Bumper Lanes For SC Schools
For those of you life-challenged people who’ve never bowled before, the whole concept behind “bumper lanes” is to guarantee that no matter how badly you roll the ball, at least a few of the pins are going to go down.
Everybody’s a winner, because there’s really no way to miss hitting something when you’ve rigged the system to eliminate any possibility of failure.
Not surprisingly, “bumper lanes” are incredibly popular at kiddie birthday parties, old folks’ home getaways and bowling outings for retarded people.
Anyway, with that imagery in mind, we about fell out of our chairs today when our friends over at The Voice included a picture of bumper lanes in their latest post about the feelgood “award standards” that were modified by South Carolina’s utterly-worthless Education Oversight Committee.
From The Voice:
One of the responsibilities of the EOC’s ASAS (Academic Standards and Assessments Subcommittee) is determining eligibility for public school awards. In late November the subcommittee submitted recommendations to re-write guidelines for the Palmetto Gold and Silver Awards.
Under the proposal:
- Schools that meet an EOC determined standard will receive a “gold†award
- Schools that fail to meet the standard but make some student-wide improvement will receive a “silver†award
- Schools that fail to meet the standards but have some students make some improvement will receive a new “closing the gap†award.
Question about their merits aside, these awards are a big deal. That’s because they are tied to additional funding for the “awardee†schools. The awards -merited or not- also a lend an appearance of credibility and accomplishment to the schools in the eyes of parents, lawmakers and community members.
The awards further draw attention away from the 8-in-10 federal AYP failure rate, the 51 percent high school dropout rate, the widening racial gaps and the inability of the “best†public schools to compete with public schools in the Southeast.
Under the new criteria EOC ASAS members predict an immediate jump of 50 percent in awards issued. Based on the rule changes some 356 schools will now be eligible, compared to 239 last year.
Reworking the faux-awards is part of the larger ongoing effort to strip South Carolina’s accountability laws, water down the state’s standardized testing, and mis-report data to parents and the press.
Exactly … which is why this incessant turd-polishing must be stopped.
Not content with depriving parents of legitimate educational choices, these bovines are all about perpetuating the illusion of progress.
Comments
By reggie on December 1st, 2008 at 10:07 pm
wow, this is crap!!!
how are we supposed to move forward by awarding mediocracy? this is much like how USC fans act over a win in the Music City Bowl.
you cant let everybody be a winner because sooner or later, they’re going to lose. the kids who fail three classes but somehow manage to pass their grade by attending summer school go nowhere. the only way that SC education can get better is if we smack it in the face and start raising the bar.
i can see this plan now; “Hey Mr. Principal, we totally failed by the state’s expectations, but we still got this nice silver medal because little Johnny in the 10th grade knows what photosynthesis is!!! YAY!!!!!!”
its a load of bull.
how about this scenario: “Hey Mr. Principal, we totally failed by the state’s expectations. what do we do know?”
that would be a HUGE step forward for some school districts and a nice extra step for others.
sheeshhh people. stop rewarding crap and accept excellence!
By Gene E. Nowak on December 2nd, 2008 at 11:24 am
You would not want to stigmatize those “Educrats” as being failures and then have their peers ostracize them. That could possibly retard their intellectual growth.
The uninformed among us may feel that their ideas are retarded, but then we have not been properly indoctrinated in touchy-feely-protect-our turf ideas.
By baker on December 2nd, 2008 at 11:40 am
I’m not a big fan of these recognitions and labels, in general. Indeed, it does become a little like getting excited because your football team made some third-tier bowl game. Moreover, I think teachers and principals in most schools, including those that don’t necessarily “make the cut” for these awards, are working hard to do their best with the kids they’re trying to teach. I’m not sure it’s entirely accurate to point to one school over another in this way.
At the same time, it is reasonable, I suppose, to recognize schools that are making progress — even if, as Will and the SCRG folks note, that progress doesn’t yet equal the success we’d all like to see. Particularly in tough schools, if teachers and administrators are finding successful innovations, then it’s probably good to call some attention to it.
I also guess that there is a certain amount of money set aside as an incentive for making progress, and they’re trying to figure out how to divvy that up. Creating these designations may be primarily about getting that money to the schools the EOC people think are most deserving.
But, yeah, I would agree that these labels — whether good or bad — do little to really give a clear picture of what’s going on in our schools.
By BIN News Editorial Staff on December 2nd, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Get over it, sic(k) willie! Your scambagger voucher plan is dead in SC. Just ask Jake. Then tell your carpetbugger money masters at SCRG. Tell Howie, too.
You have been exposed. You know the real problems facing public education in SC include the shameful “minimally adequate” standard set by our Legislature, as well as funding problems, racism, poverty and the host of related social problems that come along with all that baggage.
What makes your scam even worse is that you guys know the real problems. But you refuse to even discuss them here. You just spout your scumbuggery.
BIN News Editorial Staff
Always Flair and Balanced