How very true. I would argue, however, that the paragraph in which you
note that independent schools are unfettered by "high-stakes exit exams"
could not be more untrue. The ugly truth is that for the majority of our
schools we do have exit exams. These exams are extremely high-stake, for
both the students that take them and the teachers that teach to them,
and come in many different flavors. These exams are more commonly
referred to as Advanced Placement Exams (Disclaimer: I used to teach AP
Computer Science).
I do find it increasingly difficult to have meaningful conversations
surrounding the death of education, particularly at the upper school
level, and the rebirth of learning as we need it when such a powerful
measure of our schools' success is so tightly wedded to the weight
colleges and universities place on these exams.
While I do understand this to be only a portion of the issue, it's
pervasiveness has deeper roots, however, than any TTWWADI (that's the
way we've always done it) thought process we may cross in our schools.
Until we can make great in roads at the next level on how our students
are evaluated we all may be spinning our wheels in the name of change.
I think my Head of School said it best in a recent meeting when she
said, "much of what we do [in independent schools] is like a large
rocking horse. Sure, there is a great deal of motion, but not a lot of
forward progress."
I, like you Bill, am ready to ride the thoroughbred. Anyone else want to
grab the reigns and ride?
With best intentions,
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Jason T. Ramsden; CTO @ Ravenscroft School (Raleigh, NC - USA)
Mobile: 919.337.2244
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Bill Ivey
Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2010 9:08 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: The most tweeted remark from the 2010 NAIS annual
conference...
Perhaps therein lies an opportunity for independent schools, who in
recent years have seemed increasingly willing and able to take advantage
of the flexibility to innovate which we enjoy, unfettered as we are by
NLCB, high-stakes exit exams and state testing, and all the rigamarole
that passes for "reform" among far too many politicians, think tanks,
and the media.
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