2/3 of Wisconsin 8th graders can't read proficiently!

[z31maniac]

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/two-thirds-wisconsin-public-school-8th-g

"Meanwhile, Wisconsin public schools increased their per pupil expenditures from $4,956 per pupil in 1998 to 10,791 per pupil in 2008. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator the $4,956 Wisconsin spent per pupil in 1998 dollars equaled $6,546 in 2008 dollars. That means that from 1998 to 2008, Wisconsin public schools increased their per pupil spending by $4,245 in real terms yet did not add a single point to the reading scores of their eighth graders and still could lift only one-third of their eighth graders to at least a “proficient” level in reading."


That's pretty sad. Nearly doubled the amount of money going into the system, but still no results. What a poignant article regarding Teachers Unions.

[mrsleeve]

I think it really speeks more to our society as a whole. Teachers are becoming more more burdened by shitty parenting and evryome get a trophy mentality. That no matter how fucked up your kid is they can't be failed or held back because its not fair the don't get to advance with their peers.

In many cases the money is siphoned off the top before the teachers and the unions get a crack at it, its the upper levels of management that get a lions share.

In all reality this is a problem we can't just throw money at it and expect it to get better. The work ethic of our grandparents has not made it to this current generation in the system now, that you have to earn you grades and earn your pass o the next. Now of you fuck up mommy comes in and threatens a discrimination lawsuit and passes on they are. We are teaching them early on to be lazy and you don't have to that much Orr the the bare minimum to get the reward, this is the biggest threat to or education system.

[CorvallisBMW]

^ agreed.

No teacher in the world can make up for a lack of good parenting

[joshh]

There's no doubt parenting is a large part of the problem.
Another problem I see is our basic failure to allow kids that are more advanced from moving forward. The smart kids are held back to let the slower kids keep pace. I've heard it from more than one parent that their child is literally bored with a class or two.

[KenC]

1. There are too many districts, which all have admin fees.
2. Age/grade has little to do with intelligence.
3. Principals have no real power.

[Bene]

[mrsleeve]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Fail

[mar1t1me]

I'd love to know how much of that increase was spent on things that aren't available to all students. Are high school team sports funded from that amount?

Just curious. A friend who has a student at Miami University in Ohio was talking about how MU is having a budget crisis and is making cuts to profitable programs like housing and dining halls, but won't make cuts to the football team which loses over 2 million dollars per year.

That's poor administration, not poor teaching. I wonder if WI is similar.

And no teacher on the planet can fix a home situation that doesn't value learning. And there are lots of those, sadly.

[KenC]

I'd love to know how much of that increase was spent on things that aren't available to all students. Are high school team sports funded from that amount?

Just curious. A friend who has a student at Miami University in Ohio was talking about how MU is having a budget crisis and is making cuts to profitable programs like housing and dining halls, but won't make cuts to the football team which loses over 2 million dollars per year.

That's poor administration, not poor teaching. I wonder if WI is similar.

And no teacher on the planet can fix a home situation that doesn't value learning. And there are lots of those, sadly.

A lot of large universities don't put any money toward their large sports programs. The University of Oregon's football program actually gives $5m per year to the school.

[z31maniac]

^Only the top few schools with national fan bases actually make money.

[Ryan Stewart]

^Only the top few schools with national fan bases actually make money.

Then the rest should re-evaluate their programs. Although its a big marketing thing you shouldnt be deep in the hole. Thankfully KU's program is a cash cow.

[Javier h]

It's all about discipline

No matter how much money you throw into education, if the students are more concerned about "texting" and assimilating the likes of hollywood celebs, we are just wasting time and money.

There is much to say about culture, parenting, reference groups (modeling) etc but until people (the media) starts actively pushing for some type structure, I just dont see it happening.

Very sad situation indeed. To really get back into the swing of things, you are going to have to censor (restrict) many things. Rather than re-invent the wheel, just look at the countries that are producing educated kids and take a chapter from their experiences (i.e. unions or whatever is happening in their neck of the woods).

It's really not that hard understanding the real causes. It's implementing them that's the tricky part. Teachers are not the causes.

[kronus]

http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/02/22/no-strong-teacher-unions-lower-satact-scores-any-correlation/

[Kershaw]

I think it really speeks more to our society as a whole. Teachers are becoming more more burdened by shitty parenting and evryome get a trophy mentality. That no matter how fucked up your kid is they can't be failed or held back because its not fair the don't get to advance with their peers.

suttle.

[CorvallisBMW]

http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-bl...y-correlation/

Damn, that's surprising. I really didn't think the 2 would have much correlation.