tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post8536702456791372930..comments2024-03-27T08:53:29.267-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: The Charter Knives Come OutPeter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-71816046907833670122015-10-31T13:04:01.111-04:002015-10-31T13:04:01.111-04:00Just a cautionary note - you appear to be falling ...Just a cautionary note - you appear to be falling into the same error in interpreting "days of learning" that Jersey Jazzman warns about. See his Exchange on Charter Schools part 4. They really are not equivalent to calendar days.<br /><br />" The implication Mehlhorn makes here – one that, admittedly, is logical for a layperson – is that the “days of learning” gains translate into additional content. But that can’t possibly be right, because the tests used to judge the “days of learning” do not assess students’ abilities in any content beyond their current grade level.<br /><br />To illustrate, let’s use the Common Core standards in math for grade 6. If a student was “a year ahead,” we’d expect that student would be learning content for grade 7. One of the standards in grade 7 math is for students to calculate the circumference of a circle given its diameter. It’s possible a sixth grader knows how to do this… but we’ll never know from the test, because the grade 6 test, if it’s aligned to the standards, doesn’t test grade 7 material. So the grade 6 test won’t ask a student to calculate the circumference, and we won’t know if she can."<br /><br />It's not a big deal, but be careful with that particular statistic.Bill Whittenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13949827122153876200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-37918602695113248942015-10-31T12:44:08.898-04:002015-10-31T12:44:08.898-04:00As I said in an earlier post, the rural school I t...As I said in an earlier post, the rural school I taught in that had a graduating class of 30 didn't seem to have a problem with that. They had 9 periods a day but no one ever seemed to run out of classes to take, though they had to allow very small classes for things like calculus and 4th year foreign language, and had to be creative about finding teachers for some of the classes who were licensed in two areas.<br /><br />Another solution is what we did at my high school, which was to have what was called a "quest" program where a gifted student was given a textbook and worked on their own, checking in occasionally with a teacher. More or less like an online class, but costs a lot less.<br /><br />Online courses don't work very well for a lot of secondary students, but sure, for a highly-motivated, high-achieving student who can teach him or herself, it can work. <br /><br /> Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-78264122218215374972015-10-31T10:54:04.284-04:002015-10-31T10:54:04.284-04:00Somebody explain to me why blended curriculums are...Somebody explain to me why blended curriculums are a huge advantage to students except that if students have to do the BS test on the computer, let's get them used to working on the computer.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03544213160574214282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-28690035537481172862015-10-30T19:24:19.509-04:002015-10-30T19:24:19.509-04:00 I think that online schools are largely a mistake... I think that online schools are largely a mistake, but might make sense in very remote settings. Online classes, however, are an important for students in rural schools. In rural states like mine, where the median high school has about 260 students, the academically gifted student will run out of academic classes long before high school graduation.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-73070499305445294842015-10-30T16:48:30.395-04:002015-10-30T16:48:30.395-04:00Next up: independent charters.Next up: independent charters.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04996620109892561477noreply@blogger.com