Why do non-magnet HS impede academic achievement?

[Anonymous]

Why do non magnet HS admin steer students away from the highest academic options *that are available at the school* that would give them an opportunity to excel at a level comparable to magnet school?

Why do they routee everyone through the same 0-knowledge prereqs instead of offering placement evaluations so kids have time for more electives or advanced classes?

I'm sure that the county admin do this because they want to solve equity by cutting off the high achievemers of the wrong colors.
But what about school admin?

Don't they have any pride in seeing their students succeed?

[Anonymous]

I have one kid in a magnet and one kid in our home school. Kid in home school was channeled into higher level classes than I thought kid could handle. I asked to have kid dropped down to on-level class in one subject and was told kid should stay in advanced class because starting the following year, the school wasn’t even going to offer the on-level version. We’re not having the experience you’re describing, and we’re a race that I’m guessing you think schools are trying to impede.

[Anonymous]

No idea what your actual question is OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have one kid in a magnet and one kid in our home school. Kid in home school was channeled into higher level classes than I thought kid could handle. I asked to have kid dropped down to on-level class in one subject and was told kid should stay in advanced class because starting the following year, the school wasn’t even going to offer the on-level version. We’re not having the experience you’re describing, and we’re a race that I’m guessing you think schools are trying to impede.

Yeah, I think our HS is the opposite, too.

My kid says lots of students get talked into taking IB classes, and they’re not really prepared for the workload, or they don’t have the foundational skills to succeed without a huge struggle.

I’m not clear on what prerequisites OP thinks their kid should be able to skip, though? And what magnet programs allow students to skip foundational prerequisite classes entirely? I thought most simply compacted and accelerated the material, rather than skipping entire courses in the standard sequence.

[Anonymous]

Not at our HS. What HS are you referring to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do non magnet HS admin steer students away from the highest academic options *that are available at the school* that would give them an opportunity to excel at a level comparable to magnet school?

Why do they routee everyone through the same 0-knowledge prereqs instead of offering placement evaluations so kids have time for more electives or advanced classes?

I'm sure that the county admin do this because they want to solve equity by cutting off the high achievemers of the wrong colors.
But what about school admin?

Don't they have any pride in seeing their students succeed?

What do those placement evaluation look like, for how many classes should they exist, and when/where/who should administer them and evaluate?

Sure for math we could create a standard test bank of questions and administer for each course and those that past could move to the next level. But what about Science where the requirements should not just be rote knowledge but analysis, laboratory skills, research? What about Computer Science where it understanding of systems and ability to analyze and solve problems?

And now that the school system actually has paths for kids to be able to take college classes what other advancement do you really need them to provide?

[Anonymous]

Are you talking about Whitman or schools like that? Because in their experience a lot of the kids whose parents are pushing them into the classes can't handle them and bring it down for the rest of the people. I don't think there's a good way to differentiate between the ones that can and the ones who can't since all of them have As. I do agree with the point about why can't they test kids.

[Anonymous]

Maybe because the magnets and other application based programs exist for this purpose?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do non magnet HS admin steer students away from the highest academic options *that are available at the school* that would give them an opportunity to excel at a level comparable to magnet school?

Why do they routee everyone through the same 0-knowledge prereqs instead of offering placement evaluations so kids have time for more electives or advanced classes?

I'm sure that the county admin do this because they want to solve equity by cutting off the high achievemers of the wrong colors.
But what about school admin?

Don't they have any pride in seeing their students succeed?

What are 0-knowledge prereqs?

[Anonymous]

OP, the problem are not the high schools. The problem are middle schools. They do, in fact, impede academic achievement among the top 10-20%, especially in science, English and world languages. Math is not that bad and is the easiest the supplement.

[Anonymous]

Why would a HS offer a placement test when only one eve is offered, honors for all, in 9th and 10th grade? After that, students can sign up for AB and IB if they want. There is zero gatekeeping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe because the magnets and other application based programs exist for this purpose?

Covering, together, maybe a quarter of the population that would benefit from a more enriched/rigorous/advanced/accelerated approach? Then leaving the remaining three quarters to the decisions of local schools that clearly do not provide some reasonably equivalent programming to meet individuals where they are with any consistency across schools/administrations? Please

(DP)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would a HS offer a placement test when only one eve is offered, honors for all, in 9th and 10th grade? After that, students can sign up for AB and IB if they want. There is zero gatekeeping.

Try getting a French immersion student who has been exposed to the language for 9 years (and three periods during the last three of those) placed in something higher than level 4 as a freshman (where students having been in standard, one-period French 1, 2 & 3 in middle school also are placed).

I'm sure there are other examples of rigidity, local or across the board, where schools just don't make an effort to meet students where they are.

[Anonymous]

There is like 2 years where your high school resume matters in life and even then people overstate the difference they make. Yes you need to accelerate math for a handful of professions but after that all you’re showing is adherence to the rat race. Sad fact is a gentleman B student in all grade level classes from a family with resources will out achieve most students with limited resources no matter their academic excellence. Since will all know that the formula for success is multi faceted, I’ll never know why parents put so much pressure on students to excel on one aspect that really doesn’t offer significant reward. What’s the old joke, what do you call someone who graduated last in their class at a below avg medical school? Doctor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe because the magnets and other application based programs exist for this purpose?

Covering, together, maybe a quarter of the population that would benefit from a more enriched/rigorous/advanced/accelerated approach? Then leaving the remaining three quarters to the decisions of local schools that clearly do not provide some reasonably equivalent programming to meet individuals where they are with any consistency across schools/administrations? Please

(DP)

Have you explored all the options? Some are only really limited by ability to pass entry tests. If those program can only meet the needs of 25% of students it is because the other students can’t pass the test, which is exactly who shouldn’t be accelerated.

If you aren’t interested in those programs because you want your local HS to customize to you instead of leveraging a centrally administered opportunity, that seems like a you issue.