Report cards have come out for the schools in Bladen County, and the news was not the best.
Not a single school, those inside of the Bladen County Schools umbrella plus Emereau and Paul R. Brown, scored above a C. Our place today is not to shake a finger at any of them but instead to offer encouragement and appreciation.
Let’s be clear: We’d like to see better results. But our position hasn’t changed from a year ago. Testing in any shape or form for any measurement desired is not going to be perfect — our schools certainly included.
The state has tweaked its measurements on occasion, seeking the best resources to determine student performance and how teachers are doing. We applaud the effort, and the state’s admission that not every measurement works.
Last week, the state school system released to its Board of Education the School Performance Grade accountability measurement and the four-year Cohort Graduation Rate.
One F and six Ds are not to be dismissed. These grades matter, but we’d also be foolish to fully judge those schools on this report. At each school, there are students desiring to learn and doing well, and there are instructors and administration doing their best.
Trending well for the school system again was the graduation rate. The Class of 2019 bettered the previous year by rising to 89.7 percent at West Bladen and 94.1 percent at East Bladen.
Ultimately, schools try to prepare students to go into the world after graduation and be successful. Standardized measurements, no matter how well intended or reasoned, have flaws.
That said, without measurements and benchmarks to reach or surpass, how could we judge effectiveness? We can’t just listen and trust someone to tell us “everything is OK, we’re doing fine.”
In any walk of life, any industry that is around us in Bladen County, supervisors don’t accept that from the work force, and investors and owners don’t accept it from the supervisors. Daily or somehow periodically, there is a test.
In school, ultimately, that’s what we teach our children. They will be tested in life, at various times for any number of things to which they are connected. The grade might not have a letter, but there will be an expectation — perhaps as clear as pass or fail.
School lays a foundation for our children that will serve them for decades to come. Teachers and administrators have pivotal relationships to forge. And with that comes responsibility, how they’re preparing the students and how they’re judged on that performance.
Last week’s results were not straight As.
But we know schools are making an impact on our children. The bigger test will be their success in life, a report card not yet due.
Last week’s report had value toward that end, but its context and perspective need to be taken into account. It is not the only measurement.