{"id":9087,"date":"2012-06-01T09:27:03","date_gmt":"2012-06-01T14:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=9087"},"modified":"2012-06-01T09:27:03","modified_gmt":"2012-06-01T14:27:03","slug":"education-of-our-youth-is-about-learning-not-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2012\/06\/education-of-our-youth-is-about-learning-not-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Of Our Youth Is About Learning, Not Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Les Cochran<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Les Cochran candidate for the Lee County School Board, District 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The latest FCAT debacle demonstrates Tallahassee\u2019s obsession with testing and the extent to which they\u2019ve lost sight of the main purpose of education\u2014LEARNING!\u00a0 They temporarily lowered cutoff scores to raise success rates.\u00a0 What sense does that make?\u00a0 They increased standards only to find out that we don\u2019t teach grammar, punctuation and spelling.\u00a0 What happened to the basics?\u00a0 We teach fractions; yet, students can\u2019t measure 4\u20192\u201d or make change.\u00a0 Where\u2019s the logic?<\/p>\n

Prominent educator Diane Ravitch said in her 2010 book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, <\/em>that testing is one of the most divisive forces in American education.\u00a0 It \u201cmakes no sense,\u201d she said, \u201cwhen it undermines the larger goals of education\u201d (learning).\u00a0 It\u2019s the responsibility of school districts to provide the best possible learning environment for all students to learn the prescribed content.\u00a0 Testing should follow the curriculum not vice versa.<\/p>\n

Focusing on the learning environment requires local officials to explore all means to ensure the best possible outcomes.\u00a0 This starts by asking, does the school district devote a higher percentage of its budget to instruction than the state average?\u00a0 In the case of Lee County the answer is no.\u00a0 The district allocates 57% to instruction while the state average is 65%.\u00a0 That 8% translates into $60 million.\u00a0 If we reallocated just $30 million to our elementary schools, think what we could accomplish.<\/p>\n

We could agree that it makes no sense to have ten-year olds getting up at 5 o\u2019clock to reach school by 7:55.\u00a0 Shortening bus routes could make the system more \u201cstudent friendly\u201d and eliminate at least one hour per day on the bus.\u00a0 That hour could add more instructional time, ending the school day at 3:00 instead of 2:00.\u00a0 It would cost $23 million, not counting cost savings resulting from less time on the bus.\u00a0 An hour more of learning and an hour less of busing sounds like a pretty good tradeoff.<\/p>\n

We could add a \u201cStudent Enrichment Hour\u201d from 3:00 to 4:00 for elementary students at an estimated cost of $5 million.\u00a0 This is a time when the thousand-member Literacy Council could lend a helping hand.\u00a0 Parents and civic groups could become more engaged.\u00a0 College interns, paraprofessionals and other volunteers could help underperforming students learn the basics, move average student achievement levels higher and provide new challenges for the brightest.\u00a0 It\u2019s a winner for both students and working parents.<\/p>\n

The remaining $2 million could be invested in our \u201cC-rated\u201d elementary schools.\u00a0 While we\u2019re proud that Sanibel Elementary is #1 in the state, little is said about our schools that rank 1672, 1462, 1455, 1410, 1363 and 1354 out of state\u2019s 1750 elementary schools.\u00a0 We need to establish incentives to encourage outstanding teachers and principals to work in these schools.\u00a0 We need to invest more in proven instructional programs and ensure that these facilities stimulate the highest level of learning.<\/p>\n

Changes can be made without adding costs.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t cost more money to raise academic and behavioral standards.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t cost a cent to empower teachers to teach beyond the test or to encourage them to use their creativity in pushing students to new heights.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s much, too, that can be learned from outstanding charter schools.\u00a0 The KIPP Academy in the South Bronx, for example, is noted for its learning environment where students learn to speak politely to principals, teachers and others.\u00a0 They learn how to dress neatly, be on time, finish assignments and do their homework.<\/p>\n

Ending social promotion sends another message.\u00a0 Using third-grade passing scores as the minimum tells parents that if their child cannot read, write, speak and compute at grade level, he\/she will NOT pass.\u00a0 The trickle-down application means that underprepared pre-K students, kindergarteners, and first and second graders wouldn\u2019t progress to the next level.\u00a0 While the ego of some parents may be initially damaged, they\u2019ll quickly understand that they have a shared responsibility in helping their child succeed.<\/p>\n

Finally, we must make these changes within the framework of equal opportunity ensuring that every elementary student has a choice to select an \u201cA or B-rated\u201d school.\u00a0 Through efforts of this type the school district can shape a new future rather than being shaped by the past!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Note:<\/p>\n

Dr. Cochran served as public educator for 38 years, teaching in the Detroit Public Schools and retiring as president of Youngstown State University in 2000.\u00a0 He is currently a candidate for the Lee County School Board, District 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Les Cochran The latest FCAT debacle demonstrates Tallahassee\u2019s obsession with testing and the extent to which they\u2019ve lost sight of the main purpose of education\u2014LEARNING!\u00a0 They temporarily lowered cutoff scores… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,61],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9087"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9087\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}