Average Students Passing Advanced Placement Classes
Jay Matthews, Education Columnist for the Washington Post, recently published a piece regarding the ability of average students in AP classes. It's an issue that is near and dear to my heart, and I want to make it clear, I am VERY passionate about this subject!
Basically, a teacher at TC Williams High in Alexandria, Virginia is a guest columnist for the Post. Though Matthews obviously respects the teacher, (Patrick Welsh - an ENGLISH teacher, no less!) he disagrees with Welsh's assertion that average kids are being PUSHED into classes that they do not have the ability to pass.
WHOA! Is that a commentary on our country's education system or what??? Only the best. Only the finest. Only the brightest should take AP and be ALLOWED to take the exam???
Recently, I presented the idea of vertical teaming to my own district. If we raise the bar in the younger grades, we can start to increase the numbers of students who take (and hopefully pass) AP exams. Let's get the middle school teachers in here and show them what AP exams look like; let's start articulating what kids at the highest levels of learning should know in each grade. The teachers were very receptive, even though I knew they had the same thoughts that every other group in their shoes is thinking, "What about my passs/fail rates?" That information is published, and in most hallways of most schools it DEFINES you as a good teacher or some wash-out who will be shunned as "that" guy (or girl) who can't get the job done. I feel their pain, and I know it's a tough place to be.
I recently spoke with a parent who asked me why his daughter's English teacher asked her not to take the Language exam. He told me it devastated her - she made A's and B's all year. That teacher didn't have to say a word about what she believed the student was capable of acheiving - her actions spoke louder than anything she could have ever said. I've spoken with teachers who will straight up and down tell you, "My students can't do that stuff. It's too hard." I have to ask, "Is it too hard for you to believe in them?"
I guess it comes down to the basics. Can we raise the rigor to the younger grades? Are we willing to work hard to provide the challenges that ALL students should get in school? Is it "rigor and relevance" we want, or is it "indifference and mediocrity"? I can tell you, as a kid who has clawed and scraped my way past lousy teaching and out-of-control learning environments to finish high school and college, there are kids in EVERY school who want, who CRAVE the challenge. Please do not write kids off because you are afraid of how they will make you look. Model excellence and show them the possibilites.
Mike Grill, the AP coordinator at Wakefield High School in Virginia says it pretty well, "Good teaching (like good anything) is hard work. It is the teachers' responsibility to adapt their instruction to their students while maintaining the rigor/standards of the course. Motivated, talented, PROFESSIONAL teachers can do this. "
But, Prevatte, seriously? Don't you know about their parents, their neighborhoods, the media, the lack of money - blah, blah, blah. Yep, and I think all of that is awful - I hate that kids are held back by elements of life that are out of their control. Do I think lowering the bar will make their problems better? I can argue that making it easier will, in fact, hurt them.
I know that "far more students are capable of taking AP courses than actually do so." Being "capable" is an expectation my friends - if you expect nothing, that is precisely what you will get.
You can read the rest of the article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2003/08/26/AR2005032304303.html
Basically, a teacher at TC Williams High in Alexandria, Virginia is a guest columnist for the Post. Though Matthews obviously respects the teacher, (Patrick Welsh - an ENGLISH teacher, no less!) he disagrees with Welsh's assertion that average kids are being PUSHED into classes that they do not have the ability to pass.
WHOA! Is that a commentary on our country's education system or what??? Only the best. Only the finest. Only the brightest should take AP and be ALLOWED to take the exam???
Recently, I presented the idea of vertical teaming to my own district. If we raise the bar in the younger grades, we can start to increase the numbers of students who take (and hopefully pass) AP exams. Let's get the middle school teachers in here and show them what AP exams look like; let's start articulating what kids at the highest levels of learning should know in each grade. The teachers were very receptive, even though I knew they had the same thoughts that every other group in their shoes is thinking, "What about my passs/fail rates?" That information is published, and in most hallways of most schools it DEFINES you as a good teacher or some wash-out who will be shunned as "that" guy (or girl) who can't get the job done. I feel their pain, and I know it's a tough place to be.
I recently spoke with a parent who asked me why his daughter's English teacher asked her not to take the Language exam. He told me it devastated her - she made A's and B's all year. That teacher didn't have to say a word about what she believed the student was capable of acheiving - her actions spoke louder than anything she could have ever said. I've spoken with teachers who will straight up and down tell you, "My students can't do that stuff. It's too hard." I have to ask, "Is it too hard for you to believe in them?"
I guess it comes down to the basics. Can we raise the rigor to the younger grades? Are we willing to work hard to provide the challenges that ALL students should get in school? Is it "rigor and relevance" we want, or is it "indifference and mediocrity"? I can tell you, as a kid who has clawed and scraped my way past lousy teaching and out-of-control learning environments to finish high school and college, there are kids in EVERY school who want, who CRAVE the challenge. Please do not write kids off because you are afraid of how they will make you look. Model excellence and show them the possibilites.
Mike Grill, the AP coordinator at Wakefield High School in Virginia says it pretty well, "Good teaching (like good anything) is hard work. It is the teachers' responsibility to adapt their instruction to their students while maintaining the rigor/standards of the course. Motivated, talented, PROFESSIONAL teachers can do this. "
But, Prevatte, seriously? Don't you know about their parents, their neighborhoods, the media, the lack of money - blah, blah, blah. Yep, and I think all of that is awful - I hate that kids are held back by elements of life that are out of their control. Do I think lowering the bar will make their problems better? I can argue that making it easier will, in fact, hurt them.
I know that "far more students are capable of taking AP courses than actually do so." Being "capable" is an expectation my friends - if you expect nothing, that is precisely what you will get.
You can read the rest of the article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2003/08/26/AR2005032304303.html
posted by Lynnie at 7:32 AM
4 Comments:
Bold and well argued, Lynnie.
-Tom
I would like to somehow inspire the teachers at my middle school to increase the rigor in their classes. Some teachers know what that means..others, not a clue. My school is in southern New Mexico and I struggle to help the gifted students I serve get the rigor they deserve. Often, they just sit in class doing work they've already learned, making As, but not learning anything new. I feel very frustrated...any ideas on how to light that fire???
-Melena
Rigor is currently a buzzword at my school as well.
I am really struggling with my AP students. It seems they have been dumbed down by years of my side of the district's efforts to help all students pass the state mandated exams.
I would love to have several sections of AP science full of students with problems solving and study skills. I would love for my students to arrive with experience in difficult courses. It is crazy to find Juniors and Seniors who have never studied before.
Thanks for Posting the Article.
Wow! So true Lynnette. I couldn't agree more. Low expectations produce low results. I wish Andrew could sit under your teaching. He has learned ZERO this year.
Keep up the insightful and helpful blogs.
Tom
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