chanel
Silver Member
Three miles separate Crest Memorial School in Wildwood Crest from Glenwood Avenue Elementary School in neighboring Wildwood, but the makeup of the two schools, and their state test scores, are very different.
More than 90 percent of the fourth-graders passed the state language arts test at Crest Memorial in 2011, while only 30 percent of the Wildwood students passed, according to annual state test results released by the state Department of Education on Wednesday. In math, 45 percent of fourth-graders passed in Wildwood; 96 percent passed at Crest Memorial.
“There is no debate that there is a direct correlation between socio-economics and academic performance,” Anderson said
That so-called achievement gap between more-affluent students and their low-income and minority counterparts is at the heart of state efforts to improve academic performance, acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf said Wednesday.
Students' test scores divided by achievement gap in New Jersey - pressofAtlanticCity.com: Breaking News
Well Mr. Anderson, believe it or not, there is plenty of debate on that correlation.
Righties claim that the biggest factors are teachers, tenure, and accountability.
Lefties claim poor kids in poor schools just need more money.
The teachers claim they need more parental involvement.
The irony is that Wildwood gets more money than any school in the community. The teachers START over $50K with a bachelor's degree.
Schools are simply a microcosm of the larger community. Parents who support education generally have good schools and vice versa.
I don't know what the solution is, but I do know that no amount of testing, firing, or money will make Wildwood's test scores go up. Those parents need jobs. Period.
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