Anonymous wrote:^^ +1

Let me guess, your house also doesn't have TV or videogmes running nonstop and your child may actually have rules and expectations regarding homework and sleep.

Good/bright students not only have a natural aptitude, but also an environment that supports and nutures education. I have never met a family with a private tutor on call, but I know many bright/strong students from average SES families.

I have never met a family with on=call tutors as well. Plus this is DC. There are tons of free tutoring available. Here is a web page listing some and I am sure it is the tip of the iceberg:

http://www.standardswork.org/parentpower/documents/FreeandLowCostTutoringDC_Final.pdf

^^ +1

Let me guess, your house also doesn't have TV or videogmes running nonstop and your child may actually have rules and expectations regarding homework and sleep.

Good/bright students not only have a natural aptitude, but also an environment that supports and nutures education. I have never met a family with a private tutor on call, but I know many bright/strong students from average SES families.

Anonymous wrote:So let's forget about differentiation and raise instruction level by catering to the highest 8-10%.

Does anyone realize that many "advanced" or "very smart" kids have SES parents who can afford full time tutoring, including salaried tutors who are at a phone call's away at any time of the evening or night? This is one of the best kept secrets of the so called "brilliant minded" children who have well-off parents.
The same is applying in acquiring test generating softwares, which is supposed to be available to school districts only; however it is readily available in many households, who do not mention a word about it.

DC cannot be compared to Finland or any other European countries where many children learn under the same circumstrances.

It's fiction to say that academic achievement only comes with high SES.

DC is top in his class and does not have "full time tutoring", test prep software or the rest, we're not made of money and can't afford that or privates. And neither are most of his classmates who also get straight A's and honor roll. And yes, he is a perfect example that some kids can indeed learn just fine on their own supplemented only by free resources like Khan Academy - it's about foundations and learning solid algorithms for problem solving as opposed to just learning how to solve specific problems.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Exactly. And...

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.

Bravo!! Differentiated instructed is truly the elephant in the room and a total farce.

This I think is the root problem with the charter movement in general (adding to segregation already present with private schools) 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/

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.

True there are lots of free and inexpensive resources. However when a student comes home with 3-4 homeworks and has difficulty in solving them, Khan academy is not the answer in specific questions.

The student with the tutor will learn how to analyze and solve the problems in a fraction of the time it takes another studious student to figure out how to do things. Even then, many holes will be left here and there. which over the time add up.
Schools who offer free tutoring can work just a bit with each student.
If that was the case, teachers won't be making a career out of being full time tutors and wouldn't be receiving calls after 11 pm.

Anonymous wrote:So let's forget about differentiation and raise instruction level by catering to the highest 8-10%.

Does anyone realize that many "advanced" or "very smart" kids have SES parents who can afford full time tutoring, including salaried tutors who are at a phone call's away at any time of the evening or night? This is one of the best kept secrets of the so called "brilliant minded" children who have well-off parents.
The same is applying in acquiring test generating softwares, which is supposed to be available to school districts only; however it is readily available in many households, who do not mention a word about it.

DC cannot be compared to Finland or any other European countries where many children learn under the same circumstrances.

One does not need to pay full time tutors when there are tons of free and inexpensive resources such as libraries, Khan Academy, a plethora of free web sites and free google books to use. Also, librarians can help a parent who does not know where to begin with these resources. Then, to top it off, many schools offer free tutoring (including Basis) that is often not taken advantage of by families.

I do not think that raising the instructional level to the top 10% for all students is the answer either. I think ability grouping in separate classrooms with frequent re-assessments and adequate support is the answer with the caveat that students are moved up to next level when ready.

Alternatively, a rigorous, classical program that utilizes a computerized program combined with paper and pencil work that can be done at each student's pace and level with the teacher as the guide on the side could also be done. Lastly, students who consistently disrupt classes should be placed in separate classrooms so that other students are not deprived of an education as well.

So let's forget about differentiation and raise instruction level by catering to the highest 8-10%.

Does anyone realize that many "advanced" or "very smart" kids have SES parents who can afford full time tutoring, including salaried tutors who are at a phone call's away at any time of the evening or night? This is one of the best kept secrets of the so called "brilliant minded" children who have well-off parents.
The same is applying in acquiring test generating softwares, which is supposed to be available to school districts only; however it is readily available in many households, who do not mention a word about it.

DC cannot be compared to Finland or any other European countries where many children learn under the same circumstrances.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Exactly. And...

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.

Bravo!! Differentiated instructed is truly the elephant in the room and a total farce.

This I think is the root problem with the charter movement in general (adding to segregation already present with private schools) 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/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Exactly. And...

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.

Bravo!! Differentiated instructed is truly the elephant in the room and a total farce.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Exactly. And...

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.

Thus, charters will flourish, and eventually DCPS won't have to offer differentiated instruction.

Anonymous wrote:But only if the child wants to succeed. That's a big if.

Not sure what age of you were thinking of when you wrote this, but all kids want to learn. As cheesy as it sounds, its true. This is something we teachers, who teach the violent, undiagnosed, three grade levels behind kids know. And THAT is what makes it so frustrating. Kids want to learn. It is about the adults who are involved, getting our acts together and putting kids in appropriate environments.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Exactly. And...

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.