Comments on: Failing public schools and you

By: William Bryant

William Bryant — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:35:40 +0000

Our schools suck BECAUSE (here’s the real reason why) All the testing our government puts on the schools. From MAP on down, all the testing does is prove we suck, and force our kids to suck even worse because they never learn material. They get crammed day by day with information for a test that they’ll forget because they have to cram for the next one.

Don’t believe me? Ask a teacher. Aren’t they the ones we should be asking anyways?

By: David O

David O — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:06:10 +0000

Check the numbers. SC is 26 in spending.

By: Rob W.

Rob W. — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:15:53 +0000

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.

By: loulou

loulou — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:13:27 +0000

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………

By: Bill A

Bill A — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:06:47 +0000

Clearly we can fix education by banning poor students from taking the SAT.

By: baker

baker — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:37:43 +0000

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.

By: johndozier

johndozier — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:29:50 +0000

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.

By: David O

David O — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:14:55 +0000

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.

By: baker

baker — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:41:20 +0000

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: Jim

Jim — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:23:53 +0000

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.