Audrey Johnson MPS BOE wrote: > Minneapolis did vote on levies to keep class sizes small, and the sizes > promised at the elementary level are being held to that level. At the > secondary levels, there are over enrolled classes. So what's happening? > The official count of students happens, by state mandate, early in October. > The class sizes change in high school, partially due to late enrollment, > partially due to course changes, and other factors come into play. As you > all know, the public schools accept everyone, and there are students who > arrive at various times throughout the year. The Board is aware of this, > in our role of monitoring the district, we asked for an update on class > sizes at the high schools at a recent discussion meeting (that are always > open to the public). The high schools are now working to lower those > classes that are over enrolled.
If people wonder why the schools fail to improve year-after-year here is the answer: Administrators (and school board members) retry impotent solutions over and over again. They don't know the research results and they don't test their own programs. Why do they do this? Because, they have philosophical beliefs about education that do not match reality. It's as if they believe that if you pound a square block into a round hole long enough eventually it will go in. But it hasn't gone in and the schools haven't gotten any better and are unlikely to as long as these people remain recalcitrantly ignorant. I've argued for sometime that lowering class size has little effect (for the cost) on student achievement. No one has been able to show strong evidence to the contrary and yet Johnson and Kosnoff write posts suggesting that the problem with the schools is large class sizes. NOW there's a review article in a respected national science magazine which supports my position. So I post the reference so that these people can become educated on the topic and what happens? They post the same "Regressive" rhetoric without even mentioning the research or trying to refute it. Hirsch is right it's got to be a religious kinda of thing; evidence cannot counter ignorance, blind faith, or irrationality. It's our children and their future, let's get it right. Michael Atherton Prospect Park PS: If these guys keep this up, I'll be forced to run for school board myself next year and then things will really get UGLY. Don't make me do this! So please Denny, let's initiate some real solutions and stop screwing around (there's only four more years before my son reaches school age). _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
