Reward Less, Get Less: Student Performance Gaps Are Easily Explained
2009; Routledge; Volume: 9; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1539-9664
Autores Tópico(s)School Choice and Performance
ResumoLast spring, in Fairburn, Georgia, officials in two schools piloted a startling attendance program. If struggling 8th and 11th graders showed up for study hall, could earn $8 an hour, and their grades and test scores rose significantly, would receive a bonus. An Associated Press story termed policy a bribe, and a Georgia State University professor on National Public Radio declared it morally bankrupt. But Ben Chavis, then principal of American Indian Public Charter School in East Oakland, California, had started paying students for attendance years ago with steady results, doubling math scores in school over time. Poor people love money, he explains, so why not let it motivate kids? He even met with drug dealers off campus and offered them $5 for every truant brought back. The cash came from creative budgeting, for instance, no computers for kids. (They can't read, he declares, they don't need a computer!) Chavis is one of a handful of school mavericks profiled in Flunked, a 45-minute documentary narrated by actor Joe Mantegna. The film reviews 50 years of public school investment, from Sputnik to No Child Left Behind, and derives a simple lesson: claim money makes more success is a myth, the tallest tale of them all. In spite of massive investment and however you measure it, one commenter says, academic achievement looks like somebody just died--it's just a flat line. Success lies not in raising dollars but in changing organization. The all-stars in Flunked illustrate how it can happen. They are entrepreneurial principals, headstrong heroes who rescue failing schools, run charters, tighten discipline, and lower dropout rates. Steve Barr runs Green Dot Public Schools in Los Angeles, which divides dysfunctional high schools into small charter schools. His first principle: get every dollar into classrooms. He pays teachers well and grants them wide latitude in classroom in exchange for a dismissal-for-cause condition in their contracts. Howard Lappin, who took on a high school in L.A.--1,600 kids, out-of-control school, violent, terrible test scores--recites his message for kids: if you're not in class you're in trouble--your parents are gonna be in--we're gonna talk to you--you're not gonna be here--you got to do what you got to do because this is a school--this is not a playground. The ingredients are plain and don't include us more money. * Provide strict discipline, longer hours, high expectations * Give teachers high pay and discretion in classroom, but hold them to professional standards * Reduce bureaucracy A sound approach for these schools, but on evidence of another recent school documentary, lessons of Flunked may not apply as we move up U.S. public school ladder. Two Million Minutes profiles two high schoolers in Bangalore, India, two in Shanghai, China, and two in Carmel High School outside Indianapolis. Ranked in top 5 percent of U.S. public schools, Carmel has loads of money and top-notch facilities. No need to fire any teachers or collar truants. But, as film unfolds, a striking deficiency among American students emerges, one that no in-school policy can address--the drive to compete with their peers. Competitiveness, of course, has become a touchstone of education debate. Two years ago in Washington Post, Bill Gates warned that unless Americans hit workplace with math and science skills, will sink in knowledge economy and take their nation with them. But American students appear unaffected by what one commenter after another says in Two Million Minutes: We are in a global competition, and we're losing. …
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