Last Weeks Question:
In Baltimore, only seven percent (7%) of the students tested “proficient” in math. How does the Baltimore City school system stack up against New York City schools in terms of learning achievement in math?
A. About the same
B. NYC schools did even worse, only 6% of students in grades 3-8 scored proficient in math
C. NYC schools did a little better, 15% of students in grades 3-8 scored proficient in math
D. NYC schools did three times better, 21% of students in grades 3-8 scored proficient in math
E. NYC schools did more than five times better: 38% of students in grades 3-8 scored proficient in math
F. NYC schools are still closed due to COVID. There was no testing in 2022.
The Answer is “E”: Yup, 38% of the students in grades 3-8 students in NYC public schools scored as proficient in math. NYC Charter schools did even better: 46% of 3-8 grade students tested as proficient. But while NYC kids are doing much better than Baltimore, having less than half of students scoring proficient is nothing to cheer about.
Wonder how the kids in your local school system stack-up? You will never know. Maine schools have switched to a new assessment test called the NWEA. (NWEA does not stand for anything, it is the name of a non profit association that I suspect is making a few people very rich.) According to the Maine Dept of Education, the NWEA test results are not comparable to previous tests, including the tests Baltimore and New York use. The Maine DOE has the 2021-2022 NWEA test results for every school in Maine, but they are not sharing these results with the public (aka the tax payers!). Here are the statewide NWEA test results:
Math: 81% of students tested scored at or above expectations
English Language Arts: 84% of students tested scored at or above expectations
Science: 37% of students scored at or above expectations (That is not a typo – 63% of Maine kids flunked the science test)
This week’s question:
The Maine Wire recently published the results of a FOIA request whereby the University of Maine system had to disclose how much it is paying its employees. You should Goggle it: In my opinion, too many are being paid far too much. Number one on the list, at $594,172, is civil engineer/inventor Habib Dagher. Love him or hate him, you must admit Dagher has brought fame and fortune to old UMaine. Number two on the list, at $552,131 is Robert Brinkley. What is Brinkley’s job at UMaine?
A. Football Coach
B. Vice President – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
C. Assistant Professor of English
D. Hockey Coach
F. Dean of the Dept of Climate Studies
Randall Poulton
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