Quality education is eroding in the Poway Unified School District
By Kimberley Beatty
This past June, the San Diego County Grand Jury took time away from investigating citizen complaints and government malfeasance to issue a three-page report commending everyone associated with the Poway Unified School District for its “significant accomplishments over the past ten years.”
The Grand Jury report began with the question, “What is a quality education?” This 19-member panel of mostly retirees cited: increased API scores for the past 10 years; very low dropout rates; high passage rate for the California High School Exit Exam; National Blue Ribbon Awards; and the unique collaboration between the teachers’ union and school district as testaments to a quality education.
Poway Unified is an awesome district. We have some of the smartest and most dedicated teachers in the country. We have many wonderfully dedicated and involved parents and community members. But the quality of our children’s education has been decreasing in the last decade, not increasing.
In 2002 our elementary school had physical education classes, kindergarten through third-grade classes of no more than 20 students and before-school programs in reading and math to help “boost” struggling students. Since then PE has been eliminated, kindergarten though third-grade classes can have 35 students and the boosters program is gone. In 2008, my ninth-grader was in an Honors English Class of 18 students. This year, my daughter’s ninth-grade Honors English Class had 35 students. There are fewer core course offerings, like chemistry, AP literature and foreign languages in the high schools because of reductions in staff. This means fewer opportunities for students to have a well-rounded, challenging education.
But what about those increasing API scores, generated from state standardized tests? Family education and income are the biggest determinants in student achievement and in the last decade we have witnessed the growth of affluent communities: The Heritage in northern Poway; the estates of Santaluz and Santa Fe Valley, gated communities in Del Sur and 4S Ranch and the many higher end homes west of the 15.
According to the California Department of Education (CDE), statewide API scores have been consistently increasing every year. The majority of Poway Unified schools are ranked in the top 10 or 20 percent as compared with all schools across the state. That’s impressive, but PUSD also has a relatively low number of economically disadvantaged students, as measured by those families enrolled in the national free and subsidized lunch program. In California, 56 percent of students are enrolled in the program. In Poway Unified 13 percent are enrolled.
In order to compare apples with apples, the CDE compiles a “Similar Schools Rank” where “schools are ranked compared to 100 other schools with similar demographic characteristics, educational challenges, and opportunities.” In 1999, 13 of 28 Poway Unified schools were ranked in the bottom 50 percent compared to 100 similar schools. Beginning in 2001 that number started to steadily decrease until 2007 when only six of 33 Poway Unified schools were in the bottom 50 percent of their peer group. But then the trend reversed and the number of Poway Unified schools ranked in the bottom half of their peer group started to increase: eight in 2008; 14 in 2009; 15 in 2010; and finally, 22 out of 36 Poway Unified schools in 2011 were ranked in the bottom half of their peer group.
What is causing this backsliding that started five years ago? Many other districts have cushioned state budget cuts by passing school parcel taxes. More research is needed. But, clearly, if standardized test scores are being used as the benchmark of a quality education and our district’s relative ranking based on those scores is dropping, then our educational quality must be eroding.
Beatty, a Sabre Springs resident, is legislative vice president of the Palomar PTA Council.
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on Aug 1 2012. Filed under Columnists.
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My what a coincidence. A good report well publicized and then backsliding. Well that's poletics.
It would be interesting to hear what Jeff Mangum, a distinguished School Board member and candidate for City Council, would say to clarify the difference between the Grand Jury report and Kimberly's analysis. Is our education quality really eroding?
"Family education and income are the biggest determinants in student achievement…"
Correct you are. Then you ask; "What is causing this backsliding that started five years ago?"
Well, despite the "growth of The Heritage in northern Poway; the estates of Santaluz and Santa Fe Valley, gated communities in Del Sur and 4S Ranch and the many higher end homes west of the 15." you may find that the NET result of the Poway demographic changes over the past decade may help explain the answer. Take a look at the total Poway demographic differences between the 2000 census and the 2010 census and consider the trend reversal date of peer group positions taking place around the time of the beginning of the economic fall (Mortgage crisis). Since family education levels and income levels generally correspond, your own analysis supports a pretty good prospective answer to your own question. What do you think?
I think you responded like a good politician.
Thank you. I'm trying to do my part help prevent the term 'good politician' from becoming a complete oxymoron. I realized the current is against that effort.
It wasn't meant as a compliment.
Being in the "top 10 or 20 percent" of the state's schools is not a good criteria when the state averages ranking 47th among states by the US Department of Education.
PUSD is good, even excellent — but only when compared gainst other failing California schools — a diminished standard.
Hey but we're ONE BILLION in debt that has to count for something! Thanks Mangum.
Do any of you have any experience as a teacher in k -12 public school? It's easy standing on the sidelines and offering up self consuming opinions. A bunch of wanna b community organizers who have lots of opinions and time to express them but do not show up at the schools on a regular basis to help out…. regular means once a week or every 2 weeks even but that does not mean attending PTSA meetings … or are you too busy selling houses and then criticizing the hand that feeds you? I know you pay taxes so if you don't like it move your kid to a charter school.. But wait. they don't want to go, do they? Shut up, stop whining and get in there and do something about it. You're a bunch of ingrates who niggle small issues to death and meanwhile life goes on. Sooner than you know, it will all pass you by and you'll be left as bitter old red necks bitching about life and how it wasn't fair. Fair is where you take your pig! Get in there, offer help where and when you can, keep a sunny disposition, and shut your ignorant pie hole. That will actually help more than any of this BS. But you have to want to do it, it has to be part of who you are and your core philosophy. So, we won't be seeing you in the classroom on a regular basis rather than your elementary token visits when all was peaceful and innocent, will we? Teaching is hard and we do a great job in spite of all the constraints which include people like you. i don't know what cloud you came from, maybe Rancho Santa Fe. But considering all the things we have to deal with, we do a fantastic job and maybe you should just move on and take your negative attitude with you. We don't want it here. I'm a 3rd generation San Diegan who has traveled the world and lived in a lot of places. Others would die to have their kids live and go to school here. Their kids would succeed bec they are not spoiled adolescents who have attitudes that exude, "What have you done for me lately?" Their motto is what this country was founded upon but has unfortunately been forgotten, "Your I WILL is more important than your IQ."