tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post1623024585193682801..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: A District without Spectrum?Melissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-25993611180130090632007-04-20T20:48:00.000-07:002007-04-20T20:48:00.000-07:00My child tested into APP in 1st grade. I decided ...My child tested into APP in 1st grade. I decided not move her, becuse of the long commute time. I wanted her to do other kinds of learning like foreign language, musical instrument, community building projects, etc. after school, more than I wanted her to get further ahead in math & reading during school hours. I was also concerned that her younger brother might not test in & grow to consider himself the 'dumb' kid. <BR/><BR/>So we stayed at the neighborhood school. A high performing school with no Spectrum or ALO. Differentiation is strongly emphasized though inconsistent. A large proportion of the children are spectrum or APP qualified. There have been times that the curriculum has not challenged my daughter. There have been times where she has worked to her limit. <BR/><BR/> (I would imagine that in Spectrum & APP classrooms there is a need for differentiation too. A Spectrum qualified child could be one year ahead in math and 3 years ahead in reading. Presumably Lowell serves children whose academic development has not always been consistently two years ahead, as well as children who are many levels ahead of that.)<BR/><BR/> Last year my daughter spent a lot of class time with a girl from China who was at least 4 years ahead in math. My daughter loved trying to keep up with her in math. She learned to write more than 100 chinese characters. This child would never have been welcome in Spectrum or APP because of her limited English. <BR/><BR/><BR/>Certainly learning is valued at our neighborhood school by students & teachers. No one has ever suggested that my daughter not work to her potential. But students also value the child who is an amazing artist,a class peacemaker, a champion chess player, a published writer, a happy spirit, a new immigrant. My daughter has learned from all these other children even if their academics are not advanced. <BR/><BR/>Now, 4 years later, I find my daughter testing higher than ever. Competing at least equally with those at Lowell when she enters math or writing competitions. <BR/><BR/>Some children leave our school every year to join the APP program. I beleive that it works well for them. I am glad that they have that option. But I am bothered by the idea that it is impossible to serve advanced children in a classroom with other children.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-76452643830956603152007-01-27T22:15:00.000-08:002007-01-27T22:15:00.000-08:00The problem I encountered at Whittier with my APP ...The problem I encountered at Whittier with my APP child (we eventually left for Lowell after third grade) was the teacher who show me a sample of my child's math work after I had asked her to allow my daughter more challenging math work. <br /><br />The problem she showed me was simple addition or subtraction, and the teacher said, "Do you see Sally can't explain why 8 minus 3 is 5. So clearly she is not ready for higher math."<br /><br />(On the "How do you know" part of the problem my daughter wrote something like, "because math answers never change.") <br /><br />The funny thing is on math part of the test for APP my daughter just kept going, the tester said she was surprised at how much math she could do. The result came back and math was at least 50 points more than what she needed just to get into Lowell. <br /><br />But sitting in that meeting and not having the results of her APP test yet, I was made to feel that I was pushing someone to do higher math that wasn't ready. <br /><br />I think most teachers just don't get giftedness, and I don't know if a new principal (even Julie) can change that. It would be grand if they did, because although my child is challenged, she does miss parts of Whittier very much. And if they would have let her keep going in math and reading we may have stayed until middle school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-1157688855147495112007-01-27T12:46:00.000-08:002007-01-27T12:46:00.000-08:00The story I hear for refusing to accelerate when a...The story I hear for refusing to accelerate when appropriate is that the teacher says "But if I teach the fourth grade curriculum to your third grader, then what will the fourth grade teacher teach?" They ask that question as if to suggest that "poaching" on another teacher's curriculum is some incredible professional discourtesy. The answer, of course, is that the fourth grade teacher can then teach the fifth and sixth grade curricula and I don't give a tinker's dam about your professional courtesy when weighed against a child's academic achievement.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-54133572160672968662007-01-26T18:03:00.000-08:002007-01-26T18:03:00.000-08:00Helen,
I have twins, also, so I can imagine how ...Helen, <br /><br />I have twins, also, so I can imagine how hard a decision that must have been for you.<br /><br />I agree completely about involving the kids in the choice. We did the same things with the decision about whether to have them in the same or separate classrooms.<br /><br />I am baffled by the unwilligness/inability of the teachers you and others mentioned to do some differentiation to help meet students' needs. I know teachers are completely overwhelmed with school, district and state requirements, but meeting students' needs should be top priority and principals should support teachers to make it possible.<br /><br />I am going to talk with more parents of kids at Pathfinder who qualified for Spectrum and APP but chose to stay at Pathfinder. My impression so far is that kids needs are met, no matter what the skill level. That is certainly the case for my daughters so far who have very high skills in some areas and average to below-average in others.<br /><br />My guess is that canned curriculum could be a factor in making teachers/schools worry about some kids getting "too far" ahead.Beth Bakemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827919509722526726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-58913253300023463952007-01-26T16:03:00.000-08:002007-01-26T16:03:00.000-08:00When my daughter qualified for APP during her seco...When my daughter qualified for APP during her second grade year, I had some very short period to decide whether to put her in Lowell the next year, which would have meant separating her from her twin sister. I finally decided to send her the year after, for fourth grade, and let them have a year to let it sink in that there was going to be a change later. The second and third grade teachers said they would do their best to support her at APP level, but it was really up to me to provide math curriculum and what not. In the end nothing much extra happened in the classroom (um, unless you count reading under her desk, which was counterproductive) and she did distance learning math at home (her sister did, too, and never got any credit for it). This was when they were still using grade-level math textbooks for Whittier Spectrum.<br /><br />I was never told that they "used to" let children go as far as they could in reading and math. I don't know when that was supposed to be happening. The one kid I heard of who did actually get sent to other grades for math (before our time)was apparently much more of a math prodigy than my daughter (who's a good math student at a couple of years above level, but not wildly advanced).<br /><br />From what I've heard of districts who don't do gifted identification until later, they mostly handle it by pretending that kids all have exactly the same needs until third or fourth grade. "Sure, we'd differentiate if needed, but in primary school it isn't needed." The illogical corollary of "They'll all even out by third grade," I suppose.<br /><br />By the way, the other thing I wanted to say was to involve your children in the choice, and if possible involve children who are already at the school. My daughter was fortunate enough to have a friend who'd gone to Lowell the year before who helped her transition much more easily. <br /><br />I think a lot of parents used to keep their APP-qualified kids in Spectrum until middle school. I don't know how easy the transition to APP is in sixth grade; I'd prefer to do it in a less stressful year, myself, but maybe for some kids the switch just makes sense right then, when everything else is shaken up anyhow. But of course if you wait, the WASL becomes a high-stakes test.<br /><br />Helen SchinskeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-34565820117401045612007-01-26T15:35:00.000-08:002007-01-26T15:35:00.000-08:00CS,
Run, do not walk, to Julie Breidenbach and te...CS,<br /><br />Run, do not walk, to Julie Breidenbach and tell her that no child should have a ceiling on their learning imposed by their school - and that there sure as hell should not be a ceiling imposed on a child in the Spectrum program. Then you tell her that the previous principal told you, in just so many words, that they impose a ceiling at Whittier and that Julie needs to go to those teachers and tell them that the ceilings are off.<br /><br />Tell Julie that the previous principal told you that the message came from the "District", so Julie needs to go to those "District" people who told the teachers to impose a ceiling and tell them that the ceiling is off and that if they talk about ceilings to her staff again she will have their jobs.<br /><br />You don't have any rights as a Spectrum parent, but you sure have some rights as a parent. EVERY parent has the right to an education without upper limits for their children.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-52131945982145136392007-01-26T11:41:00.000-08:002007-01-26T11:41:00.000-08:00Charlie wrote: "First of all, the teacher who doe...Charlie wrote: "First of all, the teacher who doesn't think that it is necessary to differentiate in a Spectrum class is in SERIOUS need of professional development.<br /><br />Second, the teacher and the principal BOTH need additional professional development if they are putting a ceiling on acceleration in the Spectrum class or in ANY class."<br /><br />I completely agree that Spectrum should not have a ceiling. But what are our rights as Spectrum parents? <br /><br />I am at Whittier in Spectrum (second grade) and many of our kids haven't even been given a math assessment yet. I have spoken with the teacher and the old Principal. Maybe I should talk with Julie, but I was told by my old principal that there is a ceiling in Spectrum. Is this true? They tell me they used to let the child go a far as they could in reading and math but they were told by the District that they want Spectrum all to stay at the same level (sounds like a ceiling to me). <br /><br /> My son (qualified in K for APP) doesn't want to leave yet, he is in second grade and is very involved in Chess Club, has friends, and can walk to school. Why should he have to? He is just starting feel comfortable. <br /><br />I would like him to be challenged but be able to stay until he is ready emotionally for the change. Don't some gifted children also need a smaller school environment close to home in addition to a challenging education? <br /><br />I feel for the other poster who is torn, my son feels torn and doesn't like changes in his routine. I don't think she is sacrificing he son but I think like me, her son would have to give up a great deal of comfort by going to Lowell (my son is gifted and also is extremely shy and slow to warm up to new situations. At Whittier he has now just started playing on the playground). We are asking why he must make such a big choice in his young life and why there isn't the option to learn without a ceiling at a neighborhood Spectrum classroom where the child is connected? This would help him be prepared for Lowell or Washington Middle School.<br /> <br />In many parts of the country gifted identification doesn't start till fourth grade and until then very good school districts differentiate in the class room. Why can't our Spectrum schools at least do that? Do we as Spectrum parents of APP qualified kids have some rights?<br /><br />I would like to know these answers so we parents could approach our new principal. <br /><br />CS<br />Whittier ParentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-89506837624551513692007-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:002007-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:00Wow, does this post trouble me.
First of all, the...Wow, does this post trouble me.<br /><br />First of all, the teacher who doesn't think that it is necessary to differentiate in a Spectrum class is in SERIOUS need of professional development.<br /><br />Second, the teacher and the principal BOTH need additional professional development if they are putting a ceiling on acceleration in the Spectrum class or in ANY class.<br /><br />Your commitment to the school, this program you head, terminates at year end. You have plenty of time to tell people you're leaving and to effect a transition.<br /><br />As for missing the kids and the families, will you see them again at Washington or Garfield?<br /><br />Please don't feel that the neighborhood school will not function just fine without your family. There will be a transition, but they will make it.<br /><br />Ideally, your neighborhood school, whether a Spectrum school or not, should be able to address your child's academic needs. The reality is that they can't. Ideally, a Spectrum program should be particularly capable of meeting your child's academic needs. They should at least try.<br /><br />While neighborhood school is a fine ideal, I would not sacrifice my child on an altar to it.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-8286859373870066362007-01-25T21:38:00.000-08:002007-01-25T21:38:00.000-08:00I am currently at my neighborhood Spectrum school....I am currently at my neighborhood Spectrum school. I think the teachers are very nice and I love being part of my small local enviroment. <br /><br />But my son is often bored. He is APP eligable and does not have many friends at the school and this bothers him. He is especially advanced in math and analytical thinking and also world issues, so I asked the school if there are ways that they can challenge him in those areas and they basically said no. <br /><br />The Spectrum teachers say they cannot have kids at different levels within Spectrum (even if they are APP). I can see that, 28 kids is a lot! <br /><br />There are also great things about the school and my son is not sure he wants to leave those things behind. <br /><br />I am torn between my ideal of being part of my neighborhood school and my feeling that he needs something more--if not just peers that are more like him.<br /><br />I also have these guilty feelings that I shouldn't leave--because it would mean me leaving too. I feel so connected to this school. I also head a program at the school and feel guilty for thinking of leaving--what about the kids in the program do I just leave? I am very close to some of the kids and would miss seeing them. <br /><br />Does the District see this? Do they really want to force APP kids and families out of neighborhood schools? I feel like they give APP identified kids little choice. <br /><br />How does this impact the neighborhood school?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-19691369162331331432007-01-25T18:54:00.000-08:002007-01-25T18:54:00.000-08:00I remember the business of not being able to get b...I remember the business of not being able to get back into Spectrum if Lowell didn't work out was a big issue for us. It's a totally unfair situation that the district puts us in that way. <br /><br />My impression is that most kids do stay. My son is in his third year, and I can't think of any of the classmates from the last two years who have left. The school gets gradually bigger at each grade level -- I've mislaid the directory at the moment, but I think it's 1.5 first grades (there is a one/two split) up to five fifth grades. Historically the school has been boy-heavy in the younger grades and the numbers gradually equalize as time goes on. <br /><br />It can be tough to arrange play dates, but with everyone in the same boat (very few are neighborhood kids), and so many new parents every year, I find the culture is very accepting of new students and parents. We've found homework load varies hugely -- I believe it's one of the things teachers are working on standardizing. My daughter, who entered in fourth grade, had a lot of trouble with truly excessive homework loads, which I now realize I should have spoken up about more; so far, my son has not.<br /><br />I think it makes a huge difference socially for these kids to have other children around who have similar intense interests and really get what they're talking about. I've also found that Lowell staff are more conscientious about fostering social skills (e.g., having class discussions about issues that are bothering kids) than I've seen elsewhere, though I'm sure other schools do this kind of thing too. It's just not such a sink-or-swim atmosphere. The counselor is terrific, too.<br /><br />Another social benefit, compared to the Spectrum classes in our home school, is that the kids are not in class with the same people year after year, as there is more than one class at each grade level.<br /><br />I'd be happy to talk more by email or on the SpectrumAPP yahoo list. And of course, take a Lowell tour.<br /><br />Helen SchinskeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-20484647727974180732007-01-25T14:57:00.000-08:002007-01-25T14:57:00.000-08:00Thank you poster. I would like to know more about...Thank you poster. I would like to know more about Lowell, and wish the decision wasn't so hard. I know my son needs more of a challenge in the classroom, he also tested into Lowell and is just a magnet for learning-he is several grades ahead in reading and math and just in his ideas about the world, the universe, global warming (he is in first grade). You name it, he ponders and wants to know all about it.<br /><br />He is also quite different but is accepted/included by most of the kids in his Spectrum class. But I have heard that Lowell is not a great place for taking care of the social need of kids. I have heard many of the kids have parents who make them study a ton after school instead of have fun and play.<br /> <br />I want him to have a challenging classroom but I want him to have friends and play dates and be accepted for who he is. If he leaves his neighborhood school I am worried the social environment will be far worse for him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-4589024227693989272007-01-25T14:40:00.000-08:002007-01-25T14:40:00.000-08:00My son attends a Spectrum school that has seen bor...My son attends a Spectrum school that has seen bored unhappy kids leave to go to Lowell. I have stayed in touch with three of the boys parent who then left Lowell after a year. They said it wasn't a good fit for their child, there was no sense of community, no chance of playdates.<br /> <br />My child (he is black) tested into Lowell in K but when I hear about the retention rates at Lowell I am scared to make the change. <br />If I make the change and he is unhappy, my son looses his Spectrum spot (the waitlists are crazy).<br /> <br />So I hate that I can't see if it will be a good fit for him. I feel APP and the District doesn't try and help parents of gifted children with this agonizing process and hard decision to leave or stay at their neighborhood school. <br /><br />What percentage of children stay in APP? What percentage of people of color stay? What percentage of boys stay? Where is this information?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-33837222691279322922007-01-23T11:58:00.000-08:002007-01-23T11:58:00.000-08:00http://www.msu.edu/user/robiso12/Grouping.htm
Muc...http://www.msu.edu/user/robiso12/Grouping.htm<br /><br />Much interesting stuff, including:<br /><br />"In National Excellence: A case for developing America's talent, the U.S. Department of Education notes that "The belief espoused in school reform that children from all economic and cultural backgrounds must reach their full potential has not been extended to America's most talented students." They also argue that these problems are most pronounced with disadvantaged and minority students. While the main focus is on upgrading the curriculum across the board, they do focus on the special problems of gifted minority students. According to the Department of Education information, more than 18 percent of Black students who score over 1,400 on the SAT leave school for academic reasons. Hebert discussed the family and social situations of two gifted black males, in an attempt to find explanations and solutions (Hebert). In comparing two gifted back students, he found that two main factors impacted achievement, mainly through their influence on the "sense of self." The successful student had a strong family support system and numerous opportunities to study with other high achievers. This support system allowed him to overcome peer pressure not to study. The second student's family was less supportive of his studies (although certainly he was in a better situation than many children in low SES households). But even more important, he was trapped in a cycle of underachievement and lack of challenge. He was placed in basic level classes, surrounded by students who could not grasp the material as well as he did. Significantly, it was not an issue of being surrounded by bad academic influences. The students in the class put in far more effort than he did (405) but he still dominated the class. The lack of a challenging curriculum was destroying his motivation, while the rest of the students were struggling with the same material."<br /><br />Helen SchinskeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-35284184506960611472007-01-23T08:38:00.000-08:002007-01-23T08:38:00.000-08:00Regarding the research quoted on the bias in stand...Regarding the research quoted on the bias in standardized tests for cognitive ability...<br /><br />These papers are from 1989, 1988, and 1984. The most recent is from 1992 - that was fifteen years ago. The tests have been re-written a number of times since then with specific focus on removing the cultural bias from experiential background.<br /><br />In addition, the tests include a non-verbal assessment that would not have that sort of bias at all. Despite the claim to the contrary, the Advanced Learning office DOES dispute any claim of bias in their tests. They acknowledge that there is under-representation, but they don't believe that test bias is the cause.<br /><br />To say that the results (under-representation of African-American and Latino students and students from low-income households) prove bias is faulty reasoning. Is bias proven in every case of disproportionate results? Is that why Asians, Latinos, and Native Americans are under-represented in the NBA? Or, closer to home, is that why boys are subject to disproportionate discipline in Seattle Public Schools?<br /><br />In addition to the cognitive ability tests, students must demonstrate academic achievement to be eligible for Spectrum or APP. Even if every African-American student in Seattle Public Schools who got level 4 scores on the WASL (and not every "4" is high enough to meet the eligibility criteria) were admitted to the programs, African-Americans would STILL be under-represented.<br /><br />It's not that the District isn't finding these kids - they aren't out there to be found.<br /><br />The fact - and it is a fact - is that these students arrive at school less ready and that these students are not as well supported at home.<br /><br />So that means that the District is going to have to work harder and focus more effort on getting these kids up to the Standards and beyond. That means that the District and the schools are going to have to facilitate support at home and/or provide a proxy for it.<br /><br />It is not an excuse - it is a call to action.<br /><br />However, until that work is done, let's not blame the measuring tool for the measure.<br /><br />This is another one of those cognitive dissonance things: the disproportionate results prove that the assessments are biased. If the disproportionate results are a result of bias in the assessments, then there is no academic achievement gap. If there is no academic achievement gap, then we don't need to do any work to close it. We can safely conclude that all of the students in Seattle Public Schools are being adequately and appropriately served. Yet the same people who use the results as proof of bias in the assessments are the same people who claim bias in the quality of service.<br /><br />It would appear that they believe that some students, despite getting significantly poorer educations are achieving on a par with other students who are getting richer educations.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-45149569989454842412007-01-23T07:48:00.000-08:002007-01-23T07:48:00.000-08:00There is a weird cognitive dissonance that is happ...There is a weird cognitive dissonance that is happening here. The people who are suggesting that Spectrum is unnecessary - if not unhealthy - share research and experiences about how rich mixed skill level classes can be. Yet, at the same time, they talk about how un-inspired the general education classes typically are.<br /><br />It may be true that:<br /><i>"All students can benefit from the thinking-skills and enrichment activities often offered only to students labeled "gifted and talented." High expectations for all students can be communicated through school routines and classroom techniques, resulting in increased student effort and higher achievement for all."</i><br /><br />So why aren't classes like that now? Why does anyone think that putting the Spectrum students back into these classes will suddenly change anything that the teachers are doing in these classrooms?<br /><br />Perhaps the utopian ideal is possible, but it doesn't currently exist in the vast majority of Seattle public school classrooms.<br /><br />Before the floating bridges were built there was a ferry across Lake Washington. The bridges are much better - no doubt about it. But let's not discontinue the ferry service until the bridges are built. Let's not ask people to drive across half-built bridges.<br /><br />Believe me. My first choice woudl be to have my children's academic needs met at the neighborhood school. That's not possible. The school told me so. So my daughter is at Lowell. If the neighborhood school could serve her well, that's where she would be.<br /><br />There are a number of Spectrum-eligible and APP-eligible students who <b>are</b> at their neighborhood schools. Historically, only 50% of qualified students used to actually enroll in the program. In the last couple years the participation rate has grown to 80%.<br /><br />Improve the neighborhood school. Show people that it is ready to meet the academic needs of advanced learners, and Spectrum and APP will go away on their own.<br /><br />But you can't wish them away with an unrealized ideal. And legislating them away won't work either.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-73362417605430904732007-01-22T22:33:00.000-08:002007-01-22T22:33:00.000-08:00This quote from one of the anonymous posters deser...This quote from one of the anonymous posters deserved further discussion:<br /><br />"And make no mistake, our child is not there by accident; our child thinks differently, learns differently, has different interests. Yeah, maybe our child would make a regular classroom 'more interesting' by their mere presence. But that's not our child's job. Our child's job is to be appropriately taught."<br /><br />I never said (or suggested) that having "gifted" students in a classroom makes the classroom more interesting, or (as others have said) that the "gifted" students should be in a mixed-level classroom so they cah help the other students.<br /><br />I think a mixed-level classroom is more interesting because a)variety among students skills, interests, learning styles and points of views can make a class more interesting and; b) because teacher expectations for a class with "high achievers" tend to lead them to cover more interesting and rigorous material, including critical thinking and other engaging tasks.<br /><br />And, secondly, while I have no doubt that your child "thinks differently, learns differently, has different interests," and deserves to be "appropriately taught," the same could be said of all students. <br /><br />It is not like the students in the Spectrum program are a monolith who all think and learn in the same way and have the same interests. Neither is it true that students who in a "general education" program exhibit the same thinking and learning styles or interests.]<br /><br />Consider students who are extremely "advanced" in one subject area, but don't qualify for a Spectrum program because tests need to be high in at least two areas. How are their needs met?<br /><br />Consider students whose preferred learning style is in the minority among a classroom of 25 students. How are their needs met?<br /><br />Consider students who are regularly made fun of by other students for their appearance or "slowness" at learning new skills. How are their needs met?<br /><br />You could make a case, similar to the one made on this thread for Spectrum students, for separating each of these groups of students into separate classes to better meet their academic and social needs. But, even if that were possible, would it be desirable?Beth Bakemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827919509722526726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-45519549088604740512007-01-22T22:20:00.000-08:002007-01-22T22:20:00.000-08:00Mel,
After reading you comment about ALO's (below...Mel,<br /><br />After reading you comment about ALO's (below), I did a little research and found out how few of the schools have them, and how vague the description of the programs are. I'd be willing to guess many parents (and some staff)at the schools with ALO's don't even know they have them.<br /><br />Anyone with first-hand knowledge of an ALO at your school willing to tell us more?<br /><br /><i>"There are ALOs at many schools. Those are advanced learning opportunities, a new category created by the district to serve students in every school. They are open and available to every student who wants a challenge, no test necessary. Not every school created them (although every school was supposed to have a plan, readily available, to explain how they serve their high achievers). But I couldn't even tell you how they work because every school creates their own." </i>Beth Bakemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827919509722526726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-33710053095746099512007-01-22T22:15:00.000-08:002007-01-22T22:15:00.000-08:00If the Anonymous who made the first comment is sti...If the Anonymous who made the first comment is still following this thread, can you please tell us why you prefer the model "where Spectrum kids are served in the classroom with everyone else" at your school?Beth Bakemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827919509722526726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-73560907775714460352007-01-22T22:13:00.000-08:002007-01-22T22:13:00.000-08:00And if you want further reading on this topic, see...And if you want further reading on this topic, see:<br /><br /><a href='http://http://www2.edweek.org/rc/issues/tracking/'>"Tracking" from <i>Education Week</i></a><br /><br /><a href='http://http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/classmgmt/abilitygroup.htm'>Does Ability Grouping Help or Hurt? A Talk with Anne Wheelock</a> from Scholastic.com.<br /><br /><a href='http://http://www.ithaca.edu/wise/topics/ability.htm'>Ability Grouping, Tracking & Alternatives</a>, a great list of links to other resources from Ithaca College.Beth Bakemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827919509722526726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-86891142305191084232007-01-22T21:59:00.000-08:002007-01-22T21:59:00.000-08:00From "The Challenge of Detracking: Finding the Bal...From "The Challenge of Detracking: Finding the Balance Between Excellence and Equity" by John H. Lockwood and Ella F. Cleveland, in a document on ERIC (Dept. of Education research collegion) from 1998.<br /><br />"This paper discusses finding a balance for the use of tracking in school that benefits both high and low achieving students. Tracking can arguably be traced to the pervasive mythology of biological determinism and the advent of IQ testing. As time passed, schools increased the use of testing to separate students into different ability levels, but this practice has come under considerable criticism. In 1985 J. Oakes published "Keeping Track," a scathing condemnation of tracking that clarifies why tracking interferes with a quality education for all students. How to achieve excellence and equity is the dilemma for educators today. Oakes has posited that it is possible to achieve both while eliminating tracking and ability grouping. Research on the prevalence and influence of tracking has shown that students are often placed in classes by racial and ethnic subgroups. In addition, data such as that from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 has indicated that there is a strong correlation between socioeconomic status and academic track as well as between race/ethnicity and track. There are indeed strong arguments to do away with tracking altogether, but some ability grouping may be advantageous. Detracking could involve grouping students by specific learning tasks, with attention to avoiding biases and traditional stereotypes. The efforts of Massachusetts to eliminate the general track show that excellence and equity can be brought into better balance with systemic change involving many aspects of education. Other areas, including Milwaukee (Wisconsin), have used the EQUITY 2000 program to deal with mathematics and science education through counseling, community, and content support for students. Given the current state of education, eliminating the improper tracking of students is essential."Beth Bakemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827919509722526726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-32283155264551498342007-01-22T21:53:00.000-08:002007-01-22T21:53:00.000-08:00From "Closing the Achievement Gap by Detracking" b...From "Closing the Achievement Gap by Detracking" by Carol Corbett Burris and Kevin G. Welner in the <i>Phi Delta Kappan</i>, April 2005.<br /><br />"Despite overwhelming research demonstrating the ineffectiveness of low-track classes and of tracking in general, schools continue the practice. Earlier studies have argued that this persistence stems from the fact that tracking is grounded in values, beliefs, and politics as much as it is in technical, structural, or organizational needs. Further, despite inconsistent research findings, many parents and educators assume that the practice benefits high achievers. This is partly because parents of high achievers fear that detracking and heterogeneous grouping will result in a "watered-down" curriculum and lowered learning standards for their children.<br /><br />And so, despite the evidence that low-track classes cause harm, they continue to exist. Worse still, the negative achievement effects of such classes fall disproportionately on minority students, since, as noted above, African American and Hispanic students are overrepresented in low-track classes and underrepresented in high-track classes, even after controlling for prior measured achievement. Socioeconomic status (SES) has been found to affect track assignment as well. A highly proficient student from a low socioeconomic background has only a 50-50 chance of being placed in a high-track class."Beth Bakemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827919509722526726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-2207785439396179742007-01-22T21:42:00.000-08:002007-01-22T21:42:00.000-08:00From "Crossing the Tracks: How 'Untracking' Can Sa...From "Crossing the Tracks: How 'Untracking' Can Save America's Schools" by Anne Wheelock, The New Press, 1992.<br /><br />"Increased awareness about the harm of tracking in and of itself has not been enough to bring about change. Nor have well-publicized findings of students' academic and social needs provoked systemic reform. What schools have needed and what they have now are new ways of organizing curriculum and instruction so that all students can learn appropriate "grade-level" material in mixed-ability groups. New practices have demonstrated, for example, that: <br />All students can benefit from the thinking-skills and enrichment activities often offered only to students labeled "gifted and talented." High expectations for all students can be communicated through school routines and classroom techniques, resulting in increased student effort and higher achievement for all.<br /><br />Cooperative learning and other innovative teaching approaches can deepen academic learning for all students while promoting self-esteem. Meaningful hands-on learning activities organized around themes can help students perfect basic skills and teach students to synthesize information from different sources, apply knowledge, and solve problems. <br /><br />Schools can successfully peel off the bottom levels of a grouping hierarchy -- courses labeled "basic" or "general" -- and expose all students to grade-level textbooks, activities, and expectations while providing extra support for students who need it. <br /><br />Today schools also know more about the nature of human intelligence itself. While no one would be foolish enough to claim individuals enter life with identical abilities, intelligence is not fixed forever at birth. Human beings can become intelligent and can learn intelligent behavior, and what students learn depends to a great extent not on an "I.Q. factor" but on learning environments that equip them to use their intelligence as life-long learners, citizens, parents, and workers. <br /><br />Moreover, intelligence grows as students are challenged to apply learning in settings where they interact with others who have different strengths from their own. Schools and classrooms which include diverse learners and employ the instruction and curriculum that makes mixed-ability grouping work represent such settings. "Beth Bakemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827919509722526726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-16435928569662033082007-01-22T21:34:00.000-08:002007-01-22T21:34:00.000-08:00From Lauren B. Resnick's article, "From Aptitude t...From Lauren B. Resnick's article, "From Aptitude to Effort" in <i>Daedalus</i>, Fall 1995.<br /><br />"Early in this century, we built an education system around the assumption that attitude is paramount in learning and that it is largely hereditary. The system was oriented toward selection, distinguishing the naturally able from the less able and providing students with programs suitable to their talents. In other periods, most notably during the Great Society reforms, we worked on a compensatory principle, arguing that special effort, by an individual or an institution, could make up for low aptitude. The third possiblity --- that effort actually <i>creates</i> ability, that people can <i>become</i> smart by working hard at the right kinds of learning tasks --- has never been taken seriously by anyone in America or indeed in European society, although it is the guiding assumption of education institutions in societies with a Confucian tradition.<br /><br />Although the compensatory assumption is more recent in American education history, many of our tools and standard practices are inherited from the earlier period in which aptitude reigned supreme. As a result, our schools largely function as if we believed that native ability is the primary determinant in learning, that the "bell curve" of intelligence is a natural phenonmenon that must be reproduced in all examples, that effort counts for little.<br /><br />Consider the following examples:<br /><br />1) IQ tests or their surrogates determine who will have access to the enriched programs for the "gifted and talented." This curriculum is denied to students who are judged less capable.<br /><br />2) Our so-called "achievement tests" are normed to compare students with one another rather than with a standard of excellence, making it difficult to see the results of learning, and, in the process...<br /><br />3) We group students, sometimes within classrooms, and provide de facto different curricula to different groups. As a result, some students never get the chance to study a high-demand, high-expectations curriculum.<br /><br />4) College entrance is heavily dependent on tests that have little to do with the curriculum studied and that are designed, like IQ tests, to spread students out on a scale rather than to define what one is supposed to work at learning.<br /><br />5) Remedial instruction is offered in "pullout" classes so that students who need extra instruction miss some of the regular learning opportunities.<br /><br />6) We expect teachers to grade on a curve. If every student gets an A or a B, we assume that the standards are too low. We seldom consider the possibility that the students may have worked hard and succeeded in learning what was taught.<br /><br />These are commonplace, everyday, taken-for-granted features of the American educational landscape. They are institutionalized expressions of a belief in the importance of aptitude."Beth Bakemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827919509722526726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-90564990813349051112007-01-22T20:59:00.000-08:002007-01-22T20:59:00.000-08:00In response to questions about research, I'll post...In response to questions about research, I'll post a few comments with excerpts and mentions of articles.<br /><br />From the "Detracking: The Social Construction of Ability, Cultural Politics, and Resistance to Reform" article I quoted in the original post:<br /><br />In his paper “Myths, Countermyths, and Truths about Intelligence,” for example, Robert Sternberg (1996) presents a list of ideas about intelligence that illuminates for nonpsychologist education researchers how newer theories are quite at odds with traditional ones positing a hierarchical (if “normal”) distribution of intelligence measuredas a single dimensional entity.<br /><br />Not surprisingly, the concept of genius, “superior ability,” or giftedness has also shifted considerably with these new perspectives on intelligence.<br />Sternberg and Davidson (1986) claim, for example, that “giftedness is something<br />we invent, not something we discover” (p. 4). And considerably moreattention has been focused on contrasting experts and novices, rather than geniuses and morons. This shift highlights the newer cultural emphasis on the alterability of human capacity with development and learning. If “giftedness” is socially constructed, then culture, or the highly subjective ways in which people make meaning of the world around them, must play a significant role in that construction.Beth Bakemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827919509722526726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-44798248239476435212007-01-22T16:47:00.000-08:002007-01-22T16:47:00.000-08:00I don't think we do any tracking at the low end. I...I don't think we do any tracking at the low end. I'm not aware of any remedial classes, certainly not at the elementary or middle school level. There isn't any program like Spectrum or APP for students who are working significantly below grade level.<br /><br />There is Special Education, but that's about disability, not low achievement.<br /><br />I find it stunning that this District can say for years and years that their primary goal and priority is to close the academic aachievement gap by bringing every student up to Standards, but they do not have any process that systematically identifies students working below standards and provides them with what they need to get to Standard.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.com