What one change in public education would you implement to improve the quality of education?
Teachers say, “Get better parents.” That’s true, but not helpful. We teach the students we have. Public schools are a condensed version of the community. If the community is dysfunctional, the children of the community aren’t likely to be much better.
This article touches on the problem. Many schools were doing a decent job before Covid, but the lock down screwed up many students. The tempting solution was for administrators to ask that teachers “show grace”. To normal people, that means lower the standards.
“Rosie” averaged an 83 in core classes and tested more than two months above grade level in fifth grade in 2019. She was absent three days. In 2022, Rosie was 10 months below grade level in math and reading and absent 10 days. She averaged an 83.
Most parents care more about grades than they do about education. Weak administrators push for teachers to lower standards because few parents will object.
For decades at North Royalton, the policy was that every AP student was required to take the AP test. Nobody compiles the stats, but after talking to AP teachers from all over the country, that policy is not wide spread. An AP teacher’s average AP score is inflated if the downer cows don’t finish.
Most of my colleagues at North Royalton expected a student’s AP score to roughly correspond to their final grade. It might go up or down a point, but a ‘D’ student doesn’t get a 5, and an ‘A’ student doesn’t get a 2.
In elementary school, there are several mandated tests. A student reading well below grade level should not be getting an ‘A’ in a reading class.
How can a parent determine if a school has high academic standards?
Ask about the class average. Even in an AP class filled with smart kids, the class average should be about 80%. Yeah, I know. We say a ‘C’ is average, but nobody believes that.
Remedial classes are tougher. The failing students are really failing. They may not do anything, so have a 25% in the class. There may be a lot of them. A decent class average would only count the students who are actually sentient.
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