The New York Education System Which Has Failed Leading to More Schools Closing - Research Paper Example

? The New York Education System Which Has Failed Leading to More Schools Closing Lecturer: The New York Education System, Which Has Failed Leading to More Schools Closing Introduction to the Problem Many schools in New York have undergone a substantial renovation since the dawn of mayor control, in 2002. Part of this renovation exercise has been the replacement of underperforming high schools with new small high schools. Despite the renovation activities, many schools in New York have not been performing well of recent. The government has made efforts of providing a comprehensive education program in order to improve the performance level in the U.S schools. However, the level of high school dropout and poor performance is increasing tremendously. The study report presented from the department of education in the New York City revealed that the department has made an effort of closing more than 150 schools. This is due to mediocre results as presented in the annual report progress of 2010. The statistics indicates that more than 23 schools received F’s and 80 of them received D’s; thus many people are not blaming teachers but blaming the government for poor grading system in America. This is seen as the foremost problem that makes students fail in schools; hence contributing to closure down of many schools. Under the regime of president Barrack Obama, many high schools have been closed, and the number has increased tremendously. The legacy of Obama moving to the top by streamlining the idea of No Child Left Behind policy introduced by Bush has not lessened the devastating effect of many public education programs. Although the academic gap and teacher problems have led to poor performance in schools, poor education system in New York have significantly contributed to increased students failure; thus closure down of many schools. Discussions Poor education system especially the grading system employed in New York schools has significantly contributed to poor performance. The critics of the education system employed in US argue that the grading system especially the score is too high; thus, many students are unable to meet such grading system. The passing grades that were implemented for science, mathematics, English and social studies are measured by the Regent tests and school level classes. The assessment system used by the education department is viewed as a way of failing students. It is also one of the contributing factors that have led to increased closure down of many schools, in the United States. The grading system provided by the education department is meant to avoid manipulation of grading tests. However, many teachers are blamed for contributing to the failure of students in the final tests. This is because they use a manipulating marking criterion when they are testing students in their varied classes. However, when it comes to the final exam; students fail in the final test because of different grading criteria. Therefore, teachers are encouraged to follow strictly the grading criteria employed by the education department. This will encourage students work hard towards improving their performance levels during the final exam in the final years. The demographic study indicates that approximately 1.1 million students studying in the public schools, in the New York City, 40% of them live in areas where English is spoken. Therefore, the education department translated registration and report forms in different languages in order to meet the needs of each student. Although, bilingual studies are perceived as expensive exercise, the research indicates that the grading system itself is a hindrance towards affective performance of student in many schools (Flores and Chu 2011, p. 155). The statistical analysis carried out for adequate year progress using standardized tests in administering the scores, in the New York indicates that many students have recently performing poorly. For instance, the progress report of grading in 2010, about 25 percent of student received F’s in many schools comparing the year 2009. This is because the grading system was made harder; thus contributing to failure of many students. The quality of the education system rests upon the quality of its teachers, and this determines also the performance of students in schools. The evidence off getting right people to teach in high schools has become a critical issue in both statistical and anecdotal. The New York policy makers explicit about the significant of getting right people into teaching practice. The argument that the quality of the education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers is an issue, in the New York. The recent studies carried out in the United States indicate that the literacy level of a teacher as measured in terms of vocabulary and standardized tests impacts the achievement of students more that nay other attributes of a teacher (Louie, Sanchez, North, Cazabon, Melo, Kagle and Regional Educational Northeast & Islands, 2011). Additionally, low performing school hardly ever attracts right people into teaching; thus impacting the performance of students in disadvantaged areas. Morgan (2012, p.291) argues that one of the biggest problems in the education system is that poor districts face a shortage of qualifies teachers. The available qualified or experienced teachers leave these schools and join good schools in order to avoid disadvantaged schools. Most teachers who teach poor schools have low education credential and many of them teach subject which they are not specialized; thus contributing to poor performance of students. In most cases, teacher with poor teaching credential take positions in poor districts and once they have achieved experience, they leave such schools and market themselves in wealthier districts. Therefore, there is a need for the government to provide better education system. This is through employing well-trained teachers in poor schools. This will improve the performance levels of students in poor districts. In order for students to perform effectively in such poor schools, the government should employ competent teachers who understand the needs of their students. Severe teachers’ licensing problems in many disadvantaged schools are among the issues that have resulted to poor results in many schools. New York is one of the cities that have encountered sever teacher problems. Teachers in this city are not often licensed, and some fail to licensure exams on several occasions; thus contributing to poor results. Further, the issue of not licensing teachers has left many schools with inadequate teachers and the few who have remained are not serious with providing effective services because they are not motivated by the government. However, the government has now started recruiting more trained, and qualified teachers but the problem continues to persist. This is because the negative impact of low performing teachers is severe especially during the earlier years of schooling. Students at the primary levels are placed with low performing teachers for many years; thus they suffer education loss, which is high irreversible. Moreover, the low performing teachers in earlier years of the child in school determines the performance level of the child in his or her later years, in the university levels. The education foundation of the child begins from his or her earlier years of kindergarten and primary schools detriment the performance of the child in high schools. However, many parents especially from impoverished areas are unable to provide or enroll their children in well performing school with adequate and trained teachers. This impacts such students from low family backgrounds. This is because they join high schools with poor grades and they fail to catch up with educations system at the higher levels. The research evidence reveals that the chances of students who fail to meet the required university grade at the university levels are higher with those students who received poor education foundation than their counterparts (Flores and Chu, 2011). The impact of teacher quality has a significant impact as indicated on figure 1 below. For instance, children who score top 20 percentages on tests of literacy and numeracy in primary schools are already likely to compete twice in university degree, in the bottom 20 percent. Student Performance 100th percentile Student with high performing teachers. 90th percentile 50th percentile Student with low performing teachers 37th percentile 0th percentile Age 8 Age 11 Figure 1: Effect of teacher quality The academic gap that results because of parental involvement, education resources and cultural attitudes has caused substantial impact on the education of students. Severe inequalities in the academic achievement of the child have significantly impacted the performance of many students in schools. Morgan (2012) argues that the 21st century in America is associated with severe inequalities in academic achievements; thus impacting the performance of many students especially those from poor backgrounds. The education system is not providing opportunities for low-income students because they are not entitled to better government schools. The disadvantaged students lack access to better education facilities and inadequate teachers; hence impacting their performance. Although, the policy of ‘No Child Left Behind’ that was introduced to provide funds to help disadvantaged children, the policy has not yet achieved its stated objectives. There is increased racism in schools and students of color especially the blacks are left with little opportunities for learning (Morgan 2012, p. 292). This has also contributed to poor performance especially in the disadvantaged schools. References Flores, N., & Chu, H. (2011). How does size matter? The impact of the rise of small schools on Latinos and emergent bilinguals in New York City. International Journal Of Bilingual Education & Bilingualism, 14(2), 155. doi:10.1080/13670050.2010.539671 Louie, J., Sanchez, M., North, C., Cazabon, M., Melo, D., Kagle, M., & Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands, (. (2011). A Descriptive Analysis of State-Supported Formative Assessment Initiatives in New York and Vermont. Issues & Answers. REL 2012-No. 112. Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands, Morgan, H. (2012). Poverty-stricken Schools: What We Can Learn From the Rest Of The World and From Successful Schools in Economically Disadvantaged Areas in the US. Education, 133(2), 291-297.   Read More