Wisconsin Johnny Can't Read

[ducknwork]

Buzz,
I see your edit and I agree 100%. Parents are definitely more important to a child's learning than teachers are. My point is that if teachers don't actually make kids more successful, it would seem that they have less of a leg to stand on when they are begging for more compensation. So how is this bill going to hurt kids? Other than teachers missing all these days of course...

BTW, you brag on your daughter's reading ability sometimes and rightfully so, but now it's my turn... My daughter (who turned 4 on Sunday) has been sounding out words and reading simple words for probably 6 months. She also writes well. She handed everyone at her party a hand written thank you note for the presents she received before they walked out the door, and it was legible. No preschool, no teachers. She stays home with my wife. Granted, some of it is natural intelligence, but my wife has a lot to do with it also. I think we are going to have discipline problems in kindergarten because she is going to be bored and she is already a prankster around the house.

[Buzz]

Buzz,
I see your edit and I agree 100%. Parents are definitely more important to a child's learning than teachers are. My point is that if teachers don't actually make kids more successful, it would seem that they have less of a leg to stand on when they are begging for more compensation. So how is this bill going to hurt kids? Other than teachers missing all these days of course...

BTW, you brag on your daughter's reading ability sometimes and rightfully so, but now it's my turn... My daughter (who turned 4 on Sunday) has been sounding out words and reading simple words for probably 6 months. She also writes well. She handed everyone at her party a hand written thank you note for the presents she received before they walked out the door, and it was legible. No preschool, no teachers. She stays home with my wife. Granted, some of it is natural intelligence, but my wife has a lot to do with it also. I think we are going to have discipline problems in kindergarten because she is going to be bored and she is already a prankster around the house.

Glad to hear about your daughter! I can't take any credit for mine. When she was born my wife said she wasn't going back to work because you only get to raise them once. I think it starts with getting them to love hearing a good story by reading to them when they are young. Liz struggled a little at first, but I think her desire to get access to all those great stories helped get her over the hump. I bet your daughter is going to love kindergarten, after she gets over being separated from your wife.

We did send Liz to pre-school, but it was more to do with wanting to socialize her with other kids than education - she's an only child.

[Buzz]

Eric,

Just wanted to get your input on what the heck is going on down there in Alabama. I see they are spending almost $1600 less per student than Wisconsin is, but 11% fewer of the kids in Alabama are proficient in reading than in Wisconsin. I couldn't help but notice also that Alabama gets a little more in federal money per student, and that federal dollars account for 9.7% of the per student spending there as opposed to 6.7% in Wisconsin.

Maybe if Wisconsin folks could keep their dollars in Wisconsin instead of shipping them down south, they would have fewer budget woes.

[dnf777]

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/two-...c-school-8th-g

http://tinyurl.com/4qoq7wd

Two-Thirds of Wisconsin Public-School 8th Graders Can’t Read Proficiently—Despite Highest Per Pupil Spending in Midwest

Tuesday, February 22, 2011
By Terence P. Jeffrey

(CNSNews.com) - Two-thirds of the eighth graders in Wisconsin public schools cannot read proficiently according to the U.S. Department of Education, despite the fact that Wisconsin spends more per pupil in its public schools than any other state in the Midwest.

In the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests administered by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009—the latest year available—only 32 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned a “proficient” rating while another 2 percent earned an “advanced” rating. The other 66 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned ratings below “proficient,” including 44 percent who earned a rating of “basic” and 22 percent who earned a rating of “below basic.”

-more-

Certainly a lot of charts to sort through if you follow to the prime source. In skimming through about 15 fine-line charts, I notice that Wisconsin students consistently scored above the national averages reported by the agency. The only group that fell slightly below national averages, was Asian/Pacific Islander students.

[huntinman]

Eric,

Just wanted to get your input on what the heck is going on down there in Alabama. I see they are spending almost $1600 less per student than Wisconsin is, but 11% fewer of the kids in Alabama are proficient in reading than in Wisconsin. I couldn't help but notice also that Alabama gets a little more in federal money per student, and that federal dollars account for 9.7% of the per student spending there as opposed to 6.7% in Wisconsin.

Maybe if Wisconsin folks could keep their dollars in Wisconsin instead of shipping them down south, they would have fewer budget woes.

It's called deomographics Buzz

[Eric Johnson]

Buzz-

I can't give any good excuse except that a huge proportion of Alabama, read "most anyone who can afford it", sends their kids to private schools. These wouldn't be part of your table. However, I can't give you specific numbers.

For instance, Montgomery has 3 private schools (K-12). At the high school level these 3 represent about 50% of the 4 public high school students. However, in the public school system there is a parallel system called "magnet" schools. These are the cream of the students in public school. The magnet high school is rated in the top ten high schools in the country. It's called LAMP... Lanier Accelerated Magnet Program. Kids there are often taking 2nd year college level courses.

Down the I-65 corridor, Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile all have similar cases. These are the population centers. In other parts of the state the school systems are strapped for cash because of woefully low property values. It's really a sad state of affiars.
Eric