Finally .... Some Education Opinions!

I haven't been posting and I am sorry to those of you who have been reading! I do appreciate being read!!

Life is very good.

I am tutoring for the July 13th TAKS Math Test .... that is my main tutoring business this summer. And that is fine. I have yet to begin to turn my attention to the Home School business. I am setting up my tutoring area and trying to get my 22 years of teaching materials stored away in a logical fashion!

I did, however, go set up a checking account to run my business through AND went and got a DBA number for taxing purposes. This is serious business!! So far, I have spent more money than I have made trying to get it all together .... but I guess that is how new businesses go! Thank goodness for my June, July and August paychecks from my past job!! Come Sept. 1st ..... Yikes!!

I am pondering a post or two about the fact that 10% of Texas' High School (21,000+) seniors DID NOT graduate this year because of failing one or more sections of the Exit Level TAKS test.

Or about the fact that over 40,000 5th graders have not passed the Math or the Reading sections of their TAKS test .... tests they HAVE TO pass to go to 6th grade next Fall. They will have one more chance at the end of this month. If they still do not pass, they should not go on!! However .... their parents may choose to have them go on through meeting with a counselor, the Principal, an Asst. Principal, and the student. I wonder how many parents will push their children on ... even though the Tests say that they are not ready!

What the heck .... I may as well post my thoughts now ... I've already started!!

In 2003 ... all Texas 3rd graders had to pass the TAKS reading test to go to 4th grade .... 97% did so ... although there is now some question about the honesty of some of those tests results (think Wilmer-Hutchins) . In 2005 it is the same class of students who must now pass a Math Test and a Reading Test in order to advance to Middle School. In 2008 it will be the same group of students who must pass 4 TAKS tests to go to High School.

At that point, in the school year 2008-'09, the high school teacher's job FINALLY becomes fair.

I wonder how many of the 21,000+ seniors who did not graduate this year would have made it through the 3rd grade and the 5th grade and the 8th grade tests? I wonder how many of them actually passed their Math classes in Middle School? It never failed to amaze me how many students got passed on to High School never having passed a single Math class in Middle School.

This year's senior class didn't even have to pass Algebra I and Geometry to become Juniors then Seniors. They slipped through the cracks. And got nailed by TAKS Math. Or TAKS Science. Both are extremely difficult tests. FINALLY they were held accountable ... their Junior year in High School.

This years Juniors couldn't become Juniors unless they passed their 4 core courses in 9th grade AND their 4 core courses in 10th grade, in fact ... I know 17 and 18 year old freshmen ... because they have been freshman for 2 or 3 years now! And might still be freshman while their old classmates graduate from High School next year.

Come the school year 2008-2009, all of that should change. FINALLY the students who make it to High School have EARNED their way to High School!! Finally the High School teacher's job will be to teach High School courses. Or .... maybe the kids who get to High School in '08-'09 will only be really good at taking TAKS tests .... and not know a single other thing except how to take those tests. This is a strong possibility.