I will protect your pensions. Nothing about your pension is going to change when I am governor. - Chris Christie, "An Open Letter to the Teachers of NJ" October, 2009

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

The Public School "Jewels" The Media Ignores

On Sunday, the Star-Ledger gave a big, fat, wet kiss to TEAM Academy Charter School, the Newark branch of the national KIPP charter chain. Before she even wrote the piece, Bruce Baker and I, in a series of emails, explained repeatedly to Julie O'Connor , the author of this piece, that KIPP/TEAM is a decent school but hardly a "jewel" worthy of the outsized praise she was heaping on them.

It didn't matter: O'Connor had it set in her head that KIPP/TEAM was freaking awesome, and pesky facts and data and logic were not going to keep her from writing her love sonnet.  In our exchange with O'Connor, it became abundantly clear that she was already in the tank, blithely regurgitating the talking points that KIPP/TEAM was feeding to her and ignoring everything we had to say.

But did it ever occur to O'Connor that there may be other schools in New Jersey -- both district schools and charters -- that shine just as brightly as KIPP/TEAM? 

In a sidebar to her piece, O'Connor presents some pre-digested evidence that KIPP/TEAM is so very special:
- Their elementary and high schools equal or outperform the average for the state of New Jersey, even though the students are much poorer. 
- They close the achievement gap and surpass national averages in reading and math by 8th grade.

- 88 percent receive free or reduced meals, a measure of poverty. In Newark district schools, it's 85 percent.
Is it true? Does KIPP/TEAM "outperform" the state average? Well...


Yes, KIPP/TEAM does beat the state average -- but only in two grades. Once we get to Grade 5, the advantage starts to go away, particularly in math. And as for its high school:


For all sorts of reasons, the SAT is a terrible assessment of school quality. But O'Connor keeps going on and on in her piece about KIPP/TEAM's high college attendance rate, so I say it's fair game for our purposes. And, no, KIPP/TEAM does not beat the state's average SAT score*, either combined or in any subcomponent. 

Does that mean KIPP/TEAM is a "bad" school? Far from it: meeting, let alone beating, the state average on any test when you enroll many students in economic disadvantage is a notable accomplishment. Of course, the real question is how KIPP/TEAM gets its scores, and whether high test scores by themselves are a worthy goal...

But let's save that debate for another time and instead ask a different question. Here's O'Connor:
Many people in New Jersey have no clue about this jewel in their midst. After decades of pouring huge sums of money into traditional urban schools, with mixed results, their skepticism is understandable. 
See, we're pouring "huge sums of money" (more on this later) into urban schools. But KIPP/TEAM -- and only KIPP/TEAM -- is getting the results that make it worthy of a big spread in the Sunday S-L.

But is KIPP/TEAM really that special?

By O'Connor's standard, a "jewel" need not get test scores above the state average in all grades and subjects; one or two grades should suffice. For our purposes, we'll say that a school has to beat the state average on at least one test: the NJASK (math or English language arts (ELA), Grades 3 to 8; science, Grade 4 or 8), the HSPA (High School Proficiency Assessment), or the SAT.*

KIPP/TEAM's free or reduced-price lunch rate is 86 percent. That can vary a bit from year to year, however, so let's say this: any school where at least 75 percent of the students qualify for FRPL is in KIPP/TEAM's peer group for our comparison.

Here's the question: how many schools in New Jersey have at least three-quarters of their children in economic disadvantage, but still manage to beat the state average on at least one test?

Apparently, more than Julie O'Connor or the Star-Ledger have ever bothered to find:


District
School
FRPL Pct
Tested Over State Average (may be others)
ATLANTIC CITY
Chelsea Heights School
89%
Science_8
ATLANTIC CITY
Richmond Avenue School
92%
Math_6
CLIFFSIDE PARK BORO
School #3
79%
Math_5
CLIFFSIDE PARK BORO
School #5
75%
Math_3
GARFIELD CITY
ROOSEVELT SCHOOL #7
78%
Science_4
LODI BOROUGH
Roosevelt School
76%
Science_4
VINELAND CITY
Dane Barse Elementary School
79%
Science_4
VINELAND CITY
Max Leuchter
80%
Math_4
EAST ORANGE
Benjamin Banneker Academy
83%
Science_4
ESSEX CO VOC-TECH
Bloomfield Tech
83%
Math_HSPA
NEWARK CITY
SCIENCE PARK HIGH SCHOOL
80%
SAT_1550
NEWARK CITY
Technology High School
91%
Math_HSPA
NEWARK CITY
ANN STREET SCHOOL
80%
Science_8
NEWARK CITY
Newark Early College High School
78%
Science_8
NEWARK CITY
FIRST AVENUE SCHOOL
86%
Math_5
NEWARK CITY
LAFAYETTE STREET SCHOOL
86%
Math_8
NEWARK CITY
MT VERNON PLACE SCHOOL
79%
Math_6
NEWARK CITY
OLIVER STREET SCHOOL
87%
Math_3
NEWARK CITY
WILSON AVENUE SCHOOL
86%
Math_8
CITY OF ORANGE TWP
CLEVELAND STREET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
86%
Math_3
WEST ORANGE TOWN
WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
78%
Math_5
HOBOKEN CITY
Thomas G. Connors
88%
Math_3
JERSEY CITY
Infinity Institute
76%
SAT_1550
JERSEY CITY
Joseph H. Brensinger School
77%
Math_5
KEARNY TOWN
Washington Elementary School
81%
Math_3
NORTH BERGEN TWP
John F Kennedy Elementary School
79%
ELA_5
UNION CITY
Jefferson Elementary School
97%
Math_4
UNION CITY
Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School
98%
Math_3
UNION CITY
Veterans' Memorial Elementary School
93%
Math_3
UNION CITY
George Washington Elementary School
98%
Math_6
WEST NEW YORK TOWN
Public School Number One
86%
Math_6
WEST NEW YORK TOWN
Public School Number Two
80%
Math_6
WEST NEW YORK TOWN
Robert Menendez Elementary School
88%
Science_4
WEST NEW YORK TOWN
Albio Sires Elementary School
85%
Math_4
FREEHOLD BORO
Freehold Learning Center
78%
Math_3
DOVER TOWN
East Dover Elementary School
77%
Math_5
PASSAIC CITY
Mario Drago School # 3
84%
Math_3
PASSAIC CITY
Theodore Roosevelt School # 10
97%
Math_4
PASSAIC CITY
Daniel F. Ryan Elementary School # 19
93%
Math_5
PATERSON CITY
Alexander Hamilton Academy
92%
Math_3
PATERSON CITY
SCHOOL 1
82%
Science_4
PATERSON CITY
URBAN LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
85%
Math_4
PATERSON CITY
SCHOOL 5
95%
Math_4
PATERSON CITY
CHARLES J RILEY SCHOOL 9
95%
Math_6
PATERSON CITY
SCHOOL 19
93%
Math_3
PATERSON CITY
SCHOOL 28
84%
Science_8
PATERSON CITY
ROBERTO CLEMENTE
97%
Science_4
PATERSON CITY
NORMAN S WEIR
82%
Science_4
ELIZABETH CITY
Elizabeth High School
76%
SAT_1550
ELIZABETH CITY
Terence C. Reilly School # 7
79%
Science_8
ELIZABETH CITY
Abraham Lincoln School No. 14
86%
Math_8
ELIZABETH CITY
Dr. Orlando Edreira Academy School No. 26
76%
Math_8
ELIZABETH CITY
Dr. Albert Einstein Academy School No. 29
84%
Math_6
ELIZABETH CITY
Ronald Reagan Academy School No. 30
87%
Math_7
ELIZABETH CITY
Dr. Antonia Pantoja School No. 27
84%
Math_8
PLAINFIELD CITY
Woodland Elementary School
87%
ELA_4
PHILLIPSBURG TOWN
ANDOVER MORRIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
78%
Math_4
Foundation Academy CS
Foundation Academy Charter School
85%
Math_8
Camden's Pride Charter Schhol
Camden's Pride Charter School
91%
Math_3
Newark Legacy CS
Newark Legacy Charter School
86%
Science_4
Passaic Arts and Science CS
Passaic Arts and Science Charter School
84%
Math_5
Discovery CS
Discovery Charter School
97%
Science_8
International CS of Trenton
International Charter School of Trenton
92%
Math_4
New Horizons Comm. CS
New Horizons Community Charter School
96%
Math_4
North Star Acad. CS of Newark
North Star Academy Charter Schools of Newark
84%
SAT_1550
TEAM Academy Charter School
TEAM Academy Charter School
86%
Math_4
Queen City Academy CS
The Queen City Academy Charter School
80%
Science_8
Maria L. Varisco-Rogers CS
Maria Varisco Rogers Charter School
83%
Science_8
Village CS
The Village Charter School
81%
Math_6



69 schools in New Jersey tested above the state average on at least one assessment, even though at least 75% of their students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. And yet only KIPP/TEAM Academy was singled out by the Star-Ledger as a "jewel."

Now, I'm puzzled: there are plenty of other schools, both district and charter, that perform at least as well as TEAM/KIPP while serving many children in poverty. Why, then, does TEAM/KIPP get all this attention, while the others labor in obscurity?
KIPP New Jersey
Newark, NJ
Director of Marketing and Communications
Relevant Work Experience: 5+ years

Description: KIPP New Jersey is looking for a marketing and communications expert to help our network achieve its ultimate goals: hire the best teachers, run great schools and serve more students. The director of marketing and communication will develop the organization's marketing and communications strategy, plan and oversee marketing and communications projects and work to change the narrative about charters in our communities. The director of marketing and communication will develop, plan and deliver marketing content to meet the needs of all external facing departments - development, recruitment, enrollment and community relations - to improve and support KIPP NJ's marketing objectives. An ideal candidate will be skilled at understanding and accessing all of KIPP NJ's various audiences including public, parents, teachers, decision makers and other stakeholders.
Click to Apply [emphasis mine]
Thinking...

Julie, you and your boss at the Star-Ledger, Tom Moran, may consider this my gift to you. I have given you nearly 70 leads on schools that "beat the odds," even if they don't have full-time "Directors of Marketing & Communications."

Will you dare to follow up?

If there isn't a PR department, we aren't interested in your school...


* My SAT state averages are different than those reported by the state: the state's are higher, which disadvantages TEAM/KIPP even more. It may be a weighting issue, except the state doesn't weight its NJASK averages, so I don't know why they would weight SAT scores. In any case, by either measure, TEAM/KIPP does not beat the state average on the SAT.

1 comment:

P. Grunther said...

Seriously great post Duke...if only there were serious journalists at the SL who could be shamed into pursuing your leads. Alas we all know perfectly well that the last thing they are going to do is actually conduct valid research since their goal is only to play cheerleader to Christie and Anderson's plans for Newark.