Editorial
September 5, 2004
Chattanooga Times Free Press
It should have long been obvious that significant gains in student achievement can be accomplished by focusing resources on schools that serve children from low-income neighborhoods and educationally disadvantaged homes. But if proof is needed before the County Commission and the state lend greater support to such efforts, public officials need only acknowledge the growing recognition of rising achievement levels in the city's Benwood schools, and the report on this year's scores on SAT college entrance exams. Both underscore the value of investing the resources needed to lift achievement in schools that often are dismissed disdainfully as 'low-performing.'
The Benwood schools are nine elementary inner-city schools targeted for help by the city, the school system and the Benwood, the Public Education and the Weldon F. Osborne foundations. Achievement gains have risen substantially since these partners rallied four years ago to address the need to improve student performance at the schools.
The effort focused on raising teacher quality and improving reading and basic skills and support for learning at home. The across-the-board achievement gains are so notable that U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige cited the success of the Benwood schools program, and the unique partnership, in a report to Congress a few days ago. The report surveyed the 'best practices' found among public school systems.
The new SAT report highlighted findings derived from SAT entrance exams taken by this year's crop of college freshmen. Among the findings, one is particularly pertinent to educational background: the gap between scores of students whose parents had attended college, and those whose parents had not. SAT officials reported that test takers whose parents attended college scored 28 points higher than average on this year's SAT, while those whose parents had not attended college and had only finished high school scored 83 points below average.
The obvious corollary is that students from homes where education is demonstrably more valued do better in school.
The five county commissioners who cut the basic school system budget and denied funding for the education summit goals — including the proposals to boost early reading and to help parents become better teachers — should take note. The transformation that is occurring in the Benwood schools, and the findings by the SAT board, confirm that increasing resources and support for so-called 'low-performing schools' and parents-as-teachers are wise long-term investments.
Communities that make such investments are bound to see the fruits not just in higher student achievement, but also in better educated residents and workers, reduced social costs, and more prosperous communities. Those that don't will just continue to fall behind.