How Do We Fix It?

[Spare_change]

During a recent thread about education (Anal Sex Being Taught to 5th Graders), one of our members posited that the problems with the education system are too diverse to be discussed generically.

So ..... we're looking for suggestions.

What would you do to change/improve/modify the American educational system?

My goal is to solicit ideas - ideas which will be discussed in singular threads dedicated to that idea.

What's broke, and how would you fix it?

 

[Friends]

The U.S. education system does a fairly good job with what it has to work with. Countries that get better results than the United States are countries where nearly everyone is white or Oriental.

I think schools should be more willing to expel disruptive students. This, of course, would reduce the black population.

In order to get a high school degree one should be required to pass a test of general knowledge involving what a high school graduate is expected to know. The test should be uniform at the national level. The same test should be given to all twelfth graders. This again would greatly reduce the number of black high school graduates.

 

[Spare_change]

More money?

Smaller classes?

Standardized testing?

Eliminate the grade promotion structure?

Special assistance for those ethnicities that typically fall behind?

 

[Spare_change]

A radical proposal to repair the US education system ….

We all recognize that the US education system is failing our children. When parents question the system, they are inundated with the reasons WHY our children are failing to perform. They drag out studies showing that race, economic status, single parenting, and a myriad of other reasons explain why the system fails. However, nobody tells us how the ‘system’ needs to be adjusted in order to address the shortfalls created by these external issues.

Well, I have a proposal. Maybe it’s radical, and maybe it isn’t the complete solution, but maybe, just maybe, there is a kernel of hope somewhere in there that will trigger the revolution in our educational approach so sorely needed in this country.

I propose that we eliminate the grade system – we no longer have 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, etc. These are based on social development, rather than academic growth. We pass kids along in order to avoid leaving them back. Studies clearly show that students left behind are more likely to quit school. When we promote lower performing students, we do them no favors. We increase the academic level of their education, but we do it knowing that they are already running behind their peers. Their shortfall is exacerbated by their inability to handle the much more difficult workload. If instead of threatening to leave them behind, when we stress moving forward, we give the student positive motivation to work harder.

Instead, we map the educational path for each academic discipline on a scale of 1 to 1000. Once we have done that, we can divide the scale arbitrarily into 10 levels. For example, we should be able to divide the reading path based on the difficulty of the reading material. Dr. Seuss might be Level 2, while Shakespeare would be Level 8.

We know that teachers can measure the performance level of each student. We are able to determine if the student reads at the 3rd grade level, for example. Each student, instead, would be rated on his level of performance. For sake of demonstration, let’s then rank each student on a scale of 1 to 1000. We now have a quantitative measurement of each individual student.

Finally, we match the student’s ability with the class level appropriate to his/her skills. All students who read at the 300 level would be in the same class, regardless of age. If all students performing at the same level are in the same class, the teacher is now able to focus the training plan on the specific needs of the students. The teacher doesn’t need to worry about students so far ahead of the class norm, nor does he/she have to worry about those students falling behind. Classes become much more focused, and no student is embarrassed or shamed by his/her inability to keep up with the norm.

The student stays at the 300 level, for example, until he/she demonstrates enough proficiency to move to a Level 400 class. There can be nothing more disheartening than being a 300 reader in a 800 class.

We have now created an academic environment in which the student can succeed. The information is presented at his/her level, and the teaching is targeted at his/her capability.

I recognize that we would need to build this system incrementally, starting with the new students. We cannot implement this for those students currently in the education system due to the sociological impact of the large disparity of ages you would have in the lower level classes.


Anyway, it’s an idea … I’d be interested in your thoughts.

 

[Disir]

1. End most of the the standardized testing and ditch the faux privatization charter schools especially the jacked up funding. If you do keep them around they are going to need to be held much more accountable.
2. Use what we know works.
Gardner s Multiple Intelligences
3. End inclusion.

 

[ScienceRocks]

1. End tenor,,,,Teacher doesn't get the job done = fired.
2. Pay the remaining successful teachers more!
3. Get rid of the cultural fabian crap. No, johny isn't gong to be a girl. Jezzz. And no, Jose doesn't need to hate people for anything.
4. Focus on teaching useful skills and focus on the facts.
4.1 Math, science, history, writing, reading, and useful skills. That means NO learning about BUTT SEX!!!
5. Kid is a trouble maker punish the little bastard! Don't care what color he/she is. We're all equal? Bring back the paddle for the little bastard!
6. Talk to the parents about what they need to do to help to advance their child's education!

 

[Spare_change]

1. End most of the the standardized testing and ditch the faux privatization charter schools especially the jacked up funding. If you do keep them around they are going to need to be held much more accountable.
2. Use what we know works.
Gardner s Multiple Intelligences
3. End inclusion.

Not sure how it works most places, but here charter schools are only given a percentage of the state per-student allocation. They actually do more with less money.

 

[Politico]

Home school.

 

[Stephanie]

oh gawd, they just can't keep their grubby hands or noses out of anything. they are always wanting TO FIX something. They said we needed to Fix our health care and we got that pos thing, called OscamCare. Go fix the state you live in, you have no right to tell other states what to do

 

[Spare_change]

oh gawd, they just can't keep their grubby hands or noses out of anything. they are always wanting TO FIX something. They said we needed to Fix our health care and we got that pos thing, called OscamCare. Go fix the state you live in, you have no right to tell other states what to do

Are you denying the the American educational system is broken?

Are you denying that nobody has come up with a way to fix it?

Are you denying that politicians use the system as a ploy to gather power?


Are you denying that the current structure fails, and has failed for the past 30 years?

Are you denying that the supposed experts have been wrestling with this problem for 30 years, and haven't made one iota of improvement?

Do you believe the people have to fix it, that we have to reach outside the current self sustaining failure in order to find new and innovative approaches?

I agree that this problem needs to fixed one school at a time - but IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED!!!!! And, it needs to be fixed NOW!!

 

[Spare_change]

1. End most of the the standardized testing and ditch the faux privatization charter schools especially the jacked up funding. If you do keep them around they are going to need to be held much more accountable.
2. Use what we know works.
Gardner s Multiple Intelligences
3. End inclusion.

What do you see as the harm of standardized testing? We don't need to discuss Common Core, because that is a system implemented by the current hierarchy - the very one that has failed us for so many years.

But, don't you think that we need some type of empirical measurement of the performance of our students, our teachers, and our schools?

How would you propose to do it?

 

[Disir]

1. End most of the the standardized testing and ditch the faux privatization charter schools especially the jacked up funding. If you do keep them around they are going to need to be held much more accountable.
2. Use what we know works.
Gardner s Multiple Intelligences
3. End inclusion.

What do you see as the harm of standardized testing? We don't need to discuss Common Core, because that is a system implemented by the current hierarchy - the very one that has failed us for so many years.

But, don't you think that we need some type of empirical measurement of the performance of our students, our teachers, and our schools?

How would you propose to do it?

Drop the number of them. That is where the money is going. The rest is smoke and mirrors. The harm is that there is no retention of information. Memorize and drop.

The point of Common Core was so that there was a way to compare scores between states---because you don't really have that right now and haven't had that.

 

[Disir]

1. End most of the the standardized testing and ditch the faux privatization charter schools especially the jacked up funding. If you do keep them around they are going to need to be held much more accountable.
2. Use what we know works.
Gardner s Multiple Intelligences
3. End inclusion.

Not sure how it works most places, but here charter schools are only given a percentage of the state per-student allocation. They actually do more with less money.

Then you should investigate the number of cases nationwide that are being heard.

 

[initforme]

Let teachers know exactly what is going to be on the test... then let them teach solely to that test.... then test scores go up.

 

[Disir]

That's teaching to a test and fails to deal with retention. That is a primary problem NOW.

 

[initforme]

Yes but it you are going to judge a school by its test scores then what more do you want? In our neck of the woods its the GOP who is pushing for more testing, more accountability, paying teachers less, etc. They point right to test scores yet don't want teachers teaching to the test. How idiotic is that?

 

[Spare_change]

Yes but it you are going to judge a school by its test scores then what more do you want? In our neck of the woods its the GOP who is pushing for more testing, more accountability, paying teachers less, etc. They point right to test scores yet don't want teachers teaching to the test. How idiotic is that?

So ... is the problem the depth of the test, or the system that necessitates it?

Unquestionably, accountability and measurement is a GOP mainstay. We all recognize the failures of the education system. How are you going to identify the shortfalls if you don't measure the performance? Do you oppose testing? If so, what's your alternative?

Is the answer a standardized curriculum? Isn't it reasonable to ask that a third grader be capable of performing at a measurable level? Isn't the very fact that teachers feel the necessity to "teach to the test" an indicator of a problem in the education system, because without the test, there is no way to determine how well the education system is working? If it's necessary to tailor their teaching to the test, doesn't that indicate their process is broken anyway?

We have a system that is non-responsive to the differences in ethnicity, differences in income, and differences in performance. How do we fix it?

 

[Disir]

Don't kid yourself, the Democrats have their hands in the kitty.

Yes but it you are going to judge a school by its test scores then what more do you want? In our neck of the woods its the GOP who is pushing for more testing, more accountability, paying teachers less, etc. They point right to test scores yet don't want teachers teaching to the test. How idiotic is that?

So ... is the problem the depth of the test, or the system that necessitates it?

Unquestionably, accountability and measurement is a GOP mainstay. We all recognize the failures of the education system. How are you going to identify the shortfalls if you don't measure the performance? Do you oppose testing? If so, what's your alternative?

Is the answer a standardized curriculum? Isn't it reasonable to ask that a third grader be capable of performing at a measurable level? Isn't the very fact that teachers feel the necessity to "teach to the test" an indicator of a problem in the education system, because without the test, there is no way to determine how well the education system is working? If it's necessary to tailor their teaching to the test, doesn't that indicate their process is broken anyway?

We have a system that is non-responsive to the differences in ethnicity, differences in income, and differences in performance. How do we fix it?

Opt Out Everywhere Why the Standardized Testing Movement Is Expecting a Full-On Revolt Alternet

 

[ScienceRocks]

I think we need to bring back the system that worked in the 1950's. Maybe update it some to add knowledge we've learned, but work towards something like it.

We had about the best system on this planet at that time.

 

[Spare_change]

I think we need to bring back the system that worked in the 1950's. Maybe update it some to add knowledge we've learned, but work towards something like it.

Can you expand on this?