Well said on another thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1433891/posts?page=35#4
Voucher: Solution or Flawed Compromise ?
FEE ^ | 6/30/05 | Robert Parker
To: cinives
The answer is to require very limited testing twice a year for any student's school to receive the payment (and allow an option of only testing once a year, if the school is willing to wait a whole year to get any payment). Testing should be limited to math, reading/spelling/vocabulary/grammar, facts-only physical science, and possibly some very basic facts-only material on how government works (like the existence of federal and state senates and houses of representatives, governors, a President, etc. -- since a huge number of public school grads haven't a clue about this stuff). No room for political or religious issues, keep the tests to between 1-2 hours depending on age/grade level, and keep the questions and grading to a strictly right-or-wrong answer format. Have the tests administered at many convenient locations, administered by people who have no vested interest in the economics of the system, and who have no information about which students are attending which schools.
Set the standards to approximately the current 50th percentile of public school students, and once kids pass the twelfth grade level (even if they do it when they're 10 years old, which wouldn't be uncommon for a lot homeschooled kids), let them get their vouchers until they're 18, without any further testing. This system would allow homeschoolers, and little neighborhood private schools run by a mom or grand-dad or whoever in somebody's kitchen, to get the money for getting a minimum of the same job done that the public schools currently get done. Most would obviously do a lot more, but this would at least eliminate the need to limit vouchers to large schools which get inspected and regulated by the government, and would eliminate flat-out fraud by "home schools" or "private schools" which are doing nothing at all but pocketing the money (as is the case with a lot of federally funded adult vocational schools now).
4 posted on 06/30/2005 9:02:55 AM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
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"Set the standards to approximately the current 50th percentile of public school students, and once kids pass the twelfth grade level (even if they do it when they're 10 years old, which wouldn't be uncommon for a lot homeschooled kids), let them get their vouchers until they're 18, without any further testing."
***I agree. We have been discussing inexpensive ways to fast track kids through high school to avoid the liberal agenda and other idiocies:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1315730/posts?page=84#84
Unfortunately my thread title was not well thought out, because some parents might instinctively skip over it due to attached stigma, whether real or imagined.
20 posted on 06/30/2005 4:51:46 PM PDT by Kevin OMalley (No, not Freeper#95235, Freeper #1165: Charter member, What Was My Login Club.)
To: Kevin OMalley
Interesting approach. I think a lot of homeschoolers do essentially that. Homeschool entirely through 8th grade, and then phase in community college courses and/or individual high school courses in school districts which allow that.
Another important issue, though, is the huge numbers of kids who just shouldn't be doing high school or college academic work at the traditional age. We're spending colossal amounts of education for kids in the 14-22 age range, which is a time when most them really care about nothing that isn't driven by hormones and/or lack of life experience. Except for the small minority who are really academically self-motivated at that age, they'd be better off doing something like working at McDonald's, and maybe taking one course at a time that meets 2-3 times a week, until such time as they are serious about pursuing education.
It's a horribly common pattern in the U.S. that young people totally waste their time in high school and college, while taxpayers and parents are footing the huge bill for the illusion that they are "studying" full time. Then when they reach their mid 20s or early 30s or whenever they get a clue, they'd really like to do it all over again and get a serious education that will land them good and steady employment, but the money's all been spent and nobody's offering them a free ride anymore, now that they're really serious about studying.
21 posted on 06/30/2005 6:44:39 PM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
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I posted this to Kevin last night and he asked me to post it on the this thread.
"My kid used the dual credit program at our local state college to fast track. So now he's entering his senior year of HS (17 years old) and completing his AA requirements this term (he needs 3 more hours) and can use the rest of the available credit hours this year (you can take 15 per term) to work toward requirements for his major. It's a wonderful program...and the fact that it's tuition free doesn't hurt. Won't need a GED, since he's homeschooled, I just have to turn in a statement that he has "graduated HS" and he will be awarded an AA at the end of this year which will technically be his sr. year in HS.
Then he can transfer to a 4 year program next year to complete his bachelors, he'll be a junior, and if he stays on track should have his bachelors about the time he turns 20. In our opinion, the good thing about this program (other than the fact that it's free tuition) is that more and more a Master's is needed to secure a good position, and by graduating college at 20, you can go ahead and attain your Masters, still graduating at the same time you would have normally been graduating from college."