This alert talked about something a lot of us (teachers) are
going through with the new STAAR test: new accountability standards for English
language learners. Florida’s comprehensive assessment test will also include
scores from the ELL student this year. Similarly, they also claim that these
new requirements will lower the graduation rates eventually. This sounds too
familiar.
Civic Education Getting a Reboot is the title of this blog
post. The (NAEP) assessment scores mentioned showed low scores, especially
among 12th graders; this is the nation’s report card on civic
knowledge. I will have to agree with the need to better engage students in
civic learning. Arne Duncan states, “Giving students a strong foundation in
civic values is critical to the vitality of America’s democracy and economy in
the 21st century,” Citizens that are knowledgeable, can make
informed decisions.
Luz,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading both of the articles you posted. The article about the FCAT test, which is a test similar to the STAAR but in Florida was extremely interesting. We (TX teachers and students) believe are the only ones suffering all the unfortunate changes in the education system. It’s surprising finding out that even superintendents across the U. S. are concerned about these changes and that they understand that they will impact the grades of students and schools enormously. Great post! Sal
English Language Learners continue to face challenges; and so do we, as teachers. Having taught at the elementary level (Bil. Ed.) for seven years, I hope Texas (and the nation) revamps or does away with Bilingual Education. Too often, I see students who started the program in 2nd or 3rd grade, and all through middle school are ESL students (and sometimes continue ESL in high school). Time for some changes.
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