Excellence in Education: Preparing Students for College
Does K-12 teaching and learning prepare students for college?
Should it?
I’m sure the answers to both questions fall somewhere in between the extremes. Of course, there are countless variables that also contribute to my confusion.
I remember talking to my stepson a couple of years ago and he shared that a couple of his professors at JMU didn’t allow computers or cellphones in their classes. Some of his teachers made use of their clicker-assessment system, while just jumped right into their lectures and didn’t stop until class was over. Some required collaborative projects, while others assigned several papers and others only used tests and exams for assessing his learning.
Over the years, I’ve talked to hundreds of recent high school graduates who went on to colleges and my stepson’s experiences clearly aren’t unique. So again, I return to my opening questions, Does K-12 teaching and learning prepare students for college? Should it?
I’ve written about this in the past How Can We Better Prepare Our Students For College and Do Colleges Know What’s Best, yet I still struggle to answer the questions.
So as we prepare to bid the Class of 2017 goodbye, I did my best to not only answer the questions but to reflect on all that you’ve done to ensure they are prepared for colleges and careers.
- We need closer connections between high school-college-student careers. This is perhaps the most important thing we can do and it pertains to all students not just our college-bound. Several weeks ago, I attended the HMSA Open House for rising freshman. The presentations, where seniors shared information about their internships, were phenomenal by the way. One soon-to-graduate student shared with me that she worked in a dentist’s office, which she thought was a potential career for her. But, after the experience, she realized dentistry wasn’t for her. What a valuable experience for her to have! Think of how many college students go through 4--or more--years of college, enter the workforce in their chosen field, and then realize that it’s not their passion. This student had that epiphany in high school!
We’re on the verge of High School 2022, which I firmly believe, will offer our students a wider variety of courses and experiences to prepare them for an individualized career path.
- We embrace technology and personalized learning tools. While we, and colleges, still have a long way to go, Blackboard, Google Classroom, and edtech tools can create positive learning experiences for students and bridge the gap and prepare students for colleges where learning management systems like BlackBoard are prevalent. We also provide students with numerous opportunities to take online classes through independent study or virtually.
- Culturally, we’ve created a culture of support for our students. Our counseling department does a superb job, for example, of engaging and assisting students in understanding the college application process and helping families understand the process as well. As we become more familiar with Naviance, which also provides us with the ability to track our college-bound students after high school, will strengthen our abilities to meet the needs of our students.
- We have an abundance of programs from AVID to Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement classes that prepare students for college-level work. Working together through PLCs and soliciting opinions and advice from recent graduates and college professors, we can better understand what constitutes a college-ready curriculum for our students. It’s vital that we then use this to develop lessons, assignments and assessments that not only prepare students for college but also assist them in overcoming deficiencies.
- We should be proud of all that we do to meet the needs of our students. Last year we proudly and rightfully boasted that our 4-year AVID students all went to college and 100% of our students passed their English Reading/Writing SOLs, but I’m also reminded of a conversation that I had with a teacher over the summer who said that we can’t treat graduation as the end goal for our student; it must be the starting point for future success, whatever path the student chooses.
Of course, I’m also curious, What would you add to the list? How would you answer the questions.
Useful Links:
Portfolio Assistance If you have a student who needs assistance setting up his/her portfolio, click here
Technology / Website Permission Request Form http://go.shr.lc/1HovEA6 Please use this form to request use of a website that requires student log-in if the site is not already on the approved list. DART approved list
Morning Announcement Stream: http://streaming.k12albemarle.org/ACPS/links.htm Please be sure to have announcements cued and ready to go at 8:55 every morning.
Announcement Request: http://tinyurl.com/requestannouncement
Calendar and Memo Items
June 1: Senior Awards Night
“CATEC is open for business:” their words, not mine. With our testing schedule, we’ve put students in a tough place, but please encourage our CATEC students to attend CATEC.
Final Exam schedule is here
Underclass Failures and Level Changes Due June 1: bit.ly/2017fail Please use this form for any 9th-11th grader who may fail your class or you are recommending a level change for 2017-2018. If you’re unsure, please include the student on the form. As part of the checkout process on June 9, you will have the opportunity to remove any students from the failure list. This serves two primary purposes: 1) it gives you less to do on the last week of school; 2) counselors will have the opportunity to make necessary changes for the upcoming school year.
Exams and Alternative Culminating Assignments
Obviously, there’s been some confusion regarding the exemption policy. There have been several emails including one dated on May 10 explaining the exemption policy. This was also the policy last year for the spring term (after much confusion at mid-year). It has also been included in several mustang memos, the student handbook and the teacher handbook. The verbiage in the Program of Studies is also confusing. In the interest of consistency and fairness, it’s important that we’re consistent across the board to ensure all students have the same experiences and expectations. We are asking all teachers to follow the exam exemption policy outlined in our student and teacher handbooks.
We have consulted with Central Office staff and will be working with you to develop a fair, consistent exam exemption policy for next year.
Exemption from Final Exams
For classes offering final exams, a student is exempt from the exam if he/she meets the following criteria:
- A 90% or higher in the class for the FINAL grade
- No in-school or out-of-school suspensions
Midterm and Final Exams/Alternative Assessments account for 20% of student’s first semester grade (Marking Period=40%, Marking Period=40%, Exam=20%). All students are expected to be present during their midterm exam period and their final exam period unless they are exempt.
Absences from Exams
The expectation is that all students will be in attendance for all exams (unless they are exempt, or unless their teacher has taken advantage of an Alternative Assessment - see below). Under no circumstances will teachers change or cancel exam times. Not including exempt students, all absences from exams require administrative approval. Upon receiving administrative approval, the student and teacher should make the appropriate arrangements.
During exams, students are not permitted in the hallways or cafeteria. Under no circumstances, should students be sent to other locations, including the library, during exams.
Copies of taken student exams will be turned in at the end of the year. For uncompleted exams due to student absences, a copy of the exam should be provided to the appropriate administrator and arrangements should be made to grade these exams.
Alternative Assessment
If a teacher elects to use an Alternative Assessment, all students in the class are expected to complete it. All students are expected to attend class until the final class day of school. They do not need to attend the final exam period for that course because students completing an Alternative Assessment will not have a final exam. The Alternative Assessment will be 20% of the student’s semester grade.
Entering Exams and Year-End Projects in PowerTeacher
- use the date 6/8/2017 for your final exam assignment. This date will place the assignment in the E4 category.
- Select E4, and check to make sure that is the only assignment in that category
- For exempt students:
- leave the score field blank for the student, or
- exempt the student from the assignment.
All other assignments need to have a date prior to 6/8/2017, which will put them in the Q4 category.
Birthdays
May 27: Derek Frazier, William Trent
May 28: John Konoza, Lisa Haney
May 31: Tracy Seale
Worth Your Time
What to Do on Lame Duck School Days (Some great ideas for upcoming days)
Letters to NY Times Re: Technology and Chromebooks Interesting viewpoints
