The New England Common Assessment Program was administered to 11,600 public school students this past October. Providence students' scores were disappointing, but their math scores were particularly disturbing: Only 10 percent of eleventh grade students' scores qualified as "proficient," according to the NECAP.
Reading and writing scores were also low, with 45 percent of eleventh grade students scoring "proficient" in reading and 27 percent scoring "proficient" in writing. Scores across the state were not much better. Only 21 percent of all eleventh graders in Rhode Island were judged "proficient" in math.
It is important to note that this test is new and that the mainstream opinion of education officials is that it is much more difficult than previously administered tests. While NECAP suggests that Providence schools could do a better job of educating their students, especially in math, the Providence district should be commended for improving scores in both reading and writing. Still, it is clear that the district needs to improve in all three core subjects: math, reading and writing.
Hope High School, an urban facility with a large population of students of color located only a few miles from Brown's campus, was recently divided into three different schools: Hope Arts School, Hope Information Technology School and Hope Leadership School. The percentages of students who performed at the "proficient" level in the math section of the NECAP were zero percent, 1.15 percent and 3.51 percent, respectively. In addition, both the reading and writing scores for Hope were significantly below the state average.
The NECAP reveals two main problems. The first is that the Providence Public School District is lagging behind the rest of Rhode Island in reading, writing and math. The second is that there is an achievement gap between students of color and their white counterparts and between affluent and poor high schools. This achievement gap is not unique to Providence, but that is no reason to sit by passively and watch local public schools fall victim.
The increased difficulty of this year's test in no way excuses the underwhelming results. Providence schools still score much lower in math, reading and writing compared with other school districts in the state. It is unclear why the Providence School District is not on par with neighboring districts - the entire state has encountered difficulties in implementing policies to boost students' educational achievement. Despite the extremely low test scores, Gov. Donald Carcieri '65 and state education officials have publicly supported standards set by NECAP. It's worth asking how to help students meet these standards.
According to the Providence Journal, "More than half of the state's 58 high schools have still not integrated the state's grade-level expectations in all subjects that were rolled out several years ago." The best possible solution seems to involve attracting better teachers to Providence public schools. But drawing talented teachers to work in underserved high schools that often lack the proper resources can prove challenging, if not impossible.
I have previously supported raising teachers' salaries, but I think that raising salaries above a certain level would be misguided. Admittedly, low salaries probably deter people from entering the teaching profession in the first place. But we don't want educators who are primarily motivated to teach by financial considerations. Enticing teachers with high salaries might lead some teachers to value money above all else: above personal convictions, responsibility and moral obligations.
In order to improve education at the local and national levels, we will have to figure out how to attract bright and talented individuals - people who could earn more in the private sector - to teach in underserved communities. A good starting point would be to get the word out about the failures of our education system. We must unite as a nation to solve the shortcomings of our public schools. If we truly want to live in a democracy, in a nation where we all have a voice, then we must recognize the grave problems with the public education system and the threat that they pose to our survival as a people. We must invest in empowering youth with the ability to think critically and to represent themselves and their individual interests in an increasingly competitive and globalized society.
Michael Ramos-Lynch '09 is hooked on phonics.
