Letter: Achievement needs to come first in classrooms

The recent article by Lana Cohen on academic challenges in Portland’s classrooms was very disconcerting. I’m sure many parents of students in Portland’s public schools would agree. Although disconcerting, it was not a surprise to me.

As a volunteer at Portland High School since 2015, I do not believe the problem is the fault of the teachers. I have interacted with many teachers on the mathematics faculty at PHS and, as a mathematician myself, can attest to their competency and teaching skills.

There are classroom issues that need to be addressed. First, there is an issue of pernicious grade inflation. This problem is not particular to Portland schools. Parents should be asking both teachers and the Portland school board: “If my child is on the honor roll, then why are their standardized test scores so poor?”

Another issue: Students are now allowed to self-select to be admitted into honors courses. It used to be that teachers would decide, based on a student’s merits, whether that student should go into the honors curriculum. By allowing underperforming students into these classes, teachers are often forced to dilute the course content, which defeats the whole purpose of an honors curriculum.

For the past several years, the Portland school board’s focus has been on equity. It’s time to shift to the achievement goal of the Portland Promise. If students are going to achieve a lasting measure of equity, then academic rigor and discipline need to be brought front and center once again.

Samuel Rosenthal
Portland