[tips] Re: Spellings Releases Plan for Higher Ed

[Michael Scoles]

"Effective principles" most likely refers to choice and accountability.   "Privacy protected" means that in making academic results transparent, aggregate data from subgroups that include a small number of students (in Arkansas, 10) are not reported.   I have trouble with "students as customers" if by that, we mean providing entertainment rather than education or keeping them happy with "A"s, regardless of their performance.  If it means giving them what they supposedly paid for, I don't have a problem with it.   Lies, damned lies, and statistics are hard to distinguish by the statistically challenged.  A reason for having statistics classes as part of the curriculum is to sharpen the quantitative aspects of critical thinking.   And, speaking of statistics, maybe the following examples would give an indication of what Secretary Spellings is talking about:        1) Most students in my undergraduate statistics class has had some college-level math class.  On their first exam, which I had them take without a calculator, over one-fourth of them could not get the mean of 4 numbers, because the sum was 26!  (Five of them said 6.2, and one admitted that she new it was a little over 6, but didn't know what to do with the, "2 that was left over.")        2) Same statistics class - I was using the 3-4-5 right triangle example to illustrate the Pythagorean theorem.  When we got to "c-squared is 25, so c is 5," one girl was stunned.  "How did you get the 5?"  It took a minute, but I finally realized that she didn't know the relationship between squared values and square roots.        3) While discussing (2) with a colleague, he said that something very basic is missing in math education.  I reminded him that he taught research methods, and asked about the writing ability of students in that class.  Those students have had *two* semesters of college writing.  He got the point.       4) That's two "R"s down, one to go.  He also teaches General Psychology.  They can't read either.   Something is wrong, and ignoring it in higher ed won't work anymore than it has in K-12.  But then, I'm an advocate for charter schools, so my opinion is suspect.           Michael T. Scoles, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology & Counseling University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR 72035 >>> "Annette Taylor, Ph. D." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 9/26/2006 11:33 AM >>> I'm just tossing out a couple of sentences, granted out of context,  but I believe they need no context, to ask the question: do we really  want this in higher ed? "Expanding the ?effective principles? of No Child Left Behind to high  schools..." (the quotation marks inside the quotation are originally  there) "Building a national framework that provides ?the same kind of  *privacy-protected* student-level data we already have for K through  12 students,? (I added the emphasis for privacy-protected as a I  question this deeply) After a discussion of potential increases in need-based student aid,  "his  [Bush's] 2007 budget request called for keeping the size of the  maximum grant flat...." (hmm, there's evidence of a committment!) Quoting a statement made by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings  ?good for them as they get more customers..." (here with go again with  'students' are 'customers'--how this language changes the face of  education is not mentioned) And, of course, there are no specific details of how this outcomes  assessment is to be carried out, either (a) allowing government to  legislate it ???--we know how well they understand the higher ed  enterprise; or (b) allowing individual schools to come up with their  own schemes--well, if there are lies, damned lies and statistics, then  I guess we are home free! Annette Quoting Richard Hake <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Education Secretary Margaret Spellings plans a many faceted campaign to > carry out the recommendations of her Commission on the Future of Higher > Education, including providing matching funds to colleges and states > that collect and publicly report how well their students learn, > building a "privacy protected" database of college students' academic > records, and streamlining the process of applying for federal student > aid. > > Those are among a small number of specific efforts that Spellings will > announce in a speech today in which she will endorse the panel's work > and challenge college leaders, policy makers and the public to help > improve an American higher education system that she describes as > slipping. > > The full article is available on the Inside Higher Ed Web site, at > <http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/09/26/spellings>. > > For background on the Spellings Commission, you can find all of IHE's > extensive coverage of the panel and its work at > <http://insidehighered.com/news/focus/commission> > > --- > To make changes to your subscription go to: > http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph. D. Professor of Psychology University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 619-260-4006 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english