Name of Report: State Report Card Learning Support Indicators
Organizational Affiliation: Information Works!
Author: Rhode Island Department of Education and The National Center on Public Education
Date: 2003
Contact Information: Rhode Island Department of Education
225 Westminster Street
Providence , RI 02903
401-222-4600 ext. 2182 (telephone)
Pages: 8
Content Summary
This reports consists of tables showing how Rhode Island elementary, middle and high schools fared using “percent time lost from school” (does not include absence because of illness, suspensions, truancy etc.), “percent drop out” (used only for high schools), “percent proficient in health” (based on state health education assessments for 2000-2002) as indicators. The SALT Indicators include instruction (derived from teacher surveys), parent involvement (derived from parent and teacher surveys), and school climate (derived from parent, student, and teacher surveys).
Major Findings
For all the assessed school level (elementary, middle, and high school) the results are strikingly similar- schools with high percentages of students who lost time from school also had a lower percentage of proficient students in Health. One middle school in Providence, for example, had 15.9 percent time lost from school and also had 7.2% percent of proficient test takers on the Health exam. Schools with such high time lost percentages and low achievement percentages were overwhelmingly located in impoverished and/or minority districts. The SALT indicators of instruction, parent, involvement, and school climate failed to illuminate or indicate discrepancies as these indicators might be relatively equal in both high and low-performing schools.
Unaddressed Issues Or Concerns
School suspension is the important factor that this report has failed to address in its tallying of percent time lost from school. The Rhode Island Racial Bias and School Discipline Task Force Report highlights the problematic nature of suspensions as the lost of school time is detrimental to scholastic achievement (Maione 1). Furthermore, poverty and race are factors that affect school suspensions and must also be taken into account for a holistic picture of drop-out rates and their affect on academic success (Maione 1).
Reference List
Maione, Anthony. Rhode Island Racial Bias and School Discipline Task Force. August 2002.
How to Access Report
http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2003/state/7-lsi.asp