We're still in denial in 2009: The better educated a SC student’s parents, the further he trails peers nationally
Submitted by: John Warner on Sep 08, 2009 at 11:07 am
Tagged with: Academia, K-12 education
Source: Swamp Fox
In 2006, I originally posted an article that we are in denial about the depth of SC's public education problem, where I said,
- Many of us who are more highly educated and affluent than the average South Carolinian smugly take comfort in the illusion that the problem is not us; average SC scores are low merely because we have lots of poor people. We believe, because we want to believe, that SC is last in SAT scores because there is a larger percentage of students taking the test in SC than in states with higher scores. That simply is not true.
Andrew J. Coulson in a 2005 study of South Carolina Public education made an astounding claim that bursts that bubble.
The better educated a South Carolina student’s parents happen to be, the further that student scores behind students in other states whose parents are similarly educated.
Don't believe it? The College Board publishes reports of SAT scores with detailed breakdowns by demographics. The chart above shows the gap between South Carolina students and their peers across the US based on the education of their parents.
| Organizations | Swamp Fox |
|---|---|
| Source | Swamp Fox |
| Submitter | John Warner |
| Tags | Academia, K-12 education |
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Norman Belk
FBLA Advisor
SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities
15 University Street
Greenville, SC 29601
Nbelk@scgsah.state.sc.us
www.scgsah.org
SAT scores have haunted me and my home state all of my life in South Carolina and they haunt South Carolina students today. Luckily, some colleges (but not enough) pay attention to many other attributes of applicants, not just SAT scores. They are still taken too seriously, however, as a "what I am worth" value by students themselves, and, alas, they "count" toward admission to SC education after high school. SC Colleges, Universities, and South Carolina would do well to scrap the whole idea of the SAT, the ACT, and any other "standardized" test for admission to higher education. I hope the next Governor, Superintendent of Education (whether elected or appointed), and members of the state legislature will pay more attention to innovation in education beginning, not with Pre-K, but with Colleges, Universities, and Post K-12 education. Creating independent thinking and, yes, positive self-image will go along way toward improvement -- not only in income, but, more to the point, in the high value we should place on education itself, whether one is a portrait artist, a plumber, or a physicist. "Lifelong Learning" is not educational jargon; it is a boon to individuals and commerce. The Arts play a central role in any educational environment. Let's let the other states catch up with us in the future.
Norman Belk
FBLA Advisor
SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities
15 University Street
Greenville, SC 29601
Nbelk@scgsah.state.sc.us
www.scgsah.org
The National Academy has published the results of a workshop concerning a National Standard for K-12. It is available at:
http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12462&utm_medium=etmail&utm_s...
How does our South Carolina standard compare? Does this permit and apples-to-apples comparison? Does the standard of comparison stop at K-12 (SAT)? How about GRE and TOEFL scores for our SC University graduates?
And yet again we dredge up SAT scores like some golden standard. Folks, they correlate poorly to success in life, an ability to contribute to the knowledge economy, or anything else that is much worthwhile. Yes, if I can barely muster a score of 1000 in the new test scoring, I probably have a knowledge gap. If I score 2000, that's nice but is it because I take tests well or because I am inherently brilliant? A 50 to 75 point gap is not meaningful, but you can bet we will strip away more art and music programs and activities so we can focus everyone on math and English. Cool if you are good at math and English, poor if you were born to dance!
Tom Strange
It seems to me the place to start is finding out what those states in which our peers' children are excelling (or exceeding our children's performance) are doing to achieve the touted results. Have these states implemented programs in which "the money follows the children"? If not, then how do you make the connection of the study's finding and your solution. If we want the results the comparator states have, then implement their programs/system. The idea that we must do something different to get the same results undermines the argument that an apples-to-apples comparison supports the claims made by the voucher-movement.
Vouchers are a gimmick.
W. Andrew Arnold