Quote:
Originally Posted by Major
I had Mr. Girard for Algebra I. He was an excellent teacher.
Maybe it’s more competitive now. More students go to college.
Under your definition, there is an escalation happening in Lakeport. We can only hope it’s as successful as Meredith.
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I don't think it is more competitive. I think how we measure ourselves has changed.
During our time, the only standardized test that I can think of taking was a California Achievement Test at Pleasant Street in the fifth grade. The two teachers I had in the fifth grade could easily compare my work and knowledge against the other students in my class, but not so much against those from the other district schools and Holy Trinity. That type of comparison wouldn't really be made until we entered LHS. But even then comparing us to Gilford, Interlakes, Belmont, or Winnisquam was really just comparing the PSAT/SAT scores of just a small subset of students in each class to each other for one moment in time. The Math teams, though only one subject, was a means to do this several times throughout a year.
Our current system, though still a political football, allows much more comparison across a broader population than when we were young.
So school systems can't rely on getting the greatest percentage of pupils just across a low bar of getting a D- in enough courses to graduate; and they can't focus on the few high achievers that score well on the PSAT/SAT.
They have to expend a great deal of effort lifting the lowest achievers up - and by up, I don't mean just enough to graduate. You can graduate with very low competency test scores. But those competency test scores, not the graduation rate are now the focus.