Editor,
One of the skills we’ve lost as a nation is the ability to have an evidence-based discussion. Why? It involves math, and by current estimates, only about 9% of the U.S. population aged 16-65 are “good with numbers,” according to Wyliecomm.com. As a result, discussions frequently turn to emotion often driven by fear to set government policy. We should aspire to do better.
Here, Mr. Jaquez claims he has seen “lots of posts trying to point out inaccurate data on our school’s performance” and then suggests “to obtain the best data, refer to the WSIF on the OSPI website.”
First, the WSIF information is derived from assessment data. The assessment data going back to 2014-15 can be downloaded from the OSPI website. This is the best source data publicly available. And yes, I can summarize it to make a case that “YCS is improving astronomically.” I can also probably find a way to summarize and make it appear that pre-COVID all was unicorns and rainbows.
The problem I have however, is, from 2014-15 the high point at YHS for students meeting minimum proficiency was just over 31%. We’re talking an almost 70% failure rate to get students minimally proficient. Keep in mind this is a going-out-the-door number; the 10th grade number. (Recently, OSPI has re-cast that number as an “on track to college” number — a topic for another conversation.)
Where are we starting? Well, for the third grade over this same period, YCS is running between 42% and 51% proficient on a test where 100% of students are expected to demonstrate a minimum level of proficiency. That number does not age well as the students go from grade to grade.
True, if your child is in the top 20%, Yelm — in fact most Washington public K-12 schools — are perfectly adequate or better. For the elite, we have advanced placement courses and magnet schools, or college in high school, and we have special ed programs. It is the other 70-80% who are not getting served. Just what does this look like?
Here I have to draw upon my anecdotal experience as a volunteer math tutor in other school districts with similar performance to YCS. About half of the high school students didn’t know their times table, a third grade requisite proficiency. From there it went downhill: mathematical order of precedence, decimal math, fractions, the list of missing basic requisite proficiencies spanned the domain. About 60% were three to six years behind. That was in 2022-23. Does it apply at Yelm? Mr. Jaquez certainly implies that it does by claiming they are “feverishly trying to catch up.”
So what will it take to “catch up?” Research within the education industry, and my anecdotal experience is in alignment, has concluded it will take high dosage/low-ratio tutoring during school hours. Let that read “one tutor to at most three students for a minimum of three hours per week during school time.” We have about 900 students in need of those services in the eighth through 10th grades at Yelm for math alone! Has any of this feverish work considered that? Try to visualize 900 tutoring sessions a week being conducted at the local high school during school hours. Is there a plan to accomplish this?
The light lift group intervention-style tutoring is not working. I’ve seen the results of that in another district: Two to four students out of over 100 moved up. This might work in the lower grades, but the lift is too great by the time students hit high school.
Mr. Jaquez challenges those “who are trying to make a point” by demanding accountability to present what they have accomplished. I would ask him, “What does any government institution become without accountability?” Does the absence of competition and accountability lead to quality of service and efficiency? Are those the lessons of athletics? Or does the absence lead to sloth, power and corruption?
Finally, Mr. Jaquez challenges us to attend a football game or an awards ceremony and see the spirit and now despair. Speaking as a four year, three season Yelm athlete alumnus with experience as an in-school tutor, I would invite Mr. Jaquez to join me in the classroom to see the despair of the high school students in classes where a majority of them are likely three to six years behind. In actuality, we need not even do that. In Yelm, it is adequately reflected in the 68% attendance rate; like their parents, the students are beginning to vote with their feet.
Doug Martin
Thurston County
