Are Island schools underachieving?

Unless education is stressed in the home, studies say, don't expect kids to get straight-A's

Staten Island Advance - May 23, 2005

Although Staten Island schools consistently outstrip citywide results on standardized exams, the raw numbers do not tell the whole story.

When the playing field is leveled for demographic factors that affect student achievement -- such as family income, English-language fluency and enrollment in special education -- Island schools are floundering.

According to a study released last month by the city Department of Education, only four District 31 schools got an "above average" rating when measured against schools comprising similar types of students.

Using scores from the 2004 standardized English exams, the analysis pegged the performance of 20 Island schools as "average," 22 as "below average," and six as "far below average." Not one Island school earned the "far above average" rating.

"Ranking of schools solely by English language arts achievement does not take into account differences from school to school in the background characteristics of the students tested," states the document outlining the study's rationale. "Educators and the public intuitively realize that academic achievement and family income are connected. ... Similarly, the percentages of special education students and English language learners in a school have been shown to have an impact on a school's academic performance."

FINDING WHAT'S 'AVERAGE'

The schools singled out for above-average achievement were PS 31, New Brighton; PS 35, Sunnyside; PS 48, Concord, and Petrides, in Sunnyside.

"Above average" PS 31 -- where 94 percent of students fall under federal poverty standards -- ranked 470th of city elementary schools based on pure scores; the North Shore school is made up largely of African-American and Hispanic students, who in 2005, saw a surge in improvement on state English exams.

PS 5, Huguenot, ranked 47th in the city. But when compared to schools with similar demographic advantages it was dubbed only "average."

The 2004 Island results do not represent a one-year fluke, veteran educators say.

Borough schools, while perceived as some of the city's highest-performing, have historically faltered when other variables are weighed.

"We've been seeing that for years," said Loretta Prisco, a leader of Parents Action Committee for Education, who taught in the public school system for nearly 20 years. "We're really underachieving, if you look at other schools where parents have the same income levels and other factors."

In Brooklyn's District 21, also a part of Region 7, seven schools were designated "far above average," six schools "above average," six schools "average" and only one school saddled with "below average." None was placed on the "far below average" list.

HOME EMPHASIS COUNTS

Even if families drive fancy cars and live in sprawling mansions, children are less likely to succeed in school if education is not emphasized in the home, said Igor Arievitch, a professor of education and cognitive development at the College of Staten Island.

National studies have proven repeatedly that parents' level of schooling is one of the most reliable predictors of children's academic performance, he said.

"If there was such a variable as educational background of parents, then absolutely, that also contributes to academic success," he said. "Generally, the more the gap between values and expectations in the family and the values and expectations in school, the more difficult it is for the child to succeed in school."

Although Staten Island has the highest median household income in all five boroughs, at $55,000, fewer residents here go on to higher education than in other parts of the city, according to 2000 Census data.

About 23 percent of Islanders older than 25 have earned a bachelor's degree or higher, statistics show. Almost the same percentage of Brooklynites go on to higher education, although their median income is $32,000.

By comparison, in Manhattan -- where families pull in $47,000 -- half of all adults have earned bachelor's degree or higher.

"Schools need to coordinate with families in the promotion of the high value of education," said Arievitch.

With the statistics now compiled, the District 31 teachers' union representative called upon the Education Department to do something about changing the balance.

"They have these stats and they put these out; what's their follow-up?" he said. "What do they suggest we do?"

School rankings and more details on the study can be accessed at http://www.nycenet.edu/daa/RRR/index.html.
 

By Deborah Young
Reprinted here with permission from the