tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post5750783932041927305..comments2023-09-11T08:58:24.710-06:00Comments on Reach Upward: Beyond School ChoiceScott Hinrichshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-71624130119447817542008-03-10T08:57:00.000-06:002008-03-10T08:57:00.000-06:00There are many measures available that show where ...There are many measures available that show where Utah can improve curriculum and performance. As I have noted many times previously, in standardized testing Utah ranks about average nationally. But when considered with other states with similar demographics, Utah ranks dead last. We aren't doing as well as we could.<BR/><BR/>One measure is provided by <A HREF="http://www.achieve.org/node/337" REL="nofollow">Achieve, Inc.</A>. Achieve's American Diploma Project is admittedly skewed, since it focuses primarily on preparing students to achieve college degrees. Some measures shown in their <A HREF="http://www.achieve.org/files/Utah01-11-08.ppt" REL="nofollow">report for Utah</A> assume that drops in percentage of students attending college and students graduating with a four-year degree fail to consider the fact that due to a booming economy in the years measured, many people opted out of college to take advantage of other promising opportunities.<BR/><BR/>Still, as shown <A HREF="http://www.achieve.org/node/927" REL="nofollow">here</A> (Survey Results tab), Utah can do much better in aligning curriculum to properly prepare students for college and the workplace.<BR/><BR/>A couple of years ago the D-News published <A HREF="http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635210409,00.html" REL="nofollow">this article</A> that discusses the rigor of Utah's curriculum. In accordance with some of the issues discussed in the article, students that entered ninth grade this year have enhanced math and english requirements. This will bear fruit in a few years.<BR/><BR/>The point of my original post is that school choice alone won't cut it. Our policies are beginning to recognize rigor. There's still more to be done in this arena. We need to make sure that courses are relevant as well as rigorous. Properly preparing our teachers to instruct the more rigorous and relevant curriculum should be at the top of our list.Scott Hinrichshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-9850171192021500412008-03-08T10:03:00.000-07:002008-03-08T10:03:00.000-07:00I read it when it was released and see only the fo...I read it when it was released and see only the following statement related to actual curriculum standards:<BR/><BR/>"so most schools will adopt programs of whole language and fuzzy math. . . . Most students under a pure choice regime will know very little about history or literature or science."<BR/><BR/>But this is little more than an opinion - an unsupported assertion, perhaps.<BR/><BR/>Our state core standards include history, literature, and science objectives, as well as phonemic awareness and computation-based knowledge.<BR/><BR/>I remain unclear as to how our Utah state core does not reflect a "rigorous, content-based curriculum." Are you perhaps suggesting we should adopt Mr. Hirsch's Core Knowledge statewide? What should I ask the State Board of Education to change?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08721451515620294057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-59244331569110222242008-03-07T14:25:00.000-07:002008-03-07T14:25:00.000-07:00Read Stern's entire article. That should give you...Read Stern's entire article. That should give you a clue.Scott Hinrichshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-10760945894982674842008-03-07T08:22:00.000-07:002008-03-07T08:22:00.000-07:00Please explain "rigorous, content-based curriculum...Please explain "rigorous, content-based curriculum" and how our standards do not reflect this.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08721451515620294057noreply@blogger.com