FT: Special Committee on Education

[RFayette]

This is a little late, but I think computer programming should be taught in elementary school along with art/music and require at least a year in middle and high school.

[RFayette]

This is a little late, but I think computer programming should be taught in elementary school along with art/music and require at least a year in middle and high school.

I could support increasing the requirement for Middle School students to one year, but I think requiring six-year-olds to take a computer programming course is a little onerous. Elementary schools would be free to introduce such a program on an individual basis, of course, but I don't think it should be mandated by the region.

Yeah, I just meant computer skills more broadly for K-5 students:  this includes basic programming (on the lines of click/drag programming languages like Scratch) as well as word-processing, safe social media use, research skills, etc.   But perhaps it doesn't need to be as frequent as art/music.

With respect to middle school, 1 year is good.  I do think a course in high school introducing the fundamentals of computer science, as well as the fundamentals of web design would also be useful for people.

[RFayette]

My thoughts for testing would be the following:

1.  Mandatory reading test in 2nd grade (ability to read aloud and understand very basic prose) in order to pass to the next grade
2. Summative assessments on math, reading comprehension, and Language Arts yearly from Kindergarten to 8th grade
3. This above summative assessment should also incorporate social studies and science beginning in 3rd grade.  Foreign language should begin being tested in 6th grade, as K-5 learning should be based more on immersion rather than learning precise grammar/rules.

With the exception of the 2nd grade reading test, examination results may be used to hold a student back only if it is in conjunction with low academic grades.

In high school, end-of-course assessments should be given in Algebra 2, Biology, 11th-grade Literature and Composition, Chemistry, and Atlasian Government.  Passing these tests should be mandatory for graduation and can be retaken as many times as the student desires.

Opt-outs should not be allowed, except for profoundly mentally disabled students.

Standardized testing should play a moderate role in the broader curriculum.  The goal of these tests should be to ensure everyone has achieved a basic level of proficiency in the tested subjects.  Teachers should not feel constrained to only teaching the contents of the test because the syllabus should be limited/fundamental enough to ensure that teachers still have classroom discretion.  However, for the coursework-specific tests, the tests will have greater content coverage and also provide a greater degree of resolving power in order to show a greater distribution of performance.  Thus, for those specific courses covered by end-of-course assessments, teachers would be more likely to "teach-to-the-test" in the sense that these tests will be designed to cover an entire year's worth of specific material.  The motivation behind this approach is that knowledge of these domains is important - Algebra 2 is a strong predictor of success in calculus (and strengthens general numeracy skills), biology/chemistry comprehension in success in collegiate science courses and scientific literacy in general, and ensuring a uniformity in instruction for these important subjects so students in the state universities can be expected to share a common body of knowledge.

[RFayette]

Any thoughts on the testing standards?

[RFayette]

Standardized testing should play a moderate role in the broader curriculum.  The goal of these tests should be to ensure everyone has achieved a basic level of proficiency in the tested subjects.  Teachers should not feel constrained to only teaching the contents of the test because the syllabus should be limited/fundamental enough to ensure that teachers still have classroom discretion.  However, for the coursework-specific tests, the tests will have greater content coverage and also provide a greater degree of resolving power in order to show a greater distribution of performance.  Thus, for those specific courses covered by end-of-course assessments, teachers would be more likely to "teach-to-the-test" in the sense that these tests will be designed to cover an entire year's worth of specific material.  The motivation behind this approach is that knowledge of these domains is important - Algebra 2 is a strong predictor of success in calculus (and strengthens general numeracy skills), biology/chemistry comprehension in success in collegiate science courses and scientific literacy in general, and ensuring a uniformity in instruction for these important subjects so students in the state universities can be expected to share a common body of knowledge.

I strongly concur with the sentiment expressed here. Teachers need to have the latitude to adapt their curriculum to the needs of their students and their community, and onerous testing requirements can get in the way of that. For courses like Biology and Algebra, a more comprehensive ECA is advisable, but such should be the exception, not the rule.

I likewise agree with RFayette's proposals regarding the frequency and areas in which we should test students. My one objection would be to the requirement for yearly tests prior to 1st Grade. Unless these were very general examinations, I feel this would be both oppressive and futile; I'm having a hard time imagining 5 and 6 year olds taking an extended written exam. I could be misunderstanding the intended format, though, in which case I would be willing to reconsider my position.

Fair enough; a kindergarten exam is probably unnecessary.   If we start testing at 1st grade (and give these assessments at the end of the year), most kids would be at least 7, which I believe is old enough to take a standardized test.