8/17/2000

Regarding School Report Cards

Readers aren't too sure they like the idea of school report cards for parents to fill out, but they certainly agree that communication between home and school, plus steady parent involvement in schools are essential. Several people took on the challenge of suggesting ways to structure the interaction. Thanks to everyone for contributing to the dialogue.

PTO Takes Supportive Role

Dear Ms. Bruno,

Your suggestion of "report cards" for parents to grade their schools has merit, but I can see problems related to the ability of most parents to make quality judgments for grading. In order for the parents to properly assess the quality of education being offered to their children, shouldn't they have a reasonably high level of academic achievement themselves?

Take science and math for example. As an engineer I've had to concentrate a great deal on those subjects, both in school and professionally. Because of this I've been able to see serious deficiencies in how and what my children have been have been provided in science and math, but I know that many of my neighbors wouldn't. When our children were in the early grades my wife and I looked into the local PTO as a means to make changes in the school system. We quickly found that the organization was intended far more for a supportive than a critical role.

Because of this, I strongly favor an independent national standardizing testing system. It would correct the problem of non-uniformity in curricula as well as assure that children would have to meet certain minimums of achievement nation wide. Furthermore it would provide assurance to parents of all educational backgrounds that their children's report cards tell a meaningful story.

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Grade the Parents?

Perhaps the school systems should grade parents' involvement in their childrens' education. Too many times, parents are asked to participate in their childrens' futures and ignore correspondence from school. I realize parents are busy, but these are their children. There is nothing more important in this world than the lives and well being of all our children. Yes, there are parents "out there" who become involved in education. But, I have been to many Board of Education meetings and seen very few parents. I am involved in teaching, as is my daughter, and she will agree wholeheartedly with me.

It is not just an educational void, either. I think society is failing our children. Television, movies, and media in general are aimed at luring children to buy this or that product, using the hollow heroes that are pushed at these kids all the time.

I have no quick solutions for this. And I don't think it is going to change in the near future. Therefore, children with special emotional needs and self-control issues will be with us for a long time to come.

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Survey business owners, too

Our community is trying to combine two high schools together, to offer more choices to the students. One of the areas that the school boards could improve on is evaluating students that have graduated through the system. It seems like a survey should identify areas for improvement. The results of the student survey could be evaluated with a survey for business owners and employers to determine the effectiveness of the current curriculums.

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Get the PTA involved

Hello! The report card idea was referred to me. I think that is a valid method of communication, however, the items would need to be more specific. I've been to, and presented at, many conferences. Consider the evaluations that are turned in before CEU certificates are provided: specific versus general. Those questions you propose are archaic and probably the least helpful. I am sure they would generate passionate responses that are reactive in nature as they elicit illogical solutions: If I could change anything, what would it be? I'd write down: Everybody would get along with peace and in harmony!

Here's another approach. I think that this proposal should embrace variable and specific issues: For example, if the topic is discipline:

• Has your child had a disciplinary event this year?
• What was your feeling about the way it was handled?
• What were the steps that were taken?
• What proposal do you have to change the process?
• What was your child's reaction?
• Do you feel that the process accomplished the goal?

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Good Idea, in Theory

As a middle school/secondary school library media specialist, I agree in theory that parents and community members should have some input into what happens in their public school and what happens to their tax dollars. However, a survey can't be sent blindly to people asking for their input without some base of knowledge base about how a school functions, the legal responsibilities, contractual limitations and obligations, the programs in place and the school's expectations of students.

Very simply, the school of today is not the school most parents remember attending, but because everyone attended school, everyone feels they are experts on how a school should function. It is very difficult to entice and persuade high school parents to attend informational meetings and open houses at which programs are showcased and policies/procedures explained. How can parents "grade" a school when their only point of reference may be a confrontation or a disciplinary issue that has happened to their child?

Schools today are dealing with a myriad of social and personal problems students bring as baggage to the classroom. Many of the issues dealt with cannot be discussed or elaborated on with the public (or even with the student's teachers) because of confidentiality considerations. Teachers typically expend more energy on the students who are dealing with issues outside of the classroom which reflect on their performance in the classroom. And unfortunately, the parents of the high achieving students don't typically get phone calls from teachers praising their students because the teachers are spending time phoning the parent of students who are struggling.

It's difficult for high school teachers to respond to the needs of the 125 students they typically have assigned to them without adding the baggage of the parents and community to the mix. Teachers today are not people without any life other than "teaching" that the American public has grown to expect. I have heard parent complain about a teacher not being present at an evening school activity, when the faculty member in question has been at an activity involving his or her own child at another school. Where does it say that a teacher is required to choose other people's children over his or her own?

People continually mention the "short" teacher work year, but when asked if they want the schools open and their child to attend school year-round, most balk. Even requiring students to read two books over the summer as part of a graded summer reading assignment engendered such parental outcry that the program was suspended for three years.

Students mirror their parents' opinions and many English teachers heard, "You can't make me read over the summer," when the program resumed and the list was handed out this year. One parent even called her lawyer to check if it was legal to require students to read over the summer.

So, in short, many bridges need to be built, information exchanged and cooperative attitudes developed before any program having parents complete a report card on teachers and schools could begin. Parents just aren't cognizant of the realities of school today, and many aren't willing to spend the time to learn enough so that an evaluation of a teacher or a school would be worth anything to anyone. In theory, it makes sense. But the reality is quite different.

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Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.