Issues of Education

USA Today has an article on the increasing use of a gap year for high school graduates. A gap year occurs when a high school graduate takes a year off before entering college. Frequently, the students will travel or do volunteer or service work. Gap years have been used for many years in other parts of the world, but increasingly, those in the U.S. are benefiting from the practice.

There are now many programs available specifically designed for gap years. These programs allow the student to have a productive and fun year.

Some suggestions for a having a successful gap year:

1) Receive your college acceptance first so that you aren’t spending the gap year completing college applications.

2) Determine what you hope to accomplish during this time. A gap year sitting around watching television isn’t likely to be very beneficial.

3) Research the gap year programs completely.

4) Maintain friendships and make sure you make new friends.

5) Make sure that your insurance needs are maintained, particularly health and auto.

Princeton University is formalizing a “bridge year” program for admitted students to complete service work abroad before enrolling. Other high schools, colleges and private organizations have similar programs.

One benefit of participating in a gap year is that the students come back to school with “enhanced focus, motivation and maturity — all of which bodes well for their undergraduate years in college.”

“Counselors are recognizing that there are many pathways to college,” says David Hawkins, director of public policy and research at the National Association for College Admission Counseling. “They see that, if properly vetted, these opportunities could actually help students succeed in college.”

It is suggested that the student participating in the gap year develop structure and a plan to get through the year. “Most people need structure,” Bull says. “Parents come to me halfway through a child’s gap year and say, ‘It’s sort of falling apart here. We need more ideas or more structure.’ So structure is important.”

But, gappers from the United States and around the world also suggest that “they also say they grew most when they had to live by their wits.”

Source: USA Today

One school in Ocean City, Maryland has achieved what many think is improbable: 100% proficiency in reading and math proficiency as mandated by No Child Left Behind, although they’ve done it seven years early. In 2007, “184 students in the third and fourth grades at Ocean City Elementary School passed the Maryland School Assessment, or MSA, a battery of tests given by the state every year since 2003 to satisfy the law.” It is the first school in the state to reach this achievement other than a smattering of very small schools around the state.

In Viriginia, four schools have attained 100 percent proficiency on the Standards of Learning exams, that state’s measure of achievement under No Child Left Behind. “One was Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a magnet school that serves many of the brightest students in Northern Virginia. The others: a pair of magnet schools in Virginia Beach and a small alternative high school in Richmond.”

Most areas fall short in achieving 100% due to students in special education programs. “Some education leaders have said the No Child Left Behind law’s mandate is inflexible and unrealistic, particularly with regard to disadvantaged students. Much of the education community assumes the goal of 100 percent proficiency will be relaxed or abandoned well before the 2014 deadline.”

Ocean City Elementary

This school has 568 students who live in a coastal resort town with 89% white, 5% Hispanic, 3% black, 2% Asian and 1% American Indian. One hundred thirty four qualify for subsidized meals due to low income and twenty-nine students have limited English proficiency. Principal Irene Kordick wanted to change how she was educated, in the slums of Cleveland, and encourage the students to talk and discuss topics.

Her policy, Ask and Answer, abolished the typical classroom practice of having the teacher ask questions, students raising their hands and then having the teacher pick on one student to answer the question. Ask and Answer requires that a teacher ask a question and students pair off and answer the question between themselves. Another school rule is that all students must speak in complete sentences.

“It is an approach so distinctive, said parent Kim Holloway, that when students from Ocean City go on to other schools in the Worcester County system, “you can pick them out, one by one. They’re attentive, they’re respectful.”

In addition, small classes, with fewer than 20 students, county-funded pre-k program and regular assessments against the state standards allow the school to focus attention on improving school and student achievement.

Kordick believes that it is the practice of getting the children to speak is what is learding to success on the MSA. “In addition to attaining 100 percent proficiency last year, the school ranked first in Maryland for the percentage of students rated “advanced” — the highest of three performance levels, a step above proficient. Seventy-two percent of Ocean City students rated “advanced.”

Now the school is waiting for the results of its 2008 testing to see if it can continue its achievement.

Source: Washington Post

A review carried out at the University of Wales, Swansea and published in the May issue of the journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition reports that food is not a major cause of hyperactivity in children. “Genetics, brain function and parental actions such as smoking may be just as important.” This review found that only a small number of children were affected by what they ate. They looked at table sugar where no adverse effects were seen in those children who ingested it.

“ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) has a strong genetic link, with half the children born of parents with diagnosed ADHD likely to develop the disorder themselves. Chemical imbalances in the brain are also involved and studies have found that children with the condition have on average 4% smaller brains. Genes may interact with environmental toxins such as alcohol in the womb, lead, and parental smoking to cause later problems with attention span.”

Professor David Benton carried out the study and said that sugar is not related to behavior changes in children. He does say that “foods like wheat and dairy can often cause food intolerance in children, but this is a completely different reaction of the immune system.”

Source: EurekaAlert.org

I wanted to comment that I noticed no comment in this article on the effects of food additives such as dyes and preservatives and their effect on children. Having a child who does react behaviorally to food dyes and knowing other children that do also I know for some of us it is a real problem. Eliminating the dyes solved the problem in my case but how many children are being medicated who might have fewer behavior problems by doing a food elimination diet under the care of a doctor.

Kaola Sapienza, a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, examined the results of boys and girls on the Program for International Student Assessment which is given to 15 year olds around the world every three years. These results are published in Science.

The results found that “boys outperform girls on a math test given to children worldwide, but the gender gap is less pronounced in countries where women and men have similar rights and opportunities, according to a study published Thursday.” Over the years, this math gender gap has been debated with some thinking that biology is behind the higher scores for boys and others pointing to environmental and cultural factors.

Iceland was the only country where girls performed better than boys on the math test but there were about 12 countries were both genders scored about the same.  In those countries men and women have very similar opportunities and rights. In order to assess gender equality, “Sapienza looked at several measures, including the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index, which considers economic, educational and political opportunities for women.”

In several countries, including Indonesia and Thailand, girls don’t have the same opportunities as boys but they did score similarly on the test. Also, in other countries, there is gender equality but where  a girl-boy math gap exists anyway. The study did not attempt to explain such anomalies.

“In reading, girls outperformed boys on the PISA exam in every country studied. That gap does not shrink but widens in places where women are said to have a lot of equality with men. The math gap disappears, and the reading gap becomes even bigger,” Sapienza said.”

Source: Associated Press

Researchers from The University of Chicago has found that classes that are designed to improve ACT test results are not helping students. Actually, the research has found that the more schools do to prep during class, the worse the students do on the test.

“Across the board, scores were lower in schools that emphasized more ACT prep,” said Elaine Allensworth, lead author of the report by the University of Chicago’s Consortium on Chicago School Research. “They are spending all this time and energy on work that doesn’t help their scores.”

What researchers said was more important was actually “teaching college-level skills throughout high school.” What schools were doing instead was spending time to teach test-taking skills, practice tests and going over test questions. The time that should have been spent on teaching a strong high school and college level material that will be covered on the test.

“The emphasis on test prep is so strong that more than 8 of 10 students surveyed by the consortium believed scores were primarily determined by test-taking skills, “a misconception widely shared by their teachers.” Good grades, not test prep, are the strongest predictor of success on the test, the researchers said.”

It has been found that after school and week-end practice sessions can be found to be helpful to improve test results.

“But that was another misconception that researchers found was widely held among educators and students. While taking one timed practice exam indeed can boost scores slightly, taking additional practice tests is generally not helpful, the report said.”

Those schools who spent 40% of class time on test prep scored as follows:

English: 17.8
Math: 17.9
Reading: 17.7
Science: 17.9

Schools who spent about 20% of class time:

English: 18.2
Math: 18.1
Reading: 18.3
Science: 18.1

Source: “From High School to the Future: ACT Preparation — Too Much, Too Late.” Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago

Source: Sun Times

In July 2009 the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) which is made by the Educational Testing Service is introducing the “Personal Potential Index” which is designed to “measure skills like communication, organization, and integrity.”

Professors and supervisors will be required to spend about 15 minutes to evaluate students on a scale of 1-5 in six areas: knowledge and creativity, communication skills, teamwork, planning and organization, ethics and integrity, and resilience. This index is optional but will be bundled with the rest of the test. The cost of the exam will also increase from about $140 to $150 -$160.

Source: US News

Wake Forest University is one of several universities that is not requiring applicants to take the SAT and ACT exams. Officials have said that the “scores are not the best predictor of academic potential.” Other colleges have dropped the requirements but most are not highly selective. “Wake Forest said it was the first of the top 30 schools in the annual U.S. News & World Report college rankings to drop the tests.”

The schools new focus will be on diversifying the student population and want to increase focus on personal interviews, academics and extracurricular activities. Students can still have their test scores considered if they want.

“We in admissions have put up a barrier to these students to say all of your hard work and all of your academic achievement is being negated by one test, and we don’t feel like that is fair,” Allman said. “And it’s not fair, especially if the studies are showing it’s not a good predictor.”

Independent college admissions consultant Steven Roy Goodman said it is unlikely that most highly selective colleges will stop using standardized tests. “As much as many people in the university world support the movement toward optional testing, it’s very difficult to assess the quality of courses in high schools around the country and around the world, and to reconcile the different grading systems, and to take into account the grade inflation that we’ve seen in many schools throughout the United States,” he said.”

Source: Associated Press

The NY Times website has some audio clips of a variety of people from different perspectives talking about how ADHD affects their lives. Children, parents and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder share their experiences.

Check it out.

A PhD student from the University of Alberta, Lindsey Leenaars, completed a “study that assessed what types of high school students are being indirectly victimized.”

“Leenaars found the females who viewed themselves as attractive had a 35 per cent increased chance of being indirectly victimized. Conversely, for males who perceived themselves as good looking, their risk of being bullied decreased by 25 per cent. Leenaars also found older teens (aged 16?18) were at a 35 per cent increased risk of being victimized if they were sexually active.”

Source: Eurekalert.com

Preliminary findings from a North Carolina study have found that sharing might help children become better at math. The goal of this study was to asses “third- to eighth-grade students’ understanding of how to solve problems that use fractions and ratios and build on the knowledge of multiplication and division, known as rational number reasoning.”

“The very earliest math capabilities exhibited by children is the ability to split between two people or share a group of objects, says Dr. Jere Confrey, Joseph D. Moore Distinguished Professor of Mathematics Education at NC State. “Kids are very sensitive to the notion of ‘fair shares’ and are very adept at making sure the shares come out even,” she says. “That’s an early characteristic that should be much more heavily leveraged in early education. ”

So, because children are always interested in being “fair” at very young ages, introducing fractions, division and ratio might be able to be introduced much earlier than 3rd or 4th grade, which is typically done now. Success in advance math classes in high school and college might be improved.

“Teachers have this whole counting mentality that says you always teach the ones, then twos, then threes, etc. in that order,” Maloney says. “But that’s not necessarily the case with splitting. So one of the implications of this is that when teachers teach multiplication, they should think about it in terms of splitting, not counting. They should teach the twos as doubles, and then the fours as doubles of twos, and then eights and then 10 - and then five as half of 10. Then you can go back and pick up the threes, the sixes, the nines, and finally the sevens. This also holds true for division. This approach builds relationships within multiplication and division, rather than only memorization.”

When this research is completed and published it will be interesting what suggestions the researchers can make in regards to teaching mathematics to our students.

Source: PHysorg.com