raise my taxes PLEASE!!!!!! (2 Pages Of Responses)

Mirjo wrote the following and I must have to admit that there is a point being made here.
Arguments over school budgets/taxes/teacher's salaries/ what is, what was, and what should be are as old as dirt!!!

We all just have a new way to discuss and complain about it. SpecialEd has an ax to grind as many others who feel they're paying too much for these things do. Trying to impart any kind of logic on an age-old problem with two sides that are rooted so deeply in their own beliefs is as futile as discussing politics with a staunch Republican and Democrat and expecting a change of fundamental opinion.

Until some genius comes up with a new way to fund public education, this is the model we have.

Mirjo also wrote the following:
A look at the test scores and the achievements of the students it's easy to see that BFA is a good school

Forgive me mirjo. I’m not picking on you. This just happens to be the append to put me over the edge. In my opinion there has been WAY TOO MUCH emphasis placed on the ‘Test Scores’. Since you did not mention the ‘NECAP’ scores specifically then once again I beg for your forgiveness if you were referring to a different set of test scores . The NECAP scores have been brought up in numerous places over the last two weeks and used in a positive manner. The NECAP advertisements seem to be suggesting improvement from year to year and touting BFA as a good school. The NECAP results have appeared in the School Budget flyer, were presented in the School Budget presentation during Town Meeting and have been brought up in numerous appends on this forum.

Let’s take a close look at the claims and reality:
Taken from the School Budget flyer:
•   “BFA Fairfax students in grades 3-8 scored higher than the state average in the NECAP assessment in all areas”
Our kids were slightly higher in Reading 74% to 71%
Our kids were slightly higher in Math 68% to 65%
In Writing our kids scored 18% higher than the state 73% to 55%. Quite an achievement for these students. The writing score was only the result of grades 5 and 8. Since grades 3, 4, 6 and 7 were excluded from this testing the results are not a true gage of our entire primary population.
We didn’t do quite as well in Science. In fact at 46% we were lower then the state average of 48% contradicting the claim made in the School Budget flyer ( see above ).
Also taken from the School Budget flyer:
•   “and demonstrated continual improvement over the past year.”
Again looking at the numbers the statement is true.
o   Reading scores increased from roughly 68% to 74%
o   Math scores increased from 61% to 69%
o   Writing increased from 61% to 73%
o   Science no data available
Folks we are talking year to year here. From one years’ grades 3-8 to another years’ grades 3-8. The same group of students are not taking the test from year to year. The 8th graders move on and the prior year’s 2nd grades start the testing. Also, not sure how much this affects the scores but new students come in from surrounding schools in the 7th grade each year. If you look at a longer term you would tend to see peaks and valleys and if you look at the data from 2005 to 2008 that is what you see in almost all areas of testing.

The high school numbers should not even be discussed as any kind of ‘trend’. The 11th grade is the only class that takes the test each year. The 11th graders are being compared to in effect other 11th graders. Not sure how you can do any sort of trend analysis.

One last thing on NECAP. I’ve heard an almost boasting going on both at town meeting and in this forum that we are scoring higher than the state average. In some areas we are and in at least two areas we are not. But folks, even beating the state average we still have, at best, 25% of our kids doing below proficient levels. In some cases High School Math and High School Writing more than 50% of our kids are below proficient levels and in High School Science a full 75% of our students are testing at below proficient levels.

I’ve heard and read that Farifax is beating the state average in NECAP scores. Well, they are in some areas and they are not in others. Beating the state average should not be the goal here. How could I, a parent of school age children, be proud of a school system who seems to think achieving a score of 48% proficiently rating is ‘OK’?

What to do? I don’t know. I started this append by agreeing with a statement that Mirjo made. Until some genius comes up with a new way to fund public education, this is the model we have. It just hits a nerve with me when the school board and school administrators try to sugar coat the numbers.