Arghhh! My back itches. Sunburn from last weekend. Have you ever noticed that the worst itch is a spot just barely out of reach? So you find yourself looking for corners to rub your back across. Ahhhh! Relief. Some of you have significant others. I have cats. Doofus! Ashley! Come here and scratch Dad's back. Yawn. Dammit Doofus, you scratch the furniture. Why not my back? Yawn. Are you speaking to me?
Warning! The following commentary will have lots of adult language. If you are offended by that type of language please leave. I am very pissed off. It's either profanity or my keyboard.
I opened the Atlanta Urinal and Constipation and this article was on the front page. I love living in the South, but at times like these, I kinda wish I were back in Missouri.
Georgia educators can no longer exclaim, "Thank
God for South Carolina."
Which Georgia just passed for worst SAT scores among the states. Jesus H. Christ! Georgia is lower than Arkansas, Alabama, and Mississippi. Does anyone wonder now why Jimmy Carter was such a lousy president?
The Palmetto State, long the doormat of SAT
rankings, passed Georgia this year, bringing
finger-pointing and promises of change from
embarrassed state officials in Atlanta. Only the
schools in the District of Columbia scored lower
this year on the college entrance exam.
A shining city on a hill, Washington DC, has the lowest SAT scores in the country, and we expect the Department of Education to fix our schools. Hey buttheads! Why don't you start with the schools in your own fucking city?
Georgia's 50th-place ranking left parents with
another sign that, for all the talk of reform, many
students are struggling.
No shit!
"We have not been preparing our students
adequately because they haven't had access to a
rigorous curriculum and certified instruction,
particularly in math and science," said Cathy
Henson, state school board chairwoman and the
mother of a Walton High School student who will
take the SAT in October. "We have inflated grades
and mediocre work."
Walton High School has the highest SAT scores in the state. It's one of the few schools that is performing well. We'll find out why later.
Georgia's average combined math and verbal score
is 980 this year, the same as last year. The
national average also remained unchanged, at
1,020 out of a possible 1,600.
But I bet the students all have high self esteem. They're real big on teaching that self esteem bullshit in the Georgia schools. I feel real fucking good about myself Miss Jones. That's nice Johnny.
However, South Carolina saw its average jump seven points, to 981. Washington,
D.C., came in 51st, with a score of 953.
953! 953! Dontcha get 600 points just for signing your name?
Georgia scores have risen 32 points in the past decade, and South Carolina's have
gone up 43 points as both states have jockeyed to stay out of the SAT basement.
We're Number 50! I'm so fucking proud!
Georgia School Superintendent Linda Schrenko showed her disappointment
Tuesday when she announced this year's results.
Bet the Republicans were glad she lost in the primary race for governor. The Democrats would have had a lot of fun with that.
"Where the scores started is abysmal. Where we ended is abysmal," said
Schrenko, who leaves office in January. "I'm now fearful we're on the wrong track."
No shit Linda. Congratulations on the excellent job you did while in office. Granted, in Georgia, the state School Superintendent does not have much power and she was outnumbered by Democrats on the state School Board. There's plenty of blame to go around.
The College Board, which administers the test, warns against comparing states
because different numbers of students take the SAT in each state. Georgia, South
Carolina and North Carolina, in which a high percentage of students take the test,
generally have lower scores. States where only the top high school students take
the SAT, like North Dakota, Mississippi and Iowa, are typically among the
highest-scoring.
Mississippi? Mississippi? We were beat out by fucking Mississippi?
Nonetheless, politicians, real estate agents and corporate and community
boosters use SAT scores to sell their wares.
Come to Georgia where the schools really suck.
"When you're at the bottom, it kind of hits you in the face," noted George
Engelhard, an Emory University education studies professor.
Emory University, home of Michael Bellesiles, he of the shoddy research.
The poor showing on the SAT is such a
hot political issue that former state Sen.
Sonny Perdue, the Republican nominee
for governor,
And aren't they glad it isn't Linda Schrenko?
held a Statehouse press
conference less than two hours after the
scores were announced. He blamed the
dismal performance on Gov. Roy
Barnes' recent education reform laws
That obviously haven't done too fucking much.
and Democratic political dominance in
general. Perdue said, "135 years of
one-party rule has failed the children of
this state."
And the NEA (teachers union) hasn't been a big help either. Oh, they're all Democrats? Ya don't say.
Barnes said the low SAT scores could
be blamed on past inaction.
Roy's been governor for four years now. Before him was Zell Miller. Yep. That Zell Miller. And before him was Joe Frank Harris. They were all Democrats.
"You're paying now for what they failed to do
years ago," said the governor,
Democrat governors, Democrat legislatures, and teachers unions working together for mediocrity. Yesterday, number 49. Today number 50. They're your fucking people Roy.
who claims his long-range improvement plan
will bring higher scores.
Long range probably means after he leaves office.
The SAT is seen by some experts as a good indicator of how students will do
during their first year in college.
Georgia students ain't gonna do worth shit! And here comes the bullshit that's gonna send my blood pressure through the roof.
Critics say it is culturally biased and a poor measure of
what students have learned in high school.
Culturally biased! I swear to Christ, everytime I read that I just want to find one of these asshole critics and have them explain to me just what the fuck they mean by culturally biased. What fucking culture are they talking about? American culture? That's the culture we have here. That is the culture we have always had here. The first generation of immigrants brings their language and culture with them from the old country. We then take parts of their culture and their language and integrate it into our culture and language. The second generation becomes Americans. We are all richer for it. It wasn't until this liberal bullshit of multiculturism was introduced that we started seeing enormous breakdowns in American culture. Now it's OK to not learn English. We'll teach you in your own language. Of course, when you get out of school you won't be able to get a job because you can't speak a fucking word of English. Thanks you fucking liberal dickheads for fucking up another person and making me pay to support him because he has no fucking skills.
How about black inner city culture? Here goes that racist bastard bitching about black folks again. No. What I'm bitching about is an anti-achievement mentality in the inner city that says learning to read and write English and succeeding in school is acting white. So do we want the SAT to be written for this culture?
Question 1: Jamal is planning a driveby shooting and has a ten round magazine. He only has 6 bullets in the magazine. How many more bullets does he need to have a full magazine?
Culturally biased? To succeed in this country you have to learn to live in the predominant culture. I'm sorry, but that's how it works. I'm not going off on black folks. I am going off on their leaders, like John 'spitting' Lewis and the NAA fucking CP who think getting the Confederate flag off the grounds of the statehouse in South Carolina is more important than changing the anti-achievement mentality in the inner city. Getting the state flag of Georgia changed was more important than preventing fourteen year old black girls from having babies. Calling George Bush and John Ashcroft racist Nazis was more important than doing something about the crack epidemic in the inner city.
The most important asset of any country is its people. I rail at people like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Cynthia McKinney because they preach the tired old gospel of hate whitey and the only reason poor black people are not getting ahead is racism, racism, and racism. The only people they are enriching is themselves. I do not like seeing people in poverty. The solution is not throwing money at the problem. We have thrown $5 trillion at poverty since the Great fucking Society and we still have just as much. The solution to poverty is education, a work ethic, and not having children one cannot afford. In America it is as simple as that. That is American culture. If the SAT's are culturally biased they are biased on an un-American culture.
Several factors play into Georgia's low SAT scores.
And these factors are ... bet they have sumpin to do with Diversity (All Hail Diversity!)
The state has a more diverse group of test takers than many other states.
What did I tell ya? But ... but ... I thought Diversity (All Hail Diversity!) was supposed to be a good thing.
North Carolina has a similar population, a similar number of test takers, and
higher overall scores. But Georgia has a higher percentage of African-American
students taking the test, and they tend to score lower.
And why is that? They're either dumber (I didn't say they were) or there's another reason. Could it perhaps be the anti-achievement mentality of the inner city. Where the fuck is the outrage about this? I'm fucking outraged because we are wasting a whole shitload of people. There are lots of black men in jail because our education system is failing. I'm waiting for the hue and cry from the black community. Oh, right, I forgot. It's racism. It's always fucking racism.
Students generally do better if they come from families in which parents have a
college education. Georgia has one of the lowest college attendance rates in the
country, according to the Board of Regents.
Yeah, because those parents start reading to their children at an early age. Shameeka can't be reading to her babies when she's on crack. Also, these parents make their children study. They go to parent teacher meetings. Kinda hard to do when stoned on crack or tending to the other five rugrats Shameeka had 'cause she couldn't say no. C'mon NAACP, where the fuck is the leadership?
Georgia's curriculum is also a problem. An independent report earlier this year
suggested the state's curriculum is wide but shallow, with teachers expected to
cover many subjects but few in depth.
But the students have real high self esteem.
That shows up in Georgia's college-bound seniors. Those who took four years of
high school math scored 966 on the SAT, according to the College Board.
Nationally, such students scored 1,020.
Probably has sumpin' to do with the student not necessarily having to have the right answer but to feel good about the answer he has.
Henson has a committee working on curriculum revisions, and part of the aim is
to eliminate "equivalent" classes. An example is a class considered the
equivalent of algebra when the state counts a student's credits, but that
isn't algebra.
Equivalent to algebra? What the fuck is that? Who thinks up this shit?
Schrenko says not enough Georgia students take advanced placement tests
and course work, which features college-level courses during high school.
Barnes wants the 2003 Legislature to increase funding for the program.
It's kinda hard for them to take advanced courses when they can't even pass high school courses. And maybe they oughta think about ending social promotion.
But SAT gains don't come quickly.
Especially when the schools and the teachers suck.
South Carolina School Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum said her state began
moving on the SAT four years ago because state leaders, educators and parents
wanted to dig the state out of the basement. The state pays for students to take
practice SATs and kids get after-school primers on reading and math concepts
likely to be on the test.
So they're teaching the test. At least they're teaching sumpin'.
Students also were given an incentive to do well because the state's
lottery-based scholarship is based partly on SAT scores. And South
Carolina developed an annual tournament in which schools compete
in test-taking skills instead of sports.
Stressing academics? What a novel concept.
In addition, Tenenbaum said South Carolina rewrote its curriculum to stress
higher academic standards.
Stressing higher academic standards? Another novel concept.
"You have to count on incremental improvement," Tenenbaum said. "There is not
going to be a big jump at once. There are no gimmicks."
No gimmicks? Ya mean this is gonna involve work and shit like that? Ya mean teachers are gonna have to start doing their jobs and maybe, just maybe, be held accountable? Nawww. Too much fucking work.
There is another article that contrasts two schools: Walton, the school with the highest SAT scores and Carver the school with the lowest scores. Here is the link. Walton is in an upscale suburb of Atlanta. Carver is in the inner city in an area that is being redeveloped. One excerpt about Walton.
Parents expect excellence, said Judy McNeill,
associate principal.
"They're expecting their children will do well,"
McNeill said. "And if they're not, and we call, we
have the parents' support."
And Carver.
Carver has the lowest average SAT score of all public schools in the metro
area: 677 out of a possible 1,600. That's a 10-point gain over last year, when
the school had the lowest average in Georgia.
A former principal said Carver has deteriorated over the years. It has became a
dumping ground for unwanted students, and a school that many students
have fled in recent years. Just 42 seniors earned diplomas last year.
Remember, Carver is in the city of Atlanta that spends over $10,000.00 per pupil. That is not a typo. That is ten fucking thousand dollars per pupil and Atlanta has the worst schools in the entire state.
More on Walton.
At Walton High, administrators, teachers and students talk about the
importance of getting better still.
Walton added two advanced placement courses this year, bringing its total to 23.
Debbie McWilliams, who teaches multivariable calculus, has to prepare herself for
the 15-student class. "They'll ask the 'why,' " she said. "They won't take it at face
value. It's a lot of fun. These kids are eager."
Isn't is amazing that when excellence is expected excellence usually occurs?
Ron Dietel of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and
Student Testing, based in California, said it's unfair to compare schools that serve
students from different backgrounds and make judgments about school quality.
"Two-thirds of student achievement is accounted for by the parents'
socioeconomic status," Dietel said. "That's true in every research study
you conduct. Wealthy, affluent schools almost always have higher
performance."
Yeah, Ron, but it has been proven that poor black kids can learn just as well, especially when challenged and removed from the peer pressure that 'acting white' is bad.
The district plans to pour $40 million into remaking Carver into a state-of-the-art
school with a strong vocational program. The transformation should coincide
with the redevelopment of the Carver Homes public housing project into a
mixed-income neighborhood.
Good luck. But unless attitudes change, the students are challenged and the parents get involved we'll be throwing forty million bucks down the drain.
I'm not a racist bigot. I want to see black children succeed. I want to see the black middle class continue to grow. I don't like paying for prisons. I don't like paying for children in poverty because their mothers are irresponsible and continue to have children they cannot afford. One of the cures is education and another cure is attitude change. Come on John Lewis. Come on NAACP. Lead on this issue. White folks are not the problem. Racism is not the problem. The anti-achievement mentality of the inner city is the problem. Fix it.
Let's see if we can make it back to number 49.
Argghhh! My back itches!
Posted by denny at August 28, 2002 08:12 PM