Education Comments-Potter's Wheel Academy Presents Education Comments and Information

ACT High School Test Scores Come In Lower Continued

Uncle Buck — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:11:00 GMT

How Does This Effect Students Applying to Colleges and Universities?

The ACT National test results as reported show a decline in ACT test scores. This table is also broken down by states so you can see your state's results

The web site explains that the ACT test goals are to test a student's knowledge of what has been taught in high school and what the probable success in college might be based on those scores. Look at your state's results for the detail of your state's results.

At a recent high school counselor's meeting in Florida, sponsored by ACT, several reasons were advanced for the lower ACT scores in Florida and nationwide.

1.    The test is being used as an alternative test for the FCAT test in Florida. The FCAT or the equivalent is required to graduate from high school. If a student cannot pass the FCAT they may use the ACT or the SAT. Other states maybe doing the same.

2.    The numbers of test takers have increased substantially due to the ACT's use as an alternate to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), thus a larger population of less proficient students are being tested with the ACT and it is believed their presumed lower test results lowered the overall test results.

3.    The public education community continues to talk about how the rigor of classes is being increased. We really don't know how much more rigorous their classes are.

4.    We do know that there are other required activities, we have heard of 9 including anti-bullying and aggressive girls (not necessarily the correct titles). A little research will show that anti-bullying has become a major education industry. We also know that these 9 areas take the place of academic learning time.

5.    An unspoken implication might be that the rigor of the test has increased faster than the rigor of the classes.

If you want to know how your student is doing, go to the web site above and pick your state. You will need their ACT scores. There is an executive study for each state so you don't need to read the entire report. If your student only took the SAT there are some comparative figures from 2005 see concordant figures to compare SAT and the ACT.

It's deja vu. In 1995 the SAT added 100 points to each student's test results. Their reason for this is similar to item 2 above. We cover this situation in greater detail in our book  8 Secrets to College Admissions about the re-centering of the SAT, and how to use these tests to gain admittance to a college or university.

Perhaps it is time to re-center the ACT. If my calculations are reasonably accurate adding about 2.25 points to each test takers scores will help solve this lowering of test results. The 2.25 relates to the 100 points that was added to the SAT scores.

Students will be taking the ACT using the results for college and university admissions. Hopefully, if they are good students their chances will not be prejudiced, however, if your student is one of the test takers with lower scores you may need to look for some special considerations to gain entrance to college or university.

ACT Scores slightly lower, but more students ready for college level

Uncle Buck — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:37:00 GMT

The AP recently posted an article about the ACT Test.

The test scores are lower this year, but more are taking the test and qualifying for college.

In the high school adviser meetings we have attended those running the meetings talk about increasing the rigor in classes. It would seem that if the rigor in classes was increasing then test scores would be going up not down.

At these same meetings teachers were complaining about the new areas they had to teach because of state legislative action. These aren't English, math, etc., but they do require school time to cover these legislatively mandated subjects. We heard talk of anti-bullying and aggressive girls as some of the required subjects being taught.

Hopefully these subjects will do some good, yet if they are like some of the other ethics type classes (I attended one some years ago) put together by the state. We learned many ways none of us were aware of to swindle potential clients.

What Happens When a High School Student Uses AP Classes?

Uncle Buck — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:12:00 GMT

AP classes really sound good, but the reality can be something different.

We have no experience using the AP courses as they are used by the public school system. We do know that they were developed by and are sold to the school systems by College Board (the SAT people) to provide college credit to high school students. We also know that most public and private schools discourage students from earning college credit during high school in any manner that requires attendance off of their campus, e.g., community college dual enrollment. The main reason appears to be that the money from the state, county, and the Feds follows the student so if the student is at community college taking a dual enrollment course part of the money leaves the public school.

We found in our Florida Private School that AP Courses and their use for our student's purposes are a little iffy. A case on point, the student took the AP course in the fall, but could not take the AP final test until May leaving lot's of time to forget the course content, thus requiring a major review before testing. The lag time finishing the course and taking the test may be that we don't have an AP coordinator and have to rely on the local superintendent for testing.

While researching a book we found that the AP course option consists of over 30 college level courses taught on high school campuses by high school teachers who are trained to teach these classes. To gain college credit for these courses the student must pass the course, take a special AP Exam and earn a score acceptable by the college or university they want to attend. The key to earning college credit is the test score. Colleges do not always accept AP courses for college credit. The top AP test score is 5 and if you don't score a 5 you may just have another high school course, especially if you are applying to Harvard or a similar school.

It is advisable with AP as with other college credits earned during high school to check with the colleges you are going to apply to and see what their opinion of what you plan to do is while you still have time to make changes.
In our research we read some sad stories of students counting on these courses and their colleges not accepting them resulting in re-taking the courses in college and of course paying college tuition for the course.

High School Planning for College Admission

Uncle Buck — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:26:00 GMT

The University of California TV indicated that students start to drop out of college in 4th grade.

Wow who could believe that.

Just points up that all the planning that takes places in the senior high school year should better have been done earlier.

To see how this might work for your student refer to 8 Secrets to College Admissions this will help you get started much earlier than high school.

Federal education activities don't solve any problems

Uncle Buck — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:13:00 GMT

This article is from the fall of 2006

"Many of our politicians have it backwards these days. It's not a shame to lose an election. But it is a shame to serve a wrong idea—which is what Republicans, while in control of the White House and both houses of Congress, have been doing the past six years in education policy. Most recently, they have been seeking to reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965, the first and still the authoritative assertion of the modern bureaucratic state into higher learning.

A product of the Great Society, the Act provides direct aid from the federal government to colleges and universities and their students. With this aid comes rules, rules by the tens or hundreds of thousands, rules beyond the knowing of any person. Every year these rules are adjusted, refined, forgotten, remembered, and reinterpreted in countless ways by countless people. But every five or six years, relatively major changes are made by several pieces of legislation. This is what is meant by “reauthorization.”

Conservatives, when they argue for school choice (a good cause), like to say that elementary and secondary schools should be financed on the same principles as colleges, where student aid follows the student to whichever school he pleases. This is true enough, but it is not the aid alone that follows the student. Title IV of the current Higher Education Act regulates colleges that accept federal student financial aid (something Hillsdale College, honorably and famously, does not do). Title IV includes now more than 300 pages of regulations, and the failure of a senior college official to comply in a material respect can lead to heavy fines and imprisonment. Of course these regulations grow in number and scope every year. Of course they affect profoundly the management deliberations of any college that is subject to their commands—which is to say, practically every college. The Higher Education Act is the very model of bureaucratic legislation: top down, complex, requiring interpretation of endless details by everyone concerned, and placing power over local things in remote beings whose very job titles are indecipherable, and who, also, have almost no direct contact with the actual things being accomplished.

Federal aid to higher education is politically potent. This is true because people who work in colleges are powerful. It is true also because the public, for a good reason and a bad one, believes in higher education and thinks it worthy of public support. Education is rightly seen as the road up, the avenue of progress for all. Popular government, moreover, requires that a capacity for governing be widely spread, that education at all levels should impart the knowledge and civility requisite to good citizenship. Without these qualities, the people who make the laws will not act justly or respect liberty, and the people who live under the laws will not know what to do about that. The preservation of the republic depends, therefore, upon a proper system of education. At its highest, education is the contemplation of the ultimate ends in virtue of which means are selected for the sake of private and public happiness. The American people's recognition of education's importance creates favor for a Higher Education Act presumed to serve those ends."

“Reprinted by permission from Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College.”

Improve Your Chess Game or Learn to Play Chess

Uncle Buck — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:19:00 GMT

We are happy to announce that we have secured an FIDE rated instructor from India. M. Ephrame, rated 2160 by FIDE has arrived in Sarasota and will begin classes at Manatee Community College on February 25th, 2008.

For more details see the following chess website for class schedule and links to MCC to register.

Free access to College Board's My College QuickStart ™

Uncle Buck — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:46:10 GMT

My College QuickStart ™ - Looking Toward the Future

Access My College Quickstart free for college planning resources. Courtesy of College Board, the people who administer the college SAT

Florida Virtual School is having an open house

Uncle Buck — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 02:51:55 GMT

Florida Virtual School is having an open house

Celebrate your connection to FLVS through Potter's Wheel Academy by joining FLVS for an Open House on Saturday, February 9, 2008.

For details and state wide locations click here

Research: Dropouts flee area schools

Uncle Buck — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:53:48 GMT

-------------------- Research: Dropouts flee area schools -------------------- By Nancy Zuckerbrod THE ASSOCIATED PRESS October 30 2007 WASHINGTON

Half the high schools in Florida — including several in the Orlando area — are "dropout factories," with thousands of students disappearing before their senior year, according to a new report. The complete article can be viewed at: View article Visit OrlandoSentinel.com at http://www.orlandosentinel.com

Cal Thomas

Uncle Buck — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 16:14:27 GMT

See the complete article at http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/thomas091807.php3

Jewish World Review Sept. 18, 2007 / 6 Tishrei 5768

Cheating college students

By Cal Thomas

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | "If you can read this, thank a teacher," says the bumper sticker on the car in front of me. But literacy is more than the ability to read a bumper sticker. It also includes the accumulation of basic knowledge combined with a way of thinking that allows an individual to lead a life that is personally productive and contributes to America's health and welfare.

For the second year in a row, America's elite universities and colleges have failed to rise above a "D plus" on tests of basic knowledge about civics and American history, maintains a study commissioned by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's (ISI). In 2005, ISI contracted with the University of Connecticut's Department of Public Policy (UConnDPP) to administer tests of basic historical and civic knowledge to 14,000 students at 50 top schools, including Yale, Harvard, Cornell, the University of Virginia, Brown and Duke. The survey found that students "were no better off than when they arrived in terms of acquiring the knowledge necessary for informed engagement in a democratic republic and global economy." Since an education at top colleges can cost as much as $40,000 a year, it would appear that those paying the bill are being cheated.

Free Classes from MIT

Uncle Buck — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 21:42:56 GMT

This may interest some of you. We recently found that MIT was putting many if not all their course on the web. Apparently there is no instructional input so you are on your own. If you want to look at the courses click here MIT Free Clases. If you look at some of the courses please come back to the Blog and give us your comments so others can have your help.

Degrees Don't Come With Guarantees

Uncle Buck — Tue, 01 May 2007 22:45:06 GMT

An interesting article that discusses the results of our cultures obsession with the college degree. What happens when the jobs being sent overseas are the same jobs we are training people in college to do.

Check out this article on college

degrees

FW: Educators Save 25% -- Limited Time Offer

Uncle Buck — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 16:05:01 GMT

Another Barnes & Noble good deal

FW: Educators Save 25% -- Limited Time Offer

Uncle Buck — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 15:34:16 GMT

A Proposal for Using Incentives to Restructure Our Public Schools by Albert Shanker, (1928-1997)

Uncle Buck — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 18:03:09 GMT

Are you a fan of public school or not so sure? This article maybe of interest to you.

Mr Shanker was President of the American Federation of Teachers, a teacher, and union organizer.

He was an original thinker in terms of improving public education and deserves our attention whether you think the public schools are doing a great job or if you think they have much room for improvement.

Read Mr Shanker's article here

This article has been deleted

Barnes & Noble Book Sellers Hosts Florida Virtual School December 9, 2006 2PM to 4PM

Uncle Buck — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 12:51:34 GMT

If you have questions or want to meet those helpful folks from FLVS check the locations at the link. Barnes & Noble locations

See you there!

Educator List.doc Special Event for Educators There are Three Entries for This Topic - Complete a List With This Information on it and Fax to Barnes and Noble.

Uncle Buck — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 02:00:33 GMT

Title	Other Information

Barnes & Noble Store Contact		Phone	Fax	Email
Customer Name	School Name	Phone

Holiday Ed Event Flyer.doc Special Event for Educators There are Three Entries for This Topic

Uncle Buck — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 01:57:23 GMT

Barnes and Noble Special Event for Educators There are Three Entries for This Topic

Uncle Buck — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 01:54:13 GMT

Dear Educator,

We’ve created a special day of shopping, savings and personalized service just for you! You can avoid the hassle of holiday crowds while saving bundles on all your gift needs on Saturday, December 2^nd from 8 a.m. until noon. That’s right – we’re opening the store early just for educators. Pre-K to grade 12 educators will receive a 20% discount on books and a 10% discount on music and DVDs for both classroom and personal use. Please see the attached flyer for additional information.

Also attached to this email you will find an Educator Holiday Shopping List. By faxing this list to (941) 923-9510 by November 22^nd, we’ll make sure to special order your items and have them ready for pick up at the registers the day of the event. Or you can bring your completed list to the event, and we will be happy to help you locate those items available in the store.

If you have any questions about this special Educator Shopping Event, please feel free to contact me at (941) 923-9818. I look forward to seeing you on December 2^nd.

Nicole Evoy, Community Relations Manager

Barnes and Noble Sarasota

Concerned With What is Being Taught About American History and Civics

Uncle Buck — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 03:54:22 GMT

An interesting website with some free stuff. One of our school families found this to be interesting. There is a survey of freshman and senior classes in some US Colleges. The survey is based on tests in the freshman and senior year of certain facts about American's founding principles, no mystery to many of us is that the freshmen know more than the seniors.

http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/ifeducators.html