Highly Publicized Test Scores and AYP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You evaluate the school the same way you would evaluate a private school:

You observe classes taught by various teachers.
You examine the curriculum, the textbooks and the supplementary materials.
You ask questions about how teachers assess progress.
You ask questions about how administrators assess teachers.
Then you try it out and see if it works for your child.
Once you find the right school, the results will be determined by your child.

How do you know what to look at while examining the curriculum?
How do you know what is a good text book? I am not an early education expert.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

to 22:23 - thank you!

This is so helpful. I am a parent who is starting to evaluate schools for next years lottery. The way you stepped through the analytical process is incredubly helpful.
I have book marked your post so that I can apply similar analysis to schools I am considering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How do you know what to look at while examining the curriculum?
How do you know what is a good text book? I am not an early education expert.

Thanks

• I look for schools where teachers use authentic literature rather than relying solely on a language arts curriculum kit.
• I want to know that teachers are introducing some classical literature by reading it aloud.
• I look for a classroom library with books neatly displayed by genre so that students can read books of their choice
• I prefer teachers who develop their own units using a variety of sources, not just a single science or social studies textbook.
* I look for schools that work at integrating literature, music and art with social studies
• At the elementary level I like to see students introduced to both U.S. and world history beginning in first grade
• I want to know that students are being taught spelling, grammar, usage, style and sentence, paragraph and essay development
• I prefer the Saxon series for math, because it offers straightforward presentation of standard algorithms, introduces a single skill or process per lesson, and provides daily review of previous lessons throughout the year

These are my preferences. You may have different ideas of what you want for your child.

[Anonymous]

bump

[Anonymous]

why the bump? I participated in the previous thread and feel that the OP question was asked and answered. Happy to participate again if you can explain what your query is. . .. .