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Morgan,

I was unable to see Dr. Zhang�s presentation last night (the BOE inadvertently scheduled the presentation on the same night as The Academy at Lincoln�s Spring band concert).

Was there any breakdown on the testing numbers (I assume that all of the testing numbers were for the Very Strong Needs program) as to initial vs. retests by ethnicity for GCS administered vs private testing?

Jwg,
Zhang's report was the same as what was included in the agenda, with a few minor changes. Regarding the testing, he compared math and reading test scores for MN, SN and VSN kids compared to a control group of non-AL top performers (he clarified that some in the control group qualified for AL services but not all).

Morgan,

I believe that the issue with GCS vs. private testing is with the ability of a child to retake a test. For example, if they make the cutoff on Language but miss on Math, is the student allowed to retake the GCS test or are they considered 'failed' and private testing is the only way to retake a test or portion thereof to gain admittance to the program(s).

The point is that dis-advantaged kids dont have access to private testing.

Actually, I have been told by an AL elementary teacher that in order to increase minority participation in AL services, minority students are given the opportunity (by GCS) to retake tests as many times as they want (at the county's expense). Non-minority parents are not allowed to do this, they must pay for their own private tests if they think that their child can improve their scores with private testing. Also, I believe that the tests that are administered by private testers are more accurate predictors of a child's true apptitude than our NC EOGs. The private tests are nationally standarized tests, whereas the EOGs, in our state anyway, are slapped together from year to year and have not been put through the rigorous testing standards for validity and reliability that the national standardized tests have. I'm SURE they have not been field tested the way the national tests have been. (Check into this with any of the local private testers and I'm sure that they can give a much better explanation for how the EOGs and their tests differ.)

Both of my children begged to be taken out of the
AL program in the elementary school level. While they were out of their regular classroom, they were
expected to come back to class and make up the work that they missed without any assistance from the teacher. She expected the "AL" students to read the board and do the assignment even though she may have spent 30 minutes explaining it to the rest of the class in third grade.

They also were left out of other classroom activities because they had to make up work.

When they were not taken out of the classroom they had to do twice the number of written book reports than the rest of the class...with no benefits or additional grade or credits. This was in the third grade.

Nothing about this was challenging to them mentally... it just busy work. From this experience in their regular classroom, any
mention on trying the advanced program was out of the question.

My youngest simply stopped doing the work in the AL class because the teacher told them if they did not do the extra reports that they would be kicked out...he thought GREAT and just stopped turning anything in!!! He said it was boring and not fair.
They just had to do twice the busy work of everyone else.

This is not an AL program!!

By the way...the student that said the AL program was a waste of his time has a 99 avg in Calculus and straight A's at NC State.

The "homework punishment" explained by the previous post is a very real problem. And it's a direct violation of the GCS Plan for Advanced Learners. That Plan is GCS School Board Policy - A policy that is NOT enforced by the central office. The PAL requires that AL students be excused from regular classroom work that is missed due to AL services. The AL services are meant to REPLACE that work, not be added on top of it. This “exemption” exists because an advanced learner needs differentiation that the "Standard Course of Study" is not designed to give them. That differentiation is provided by the AL teacher through pullouts. Unfortunately, Principals are allowed to change the Plan's implementation at the school level and allow teachers to require this work load. Parents need to know this, and they need to challenge it when they see it happening in their child's classroom. I would bet some Principals and teachers do not even know this is a PAL violation. It doesn't appear that anyone from Eugene Street is telling them. An AL student should not be "punished" because they have been identified as needing differentiation.

Anyone can request a copy of the Plan for Advanced Learners from GCS. ALL parents of identified (and NON-identified) AL students should read the PAL. It will make you a better advocate for your child.

Point,

Ms. Barr stated in response to a pointed question from Mr. Hebert that disadvantaged students are provided retests by GCS and non-disadvantaged students are not. Morgan has requested disaggregated data from Dr. Zhang and hopefully will post a synopsis when she receives it.

If GCS decides to disallow private testing for AL services then 1) should restests be provided for non-disadvantaged students and/or 2) should private testing be disallowed for ALL GCS services (e.g. exceptional children)?

I plan on working on a fuller story about the AL program to flesh out some of the issues brought up here and in the board meeting. If anyone here would like to speak to me about their AL experiences, contact me at 373-7078 or mjosey@news-record.com. Because Ann Barr is retired, it could take me a while to get the data I need. I hope that is not the case.

Ditto the above comments.
Both my kids called the program EW (extra work) instead of AL.

Someone needs to tell AL teachers that depth of learning and amount of homework (not to mention the makeup work) are two very different things.

Morgan,

Perhaps you could start with a profile of her replacement(s)?

"...a fuller story..." -Morgan Josey

Is fuller a word? Is it an adjective? I've never heard anybody use this term before so I was just wondering.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Full \Full\, a. [Compar. Fuller; superl. Fullest.]

From Friday Notes June 15, 2007:

"Ms. Lise Timmons was approved for Director for Advanced Learner. Ms. Timmons is currently a project coordinator for Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute with UNC-Chapel Hill."

http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~ustars/staff.cfm

"Lis� A. Timmons, B.A., Project Coordinator

Lis� comes to Project U-STARS ~ PLUS from the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System where she worked for 10 years in various capacities including teacher, counselor, Comer Facilitator, coach and administrator. Most recently, she served as the Advanced Studies Coordinator for middle and high schools. Lis� has an established record of successful educational leadership and is a certified College Board consultant. She has been recognized nationally, and locally, with several awards for her work with minorities in rigorous programs and under-represented populations. She received her B.A. degree from UNC-Charlotte. She is currently pursuing a master's degree at UNC-Chapel Hill with intentions of receiving a Ph.D. in Culture, Curriculum, and Change which is her area of focus. "