State TAKS Scores

[juiceweezl]

DMN had a article showing all the TAKS scores for districts in the DFW area. My wife is a teacher, so we like to look and see how other districts are performing. This time I paid more attention to the "Low Income" column as it was titled in the paper. Online you can see the entire state set of scores.

According to the paper, 59% of kids are "low income" statewide meaning they qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Some area districts were right at 90%. I have a hard time believing that the number of "poor" kids is that high across an entire district. If so, then it's just another case of misappropriations and abuse of tax dollars. You'll never convince me that 90% of a district in the metroplex can't afford a loaf of bread and a pack of bologna for a sandwich.

Link to online scores: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...ics/0810/taks/

[Broncojohnny]

As you are hinting at, the problem is what is defined as "poor". The liberals in this country have broadened that definition just like they have revised what it means to be "rich".

[Broncojohnny]

Here you go:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/272081/modern-poverty-includes-ac-and-xbox-ken-mcintyre

Modern Poverty Includes A.C. and an Xbox
July 18, 2011 10:39 A.M.
By Ken McIntyre

When Americans think of poverty, we tend to picture people who can’t adequately shelter, clothe, and feed themselves or their families.

When the Census Bureau defines “poverty,” though, it winds up painting more than 40 million Americans — one in seven — as “poor.”

Census officials continue to grossly exaggerate the numbers of the poor, creating a false picture in the public mind of widespread material deprivation, writes Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Robert Rector in a new paper.

“Most news stories on poverty feature homeless families, people living in crumbling shacks, or lines of the downtrodden eating in soup kitchens,” Rector says. “The actual living conditions of America’s poor are far different from these images.”

Congress is tying itself in knots figuring out how to cut spending and bring down a $14 trillion national debt. Lawmakers might well take a much closer look at the nearly a trillion dollars spent each year on welfare even though many recipients aren’t what the typical American would recognize as poor and in need of government assistance.

What is poverty? Americans might well be surprised to learn from other government data that the overwhelming majority of those defined as “poor” by the Census Bureau were well-housed and adequately fed even in the recession year 2009. About 4 percent of them did temporarily become homeless.

Data from the Department of Energy and other agencies show that the average poor family, as defined by Census officials:

● Lives in a home that is in good repair, not crowded, and equipped with air conditioning, clothes washer and dryer, and cable or satellite TV service.

● Prepares meals in a kitchen with a refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave as well as oven and stove.

● Enjoys two color TVs, a DVD player, VCR and — if children are there — an Xbox, PlayStation, or other video game system.

● Had enough money in the past year to meet essential needs, including adequate food and medical care.

Rather than report such detailed surveys, Rector and co-author Rachel Sheffield write, the media “amplified” the Census Bureau’s annual misrepresentation of poverty over the past 40 years. News reports routinely suggest that poor Americans typically are homeless and hungry — and U.S. foes and rivals such as Iran, China, and Russia are delighted to report the same.

“Regrettably, most discussions of poverty in the U.S. rely on sensationalism, exaggeration, and misinformation,” Rector says. “But an effective anti-poverty policy must be based on an accurate assessment of actual living conditions and the causes of deprivation.”

See the full Heritage Foundation paper, including downloadable charts, here: “Air Conditioning, Cable TV, and an Xbox: What Is Poverty in the United States Today?”

[Sean88gt]

Standardized testing shows student achievement? Bullshit. It shows that teachers cater towards passing such a test but kids lack knowledge.

[Cannonball996]

the question is what is poor these days?
Texas is now tied with mississippi when it comes to percentage of workers on minimum wage. and the median hourly earning in Texas is only $11.20, thats not a good number especially if you are a single parent trying to raise a couple kids. certainly at that number ones kids would be on the lunch program, even at $15/hr I would think that anyone with one or more dependents would need that program.

[Vertnut]

Standardized testing shows student achievement? Bullshit. It shows that teachers cater towards passing such a test but kids lack knowledge.

BINGO! Quit teaching the fucking TAKS test! Does Japan teach that shit? NO. Our POTUS wants to compare our educational system to those in Asia and Europe, but they don't have some silly-assed TAKS test that's necessary to collect government funding. It's all bullshit, and leads to cheating in the lower-level schools.

[Vertnut]

the question is what is poor these days?
Texas is now tied with mississippi when it comes to percentage of workers on minimum wage. and the median hourly earning in Texas is only $11.20, thats not a good number especially if you are a single parent trying to raise a couple kids. certainly at that number ones kids would be on the lunch program, even at $15/hr I would think that anyone with one or more dependents would need that program.

But people are working, and we're still 1.2% points below the national unemployment numbers. We can't have a high percentage of "undocumented" workers in this state, and maintain high salaries. They don't require them, so why pay them?

[Baron Von Crowder]

BINGO! Quit teaching the fucking TAKS test! Does Japan teach that shit? NO. Our POTUS wants to compare our educational system to those in Asia and Europe, but they don't have some silly-assed TAKS test that's necessary to collect government funding. It's all bullshit, and leads to cheating in the lower-level schools.

Wish granted. They are changing to an End Of Course exam that will replace the TAKStest.

The "no child left behind" has screwed us more.

[Sean88gt]

the question is what is poor these days?
Texas is now tied with mississippi when it comes to percentage of workers on minimum wage. and the median hourly earning in Texas is only $11.20, thats not a good number especially if you are a single parent trying to raise a couple kids. certainly at that number ones kids would be on the lunch program, even at $15/hr I would think that anyone with one or more dependents would need that program.

Texas has a gigantic retail economy. So while jobs are present, they aren't necessarily careers.

But people are working, and we're still 1.2% points below the national unemployment numbers. We can't have a high percentage of "undocumented" workers in this state, and maintain high salaries. They don't require them, so why pay them?

But a lot of the positions that are low wage aren't necessarily going to undocumented workers. I'm sure there are people that have taken it in the shorts and are just working whatever they can with the hope of real jobs coming back.

[Cannonball996]

But people are working, and we're still 1.2% points below the national unemployment numbers. We can't have a high percentage of "undocumented" workers in this state, and maintain high salaries. They don't require them, so why pay them?

employment numbers might be better then other states, thats nothing to brag about. $15/hr might get people by today, but the cost of commodities and over all cost of living is sharply rising, in just a couple years $15/hr is not going to be enough to get by?

[juiceweezl]

As you are hinting at, the problem is what is defined as "poor". The liberals in this country have broadened that definition just like they have revised what it means to be "rich".

This is exactly what I suspected and was looking at. Forget about the scores and the false presumption of "learning" that educators claim they show. That's a whole other thread. It's just stupid how much money is going to waste on the large number of "low income"/free lunch kids that probably don't need it. My guess is that a lot of them have nice, brand name clothes, an X-box or similar at home, iPod, etc. I grew up well, but my father was in the industrial supply/furniture business. There were times when we didn't have much at all. I wore my share of $5 shoes from Pic-n-Pay then, but I never, ever took a handout for free lunch at school. If a kid/family really needs it, then fine -- that's what the system is there for. Just don't let me see a kid eating free lunch while listening to his iPod.

[jnobles06]

i graduated from lake worth high school in 2002 and in 2000 our school switched to free breakfast and lunch for all students because most of the kids at the school couldn't afford lunch.

i was shocked when it happened. i didn't need the free lunch but since most of the school was considered "poor" they gave it to every one.

[Vertnut]

employment numbers might be better then other states, thats nothing to brag about. $15/hr might get people by today, but the cost of commodities and over all cost of living is sharply rising, in just a couple years $15/hr is not going to be enough to get by?

No brag, just facts. Cost of living is a lot lower here, too.

[Sean88gt]

No brag, just facts. Cost of living is a lot lower here, too.

Housing is cheaper, but other costs are pretty high - utilities, property tax, sales tax, the bullshit presumptive value tax, fuel isn't really any cheaper, food isn't either.

[Vertnut]

Housing is cheaper, but other costs are pretty high - utilities, property tax, sales tax, the bullshit presumptive value tax, fuel isn't really any cheaper, food isn't either.

No state sales tax, and fuel is cheaper than a lot of states. We're not in heaven, but I'm not sure who I would trade with.