Lipstick on a Pig

I previously linked to the glowing press release sent out when the MSA test scores came out for Haford County. And now that we're back from sunning ourselves/trying to stay out of rip currents and we've actually seen the test scores for ourselves, we just keep thinking of the phrase, "that's like putting lipstick on a pig." When HCPS talked about the great improvements! in test scores, we guess we were expecting a bit more. You know, improvement that didn't resemble failure.

The math scores for 8th grade at Edgewood Middle School averaged 39.9 for all groups. For African Americans that was 29.9, for white students, 48.0 -- all groups were below 50. Compare that to Bel Air Middle, where all 8th grade groups averaged 85.3 for math, and no group finished below 50.

Some will blame these scores on transient students, broken homes, blah blah blah. These students are not receiving the same education as other parts of the county. We are paying the same taxes as the people in Bel Air, and living a stone's throw away from the Patterson Mill district where 8th-grade students averaged an 80 in math and 92 in reading.

Are we at TAA the only ones angry about this. If one more administrator or Edgewood Community Alliance member says "it's not that bad," we are going to scream. Admit there's a problem and fix it. We're not idiots.

To see the Harford County breakdown
click here