Comments on: High School Rankings Don’t Tell the Whole Story http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/high-school-rankings-dont-tell-the-whole-story/ Education News Fri, 24 May 2013 17:56:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Doug http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/high-school-rankings-dont-tell-the-whole-story/#comment-9835 Doug Fri, 08 Jun 2012 01:28:29 +0000 http://www.educationnews.org/?p=214398#comment-9835 If you rank schools by parents income and then compare the list to schools ranked by achievement you will find the lists almost identical. This is true in every state, Canada, UK, all of Europe, China India and pretty much the entire world. The single and only way to improve education results is to mitigate poverty and concentrations of poverty. Finland child poverty rate = 5% no concentration to speak of. USA child poverty rate = 20% and it is highly concentrated. Duh. If you rank schools by parents income and then compare the list to schools ranked by achievement you will find the lists almost identical.

This is true in every state, Canada, UK, all of Europe, China India and pretty much the entire world.

The single and only way to improve education results is to mitigate poverty and concentrations of poverty.

Finland child poverty rate = 5% no concentration to speak of.
USA child poverty rate = 20% and it is highly concentrated.

Duh.

]]> By: wintertime http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/high-school-rankings-dont-tell-the-whole-story/#comment-9812 wintertime Thu, 07 Jun 2012 01:29:17 +0000 http://www.educationnews.org/?p=214398#comment-9812 Unless the "afterschooling" done by the parents and the children, themselves, is taken into account, it is impossible to know if any of these schools is excellent or not. It has been my anecdotal observation that there is no difference between the **in home** study done by academically successful homeschoolers and institutionalized children. Both groups ( home and institutionally educated) have families that share similar values, home habits, rational discipline measures, and control of electron entertainment. It could be that so-called "good" schools are merely sending home a very expensive and taxpayer funded curriculum that the parents and child follow **in the home**. The real work of learning is not happening in the classroom but at the kitchen table and at the child's bedroom desk. Unless the “afterschooling” done by the parents and the children, themselves, is taken into account, it is impossible to know if any of these schools is excellent or not.

It has been my anecdotal observation that there is no difference between the **in home** study done by academically successful homeschoolers and institutionalized children. Both groups ( home and institutionally educated) have families that share similar values, home habits, rational discipline measures, and control of electron entertainment.

It could be that so-called “good” schools are merely sending home a very expensive and taxpayer funded curriculum that the parents and child follow **in the home**. The real work of learning is not happening in the classroom but at the kitchen table and at the child’s bedroom desk.

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