Changes in Education
Recently, industry experts have begun noticing disturbing
trends throughout American high schools. Students, it seems,
are graduating with less general knowledge and even more
unprepared for college level academics than they have
previously. This is especially surprising in light of new
legislation requiring higher standards for graduation
requirements. Schools should be churning out more qualified
graduates, not less.
Tracking
While this enigma may seem puzzlingly, those familiar with
the inner workings of education have seen this pattern
emerging for years. In the past, as much as
Students whose intelligence was below average or who simply
chose not to perform at their ability level were given
opportunities where they could succeed in their own right.
Courses designed for apprentice level work or skill building
such as machine shops and work-study programs offered a
chance to streamline the educational process to meet the
needs of these students without the pressures of coursework
that frustrates and often bores them.
Equal Opportunities
Over time, these career-based programs have faded away and
been replaced with remedial core content classes designed to
prepare students for the standardized tests required for
graduation. The monetary rewards tied to high performance on
standardized tests by the government have caused many
schools and teachers to shift focus from the high-achieving
students onto the low-performing students in hopes of bring
up that set of scores.
While this is admirable, it is important to realize the
standardized tests students are working so hard to pass
indicate college readiness. If students can pass the test,
they are ready for college level work – at least according
to the state agencies creating the tests. This is
fundamentally flawed for various reasons:
Test Timing
One of the basic problems with the standardized tests and
college readiness is that the test does not assess all high
school learning. Many graduation level standardized tests
are taken in the beginning or middle of a student’s junior
year of high school. Even if the student passes, there is at
least another year of high school unaccounted for. The tests
are given early, by the way, to ensure students have up to
six or seven attempts to pass –the problem with college
readiness this presents does not require further
clarification.
Test Content
While the many of the tests are designed to assess student’s
higher level thinking skills, the tests fall dismally short
of the mark. Current standardized tests are remedial at
best. Each year the states lower the standards to ensure a
certain percentage of students are passing, and some tests
require less than 60% to pass. If a student gets slightly
more than half of the questions correct, they are apparently
ready for college.
Test Rationale
The most fundamental of all problems with the state
assessments is the rationale behind them. If all students
must take and pass the test to graduate, and the test
indicates college readiness, then all passing students
should be ready for college. While this is a fantastic
principle, the truth is less than a third of graduating
seniors are even interested in college. And only two-thirds
(if that) of the students who start even finish work at the
University level.
While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with standardized
testing, and everyone agrees that no child should be left
behind or refused a chance to excel, the system that has
evolved in education today does bear further examination.
Should the bulk of teacher energy go toward teaching
students test passing strategies instead of training these
students in fields of interest or use? And what of those
bright students who should be setting the standard?
Unfair For All
The current system, despite its intention of equality is
unfair for all students. The low students are not able to
focus on useful, practical educational directives. The
man-power and energy of teachers that should be focused on
actually preparing college-bound students is almost
exclusively being directed at preparing students for a test
that serves them no practical purpose.
Even worse, in many states, bright students are thrown back
into classrooms with low and average learners in hopes that
these gifted students will inspire and assist the lower and
middle children into becoming model students. They spend
much of their academic careers preparing for a test that is
not even remotely challenging for them. It is obvious that
this is completely unjust and essentially ensures that no
students, not even the brightest, are truly prepared for
college.
American Boarding Schools
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