Filed under: Uncategorized
Per my last post, perhaps I should give my own personal account of how schools should ideally run.
***Please note that I say ideal and recognize the fact that this is not yet realistic in our society.
I was always a good student. Not great, but good. I paid attention, respected my fellow classmates and teachers, and always did the homework. However, I struggled in math and reading, so my parents hired a tutor throughout most of my elementary school education. When it came time to select a high school, I was fortunate enough that my parents opted for private school, rather than throwing me into the wind and letting me land at some public school forty five minutes from my house.
That fall, I began at Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences, a private middle and high school emphasizing individual learning styles, the arts, sciences, and global citizenship. It was the first place in my academic career that let me emphasize on my artistic and analytical abilities, rather than my poor math scores (although I was required to take such class of course).
Seattle Academy helped me understand that I do have intelligences outside of math and language. Furthermore, it provided me with the tools to learn in a creative manner, designed to my specific needs and wants as a student, rather than forcing me to learn to a bubble test, like the majority of children today.
Because of Seattle Academy, I was able to communicate my true intelligences to my college of choice, rather than letting my poor test scores choose a college for me. At Seattle Academy, our art programs weren’t cut because of the No Child Left Behind Act, and our student teacher ratio allowed me to form life-long friendships with well respected professionals.
And it was Seattle Academy that wouldn’t let my recluse little brother fall through the cracks. I am now proud to say that he recieved a hefty scholarship to one of the best art schools in the country, which will allow him to comfortably pursue his passion.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ACT, advanced placement, charter schools, minnesota education, northwest evaluation association, SAT, standardized testing
Certain charter schools in Mid-West have recently adopted a new form of evaluating education. Besides not teaching to a test, charter schools also emphasize parent involvement and a 10 to 1 student teacher ratio. In my mind, there is little to argue about. However, the Minnesota School Board insists that charter school students are not testing as well as their public school counterparts.
I say, OF COURSE THEY ARENT! The whole idea behind a charter school is to not teach to a test, so therefore, their learning isn’t necessarily visible in the state mandated tests. In order to appease the Education Associations (both state and national), many Minnesota charter schools administer tests purchased from the Northwest Evaluation Association, a non-for-profit organization specializing in student evaluations that adjust to each students learning style that also provide teachers (rather than just administrators and school boards) with in depth data on when, where, and how to improve in the classroom.
Charter schools are making waves in the way that we evaluate children and the data is here to prove it. We just need to make sure we are looking at the appropriate data that actually applies.
The data below shows the percentage of charter schools in the Mid West that have actually tested better than their counterparts.
