TPS Performance

This post comes from a previous post this past Tuesday.
There was a phrase in that post, "freedom of learning."
I ask, freedom of learning in Toledo Public Schools today?
Maybe, "freedom of learning" is one of the problems for
the low proficiency rates for children in our public schools.
If this country and local school districts are going to continue
educating children in brick and mortar central buildings, it
may be time to forget about "freedom of learning" and instill
a core curriculum of reading, english, spelling, writing, math,
science, and civics. Bring on the memorizing, re-instill strict
discipline, get rid of school counselors. I don't seem to recall
counselors in all of my primary and secondary education. None.
And, some how most of us survived, flourished, went on to
college, graduate degrees, and successful careers. There was
less time in Toledo public schools in the pre-1970s than today and
test scores were higher. Prior to the implementation of school
lunches in the late 1960s, TPS sent all the students home for lunch.
The schools were empty for an hour and a half. Yet, there was
time to fully educate the children. TPS was shut down for 90
minutes, imagine that today. From the information that I have
been able to retrieve there is hardly a school in TPS reaching the
requirements of "No Child Left Behind". Here is a sampling of
data for 2007: Listing school, reading proficency, math prof:
Cherry Elem 28.9% 30.0%
Chase Elem 41.1 39.4
Byrnedale 76.4 56.6
Deveaux 67.5 47.4
Elmhurst 80.3 86.8
Eastside 59.9 50.7
Fulton 52.1 64.7
Grve Patrsn 85.4 80.3
Jones 33.2 26.0
Lagrange 33.3 20.0
Larchmont 73.2 48.3
Libbey 73.0 48.3
McKinley 50.5 42.9
Pickett 36.3 26.8
Rogers 76.3 60.2
Scott 75.4 49.1
Start 88.6 77.6
Waite 81.3 64.9
Woodward 72.3 51.6

Most TPS are not meeting the proficiency goals. Neither
is the nation at large. Yet, TPS spending per child is
probably $10,000+ For what? Failure? So, if we didn't
have national performance goals and testing, all this could
be hidden? Why are like teachers at say Pickett and Start
receiving roughly the same pay? Or Jones and Grove Patterson?
The Union tells me so? How can schools like Pickett, Lagrange,
Chase, even be called a place of learning? Apparently, even
teaching to the tests in TPS has not made successful learning.
How many children is TPS leaving behind?