Metro Nashville Public Schools tutoring program

Metro Nashville Public Schools tutoring program

George Walker IV, Nashville Tennessean

Editor's note: Letters to the editor reflect the views of individual readers. Scroll to the bottom to see how you can add your voice, whether you agree or disagree. We welcome diverse viewpoints.

Re: "The best MNPS high schools are application-only. Zoned high schools are failing," by columnist Andrea Williams, Dec. 10 (online) and Dec. 15 (print).

I would like to address some issues with the column by Andrea Williams.

The column bases all its judgments on the Tennessee Department of Education's "School Accountability" list, but this list itself is based only on the results of two standardized tests, the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) and English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA), and on attendance numbers.

These are very shallow means of measuring all the complex achievements of any school, and grading schools for their attendance damns schools in districts with high numbers of transient and economically struggling families.

We may have many schools whose numbers are not high, but that doesn't make these schools "objectively bad." They are simply superficially bad - if that.

By employing only these few numbers, the rankings reward schools that just "teach to the tests." I teach students how to take standardized tests: excelling at these tests is a far cry from actual education. Many charter schools currently drill students on their TCAPs, at the expense of teaching comprehension and critical thinking.

If our current high-ranked magnets serve only a small percentage of our studentry, then the conclusion is not to take more money from our public schools to fund more TCAP-drilling charter schools and exclusionary voucher schools.

Rather, we should help the challenged district schools, and give them the funds they need to lower student/teacher ratios, to increase counseling, and to broaden after-school individual help. With this help, these "bad schools" will rise - even in Tennessee Department of Education's questionable metrics.

Matthew Bond, Nashville 37216

Agree or disagree? Or have a view on another topic entirely? Send a letter of 250 words or fewer to [email protected]. Include your full name, city/town, ZIP and contact information for verification. Thanks for adding to the public conversation.