Chapter Fifty-Five: The Scores are in and the Loser is...

Chapter 55: The Scores are in and the Loser is…

FCAT tests are administered in February but the scores aren’t posted until late May.
Unlike the public school scores, the FCAT scores of Herald County’s Alternative Schools are not used to measure the schools by state or federal standards, although some Alternative School FCAT scores can be found on-line. One need not be a statistician to see that Herald County’s alternative schools post the lowest FCAT scores in the county. But Prospect, I am proud to say did comparatively well.

FCAT scores range from 100-500 for each grade level. In 2003, the mean scores for 7th graders in reading, in all nine public middle schools in Herald County, ranged from 285 to 318, with a Florida state average of 297. Prospect scored 255. The Avenue School (a K-12 alternative, contracted school with twice the population of Prospect) posted scores of 178 and 197. (Avenue posts two scores because they divide their students into two groups: special education and regular education.)

For 8th graders, the public school reading scores ranged from 299 to 319, with a state average of 301. Prospect scored 249, Avenue School: 206 and 227. For 7th grade math scores, the public schools ranged from 289 to 316 with a state average of 296 and Prospect posting 263; Avenue: 194 and 179. 8th grade math scores for the public schools ranged from 306 to 331, the state average was 310. Prospect’s score was 263, Avenue: 198 and 200.

An argument can be made, and often is, that the FCAT scores for alternative schools do not necessarily reflect the quality of education at those schools. Obvious questions arise such as: How long have the children been attending the alternative school? What were their FCAT scores when they were in public school? But explanations don’t change the reality. How many parents are willing to send their children to an alternative school that posts the lowest standardized test scores in the county, even if their public school principal recommends it? And if these alternative schools are low performing, shouldn’t they receive the same attention as public schools: more money, more resources and a mandate to improve or close? Additionally, isn’t there a risk that public school principals will recommend transferring low-performing students, who frequently also have behavior problems (since academic failure and misbehavior go hand-in-hand) to alternative schools where their dreadful test scores won’t reflect on a public school? By funding the operation of schools in which fewer than 1/3 of the students pass the FCAT, Herald County is choosing to leave hundreds of students behind. Where is the accountability?

Alas, the fox is guarding the hen house. To understand the situation, begin by asking: why does the Herald County Public School system contract with private corporations to run alternative schools in Herald County? They do it for two reasons: first, both the school board and the principals want the “bad children” out of the classrooms where they prevent the “good children” from learning and secondly, contracting for these services is cheaper than running these “bad” schools themselves.

I ask Henry why he continues to request the school board renew the contracts with these alternative schools when, during candid conversations, he has admitted he knows these schools aren’t doing a good job and moreover, he is aware of other viable options. These highly disruptive students could be tutored at home or students removed from class could receive instruction, in a separate classroom, on their own campus. Henry first cites cost and then tells me that fewer than 2% of Herald County children are enrolled in alternative schools and these children have always existed and will always continue to exist. Translation: there are only a few of these children and we’ve given up on them. Herald County has thus selected the children to be “left behind.”

I ask Henry why he doesn’t get more involved in these schools and insist they meet the same academic standards mandated of the public schools in areas such as class size, updated textbooks and hours of instructional time. He tells me the School Board attorney cautioned him NOT to become involved and that his job is to “manage the contract.” If the private corporation says a teacher is certified but Henry hears that “teacher” hasn’t graduated college, it is not Henry’s business to investigate. It is not in Henry’s job description nor in his best interest (or in the interests of the Herald County Schools) to notice the lack of textbooks, the failure to provide students academic instruction for the legal minimum number of minutes or the oversized classes with some student – teacher ratios as high as 35:1. As the contract manager, Henry’s choice is to either ignore these deficiencies or be forced to “pull the contract.” Pulling the contract would mean overwhelming and dangerously overcrowding the other contracted Alternative Schools, or sending these “bad” children back to the public schools where they can continue to disrupt class and lower the average test scores.

Henry is not a bad person. He is intelligent and cares about children, but he is not going to spend his political capital advocating for a relatively small number of children that both he and his school board colleagues view as lost causes. Prospect children are not an appealing constituency. The powers that be are really not particularly concerned that the unkempt child who curses, takes drugs and carries a weapon isn’t being well educated.

Someone needs to be looking over their shoulders and monitoring these alternative schools. But asking public school employees to be the watchdogs is a conflict of interest. Accountability needs to be shifted to an independent committee of educators, professionals not employed by, or beholden, to the local school board. And when they are asked to evaluate alternative schools, it is hard to imagine they would recommend renewal of most Herald County alternative school contracts.