Bill Dooley of Kenny wrote:
> "......Students should be tested at grade level when they
> move into the Minneapolis school
> system and should be held back or placed in the proper grade,
> regardless of age, based on how they test. I gather from the article
> that those who started their Minneapolis schooling in the early
> grades have a significantly better chance of graduating on time."
I think that Mr. Dooley made a very reasonable suggestion:
Determine the level of instruction appropriate for a student.
Then Lynnell Mickelsen wrote:
> For example, in Minneapolis, we get kids who are 14 or
> 15-years old who test at about a 4th or 5th grade level. Do you
> think parents want their sweet-little ten-year-olds sharing a table
> or locker with a hulking, hormonally-driven 15-year-old who is four
> years behind and pissed as hell that he has to be with these little
> kids? (Or maybe he's thrilled to be around little kids because he has
> more power. That's even worse.)
Ms. Mickelsen points out that assigning students to the appropriate
instructional level is not a reasonable option in age structured grade,
level system. But, Ms. Mickelsen gives no indication as what
is done with students who do not test at grade level and proposes
no solutions to the problem. Are we to revert to social promotion,
a program that graduates students who cannot read, or should we
just encourage such students to drop out?
In keeping with my previous posts I have several suggestions.
I previous stated that grouping students by age rather
than by academic proficiency is not educationally efficient. We
could either change the entire system or we can set up special
schools for children who test three or more years below
grade level. Such schools could even be schools-within-schools.
Don't like my idea? Well, let's test it and see if it works.
I'd also like to comment on the Tribune article. First, be aware
that 50% failure to graduate rate is not the same as a 50% dropout
rate. It is the dropout rate that is most important. It indicates
failure, not a change of district or being held behind. No matter
how you look at the problem it shows that something is horribly
amiss in the Minneapolis schools. What does the district propose?
They want to form subgroups within schools of 150 students district
wide.
Now, as you might have guessed I have a couple of problems
with this. First and most importantly, one should never, and I mean
never, implement any program district wide without testing it,
along with an alternative program in a subset of schools first.
California repeatedly makes this mistake. They did it with Whole
Language and New-New Math, only to switch back to basics
in a few years. They've also done it with English immersion,
but it looks like it might turn out a little more successfully
than fuzzy math; we need to see the long term studies.
To be fair I am waiting on the MPS policy proposal in the mail,
so my comments may be premature, but always pilot test, market test,
and prototype before making system wide changes. Colleges of
Education have whole divisions dedicated to, and a hundred years
of experience, testing, measuring, and evaluating programs.
What would you think if all of the hospitals in Mpls, at the same
time, decided to try yoga as a cancer treatment? Ok, it might
do some good, but it might also do harm. The idea being that
you test need procedures on a small scale, before implementing
them on a larger one.
So maybe groups of 150 students might provide more emotional
support, but I have my doubts. First of all, high school students
tend to be rather cliquish, so they may not be that supportive
for one other. Second, what I know about social psychology
and group dynamics would indicate that you need much smaller
groups to get good cohesion. I'd suggest that the schools
use "homerooms" with one teacher responsible for personal
contacts (I am assuming that there is at least a 50:1 ratio of
teachers to students). One way or the other, test it before
implementation.
Michael Atherton
Prospect Park
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