I just love it when those on the opposite side of the political spectrum manage to prove a point that I’ve given numerous times, although not that often yet on this blog. The funny part is that they were still fighting against conservative beliefs when they did it.
There is a liberal group out there called Media Matters that is constantly listening to conservative commentators on the radio and TV as well as what they can find in print in magazines, newspapers, and online news sources. Once they have their chosen stories, they then attempt to put a spin on what has been said or written.
It begins with a story in CNS News, an online news source, and the story was in regards to the situation up in Wisconsin with the Republican governor and the majority Republican Senate against the minority Democrat Senate members leaving town. Of course, who can’t know about all the public service employees, including teachers, who have been in the state capitol building in protest of the actions of the Republicans?
Some of the teachers had even taken school children from school to take with them to the protest. CNS News then wrote the story about the educational side of the story, saying that only 32% of Wisconsin’s eighth grade school children could proficiently read. Here is an excerpt from that story, with a link under it to the story online.
“Two-Thirds of Wisconsin Public School 8th Graders Can’t Read Proficiently—Despite Highest Per Pupil Spending in Midwest
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
By Terence P. Jeffrey
(CNSNews.com) - Two-thirds of the eighth graders in Wisconsin public schools cannot read proficiently according to the U.S. Department of Education, despite the fact that Wisconsin spends more per pupil in its public schools than any other state in the Midwest.
In the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests administered by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009—the latest year available—only 32 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned a “proficient” rating while another 2 percent earned an “advanced” rating. The other 66 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned ratings below “proficient,” including 44 percent who earned a rating of “basic” and 22 percent who earned a rating of “below basic.”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/two-thirds-wisconsin-public-school-8th-g#
Remember that number of 32%.
So then Media Matters publishes an article online, trying to counter CNS News’ story with this following information, which is their story in its entirety.
“BREAKING: 8th Grade Reading Scores in WI Higher Than National Average
February 22, 2011 3:03 pm ET by Eric Boehlert
This gotcha headline has made the rounds on the right-wing blogosphere and Drudge today, as conservatives point to it as proof that Wisconsin teachers are not only causing union trouble in that state, but they’re awful at their jobs:
Two-Thirds of Wisconsin Public-School 8th Graders Can’t Read Proficiently—Despite Highest Per Pupil Spending in Midwest
Oh my!
From the far-right CNSnews.com [emphasis added]:
In the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests administered by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009—the latest year available—only 32 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned a “proficient” rating while another 2 percent earned an “advanced” rating. The other 66 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned ratings below “proficient,” including 44 percent who earned a rating of “basic” and 22 percent who earned a rating of “below basic.”
Right. And here’s where the hit piece promptly falls apart:
Nationwide, only 30 percent of public school eighth graders earned a rating of “proficient” or better in reading, and the average reading score on the NAEP test was 262 out of 500.
That’s right, the reading proficiency rate for Wisconsin eighth graders is slightly higher than the national average. But other than that the article is hugely embarrassing to teachers in that state. Or something.
UPDATED: More CNSnews.com brilliance:
Only 39 Percent of Wisconsin Public-School Eighth Graders Proficient in Math, Says Department of Education
The national average for eighth grade math students? It's 25 percent. “
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201102220030
Now, here is where Media Matters proves my point. They correctly pointed out that Wisconsin’s rating was 2% higher than the national average in reading and 14% higher than the national average in math.
Can anyone remember taking a test in school where you passed any test with a score of 30% or 25%? National reading scores average 30% and national math scores average 25%. I would say that those numbers certainly support my claim that our education system, including teachers and administrators, has absolutely failed our students over the last several decades.
Thus, I still contend that the gross negligence needs to be completely eliminated, starting with the federal Education department then striking hard at the teacher’s unions and getting rid of tenure. At a later date, and further into this blog, I’ll post comments from some educators at both secondary school and college levels calling for an end of tenure.
Yeah Terry. Let's all get on an airplane where the pilot rated 25% on his landing skills. I get a tad irritated when they try to spin what is clear. Just like the CNN headline "Wisconsin Busting Unions". No, Wisconsin is trying to establish a right to work state. That means you do not HAVE to belong to a union, nor have the state automatically take union dues and forward to the union.
ReplyDeleteI have always felt the union was to protect mediocre employees. This is a case in point. Tenure is another word for suction. We always used the term in gas plants, meaning, you did not have to excel to get a promotion. Again, promote the mediocre at the expense of an outstanding employee.