Education
Graduate of DC schools says he wasn't prepared for college
Yesterday, a former student of mine took to the pages of the Washington Post to indict DC's traditional and charter public school system, which he says failed to prepare him effectively for college.
Ad for DC charter schools at Congress Heights Metro station. Photo by the author.
Darryl Robinson is now a freshman on full scholarship at Georgetown University. He graduated from Cesar Chavez Public Charter School, Parkside campus in Northeast Washington. He says this and his other schools never pushed or challenged him to be intellectually curious or to think critically.
From my experience in the classroom, Darryl's right. DC schools, and urban schools in general, are currently failing at effectively teaching their students. In a society in which there is increasingly little space in the economy for drop-outs or for graduates unprepared to enter a trade or pursue a college degree, this continued failure puts the city's future at risk. How does this happen?
This issue is not confined to DC or to urban areas. There's a growing consensus that college freshmen from all walks or life and backgrounds spend the year in remedial courses learning what they should have been taught in high school.
But from my experiences, that psychological gulf is deeper and wider for city kids. In conversations with current college students and neighborhood elders, I keep hearing the same thing: folks are going off to college and they're coming right back to the city within a year or so with few credits, mounting debt, and a lack of opportunity.
Our schools perennially dumb down their curricula, continually lower expectations, de-emphasize classroom management, promote students regardless how ready they are. Many rush to label students "special needs" in order to receive more dollars per pupil, while "mainstreaming" students of all levels into one class. They baby students rather than pushing them.
Same soup, just reheated
The problems that Darryl Robinson raised are not new to the pages of the city's paper of record. While he was a student of mine, the Post ran a similar story about the post-graduation struggles of the 2005 class of Cardozo Senior High School in Northwest Washington.
The story opens,
Danielle Chappell had no reason to doubt she was a solid student. She earned decent grades, even scoring some A's in English and math, while balancing schoolwork with basketball, track and a spot on the dance team.Beneath the surface of the District's ongoing demographic, cultural, social, and economic shifts is a public school system struggling to succeed. If DC's leaders fail to recognize and tackle these challenges, the District and its students are at grave risk.Then she graduated from Cardozo High School and arrived at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where she bombed the placement tests so badly that she had to take remedial English and math. She failed the makeup math course twice before passing it. Low grades overall put her on academic probation. Finally, mid-sophomore year, she was forced to withdraw.
Chappell sometimes thinks back to the Cardozo math teacher who, instead of assigning algebra homework, would have students clip photos of motorcycles from magazines and do other projects unrelated to math. "I thought it was strange and weird," Chappell said, but she did not complain because the class was "an easy A."
She wishes now that she had demanded more from Cardozo, and that Cardozo had demanded more from her.
Why and how does this occur? Although it's been nearly 5 years since I was last in the classroom, there are many factors I saw as a teacher and continue to hear about today.
Mainstreaming & modification
Back in the 90's when I was a public elementary school student, there was a "Gifted and Talented" program that placed students in classes with similar peers. In this environment students are taught not just comprehension but critical thinking skills through interaction, conversation, and debate.
That's not what happens in most city schools. According to some education theories, gifted and talented programs are biased and detrimental because they discriminate against certain groups of students in favor of others. So what you get (or what I got) was a 9th grade English class that included both a 17-year-old barely reading at a 3rd grade level and a 13-year-old reading at a 12th grade level.
This is a challenge for even seasoned teachers. Teaching to the middle ground of these two students causes both students to tune out: the 17-year-old is lost, and the 13-year-old knows it all already.
The theory that on-grade level and below-grade level students benefit from having above-grade level students in their class is flawed. Teaching to the middle is not the middle; it's accommodating the lowest level student and hurting everyone else.
For example, when deciding on the year's first book, my 9th Grade English Department peers advocated Tears of Tiger, a junior high school book that many students had previously read. The argument against reading Why We Can't Wait, Fire Next Time, or Manchild in the Promised Land was that it would go over the heads of many of the middle to lower level students, instead of pushing those students. We eventually choose one of Walter Dean Myers' books, Monster, that was a success.
In this case we avoided the temptation to select a rudimentary book. But selecting the rudimentary book over the more challenging one is a practice that dominates the majority of the District's schools, according to teachers and students I know.
To solve students' unpreparedness to enter college, some of DC's elected officials have recently advocated legislation that would mandate that students take a college entrance exam as a prerequisite to graduate. But rather than solving the problem, this requirement would merely "mainstream" all students into the same intellectual exercise.
This would do nothing to better prepare students to pursue a trade or enter college. And it would do nothing to help students develop the intellectual curiosity and critical thinking skills that Darryl lacked upon arriving at Georgetown University.
In coming posts I'll share some of my other experiences and opinions on why and how the city's school system and politicians continue to perpetuate failure.
 | John Muller is a local journalist and historian. His first book, Frederick Douglass in Washington, DC: The Lion of Anacostia, was published by The History Press last year. John is now at work on Mark Twain in Washington, DC.    |
Comments
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DC's grade schools are uneven, but nevertheless there are a fair number of them that do a good job. You would have had no trouble deciding on a book to teach 6th graders. The gulf between the the achieving and non-achieving students grows to something that cannot be bridged in those middle years.
by goldfish on Apr 16, 2012 12:17 pm • link • report
It is not a racial thing. If you moved affirmative action towards a race-neutral solution, bring in poor white kids from West Virginia would result in the same problem.
by charlie on Apr 16, 2012 12:30 pm • link • report
by MP on Apr 16, 2012 12:58 pm • link • report
by HogWash on Apr 16, 2012 1:10 pm • link • report
Dude, you're waaaaaaaaaaay much younger than I thought you were. My 19yr old nephew was born in '93.
by HogWash on Apr 16, 2012 1:13 pm • link • report
by tom m on Apr 16, 2012 1:16 pm • link • report
by Matt R on Apr 16, 2012 1:20 pm • link • report
I was very well prepared for college at the state university system. Maybe about as well as Mr. Robinson.
I would not have been all that well prepared to go to Georgetown. I know, I've taught some classes there! And Mr. Robinson's assessment is pretty much on the money. The introductory freshman classes are working at a level that only a very few public high schools will be preparing kids for. The best of the prep schools, sure, most of them can just slide right in. But from a public high school, it's like jumping in the deep end for the first time to take a Georgetown class.
by BO on Apr 16, 2012 1:20 pm • link • report
by HogWash on Apr 16, 2012 1:23 pm • link • report
by HogWash on Apr 16, 2012 1:24 pm • link • report
by Chad on Apr 16, 2012 1:28 pm • link • report
Also, she's a product of the "old" special education system, where they slapped a label on her and stuck her in a classroom with kids with severe learning, behavioral, and mental problems because, when she entered the school district in which we met, her parents had just suffered a nasty divorce and she had moved 5 times throughout the school year while her previously stay-at-home mom looked for steady work. This transpired in 2nd grade. She finally managed to convince the school she didn't need special ed in 11th grade. She's lucky she was such a hard worker, and now has a MEA from a school well-known for it's education program. So the old program had serious faults, as well.
And even from my own experience, many school districts face similar challenges. Our "gifted and talented" program, which consisted of 2 hours a week of extra study and discussion of selected topics (at that time, one hour a week was during our regular math class, where we discussed/did advanced math, and one was during our regular English class, same deal), was completely cut when I was in the 8th grade. Not because it was discriminatory, but for budget reasons. From there on in, I was SO. FREAKING. BORED. All the time. I had some gems along the way...the math teacher who pushed us a little harder than the rest of the students, the Reading Festival coordinator who challenged us to think critically about the books we were reading and write coherent, thoughtful essays about the books, but 90% of my day was me trying not to fall asleep in lessons that were not particularly challenging. I would skip certain classes for an entire week and still score high A's on the next test. And this was BEFORE mainstreaming hit that school...it was just that kids on or slightly behind grade level set the pace for the class, and there was no longer any outlet for those slightly or astoundingly above grade level (um, I'd call myself the former for most subjects...I'm certainly no prodigy or anything, although I did have a friend who basically was, who once admitted to me that he hadn't studied outside of class for his regular classes, or at all since they cut gifted and talented, in his entire time in school).
From my junior year of college through grad school, I tutored math, economics, and writing. Whew boy...my school was not the only one sending kids to college unprepared. But, hey, $10/hour off the books was a nice bonus for me, and there was plenty of demand. Those college professors aren't really the coddling types.
by Ms. D on Apr 16, 2012 1:30 pm • link • report
For the students I was tutoring in college, there were 3 groups. There were certainly students who wanted to do well and needed extra help to do so. Some were not as thoroughly prepared for college-level work as they could be, but were willing to try their best, and some just weren't great at the subject in question. Those students were a pleasure to work with. *I* could assign them homework and they'd do it, and do it to the best of their ability. Most of those students passed their classes and many even achieved high grades.
The second group were students who were woefully unprepared for college. I had to spend tutoring sessions teaching them grammar and mechanics lessons I learned in junior high. While many of these students also wanted to do well, they were so far behind that I just couldn't catch them up fast enough. I'd say the pass/fail rate for these students was about 50/50, with mostly fair to low grades when they did pass (I consider that anything from a B- to a D, for a college freshman in an entry-level, or even sometimes remedial, course). The worst thing is, I came to realize that most of these students had been provided with the same lessons that I had in high school, but they didn't understand them or they were poorly conveyed, no additional help to understand and retain the lessons was provided, and they were never practiced again...on to the next topic. They memorized and regurgitated their way through high school, and couldn't apply/remember what they had been taught.
The third group of students were generally bright kids who never had to work to achieve at a high school level. College was the first time they had been challenged, and they just couldn't handle it. Some were receptive to me trying to instill good study habits in them, while others fought even me about why they couldn't write an entire 10 page paper for their 1 PM class the morning before it was due (reason #1, for those students, you are NOT going to get out bed before 11...don't pretend otherwise). When we have a large group of intelligent kids who can coast through high school and be totally unprepared to work, even a little, in college, we have a major problem. There's no reason why these students couldn't achieve, they were just informed that high-school level work was "acceptable" or "challenging" or "rigorous," and since they found that easy, they thought college would be a breeze. Sadly, some of these students ended up failing their classes or even dropping out because they couldn't adjust their expectations properly.
We are failing kids with our school system, big time.
by Ms. D on Apr 16, 2012 1:49 pm • link • report
by grumpy on Apr 16, 2012 2:01 pm • link • report
Likewise, we can argue endlessly about the expectations of universities now versus "back when." Good for him that he's on the right track now.
by selxic on Apr 16, 2012 3:21 pm • link • report
The ideals of mainstreaming are great. Don't mark a student to a tier and trap them there, etc... Unfortunately in practice it just means everyone gets in the mid-tier class. High performing students are sacrificed to a false egalitarianism, rather than raising everyone up a notch.
by John on Apr 16, 2012 3:24 pm • link • report
by gk on Apr 16, 2012 3:31 pm • link • report
I'll admit to not having read the WPost article yet, but on its surface, it would seem that Darryl received his full scholarship to G'town thanks to affirmative action..and a bad case @that.
To clarify: Georgetown does not offer merit scholarships, so Darryl's academic abilities vis-a-vis those of other Georgetown admitted students wouldn't have played a role. Aside from athletics, all the financial aid is need-based. Likely he was a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship, which is offered to DC high school graduates and can cover up to the entire cost of attendance. It is completely need-based, however. Given Darryl's background (raised by grandmother, attended multiple different public schools) I'm guessing he easily met the need-based requirements for full funding.
@tom m
I know faculty who teach in the summer program that helps these students prepare for GU's regular classes. Most are minority students from public school systems. They had high grades but were not as competitive in standardized test scores. The puzzler is around the many GU students who went to very good schools AND have high test scores BUT STILL cannot write well or think very clearly. There is certainly a problem in too many public school systems. But there is also a problem that is larger than just that....
Aaaaaamen. My time working on a student publication at Georgetown, especially as an editor, was full of moments of realization that good or even competent writing is a skill in short supply.
by Dizzy on Apr 16, 2012 3:52 pm • link • report
True that. Students can barely write a complete phrase, even if you just ask them to describe simple things. A lot of them can't even make it to 140 characters.
by Jasper on Apr 16, 2012 4:04 pm • link • report
With such divergent educational experiences even within a single, ostensibly cohesive state, is it any wonder that localities without some bond (DC vs. VA, or whatever), who do not share revenue or resources, have such divergent results? Is it any wonder that, when even a kid a little behind grade level can hold the class up that mainstreaming ALL special ed. students is a bad idea? (disclosure: my special ed specialist friend admits that the plan has some merits when borderline students are placed in academically/developmentally-appropriate general ed. courses, with adequate resources, but not as executed now) I wonder if mainstreaming is cheaper? Hmmm...questions to pepper friend with.
by Ms. D on Apr 16, 2012 4:30 pm • link • report
by HogWash on Apr 16, 2012 5:33 pm • link • report
Honestly, even the best public universities have merely a top fifth that are the smartest students anywhere and then the masses tend to be fairly mediocre. Their reputations ride on that upper tier of students and their top-flight faculty and graduate programs to provide an aura of excellence when in fact their simply aren't that many smart students in the state to create a super-qualified student body.
Teaching writing is very hard and very expensive for a high school. It depends on having small classes so that the teacher can assign and grade significant English papers every 2-3 weeks and provide constant and regular feedback. You simply can't do that in a class of 30 people where some lack the most basic composition skills.
If this is the norm when it comes to writing skills expectations, I think we can pretty much expect that the middle class professionals will not be patronizing DCPS in large numbers any time soon.
by Tyro on Apr 16, 2012 6:08 pm • link • report
On the other hand, I was born into an incredibly fortunate situation: not only am I in literally every single "jackpot" demographic category (straight, white, non-immigrant, man) but I have reasonably well-off parents, monetarily speaking and, more importantly, both went to great schools and have multiple graduate/professional degrees. I recognize this played a large role in where I ended up, and how well-prepared I was. So I wouldn't be terribly surprised, I suppose, to learn that some of my classmates felt much more lost than I did going into college.
by Oxycontin on Apr 16, 2012 6:59 pm • link • report
by Anon202 on Apr 17, 2012 10:52 am • link • report
I'm curious to hear experiences from other kids who went to other top DC high schools like Banneker, Wilson, and School Without Walls. I saw this story in the Post when it came out, and if I remember correctly the original title is reflected in the URL: "i-went-to-one-of-dcs-best-high-schools-i-was-still-unprepared-for-college".
Not to take anything away from Chavez' charter, or the kids who've attended, but Chavez PCS isn't anywhere close to "one of DC's best high schools." It occupies a well-defined niche as trying to put as many underserved kids on the "college-track" as possible. This student's story is an endorsement of Chavez, not an indictment of DC's school system.
I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.
by oboe on Apr 17, 2012 8:38 pm • link • report
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