tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post116630050988045389..comments2023-10-10T06:51:06.526-04:00Comments on Ryan's Take: The Problem With the MCASRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04523572927796479670noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post-57863032457336298402007-03-20T16:01:00.000-04:002007-03-20T16:01:00.000-04:00pssh, ppl from you so called "broken" homes or "po...pssh, ppl from you so called "broken" homes or "poor" families can still do perfectly well on MCAS. I was raised by a single mom who doesn't make that much money at all, in fact, she's disabled and we get about $1000 a month to live off of and in 7th grade I scored 6 points off from a perfect score. It's about how serious kids take the tests, whether or not the teachers teach them what they need to know for the tests, and whether or not the kids actually understand what the questions are asking. It's unfair of you to say that poor people are going to do bad on MCAS because they're poor, it's just not true.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post-1166610851711928562006-12-20T05:34:00.000-05:002006-12-20T05:34:00.000-05:00Teaching should be standardized in grade school an...Teaching should be standardized in grade school and high school. If students want to "specialize" in China, go to college. We must be doing something wrong in our teaching system when in an objective subject like math we're constantly behind other countries scores.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post-1166466146420076042006-12-18T13:22:00.000-05:002006-12-18T13:22:00.000-05:00I fail to see the importance of teaching the same ...I fail to see the importance of teaching the same curriculi. Students rarely move, then move, then move all in the same year. Furthermore, students should be able to learn aspects of history they enjoy. If someone wants to learn about China in detail, why shouldn't they? That's why standardized curriculi doesn't work. <BR/><BR/>Having been very involved with the development of the MCAS when I served on the State Student Advisory Council to the Board of Education as a Chair of a Committee and Executive Board Member, I heard a lot of different reasons for the need to have the MCAS. Students moving again and agani and again wasn't one of them. It's a concern that teachers in an individual school can deal with at an individual level.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04523572927796479670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post-1166462831080338602006-12-18T12:27:00.000-05:002006-12-18T12:27:00.000-05:00Ryan - what he said was standard CURRICULUM. Not ...Ryan - what he said was standard CURRICULUM. Not the test.<BR/><BR/>I'll give you an example from 14 years ago - a 9th grader takes history, and studies the Civil War. Moves, new 10th grade history class, and studies - the Civil War. Moves again, new 11th grade history class, and studies - the Civil War. Before the curriculum framework, some schools first taught world history, and then American, and then Civil, and then Revolutionary. Other systems reveresed that order. So a kid who moved could take the same thing over and over.<BR/><BR/>Now, with the statewide curriculum framework, the ORDER in which subjects are taught has been standardized, and all 9th, 10th, and 11th grade kids are studying the same subject at the same time. Which is why it is IMPORTANT for a school to adhere to the framework.<BR/><BR/>This isn't about teaching to the test, it's about providing educational continuity. Which the teacher's unions fought tooth and nail at the time, BTW, as an intrusion on their God-given right to decide their OWN curriculum.Peter Porcupinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03721530947712291966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post-1166326618804472592006-12-16T22:36:00.000-05:002006-12-16T22:36:00.000-05:00An alternate interpretation is it's an attempt to ...An alternate interpretation is it's an attempt to "starve the beast." By spending a lot, very innefficiently, you can say later "we can't afford this and it's not working great anyway," but by "this" mean most of what we consider public education.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04523572927796479670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post-1166313242894762762006-12-16T18:54:00.000-05:002006-12-16T18:54:00.000-05:00Why don't we just hire out Kaplan to teach all our...Why don't we just hire out Kaplan to teach all our students to pass the MCAS<BR/><BR/>LOL<BR/><BR/>The problem with NCLB is that is drains resources away from those who need it most. tEachers hate it and not because they're evil, because it makes the problem worse. MCAS is only part of the problem. NCLB is basically a backdoor attempt to destroy public ed and leave kids and parents to fend for themselves in the marketplace, where rich kids buy decent educations and poor kids clean their schools. See what connections you can make at Frito-Lay's Charter School, Our Lady of Corn Chip Pie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com