Student

End Of Course? Pass A Test!

If you are the parent of a school-aged child or have been paying attention to the debate over school reform, you have probably heard the cry “Teaching to the test.” The concept, under which some people believe that teachers have begun to devote their instruction time solely to teaching materials covered by state mandated standardized tests has caused a huge divide among those hoping to reform our current education system. While nearly everyone agrees that our education system needs adjusting, not everyone can agree on which reform to implement. One such reform that deserves consideration is end of course exams.

End of course exams are just that: test that occur at the end of a given class. The concept applies primarily to math, science and English, but is viable for nearly every subject. In theory, students would take a test that covers the material taught during the class. A passing grade must be achieved in order for the student to move on to the next level.

This test would be in addition to the standard tests that are already administered at regularly intervals during a child school career. Proponents believe that end of course testing would force teacher to cover all material in a given curriculum, not simply the material that will be covered on the next standardized test. This would lead to better-educated students.

There is a down side as well. Opponents believe that our students already have enough to worry about â€“ especially our high school students who must also prepare for SAT’s or ACT’s. Placing the additional stress of end of course classes might simply be too much.

Like all education reform issues, this one deserves careful consideration. It may be possible to implement a system under which our students are held more accountable for their class material without placing additional stress on them.

Filed Under: Student Rights Tagged With: Education, Standardized test, Student

It’s All Elective

Many secondary schools in the United States offer their students the opportunity to select their elective classes on their own. This allows students the ability to shape their class schedule to keep it in line with their future goals and current interests. Depending on the goals of the students, a variety of electives are available. Ideally, the student will consider their future college or technical school and their requirements prior to selecting the electives they need to round out their class schedule.

It is a good idea to recognize that most colleges expect incoming students to have several different qualifications in addition to the standard curriculum. For example, students who hope to go on to a college or a university should have at least two years of a foreign language. Because of this, selecting a foreign language as an elective is important.

Other students opt to consider future career goals when selecting electives. For example, students interested in computer sciences for their career may wish to select computer classes as their electives. Many schools offer a variety of electives that relate to technical fields and are ideal for those interested in entering the work force in a technical position.

Finally, students should consider how all encompassing their schedule is. Colleges and university are always interested in the student that is “well-rounded.” This is easy to achieve by including at least one year of music and one year of art in a class schedule. These electives are attractive to colleges.

Determining which electives will work best for a particular child is very much a personal choice. That being said, a frank and honest discussion with a guidance counselor can often help the child determine which electives are most likely to help them meet their final goals. Electives may be “extra’s” but they make a big difference after graduation.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: College, Student, United States

Taking To The Next Level: AP Classes

No Child Left Behind ended up leaving some children behind-especially the more advanced students. Many of the secondary schools across the nation answered this glaring problem by instituting a more formal advanced placement schedule. This program gives advanced students access to college level material while they are still working on their high school diploma.

In order to successfully complete an advanced placement course, students must take an advanced placement test. These test are administered once a year to all students wishing to receive college credit for their advanced placement coursework. In most cases the classes are offered to eleventh and twelfth graders; however, in some cases students in the 8th grade may take the classes as well.

Many students do not realize that Advanced Placement, or AP classes, are often carefully reviewed by colleges and universities during their admissions process. Instead of only helping the student in college by giving them college credits, AP classes can actually help some students get into school or to qualify for scholarships. Still, the most obvious benefit of AP classes and successful AP test scores is allowing students to opt out of beginning level college classes.

In school districts where there is not a well-developed AP program, students are often offered the opportunity to take classes at local community colleges in place of AP classes. This offers high school students another opportunity to advance their education while still at the high school level.

Advanced placement classes are available in 22 different classes. Math, English, science, history, languages and more are all available to students with a special aptitude in these areas. To determine if your student is a good candidate for advanced placement classes, speak with their guidance counselor or teacher. Remember that it isn’t enough to take the class, to be successful a student must take and pass the advanced placement test.

Filed Under: Government Rulings Tagged With: Advanced Placement, High school, Student

What Is the No Child Left Behind Act?

The No Child Left Behind Act is a bill that was signed into law in 2001 under then President George W. Bush. The bill addressed issues surrounding eduction, specifically K-12 education in the United States.
Senator Ted Kennedy, now deceased, was a co-author of the bill. It was a noted bill because not only did it propose and implement wide sweeping educational reforms, but was also a non-partisan bill that received much support on both sides of the congressional aisle.
President Bush’s staff proposed the bill shortly after he took office in January, 2001. It was passed by the house in May, 2001 and the senate in June, 2001.
The bill supported standards based education reform. This means gauging performance by standardized testing and creating standards to which every child in every school should be live up to. These goals are measurable through performance of both individual students and entire schools on standardized tests. The standards are set by each individual state for students in that state.
In 2007, Congress increased funding of No Child Left Behind, often abbreviated NCLB to $54.4 billion a year.
Proponents of the bill claim it increases teacher accountability. All students in their classrooms are expected to meet the standards. If some of their students don’t, a teacher faces punishment including and up to firing from his or her position. This makes a teacher work harder to make sure that every student learns the curriculum covered on the test.
Another advantage is the attention to minority populations such as disabled persons, and racial minorities. Every student regardless of their background is expected to perform well on the testing so teachers have an incentive to make sure students from minority populations don’t fall behind.
The No Child Left Behind Act set forth standards for all students and accountability for teachers.

Filed Under: Government Rulings Tagged With: Education, George W. Bush, No Child Left Behind Act, Standardized test, Student

The Creative Types Aren’t Necessarily Lazy

: Image by Roslan Tangah (aka Rasso) via Flickr

Maybe the expression “clay for an A” rings a bell with you. It’s an old way of saying that a lot of art students would really rather not do anything but that making or drawing something is a good way to relieve their boredom, while making people in positions of authority think the student is working just enough not to pay any attention to them. In essence, the arts have been regarded by a lot of academicians as nothing more than an escape. The student comes in high, makes something that looks neat, and gets an easy A. If that’s how you think, you need to open your mind to some other possibilities.

Now, it’s not to say that there are not tons of slackers out there (and in the schools closest to you) who want nothing more than to be left alone to their altered states and complete disregard for anything with rules or guidelines. However, there is a need for the arts and humanities beyond letting students relax between English, math and history. Consider the fact that getting students to think creatively is a fundamental component of helping them adapt to the situations they will face as adults. Remember that the world is about more than just connecting facts and processing equations.

A student may not be the best at diagramming a sentence. But if he or she is able to intuitively understand when a sentence reads well or can make it flow more effectively and still express its point, that’s an important thought process. Whether it comes to negotiating with someone over a price (or the terms of a deal) or the creation of a new written work or invention, the creative mindset must be encouraged in every student who is willing to embrace it. In helping our students to see and work creatively, sites like onlinembarankings.com may have ample opportunities for them.

Filed Under: Student Rights Tagged With: Arts, Education, Student, Thought

How Standardized Tests Are Contributing To Problems on the Educational System

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Much of the American educational system is based upon using standardized tests as an overall measurement of student achievement. However, this method is extremely flawed for several reasons and represents one of the major problems with the education system in this country.

Students who are attending schools in lower income areas are taking the same tests as students who who attend classes in districts comprised of mostly high-income families. Although there is a type of standardized test called Opportunity To Learn that was supposed to lessen this prominent income gap, many schools did not set aside the necessary funding to ensure that their teachers knew how to adjust their curriculum to the new standards. This left students frustrated, and teachers unsure of what concepts most needed to be taught.

Thus, now there is a commonly seen trend of teachers who feel forced to “teach to the test”, focusing on only those specific concepts that will be seen on the standardized tests. This stifles the overall learning process, and does not allow for spontaneous changes based on individual student needs and goals. However, recent studies provided a strong indication that higher test scores do not always ensure a higher standard of learning. Some teachers spend the majority of their classroom time emphasizing preparation for standardized tests, which leads to students learning things by repetition, rather than learning through interactive discussion and activities to help them retain the information for a lifetime. This is not the fault of the teachers, but rather of a faulty educational system that is geared towards tightly defined objectives rather than the constant and fluid process of learning.

Although America’s current administration has pledged to mandate a complete reform of the educational system, such a goal requires extensive funding and time, so it will be a while before any true and lasting changes can be measured.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Education, Standardized test, Student, Teacher, United States

Teachers Learning Alternative Teaching Methods

Teachers are our key to the future. They teach the children who will be the world’s future and they provide them with the keys to success. So what makes teachers so successful when providing students the opportunity to be able to be the keys to the future?

One of the reasons that teachers are so successful is the ability to be able to brush up on their teaching methods. Teachers are able to enroll in classes provided by brick and mortar colleges and universities as well as online colleges like elearners.com in order to brush up on the latest teaching methods. Sometimes these colleges will offer training seminars for teachers that focus on some of the latest teaching methods and ways of adapting to a new generation of students.

Many teachers get into a mode of teaching and are reluctant to change. They are teaching based off of methods that were popular 20 to 30 years ago. The problem is that children change and grow and what was okay 20 years ago might not work with children in today’s world and society. These brush up courses make sure that teachers are not getting into a groove when they are teaching and instead are keeping things exciting, fun and a great opportunity for students to learn.

Some of the most successful teachers ever have been those that are open to learning how to adapt and teach new generations of children. These teachers embrace the opportunity to learn and change and truly love what they are doing.

School districts can learn from these changes and offer teachers that wish to change and adapt their teaching style the opportunity to take these online courses or college classes. Not only will it be personal enrichment for the teacher but it will also be very beneficial to the students of the school district.

Filed Under: Teacher Rights Tagged With: Education, Student, Teacher

Hope for the Average Student

When the “No Child Left Behind” law passed it was a major turning point in the way that education was approached. Under the law, there was to be no student “left behind.” This meant that if a student was struggling, a teacher needed to step up and provide the necessary arrangements to get them the help that they needed to achieve their goals and graduate from school. It was believed that with the passing of this law children would have more hope for the future and hope to continue their education after high school.

While this law might have helped inspire children and high school students all across the country it didn’t really inspire them like lawmakers had hoped it would. Luckily for students all over the United States another form of education has popped up and offered every student no matter what their test scores are, the opportunity to a higher education.

Online colleges have made it possible for those students who do not perform well on tests to be able to achieve their goals and dreams of having a college education. Learn more at earnmydegree.com. The average online school has a less strict admissions requirement than those of the brick and mortar schools. This means that students who found it difficult in high school to take tests or just struggled in various subjects now have the possibility of earning a college degree.

While the various lawmakers tried to inspire a nation to learn it wasn’t until the invention of something modern and technologically advanced did the inspiration really come in. Now no matter how much a student is struggling in school they are able to look ahead and realize that a college degree is within their grasp. With online colleges there is no reason a child should feel left behind as their friends go off to college. Now they can too!

Filed Under: Student Rights Tagged With: No Child Left Behind Act, Student, United States

The Problem of Block Scheduling Within the Education System

Ideally, the goal of any educational system is to equip students with real-life skills and critical thinking ability so that they can not only succeed throughout their life, but also in the workforce. However, many students and parents assert that one of the major problems with the education system a shift from the true accomplishment of learning, to the goal of simply keeping students busy throughout the day.

Many school districts are turning to the idea of “block scheduling”, which means that students attend fewer classes per day, but that each class is a longer length of time. So, students are still attending school for the same amount of time per day, but spending more time studying a smaller number of subjects. On its face, this seems like a worthy concept, but a closer look reveals why many people strongly believe that block scheduling is one of the problems with the education system that deserves a closer look.

By nature, many children have a short attention span, and this trait is only increased among children who are considered to be learning disabled. Just because a class occurs over a longer time span does not necessarily mean that more learning material is being taught. In a struggle to retain their students’ attention, many teachers turn to activities that are fun, but may be short on educational merit. Although this does fill the class time with a diversion that helps to capture a student’s attention, there are many who argue that the time would be better spent by reverting back to a schedule where the classes are shorter and encompass a wider variety of subjects.

Since block scheduling is a relatively new concept, its true benefits cannot be examined for quite some time. Therefore, teachers must continue to teach in this way until they are mandated by superiors to alter their methods.

Filed Under: Government Rulings Tagged With: Block scheduling, Education, Student, Teacher

The Problems With U.S School Funding

A lot of people know that schools are underfunded, but they don’t know just why they are the way they are. The truth is that there are multiple reasons why schools get funding in the United States. It’s all about the test scores.

Each and every year, schools are asked to give their students standardized tests. These test are to assess their abilities in a variety of areas including math, science, and reading. Schools spend the year preparing their students for these tests just as someone who wants to attend business school should go through a gmat prep course. The standardized tests are considered an accurate gauge of a students progress. When these test scores are reviewed by the state, they determine which schools get funding and which will receive less funding. Schools with students working at grade level or higher are considered to be doing well, and are given more funding. Those that are not at grade level are considered as underperforming schools and so they are put on probation. They face the risk of losing funding altogether.

This is an admittedly controversial way to do things. There are a serious amount of differences between one school and the next. There are the issues of different economic backgrounds of the kids, the education of their families, and the overall involvement of their families. This means that there is skewed information to decide funding.

The problem also lies in that teachers are not given the opportunity to teach kids based on information they need to help them grow and keep them well rounded. They are forced to give them information that will help them on the test, which is not a true indication of knowledge. Now, of course there are exceptions to every school situation, but the bottom line is that the testing is a real issue.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Standardized test, Student, United States