The teacher who kept up all the posters, etc wasn't in CA -
this was in Illinois and was in a school a few blocks from
my mother's house. They could keep anything on the walls
that was using during the year so the walls were covered
with everything. Yes, in my school we have to take
everything down.

On 10/16/09, really? wrote:
> Our district makes the teachers take down or cover
> everything on their walls
> to have a standardized testing environment. I thought
> all teachers in the state did the same.
>
> I have heard CA standards are higher than most other
> states. This tells me that the standards are too high,
> kids aren't learning what is appropriate for their age
> level or the higher standards either. We're pushing
> kids into classes they aren't ready for. Ask any high
> school student. They are strongly encouraged to take AP
> courses, because the more students taking the AP tests
> the higher the ranking for the school. They are
> encouraged to take advanced math courses for the same
> reason. Most students don't need advanced math-they
> need to learn basic math first and well. We're creating
> a generation of overly stressed teenagers.
>
> Certainly demographics plays a part. When that is
> recognized and admitted then we can move forward, but
> we won't if we keep thinking that the next
> "program" (GLAD, CLAD, etc.) can fix it. It's
> politically incorrect, but we have to be able to admit
> the the culture affects performance. Once we do that we
> can work toward HOW we can bring the scores up. BUT it
> will take money.
>
> Even before the budget crisis, class size was too big,
> kids weren't learning what is appropriate for their
> developmental stages. I wonder what test scores will be
> like next year. I a twisted way I hope they go down so
> that maybe the point will be made that funding on a
> shoestring doesn't work.
>
> It's not accident that when schools in California were
> among the highest in the nation in per pupil funding we
> were performing among the highest states. Now we're
> 47th in funding and that's just about where we're
> performing.
>
>
> On 10/16/09, teacher in so CA wrote:
>> I've been teaching in southern california public
>> schools for 15 years and agree with the comments that
>> have been posted re the reason the schools are doing
>> poorly....excellent, hard working, dedicated teachers
>> aren't able to overcome the burden of the
>> demographics...just a fact
>>
>>
>>
>> On 10/15/09, Judy2/CA wrote:
>>> Ditto to the above posters' comments. And I also
>>> wonder what the results would be if all states used
>>> the same tests. I read a series of articles in my
>>> hometown paper last year about a 5th grade class
>>> and how they progressed through the year. The
>>> teachers were allowed to keep up any posters, etc
>>> that they used throughout the year, during testing.
>>> The classroom walls were covered with posters that
>>> contained info that the kids used all year and they
>>> could use during the tests. My district makes us
>>> even take down the alphabet and number lines on the
>>> walls - as it the kids would take the time to use
>>> them. Maybe the tests and testing procedures should
>>> be uniform as long as they're comparing us.
>>>
>>> On 10/15/09, sped wrote:
>>>> I have seen not only immigrants from typically
>>>> underperforming groups, but I have seen
>>>> immigrants that are in special education in our
>>>> district. A double whammy.
>>>>
>>>> On 10/15/09, same answer wrote:
>>>>> California has a high population of minority
>>>>> students who are part of low performing
>>>>> demographics (i.e. black, hispanic, native
>>>>> american, somali, phillipino, etc.) The schools
>>>>> with a lot of white, Chinese, Korean, and other
>>>>> high performing demographics do very well on
>>>>> the state tests.
>>>>>
>>>>> On 10/15/09, Cnn wrote:
>>>>>> Immigration is the reason. Our top students
>>>>>> do just as well if not better than students
>>>>>> from other states. California has the most
>>>>>> immigrints from poor countries than any other
>>>>>> state. It takes years for a stundent eith
>>>>>> little formal education, whose parents have
>>>>>> little formal education to catch up.
>>>>>> California will nfver outperform Connecticut.
>>>>>> Apples and oranges. Not all groups of
>>>>>> immigrints perform poorly. Look at the test
>>>>>> scores of recent Korean immigrints whose
>>>>>> parents usually have some form of formal
>>>>>> education if not college
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 10/15/09, wondering wrote:
>>>>>>> I am hearing a lot of chatter, on radio,
>>>>>>> tv, and newspapers that CA schools are just
>>>>>>> above Mississippi and Alabama in how
>>>>>>> students are doing on tests. I'd like to
>>>>>>> know why that is. I have my own ideas, but
>>>>>>> it would be good to hear from people that
>>>>>>> are in the field, not talking heads,
>>>>>>> politicians with an agenda, and disgruntled
>>>>>>> parents.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Just how did CA go from being innovative
>>>>>>> and at the top in public education to where
>>>>>>> we are now?
>>>>>

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