| ||||||||||||
Njspotlight.com ‘NJ's New Algebra and Biology Finals Get Put to Early Test’, and The Record ‘Nearly half of N.J. high schoolers flunk state biology test’
Philadelphia Inquirer ‘Ruling gives guidance on school chiefs' pay’
Star Ledger guest column ‘Trenton is no place to set superintendent's salaries’
Njspotlight.com ‘NJ's New Algebra and Biology Finals Get Put to Early Test’ -
Students don't do well, as state board worries what will happen when new end-of-course exams really count
, August 5 in Education |Post a Comment
It may be the wave of the future for New Jersey’s testing, but the state’s first foray into end-of-course exams in high schools is reaping some sobering results.
Related Links
With the state planning to phase in course-specific tests over the next several years, barely half of more than 100,000 students passed a pilot biology exam given last year, and less than a third were deemed proficient in a separate Algebra 1 exam.
Neither pilot test counted for the students or their schools, but the biology test is slated to become a requirement for graduation starting with next year’s freshmen. The Algebra 1 test will ultimately be required as well, officials said.
Explaining the Results
Presenting the results to the state Board of Education yesterday, state officials said they are confident that the passing rates will improve as the stakes for students and schools are explained, further training is launched for teachers and the necessary instruction is put in place.
“I have confidence that a lot of this is about understanding expectations,” said Sandra Alberti, director of math and science education for the state education department.
Still, she and others said the results still show the gaps that exist, especially between poor and wealthy districts, and also in how the classes are taught.
On the biology test, just a quarter of the students in the poorest districts were proficient, compared with more than 80 percent in the wealthiest.
The algebra test -- developed by a consortium of states -- is using a different grading system for now, but 75 percent of students in the poorest districts were deemed “below basic,” while that number was 11 percent in the richest districts.
Achievement Gaps
But even beyond the achievement gaps, Alberti said the algebra results also exposed the inconsistency of what is taught to different students in middle and high school math classes, even under the same name.
She said in one sample district, students taking algebra in eighth grade did considerably better than those who were taking it in 10th grade, sometimes for the second time. She described classes in the latter group where students are not taught different ways to solve problems and spend as much time in class finishing homework as going over it.
“We have this thing called Algebra I that exists in very different forms, even within the same school,” she said.
The new end-of-course exams, first pursued under former Gov. Jon Corzine by his commissioner, Lucille Davy, have grown increasingly common in many states as a way to raise the rigor of the specific skills and knowledge required for college and careers.
General Knowledge
Depending on the district, most New Jersey students are required to take algebra or biology, but the state’s current high school test is more a general knowledge exam of math and language arts, covering algebra, geometry and trigonometry. There is currently no state science test for high schools beyond the new biology exam.
Under Davy, the department set forward a plan to add geometry and Algebra II exams as well, in addition to at least one more laboratory science test.
But with any new high-stakes test comes a host of questions about what happens if a student fails the exam. Does he or she get special remediation, and take the test again or an alternative test? What happens if he or she passed the class and failed the test?
State officials said these questions would start to be addressed in the coming year as the exams are put in place. The state would also have time to adjust the final score that is required to pass both tests. The state board yesterday set an interim “cut score” for the biology test, but said it would revisit it after seeing the scores on the May test.
“With a new test, once you have the test that has consequences, then you set the standard,” Alberti said. “It’s just thought to be a different mindset.”
Questions About the Curriculum
Still, she said if students are passing their biology classes and not the state’s test, questions need to be asked about the curriculum. The biology test also includes so-called performance assessments, asking students to work their way through a series of questions and tasks on paper, and not just recall facts.
“This is what we feel is the core of biology,” she said. “If you pass the course and not the assessment, then you need to look at the expectations in the course.”
But some board members worried if these first results portend high failure rates when the tests are for real, potentially blocking thousands of students from graduating.
The state this spring denied diplomas to nearly 3,000 students who failed the current high school exam, as well as a revamped alternative exam, touching off a storm of protest and a last-minute appeals process.
“None of us want to relive that,” said Arcelio Aponte, the board’s president.
“We could be talking 10,000-20,000 students who fail a high-stakes high school exam,” he said. “What are we going to do? We need some clear answers.”
Learning from this spring’s experience, state officials said they are currently developing a multifaceted plan that addresses students falling short on these new tests, as well as those taking the existing high school test, and would present it to the board next month.
Still, assistant education commissioner Willa Spicer said there are tough consequences to requiring students to prove they are ready to graduate.
‘We mean to be clear that to get a high school diploma, certain things are required,” Spicer said. “This won’t be done without some pain.”
The Record ‘Nearly half of N.J. high schoolers flunk state biology test’
Wednesday, August 4, 2010 BY LESLIE BRODY
Almost half the New Jersey high schoolers who took the state's new biology test in May flunked, state data shows.
The state Board of Education on Wednesday adopted "cut scores" that say students need to get 53 percent of the end-of-course test right in order to pass. By that measure, 45 percent of the 105,000 students who took the test failed.
Passing biology will become a graduation requirement in the coming year. Willa Spicer, assistant commissioner of the education department, said the state will have to decide several major policy questions soon, including whether to change the passing score, and whether to offer alternatives to the test. She said students taking this pilot test in May knew it did not count for graduation so they likely did not try as hard as they will when the test counts. She said the results of the May test will show districts what they need to do to get students ready for the test, and put families on notice that they must prepare.
The new end-of-course bio test is part of the state's effort to add more rigor to school work.
"We mean to be clear that in order to get high school diploma certain things are required," Spicer said. "It's not going to be done without some pain."
E-mail: brody@northjersey.com
Almost half the New Jersey high schoolers who took the state's new biology test in May flunked, state data shows.
The state Board of Education on Wednesday adopted "cut scores" that say students need to get 53 percent of the end-of-course test right in order to pass. By that measure, 45 percent of the 105,000 students who took the test failed.
Passing biology will become a graduation requirement in the coming year. Willa Spicer, assistant commissioner of the education department, said the state will have to decide several major policy questions soon, including whether to change the passing score, and whether to offer alternatives to the test. She said students taking this pilot test in May knew it did not count for graduation so they likely did not try as hard as they will when the test counts. She said the results of the May test will show districts what they need to do to get students ready for the test, and put families on notice that they must prepare.
The new end-of-course bio test is part of the state's effort to add more rigor to school work.
"We mean to be clear that in order to get high school diploma certain things are required," Spicer said. "It's not going to be done without some pain."
E-mail: brody@northjersey.com
Philadelphia Inquirer 8-5-10 ‘Ruling gives guidance on school chiefs' pay’
By David Porter
Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. - New Jersey Education Department rules intended to curtail excessive compensation for public school administrators are constitutional, but cannot be applied in every circumstance, a state appeals court decided.
The ruling, released Tuesday, came in an appeal by the New Jersey Association of School Administrators of a decision by Lucille Davy, then state commissioner of education.
The three-judge panel rejected association claims that the 2008 rules were vague and violate equal protection laws. The court also ruled that the regulations cannot affect existing contracts and held that compensation for assistant superintendents with tenure can't be reduced.
The court also said administrators are entitled to collect more than $15,000 in unused sick time if they accumulated it by the time the regulations took effect.
"This decision tells us there were some inappropriate actions by the commissioner at that time that now will be corrected," Richard Bozza, executive director of the school administrators association, said Wednesday.
Attorney General Paula Dow's office is considering appealing the ruling to the state Supreme Court, a spokesman said.
"My client is very pleased with the decision. And as far as we're concerned that's the end of it," said attorney Douglas Wolfson, who argued the case for the association.
The state moved to limit perks and retirement benefits for school administrators after a State Commission of Investigation report revealed hidden compensation and little oversight of administrators' contracts.
In one case that drew heavy criticism, the former superintendent of the Monmouth County town of Keansburg retired with $741,000 in severance and reimbursement for unused sick and vacation time, a total that has since been reduced by settlement.
The new rules gave executive county superintendents the authority to review contracts for top administrators before they are approved. The state lawsuit was filed after a federal suit was dismissed.
The appellate court wrote Tuesday that while superintendents and nontenured assistant superintendents have no rights to a specific level of future compensation or benefits once their contracts expire, for tenured assistant superintendents, "the overall level of their compensation is protected by their respective tenure statutes."
Superintendents generally work under three- to five-year contracts, while assistant superintendents can earn tenure after meeting certain requirements.
Judge Jane Grall dissented from fellow Judges Carmen Messano and Dorothea Wefing on the tenure and sick pay issues.
Home > The Star-Ledger Editorial Page > Education
Star Ledger guest column ‘Trenton is no place to set superintendent's salaries’
Published: Tuesday, August 03, 2010, 6:20 AM
By Jim O’Neil
Gov. Chris Christie has earned high praise from New Jersey residents for his take-no-prisoners approach to leadership. The governor has been successful imposing his will on the Legislature, the NJEA, school districts and municipalities. He has become popular outside New Jersey but to date, the short-term political gains are not accompanied by any long-term fiscal benefit for New Jersey residents. There is no evidence that his changes have brought about any of his promised outcomes. Property taxes will go up again this year regardless of the many school budgets defeated. Class sizes will increase, new fees will be assessed and services will be diminished in the vast majority of districts beginning in September. Recently, we learned from the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services that fiscally New Jersey will be no better off next year.
One of Christie’s latest targets is the salaries of school superintendents. The issue resonates with the public and allows the governor to appear as a champion of the common man, but beyond that perception the argument is shallow. Philosophically, Republicans have always been advocates of home rule, but the governor and state Commissioner of Education Bret Schundler have determined they know better what is best for each community. They say the salary for a superintendent should be determined by enrollment.
The governor has expressed his concern over the cost of education in New Jersey. Yet how was it determined that fiscal prudence was not a factor in determing a superintendent’s salary? And if the great national concern is student performance, how is it possible that an assessment of student learning is not a critical piece of the pay formula? Chatham consistently performs well and spends $2,000 per pupil less than the state average. If we spent at the state average, it would cost the residents of Chatham $8 million more in property taxes. Credit for this achievement goes to board members who worked with talented administrators to ensure the responsible expenditure of public funds.
Superintendents in small districts may also be the assistant superintendent, principal and director of special services. The result is cost efficiency. How do we determine that a school leader filling multiple roles in a small district should make less than a superintendent in a larger district? Some superintendents have turned a district around academically or fiscally; some have introduced programs that have benefited the entire community and made the district a more desirable place to live.
Realtors make no secret of the fact that property values are directly related to the quality of the schools. What will a community gain if it saves $30,000 on a superintendent’s salary, but over the course of time property values decline?
Should superintendent’s salary be reflective of the economy at large? Is it fair to debate whether superintendent salaries should be tied to the rate of inflation? Would it be more reasonable to say that a school district cannot spend more than 9 percent of its budget on administrative costs? Yes to all of these legitimate questions.
Much has been made of a comparison to the governor’s salary which, at $175,000, is the fourth highest in the nation. New Jersey is not the fourth largest geographically or in population, so what calculus arrived at his salary? When the Corzine administration did a study on superintendent compensation, the projected salary for a district of 5,000 students was $198,000.
Superintendent contracts reflect recent changes in regulations and do not include excessive perks. Superintendents do not have a home in Princeton and another at the Shore, troopers who drive them to and from work, or a helicopter at their disposal. They do not need and should not have these amenities, but at the same time the most egregious example of a school leader who, together with a board, entered into a contract that was unreasonable should not be referenced as if it were the norm.
By maligning superintendents and their salaries, the governor has found another issue that resonates with the public and is once again successfully diverting attention from his failure to genuinely reform Trenton or our fiscal woes.
Despite brash rhetoric, state mandates with regard to schools and salaries will not save money or improve student performance.
Jim O’Neill is the Chatham school superintendent.
