In response to letters to the Tri-City Herald about his criticism of Kennewick School District’s reading goal, Dr. Valiant has added a comment to superintendent Dave Bond’s editorial on the Tri-City Herald website.
To read Bob Valiant’s original editorial click on this link:
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/09/24/1656861/the-verdict-is-in-on-kennewicks.html
To read Dave Bond’s editorial with Bob Valiant’s response click on this link:
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/10/09/1673797/focus-on-reading-spells-success.html
Bob Valiant’s response is also published here:
On 9/25/11 the TCH published my op-ed on the failed Kennewick experiment on reading instruction. My contention was that despite the claimed success, State records show the success is merely a mirage. Since publication, my arguments have been attacked by four administrators and the Director of the Reading Foundation. Now a couple of status quo advocates have joined in. All except the superintendent ignore the original argument and infer, or actually claim, that I demean teachers and don’t get the importance of reading.
In fact, I stated that the board and some past administrators created the experiment and that data does not support their claims of success. Teachers have worked hard to implement the goal set from above. My award as Washington Administrator of the Year by the Washington Organization for Reading Development (for my support of reading) refutes the “I don’t think reading is important” claim.
Mr. Bond provides the only true argument, saying 10th grade scores have been above the state average for 10 years, claims the MAP test used by the district is better than the state test, and more students are now taking AP and International Baccalaureate programs than 10 years ago.
Regarding 10th grade scores, KSD did average higher than the state over the past 10 years including an average of 2.2 percentage points better over the last 5 years, actually a pittance considering the promises made and the cost in dollars and lost opportunities for poor and minority kids. The first five years the district averaged 5.6 percentage points higher than the state. For me, I would rather have the 5.56 we had before the results of the reading program kicked in at the high school level. In truth, the 10th grade scores are outliers from the other grades since students may keep taking the test until they pass. That is why we didn’t use it for comparison in the first place.
The contention that the MAP is better than the state test is a red herring. Both were developed by the same testing company, the same one Lynn Fielding has served on as a board member. The district is spending in the neighborhood of $150,000 per year for the MAP, a test which world-renowned assessment expert James Popham says does not provide information useful to improve instruction. The fact is, none of the high stakes testing used around the U.S. has improved achievement according to the release of National Assessment data last week.
I don’t have access to the data regarding AP and IB programs but I am not surprised the enrollment is up. It is up all over the U.S. In Kennewick’s case, district enrollment is up about 3,000 students over the past 10 years. One would expect some growth across the board in high school programs. While enrollment in IB and AP may be up in Kennewick, enrollment in vocational programs is not. What gives? Could it be that students who are interested in vocational classes are tied up with doubles classes and other impediments set up by the extreme testing mentality in Kennewick?
In the end, I stand by the data in the original article. I will continue to say “The emperor has no clothes” as long as the emperor fails to don his robes.
Bob V.
