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That is not the issue we are discussing. These scores were published, and some parents did use them to choose schools for their kids.
Actually, what I wrote was in direct response to information posted in post #63. Attention to standardized test scores as a major, and sometimes exclusive, means of assessing educational quality and value has greatly risen at a national, versus state-by-state or district-by-district, level since they became part of a federal-level mandate. It actually IS part of the issue we are discussing.
Actually, what I wrote was in direct response to information posted in post #63. Attention to standardized test scores as a major, and sometimes exclusive, means of assessing educational quality and value has greatly risen at a national, versus state-by-state or district-by-district, level since they became part of a federal-level mandate. It actually IS part of the issue we are discussing.
Post #63 has nothing to do with school funding. The thread title is "Parents using test scores to evaluate schools? "
Flatly untrue. In any of the big cities you will find that the bottom 25% of the high schools have not had a national merit semi-finalist ever. Sure out of a few thousand kids one may manage to shine enough to get into a first class institution. But most of these places have trouble getting more than two thirds of their students to graduate. And if there is a test the school can't even cheat to get them out.
You simply have to get your mind around it. No one in the educational establishment or government has the faintest idea how to turn around the poor minority schools. That was the terrible thing NCLB made clear...Surre they now how to improve education...but they do not have the faintest idea of what to do in the bottom schools. Prior to NCLB the solution was to ignore the problem. But once that went away all hell broke loose.
And a wise parent does not send a child to such a school. Fact of life. Vastly increases the chance that the kid will crater and burn.
Oh many people know what needs to be done, but too many have no interest in paying for that. Standardized testing is not going to get kids out of poverty; addressing poverty is the only thing that stands a chance. NCLB rather than address at risk kids, made every kid play that same game and it only held up stable kids while continually ignoring at risk kids.
Again, I don't look at test scores. I have a kid in a "failing school" and kids in "high performing" schools. The failing school offers the same opportunities as the high performing one...more actually. It all comes down to who capitalizes on it. Having my kid near other kids who don't come from educationally focuses homes has not hurt my kid. He is not burning as you arrogantly put it. Do you have any idea what a snob you sound like?
Oh many people know what needs to be done, but too many have no interest in paying for that. Standardized testing is not going to get kids out of poverty; addressing poverty is the only thing that stands a chance. NCLB rather than address at risk kids, made every kid play that same game and it only held up stable kids while continually ignoring at risk kids.
Again, I don't look at test scores. I have a kid in a "failing school" and kids in "high performing" schools. The failing school offers the same opportunities as the high performing one...more actually. It all comes down to who capitalizes on it. Having my kid near other kids who don't come from educationally focuses homes has not hurt my kid. He is not burning as you arrogantly put it. Do you have any idea what a snob you sound like?
Again for the vast majority of lower performing schools there are no national merit semi-finalists...ever. How can this be? Because kids or their parents with any kind of high level intellect work out a way to get out of such schools.
There is a strategy that works for a very few children who use the lousy school as a springboard. Why be number 100 in a really good school when you can be number 1 is in a bad one? Such kids however are not actually educated in that school...they simply use it as a tool to achieve personal goals.
Weak schools are a set. Bad or new teachers, permanent substitutes, entire school body turns over every year, limited if any AP classes, high discipline and expulsion rates. An the probability that a given kid will end up in some level of trouble goes up by an order of magnitude by attending such a school.
You are of course welcome to your sociological views. However it is your kid who will pay the price if you are wrong. And that is a risk most parents would not take.
Again for the vast majority of lower performing schools there are no national merit semi-finalists...ever. How can this be? Because kids or their parents with any kind of high level intellect work out a way to get out of such schools.
There is a strategy that works for a very few children who use the lousy school as a springboard. Why be number 100 in a really good school when you can be number 1 is in a bad one? Such kids however are not actually educated in that school...they simply use it as a tool to achieve personal goals.
Weak schools are a set. Bad or new teachers, permanent substitutes, entire school body turns over every year, limited if any AP classes, high discipline and expulsion rates. An the probability that a given kid will end up in some level of trouble goes up by an order of magnitude by attending such a school.
You are of course welcome to your sociological views. However it is your kid who will pay the price if you are wrong. And that is a risk most parents would not take.
Yep. This is why segregation academies popped up all over the South after Brown v. Board of Education. The "I can't have my kids around those kids" idea is not a new one at all, whether people are talking about "those" kids being black, Hispanic, "not ambitious," low intellect, or poor.
When it comes to kids who cares if they sound like a snob. I want my kids with higher achieving peers. If that makes me sound like a snob to you, so be it. I think parents who have a choice and knowingly place their children in failing schools are doing a grave disservice to their children.
When it comes to kids who cares if they sound like a snob. I want my kids with higher achieving peers. If that makes me sound like a snob to you, so be it. I think parents who have a choice and knowingly place their children in failing schools are doing a grave disservice to their children.
Totally agree. I want my kids in higher performing schools because in general, it means that they are placed among peers who have parents that care about their education.
I evaluate school systems almost solely based on standardized test scores, and will continue to do so in the future. Kids and adults are tested using standardized tests for their whole careers, or at least until they are ~30, so why wouldn't I want them to learn how to be good test takers?
Again for the vast majority of lower performing schools there are no national merit semi-finalists...ever. How can this be? Because kids or their parents with any kind of high level intellect work out a way to get out of such schools.
There is a strategy that works for a very few children who use the lousy school as a springboard. Why be number 100 in a really good school when you can be number 1 is in a bad one? Such kids however are not actually educated in that school...they simply use it as a tool to achieve personal goals.
Weak schools are a set. Bad or new teachers, permanent substitutes, entire school body turns over every year, limited if any AP classes, high discipline and expulsion rates. An the probability that a given kid will end up in some level of trouble goes up by an order of magnitude by attending such a school.
You are of course welcome to your sociological views. However it is your kid who will pay the price if you are wrong. And that is a risk most parents would not take.
Well my kid has been accepted into every school he's applied to so far and has been offered some great scholarships. I'm pretty sure my kid would do well up against your kid too. You know nothing about "bad schools" except what you've created in your stuck up head.
When it comes to kids who cares if they sound like a snob. I want my kids with higher achieving peers. If that makes me sound like a snob to you, so be it. I think parents who have a choice and knowingly place their children in failing schools are doing a grave disservice to their children.
Would you rudely tell someone who hasn't put their kids in private schools that they are not doing what is right for their kid???? I challenge you to list what your kid has done and compare it to mine. I'm quite sure they are similar. I think you are doing a disservice to your kid sheltering him around kids who aren't the same race, socioeconomic status, or of the same thought as you. What's extremely upsetting is that you were a teacher who looked down on your students. Shame on you.
Totally agree. I want my kids in higher performing schools because in general, it means that they are placed among peers who have parents that care about their education.
I evaluate school systems almost solely based on standardized test scores, and will continue to do so in the future. Kids and adults are tested using standardized tests for their whole careers, or at least until they are ~30, so why wouldn't I want them to learn how to be good test takers?
That's quite foolish of you. Look into the test taking industry and you'll see why judging schools and student son them is faulty. See how faulty the tests are in general. As for your kid, being a good standardized test taker means NOTHING. I know a few kids that received near perfect scores on the SATs back in the 80s who were the laziest students imaginable. I also know some bright people who didn't do well on tests yet did very well in college and careers. Today's tests are meant to turn kids into robots without an ounce of critical thinking skills. If that's what you want for you kids, then you aren't really looking out for them.
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