behind traditional
public ones.
"Right now, the studies seem to show that charter schools do no
better, and private schools do worse," Mr. Nelson said. "If private
schools are going to get funding, they need to be held accountable
for the results."
Supporters of vouchers and charter schools, however, pointed to the
study's limitations, saying it gave only a snapshot of performance,
not a sense of how students progressed over time. Jeanne Allen,
president of the Center for Education Reform, said other state and
local studies showed results more favorable to charter schools.
Nelson Smith, president of the National Alliance for Public Charter
Schools, said that many students went to charter schools after doing
poorly in traditional public schools, and took time to show
improvement.
"Snapshots are always going to be affected by that lag," Mr. Smith
said.
Officials at the federal Education Department, which has been a
forceful proponent of vouchers and charter schools, said they did
not see this study as decisive. "We've seen reports on both sides of
this issue," said Holly Kuzmich, deputy assistant secretary for
policy. "It just adds one more to the list."
The study was financed with a grant from the Institute of Education
Sciences at the Education Department, but was independent. The
federal government is expected to issue two more studies looking at
the same data and using similar techniques. Those studies are still
undergoing peer review, but are expected to be released in early
spring.
The current study found that self-described conservative Christian
schools, the fastest-growing sector of private schools, fared
poorest, with their students falling as much as one year behind
their counterparts in public schools, once socioeconomic factors
like income, ethnicity and access to books and computers at home
were considered.
Taylor Smith Jr., vice president for executive support at the
Association of Christian Schools, which represents 5,400
predominantly conservative Christian schools in the United States,
said that many of the group's members did not participate in the
national assessment, which he thought could make it a skewed sample.
Mr. Smith said he did not know how many schools from other Christian
organizations participated.
The report found that among the private schools, Lutheran schools
did better than other private schools. Nevertheless, at the
fourth-grade level, a 10.7 point lead in math scores evaporated into
a 4.2 point lag behind public schools. At the eighth-grade level, a
21 point lead, roughly the equivalent of two grade levels,
disappeared after adjusting for differences in student backgrounds.
Copyright 2006The New York Times Company
Что тут можно сказать. Только порадоваться за светлое будущее своих детей в плане образования. Я уже ожидаю директивы с градацией оценок. Наверное, если студент у меня лентяй и, как следствие, полный идиот, но при этом семья поколениями сидит на велфере, да и только мать в наличии, то ничего ниже А я ему не поставлю. Если же есть оба родителя, или один, но деньги зарабатывает, то низшая оценка должна быть В. Ну, а если студент талантлив, трудолюбив и, в довершении всех недостатков ещё и из семьи с достатком, ставим ему С, а то и так слишком уж везёт. А чего, важны же не знания, а background.
Once you normalize math test scores for family income and student
background, students in public schools do about the same as those in
charter schools, and a little better than those in private schools.
January 28, 2006
Public-School Students Score Well in Math in Large-Scale Government
Study
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 - A large-scale government-financed study has
concluded that when it comes to math, students in regular public
schools do as well as or significantly better than comparable
students in private schools.
The study, by Christopher Lubienski and Sarah Theule Lubienski, of
the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, compared fourth- and
eighth-grade math scores of more than 340,000 students in 13,000
regular public, charter and private schools on the 2003 National
Assessment of Educational Progress. The 2003 test was given to 10
times more students than any previous test, giving researchers a
trove of new data.
Though private school students have long scored higher on the
national assessment, commonly referred to as "the nation's report
card," the new study used advanced statistical techniques to adjust
for the effects of income, school and home circumstances. The
researchers said they compared math scores, not reading ones,
because math was considered a clearer measure of a school's overall
effectiveness.
The study found that while the raw scores of fourth graders in Roman
Catholic schools, for example, were 14.3 points higher than those in
public schools, when adjustments were made for student backgrounds,
those in Catholic schools scored 3.4 points lower than those in
public schools. A spokeswoman for the National Catholic Education
Association did not respond to requests for comment.
The exam is scored on a 0-to-500-point scale, with 235 being the
average score at fourth grade, and 278 being the average score at
eighth grade. A 10-to-11-point difference in test scores is roughly
equivalent to one grade level.
The study also found that charter schools, privately operated and
publicly financed, did significantly worse than public schools in
the fourth grade, once student populations were taken into account.
In the eighth grade, it found, students in charters did slightly
better than those in public schools, though the sample size was
small and the difference was not statistically significant.
"Over all," it said, "demographic differences between students in
public and private schools more than account for the relatively high
raw scores of private schools. Indeed, after controlling for these
differences, the presumably advantageous private school effect
disappears, and even reverses in most cases."
The findings are likely to bolster critics of policies supporting
charter schools and vouchers as the solution for failing public
schools. Under President Bush's signature No Child Left Behind law,
children in poorly performing schools can switch schools if space is
available, and in Washington, D.C., they may receive federally
financed vouchers to attend private schools.
Howard Nelson, a lead researcher at the American Federation of
Teachers, said the new study was based on the most current national
data available. The federation, an opponent of vouchers that has
criticized the charter movement, studied some of the same data in
2004 and reported that charter schools lagged behind traditional
public ones.
"Right now, the studies seem to show that charter schools do no
better, and private schools do worse," Mr. Nelson said. "If private
schools are going to get funding, they need to be held accountable
for the results."
Supporters of vouchers and charter schools, however, pointed to the
study's limitations, saying it gave only a snapshot of performance,
not a sense of how students progressed over time. Jeanne Allen,
president of the Center for Education Reform, said other state and
local studies showed results more favorable to charter schools.
Nelson Smith, president of the National Alliance for Public Charter
Schools, said that many students went to charter schools after doing
poorly in traditional public schools, and took time to show
improvement.
"Snapshots are always going to be affected by that lag," Mr. Smith
said.
Officials at the federal Education Department, which has been a
forceful proponent of vouchers and charter schools, said they did
not see this study as decisive. "We've seen reports on both sides of
this issue," said Holly Kuzmich, deputy assistant secretary for
policy. "It just adds one more to the list."
The study was financed with a grant from the Institute of Education
Sciences at the Education Department, but was independent. The
federal government is expected to issue two more studies looking at
the same data and using similar techniques. Those studies are still
undergoing peer review, but are expected to be released in early
spring.
The current study found that self-described conservative Christian
schools, the fastest-growing sector of private schools, fared
poorest, with their students falling as much as one year behind
their counterparts in public schools, once socioeconomic factors
like income, ethnicity and access to books and computers at home
were considered.
Taylor Smith Jr., vice president for executive support at the
Association of Christian Schools, which represents 5,400
predominantly conservative Christian schools in the United States,
said that many of the group's members did not participate in the
national assessment, which he thought could make it a skewed sample.
Mr. Smith said he did not know how many schools from other Christian
organizations participated.
The report found that among the private schools, Lutheran schools
did better than other private schools. Nevertheless, at the
fourth-grade level, a 10.7 point lead in math scores evaporated into
a 4.2 point lag behind public schools. At the eighth-grade level, a
21 point lead, roughly the equivalent of two grade levels,
disappeared after adjusting for differences in student backgrounds.
Copyright 2006The New York Times Company
Что тут можно сказать. Только порадоваться за светлое будущее своих детей в плане образования. Я уже ожидаю директивы с градацией оценок. Наверное, если студент у меня лентяй и, как следствие, полный идиот, но при этом семья поколениями сидит на велфере, да и только мать в наличии, то ничего ниже А я ему не поставлю. Если же есть оба родителя, или один, но деньги зарабатывает, то низшая оценка должна быть В. Ну, а если студент талантлив, трудолюбив и, в довершении всех недостатков ещё и из семьи с достатком, ставим ему С, а то и так слишком уж везёт. А чего, важны же не знания, а background.