http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20090205/NEWS01/902050350
I just stumbled across the above article in the Courier Post. It reported that Haddonfield, Moorestown, and Cherry Hill East have the highest SATs in tri-county area. Haddonfield weighs in at 1726, and Shawnee, Medford, and Eastern are in that elite club of the top ten. So what makes a school fortunate enough to be inhabited by so many over achievers who perform well on the be-all and end-all of standardized tests? Do these schools have better educational systems? Are their curricula more rigorous? Do they have better libraries and more extraordinary technology? Are the teachers more engaging and better trained? I honestly don't think so.
Our students at Lindenwold are every bit as intelligent and dynamic as the students at Moorestown or Cherry Hill. On this note, we can't rest until we inspire our students devour their studies with a kind of religious fervor, until they all become addicted to becoming their own best teachers, and even after this happens, we can't rest.
I keep thinking of Abraham Lincoln, and how he intrinsically revered education.
Recently, I've noticed more students focused on their studies. More seem to come to class prepared. There is more focus and I see more hands going up. Does the election of President Obama have anything to do with it? Is this the stuff that fuels the SAT scores that are catnip for admissions officers? What can I do as a teacher to help equalize those SAT scores? Am I being quixotic or am I for real?
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ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think the idea of taking a standardized test is what gets me! Every time I took the SATs I was so nervous because I am not a good test taker at all! So, instead of earning a high score, both times I received low scores because of my test taking skills. Maybe there is a way to work on these skills and help students, like myself, improve on them! From past experience, I know that taking the SATs is extremely stressful and students worry about taking them. Maybe there are tips on this kind of stuff! I know if there were, I would definitely like to improve on them!
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ReplyDeleteThe whole idea of the SAT's are over rated personally. Tests make me nervous and I always seem to forget everything that I've learned. People always tell me not to stress over them and to study, but there is no way to study every word in the dictionary or every math problem in the book. In my opinion the US should come up with a better way to "test" high school students.
ReplyDeletePS. Here is that new rubicks sphere I was talking about.
http://www.gearlog.com/2009/02/rubik_returns_with_rubiks_sphe.php