Are D.C. area private schools up to the task regarding our globally challenged students?

[Anonymous]

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG11-03_GloballyChallenged.pdf

[Anonymous]

Why no -- it would be impossible for DC's private schools to raise the percentage of kids nationwide who achieve proficiency in math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why no -- it would be impossible for DC's private schools to raise the percentage of kids nationwide who achieve proficiency in math.

Well it's still a great question original poster posed - even for those kids who are actually attending the private schools in DC. Does the teaching faculty in private schools vary that significantly in skillsets from the public schools? Does the curriculum in math vary at all from the public school one? Is computer science a required component for high school students in private schools just like foreign languages or social sciences?

[Anonymous]

At which point it would be a question (or series of questions) to ask about individual schools rather than "DC area private schools."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At which point it would be a question (or series of questions) to ask about individual schools rather than "DC area private schools."

other than the students - are there really any differences in the answers to the 3 questions above for the top 10 or top 20 dc area private schools?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I think so.

Not all schools require (or even offer) computer science courses (assuming by that we mean programming).

Some (e.g. GDS and Sidwell) have a couple of years of mathematics beyond Calc BC, but that's the exception rather than the rule.

Some have math specialists in ES rather than leave math instruction to the regular classroom teachers.

Some begin to differentiate before Algebra; others don't.

Some have a more traditionalist math curriculum than others (I'd have said most were constructivist, but I really only looked at a handful of close-in schools and focused on those that went through HS, so I've got no basis for opining on "top 20 DC area" schools and suspect that which schools fall in that category might vary greatly from poster to poster).

The best seem to be continually evaluating and tweaking their math curriculum. Don't know if that's the norm.

[Anonymous]

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/14/10/38709418.pdf provides examples of the kinds of questions (and the grading rubric) on the exam used to compare math proficiency worldwide. It's designed for 15 year olds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I think so.

Not all schools require (or even offer) computer science courses (assuming by that we mean programming).

Some (e.g. GDS and Sidwell) have a couple of years of mathematics beyond Calc BC, but that's the exception rather than the rule.

Some have math specialists in ES rather than leave math instruction to the regular classroom teachers.

Some begin to differentiate before Algebra; others don't.

Some have a more traditionalist math curriculum than others (I'd have said most were constructivist, but I really only looked at a handful of close-in schools and focused on those that went through HS, so I've got no basis for opining on "top 20 DC area" schools and suspect that which schools fall in that category might vary greatly from poster to poster).

The best seem to be continually evaluating and tweaking their math curriculum. Don't know if that's the norm.

It's a good set of comments - thanks for taking it seriously. But does this list differ from mcps or fairfax schools? Really, most of the large high schools would have post-bc calculus or at least cross-registration options in a community college for that; and the rest is par for the course even in public schools - so nothing in this list says that dc private schools are really getting the kids who go there further along the global competition sweepstakes (which is a distressing to us, because we'd like our kids to go to the most academically rigourous schools but none of the dc privates including the one our kids go to could hold a candle to the best schools in beijing, tapei, etc... - example: the best privates in the capital city of the USA should compete favourably in perfect math scores on the AMC8 with the number from your average down-thre-street private shool in tapie, no? But the taiwanese have as many perfect scores as the entntire USA does. Why is that?

[Anonymous]

Perhaps because very few Americans define a good education as one that produces the highest rate of perfect scores in math competitions? Nor is it clear that the number of perfect scores in math competitions correlates with global economic competitiveness. The study posted here is really about what the average kid/future worker in a country can do, which is why the question, as originally posed, was so silly. That's before we get to the question of whether jobs get exported from the US to other countries because their workforces are better educated vs. cheaper.

Personally, I don't covet schools in Beijing or Taipei. Or think my kid will be doomed by virtue of the fact that her local private has a different understanding of academic rigor/challenge. And I'd actively resist attempts to remake DC's school in their image.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps because very few Americans define a good education as one that produces the highest rate of perfect scores in math competitions? Nor is it clear that the number of perfect scores in math competitions correlates with global economic competitiveness. The study posted here is really about what the average kid/future worker in a country can do, which is why the question, as originally posed, was so silly. That's before we get to the question of whether jobs get exported from the US to other countries because their workforces are better educated vs. cheaper.

Personally, I don't covet schools in Beijing or Taipei. Or think my kid will be doomed by virtue of the fact that her local private has a different understanding of academic rigor/challenge. And I'd actively resist attempts to remake DC's school in their image.

Unfortunately, this poster will be long dead to witness her children and grandchildren being worse off than her generation! True, some are witnessing it now while alive.

[Anonymous]

I do think our children and grandchildren will be worse off than we are. But it's not because of math scores. I think that our elementary/secondary educational system sucks right now, but I'd rather see us emulate some place like Finland than like China.

[Anonymous]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/opinion/16kristof.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I think so.

Not all schools require (or even offer) computer science courses (assuming by that we mean programming).

Some (e.g. GDS and Sidwell) have a couple of years of mathematics beyond Calc BC, but that's the exception rather than the rule.

Some have math specialists in ES rather than leave math instruction to the regular classroom teachers.

Some begin to differentiate before Algebra; others don't.

Some have a more traditionalist math curriculum than others (I'd have said most were constructivist, but I really only looked at a handful of close-in schools and focused on those that went through HS, so I've got no basis for opining on "top 20 DC area" schools and suspect that which schools fall in that category might vary greatly from poster to poster).

The best seem to be continually evaluating and tweaking their math curriculum. Don't know if that's the norm.

The main difference between U.S. math education and the Asian countries is their attitude about math. There is no reason to differentiate before or during Algebra or any other type of math before calculus. It isn't rocket science but a lot of students in the U.S. opt out because they think they're "not good at math" and differentiation only buys into the math phobia.

Asian parents don't think that way: If your kid can't do algebra or third grade math or 6th grade math it's b/c the student isn't working hard enough and/or the instruction is below par, not b/c the kid can't do math. And really there is no reason that an average student cannot do well in algebra and geometry with good instruction and hard work.

FWIW, the SAT math section tests algebra and geometry so a "good" math student should be able to score pretty close to perfect after 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The main difference between U.S. math education and the Asian countries is their attitude about math. There is no reason to differentiate before or during Algebra or any other type of math before calculus. It isn't rocket science but a lot of students in the U.S. opt out because they think they're "not good at math" and differentiation only buys into the math phobia.

Asian parents don't think that way: If your kid can't do algebra or third grade math or 6th grade math it's b/c the student isn't working hard enough and/or the instruction is below par, not b/c the kid can't do math. And really there is no reason that an average student cannot do well in algebra and geometry with good instruction and hard work.

Interesting point. Yes, people in the US seem to think math is optional and I'm amazed how many of my well-educated peers fear/resist math and/or lack any real math sense. Sometimes I think that's at the root of lots of stupid economic/political decisions that get made.

[Anonymous]

I do think our children and grandchildren will be worse off than we are. But it's not because of math scores. I think that our elementary/secondary educational system sucks right now, but I'd rather see us emulate some place like Finland than like China.

If our educational system sucks now ...and its not because of math...what is it because of -- lacrosse or Mandarin language?