Karen Lewis: This is all the fault of you Right Wing Nuts because you won't give my Chicago Teachers Union members enough money ... and time off ... and assistants ... and computers ... and assistants ... and guards ... to really teach!
Posted on 08/22/2012 8:47:23 AM PDT by Zakeet
Karen Lewis: This is all the fault of you Right Wing Nuts because you won't give my Chicago Teachers Union members enough money ... and time off ... and assistants ... and computers ... and assistants ... and guards ... to really teach!
the results were troubling to some educators!
"While others considered the information specifically designed for judging how well students will fare if they go to college a flawed method for judging how well students will fare if they go to college."
Illinois needs to raise the salaries and benefits for the great teachers. They have prepared a good crop of parasitic Rat voters.
A worthwhile college education should not be for EVERYBODY, nor should the qualifications for such assume all high school graduates should meet college requirements. It is a difficult thing to accept sometimes, but not all of us are gifted, nor are we all entitled to an education beyond that required to function normally (i.e., not exceptionally). IOW, parents all of your kids aren’t geniuses, and some of them would best meet life just serving fries or pumping gas.
Just saw this article about the local PRIVATE Illinois high school who had a student score a perfect 36 on the ACT. They also had a few 35s.
31% of college prep students or the student population as a whole? The former would be troubling, the latter not so much EXCEPT that the universe of unskilled jobs is shrinking at an alarming rate.
And given 75% shouldn’t go to college anyway, I am actually not troubled that only 31% aren’t ready.
And the writer of that sentence probably didn't score too well, either. Unless things have changed drastically, only those who intend to apply to colleges take the ACT or SAT exams. So, if a third of those who took the ACT are not ready for college, and still only something over one-half take the exam, then only about 1/3 of the total class of 2012 is ready for college work, or about 2/3 of those who did take the exam.
I used to think everyone (well, most everyone) should, if they wanted to, go to college. Then I taught high school and it was an eye opener. Of course I also had gone back to college several times (once to finish my degree and then a third time to get a teaching certificate) and it made me also realize that college doesn’t really prepare you for a “job”. At least most college degree plans don’t.
I am a proponent of our schools (I’m not going to get into home schooling, which I support, but realize most parents will not do) having some sort of vocational education starting after middle school that would give kids who were interested some sort of job prep and certification (or at least the ability to go onto further training for things that might take longer) for real careers. We NEED people who can be plumbers and mechanics and even nail techs and hair dressers and on and on.
Of course I still think for the kids who want to go on to college, college prep classes are great. This would have the added benefit of getting the kids who are not interested in the more advanced classes out so they are not disrupting those who are.
And make the prereq for all of this an ability to do basic math and reading. Of course, this should be at the state level as I think the Federal govt should keep their noses out of it.
Intelligence is biology and biology is destiny.
Article states that nationwide only 31% can pass a science test, a subject that is measurable and not subject to touchy-feelly interpretation.
We pay the education industry to take students from point A to point B and they are getting LESS THAN A THIRD to their destination.
Now imagine if the airlines had the same record. Congress, especially the left, would be up in arms against those profiteering private companies.
Where is the outrage? Where are the calls to shut down these schools and take away their access to taxpayer funds? Crickets...
Personally, I think if 69% of graduating highschoolers are college ready, college standards are too low.
:: Unless things have changed drastically, only those who intend to apply to colleges take the ACT or SAT exams. ::
Things have changed drastically, Will. The Board Exams are offered a preparatory class on the High School’s class schedule. Students receive HS credit regardless of score. There are some schools (in MI) that offer HS credit for middle-school students to take the “early version” (my daughter scored a 24 in her 8th grade year).
When I took the ACT, perfect was 32. Prior to that, perfect was 28 (my sister scored a 27!)
Even worse, science taught in schools these days consists largely of ecology, space exploration and evolutionary biology. Useful subjects like chemistry and physics are largely ignored.
In fact, the majority of the youngsters I've talked to have no idea how electricity is generated, how internal combustion engines work, or how a lever can help move a heavy object.
This is indeed tragic.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
