District 518 up, down on state test scores
September 19, 2011 at 4:56 pm in Worthington Daily Globe
Math proficiency sees decline while reading shows improvement
WORTHINGTON Worthington School District 518 students experienced mixed results in the statewide math and reading assessment tests. Continue Reading
It’s pretty evident that what District #518 is doing is not effective, and been tanking for the past 3-5 years. One suggestion I have is that the District spend more time refreshing students on math basics at the beginning of the school year. If students don’t get the basics, they certainly cannot obtain decent scores on the MCA’s.
The district can do a much better job of keeping the parents informed. Teachers need to put weekly schedules on the portal site in a timely and consistent fashion and I suggest posting schedules in Spanish as well if they aren’t already, so non English speaking parents at least have the same information as the rest of the parents. There are free translator programs out there that will translate English into just about every other language out there. It seems like it would be pretty easy to add a translator drop down menu to the schedule portion of the portal.
I also think teachers need to control their classrooms better. How can a child be expected to concentrate in a classroom filled with chaos and disorder?
I like the idea of keeping students in from free time or before and after school if they do not complete assignments on time. How about a shout out from the teachers to the parents at the first sign of trouble and suggestions they might have? I am well aware that some of these ideas are ideas educators at #518 have heard before. These ideas I listed are constructive ideas, not criticism to put educators on the offensive, but ideas that many, many parents feel are important and seem to have been ignored.
We all want to see the students succeed.
Like or Dislike:
14 
15
naughtydog…..the schools are already bending over backwards to accomodate students and parents. If you don’t think the schools are doing what you suggest already then you obviously need to visit them. When my kids were in school years ago, they were doing these things. The issue is schools are mandated to educate ALL students no matter their status. Do you think this may have an impact on test scores and classrooms? If families came here already knowing English and other norms about living in the U.S. , things would be different at school. As long as we continue to refuse to address the real issue, test scores won’t improve, classrooms will continue to grow, and guess who gets to pay for that. It’s easy to be a Tuesday morning quarterback naughtydog, but you’re barking up the wrong tree.
Hot debate. What do you think?
15 
15
pat e said, “If you don’t think the schools are doing what you suggest already then you obviously need to visit them.”
How do you know how little or how often I visit the schools? Assume much, don’t you?
pat e said, “When my kids were in school years ago, they were doing these things.”
How many years has it been since you visited the schools?
The issues go way beyond your narrow, outdated views. It’s a whole new millennium. The staff and teachers for the most part are dedicated, but even they know there are issues that need to be worked on. I seen in another article about the 2011 levy that they want to work on updated the District website. That is fantastic. It’s a bridge of communication that is in need of update and repair. Some of the links do not work on the current website.
A mobile version of the District website and portal would be great if they are looking for suggestions. Also, translation to Spanish so that Spanish only speaking parents can be informed.
One thing I’d like the school to answer is about the Flexible Learning. They pushed for it and one of their reasons was that it would give them more time to improve test scores.
Did the test scores improve?
Like or Dislike:
14 
10
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
6 
18