Has the conversation in the Wake County school system switched from student assignment to student achievement?
As noted in today’s article, Wake has seen a spike in the number of high-poverty schools in the past few four years, helping to produce some pretty low proficiency rates under the new state exams. But members of the board’s Democratic majority say they need to focus on core instruction and not student assignment to address the situation.
“What we intend to do over the next year or so is to focus on core instruction, raising achievement and improving student outcomes,” said school board Chairman Keith Sutton. “The new exams give us a good starting point.”
Sutton said a balanced approach is needed now.
“We can’t rely solely on assignment to balance student achievement,” Sutton said. “We can’t rely solely on magnet programs to balance student achievement. You can’t rely only on an infusion of additional money. There’s not a single bullet.”
Sutton said they need more time to consider how they’ll implement the changes made to the assignment policy this year.
Wake County Schools spends $1,378,298,829 for 153,152 students, or $9,000 per student. Madison spends 67% more per student at around $15,000 each.