Tag Archives: Standardized Testing

EPIC FAILURE – AP Classes in South DeKalb

Posted on February 21, 2017 by | 77 comments

Using tax dollars to pay for Advanced Placement (AP) exams embodies many of the problems I have with the education and testing industrial complex as well as the implementation of political philosophies on both sides of the aisle in Georgia.


Stan Jester

Advance Placement (AP) courses are college-level courses offered in high school. Students can earn college credit from scoring a level 3, 4, or 5 on the exam. The State of Georgia covers the cost for one AP exam for students who are served by the Free & Reduced Lunch Program (FRL).
Last week, the Board of Education approved up to $310,000 for the purchase of one AP exam for all students enrolled in at least one AP course. This means that students receiving free/reduced lunches will get two free exams – the first one paid for by the state, and the second one (if applicable) paid for by the District.

Why? Student performance in AP courses and on AP exams has been determined to be a valid indicator of success at the collegiate level. The District’s purchase of an AP exam for students enrolled in an AP course will provide (allegedly) greater access and equity for students.

Related Posts
  Feb 21, 2017 – EPIC FAILURE – AP Classes in South DeKalb
  Mar 4, 2016 – AP Courses/Exams And College Graduation Rates

EPIC FAILURE in South DeKalb – Here are the AP Exam results for the last 7 years.
There are 6 schools that have pass rates percentages of under 10% (Cedar Grove, Columbia, MLK, McNair, Redan, and Towers). There are 8 schools that have pass rate percentages between 10-25% (Arabia Mountain, Clarkston, Lithonia, Miller Grove, Stephenson, Stone Mountain, and Tucker). There are 2 schools that have pass rates of 26%-43% (Cross Keys and Southwest DeKalb). There are 6 schools that perform at or above the average pass rate (44%) for the school district (Chamblee, DECA, DeKalb School of the Arts, Druid Hills, Dunwoody, and Lakeside).

It is interesting to note that south of Hwy 78, there are only two schools with an average or better AP pass rate and both of those schools are magnet programs with entry requirements. It is even more interesting to note that the magnet programs at Arabia Mountain and Southwest DeKalb performed below average. Arabia Mountain performed significantly below average and below Southwest DeKalb’s numbers. Of the 6 schools that performed at or above the system wide passing average, three are traditional neighborhood schools with no entry requirements.


FACTCHECKER
The following people made these statements during the discussion of the 2/13/2017 – Purchase of AP Exams

Dr. Joyce Morley (Board of Education) – “That’s good. When we talk about Towers HS that has done a complete turn around and we don’t hear anything about them. When there was a lot of crime and a lot of problems they were always out there. Now, nobody mentions what’s going on at Towers.
Clarkston, we have all those immigrants moving forward, and Redan and encouraging them to take the courses. These are the schools where the principals are working hard, there’s been a lot of turn around and they’re holding down the fort there. Also, enable and empower the counselors to identify the students and challenge them.”

I’m not sure where the turnaround is because it isn’t reflected in the quality or quantity of learning in the AP courses at Towers, Clarkston or Redan. Towers has a 24% decrease in the number of students taking the AP exam and a 2% increase in the number of students that pass the test. Clarkston should be relatively proud of itself, AP exam participation has gone from 193 to 238 students and from 10% to 11% passing rate. Redan embodies EPIC FAILURE. Redan HS had a 25% decrease in the number of students taking the AP exam and went from 15% to 5% of the students passing it.

DeKalb Superintendent Stephen Green – “This is part of a whole systemic effort that ties to My Brother’s Keeper or My Sister’s Keeper. What I’m pleased to hear is that contrary to popular belief, that “when you increase the number of students that the overall score will go down”. We are increasing the pipeline and the scores are going up. That’s what is most impressive to me.”

In South DeKalb there was a major decline in the number of AP Exams taken and a major decline in the percentage of students who passed the exams. The percentage of students passing these exams at MLK, Stone Mountain, Stephenson and Redan are at an all time low.

Style Over Substance and Who Really Benefits
The recent trend in education is to reward districts that have increases in AP test takers. Of course, the more tests that are taken, the more money flowing into the coffers of the testing industry. It’s no wonder that they give awards for increasing their bottom line.
Unfortunately, we are doing students and taxpayers a disservice with all these tax dollars going to the testing companies. Students and taxpayers alike should demand that money flow into the classroom to actually improve the quality of the instruction; so that kids might have a better chance to pass the AP exam and earn college credit. That would actually produce a return on investment for the taxpayers. Right now, all that is going on is a transfer of wealth to testing companies disguised as opportunities for disadvantaged students.
The irony is that the kids from more affluent backgrounds are several times more likely to actually capture the value of their free exam and earning college credit.

DeKalb County School District cites studies: Students who successfully complete an AP course are more likely to graduate high school and graduate from college.
Correlation is not Causality
It is more likely that students who voluntarily choose to take AP courses and exams are the types of students that are already better prepared and highly motivated. Success in college perhaps is not attributed to the AP class and exam themselves, but to the personal characteristics that led them to participate in the class to begin with.

Philosophically, why is the state or school district paying for Advanced Placement Exams?
Education is the largest budget item in the state. The DeKalb County School District has the 2nd highest millage rate in the state. Why don’t we lower taxes and let people decide for themselves what to do with the money? Anybody who says that people will make the wrong decision is somebody that doesn’t believe in freedom. Freedom is the right of other people to make decisions that you do not approve of.

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Gifted & High Achievers Identification

Posted on February 4, 2017 by | 1 comment

Why is the Fall MAP test used for gifted identification as well as high achievers magnet qualification?

Knox Phillips is the Director of Research, Assessments, and Grants at the DeKalb County School District who gave us his thoughts on
  How to Qualify for Gifted Services (Sept 2016)
  Opting Out of the Georgia Milestones Tests (Apr 2016)
  Tax Dollars to Pay for AP Exams (Mar 2016)
Knox Phillips tells us about the process for using the Fall MAP test for identifying gifted students and qualifying for high achievers magnet.

Knox Phillips
Knox Phillips

The fall MAP assessment window offered at the start of the second week of school through mid September is the achievement test used for both Gifted student eligibility testing and for high achievers’ magnet qualification. The first assessment of the year is the most optimal time to begin the process of identification of students for both programs for several reasons:
Gifted Evaluations
Gifted formal evaluation and assessment is a multi-step, multi-assessment process. It begins in August with achievement testing through the MAP Assessment and resumes in September with the Renzulli questionnaire assessment completed by teachers. In addition, a cognitive assessment (CogAT) is required to be administered within a two month window in early fall and then a creativity assessment (Torrance Creativity Test) is administered to applicable students in early winter (December/January). The length of time required for complete evaluation of a student to be eligible for gifted services, as stipulated by the Georgia Department of Education, is relatively lengthy; therefore, the need to set the qualification achievement assessment (MAP) in the early fall is critical toward ensuring that parent notification of their child’s gifted eligibility status can occur in early spring.
High Achiever Evaluation Process
Relative to high achievers’ magnet eligibility, the MAP achievement assessment utilized must be offered in the fall to provide a fair platform to all students whose MAP test occurs within the same testing window. After a student’s first MAP Assessment, the second assessment a student completes is normed to their achievement level; therefore, offering a variable sample of assessment items. The fall assessment provides test items that are similarly leveled for all students. In addition, it takes several months to extract the achievement data from the MAP system into the District’s student information system, inclusive of data quality assurance and accuracy processes that must be completed in time for the District’s magnet application and lottery processes. Offering the assessment outside of the fall window would significant delay both the application and lottery process due to the amount of time it takes to flatten and align all the data necessary to determine student eligibility for high achievers’ magnet programs.
MAP Assessment to private-schooled and home-schooled
In collaboration with the Office of Research, Assessment, and Grants, the Office of School Choice typically administers the MAP Assessment to private-schooled and home-schooled students on a different schedule in October (typically after hours and on Saturday) and offers an alternative site for home-schooled and private-schooled students in December/January. This is typically a testing population of fewer than fifty students.

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