Kennewick School Board Meeting October 27, 2010
All board members were present.
Superintendent Dave Bond reported:
- A kitchen fire at Tri-Tech Skills Center last night created smoke damage which will close the facility for several days.
- Principal, Sue Denslow at Horse Heaven Hills Middle School was injured in a fall outside a portable at the school. Knee surgery will require a period of recuperation.
- Corroded pipes serving the heating system at Lincoln Elementary are being repaired room by room over weekends to minimize disruption of classes. This process will be completed in several months.
- KSD annual report publications will be distributed to the public.
- Fall 2010 MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) scores for reading and math were reported. See details below.
- Results of the fall 2010 Kindergarten Assessment were presented. See details below.
- Ron Williamson presented the second reading of revised policy 3546 regarding student extracurricular travel. This was approved unanimously by the board.
Fall 2010 MAP Scores –
Bond noted these tests are taken by students in grades 3 through 10. Numerous tables illustrated scores for each grade level and building in the district. Historical fall to spring test scores were reported for the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 school years to offer comparison with the fall 2010 scores.
District reading scores by grade from year to year did not show a clear trend but from 3rd grade to 5th grade scores dropped. Middle school reading scores tended to flatten and by 8th grade there was not much growth to the 50% target point.
Bond stated the district has dropped $7 million from the budget in the past two years. This funding could have been used to hire more staff including paraeducators to work individually with students needing remediation in 4th and 5th grades.
Greg Fancher, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education observed that students in schools in lower income neighborhoods experience larger drops in reading scores.
Board member Lynn Fielding suggested contacting administration at Moses Lake schools where there is apparently better growth in student scores using similar curriculum. KSD could learn from experience there.
District math scores showed no clear trends for growth over the years 2008 to 2010. It was noted that student scores drop from spring to fall resulting in “summer loss”. Several elementary schools offer summer school which has shown good results for students who then score higher on fall MAP tests.
Board member, Wendy London asked about the significance of the data for MAP tests. Bond replied that, for example, an individual student score of 198 could actually fall within a range from 194 to 202. London responded that the board should not perseverate over what are likely not significant differences in test scores but consider multiple measures of student performance and base board policy on the big picture.
Kindergarten Assessments –
Bond explained that the 1100 kindergartners beginning each school year take reading and math assessments when entering school and at the end of the kindergarten year. With 100 items on each test the point value is 100. A score of 30 is considered optimal for starting the school year.
Reading scores listed by school show that students in some elementaries like Amistad and Eastgate begin the year with lower scores while students in more affluent neighborhoods like Cascade and Lincoln start with higher scores. By the end of the kindergarten year students across the district show similar gains into the 90% range.
Math scores listed by school show students district wide beginning with higher scores than in reading and improving similarly during the school year.
Board member, Kathy White commented that a student’s first language appears to be a greater factor affecting reading development than math skill growth.
Notes:
For another opinion about the significance of KSD reading scores I recommend reading the KSD Citizens posts dated September 19 and November 3, 2010.
The School Board Report posted October 7 for the September 29 school board meeting described a contentious dialogue among school board members. Board member, London, offered to meet with board member, Fielding for conflict mediation in the spirit of working better together for the good of the school district. I have learned that Fielding characterized London as disingenuous and would not consider the offer.
When is the Board report on how the kids are doing in art, music, social studies, and science? Oh, I forgot, those subjects don’t count except in real life. In all fairness, there was a state science test last year How did Kennewick do on that? Just so you don’t have to look it up, the WA State average at 10th grade was 45% passing while Kennewick had 36%. Do I blame the teachers? No way. I blame the extraordinary emphasis on reading (no, on reading test scores) that narrows the curriculum and shortens the time allocated to science during the crucial intermediate school grades.
I completely agree with Mr. Valiant on this. This mania regarding test scores robs all our kids of an education and endangers the stability of our community in the future, creating ‘readers’ who hate to read, and citizens who will have difficulty with putting events/trends into context and thinking critically.
I have been trying to say this for years to anyone who would listen. It was this very “idea”, children not really being at the 90%, that made me throw my hat into the school board election ring, having no political experience, twice now. Whatever happened to teaching the whole child? Each child has an innate unique switch that makes them light up. After teaching Reading for 2 hrs plus hrs a day for many years, I can’t remember seeing any child light up. I also didn’t/don’t see sustainability at the middle & high school. I am in no way putting down the importance of reading, as some would accuse me of, what I am saying is that we must do everything in our power to send out our KSD students,all students,into the world ready to succeed!!