It was revealed last week that since the 2018–2019 academic year, not a single student at LeBron James' "I Promise School" had passed the Ohio state math test. The Ohio public school, which opened in 2018 to target at-risk students and reportedly costs taxpayers $8 million annually, is now responding to the "discouraging" test results as a result of the reports.
The Akron Beacon Journal was the first to report that the seventh graders who must pass the state proficiency exam in order to advance to the next grade haven't aced the math portion since the third grade (2018–2019 academic year).
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It's important to remember that the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the entire world coincided with these recent "depressing" test results. The pandemic had a significant impact on schools across the country, forcing many students and staff to get used to homeschooling, online learning, and, for a while, skipping days or even weeks of school. Everywhere's curricula were impacted, which had an impact on the students' performance on a daily basis and their test scores.
Complex claims that reports based on information from the last few years may actually be "unreliable" according to their sources. Test results from students showed a "drastic increase" a year after James' school opened.
Years after the pandemic started, reports claim that test results have sharply decreased. In response, a representative for the LeBron James Family Foundation's I Promise School is responding to the criticism.
The representative stated to Complex on Monday, July 31, "We entered this partnership with Akron Public School for the long term when we started this work to wraparound students through education. Because doing this work requires dedication over a long period of time, a lot of love, and care. And because the I Promise School is more than just a school, that is what we bring each and every day. No matter the difficulties and setbacks they encounter, we will remain by our students' sides and support their entire families so they can succeed in both school and in life.
The representative added that Stephanie Davis, the new principal, has been praised as being the "perfect person to lead" the school and that the entire faculty at the Akron public school is "incredibly excited" about the upcoming academic year. Davis succeeds two other principals, including the most recent leader Tawanna Hamm (who announced her resignation last month) and Brandi Davis (who took the helm in 2018).
The new principal, Davis, reportedly gave Complex another statement in which he discussed the math test results and other topics. The optimism and energy surrounding getting our students to the level of achievement we know they are capable of is one of the things she was most excited about when she first arrived at the I Promise School, she said.
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Davis continued, "Our preliminary OST data was shared at the most recent Board meeting, but it's important to remember that proficiency is based on mastering grade-level standards. Although our students have not yet reached the grade-level mastery benchmark, their iReady scores show that they are improving. 32% of our incoming eighth graders achieved their typical annual growth in reading, while 11% exceeded their yearly stretch goal.
Throughout their seventh grade academic year, 42% of students showed improvement in iReady math despite not mastering the grade-level standards. When working with students who are performing below grade level, growth is just as significant as proficiency as a gauge of improvement. Furthermore, the kind of growth that is significant to us does not happen overnight. It requires time.
The Akron Beacon Journal was the first to report that the seventh graders who must pass the state proficiency exam in order to advance to the next grade haven't aced the math portion since the third grade (2018–2019 academic year).
HELP US CONTINUE TO BRING YOU THE BEST NEWS, OPINIONS
It's important to remember that the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the entire world coincided with these recent "depressing" test results. The pandemic had a significant impact on schools across the country, forcing many students and staff to get used to homeschooling, online learning, and, for a while, skipping days or even weeks of school. Everywhere's curricula were impacted, which had an impact on the students' performance on a daily basis and their test scores.
Complex claims that reports based on information from the last few years may actually be "unreliable" according to their sources. Test results from students showed a "drastic increase" a year after James' school opened.
Years after the pandemic started, reports claim that test results have sharply decreased. In response, a representative for the LeBron James Family Foundation's I Promise School is responding to the criticism.
The representative stated to Complex on Monday, July 31, "We entered this partnership with Akron Public School for the long term when we started this work to wraparound students through education. Because doing this work requires dedication over a long period of time, a lot of love, and care. And because the I Promise School is more than just a school, that is what we bring each and every day. No matter the difficulties and setbacks they encounter, we will remain by our students' sides and support their entire families so they can succeed in both school and in life.
The representative added that Stephanie Davis, the new principal, has been praised as being the "perfect person to lead" the school and that the entire faculty at the Akron public school is "incredibly excited" about the upcoming academic year. Davis succeeds two other principals, including the most recent leader Tawanna Hamm (who announced her resignation last month) and Brandi Davis (who took the helm in 2018).
The new principal, Davis, reportedly gave Complex another statement in which he discussed the math test results and other topics. The optimism and energy surrounding getting our students to the level of achievement we know they are capable of is one of the things she was most excited about when she first arrived at the I Promise School, she said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM WAYNEDUPREE.COM
Davis continued, "Our preliminary OST data was shared at the most recent Board meeting, but it's important to remember that proficiency is based on mastering grade-level standards. Although our students have not yet reached the grade-level mastery benchmark, their iReady scores show that they are improving. 32% of our incoming eighth graders achieved their typical annual growth in reading, while 11% exceeded their yearly stretch goal.
Throughout their seventh grade academic year, 42% of students showed improvement in iReady math despite not mastering the grade-level standards. When working with students who are performing below grade level, growth is just as significant as proficiency as a gauge of improvement. Furthermore, the kind of growth that is significant to us does not happen overnight. It requires time.
