Because schools funding can be so complicated and includes so many disputes, we had to cut a section from Sunday's story on the funding issues that are driving the push for the March 8 referendum to transfer administrative control of Memphis public education to Shelby County. The Center for American Progress, a center-left policy think-tank that promotes proven teacher effectiveness models, earlier this month released a nationwide report that examined return on investment results for every school district in the country.
There is interesting data contained in the report, some of which informs the current schools debate here. You can check out the full report here, complete with cool interactive maps and lots of ways to sort data. Here are links to the MCS profile and to the SCS profile. Following a draft copy of what we considered including in Sunday's funding story:
There is interesting data contained in the report, some of which informs the current schools debate here. You can check out the full report here, complete with cool interactive maps and lots of ways to sort data. Here are links to the MCS profile and to the SCS profile. Following a draft copy of what we considered including in Sunday's funding story:
According to CAP, Shelby County Schools is among the best in the state at keeping expenditures low while performing at the state's highest levels. For MCS, the study's findings contradict the prevailing notion that MCS's spending is out of control. One of CAP's researchers, Ulrich Boser, explained that the report included an "adjusted per-pupil expenditure" that reflected higher urban cost of living and the number of students with special needs (poverty, non-native English speakers, special education).
By that measure, using figures from 2007-08, MCS's per-pupil expenditures are merely 43rd out of 107 districts in the state, at an adjusted $6,094, not far off SCS at $5,849 (22nd of 107). Boser was not well-versed in the current dispute here, but emphasized that CAP's report recommends many best-practices for ways districts can spend their revenues in ways that enhance teaching and learning.
Studies are increasingly showing that lowering class sizes -- which means extra money for extra teachers -- is much less important than putting the right teachers with the right skills in the right classrooms, Boser said. "Class size can be important but just applying broad regulations on class size is like Soviet wheat farming," Boser said. "Highly effective teachers who raise student achievement could have more students in their classes."
Those are the sorts of reforms proponents of the March 8 referendum say are possible with a new countywide system.
But opponents believe funding will only get worse by adding 105,000 city students to a 45,000 suburban system rated as one of the state's strongest in returning good academic achievement on smaller taxpayer expenditures.
"We're one of the highest peroforming school systems in the state and Memphis City chools has unfortunately had severe struggles," Pickler said. "We intend to maintain our independence and autonomy and continue that legacy of excellence."
Jones sees it another way: "This community can get behind all children to advance education. There are great things happening in (city schools) that can be used in (suburban schools) and vice versa."
The comment above about class size shows a complete lack of understanding of the dynamics that change when a classroom has more than 25 students in it. No matter how effective the teacher, he or she cannot compete with the voices and chaos of 30 to 35 other individuals in the room. When you have a lot of undisciplined children in one room, there is not an adult alive who can manage all of that and deliver good teaching in 45 minutes of time. Instead, the teacher's time is relegated to discipline and crowd management.
When you have too many students in one room, the best teacher is forced to be a crowd controller instead of an educator. Any classroom over 25 becomes crowd control unless the students are disciplined and highly motivated. No one teacher can make a group of undisciplined students be quiet and focus on their work when he or she is that outnumbered.
These studies must be conducted by people who have no understanding of basic psychology and the dynamics of a classroom that has over 25 students in it at one time. No where else in life do we expect one adult to supervise and control more than 25 children at one time. In any other context, it would be considered unsafe and negligent.
Class sizes should be limited to no more than 25 for the safety of everyone involved and for the sake of those students who want to learn. These students need a fair chance, and they recognize the problem, too. Their learning is very disrupted by the groups of students who do not want to learn. For anyone who disputes this, go visit a public school classroom with 30 children in it. Experience the chaos for yourself.