I was home sick yesterday (and still had work to do), so that's why there were no new posts about testing bias allegations or zero tolerance idiocies or litiguous students. Let's see what we can find in the news today:
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Here's a story, via Best of The Web, that definitely must be labeled a "zero-tolerance idiocy." When I read it, though, I found it strangely satisfying, because (a) no kids got hurt or expelled, and (b) the scenario really exemplifies the surreal nonsense that surrounds these type of policies.
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Pep rallying for the PSAT! Students at Union County Magnet High (NJ) get fired up for standardized tests. The schools attracts budding mathematicians and engineers, and (true to stereotype) has no sports teams. The kids want to hoot and holler about something, though, so they held a pep rally that you just couldn't make up:
So out came the prancing cheerleaders and a sax-heavy pep band playing spirited staples like "Louie, Louie!" -- and the Power Point slides flashing rah-rah messages like, "Go Freshmen! The PSAT has nothin' on you!" and "Go Juniors! Your whole future depends on this!" Talk about big-game pressure.
When asked if outsiders might consider the rally a little, well, geeky, students admitted that the description was probably accurate.
"It probably is," said junior Jonas Cleveland of Plainfield. "But it's Magnet, so you expect it."
Magnet senior Arianna Paver, who lives in Scotch Plains, shook her head from her back-row seat as a series of tepid "waves" swept through the student body.
"We're uncoordinated. We have no sports," she said. "But we can do a calculus wave."
Hee hee hee. That's adorable.
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Dismantling the MEAP: Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is considering replacing the Michigan Education Assessment Progam with something more suitable, in part because of the heavy protest the MEAP has generated. Allegedly, the test is tougher than tests in other states, and does not allow teachers to focus on teaching basic skills in the classroom.
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Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is still under attack for attempting to tie HOPE scholarships to SAT scores. The program is losing money, in part because lottery revenue is down (perhaps the result of Georgia's improvement in mathematical education). At least the critics here use the right term, impact, instead of the term bias:
"Whenever you talk about standardized test scores, you generally know who will be impacted and who will be impacted negatively," Louis Castenell, dean of the university's College of Education, told the Athens Banner-Herald.
"Most people in our college think it's a bad idea to unintentionally hurt a key segment of our population."
Castenell said the proposal would hurt racial and ethnic minorities as well as students from lower-income homes.
"I think introducing the SAT scores has the unintended outcome of seriously hurting poorer students and students who attended high schools that did not offer rigorous classroom experiences," Castenell said.
Is it true that the use of SAT scores differentially impacts different subgroups? Yes, it is. Is it really the case that a student is "hurt" when he's not given a scholarship after demonstrating, via SAT results, that he might not be capable of finishing college? That part is debatable.
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The Dartmouth Online chronicles the trials and tribulations of home-schooled students who want to attend prestigious universities (such as Dartmouth).
Several home-schooled Dartmouth students said, though, that most colleges frown upon admitting home schooled students because it is hard to judge their academic abilities...
Home-schooled applicants can, however, face some significant obstacles in the process. James Throckmorton '06 recalled receiving unfavorable responses from many schools -- including Harvard University -- when he called to inquire about applying as a home-schooler.
"Colleges tend to be wary of home-schoolers -- it's an anti-establishment movement and they're an establishment," Throckmorton said.
Some schools react to the lack of traditional high school transcripts by making applicants take up to twice the number of standardized tests as other applicants.
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Thinking outside the test: Students at 10 US high schools have received Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams grants in order "to create inventions that benefit their schools or communities." The grant recipients and their prize-winning ideas are:
Agawam High School, Agawam, Mass.: Pothole prediction and prevention device
Arlington High School, Arlington, Mass.: Automatic pedestrian crossing device
East High School, Anchorage, Alaska: Snow robot to monitor snow conditions and avalanche hazards
Germantown Academy, Fort Washington, Pa.: Braille-to-voice assistive device
Gulliver Preparatory School, Miami, Fla.: Inspection-friendly luggage
Linn-Mar High School, Marion, Iowa: Assistive robotic device for the disabled
Norfolk Technical Vocational Center, Norfolk, Va.: Ergonomic student backpack
North Miami Beach Senior High School, North Miami Beach, Fla.: Bathroom assistive device for the elderly
Paso Robles High School, Paso Robles, Calif.: Remote sensing environmental (air quality) monitoring device
Perry Hall High School, Baltimore, Md.: Solar-powered water-testing device
If the Gulliver kids do manage to invent "inspection-friendly luggage," they'll be feted and hailed by weary travelers everywhere...
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Finally, a St. Petersburg Times columnist sticks his neck out and says that schools should focus more on flab and less on the FCAT:
Florida's schools have de-emphasized phys ed, often so they can drill for the governor's standardized test, the FCAT. Pinellas school officials, for example, told me that many elementary schools have knocked back physical education to make more time for test preparation. Got to keep the third-graders cracking down, you know.
At the high school level, Florida's phys ed requirements are surprisingly light. Students taking the 24-credit graduation option are required to have only one credit hour of physical education, or one class in four years...
Sure, it's important for students to demonstrate their progress in math and writing skills - but not at the price of neglecting their physical well-being...
There's been a terrible trend in Florida's cash-strapped public schools, as in schools around the nation, of making business deals with soft-drink companies. How can any school district justify this "liquid candy?" The money has been too much to resist...
Posted by kswygert at October 21, 2003 10:08 AM