Chancellor Klein announces school report cards at P.S. 189 by Daniel P. Bader In each of the three years that the city’s Department of Education has given schools letter grades, P.S. 189 has shown improvement. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein decided to make an example of the Amsterdam Avenue school, which got an A in this year’s assessment, by announcing the results of this year’s report cards there on Wed., Sep. 2. “Besides what’s happening here today, today is a big day for city schools,” Klein said, standing in the library. “Not just are we getting our kids to proficiency … our kids are ready for higher standards.” Across the city Klein said grades increased dramatically compared to last year, even though the standards were raised ostensibly making it more difficult to get an A or a B.  Officially called Progress Reports, the letter grades are based on academic achievement and progress, as well as student attendance and the results of annual parent, teacher and student surveys about their school’s learning environment.
A total of 84 percent of city schools earned A’s this year: last year only 38 percent achieved that level. The letter grades and what they really mean are subject of intense debate across the city. However Klein’s release coincides with the New York State Department of Education’s announcement that a record number of schools are meeting academic standards under the federal No Child Left Behind Law. While the meaning of the grades is debated, P.S. 189 principal Theresa Luger knows her kids have made progress and is proud of the grade. At P.S. 189 the percentage of all students meeting or exceeding standards has gone up 22 percent in reading and 16 percent in math since 2007. “It’s been a long time coming,” said Luger. Of the school’s 1,100 students, 52 percent are English Language Learners and 20 percent are disabled. Tests are a “huge part” of the process, said Luger, but so has analyzing the results of those tests to tailor further education. “Looking at data has become a monthly activity for [teachers],” Luger said. The teachers use what they observe in the classroom and tests to triangulate what students need to succeed, and at least this year, her staff has spent less time on test preparation. The grades, said Klein, are a criterion-based challenge for each school, and should be seen as one tool for evaluating them. “It’s about making certain progress to make the grade,” he said. As schools advance, the standards are raised. “Next year they’re going to have a harder time making an A,” Klein said. All of the District 6 schools, which covers Northern Manhattan, received an A this year, except for Washington Heights Academy, P.S. 366 on Nagle Avenue, which received and F, and M.S. 321, the Minerva Mirabal School on Jumel Place, which did not get a grade. The Manhattan Times is the bilingual newspaper of Washington Heights and Inwood.
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