Comments on: The One Florida Program

By: matthewladner

matthewladner — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:48:14 +0000

Fred-

A Spanish AP class wouldn’t be included in Figure 1- it is for Math, Science and English. On your second point, you are correct that the figures are not standardized. The Hispanic and African American K-12 populations did not triple over the last ten years however. Between 1998 and 2005 (latest year available in the common core of data) the African American K-12 population increased by 8% for all grades. The Hispanic population increased by sixty percent for all grades.

By: fred

fred — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:07:56 +0000

There is something very misleading about these stats. For one thing, there is no distinction between states that barely have 7000+ Hispanics and states that have significant Hispanic populations. South Florida’s Hispanic population is very significant, and this leads to some interesting insights. The biggest change apparent is that many more Hispanics are taking the Spanish AP exam. Now, is this a measure of success for the program talked about here? The answer should be a resounding no. The statistics of the Black population show growth, but keep in mind that the statistics in the second graph is not based on any proportion. The growth could just as easily be associated with the rapid growth of Florida’s population. While one may not have the right to say the Florida plan is a failure, to say that the Florida plan is effective through these stats is misleading.

By: matthewladner

matthewladner — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:46:15 +0000

Ms. Cormack-

I don’t have any information on that. I would suggest calling the Florida DoE.

By: karen Cormack

karen Cormack — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:14:48 +0000

I am looking for more information on Florida’s AP success. A recent survey conducted by the DOE (2006 – AP Projections for LEP students and students with disabilities) indicates no increase in AP class participation on test success in the state of Florida.

I would be interested in finding out why this target group of students has not made progress. My daughter has a specific learning disability and the trend is significantly up for this group of students to attend 2 and 4 year colleges.

Thanks

By: Greg Forster

Greg Forster — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:42:11 +0000

By how much money you spend. That’s how we always measured success before the rise of accountability and choice reforms, and that’s what the mossbacks want to go back to. I can’t imagine why.

By: robbdj

robbdj — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:18:16 +0000

“Results are not always indicative of success.”

If you can’t measure success by results, what can you measure it by?

By: brazen teacher

brazen teacher — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:25:24 +0000

What a flawed meme. Results are not always indicative of success. Connecting grades with money doesn’t promote good philosophies in regards to education.

We win the battle and lose the war. Teachers and administrators are more likely to make short cuts, juggle numbers, and even cheat, as some data has shown in various sources I’ve read over the past years since NCLB’s enactment.

Most importantly, kids will gain very little joy from being forced into the standardized molds by districts who are hungry for more financial rewards. Is it any wonder kids grow up hating school? Governments and educational institutions should be mindful of the side effects when implementing systems such as these.

Good teaching should be sourced from an authentic desire to better the lives of children. Real learning can only be achieved when students are free to make mistakes and think creatively while learning at their own pace. Of course this is much more difficult to promote, when teachers are under pressure to get students to perform by certain deadlines. So do we settle for results motivated by money?

Bottom line as always in the United States.

By: Total Registration

Total Registration — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:14:03 +0000

It really sounds like Florida may be on to something here. I have read other examples of students being paid for high scores on the AP exams. There was just recently an article about students in New York city getting paid for high AP scores. The result of that was not as positive as this. More students did take exams, but there was not an increase in higher scores. Perhaps the difference here is that bonus goes to the schools/teacher, causing them to change instruction to get higher acheivement.

Across the country there is a push to expand AP programs. I help high schools register students online for AP exams and almost every school we work has an expaning AP program. I think it is great that more students are being challenged to take these more rigorous classes. The key is to open the classes up to more students without lowering the expectations of the class. In the long run this can be tough to do as less prepared students can slow down the class some. It is very important to try to raise the level of preparation for all students and therefore all more students success in their AP exams.

Mike
Total Registration, LLC, http://www.TotalRegistration.net – Offering an online AP exam registration service for high schools