Critics: Pa. inflating success of charter schools
Posted: Thursday, October 25, 2012 4:45 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pennsylvania education officials have asked to measure charter school achievement by a different yardstick than traditional schools, a standard that critics say inflates the success of charters for political reasons.And while federal officials have not yet approved the request, Pennsylvania has begun using the new standard anyway.
Charter school supporters are championing the change, which this year led to about 59 percent of charters meeting the federal benchmark known as "adequate yearly progress." The ratio for public schools overall was 50 percent. Without the change, only 37 percent of charters would have made the AYP benchmark.
Some public education advocates characterize the request as a stealth move by the state, favoring the charter lobby that supports Republican Gov. Tom Corbett.
"The administration seems to be doing whatever it can to present results in a fashion that facilitate their agenda," said Lawrence Feinberg, founder of the Keystone State Education Coalition.
Education Department spokesman Tim Eller countered that the new methodology simply levels the playing field for charters, which are publicly funded but operate independently of school districts.
The controversy surfaced last month after Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis released the state's latest standardized test scores.
To reach the AYP benchmark, schools must hit certain targets at every tested grade level. For a district to meet the benchmark, it need only hit targets in one of three grade spans: grades 3-5, 4-6 or 9-12. Schools that fail to reach the benchmark receive additional oversight and, eventually, could end up with new staffs or closed altogether.
Until this year, charter schools had to meet AYP based on the school method. But in July, Tomalis sought federal approval to allow charters to meet AYP based on the district method. Every charter school is considered its own district under state law.
While Tomalis' request is pending, he used the grade span standard in calculating AYP status in September, without disclosing the change — a move that yielded a wrist-slap from the U.S. Department of Education.
"The department understands the pressures of time in getting these analyses done, reviewed, and published, however, (Pennsylvania) acted prematurely," it said in a statement.
The Pennsylvania Coalition for Public Charter Schools touted the charters' 59 percent mark as a "striking" contrast to the 50 percent rate for schools overall.
Eller, the department spokesman, acknowledged that grade span "does mask potential academic problems." But he said school districts have taken advantage of the same calculation for years. Grade span enabled 61 percent of districts to make AYP in 2011-12, while only 22 percent would have made AYP without it, Eller said.
But Feinberg said a district's overall AYP status is often less relevant to parents, many of whom care more about individual school statistics.
Charters have been a lightning rod in the debate over education reform. Supporters say they provide innovative and sometimes safer alternatives to traditional neighborhood schools. Opponents contend they drain resources from school districts without providing a better education.
A Stanford University study released in 2011 showed mixed results for Pennsylvania charters in math and reading, with all cyber charter students lagging behind their peers at traditional schools. The state has 16 cyber charters, with applications pending for eight more.
Jonathan Supovitz, an associate professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania, said the methodology change could end up being much ado about nothing because of the limited time frame for its use.
AYP is a key component of the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind, which requires all U.S. students to pass standardized reading and math tests by 2014. The nation is far from achieving that goal, and 26 states have received waivers from the legislation — though Pennsylvania is not among them.
The Obama administration has pushed for a comprehensive reauthorization of the law, yet there has been little movement in Congress over the past two years.
Eller said Tomalis has also considered dumping the grade span calculation altogether but hasn't yet because of possible changes to No Child Left Behind and an expected backlash from many fewer districts making AYP.
Some public education advocates characterize the request as a stealth move by the state, favoring the charter lobby that supports Republican Gov. Tom Corbett.
"The administration seems to be doing whatever it can to present results in a fashion that facilitate their agenda," said Lawrence Feinberg, founder of the Keystone State Education Coalition.
Education Department spokesman Tim Eller countered that the new methodology simply levels the playing field for charters, which are publicly funded but operate independently of school districts.
The controversy surfaced last month after Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis released the state's latest standardized test scores.
To reach the AYP benchmark, schools must hit certain targets at every tested grade level. For a district to meet the benchmark, it need only hit targets in one of three grade spans: grades 3-5, 4-6 or 9-12. Schools that fail to reach the benchmark receive additional oversight and, eventually, could end up with new staffs or closed altogether.
Until this year, charter schools had to meet AYP based on the school method. But in July, Tomalis sought federal approval to allow charters to meet AYP based on the district method. Every charter school is considered its own district under state law.
While Tomalis' request is pending, he used the grade span standard in calculating AYP status in September, without disclosing the change — a move that yielded a wrist-slap from the U.S. Department of Education.
"The department understands the pressures of time in getting these analyses done, reviewed, and published, however, (Pennsylvania) acted prematurely," it said in a statement.
The Pennsylvania Coalition for Public Charter Schools touted the charters' 59 percent mark as a "striking" contrast to the 50 percent rate for schools overall.
Eller, the department spokesman, acknowledged that grade span "does mask potential academic problems." But he said school districts have taken advantage of the same calculation for years. Grade span enabled 61 percent of districts to make AYP in 2011-12, while only 22 percent would have made AYP without it, Eller said.
But Feinberg said a district's overall AYP status is often less relevant to parents, many of whom care more about individual school statistics.
Charters have been a lightning rod in the debate over education reform. Supporters say they provide innovative and sometimes safer alternatives to traditional neighborhood schools. Opponents contend they drain resources from school districts without providing a better education.
A Stanford University study released in 2011 showed mixed results for Pennsylvania charters in math and reading, with all cyber charter students lagging behind their peers at traditional schools. The state has 16 cyber charters, with applications pending for eight more.
Jonathan Supovitz, an associate professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania, said the methodology change could end up being much ado about nothing because of the limited time frame for its use.
AYP is a key component of the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind, which requires all U.S. students to pass standardized reading and math tests by 2014. The nation is far from achieving that goal, and 26 states have received waivers from the legislation — though Pennsylvania is not among them.
The Obama administration has pushed for a comprehensive reauthorization of the law, yet there has been little movement in Congress over the past two years.
Eller said Tomalis has also considered dumping the grade span calculation altogether but hasn't yet because of possible changes to No Child Left Behind and an expected backlash from many fewer districts making AYP.
“Yeah, weren’t we singing ‘That's What Friends Are For’? That became our song,” Hornung responded. “It was by Dionne Warwick, right?"
