The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation recently released their scorecard for the education system of each of the states. In a study entitled 2006: The State of State Standards, they give West Virginia a C- — down from 2000’s ranking of C+.
West Virginia ranks poorly in each of the five classified areas, especially U.S. history where we receive an F. “Robert Byrd ought to be ashamed,” the Foundation reports. “West Virginia’s U.S. history standards impart next to nothing of value to Mountain State students. American history begins in fourth grade with little to no chronological coherence and the goals are so general as to be meaningless: students are expected to ‘identify major leaders and events from America’s colonization to the Civil War’ and ‘identify Presidents of the United States and their involvement with major historical events.’ No historical figure is mentioned by name.
“Things improve very little in fifth grade and they grow a bit more advanced when instruction resumes in ninth grade. Yet, the overwhelming generalities continue unabated, and, after ninth grade, any semblance of chronological instruction is abandoned. Thematic instruction (e.g. ‘the increasing interdependency of the United States and the world’) is embraced and things continue downhill from there.”
West Virginia’s highest grade is a “B” in science. Yet according to the study, “poor writing or errors of understanding” plague a fairly comprehensive method. “West Virginia has put forth a massive document,” they conclude, “but it has devoted scant attention – especially in grades K-8 – to important content, which in a subject such as chemistry, is of utmost importance.”
The Foundation awarded a “C” to Math, calling it “unwieldy and verbose” yet “only a red pen and an editor away from being excellent.” English also received a “C” along with World History.
The most disturbing news is that West Virginia’s grade is average with the rest of the United States. In their estimation, “two-thirds of schoolchildren in America attend class in states with mediocre (or worse) expectations for what their students should learn.”
But the study is not all about pointing fingers. Unlike most, the Foundation also released an accompanying booklet, To Dream the Impossible Dream, where they suggest changes for state and federal government. The summary is partially authored by our very own former governor, Bob Wise.
Interestingly enough, they see benefits from No Child Left Behind, President Bush’s controversial education program, but fault it for not going far enough in creating nationwide standards. The summary admits a national testing program is difficult because “the right hates ‘national’ and the left hates ‘testing,’” but it is not impossible.
A decidedly interesting thing about the study’s conclusions is that money – and the absence thereof – is never mentioned. We all agree that West Virginia’s teachers should be paid more, but according to this study, methodology is what is holding us back and not funding.
For those interested in getting our education system back on track in West Virginia and the United States generally, the study is an interesting read.
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© Copyright 1999-2007 William Stewart. All rights reserved.
Comments
William,
I totally agree! I teach science and see the students from year to year knowing less and LESS prior content. I do numerous labs and teach (my goodness, a teacher who teaches and does not show movies??). I spend $$$ out of pocket just to get the required chemicals and equipment for labs. No wonder the state is lagging when they provide hefty $$ for the fat cats but not classroom equipment.
We need to ensure teachers are teaching (use standards) and fully fund the expenses needed to teach (while a payraise would be nice, I would prefer getting the proper $$ for education needs).
On another note, for those fighting government waste: if I purchase a computer via the states contract, I will pay $1365 for the SAME computer (DELL) I can get direct from the company (dell.com) for $600. Can someone correct this gouging of the taxpayer???
Well, I guess there’s a reason that I can’t recall having learned anything of historical value in the Jr. to Sr. High years of my WV education. (I know it’s not due to my fading memory; I’m not THAT old!) The reason must be that although I graduated with honors at the top of my class,I never learned anything at all.
I do recall two history classes in high school. One class was taught by a coach (who is now listed on the juvenile sex offender list.) All I remember was his desk always being surrounded by popular girls and that was one class you come arrive late to and not be noticed. Another, was taught by a lady with seemingly perpetual headaches. Our textbook was usually Newsweek magazines. We all knew that if we got her off on a personal discussion she’d use up most of the class time and tell us to just read our magazines while she took a nap.
I’m thankful for the past eleven years that I’ve had to homeschool my children and thus receive a remedial course in history and geography. I took my children to Colonial Williamsburg for a “field trip.” None of it seemed familiar to me although I had been there in Jr. High. I can still tell you where all the rides are at Busch Gardens and distinctly remember what I purchased at the outlet mall however. It’s laughable to me that one must have a high school education to homeschool her kids in this state!
Now I’m not downing teachers by any means. I had a few wonderful Miss/Mr. Frizzles who made math and science very memorable. I hated my English teachers (who didn’t!) but I do recall much of what they tried to force down our throats. Your blog just got me reminiscing and I had to share it with you!
I hate to say this, but as far as WV history goes, there is nothing there worth teaching. I’m a history lover, but WV history puts me to sleep, and I’m sure that teachers have a hard time trying to tach a subject that barely exists.
Mr. Adams,
Look to the election where Fleming was declared the winner in the 1880s. He won in COURT over the REPUBLICAN NATHAN GOFF (they threw out the BLACK vote!). The sitting governor refused to step down during the court hearing (about a year long), the president of the state senate found a judge to swear him in, so did Goff & Fleming. Four governors simultaneous and guess what is not mentioned in a typical WV history course? You got it! Those things are factual and would be VERY fun to learn.