School Board Member: RHS Out-Performs Most Area Magnet Schools

Board of Education member David Kemp on Sunday submitted the following commentary:

Statewide test scores are in.

Rockville High School has outperformed the majority of area high schools.

Finally, results from magnet schools have been reported, and the long-awaited data reveals most magnets are not delivering on their promises. After all the publicity and money spent to promote magnet school education, one would not expect low magnet school performance. Yet low scores are reported by several area magnet high schools.

Among 14 area magnet schools, Rockville High School scores for Reading, Math and Writing were 486, 484 and 494 respectively. RHS ranked third after the Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy and the Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science.

Greater Hartford Classical Magnet reports 463, 435 and 458. Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts reports 453, 422 and 454.

CREC Medical Professions and Teacher Preparation Academy reported no SAT scores at all? Near the bottom of all statewide reported numbers is the Public Safety Academy in Enfield, reporting 365, 349 and 384.

Advanced placement test results at Rockville High School also compare favorably to the scores reported by area magnets. Of 42 students from RHS that took an AP exam, every one of the RHS students scored a 3, 4 or 5 on one of the tests they took.

That's 100 percent.

Pretty good.

On the other hand, one of the area magnets reported that 21 students took an AP exam, but only one scored a 3, 4 or 5.

Only one.

How is that possible?

Another magnet had only two students score a 3, 4 or 5. Another only nine of 23, and so on.

We should demand our money back, and demand accountability from our state legislators, since Vernon is required by Connecticut General Statutes to pay for these magnet school tuitions. You and I have been paying and will continue to pay for these magnet school tuitions. Yet we do not have the opportunity to negotiate prices, nor do we have any curriculum oversight.

The magnets do as they please, and send you and me the bill. You would think they would at least deliver on their promises. Rockville High School and other area high schools provide comprehensive educational experiences for our students which magnet schools do not.

Have you ever been to a magnet school festival of the bands, football game, track meet, tennis match, drama club event, or Robotics competition (RHS first national champions ever)?

Probably not.

The next time any of us attends a magnet school presentation or review an expensive promotional brochure, inspect their Strategic School Profile report. If one is not provided, ask for it. Meaningful data ought to be found in these reports that are made available in November of each year.

Class sizes, academic computer ratios per student, numbers of library items on site, percentages of staff with a master's degree, operating costs and student/staff demographics, et al, can often be revealed in a school's Strategic School Profile. These figures are their actuals, not their goals, not their objectives, not their promises. Full magnet school statistical disclosures might surprise you, might surprise our legislators, and at the least, will enable you to make an informed comparison.

RHS offers a superior academic experience for our children. Send your children to Vernon Public Schools with confidence. The welcome sign is brighter than ever. We'll leave the light on for you.

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David Kemp is a graduate of the University of Vermont, past 12-year member of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, Vernon's representative for 20 to the CABE delegate assembly, and was last year the only board member in Connecticut certified by CABE a Master Board Member. Kemp is a Republican serving in his 26th year and a candidate for re-election to Vernon's Board of Education.