Harvey B. Press, president of the National Education Association of Rhode Island, also believes that the unions have a public-relations problem. Like Reback, he is pleased that Rhode Islanders like their teachers and their schools. Both Press and Reback would take issue with Crowley and others who call the state's schools mediocre. They should compare us to a Hartford or a Boston instead of Connecticut or Massachusetts, and I think our scores would be fine. Peter McWalters, state commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, said he's also fed up with the continuing negative coverage of test scores.
Test scores are absolutely average.
But somehow there's always a flip statement that we're at the bottom of something. The national average was 1,013. They performed better than the national average of 28 percent, but trailed other New England states. As for the poll, McWalters said he is happy that parents have confidence in the schools and appreciate individual teachers. Far too often, schools don't get the credit they deserve, he said.