1 year, 10 months ago
This year Hawaii shortened the public school year to the lowest in the nation, yet test scores rose. Should this change be made permanent?
In order to close a budget gap, the State of Hawaii instituted a policy called "Furlough Fridays," shortening the work week for many State workers to 4 days for several weeks each month in exchange for a pay cut. For the current school year just ended, there were 17 Furlough Fridays for school teachers, giving Hawaii the distinction of having the shortest public school year in the Nation. There were dire warnings that test scores would drop this year, yet in todays local paper, the Honolulu Star Advertiser, it was reported that the test scores among Hawaii's children actually rose! I posted a comment on the news article, but as i write, I don't see it yet. (comments are moderated; Later: I think they don't allow link posting, so was able to get my comments posted without the links). So after reading the article, consider my comment (which are just quotes from the BBC article cited in the sources), and tell me what you think:
"Finland's schools score consistently at the top of world rankings, yet the pupils have the fewest number of class hours in the developed world!"
"The Finnish philosophy with education is that everyone has something to contribute and those who struggle in certain subjects should not be left behind. A tactic used in virtually every lesson is the provision of an additional teacher who helps those who struggle in a particular subject. But the pupils are all kept in the same classroom, regardless of their ability in that particular subject."
Watch this video by Sir Ken Robinson, which shows just how to improve schools (and not by giving more of what isn't working now):
duenhsiyen
Duen Hsi Yen
Sources:
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20100716_Principals_ecstatic_over_test_results.html#comment-62559865
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114330842
http://disqus.com/twitter-45887083/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8601207.stm
"Finland's schools score consistently at the top of world rankings, yet the pupils have the fewest number of class hours in the developed world!"
"The Finnish philosophy with education is that everyone has something to contribute and those who struggle in certain subjects should not be left behind. A tactic used in virtually every lesson is the provision of an additional teacher who helps those who struggle in a particular subject. But the pupils are all kept in the same classroom, regardless of their ability in that particular subject."
Watch this video by Sir Ken Robinson, which shows just how to improve schools (and not by giving more of what isn't working now):
duenhsiyen
Duen Hsi Yen
Sources:
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20100716_Principals_ecstatic_over_test_results.html#comment-62559865
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114330842
http://disqus.com/twitter-45887083/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8601207.stm
videos:
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M$1 Answer
No. There are lots of factors influencing how a school does, and lots which don't really do as much. Evidently the number of days was not the problem of the Hawaiian school system and losing a few didn't hurt. Nevertheless, restoring them could help continue to bring improvements in schooling.
It appears that Hawaii does not have good schools and has many systemic problems. They have been working to solve them, and something seems to have helped a bit. Yet the schools have a long way to go.
One thing that may be concealing damage done by the lost days is that teachers seem to have concentrated on the standardized tests while cutting out less measured aspects of schooling. In the long run that would hurt.
It appears that Hawaii does not have good schools and has many systemic problems. They have been working to solve them, and something seems to have helped a bit. Yet the schools have a long way to go.
One thing that may be concealing damage done by the lost days is that teachers seem to have concentrated on the standardized tests while cutting out less measured aspects of schooling. In the long run that would hurt.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
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