What is your opinion on NCLB?
447250
it puts too much emphasis on testing. we all know that all students are different and to develop standards and test them for students is way off base. bush and his administration has it all wrong when it comes to education.\n\nthe gates foundation approach of developing smaller schools so that teachers get to know their students if much better. if teachers know their students then they can teach them based on what they know about person.\n\nchildren are unique, indviduals and we should treat them as such. NCLB and its emphasis on standards and testing makes children seem like robots.
1027289
i didn't go there, nor do i have any close friends who have, but from what i hear it's the best public school in the area by far, better than many of the private schools.  i think there's a good deal of pressure on the students to do well, but then they make it easier to do well.  it's tough to get into, but well worth it.
256648
My daughter did really well at a public Humanities Magnet, a Catholic High School was much better for my son.\n\nMy daughter was a very strong student and really made her choice pay off, my son was more comfortable with the sense of security provided by the private school.
526203
Yes i am totally in agreement.The teachers now a days expect the parents to teach your child at home,i believe in helping your child,but i refuse to teach my child and pay the taxes that we do.Now a days the children will be left behind with what is being taught,but not being explained to them.My kindergartner's teacher is complaining of his reading,excuse me,i never learned how to read until the second grade.See Jane run,See Dick get Spot,you know?It is totally a money issue not a caring child issue,or things would not be like this in our school systems.Sorry for the bluntness,but this is also a touchy subject for me as well.Take Care!
543944
If you're going to refer to a poll by CNN then you need to post a link for us to see this poll.  Otherwise, we think you're full of it and are just trying to stir the pot.\n\nThanks for the link.  Yes, I don't understand either, it's appalling.  The only answer I can think of is that they aren't focusing on Geography in the schools anymore and let's face it, for a lot of kids if it isn't force fed to them by the schools they sure aren't going to go out of their way to learn it.  Sad but true.
1127929
i dont kno man i gotta learn it here in NC too though. complain to your school board i guess hopefully something will work our becuase i want to move down to texas when im out of college and i dont want my kids to have to learn it.
1179195
I disagree with that\nI am a single mother and my daughter is very smart, her school \ndoes not provide music, up to date books, they didn't even have a library last year, They are behind on their curriculum compared to other schools\n Because of my financial situation I cannot move at this point NOR send her to private school...I am not failing.\nI look over homework, she reads books all the time, we do other things at home to help. It is NOT ME who is failing, it's the school
218289
School policy and issues should be addressed and answers found at the local level.  There should be no national policy or federal guide lines on this or any other school issue.  If a local school decides that some form of physical discipline i9s applicable, it should be decided at the local level between the administration, the teachers and the parents.\n\nIn my opinion it isn’t likely to work, at least it won’t result in the type of environment conducive to excellence in education.  First there must be a foundation of behavior established.  This shouldn’t be a major challenge, we’ve done it before.\n\nAt one time it was understood by all that a school was for teaching.  That teachers were there to teach.  That the district, through the board of education and administration, were to provide a “teaching” environment.  Further, that there was an implied contract of the students and their parents that the student was there to participate in that education process.  Exceptions weren’t made for the student who would fit in, rather they were removed so that the teacher and the students could actually function in the education environment.\n\nThis doesn’t mean that the students removed didn’t have to go to school, rather they were placed in more restrictive institutions.  This could continue until they were in what we referred to as reform schools.  Their parents were expected to participate in supporting their children’s education or, their children were removed from them. \n\nPart of that education was the teaching of civility.  How do you act as a part of a member of society?  What does it mean to be a responsible member of society?  The children also must be taught the basics of education to function in society.  This means not only to be able to read, but to read with comprehension.  To be able to write clearly in script.  To understand the rules of spelling and sentence syntax.  To have a least a basic foundation of literature and history.  Certainly there must be understanding of mathematics and its use in society.\n\nShort of that, the local community has failed its responsibility.
843078
I'm also an inncer-city teacher and I can relate to your concerns.  Part of the problem is that the tests are supposedly designed to measure students' grasp of underlying concepts.  But that's not what they actually measure.  They are mostly word problems, so in the end they are primarily testing the students' verbal skills.  A very bright math student who can manipulate numbers expertly, or a very slow student who can demonstrate understanding using manipulatives, will both fail a standardized test if they can't read and comprehend the test questions.\n\nI've found that my urban students have a lot of trouble with word problems.  One teaching strategy that I had some success with was teaching them how to "decode" test questions.  In other words, I literally gave them lists of key terms in word problems and what they mean.  So at the very least, they knew that if the question asked "how many more," they had to subtract.  But I'm talking about 3rd graders here.  I don't know how well that would apply to higher level math.\n\nThe bottom line is that if you want test results, you have to make some time to teach test prep.  I would guess that your kids who can't sit still during the test are feeling really intimidated.  Often, kids who are perfectly capable of doing the work just freeze up when they see a test.  The only real way to combat this is to familiarize the kids with the test format.  Help them to understand how the test is structured, and give them tools for attacking the questions that they CAN answer.  It's important for the kids to understand that even if questions 1 and 2 look impossible, question 3 might be something you know.  So don't get bogged down.  It's stuff that seems intuitive to adults, but children who are not accustomed to feeling successful don't automatically have these "habits of mind," if you will.\n\nI say, take some portion of the day or week to do test prep.  Help the kids make the connection between the engaging, hands-on stuff and the test questions.  It's really the only way to raise scores.
158343
I think that it a good idea in theory since it encourages reading by aiming to make all children reading literate by 2014. However, I do think that this puts alot of pressure on the school systems. Some children (even if they receive special education) may not be able to successfully pass the exams for reading since many do not grade on an improvement basis but rather a pass/fail. To have every child reading is noteworthy and admirable but this Act might face a great deal of difficulty in actually being accomplished although I hope that this Act will at least achieve the purpose of helping many more children be able to read. Good question and I hope that my opinion helps.
376828
I totally agree! We have massive problems in our school district. My children are fortunate enough to have a parent who is involved with their school. PK-5 these children are taught ridiculous ways of working their Math. Most of the questions are in the same format, so they memorize the formula. But if you ask them, "What is 100 divided by 5?" they cannot give you an answer. Our schools focus on TAKS tests, and this is what is coached all year. My 10 year old says "This is a waste of my time" they are not provided with any art classes, or recess (they do have PE), they are getting burned out by 4th grade. sorry for rambling.
243232
One has to keep in mind that NCLB requires a science assessment, so it depends on what you meant by "should". If the state wants to be in compliance with Federal rules, they "should" test students in science. If, on the other hand, you intended to inquire about the merits of testing science in the PSSA's, one has to consider the value that the assessment will bring to the student. Testing, in general, is a means to measure performance. In this case, a science assessment will provide a measurement of how well PA schools are teaching science. Is science an important skill that students should be able to master? In global comparisons of performance, the US ranks far below other countries. If these rankings have tangible merit, it would seem to imply that US students are not learning as much about science concepts as their counterparts in, say,  India or Japan. Collectively this may eventually create a vacuum whereby the speed of innovation and progress begins to degrade in the US (as compared to other countries or, historically, in the US of the past century). If science test scores depict poor performance across the state or even in individual districts or schools, then it would be a wake-up call for local units to increase emphasis on necessary science concepts. The results from such a test would also allow individual schools to focus on areas of weakness.\nIt is also important to remember that state-wide testing (like the PSSA) is only one piece of the entire assessment puzzle. Local assessments and classroom observations are just as critical in determining individual student performance.\nWhile success in one content area may very well lead to success in another content area (skills learned in one help to build skills in another -for example, if you can't read you can't very well read your science text book), there are distinct differences that an assessment in one content area simply cannot translate to another. For example, if a student can successfully respond to "1+1=__", that does not tell you that they can respond to "Name the colors of the rainbow" or "Why does copper turn green over time?" [You don't even need to know English to respond to the hypothetical math question.] \nI copied a link to a page on the PDE website that has samplers of the types of questions that might appear on a future PSSA science assessment. I found it quite interesting. The link to the science samplers is about 2/3rds of the way down the page.
424630
It's actually called "No Child Left Behind" or NCLB.  It's the bush administration's attempt at taking the control for education out of the states' hands.  It involves lots and lots of testing as well as many firey hoops that educators must jump through while teaching students how to take standardized tests.  All while giving no addtion federal funding to the states.
1071706
a good site would be nclb.tutors, it has really helped my son.
802131
I second the opinion of the second poster.  Keystone National High School is an excellent school.  My son has taken several courses through the school and plans to graduate from it.  Keystone is completely non-religious, which was my most important reason for choosing it.
681579
I agree, and the school issues you mention are one of many reasons I plan to homeschool.\n\nscary link.
472325
I think these days, teachers are being forced to "teach towards the test" only.  In my state specifically, being an intellectually well-rounded student means nothing as long as your state test scores look good.  Previously, students were learning to successfully function in society, as well as to do well on tests, but the inverse seems to be in practice today.  No one is teaching courtesy, chivalry, or common sense to kids these days, which I think are imperative to becoming good citizens.  Teachers, in my opinion, are really getting a raw deal now.  Reproaching students by calling parents or punishing them doesn't seem to be working either.  OK, getting back to the teaching topic... one excellent teaching technique is to become as personable with students as possible.  That, in turn, will give students an initiative to learn.  I have had some horrible experiences with teachers that just don't care and have expressed this to students.  I definitely think that teachers these days are on the defensive and this a stark contrast from 20 years ago when the teacher acted more like a second mother to students than a disciplinarian only.