Reply to Given the rigor of Basis, was it ever expected to be for every kid in the District?

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Reply to "Given the rigor of Basis, was it ever expected to be for every kid in the District? "

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Maybe DC does not offer advanced, gifted, honors b/c more than 1/2 of it's three graders cannot read at grade level same for all their other grades.  Kind of looks bad to offer advanced instruction for high SES kids (white, Asian, black) when the majority of the kids (FARMS, AA) cannot read.[/quote]  Exactly.  And...[/quote]

SES should have nothing to do with it, the relationship between SES and academic performance is incidental, not causal - there are plenty of low-SES kids with high IQ and great academic potential.  But I'd take your comment a step farther - but perhaps in the opposite direction.  You are worried about the optics of giving advanced instruction when so many are behind - but the fact is that the current approach in DCPS ends up holding the advanced learners behind, and the optics of that are a disaster as well.  DCPS is invested in "differentiated education" which clearly is not meting the needs of those who are not up to grade level, let alone anyone else.  It's just plain bad for EVERYONE.  [/quote]

Bravo!! Differentiated instructed is truly the elephant in the room and a total farce.[/quote]

[b]This I think is the root problem with the charter movement in general (adding to segregation already present with private schools)[/b] though perhaps given the inertia of the established public school bureaucracy perhaps change from within was impossible. Moving away from thread title but an interesting counterpoint to the basis emphasis on accelerated instruction for those students (and parents) who can hack it and standardized tests are these interesting reads about Finland's system...
http://www.salon.com/2011/07/18/tony_wagner_finland/
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/[/quote]

If the argument is that charters skim off various specialized segments of the school population, then that leaves DCPS with far less diversity (and thus far less differentiation) to worry about.  But sadly, even with a far narrower focus they still can't manage to get it right.

Finland's model works because of deeper cultural values - they value teachers, they value education.  We on the other hand sadly live in a country that fundamentally does not.[/quote]

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