[Mr_250]

Can anyone verify this statement:

"Last year's results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress test, given to Connecticut's high school seniors, were similar. The test found that half the seniors were not proficient in English and two-thirds not proficient in math." (Higher graduation rates don't signify education - Journal Inquirer: Chris Powell)

CT boast some of the 'best public schools" in the Country, but seeing numbers like that scare me.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

Can anyone verify this statement:

"Last year's results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress test, given to Connecticut's high school seniors, were similar. The test found that half the seniors were not proficient in English and two-thirds not proficient in math." (Higher graduation rates don't signify education - Journal Inquirer: Chris Powell)

CT boast some of the 'best public schools" in the Country, but seeing numbers like that scare me.

First of all, the Journal Inquirer is not exactly the most objective of newspapers. They are conservative and kind of just look to find issues wherever they can, particularly in Democrats. If it was a Republican, they would be singing a different tune.

That said, this comes down to what exactly is "proficient". I would guess that in todays world, MOST people would not be considered "proficient" in English and Math. Do you know all of the rules of grammar? Do you know algebra and calculus? Not likely. That does not mean you cannot function in today's world or go to college, get a good education and do well in a good job. Those tests for "proficiency" are not easy and hold students to very high standards. I would say that the writer needs to compare the results to other states before passing judgment.

As for his concern about the number of students in public universities that need to take remedial course, this mostly has to do with students where English is a second language and the high percentage of students in this state that go on to a higher education. This tends to skew the numbers. Jay

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by JayCT

That said, this comes down to what exactly is "proficient". I would guess that in todays world, MOST people would not be considered "proficient" in English and Math.

Year after year, despite all the money thrown at schools in the US, our students come out poorly compared to almost any comparable country in terms of actual scholarly achievements. That is a long term result.

So 'best schools in the state' is a pretty low bar.

But our students have the highest self-esteem in the world.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

Year after year, despite all the money thrown at schools in the US, our students come out poorly compared to almost any comparable country in terms of actual scholarly achievements. That is a long term result.

So 'best schools in the state' is a pretty low bar.

But our students have the highest self-esteem in the world.

This.

[jesse_f]

Until they're actually challenged to think and face real failure...

[MrGompers]

This isn't restricted to CT, although CT has one some of the best school(s) in the country.

We can put all the money into eduction we want, but America doesn't have an "education culture."
I don't know how to describe it, but I would try by saying an "education culture" means that students approach school like a full time job instead of a social meeting place and place to be because it's required by law.

Education policy need to change as well, although I don't think that will ever happen in America. First off, I would stop teaching to the lowest (a/k/a dumbest) student(s) in the classroom. If anything I would separate the high performers from the rest and perhaps add more teachers to help the lower performing students. This would offend too many parents though as they all think their children are special snowflakes. If this could happen - in the end society would be better.

Separating the highest performers is already being done by the rich in private schools. I don't think you will find many low performs at Choate or Miss Porter's for example.

We should also consider looking at other countries education systems and perhaps take some of their ideas and methods.

I had a female co-woker who was born and raised in South Korea and I asked her about the public school system there. She told me they went until 5pm Monday thru Friday and summer vacation was only 6 weeks. She had 3-4 hours of homework every night. By time she finished high school she already learned Calculus II. I don't think many American public high schools teach Calculus I. Anyone who is familiar with math will know that Calculus starts getting freaky after Calc I.

All the while I have nieces and nephews in public school here and they tell me that "there's no homework on Friday's" That's crazy since I think they should be getting extra homework for the weekend.

[Mike 75]

Lengthen the school year to 200 days.
Standardized testing is a means, not an end.
Track students based on ability.
Expand the vo-tech system.
Do away with unfunded state and federal mandates.

[basehead617]

Doing away with summer vacation should be a no-brainer.

It was originally instated for dubious reasons that have since been proven false by science.

Get rid of that and any gap we have with other countries goes away, guaranteed.

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by basehead617

Get rid of that and any gap we have with other countries goes away, guaranteed.

Maybe. Somebody said that US schools are run for the benefit of administrators and teachers, not students.

Not sure I buy that fully, but there is some truth there.

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

Year after year, despite all the money thrown at schools in the US, our students come out poorly compared to almost any comparable country in terms of actual scholarly achievements. That is a long term result.

So 'best schools in the state' is a pretty low bar.

But our students have the highest self-esteem in the world.

a lot of it is because the US has higher poverty rates than many other first world countries and our poor usually have less of a safety net than they do in Europe, Japan & Canada. (US is around 16%, as is Japan; France 9%, Switzerland, 8%, Canada 9%, Denmark 13%, etc)

I saw a test score ranking study divided by ethnicity a few years back, but I can't find the link anymore - Asian students in the US came out #1 in the world, while white students in the US came out #4 overall. That correlates to income as well, as Asians generally are wealthier than other ethnic groups in the US, and whites have a much lower poverty rate than black and Hispanic Americans.

That said, since the US economy has been doing better than much of Europe the past few years, the rates may have changed.

So, it seems like our schools at the top are doing an excellent job, but the schools at the bottom suck, and need to improve.