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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Meade
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RCS 2011 MEAP by School
Listed below are the MEAP scores by grade and subject for each elementary and middle school in Rochester Community Schools. The “Met” column is the percentage for each grade that passed, either as proficient or advanced. The “Adv” column is the percentage that were categorized as advanced.
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MEAP: Rochester vs. State and Top Districts
The MEAP results were made public today. Rochester Patch ran a comparison of average MEAP scores between Rochester Community Schools (RCS) and the state of Michigan. The good news was that we still ranked highly. The bad news is that we trended down. My initial thought was that perhaps the top schools had trended down while the bottom schools trended up, but I needed to run the data.
I also compared Rochester Community Schools to the top 17 districts in the state. In there are three charter schools, which I left in since charter schools are becoming a greater competition for traditional public schools. No private or parochial schools are included. The districts are Achieve Charter Academy, Ann Arbor Public Schools, Birmingham City School District, Bloomfield Hills School District, Canton Charter Academy, East Grand Rapids Public Schools, Forest Hills Public Schools, Glen Lake Community Schools, Haslett Public Schools, Northville Public Schools, Novi Community School District, Okemos Public Schools, Rochester Community School District, Saline Area Schools, South Arbor Charter Academy, South Lyon Community Schools, and Troy School District. These districts were chosen for averaging above 65% proficient in last year’s MEAP using the new cut scores. RCS ranked only behind Canton Charter Academy.
The results were interesting.
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The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations
“While parents of all children who are not in the mainstream do not have an easy time in our society, the fact that 2e children’s disabilities mask their giftedness, and their giftedness masks their disabilities, makes it incredibly hard to get the “experts” to listen and to understand that you can’t just average the two and say this is an average child.” − Joan Affenit
“As we strive to close the achievement gaps between racial and economic groups, we will not succeed if our highest-performing students from lower-income families continue to slip through the cracks. Our failure to help them fulfill their demonstrated potential has significant implications for the social mobility of America’s lower-income families and the strength of our economy and society as a whole.“ – Joshua Wyner, Achievement Trap
“The soft bigotry of low expectations” This famous line of President George W. Bush supporting the passage of No Child Left Behind resounds today as states still struggle to get every school and every child to meet minimum academic standards. But as states strive to improve urban schools, I have to wonder if the government cares that one group of students is still being left behind due to low expectations. Why are gifted minority, low-income, and learning disabled students still being overlooked?
Spotlight on Giftedness – January 2012
A collection of news articles regarding gifted children and education for January 2012.
This month I wanted to highlight a brief article about a subset of gifted children – twice-exceptional (2E) kids. These children are as much a part of the part of the gifted community as any other gifted child but often get overlooked because of their learning disabilities. Rifka Schonfeld’s article Twice Exceptional: One Child, Two Special Needs gives a short glimpse about who these children are and what can be done to help.
The term “twice exceptional” is still new in educational jargon, but it is becoming more prevalent in my practice today. Twice exceptional children have a combination of exceptional intellectual power and uncommonly formidable mental roadblocks. That is, twice exceptional children are gifted intellectually and also can have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Aspergers Syndrome, Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD), or dyslexia.
Research suggests that these children are the most underserved populations in the school system. Most of the time, children who are twice exceptional go through school without recognition of their considerable talents. Instead, they enter adult life without the necessary skills to compensate for their learning disabilities. Many of these children develop low self-esteem and believe that they are simply stupid and “not good at school.” Shockingly, the US Department of Education estimates that 2–5 percent of all students are both gifted intellectually and suffer from some form of learning disability.
I know some of my readers have twice-exceptional children. I would be interested to hear what your experience has been with schools and the gifted community.
Many more great articles are provided in the links below! 
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Spotlight on Giftedness – December 2011
A collection of news articles regarding gifted children and education for December 2011.
December had fewer articles, but there were some real gems, including a two-part article on how many traits of gifted individuals are both positive and negative. There is also an interview with Professor Miraca Gross on structuring a school by ability instead of age.
This month’s featured article is about differentiated instruction. This appears to be the instructional fad sweeping the schools right now as a means of meeting the needs of all students, from struggling to gifted, in the standard classroom. The promises are outstanding, but the results often are not. Jeffrey Bennett explains why in his article Differentiated Instruction: Easier in Theory than in Practice:
The idea behind Differentiated Instruction is beautiful: instead of teachers teaching to the mean of the whole class, teachers “meet children where they are,” and teach all children based on their individual pre-existing skills or learning styles. It’s a theory that holds promise for low-achievers who need more structure and basics and for high-achievers, who need that push and enrichment to reach deeper conceptual knowledge. The concept itself is so attractive that it’s hard to imagine anyone disagreeing with it. In fact, despite the criticisms of Differentiated Instruction that are about to come, I still support it as one of the many tools schools should use to reach students. In elementary schools where leveling is philosophically unpalatable, I think Differentiated Instruction is more than good, it is absolutely necessary as the best method we have of educating students of varying readiness.
My critique is that Differentiated Instruction is no substitute for upward-pushing leveled classes. Even in the writings of Differentiated Instruction main theorists it is not supposed to be a stand-in for in-class leveling. In practice Differentiated Instruction is so time consuming for teachers that they often are unable to do it. My belief is that there is no either/or between differentiation and leveling and using the two in combination is ideal for that ideal “thorough and efficient” education.
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Surveys of teachers show ambivalence about Differentiated Instruction. Although many teachers use Differentiated Instruction enthusiastically, a greater number have issues with it. A 2008 nationwide survey of 900 teachers by the Fordham Institute, over 80% said Differentiated Instruction was “very difficult” or “somewhat difficult” to implement. A very high 76% of teachers would like to see the nation “relying more on homogeneous classes for advanced students so that they learn faster and in greater depth.”
Read the entire article at Patch.
Many more great articles are provided in the links below!
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The Procrustean Bed of Education
Grouping kids by age for instruction makes about as much pedagogical sense as grouping them by height! – Dr. Deborah Ruf, founder of Educational Options
Since the literature demonstrates the value of grouping students by ability, while few if any studies support restricting grouping to common ages, it is ironic that so many schools are moving from the former to the latter. – Mike Robison, “One size fits all?”
In Greek mythology the hero Theseus in his journeys meets a stranger Procrustes who offers him hospitality, including the use of his wonderful bed which ‘fits every guest and cures him of every ill.’ While Procrustes is preparing the bed for Theseus, Procrustes’s servant girl warns Theseus about this bed and why Procrustes is called the Stretcher.
“Did he not tell you that it fits all guests?” said the girl; “and most truly it does fit them. For if a traveler is too long, Procrustes hews off his legs until he is of the right length; but if he is too short, as is the case with most guests, then he stretches his limbs and body with ropes until he is long enough. It is for this reason that men call him the Stretcher.”
Our educational system has become a Procrustean Bed, not measured in inches but in proficiency. The state and federal governments along with the school districts have provided a measure to which some students are stretched and others are not allowed to exceed.
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Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search – Information
What is NUMATS?
NUMATS is Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS). Started in 1982, NUMATS is a program of the Center for Talent Development (CTD) that offers above-grade-level testing for high-performing students in grades 3 through 9. This Talent Search approach is an extremely well-researched and respected program model in gifted education.
NUMATS uses tests intended for older students to provide a more accurate measurement of aptitude, because studies show that students who score in the top 10% on school achievement tests differ widely from average students in their abilities and educational needs. In-grade achievement tests just don’t accurately represent these gifted students’ potential.
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Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search
Meeting the Needs of Gifted Students
FREE Forums for Educators and Parents See Flier: NUMATS MI Promo 11.29.11 FINAL
Special Guest Presenter: Rhoda Rosen, Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University
The first step in charting an effective academic program for gifted students is to assess their ability accurately. Above-grade-level testing is the best means available. High achievers hit the ceiling on standardized grade-level tests. They require a more advanced test, one designed for a higher grade level, to gain a true measure of where they are performing, and what they need moving forward. Knowing what a child is capable of doing, teachers can differentiate and tailor instruction to meet the student’s needs.
Join Rhoda Rosen, Associate Director of the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University in an informative session to discuss the benefits of above-grade level testing as a critical assessment and planning tool.
Wednesday, December 7
Grand Rapids, MI, Kent ISD Educational Service Center, 2930 Knapp Street NE, Grand Room
11 a.m.
Parking in Lot 11
616 / 364 -1333
East Lansing, MI, Michigan State University, Communication Arts & Sciences Building
3:30 p.m.: Session for teachers, gifted coordinators,
school administrators
6 p.m.: Session for parents
Directions at www.cas.msu.edu/695-Directions-Home
517 / 432 – 2129
Thursday, December 8
Waterford, MI, Oakland Schools,
2111 Pontiac Lake Rd.
9 a.m.
248 / 209 – 2434
Rhoda Rosen directs the Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS). In her forums she explains what is involved in above-grade-level testing and how students in grades 3 through 9 can participate. Most importantly, Dr. Rosen discusses the myriad interpretative and planning resources available once test scores are known. Her insights are valuable to any educator or parent committed to ensuring the development of an academically gifted child.
Spotlight on Giftedness – November 2011
A collection of news articles regarding gifted children and education for November 2011.
In November, many of the articles discussed the National Association for Gifted Children‘s State of the States in Gifted Education report. This report provides information on which states have laws regarding identification and education of gifted students.
Education Week had a few articles on gifted education, including this month’s top selection, What Gifted Students Need From You. (Free registration required to read article.)
Today, the National Association of Gifted Children estimates that nearly three million American students are gifted and talented. Teaching these students can be rewarding: They often learn new skills quickly, absorb oodles of information, take on leadership roles, and eagerly employ higher-order thinking skills. But to truly meet the needs of gifted students—especially those who, like Mark Zuckerberg and Lady Gaga, may have an independent streak—can be challenging. Here are some practical tips to help you get started:
- Find out what “gifted” means in your district or state.
- Help identify students who qualify for “gifted and talented programs”—and those who do not but might need individualized supports.
- Use data to differentiate instruction and create appropriate challenges.
- Focus on learning—not on grades.
- Support your students’ social and emotional learning.
There are more tips and their explanations in the article.
Many more great articles are provided in the links below!
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Why Grades Don’t Matter to Me
If I ran a school, I’d give the average grade to the ones who gave me all the right answers, for being good parrots. I’d give the top grades to those who made a lot of mistakes and told me about them, and then told me what they learned from them. – R. Buckminster Fuller, inventor and former Mensa International president
If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake. – Frank Wilczek, Nobel laureate in physics
Many times when I state that I advocate for advanced and gifted education in the Rochester Community Schools, I get a response like “Why should we provide extra education? Your child will get A’s and ace standardized tests. What more could you want?”
I won’t deny that there is some joy in being the parent of gifted children. You know their academic struggles will be few and it is fun to see your children succeed. But having a gifted child also raises questions and creates dilemmas.
The primary question when it comes to school, and it is really a question every parent should ask, is “Is my child learning?” And it is here that grades not only aren’t a reliable indicator, but actually can be misleading.
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