Elementary students in Kent are testing well below the state average in reading and math, said school board member, Dr. Michael Harvey, who presented a report on Monday based on Maryland School Assessment test scores in the last four years. He said a downward trend in test results has taken Kent from an above average status to a below average status—ranking Kent near the bottom in the state.
“There is a disturbing trend in elementary school over the last four years,” Harvey said at Monday’s board meeting, as he laid out areas of major concern. “We were at one point significantly above average…and now we’re at fairly steadily below average.”
In his report, 8th grade reading and math, and 6th grade math, were the only trends showing positive from 2008 to 2012.
But a near 18 percent drop in 7th grade math between 2011 and 2012 was cause for great concern, he said.
“I’d be interested when did we know we had a problem in 7th grade math during the school year, and what steps had we been taking during the school year to try and address it—because that number is so startling that it almost blind-sided us.”
The report also said the number of students scoring in the advanced category had slipped significantly over the last year.
“We are pretty heavily below the state average in a whole bunch of grades in reading and math” according to the advanced test results, Harvey said.
Harvey said the report leads to some questions for Kent School Superintendent Barbara Wheeler, but he said he was not trying put her “on the spot” by demanding immediate answers at the meeting.
“At this point I will not defend the data because it is clear that improvement is an imperative,” Wheeler responded.
Wheeler said she was unaware that Harvey would be presenting a report at Monday’s meeting and read from a prepared statement that pointed to “the impact of declining funds has on public education.”
She said the loss of key people and programs in the school system, community apathy towards the school budget, and “ongoing anxiety regarding the budget and the potential loss of jobs” were contributing factors to an “MSA climax” that points to declining achievement.
County Administrator Susie Hayman told the Spy on Thursday that last year was the only year when the school budget was reduced below Maintenance of Effort, and in most other years the county had exceeded Maintenance of Effort funding levels.
Prior to last year’s cuts, Kent historically funded the school system above MOE requirements–an additional $8.5 million over the last 11 years, said Commissioner Ron Fithian in a report published in the Spy on April 28.
The video below shows Harvey explaining the data and Wheeler’s response. The video is about four minutes. Below the video is the report Harvey released to the public at Monday’s board meeting.
Correction: The lead paragraph in this story originally indicated students were testing below average in reading, math, and science. Results are not yet available for the MSA science scores. The Spy will publish those results as soon as they are available. We regret the error.
Carla Massoni says
This is alarming. And all the charts in the world only give us a singular slice of the pie – and I am sure this is a multi-headed monster. In a school system as small as ours, it would seem the place to start would be with the anecdotal information gained by talking to the teachers, counselors and parents who interact and work with the children on a day to day basis. I was disheartened to learn of the cuts to so many support programs as listed by Dr. Wheeler in the video. Public education has always been the backbone of our nation. I was watching the news yesterday and saw the mess on Light Street in downtown Baltimore – the old pipes gave out and the result was chaos – and this is just one street in a very big city. Postponing needed repairs to our infrastructure disrupted the commutes of thousands of our working people – postponing the repairs needed in our school system will ruin lives. I have great respect for the work our commissioners, school board members, administrators, teachers, counselors and parents provide in what I believe to be a sincere commitment to the children they serve. Dr. Wheeler stated it perfectly – “improvement is an imperative.” My children attended Kent County Public Schools – they are all successful adults. What can I do as a citizen to provide for this next generation?
Alex Smolens says
I didn’t know they were going to present this to me today, but let me reply with my prepared speech. What B.S.
Carla Massoni says
Yoohoo!?? Teachers, board members, parents…..anybody out there??
Brenda says
An acquaintance was telling me that her granddaughter goes to a school building each day and has one teacher’s aide in the classroom, but each child works self-paced in an online environment using a K12 curriculum. I thought it was sad. She was raving about how the students do labs together and projects together at points throughout the day with one certified teacher that has a classroom of 45 in three different classes. I sat there politely and reserved my negative comments. Well, the school has high NAEP scores. Forget the MSAs- look at the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
I got a chance to speak with the child’s mother and she said that the school chose to go hybrid because it was the cheaper choice- not the best choice. It was a response to a budget crisis. They got creative and it worked. Kent County got creative with departmentalization at the elementary level. Some students go to different teachers for all subject. Is that working? What does the data show? According to research departmentalization is the answer to raising the student test scores of crappy teachers. Let him focus in one area. Kent County has strong teachers. Why departmentalize?
I will say, that I was picking up a student that I was tutoring and saw a woman talking to a young boy after some type of computer club where he was working with mapping software. The woman asked him why he did not read in class but he would read for her. He said that he liked the science articles that she asked him to read. When I took my charge to the library, I put aside the “grade level” reading materials that had been suggested by the teacher. We started to buddy read and discuss an article that he found interesting in a magazine that he picked up. Interest is a funny thing.
Here are four words- creative, rethink departmentalization, interest.
matthew weir says
Very interesting to hear Ms. Wheeler’s remarks following Mr. Harvey’s highlighting some of the significant areas of concern. Whether she came with prepared remarks or wrote them during Mr. Harvey’s commentary, I do not know. However, I found it interesting to note that she found significant fault with budget cuts, apathy, loss of a coordinator, etc. but could not find anywhere in the Kent County School Board where blame might be placed.
I am somewhat ignorant, but am rather curious, is Ms. Wheeler elected? Are the other members of the School Board elected? Assuming they are, voters, you will soon be allowed to demonstrate your confidence (or lack thereof) in their leadership…