Over the last 20 years, education experts have increasingly questioned whether standardized tests are the best way to measure how students perform.

Subscribe to Created Equal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of institutions let high school students decide whether to submit their standardized test scores with their admission applications, and many colleges and universities continue to have “test-optional policies” today.

So how much weight do these tests actually carry, and what do they fail to tell us about student achievement? This week on Created Equal, we were joined by Elaine Allensworth — a researcher who has studied testing and other measures of achievement for 20 years — to discuss America’s affinity for test culture and the shortcomings that come with it.

Allensworth says standardized tests can often be overused and over interpreted to the point of causing adverse effects on students and classroom instruction.

“There’s so much in school that is not captured on standardized tests and can’t be captured on standardized tests,” she said. “…beyond that, how students perform in the test is also affected by a lot of factors other than those specific academic skills that we intend to test.”

Guests:

• Elaine Allensworth, Lewis-Sebring Executive Director of the University of Chicago Consortium

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.

On the latest episode of the Detroit Evening Report Weekends, Sascha Raiyn spends some time with Garrett Dempsey of Detroit Outdoors.

Detroit Outdoors is a collaboration between the Sierra Club, the city of Detroit and the YMCA, focused on exposing Detroit youth to the outdoors.

This summer, the organization took a group of students to Yosemite National Park to camp, hike and rock climb. But the trip was centered around the history of the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks, and the Detroit native who is the park service’s foremost expert on that history, Shelton Johnson.

Garrett Dempsey is the program director for Detroit Outdoors. He spoke to WDET’s Sascha Raiyn about the trip and the organization’s work to get Black and brown youth into the great outdoors.

Listen to the episode using the media player above.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan public school reading scores have been taking a hit. MichMash host, Cheyna Roth, and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow find out why with Peter Spadafore who’s with the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity. 

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• The latest Michigan public school reading scores and why they are are so low
• The lasting effects of the pandemic on students
• Policy interventions to help students improve their education

Results from this year’s Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) were released this week, showing that 39.6% of third graders across Michigan passed the state’s English language arts (ELA) test, compared to 40.9% in 2023.

Spadafore, who serves as executive director for the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity, said the results were concerning but not surprising.  

“I think like every observer around Lansing and across the state, we were disappointed in the numbers, but also not entirely surprised to see the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Spadafore. “The state superintendent talks a lot about the impact of virtual instruction. When we were not able to be in classrooms having an impact on those early learners when we’re trying to get at them, soon and quickly to grasp those early reading skills.”

Lansing is hard at work to pass laws to remedy this issue. But Spadafore said they need to make sure they pass the correct laws to intervene with the reading levels.   

“It’s important that they move the bills when they’re right now. They’re overly prescriptive and change a whole lot of state law when really what we’re seeing is if we would have a better screening tool to identify students reading disabilities and characteristics of dyslexia, I think that’s when, we could be supportive of legislation.” 

Spadafore says it will take collaboration between educators, lawmakers, the union, parents and more to help reading levels improve.

More from WDET:

• Rep. James tries to drum support for federal education tax credit legislation
• Detroit Evening Report: Detroit Education Narrative Collective offering up to $5,000 in grants to craft education stories
• Detroit Evening Report: Gov. Whitmer launches new education-focused department MiLEAP

More from Gongwer News Service:

• M-STEP Scores Show Student Economic Advantage Gap Still Prevalent

In August, Eva Goodman was placed in handcuffs and a jail uniform for sleeping in a courtroom during a field trip. Goodman, 15, was visiting with a group organized by the nonprofit the Greening of Detroit. During the visit, Judge Kenneth King of the 36th District court scolded the teen for her “attitude” and behavior.

Goodman’s mother told the Free Press after the incident that their family did not have permanent housing and got in late the night before. Judge King was temporarily removed from the court docket, and his classes at Wayne State University were reassigned due to his suspension.

Since the incident, the Created Equal team has been examining through conversations how society responds to people who live in poverty.

Subscribe to Created Equal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Dr. Rema-Vassar, a professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Wayne State University, spent 20 years working in education and studies race, gender and class implications in schools. She says King’s response to the incident in court was inappropriate.

“My adviser at UCLA used to say, ‘all behavior is functional.’ There’s a reason for all behavior. So if the baby is sleeping in the court, the human response is to figure out why,” Vassar said. “Teachers get to come in and say, ‘I haven’t had my coffee. Don’t bother me for five minutes,’ right? A judge can say, ‘I have to take a recess, I need to compose myself and come back.’ Why aren’t children allowed to do that? Why can’t children say, ‘hey, I’m tired.'”

Vassar joined the show on Tuesday to talk more about how a student’s behavior in school can be a reflection of their circumstances at home.

Guest: 

• Dr. Rema-Vassar is a professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.

It’s called Hood Camp: Urban Survival for Today’s Youth.

“We call it Hood Camp because it is a camp that’s in the hood,” said Mama Shu, CEO and founder of Avalon Village — the sustainable eco-village on Avalon Street in Highland Park that hosts the camp. “And we do it because there are a lot of children who are not able to afford camp.”

The program, for only $50 per child, offers local youth a chance to have an outdoor camping experience in the comfort of their own neighborhood.

Shu says she started the camp because as a young girl she always wanted to camp in her backyard, but her mom wouldn’t let her. But now as an adult, she can share that dream with others.

“I was like ‘You know what? I’m doing this! Let me see if I can get some children and parents who would let their children come and start this Hood Camp.'”

The first camp, in 2011, was just one night with 17 kids — and later up to 40. That lasted for the first 10 years. Eventually, by popular demand from the kids, Shu extended the camp to an entire weekend.

“Because the kids used to always say, ‘Mama Shu we want to spend another night.’ Because they loved spending the night outside,” she said.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the camp reduced its attendance down to 25 -30 children.

At the camp, children learn all about emergency preparedness and surviving outside. They learn how to cook outside, how to garden and purify water. They even learn about different plants that most typically would classify as weeds, and how they can be used for medicinal purposes.

Shu also recruits the Highland Park Fire and Police Departments to teach fire and gun safety and general community safety.

Each camper gets a survival kit with items like batteries, matches, candles, a first aid kit, and a solar backpack. And at the end of the weekend, they go home with a certificate that reads: “I survived in the hood.”

“We are showing them basically how you can fit in and how you can utilize these things first and how to survive in your own neighborhood,” Shu said.

Shu gave the example of a blackout in the neighborhood as an opportunity for the children to use their skills.

“We had out light go out for days in Highland Park,” Shu said “They still have to go to school. Well, they have the solar backpacks so they can charge their phones and their computers. And hopefully not miss a beat with their studies.”

Shu said she always receives positive feedback from the children and their parents about the Hood Camp program. Some former students return each year to participate again, while some who have grown up and graduated return as volunteers.

“It’s just wonderful seeing them still be interested in helping out in the community. And being able to volunteer and support something that when they were kids, they were involved in,” Shu said.

Hood Camp runs Aug. 30 through Sept. 1, 2024. For more information or to register a camper, visit www.theavalonvilllage.org.

Community stakeholders, dignitaries and residents held a ribbon cutting ceremony this week to celebrate the opening of the new McClellan Early Childhood Center on Detroit’s east side.

Located on the site where Detroit Public Schools’ Pingree Elementary once operated, the 15,000-square-foot facility features eight classrooms that are providing 96 new seats for early learners in the community, helping to close a 521-seat gap in the surrounding neighborhoods, according to the city.

The Center, which will welcome its first students in October 2024, will also offer Head Start and Early Head Start programs and feature a community room and meeting spaces for use by local organizations and residents.

Funding for the project came from a variety of public and private entities, according to lender and developer IFF, which was tasked with sourcing the capital to make the Center possible.

The nonprofit early childhood educator and social services organization Matrix Human Services will operate the McClellan ECC.

“The McClellan Early Childhood Center is a milestone in our mission to transform Head Start early childhood education in Detroit,” said Matrix CEO Brad Coulter in a statement. “By providing a new state of the art facility right in the heart of Gratiot Woods, we are setting a foundation for our children’s future success. This facility is not just a school; it’s a commitment to our community.”

For more information about the McClellan Early Childhood Center, visit iff.org/mcclellan.

Other headlines for Friday, Aug. 23, 2024:

• A new report from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan examines the value in using public policy to drive economic innovation in Michigan.
• The Detroit Lions will play against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Aug. 25, in their last pre-season game before the start of the 2024 2025 NFL season.
• The Detroit Bourbon & Blues festival is taking place from 12 to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday in Eastern Market’s Shed 5.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

It’s that time of year again — back to school. Teachers are getting their classrooms ready and kids are soaking up the last days of summer vacation.

The Detroit Regional Dollars for Scholars is a nonprofit that helps students from around southeast Michigan prepare for life after high school. 

Kelli McCloud is a liaison for Dollars for Scholars and works at Utica Community Schools supporting a group of sophomores, juniors and seniors. She joins The Metro on Tuesday to talk about getting high schoolers ready for the next chapter of their lives.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

McCloud says Dollars for Scholars helps students overcome barriers that prevent them from education opportunities beyond high school.

“Students are able to apply to get into this program, and this program gives them the opportunity to get SAT prep, which we all know the SAT,” McCloud said. “As much as we don’t want that score to mean everything, it means a lot when it comes to college money. And then it gives them opportunities to be able to go on campus tours, so just kind of opens up to all the different colleges that are out there. And then at the end of the program they get $4,000. So that’s one of the biggest stresses: money.”

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with McCloud.

More headlines from The Metro on Aug. 20, 2024: 

• It’s the Detroit Public Theatre’s 10th Season! The organization produces nationally recognized plays from world-class writers, directors, actors and designers – all in the Midtown Detroit Neighborhood. Co-founder and Artistic Director of Detroit Public Theater  Courtney Burkett joined the show to preview the theatre’s upcoming season.
• Oakland County Parks is hosting its final Diverse-Ability Day event of the summer from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22 WDET’s Sydney Waelchli spoke with Oakland County Parks and Recreation Supervisor Sandy Dorey on adaptive outdoor activities at the event and how they’re trying to make parks more inclusive.
• Last month, the Michigan Supreme Court made a pivotal ruling that will increase the minimum wage and require businesses to provide paid sick leave to their employees. President and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan Brian Calley joined the show to discuss the ruling. He says that paid sick leave makes life harder for both business owners and workers. 

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

The Detroit Police Athletic League is partnering with the Detroit Police Department to start a new community initiative to help build positive connections with the city’s youth.

The “Coolin’ with Cops” program will start with a meet-up at Rouge Park at 6 p.m. this Wednesday, with future meet-ups occurring every Thursday for the next nine weeks.

David Greenwood, director of community engagement and facilities for Detroit PAL, and Sgt. Bryant George, a Detroit Police sergeant and Detroit PAL’s youth development officer, joined The Metro on Wednesday to share more about the new program.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Greenwood explained how Detroit PAL, a nonprofit that started in 1969, began as a way to bridge the gap between the police department and the community. Greenwood and others with PAL continue to bridge that gap today. 

PAL uses athletics as a way to connect with Detroit’s youth and build a positive relationship between them and the police.

“Well, what we see is growth. What we see is friendships. I think one of the biggest things, even for myself, I maintain a friendship 40 some odd years later, with friends that I met through Detroit PAL,” Greenwood said. “It’s cool to play sports and all of those good things, but we know through sports, we develop so much more. There’s goal setting, resilience, embracing a healthy lifestyle, accountability and teamwork.”

But how do they achieve that growth and teach kids valuable lessons through sports? George, a previous PAL kid himself as well as Greenwood, said it’s all about making it personal for them.

“It’s just all about just being yourself. You know, I wear a uniform to come to work, but I’m still a person,” George said. “And you know, when you allow them to know that, and they can feel and touch and see and you know, you really can just break that barrier of, you know, I’m afraid of the police, or I can’t trust the police.”

George says Detroit PAL complements well with the more proactive side of policing to provide a well-rounded service to the community. The upcoming “Coolin’ with Cops” meet-ups are just one of many ways PAL aims to help grow connections between local youth and the police.

“Our goal is to keep them away from guns, away from gang violence. Hey, pick up that football, keep this in your hand. Go to a good high school, go to a good college,” George said. “Become whatever it is that you want to become, even become a Detroit police officer, you know, like I did, but you know, that’s our goal is that, you know we’re present, and you don’t have to be perfect, but you just have to be present.”

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Greenwood and George.

More headlines from The Metro on August 7, 2024:

• The Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research is holding its annual Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City this week. It’s a gathering of some of the most important automotive leaders and thinkers, as well as public officials — including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Jamie Butters, executive editor of Automotive News and host of the Daily Drive podcast, joined The Metro to share more about the event and discuss the panels he’ll be hosting there.
• The primary elections happened yesterday in Michigan. Despite an exciting presidential election year, there weren’t a lot of surprises this time around. Congressional Democrat Elissa Slotkin and Republican Mike Rogers will be moving on in the Senate race. And Congressman Shri Thanedar defeated Detroit Councilmember Mary Waters in the 13th Congressional District. WDET’s host of Morning Edition, Pat Batcheller, joined The Metro to discuss the main takeaways from yesterday’s election.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

There will be 22 candidates on the ballot in November vying to fill three open seats on the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education.

Chalkbeat Detroit reported this week that two new people will join the board, after two current members did not seek reelection. But there are familiar faces running as well, Chalkbeat reports, including two former school board members, a handful of people who have sought to join the board in the past, and teachers who have been frequent critics of the district.

Mario Morrow, a political analyst and former educator, administrator and assistant superintendent in Detroit, joined The Metro on Wednesday to share why he says this election is so important and what it can tell us about the politics of public education.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Morrow says there are several different reasons why one might want a position on the school board.

“They are very dedicated to education, they want to see the district move in the right direction. Or maybe they’re using this as a stepping stone for another political career. Or just maybe they just want to get paid,” Morrow said. “It is a paying position now, and you can get a stipend. I think it’s $250 a meeting, which is about $75,000 a year. It’s not a bad gig to have.”

No matter the reason for running, the candidates have several responsibilities to fulfill if elected as a school board member.

“The two main responsibilities is, No. 1, hiring and firing of the superintendent. And No. 2, creating and making sure that policy is followed within the district,” Morrow said.

Morrow says school board candidates don’t have to have any educational experience, but rather, just show a dedication to working with the administration and community. He spoke about Mother Moore, a longtime social justice activist and centenarian in Detroit, who — despite her age — has been very involved at school board meetings, and how she is a prime example of what a school board member should be.

“I wish school board members, these 20 plus candidates, would take a page or a chapter out of her book to make sure that they do the right thing if they’re elected,” Morrow said.

Strong leadership in the district is key as they aim to address its many ongoing challenges such as “chronic absenteeism,” of which Michigan has some of the most abysmal rates in the nation. 

In order for the district to improve, school board members need to have the “dedication, commitment and knowledge base” to make a positive change, Morrow said.

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Morrow.

More headlines from The Metro on July 31st:

• The last few weeks have been a wild time in politics. Dennis Darnoi, a Republican strategist and owner of Densar Consulting in Farmington Hills, joined The Metro to discuss how Michigan voters are handling this election cycle.
• The 9th annual “Aging Matters Education and Expo” is taking place this Thursday at the Fellowship Chapel in Detroit. Its goal is to empower aging adults to live their golden years a little brighter. Bernadette Hudgins, one of the event’s organizers, joined the show to talk about what resources they have to offer.
• After being an underground cultural touchstone for decades, break dancing is now out in the open as an official Olympic sport. Break dancing began in the late ’60s and early ’70s in the Bronx.  And as the dance spread nationwide, Detroit and other cities added their own regional flare. To discuss break dancing and the stamp Detroit placed on it, Detroit freelance journalist Kahn Santori Davison joined The Metro.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

“Chronic absenteeism” is one of the biggest problems hurting students in Detroit and across the country, accounting for any students who miss at least 10% of school days. 

Chalkbeat Detroit reports that Michigan had one of the worst rates of chronic absenteeism in the nation during the 2021-22 school year. While the rates improved the following school year, 30% of students still were chronically absent statewide. Those missed days not only make it hard for kids to succeed in the classroom, but also makes a teacher’s job a lot tougher.  

So how should schools go about solving the problem, and what might lawmakers need to do to intervene? To help us answer these questions, Lori Higgins, bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit, joined The Metro.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Higgins has covered Michigan education for nearly 25 years, and she describes chronic absenteeism as a critical issue across the state that has worsened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You still have in Detroit 66% of the kids who are chronically absent. And a third of the kids across the state who are chronically absent, and the state numbers are well above what they were before the pandemic,” Higgins said. “Obviously, the pandemic had an impact on chronic absenteeism. And schools are still trying to recover from it.”

Through her reporting and research, Higgins found that poverty is a large factor of chronic absenteeism in Detroit. Students in poverty face many issues like stable housing, reliable transportation and safe neighborhoods that may cause them to miss school.

“We talked to a student who said one day it was really cold in the morning. He was waiting at the bus stop around 6 a.m. and the bus just drove right past him. And so what did he do? He went right back home. He said, ‘I’m not going to wait here another 45 minutes for another bus,” Higgins said. “And that’s just how easy it is for a kid to become chronically absent, is that split second decision that I’m not going to school today, because the transportation was not reliable, it didn’t pick me up on time.”

Higgins also spoke about a Detroit mother who prefers to walk her daughter the 5 to 6 blocks to school, and keeps her home on the days she is unable to accompany her because of safety concerns. Throughout the first half of the school year, the daughter had a total of 50 absences, she said.

“Schools cannot solve this issue alone, they cannot fix all the societal problems that are leading to chronic absenteeism,” Higgins said. “And that makes it really critical for schools and communities to be working together to find solutions to chronic absenteeism.”

Unfortunately, Higgins said, lawmakers haven’t done much to address the issue.

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Higgins.

More headlines from The Metro on July 30, 2024: 

• To date, in the 2023-2024 cycle, the Republican National Committee’s legal team has engaged in a total of 78 election-related lawsuits in 23 states — raising doubts about the integrity of our electoral system before ballots are even cast. Abby Vesoulis, a national politics reporter for Mother Jones, recently wrote about the RNC’s “bogus” lawsuits, calling them the GOP’s “secret weapon of 2024.” Vesoulis joined The Metro to discuss her reporting on the issue.
• July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, and metro Detroit-based Hegira Health is hosting a virtual town hall on Wednesday featuring a panel discussion about how to address mental health care disparities. To talk more about the town hall and Minority Mental Health Month, Hegira Health Director of Development Dr. Andrea Rodgers joined the show.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

How do you raise young men with healthy masculinity? It’s something author Ruth Whippman explores in her new book, “Boymom: Reimagining Boyhood in the age of impossible masculinity.” 

According to the book, men today often feel they are without solutions for how to act in a range of situations, partly because parents and teachers don’t know what it means to raise boys who are balanced, confident and embrace their masculinity in a healthy way.

Whippman joined The Metro on Thursday to discuss how to address sexism perpetuated by boys and men. She also spoke about how society can create a more positive view of masculinity. 

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

“What I didn’t realize, and I found out while researching this book, was that a baby boy is born with his brain actually about a month behind baby girls’ in terms of right brain development. So that’s the part which deals with emotions, and emotional self regulation, and attachment and relationships,” Whippman said. “So baby girls are born a little bit more mature, a little bit more resilient and independent. Whereas boys need a little bit more support with those things. But because of the way that we think about boys, and we raise them, we actually do the complete opposite with them. They kind of need more of that kind of care, but we tend to see them as boys, as tough and sturdy and robust.” 

Positive male role models and healthy masculinity themes are difficult to find in the media, Whippman said. 

“Girls see so much content, which is all about emotions, and relationships,” Whippman said. “And I know this from having boys, if you just let the Netflix algorithm do its thing for a young boy and you don’t intervene, all they see is stories in which you know, there’s a hero, there’s a villain, a good guy and a bad guy, there’s a battle, someone dies and someone’s crowned a hero. So there’s none of that like relationship stuff, that like how you deal with real human beings, how you track somebody else’s emotions.” 

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Whippman.

More headlines from The Metro on July 25, 2024:

• One of the ways cities create more land opportunities for housing is through downzoning. Detroit City Council is working through this process now, changing the zoning of areas to prevent future heavy industry from impacting residents. Council Member Scott Benson joined the show to share more about the process.
• Boxing is one of the oldest contests in the summer Olympic Games. And just like Motown and its musical artists, Detroit has produced some of the world’s greatest in the sport. Many came through Emanuel Steward’s Kronk Boxing Gym. To discuss the impact of Kronk on Detroit and the sport, former professional boxer Tarick Salmaci and Kronk Chief Operating Officer John Lepak joined The Metro.
• Detroit’s Lexus Velodrome has had a hand in supporting the training of track cycling Olympian and Canadian Dylan Bibic. Executive Director of the Lexus Velodrome, Dale Hughes, joined the show to discuss the sports complex and what they offer the community.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.