LeBron James' STEM-Based School Is Showing Promise (goodnewsnetwork.org)

Last year, NBA superstar LeBron James opened an experimental school that focuses on teaching a STEM curriculum to students who have a higher probability of failing academically or dropping out of school. The New York Times is now reporting that "the inaugural classes of third and fourth graders at [the I PROMISE School] posted extraordinary results in their first set of district assessments. Ninety percent met or exceeded individual growth goals in reading and math (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source), outpacing their peers across the district." From the report: The students' scores reflect their performance on the Measures of Academic Progress assessment, a nationally recognized test administered by NWEA, an evaluation association. In reading, where both classes had scored in the lowest, or first, percentile, third graders moved to the ninth percentile, and fourth graders to the 16th. In math, third graders jumped from the lowest percentile to the 18th, while fourth graders moved from the second percentile to the 30th.

The 90 percent of I Promise students who met their goals exceeded the 70 percent of students districtwide, and scored in the 99th growth percentile of the evaluation association's school norms, which the district said showed that students' test scores increased at a higher rate than 99 out of 100 schools nationally. The students have a long way to go to even join the middle of the pack. And time will tell whether the gains are sustainable and how they stack up against rigorous state standardized tests at the end of the year. To some extent, the excitement surrounding the students' progress illustrates a somber reality in urban education, where big hopes hinge on small victories.

Comments

FD: Not an LBJ fan, but:

[rmdingler]

The numbers aren't staggering, but often the exponential growth from last to bottom tenth, sixth, or third is a more important improvement threshold than the move from 70 t0 80, or, 80 t0 90 percentile.

The radicle comes before the tree.

Re:FD: Not an LBJ fan, but:

[bradley13]

"This is remedial instruction of the most fundamental kind, and a damning indictment of the previous three to five years of schooling"

This. The thing is: effective schooling requires (a) commitment from the families and (b) discipline within the school. If you have families who don't care that their kids aren't learning, who don't care that their kids disrupt school for everyone else, you're screwed. If you have a school that tolerates disruptive behavior, that moves kids to the next grade despite failing grades, you're screwed.

The progress in a school like this comes entirely from the fact that you've solved the two problems above. The disruptive kids from don't-care families are mostly elsewhere. The question will truly be: can they sustain this progress against the cultural pressures the kids are under? And they are under pressure, from a self-destructive black subculture that says studying and learning is "acting white".

This school will help some individual kids, but that cultural problem is the real problem, and someday it is going to have to be addressed.

Re:Another successful program doomed to be forgott

[alvinrod]

The school system and its idiocy are what's responsible for a lot of teacher burnout. Dealing with that ugly machine is enough to suck the life and joy out of anyone.