PEORIA -- So Peoria School District 150 paid a Bradly University prof $1,500 to evaluate its 'Wacky Wednesdays' program wherein middle school children are released early on some Wednesday afternoons so the teachers can experience 'professional development.'
First, read the Peoria Journal Story on the evaluation. Be sure to read the comments, as well.
Then consider: this study is so badly flawed it would never be published in a reputable journal. It's basically anecdotal, and tells the taxpayers and the school administrators little or nothing of value.
The statements of the teachers in the newspaper story and their comments are at least first hand quotations, based on their experiences. They agree, WW is worthless. Not what District 150 wants to hear.
But back to the study itself. Here's the huge question -- why would a Bradley prof who presumably knows better participate in such a flawed study?
He used a non representative sample, which was not random, and basically selected for his convenience.
Good thing medical studies aren't done this way (we hope) or we would all be dead by now from flawed medications or procedures.
Not every teacher had an equal chance to participate in the interviews, which were amazingly, conducted in front of their colleagues and bosses!
Now there's a great way to find out the truth!
The WW study also omits vital information: a look at the social implications of this released time. Are these children, perhaps left on their own, getting into trouble?
Did anyone talk to the police, or pull the police reports on these dates to see if juvenile crime increases? Does vandalism and crime go up? "We see it in our neighborhood," one person who is critical of the WW plan told me. That's anecdotal, though.
And what about attendance on these Wednesdays? Many parents apparently find it easier to keep the kids home than deal with a split school day.
How much does District 150 lose in state funds, based on attendance, because of the flawed WW plan? Now that would be an interesting figure for the prof to reveal.
So taxpayers are ripped off again, $1,500 for a worthless study, somehow appropriate for a worthless Wacky Wednesdays plan that likely is helping to push District 150 down the drain.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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