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What I'm asking about is if SES is addressed in this particular paper. It looks to be covering gender. Then again, I only read 15 pages, so I may have missed the SES target.
You are almost there.
About 20ish pages in they switch to class effects vs teacher effects (mainly in the UK). Then the last third is more citing himself and some post scripts. YAY!
I'm quite fond of the saying "There are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics."
Right now I'm reading The Manufactured Crisis, and wow, does it explain a lot of what I've seen come to fruition over the last 6 years (it was written in 1995 I believe).
I'd rather go by what I see with my own eyes. There is plenty of "blame" to go around IMO.
What I get frustrated with is the fact that "blame" seems to come before "solution." Unfortunately, blame is easier I guess.
I get frustrated with teachers who nod, agree, and then nothing gets done. I also get frustrated with parents who crab about issues to everyone EXCEPT anyone who matters, and if they do go to a meeting, they sit there and say nothing.
I get frustrated with administration who shrugs shoulders and says "call your congressman or woman." as well as congresspeople who make decisions without consulting anyone who actually works in a classroom.
The problem is the teachers only have the power to change what goes on in their class and even that can be limited but their administration. We're told what to teach and how to teach it. We're hand cuffed to school policies regarding behavior problems and the school wants us to placate parents.
I spent this year, trying to teach to a higher standard. While I did get more out of my students, grades are down. Now I'm on the firing line for too low of GPA's in my class. It's not that I didn't teach. It's that I raised the bar. It's kind of like comparing North Caronlina schools to South Carolina schools. For years, I thought South Carolina must be slacking because of their low test scores but it turns out they just test to a higher standard.
Teachers are handicapped by policy and everything done by every teacher before them. I would like to teach chemistry to a high standard but many of my students cannot do basic algebra. Many cannot read the text I put in front of them. Exactly what can I change that will make a difference? Most of us are doing the best we can with what we have to work with. If you want more out of me, you need to give me more to work with.
The problem is the teachers only have the power to change what goes on in their class and even that can be limited but their administration. We're told what to teach and how to teach it. We're hand cuffed to school policies regarding behavior problems and the school wants us to placate parents.
I spent this year, trying to teach to a higher standard. While I did get more out of my students, grades are down. Now I'm on the firing line for too low of GPA's in my class. It's not that I didn't teach. It's that I raised the bar. It's kind of like comparing North Caronlina schools to South Carolina schools. For years, I thought South Carolina must be slacking because of their low test scores but it turns out they just test to a higher standard.
Teachers are handicapped by policy and everything done by every teacher before them. I would like to teach chemistry to a high standard but many of my students cannot do basic algebra. Many cannot read the text I put in front of them. Exactly what can I change that will make a difference? Most of us are doing the best we can with what we have to work with. If you want more out of me, you need to give me more to work with.
The students come as they are. The dilemma is whether or not you teach to the standards and try to elevate the level of rigor while accepting the likelihood of low levels of mastery. Or else you put aside the standards to meet the children where they are and get them to the level where success is readily attainable. The problem is that the powers that be don't seem to want to acknowledge the dilemma. They think that by "raising standards", the students will magically step up and be able to increase their reading level by five years overnight.
It's unrealistic to expect ALL students to be able to read on grade level, EVER. Facing the statistical reality of normal curves, there will be children who will never even been able to read at all. What formal schooling should provide is an appropriate education, whether that is learning self-care, or electrical wiring, or management, or advanced electives. Why not have the best quality education possible for each student?
Ivory, I think that one of the main problems is that Michigan's legislature and board of education have decided that quality education means that every student will pass chemistry without acknowledging that it's not only unrealistic, it's not even desirable for every student.
Our district finally dropped the requirement that all students should pass Algebra 2 after years of plummeting graduation rates and soaring dropout rates. It is just ludicrous to expect all students to be able to do conic sections and matrices to get a high school diploma.
I would like to see the US move to a system similar to those used abroad where after middle school, a student will declare a major with the intent of securing credentials for employment or further study. When high-stakes tests are associated with real consequences and choices or lack thereof for the student, they have much more validity. As it is, the schools are highly motivated to commit fraud in order to meet AYP and avoid heavy sanctions, while the consequences for the students are limited.
The students come as they are. The dilemma is whether or not you teach to the standards and try to elevate the level of rigor while accepting the likelihood of low levels of mastery. Or else you put aside the standards to meet the children where they are and get them to the level where success is readily attainable. The problem is that the powers that be don't seem to want to acknowledge the dilemma. They think that by "raising standards", the students will magically step up and be able to increase their reading level by five years overnight.
It's unrealistic to expect ALL students to be able to read on grade level, EVER. Facing the statistical reality of normal curves, there will be children who will never even been able to read at all. What formal schooling should provide is an appropriate education, whether that is learning self-care, or electrical wiring, or management, or advanced electives. Why not have the best quality education possible for each student?
Ivory, I think that one of the main problems is that Michigan's legislature and board of education have decided that quality education means that every student will pass chemistry without acknowledging that it's not only unrealistic, it's not even desirable for every student.
Our district finally dropped the requirement that all students should pass Algebra 2 after years of plummeting graduation rates and soaring dropout rates. It is just ludicrous to expect all students to be able to do conic sections and matrices to get a high school diploma.
I would like to see the US move to a system similar to those used abroad where after middle school, a student will declare a major with the intent of securing credentials for employment or further study. When high-stakes tests are associated with real consequences and choices or lack thereof for the student, they have much more validity. As it is, the schools are highly motivated to commit fraud in order to meet AYP and avoid heavy sanctions, while the consequences for the students are limited.
I agree. I taught to the standards this year but many of my students just couldn't get it. Chemistry for all is a rediculous idea. You can't teach chemsitry to someone who can't read the text or follow the lecture becuase they can't deal with the words. Teaching these students alongside students who are college bound and can learn the material is challenging to say the least.
My prediction is Michigan will drop chemistry for all. I think the schools realize this. That's why they are hiring DI/DX certificate holders to teach chemistry instead of DC certs (major/minor in chemistry). They want the flexibility to put the teachers they hire somewhere else when the state realizes this is a mistake. You can't raise the bar in 11th grade without raising it in 1st grade and tracking.
The problem is the teachers only have the power to change what goes on in their class and even that can be limited but their administration. We're told what to teach and how to teach it. We're hand cuffed to school policies regarding behavior problems and the school wants us to placate parents.
I spent this year, trying to teach to a higher standard. While I did get more out of my students, grades are down. Now I'm on the firing line for too low of GPA's in my class. It's not that I didn't teach. It's that I raised the bar. It's kind of like comparing North Caronlina schools to South Carolina schools. For years, I thought South Carolina must be slacking because of their low test scores but it turns out they just test to a higher standard.
Teachers are handicapped by policy and everything done by every teacher before them. I would like to teach chemistry to a high standard but many of my students cannot do basic algebra. Many cannot read the text I put in front of them. Exactly what can I change that will make a difference? Most of us are doing the best we can with what we have to work with. If you want more out of me, you need to give me more to work with.
Exactly. Spot on reason why teachers are overworked. They're spinning their wheels trying to meet irrelevant standards imposed by beaurocrats and muckity mucks. It's time the teachers bring the fight to their union leaders and the politicians that impose these regulations instead of whining and complaining.
I agree. I taught to the standards this year but many of my students just couldn't get it. Chemistry for all is a rediculous idea. You can't teach chemsitry to someone who can't read the text or follow the lecture becuase they can't deal with the words. Teaching these students alongside students who are college bound and can learn the material is challenging to say the least.
My prediction is Michigan will drop chemistry for all. I think the schools realize this. That's why they are hiring DI/DX certificate holders to teach chemistry instead of DC certs (major/minor in chemistry). They want the flexibility to put the teachers they hire somewhere else when the state realizes this is a mistake. You can't raise the bar in 11th grade without raising it in 1st grade and tracking.
I'm chiming in here: I could not agree more.
Now that I'm one zillion years old, I can genuinely say that I would appreciate and value a class in chemistry, but push this timeline back to my high school days, and that requirement might have really sunk me. Math was difficult and I was behind, and there is, quite honestly, no way I could have done Algebra II, much less the chemistry that would be building on that skill. Period. OTOH, I was quite good in English and ended up doing very well academically.
Now that I'm one zillion years old, I can genuinely say that I would appreciate and value a class in chemistry, but push this timeline back to my high school days, and that requirement might have really sunk me. Math was difficult and I was behind, and there is, quite honestly, no way I could have done Algebra II, much less the chemistry that would be building on that skill. Period. OTOH, I was quite good in English and ended up doing very well academically.
It's sinking many of my students. I'm so mad right now I could spit. I gave my students a test review that I treated like a take home portion of the final. Had they done it, and made sure they had the right answers, which they could have done because I did half of it in class and was available to help them, it would have HELPED their grades.
Basically, my better students did it (well most of them one blew a B in my class by turning in a blank review) and the students who needed the points the most just didn't. Now I have a grading delema. Do I fail students who passed the in class portion of the exam because they didn't do the take home portion that was part of the exam?
I don't know what to do. I HANDED them 25 points on their final. 25% of the grade. You wouldn't believe how many of the reviews were turned in with 5 or 6 questions out of 40 answered. Granted it required some work but it was 25% of their final. They could work on it with a friend. They could use their books. They could even ask me to do the problems they were stuck on. I had students who didn't even turn in the problems I did in class.
I threw my sinking students a life vest, and they threw it away!!!
I do see the value of a chemistry class but not one that has to hit all the recommended CCE's. The core, yes but many of the recommended CCE's are college prep. I highly doubt you've used Hess's law since high school if you learned it in high school. A basic knowledge of reactions, that's a little different.
I read your post and as a teacher I can totally understand where you are coming from. I'm an elementary school teacher in South Carolina and I can tell you from previous experiences that my principal would frown at me due the majority of my class earned low GPAs. Just like you, I taught to a higher standard because for one the school itself is Title 1 and also the students need every advantage that they could get if they could compete with other students not only in SC but around the world. She even went as far as mentioning the "bell shaped" curve which I believe that you can't generally apply it to every group of students because their backgrounds are so varied. I think she did this simply because she has her doctorate degree and thought I did not know anything which that part of pedagogy I already have been exposed to it numerous occasions from my undergradate degree all the way up to my current master's degree program that I am pursuing.
I also have this question that I would like for Ivorytickler or anyone to answer it.
Do you believe the students know that they are "entitled" to passing grades simply because the administration does not allow students to be retain for next school year?
I have to go through nails and teeth just to retain at least four students because it was very obvious that they are not ready for the next grade level. Those four students would sleep during class and claimed that they have not learn anything. At first the administration wanted me to passed those four students to the next grade level but with supplemented support such as placing those students into resource which that includes paperwork that I believe those students did not deserve simply because they had not put in any effort for the entire school year. With sufficient evidence such as other students' homework keeper, a graph of students who are passing each semester, and numerous secretly tape recorded parent-teacher conferences as well as documents signed by the parents who attended the conference it was pretty hard for the administration to allow them to pass to the next grade level.
About 20ish pages in they switch to class effects vs teacher effects (mainly in the UK). Then the last third is more citing himself and some post scripts. YAY!
I passed out before I could finish it. I came home pretty late tonight so reading isn't going to happen. I'd like to see some of the stats spelled out using example in the paper(s). I ask this for selfish reasons. I'm faced with a statistical problem and there are few at my job that can help. Imo/e, it takes a social scientist to really get into complicated stats. With that in mind, I am friendly with a sociologist and we're fb friends. Maybe I should email him.
I read your post and as a teacher I can totally understand where you are coming from. I'm an elementary school teacher in South Carolina and I can tell you from previous experiences that my principal would frown at me due the majority of my class earned low GPAs. Just like you, I taught to a higher standard because for one the school itself is Title 1 and also the students need every advantage that they could get if they could compete with other students not only in SC but around the world. She even went as far as mentioning the "bell shaped" curve which I believe that you can't generally apply it to every group of students because their backgrounds are so varied. I think she did this simply because she has her doctorate degree and thought I did not know anything which that part of pedagogy I already have been exposed to it numerous occasions from my undergradate degree all the way up to my current master's degree program that I am pursuing.
I also have this question that I would like for Ivorytickler or anyone to answer it.
Do you believe the students know that they are "entitled" to passing grades simply because the administration does not allow students to be retain for next school year?
I have to go through nails and teeth just to retain at least four students because it was very obvious that they are not ready for the next grade level. Those four students would sleep during class and claimed that they have not learn anything. At first the administration wanted me to passed those four students to the next grade level but with supplemented support such as placing those students into resource which that includes paperwork that I believe those students did not deserve simply because they had not put in any effort for the entire school year. With sufficient evidence such as other students' homework keeper, a graph of students who are passing each semester, and numerous secretly tape recorded parent-teacher conferences as well as documents signed by the parents who attended the conference it was pretty hard for the administration to allow them to pass to the next grade level.
My students feel entitled. Not to just passing. To anything they want in life. They've been colddled from the time they were babies. They got trophies just for showing up in little league. They know we can't fail the majority of the class and keep our jobs. They're counting on it.
I'm just putting those grades in. These kids knew that that review was 25% of their final. They chose not to do it and in so doing, chose the grade they're going to get. I want so badly to send one of these to the student's mother. She's always telling me I'm the problem. That HER child doesn't do this low level work. Well, he just turned in a 5 page review with nothing but 4 definitions done on the front page and earned a failing grade on my final.
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