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School skips science and social studies for higher test scores


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http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20111118-exemplary-dallas-isd-school-skipped-science-social-studies-for-3rd-graders.ece

 

Third-graders at Field Elementary School in Dallas helped propel their school to “exemplary†status, but unbeknownst to their parents those stellar math and reading scores came at a cost.

The students learned only math and reading for most of the school year, while teachers were pressured to fabricate grades for science, social studies and enrichment courses like music. Some of the grades were given by teachers who had never taught the subjects.

Article from the front page of our paper today. The news doesn't really surprise me, but I am shocked that parents didn't notice.
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That is pretty awful, though I think it is a good thing that they deleted social studies. Social studies in our public school contains almost no real history, geography, government, civics, or economics, but it is primarily the vehicle they use to promote the PC agenda, including teaching about things like Kwanzaa and their definition of a "family."

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Here's another tiny snippet for non-subscribers
I didn't realize non-subscribers could not read. I copy/pasted the article:

 

Third-graders at Field Elementary School in Dallas helped propel their school to “exemplary†status, but unbeknownst to their parents those stellar math and reading scores came at a cost.

The students learned only math and reading for most of the school year, while teachers were pressured to fabricate grades for science, social studies and enrichment courses like music. Some of the grades were given by teachers who had never taught the subjects.

Field Elementary principal Roslyn Carter is on paid administrative leave after Dallas Independent School District investigators found numerous cases of falsified grades at the campus during the 2010-11 school year.

Parents, however, were never told about the phony grades and that their children missed nearly a whole school year of instruction in some subjects.

A 227-page DISD report, dated July 14, includes investigators’ findings, affidavits from employees and e-mails between Carter and staff members. DISD’s Office of Professional Responsibility began investigating after receiving an anonymous tip in January.

The report details a principal’s determination to have her students pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Third-graders take the math and reading portions of the test.

According to the report, Carter “directed and caused false school records to be created relating to teachers of record, grades of students for subjects not taught, and grades from teachers for students they did not teach.â€

Carter, who came to Field in the 2008-09 school year, could not be reached for comment but denied many of the allegations in her response to investigators. She told investigators that she was not aware of some rules concerning grading.

Some parents learned about the fake grading this week from The Dallas Morning News, which requested the report under open records law.

Parent Rosie Miller, whose son was in third grade last year at Field, gasped when she learned her son had received fake grades and then paused as she began to understand the implications. She said Carter’s obsession with testing prompted her to move out of DISD and enroll her child in the Mansfield school district this year.

“It was an extreme focus, but not in a way that would be beneficial,†Miller said. “I got called in and asked, ‘Why aren’t you pushing him more at home?’ She made me feel like I was a horrible parent. It was all about the scores, the scores, the scores.â€

Miller said her son is struggling to pass fourth-grade science and social studies. She wondered if the district is obligated to help her child.

DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander said not much can be done now other than to provide academic help to the students. “The school is providing remediation to students to fill in any gaps in those subjects,†he said.

As far as helping students no longer in DISD, Dahlander said, “We’ll obviously need to look into that.â€

After being questioned by The News about how the case has been handled, Dahlander said parents will be officially notified of the matter and administrators will discuss it further in the next couple of days.

Principal on paid leave

Dahlander would not discuss any disciplinary action but said “personnel action has been taken.†Carter is on paid leave, usually a sign that an employee found to have committed wrongdoing is appealing a termination with the state.

Ten employees, mostly teachers, were cited in the report for failing to report actions that aided in the creation of false student records. DISD data shows at least eight of them were still at Field in October.

According to the report, some teachers described Carter as being threatening to those who didn’t go along with her plans. She denied the allegations.

E-mails from Carter, which were included in the report, show she was a principal determined to improve test scores. In one e-mail to her staff, she took offense with someone complaining about long meetings and made reference to the documentary Waiting for Superman, which highlights struggles in urban public schools.

“There is no superman coming to save these kids (yes, I saw the movie and so should you),†she wrote. “We are their heroes and heroes don’t complain about the time and effort that it takes. Heroes just do what they need to do. Period.â€

Under Carter’s tenure, Field Elementary received the state’s highest rating, exemplary, for the last two years. State ratings are based in part on TAKS results.

Other findings in the report include that Carter:

Discouraged teachers from reporting potential district policy violations to the Office of Professional Responsibility.

Directed that the approved curriculum for science and social studies not be taught as to allow more time for teaching math and reading.

Required a teacher to use his planning period to tutor students in math.

Ignored the district’s grading scale and used her own.

Had the music teacher teach math instead of music.

Directed teachers to share their computer passwords for student records with other teachers.

Musical math teacher

The allegations mainly pertained to problems in third grade but also touched on other grade levels. “I do not know of science being taught in 3rd or 4th grade,†school counselor Laura McMillin said in an e-mail to an investigator. “And I am unaware of social studies being taught at all.â€

A music teacher told investigators that for most of the school year she tutored third-graders in math instead of teaching them music. She said she gave students factual music grades the first six weeks of school. “After that, I gave them all 95 since I never got to see them in music again,†she said in an affidavit.

Another teacher, assigned to third-grade science and math, spent most of the year teaching just math. Carter denied his request to teach science for 10 minutes twice a week and to teach social studies for 10 minutes once a week, according to an e-mail in the report.

She told the teacher he “has to stick with math†and that students would pick up science skills through their lessons about creating graphs and interpreting graphs. “There is much work to be done in reading and math and these two subjects have to be the focus,†Carter wrote.

The teacher eventually got to teach science after TAKS testing — about three weeks before the school year was over.

In an affidavit, Carter acknowledged making third- and-fifth grade students who were failing certain classes go to tutoring instead of “specials,†which are enrichment classes such as art and physical education that are required by state law.

A math instructional coach and administrator of GradeSpeed, an electronic grade book, said in an affidavit that 90 percent of third-graders did not attend specials because of TAKS tutoring, but they received grades for each course for the entire school year.

“These same students have not been taught science and, until recently, did not receive instruction in social studies. Again, these students have all received grades in both of these content areas,†she stated.

She told investigators that she had warned teachers that entering false grades was “unethical and illegal.†She said the teachers’ overwhelming response was that their hands were tied because Carter wanted it.

According to the report, Carter also had two third-grade teachers delete social studies grades and gave the responsibility of entering the grades to two other teachers, though they hadn’t taught the subject. Carter told the teachers they could count the nonfiction portion of reading assignments for social studies grades, the report said.

Despite learning this week that his daughter didn’t receive lessons in some subjects, parent Pedro Reyes said his daughter performed well under Carter’s direction. “My opinion was that she [the principal] was balanced,†he said. “Maybe there was a little emphasis on math.â€

Audrey Beardsley, an associate professor at Arizona State University who has conducted extensive research on educator-led cheating, said, however, that what occurred at Field is a form of cheating, albeit on a lower level than an educator changing answers on a test.

“This is kind of second-degree cheating,†she said, “a narrowing of the curriculum to marginalize subjects that don’t count.â€

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That is pretty awful, though I think it is a good thing that they deleted social studies.
I totally agree w/you about social studies. My DH and I are constantly amazed at how little history and geography we knew prior to homeschooling.

 

You live where I live, don't you.
Yes.

 

Both the act and the ignorance are sad.
The thing I don't understand, though... We don't live in that ISD, but in a suburb. But I have a child around that age, so know many children in our community that took the 3rd grade TAKS last year. Many of the parents complained that their children didn't get science or social studies all year, until after they took the state exams. I know that what DISD is fraud because they altered grades. But why are parents in my community saying their children do not get science? According to our school's website, the 3rd grade students get 1/2 hour of either science or ss a week, alternating - so basically one hour of each a month. Are the parents here considering that little amount "nothing" or do the schools really not teach it?
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