American Schools: Academic Standards


Figure 1.--.

The central question about schools should be academic standards. Unfortunately this is not always the case. Some superintendents see their role as keeping kids off the streets and out of trouble. Some politicans see the teachers as an imporant source of support and thus are often more concerned about teacher salaries than academic achievement. As a result, the education system which was once one of the crownuing jewels of American democracy is today failing many students with a disgraceful number leaving school with scandaously low reading and math skills. This is also a civil rights issue as we are often talking about minority children. Yet civil rights grouos rarely raise this prefering to takk about largely imasgined or inconsequential issues like voter supression or profiling. Internatioanl assessments show that American children rank at mediocre level of student achievement. Hewe want to review both what students were learning over time as well as some of the coarative achievement levels. One factor to consider is just who is being taught. A school system which does not reach the entire population may report better achievement rates than a country that attemps to educate everyone. This is not a question of education the most capable, but rather children whose parents are willing to devote the time and energy to make sure the children apply themselves and get the help they need. Japan is Notably the Catholic scholls in America, including those in low-income areas, achieve better results than he opublic schools with fewer resources. a good example of a school system that educates everyone to a high standard. That said, the Japanese system does seem to fail at promoting creative thinking. Here the American schools seem more effective.

Importance

The central question about schools should be academic standards.

Other Concerns

Unfortunately this is not always the case. Some superintendents see their role as keeping kids off the streets and out of trouble. Some politicans see the teachers as an imporant source of support and thus are often more concerned about teacher salaries than academic achievement.

Results

As a result, the education system which was once one of the crownuing jewels of American democracy is today failing many students with a disgraceful number leaving school with scandrously low reading and math skills.

Civil Rights

Academic achievement is also a civil rights issue as we are often talking about minority children. Yet civil rights grouos rarely raise this prefering to talk about largely imasgined or inconsequential issues like voter supression or profiling. Internatioanl assessments show that American children rank at mediocre level of student achievement.

Student Work

Here want to review what students were learning over time. A good example is a 1895 8th grade exam. At the time many elementary schools had eight grades (forms). Only a minority of children went on to begin high school in the 9th grade. We suspect that many of not most American college students would have trouble with this test, even if the few outdated questions were modernized. This gives the saying "she/he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning! This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, Kansas. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and reprinted by the Salina Journal. Grammar (Time, one hour) 1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters. 2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications. 3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph. 4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal parts of do, lie, lay and run. 5. Define Case. Illustrate each Case. 6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation. 7. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar. Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours) 1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic. 2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold? 3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cts. per bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare? 4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals? 5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton. 6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent. 7. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent. 8. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods? 9. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt. U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes) 1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided. 2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus. 3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War. 4. Show the territorial growth of the United States. 5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas. 6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of theRebellion. 7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe? 8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607 1620 1800 1849 1865 Orthography (Time, one hour) 1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication? 2. What are elementary sounds? How classified? 3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals? 4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'. 5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e'. Name two exceptions under each rule. 6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each. 7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, super. 8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last. 9. Use the following correctly in sentence: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays. 10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use diacritical marks and by syllabication. Geography (Time, one hour) 1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend? 2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas? 3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean? 4. Describe the mountains of North America. 5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco. 6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. 7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each. 8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude? 9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers. 10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.

Comparative Studies

Another important issue is some of the coarative studies of achievement levels.

Student Population

One factor to consider is just who is being taught. A school system which does not reach the entire population may report better achievement rates than a country that attemps to educate everyone. This is not a question of education the most capable, but rather children whose parents are willing to devote the time and energy to make sure the children apply themselves and get the help they need. Japan is Notably the Catholic scholls in America, including those in low-income areas, achieve better results than he opublic schools with fewer resources. a good example of a school system that educates everyone to a high standard. That said, the Japanese system does seem to fail at promoting creative thinking. Here the American schools seem more effective.







HBC-SU





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Created: 5:10 AM 12/9/2013
Last updated: 5:10 AM 12/9/2013