We try to anticipate your questions and concerns and build them into our interviews so they are fully explained within our stories. But sometimes your minds work in ways ours don’t, and good questions go unasked and unanswered. That’s we offer Another Stab – a chance to get your follow-up questions answered right from the source.
Have a question we forgot to ask or a follow-up you’d like to get answered?
Ask The Dagger to take Another Stab.
Commenting on a recent Dagger story about the high school Advanced Placement program offered in Harford County Public Schools, Dagger reader “TP” wrote:
“The data provided by HCPS is not complete. We would be better served by obtaining comparable data. For example
1. Which AP courses were offered at each high school?
2. How many students took the course but NOT the test?
3. For each test at each school, how many 5’s, 4’s, 3’s, 2’s and 1’s were scored in each subject?
4. How many tests were taken in the “varsity” subjects such as Bio, Chem, Physics, Calculus AB, BC ?
I would hope that someone at the Dagger can dig up this information because it always seems to be unavailable for some reason”
HCPS puts out a press release each year covering AP results, but doesn’t typically provide much detail.
This year, The Dagger requested and received the 2010 data called for by TP, which appear in the tables below. For comparison purposes, 2009 data can be found here.
The Advanced Placement program, in place at each of the 10 comprehensive public high schools in Harford County, consists of AP classes in a variety of subjects followed by AP exams that give students a taste of college-level work and the chance to earn college credit. AP courses are optional and students may take an AP course without taking the corresponding exam.
Students might opt out of taking an AP exam because they don’t expect they will pass, considering their grades in the class or their performance on practice tests. College-bound seniors might skip the exam if the school they plan to attend will not award credit for a passing score. The $87 exam fee may also discourage test-takers, although the fees are waived for students living in poverty.
AP Subjects Offered in HCPS
While all Harford County public high schools offered AP courses in 2010, certain schools offered more subjects than others. Often a factor of school size and teacher-availability, the number of AP subjects offered ranged from a high of 19 at C. Milton Wright, to nine at Joppatowne, to a low of five at Harford Tech, possibly due to that school’s required focus on technical courses.
AP courses in English, Calculus and U.S. History were offered in every high school, but offerings in the sciences were uneven. The only school without AP Biology, Havre de Grace High School also had no AP Chemistry or Physics, but did have Environmental Science. AP Physics was offered in only three of the ten comprehensive high schools, Chemistry in seven out of the ten, Environmental Science was offered everywhere but Harford Tech.
Harford Tech, Havre de Grace and Joppatowne offered AP English Literature, whereas all of the other schools offered both English Lit and English Language. AP Psychology was offered in half of the schools. AP Statistics was offered everywhere except Harford Tech.
The Big Picture
The school-based results provided by HCPS are based on reports compiled by the non-profit College Board, which administers the AP program nationwide. To help form an overall view of the AP program in HCPS, The Dagger tapped Bill Ekey, former HCPS Director of Secondary Education, to assist in aggregating some of the data.
In terms of test results, 61% of the 2,327 AP exams taken in HCPS last year earned a passing score of three or higher. The top scoring schools, C. Milton Wright (77%) Aberdeen (71%) and Bel Air (65%) pulled up the average for the other seven, whose passing rates mostly hovered between 35 and 56%. Joppatowne’s passing rate was the lowest at 23.5%.
Looking at the distribution of passing scores (3s, 4s or 5s), most tests (28%) scored a 3, but there were strong results at the higher levels with 22% of tests scoring a 4 and nearly 11% of tests earning the top score of 5.
To get an overview of the prevalence of test-takers among those who took AP courses, the number of students who took at least one AP exam at each school was divided by total AP enrollment at the school. This is an imperfect measurement because the total AP enrollment data provided by HCPS counted students each time they took an AP class. So a Fallston student who took classes in both AP Biology and AP Spanish would be counted twice in Fallston’s total AP enrollment. However, using the same measurement for all schools allowed for comparisons among county schools. By far, Harford Tech had the most test-takers as a percent of total AP enrollment at 71%; the county average was 36%.
Added to the charts at Ekey’s suggestion was the 2010 enrollment of tenth, eleventh and twelfth graders at each school, because that is the eligible population for AP courses (only in rare instances would a freshman be enrolled in an AP course.) For each school and for the county overall, the numbers of test-takers were then compared to the eligible AP population, providing another view of AP program participation. C. Milton Wright had the highest percentage of test-takers by this measure (26.3%), while Edgewood, Havre de Grace and Joppatowne were in the single digits. The county average was 17 %
Data by Subject and by School
In almost every school there were bright spots in certain AP subjects, even if the exams were sometimes taken by only a handful of students. The AP Statistics class offered at Edgewood High School showed strong results, with nearly all of the students in the class opting to take the test and 75% earning a passing score. At Havre de Grace High, 100% of the test-takers in Calculus passed the exams and at Joppatowne, 71% of test-takers passed the U.S. History exam.
Some results were surprising on the low side. The passing rate was 43% on the Calculus AB exam at C.Milton Wright, and 36% at Bel Air, in both cases with about three quarters of the class taking the test. Results on the higher-level Calculus BC exam were in the range of 90% to 100% at nearly every school where it was offered.
AP Foreign Language classes, offered everywhere but Harford Tech, Joppatowne and North Harford, generally had test- takers numbering in the single digits and passing rates that ran the gamut from 0% to 100%. Results for AP English Literature were split, with passing rates at half of the schools in the eighty to ninety percent range, but hovering near 50% for the other half. The sciences were also a mixed bag, with some outstanding results – AP Chemistry at Patterson Mill (85%), and some much less so – AP Biology at North Harford (10%).
In some cases AP course enrollment was robust, but the vast majority of students didn’t take the corresponding AP exam. At Aberdeen, 81 students took the AP Psychology course, but only 13 took the exam. At Patterson Mill, total AP course enrollment was an eye-popping 82% of the AP eligible population, but test-takers were less than a third of AP enrollment.
Readers will likely wonder why the results vary so much by school and by subject, a question I posed to Ekey as we discussed the data. The answers are complex, Ekey said, involving factors such as socio-economic status that are beyond the control of HCPS. But Ekey, who is also a former HCPS principal and who is now with Harford Community College, said that a dynamic and engaged teacher was almost always at the root of success in the AP program. Noting Harford Schools Superintendent Robert Tomback’s recent budget proposal to pay for students to take AP exams, a plan that was narrowly rejected by the school board, Ekey opined, “County money probably ought to go to training [AP] teachers who want to take the time to do that.”
Understanding the Data
Tables for each of Harford County’s ten comprehensive public high schools appear below. Most columns should be self explanatory but just in case, here a few clarifying points:
For each school, the column labeled “Total AP Students in Your School” shows how many students took at least one AP exam in 2010. The column labeled “Total Exams” is the number of exams taken at the school, keeping in mind that students can take AP exams in more than one subject. Using Aberdeen as an example, last year there were 155 “Total AP Students” in the school who took 292 exams.
For each AP subject offered within a school, the number of students who took the class is listed, as is the number who also took the corresponding exam. The column labeled “% Test Takers” reveals the percentage of students who took an AP class in a particular subject who also took the exam. For example at Bel Air High School, ten students took the AP Spanish class and three took the exam, so 30% of the students in the AP Spanish class were test-takers in that subject.
Also for each AP subject, the number of exams scoring one through five is noted at each school and another column labeled “% 3, 4, 5” shows the percentage of tests that yielded a passing score of 3, 4 or 5.
Using the information provided by HCPS, The Dagger compiled some aggregated data, again with the help of Bill Ekey, which is appended to the results for each school.
Aberdeen
Bel Air
C. Milton Wright
Edgewood
Fallston
Harford Tech
Havre de Grace
Joppatowne
North Harford
Patterson Mill
Waivers
NOTE: This version of the above story includes a correction to the text and the tables regarding test-takers as a percentage of the eligible AP population at Aberdeen High School. An earlier version incorrectly stated that Aberdeen had the highest percentage of test-takers in the county at 30%. The correct figure for Aberdeen is 15% and the highest percentage in the county was 26.3% at C. Milton Wright.
Thank you for compiling this information. I believe many college bound students take AP level classes because they are told that colleges look highly upon students who push themselves to take these classes. However, the classes are not always taught by competent teachers who teach well enough for our students to score a 3 or better, so the students opt out of the test. Also, many colleges only accept a 4 or better, or even a 5 only, and many students don’t believe they will earn those scores.
I have a student at Aberdeen, enrolled in 4 AP level classes this year. My child will take the tests in all 4 classes, but I was told the only class my child feels unprepared to take the test is in psychology-the teacher has not prepared them at all, and my child will have to study and prepare completely on his own.
This is a very revealing article. It is clear that some schools are doing great service for their students and others need improvement. Another statistic worth noting and shown the table below is the percentage of eligible students who take the AP courses. Although it is important to take and pass the AP exams there is still experience to be gained by taking the courses themselves. Students are then exposed to college-level material and are better preparing themselves for post high school education. Higher student participation would also make staffing for courses more easily justified. Students at all schools should have equal opportunity for advanced coursework. It is clear that some schools should be doing a better job of emphasizing to students the importance of advanced courses.
School Eligible for Enrollment Total AP enrollment % Eligible students in AP
AHS 1043 511 48.9
BAHS 971 554 57.0
CMWHS 1171 719 61.4
EHS 832 189 22.7
FHS 938 562 59.9
HTHS 752 107 14.2
HdGHS 543 207 38.1
JHS 663 133 20.0
NHHS 1011 386 38.2
PMHS 699 571 81.7
HCPS 8623 3939 45.6
Thanks, Dagger and Bill Ekay for giving us the information that HCPS was unwilling to provide. Just in time for parents making decisions about private schools!
The phrse that most stands out is,” A dynamic and engaged teacher was almsot always at the root of success in the AP program.”
In thanks to those who fit that description, and a nudge out the door to those that don’t.
Lets be serious about this information and what it reveals. It is the College Board that says a score of 3 on an AP exam is equivalent to passing a college course. The reality is this is not true. Colleges have known for some time that students scoring 3’s on AP exams do not know the material and many have begun to reject 3’s as qualifying for college credit. Many of the best schools are rejecting AP exams entirely. If you only count the 4’s and 5’s at legitimately qualifying scores for meeting college standards the percentages for all Harford Co. schools go WAY DOWN. Of course the College Board tout 3’s as college equivalent. Convincing more parents/students to take even more AP courses puts more money in College Board coffers.
Part of the problem is that the rigor of these classes is reduced because too many students that do not have the requisite academic skills are taking these courses. Hense the large disparity between how many take the AP course and those that actually take the exam. The HCPS system has open enrollment for AP courses. In other words ANYONE can sign up for the course whether they have the skills or necessary motivation to succeed in this type of academic environment. What happened to honors classes that prepared students for college level work? Why should parents/students have to pay AP exam fees to get this kind of instruction? Honors has become AP, standard has become honors, and standard has become the classes where special needs students (inclusion) and behavior problems are put. This is nothing more than grade inflation on the course title scale.
While I agree that the teachers plays a significant role in the success of students taking AP courses there must be given equal weight to the quality of the student in the class.
Is it true that anyone can sign up for AP courses? I took AP English (almost 20 years ago in HCPS). Students had to be invited to take the course, you couldn’t just sign up for it. I don’t think weighted grades were involved yet either in AP classes, but I could be wrong.
Sadly any parent who whines and complains can get their kid in an AP course they have no buisness taking. The more frequently this occurs it either forces the school to offer more sections then it can handle because it may have had one dynamic teacher who taught the scafold courses too. Now it needs two and the second is not as good as the first.
Yes, anyone can sign up for AP classes. School systems everywhere are more interested in the numbers of kids taking the courses than how many are passing the exam with high marks. This is demonstrated in the fact that most do not release the kinds of information uncovered by Cindy. School systems try to spin the results to make them look good – hence the the initial reporting released by HCPS.
Parents and students have been sold a bill of goods about needing AP courses in order to get into college. As a result there is great pressure to take these courses. Also AP courses are weighted on a different GPA scale. So getting a C in an AP course is just about the same as getting an A in a standard or honors class – but you must work harder. Another interesting piece of information to get would be how many of those students that did not take the AP exam were earning D’s and F’s in the class.
C you do exagerate a bit. FIrst Cindy did not uncover it she was given it when she asked.
Second a C in an AP course is worth 2.5 quality points versus a normal C being worht 2 Points. a Normal A is worth 4 points.
My point exactly. Cindy had to ask for (and therefore uncovered) it. This information in all its detail should have been released from the very beginning. HCPS could also specify how many students actually take AP exams which would give an accurate picture.
and what about your other gross exageration?
I don’t know why high schools even bother giving weighted GPA’s for AP classes. Almost every college weights GPA’s according to their own system and don’t pay attention to how the individual high schools weight them since there is so much variation.
B–schools weight GPAs to rank their graduates. Those taking more difficult classes are rewarded with a higher ranking for an A in an AP class. Years ago, kids taking non-academic classes would get the highest grades in the class because weighting has not always been used.
I know for a fact that there are numerous students taking AP classes who have absolutely no business taking one. My wife teaches an AP class and every year she has at least a couple students placed in her class over her objections. Those students almost always either fail the course or get a D and still decide to take the test and obviously get a 1 or a 2. While there are some teachers who probably shouldn’t be teaching AP and are, there is also a serious problem of guidance and administration placing kids in those classes who shouldn’t be there. Many of those students (at least the ones my wife teach) don’t even bother handing in assignments and then their parents complain and try to force her to give extensions, extra credit, or adjust grades.
There isn’t really a passing or failing AP test score. Actually, if you were to try and compare apples and oranges, AP test scores of 5,4,3 and 2 would all be passing. These would be best equated to the A,B,C,and D grades. Just for accuracy, AP Central at Collegeboard.com basically states the following as to specific AP test scores:
5 – Extremely well qualified (to receive college credit or advance placement)
4 – Well qualified (to receive college credit or advance placement)
3 – Qualified (to receive college credit or advance placement)
2 – Possibly qualified (to receive college credit or advance placement)
1 – No recommendation (to receive college credit or advance placement)
My daughter is a High School junior. We are hearing 2 things reguarding AP as we look at various “selective” colleges. 1) Schools are looking for students who take the most rigorous classes available in their school. So if your school offers AP, you better be taking at least some AP classes. 2) Only scores of 4 or 5 will be considered for college credit. Which AP classes are counted vary school to school, and some schools won’t give credit, but use AP scores for placement. Getting into college is very competitive, and good AP scores are a way to distinguish yourself. But, I don’t think that you are doing yourself any favors by taking the AP class and not taking the test, except that it pumps up your GPA.
The data, while interesting, does not paint the whole “success” picture in Harford County.
When my kids were in school, many moons ago, AP offerings were small and students had to apply for the course spots with letters of recommendation from other classroom teachers. Those courses were filled with academically successful kids with good work ethics. Today, that is not the case at many schools. How do I know? My neighbor and daughter are both teachers within the school system.
The problem with AP courses today is that there is no set method of identifying who is eligible and who is not. Apparently, it is a crime to tell a kid that is not academically successful that they cannot take an AP course at some schools. In some schools, ANYONE can take the course and ANYONE can take the test. I have talked to teachers who have students in AP courses who barely passed the previous year’s general course offering. What is a student who barely passed government doing in an AP European History course? It happens!
Unfortunately, we do have students taking AP courses who should not be in the courses. They obtain D’s and E’s and then some decide to take the test. Why? Probably a mix of unrealistic expectations, the hope for luck, and the idea of missing 2 morning classes in order to take the exam would be a good idea.
My only point is this….we have to take this data with a grain of salt. Teachers teach the content to the students that the school allow to take AP courses, which in many cases are average to below average students. Teachers cannot control the amount of preparation time dedicated by each student, nor can the control WHO takes the test.
I tend to feel that these numbers would not be so skewed if we had a county policy as to who could take AP courses, rather than a “this school does this, this school does that” method of operation.
Good information. Thank you to Bill Ekey for your insight and expertise. I agree, instead of the school system paying for the tests, train the teachers. As a taxpayer and no students in HCPS, I am not in favor of HCPS payign for the AP exam for students who are not on reduced meals. Also, in my opinion I hear parents constantly boasting about their kids taking X number of AP classes. This also raises their GPA when seeking college admission and looking to be in the top % of their class when maybe that is not where they really are. The students then have to take placement tests upon entering a college ( english and Math) and they are placed in remedial math. A very big ??? It is more like a status thing for parents. HCPS should have a strict selection process. It also seems like parents look down upon the CP classes. They have a stigma of having the students that do not care or have learning needs instead of properly placing their child for success. Ask parents, they want their kids in Honors or above, not because the students can handle it but because of the stigm aof CP classes and for their own bragging. The HCPS need to reevaluate what makes a class a CP vs Honors vs AP. If a teacher has to teach to students sho really should not be in that level it really slows the class down and has an effect on all students.
Cindy, I am also curious to know if you can obtain information from private high schools in the county ( John Carroll or Harford Christian) as well as to other private schools where many county reseidents send their children, i.e. Calvert Hall, Loyola, NDP, Mercy, Tome. What are their requirements for admission into these programs and how did their students fair? I can only assume that their placement into AP classes is a lot more selective. Also, curious to know what is the % of remedial classes needed by private school students vs the HCPS students ( even just using the top 25% of the class in each HCPS) in college upon their entrace as a freshman? Keep up the good work Cindy!
The two private schools I am familiar with require teacher recommendations to take AP classes. The school my daughter attended near Baltimore also required that all students taking an AP class take the AP test at the family’s expense. Most private schools do publish profiles that detail their AP score success. At my daughter’s school, nearly 100 percent of test takers got threes or better. You can imagine how much more motivated the students are when they must be selected to take the classes and know up front that they will be taking the test at the end of the year. it isn’t really fair to compare public schools to HCPS because of the way students opt to take the classes.
I would add that AP classes are a great benefit to the best students and often make it easier for our best and brightest to explore more subjects or double major in college. When chosen carefully, AP classes can fulfill many core curriculum requirements and really open up options for students with AP credit.
I would note, Lilly, that few students enrolled in AP calculus are testing into remedial math at college–though there are plenty of others testing into it. Students who take AP calculus, unlike AP history or even AP English students, have had to take other math courses to lead into calculus.
“it isn’t really fair to compare public schools to HCPS …”
Typo–It isn’t really fair to compare public schools to private schools…
The previous commenters have basically touched on the major issues surrounding AP testing. I will just offer my personal experiences and comments
1. The argument about who should take the classes
I strongly argue that the only people taking the class should be those that are qualified (meaning they are likely to get a 3 or better) Allowing anyone into the class slows down the class and impedes on the pace and preparation needed to pass the class taking away from students who should actually be there.
The system is broken because colleges want you to take the hardest classes offered. To remedy this situation they should make test taking AP and non-test taking AP. Test taking AP is for people that are qualified to take and pass the test. Non test taking AP is for people that still want to take the class but realistically won’t do well or even take the test. I think everyone can win using this model
2. The argument about what classes are offered where
I think most of us are mature enough to realize certain areas of the county have better students than other areas. So, it makes sense that different courses should be offered at different schools. For bright students at poor performing schools independent study, HCC work, or distance learning should be used.
3. The actual Data itself
A lot of people get obsessed over the amount of AP tests taken aka the challenge index used by Newsweek for example. This is entirely the wrong metric to use. The correct metric to use is the % of test that receive a 3 or better which is passing. Using this criteria there are no surprises and the richer parts of the county have the best results. Which begs the question are teachers really that great or is it simply a matter of the raw material you start with. For the record I think its a combination of both but figuring out the true cause is difficult. I will say if a teacher along the I-95 corridor or at NHHS gets high passing rates they should be rewarded and similarly a teacher in the middle part of the county with low passing rates should be punished.
Real quickly glancing at the data
Great job Aberdeen but Science department sucks
wait a minute isn’t Aberdeen a Math magnet that explains it
Bel Air AB Calc teacher should be fired World History on thin ice
C Milton Wright with the richest kids does the best but stil AB Calc is pretty bad. Might be due to the pull of Aberdeen taking the best kids. Math department in the county should be overhauled.
Edgewood poorer kids poor test scores
Fallston the other richest school area and great overall. Way to go in Calculus German should be cancelled and uhoh whats the deal with US History and World History. Department head should be fired for that
Tech and HavreDeGrace dont have enough people taking the tests to comment. I will say HavreDeGrace fails because so few people take the test which masks the overall poor quality. Than again it is an I-95 corridor school.
Gotta go someone else can do the rest
’99 NHHS Grad – That entire post to me is contradictory, respectfully. First off you make the comment that:
“A lot of people get obsessed over the amount of AP tests taken aka the challenge index used by Newsweek for example. This is entirely the wrong metric to use. The correct metric to use is the % of test that receives a 3 or better which is passing. Using this criteria there are no surprises and the richer parts of the county have the best results.”
….and then proceed to follow that up by correlating why certain schools lack in certain areas based on speculation and social demographics. Something that you are failing to understand is that although AP exams sound great and are intrinsically fulfilling to us parents, they are not a gauge for the actual success of your child in a 2 or 4-year school. What they actually do is knock off a few classes from curriculums that are ever-changing and becoming increasing more discriminatory in what they will and will not accept with regard to AP. There are several reasons for this, and one of the key areas is the fact that schools in this age are becoming more “for-profit” than anything else. Increased tuition rates and fees across the nation in an effort to deliver what every American wants and should attain for. Some statistics for you, if I may….
As of 2008, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, 57.2% overall of all enrolled in 4-year institutions in the US graduated. Additionally 30% overall of all graduated from 2-year institutions. When broken down further Public 4-year Universities had 54% graduation rate and 22% 2-year. Private (non-profit) 64% grad 4 year grad rate and 51% 2-year rate.
Overall these numbers may seem dismal, and as a nation we should work to increase them, but with the rising cost of Universities these numbers represent those who have left due to cost, academics, or simply change in degree and/or life plans. What your arrogance seems to suggest however is that somehow Community Colleges are under-elements of our higher learning system. On the contrary if you look at the national trend and innovative ability of parents nationwide and students to take advantage of savings, you will see Community Colleges are very much a part of the picture….regardless of demographic or social class.
Community colleges are teaming nationwide with 4-year institutions, HCC included, to establish pipelines for students from 2-year programs to 4-year programs. This not only has produced significant cost-savings for parents and students alike, but has shown to really provide significant early foundation for a more mature student entering from the 2-year to 4-year program.
I on the other hand was a student who utilized the military while serving my country to achieve both my undergrad and graduate degree, which is becoming the case for a lot of America’s returning soldiers who have the Post 9/11 GI Bill which I must say is amazing. I still have a bone to pick with Senator Kerry for his uneducated soldiers comment, but that’s neither here nor there. The fact is the military for a while now is requiring and fostering the more educated soldier which is reflected in its promotions and structural system.
Bottom line is rather than try and call out programs based on AP exams, which to me are a good for students and parents alike as building blocks, look past the desire to use these exams as a basis for simply calling out programs or perceived performance of teachers. Unfortunately nationalized testing has replaced the opportunity for students to really learn in the classroom and pressure teachers to teach to the test in order to generate dollars. No matter what the teacher tells you they are under a microscope to make those test shine. Standardized testing has dumbed-down our education, removed so-called politically incorrect history, and removed the dynamic role of the teacher. Kids are taught one half of the moon, and have a total absence of knowledge of the other unless supported on the home-front.
Which brings me to my last comment….Parenting and home foundations are the key. Teachers are not the stop gap for your childs performance, or school programs for that matter. Education is not a car wash where you put your kid on a rack and select deluxe, premium, or “save a buck”….no matter what comes out on the end it is up to the parent to fill in the gaps and make sure they are watching performance, assignments, and various entities of their social development. I grew up in the Bronx NY, while my mother worked two jobs to put me through Lutheran school. We weren’t Lutheran but my mother understood the parochial system provided the foundation I needed to our Christian based home. That is what it takes and regardless of what part of the county you come from, if you don’t have that going on two fronts (parents and teachers in sync) then AP doesn’t mean jack my friend. Have a great day!!!
Winston Churchill once turned down an appointment as the First Lord of the Admiralty because he would have been accountable for the navy without the authority to change it. What parents are asking of teachers with insistence on “teacher accountability or performance based evaluation” is exactly the same. They would insist on teachers being held accountable for students’ poor performance without giving them the authority to effect a change in their behavior. Only parents have this authority and many of them either refuse, or are unable, to participate in the educational process of their children.
If school districts insist on paying a teacher based upon the results of a value added test, then teachers should be able to exclude students if they are not given the materials, support or a class size that maximizes test results. This would include holding parents accountable for attendance, behavior, homework and a stable environment. Likewise, a principal must be held accountable for ensuring school and district rules are followed by students and teachers are supported for trying to uphold these rules.
An old folk saying is one can “…lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” Education is a labor intensive process that requires hours of rigorous and intensive work ON THE PART OF THE STUDENT. One cannot pour knowledge into someone’s head. Only the student can learn knowledge and skills through his own efforts. Holding teachers solely accountable for the effort students must make to learn is pushing a string uphill. No amount of effort, materials or technique will be effective.
Certainly educators can improve this process with appropriate materials and resources; I have worked forty years in schools without enough textbooks, teachers, library materials or technology to know what role these resources play in education. But Americans believe all goals must come easily. We have spent so much effort in making education “interesting,” “fun” or “relevant” or used strategies which only have the purpose of boosting “self confidence” that we have lost sight of the fact learning is work. In the end, only a student can decide for himself that education is something to value and work for.
The enemy of teacher’s success in the classroom are teacher’s own unions and their imposition though collective bargaining of purposely disjointed work rules that reward incompetence and punish success.
Teacher’s have met the enemy it is their union.
spoken like someone who has never spent a day in the classroom!
Teacher unions do nothing to prevent teachers from being successful in the classroom. Negotiated agreements between teachers AND school administrators provide protections of due process rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
DA posts “Negotiated agreements between teachers AND school administrators provide protections of due process rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.”
Negotiated union contracts do not provide constitutional rights. If teachers unions went away teachers would still have the same rights under the Constitution that every citizen has.
Agree. DA probably means that the negotiated agreements provide the ‘administrative procedures’ for due process rights guaranteed under the constitution. Just didn’t say it well.
At any rate, unions today have, in most instances, exceeded their once useful role. Getting union members to understand that is a tough assignment.
Thank you Gary. Your comments are right to the point. The school system has EDLINE where parents can keep a close eye on their students’ progress. It would be interesting to see if there is a correlation between successful students and their parents’/guardians’ use of EDLINE and unsuccessful students and their parents’/guardians’ lack of use of EDLINE. Parents should know well in advance of report cards where their students stand.
There is also an interesting development in Florida: “State Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, filed a bill Tuesday that would require elementary school teachers to evaluate parents based on “the quality” of their involvement in their children’s schools.” http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-01-18/news/os-teachers-grade-parents-20110118_1_parental-involvement-parent-appeals-grade-parents
Why not in all grades? Why not Harford County or Maryland? The availability of a teacher-parent communication through a program like EDLINE (accessible at libraries for those without computers) would make such an evaluation more practical. It is time to change our culture on attitudes of some parents and students on the value and importance of education
How do you feel about a teacher’s performance being evaluated annually by their boss (the principal), like millions of other professionals in the country? Let’s empower the principals to determine raises, promotions, and dismissals just like countless other positions.
The union couldn’t possibly have a problem with that, could they? Don’t they want the teachers to be treated like engineers, scientists, programmers, accountants, etc.?
TEACH, teacher’s union have created system of work rules that tie the hands of school districts and promote mediocre educational outcomes at insanely high cost to taxpayers and to the detriment of students, parents and teachers.
Teacher’s unions’ ruthless power is the biggest obstacle to education reform.