DC Public Schools received encouraging test results ahead of new school year

 

One week before D.C. Public Schools reopens for the new school year, officials are pointing to what they call encouraging signs that the school district is turning the corner for the better.

On Monday, Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled the new Partnership For Assessments for College and Careers  which she say they are on the right track.

For the past four years, D.C. Public Schools have shown improvement in the PARCC test scores. Officials celebrated the news stating that it shows reforms heading in the right direction.

The PARCC test is given every spring in schools between third through eighth grade and high school students. The test measures students’ performance in English and Math.

All D.C. students performed better on the English portion of the test, but students were not as strong in the math portion.

Lewis D. Ferebee, the new DCPS chancellor, told Fox5 that he is taking a look at the math scores in his first full school year as chancellor. He is planning to zero in on how math is being taught to DCPS students.

 

“Our math curriculum is strong,” said Ferebee. “However, we need to better align our assessments with the curriculum that we’re providing. We’ve got to ensure that we’re properly monitoring the students’ progress so that the teachers approach in the classroom is data-driven.”

 

Mayor Bowser acknowledged that graduation rates last year were 68.6 percent, a 4.6 percent drop from the year before. She says those numbers reflect a “reality check” of sorts.

After discovering some D.C. schools were graduating students with excessive absenteeism, there was a crackdown on absenteeism.

 

“What’s important to us, that the numbers whatever they are, reflect the student’s experience,” said Bowser. “So we can be assured when they graduate and they have a diploma from one of our schools, it reflects achievement and their mastery of programs.”

 

Bowser had an important health reminder for parents, urging parents to make sure their child is immunized.

Within a year, the nationwide practice of not vaccinating children either on purpose or accident has caused outbreaks of diseases. For instance, measles in some school districts.

Source: Fox5 DC