SAT SCORES NOT AS ROSY AS THEY WANT YOU TO THINK
The South Carolina big government education establishment has been working hard all week trying to spin the dreadful results of South Carolina’s SAT scores, released earlier this week.
While those numbers showed public schools in lower-income areas were expectedly low — Lee (806), Williamsburg (802), Allendale (799) and McCormick (793) counties were in the bottom ranks — the predominately white, upper-middle class districts were comparatively higher. The elites breathed a sigh of relief and the PR machine of state schools superintendent Jim Rex began touting York 4 - Fort Mill, Anderson 2 and Anderson 4, whose scores were above 1050.
Except, those districts only look good when compared to the crappy schools IN THIS STATE.
In this light, when only compared to the Corridor of Shame Districts, white middle class parents in the South Carolina suburbs can selfishly gloat about their “excellent” government schools.
But the sad fact is that kids in York and Anderson won’t be competing with students from Allendale and Hampton for entrance into prestigious colleges or high tech jobs. The real competition comes from children with similar backgrounds in other states (not to mention other countries). [Voice for School Choice blog]
All we have to do is look to neighboring North Carolina and Georgia, where VFC notes the average difference between Fort Mill (our highest achiever) and the top districts in those states is in the hundreds. That’s hundreds LESS for Fort Mill.
Of course, we could always just raise property taxes and continue to spend more per pupil than almost any other state, right Mr. Rex? It’s gotten us this far, why turn back now?
This entry was posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2008 at 10:28 am and is filed under Executive. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Why should we try to emulate the success of other states by doing something no other state is doing? If the best state school systems succeed without vouchers, why would we try vouchers?
It would be beneficial if your group would volunteer to run one of the low performing schools and show everyone just how bad the department of education is. That would really convince everyone you know what you’re talking about.
Great point by Rob.
Fact is that the right-wing propaganda groups (and blogs) will spin this any way they think they can get away with. At the same time, I think Jim Rex is off-base to tout increased scores if the public school scores aren’t part of that increase….he was sort of asking to be hammered by the right.
Problem with all this is that the SAT is a VERY unscientific measure of school success. If the sample size between states is different, that can skew numbers. If one state only pushes college-bound kids to take the test, that’s very different from a state that encourages all-comers to give it a try. So, this business of going on SAT averages is really kind of a joke.
Which isn’t to say you ever WANT scores to go down, of course. But as a scientific measure to compare state-by-state or even one school to the next, it’s not all that useful.
By all measures, not just SAT scores, SC scores at the bottom, except on spending. We pay for Grade A and get Grade F. It is time to give all parents the options to send their kids to any school that they choose. Too bad the educrats control the SC House and Senate.
The SAT is worthless as a predictor of college success. Rank in class and school quality are muc better predictors, and it is extremely difficult to compare SATs from state to state for a variety of reasons. That said, I still think our public schools are generally disgraceful.
David O.
By giving “all parents the options to send their kids to any school that they choose,” what exactly do you mean?
Do you mean that if the parents of a poor child struggling in school “chooses” to send that child to Heathwood Hall with Mark Sanford’s children, then that “choice” must be guaranteed? My guess is that Heathwood Hall wouldn’t likely go along with that.
Or what if a parent in small-town-rural South Carolina “chooses” to send her child to the ONE private school in the county — does that “choice” have to be guaranteed even if that private school doesn’t want to admit the child?
Seems to me like giving “all parents the options to send their kids to any school that they choose” is a sketchy proposition, at best….and a bit of dishonest rhetoric from the right-wing.
Clearly we can fix education by banning poor students from taking the SAT.
Can our teachers support themselves on what they make? Do they want to go to their jobs everyday?
Once upon a time, I watched an airport employee de ice the wings of the plane I was getting to take off in. I wondered if that guy liked his job? If they paid him enough?
Same with schools………
David O- SC isn’t at the very bottom of school spending, but we’re definitely below average. According to the latest Census Bureau numbers, SC spent an average of $8,091 per pupil (33rd nationally), compared to a national average of $9,138 and a GA average of $8,565. We’re not doing horrible, but let’s not pretend we’re funding “A” grades.
Check the numbers. SC is 26 in spending.