Re: School Board

[Rick Tarara <rtarara@SAINTMARYS.EDU>]

Not to be _too_ facetious, if this is a public HS then the primary goal of
public education is to prepare students to be productive citizens within the
society.  Evaluating 'success' post graduation is not the easiest thing to
do, but evaluating failure is somewhat easier.  What percentage of the HS
graduates have ended up in prison, on welfare, are chronically unemployed,
have become drug addicts, etc.  If those numbers are low, the HS is
succeeding--at least minimally.  To look beyond this negative evaluation,
things like graduation rates FROM COLLEGE, average salary 10 years out,
voting records--have they voted?, and other similar 'societal' measurements
would indicated the success of the educational process.  We do need to
recognize that most HS graduates DO NOT end up graduating from college, so
success in light of this must be properly weighed.

Now once you want more immediate assessments the controversy over tools
increases dramatically.  I personally am NOT opposed to the state testings
that are prevalent since there IS a minimal amount of attained and retained
factual knowledge that is necessary to function intelligently within the
society.  If such tests also evaluate basic reading, writing, and math
skills then they can be very useful in determining the lower bar in the
educational process.  The high bar is really best determined by higher level
thinking skills and are not so easily evaluated by standardized tests.  This
is where the later, post graduation 'successes' may be the best measures.

Grades within the school and 'Honor Roll'  (at my wife's school she had a
student who made the 'honor roll' despite two 'F's on his report) are pretty
much useless evaluations due to grade-inflation (for all the reasons we've
already discussed in other threads).

That's my $.02

Rick

*********************************************************
Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Indiana
rtarara@saintmarys.edu
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Green" <JMGreen@SISNA.COM>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 12:53 AM
Subject: School Board


> A close friend was just elected to the local school board.   His major
> election promise is to enhance academics in the schools.  His opposition
> promised to make the schooling experience more enjoyable -- more field
> trips etc etc etc.
>
> My friend needs more ammunition!
>
> For those involved with HSs, how should a HS be evaluated?
>
> Admission to college?
>
> National SAT scores?
>
> BTW the local state SAT scores indicate that the local HS and MS and ES
are
> about the same as those at Lake Woobegon.  Do other states have lower
level
> testing -- I guess that by now they all have to.  How helpful are they in
> evaluating the school system?  What happens here is that 75% of the HS is
> on the "Honor Roll."  Maybe they do need more entertainment.
>
> National Merit Scholars?  I wonder if our local HS teachers have even
heard
> of the NMSs
>
> What is the national  science competition sponsored by Intel or the like?
>
> Perhaps we should poll the students to see how happy they are with the HS
> experience?
>
> Other measurements?
>
> Comments???
>
> TX
>
>
>
> Jim Green
> mailto:JMGreen@sisna.com
> http://users.sisna.com/jmgreen
>
> This posting is the position of the writer, not that of SUNY-BSC, NAU or
the AAPT.

This posting is the position of the writer, not that of SUNY-BSC, NAU or the AAPT.