EDUCATION PERFORMANCE IN SAD 63 ACCORDING TO NATIONAL DATA

Have you have been watching the National News this weekend (or the promotions last week) regarding the Special Project called "Education Nation" being highlighted on the Today show and Meet the Press? If so, you have seen where people can check out the performance of their specific and individual public schools across the nation. This writer did so.

I specifically checked out the Eddington Elementary School Reading and Math performance scores, which also provided all of SAD 63 4th grade scores (thereby providing the scores for Holden Elementary School as well). And then I checked out the graduation rates for Brewer High School and Bangor High School. John Bapst Memorial High School was not included because it is a private school. The following information is both disturbing and interesting from a local and state-wide perspective (not to mention from a taxpayer's perspective).

The following data is based on 2008-2009 scores.

Eddington Elementary School: 88% passed the 4th grade Reading exam
SAD 63 District as a whole: 77% passed the 4th grade Reading exam
Maine (statewide average): 71% passed the 4th grade Reading exam

Eddington Elementary School: 55% passed the 4th grade Math exam
SAD 63 District as whole: 52% passed the 4th grade Math exam
Maine (statewide average): 66% passed the 4th grade Math exam

SUMMARY: Eddington Elementary School (and SAD 63) scores were better than the Maine average in Reading, but worse than the Maine average in Math.

Questions regarding these scores and what is being done to improve the teaching of these subjects to our elementary students should be raised at the School Board meeting tomorrow night, September 27, at the Eddington Elementary School at 6:30.

Another important area the Education Nation Project is addressing is the percentage of American students who are graduating from High School. So, using the same tool - www.Educationnation.com - I wrote in the two high schools (Bangor High School and Brewer High School) to which we are sending the majority of our students. The following is the data provided. Again, the data is 2008-2009.

Brewer High School had an enrollment of 1,735 with a graduation rate of 82%

Bangor High School had an enrollment rate of 3,930 with a graduation rate of 80%.

According to the state of Maine, the average state-wide high school graduation rate is 83%, so both of our two high schools falls below the state's average.

Again, because John Bapst Memorial High School is a private school, data was not available.

(It is interesting to note that only 39% of our students graduate from college.)

More interesting data regarding students who do and do not graduate from High School:
*A High School graduate earns an annual income of $25,610.
*A High School dropout earns $17,886.

NOTE: Maybe the dropout rate (and the low rate of college graduates (along with the high taxation rate) contributes to the state of near poverty across the state.

According to the information provided on the charts which came up when this writer queried our local high schools' performance, the following national information was most interesting.

"State expectation for students"
"The national test uses a common set of metrics for students in all states and sets a high bar for student achievement. States' expectations and standardized tests vary greatly. Compared to the national test, Maine sets a much lower bar for student achievement." (emphasis added by this writer)

Questions from this writer: (1)If Maine sets a "much lower bar for student achievement" and our local students are still performing worse than the Maine average, how can we expect them to do well once they move on to higher education? To college? Into the work force where Math and Reading comprehension are essential components? (2) While it is fine and good to proclaim Maine is "independent", it cannot expect its students to become successful in their employment or career goals if they can not compete academically with those individuals whose standard of education has been set at "a higher bar". Independence comes from having the ability to choose from multiple opportunities - not just having to take whatever is left over.

"State graduation report"
"The Federal government uses a well-regarded calculation to estimate high school graduation rates. The calculation used by Maine produces an estimate that is similar to than the Federal government's estimate."

(Translation to the italicized phrase: Maine decided to use "a similar estimated" calculation rather than use the standardized one. Question: Why not use the Federal standard calculation? Could it be that the Maine graduation rates would look even worse under the Federal calculation? The information provided on the Education Nation charts indicates that would be the case. It states, "Each state has its own math and reading tests and graduation rate calculation." It even shows a map with results of national exams and graduation rates as calculated by the U.S. Department of Education. Using the Federal standard calculations, the high school graduation rates for Maine shows an overall average of 79% - not the 83% the Maine state government reported.

Perhaps Maine parents should wonder about the validity of the other scores as well. Maybe they aren't really as high as they have been reported to be even as late as 2008-2009.