1) Measurability and Common Sense
Does the value of our children begin and end with things like report cards, SAT scores, etc? OF COURSE NOT! Does a good education begin and end with “teaching to tests”? OF COURSE NOT! However, to ignore the use of measurement tools by those who will control opportunities for our children beyond Great Valley is counterproductive (at best) and naïve (at worst).
High school graduation marks the first large-scale review of our children’s lives by those outside our immediate community, including college admissions officers, potential employers, and others. Like it or not, those people look at commonly accepted measures of potential future success—with SAT scores usually at the top of the list of indicators.
This observation has nothing to do with philosophical arguments for or against measurement tools (such as the SATs) but is simply stated as a fact of life. Whether you “like” the SATs –or a review of your child’s scholastic history in any quantifiable terms—it is a fact of life that increasingly limited jobs, college openings, etc. necessitate some means of assessing those who will make the most productive use of those limited opportunities.
To deny the truth of this observation does our children a disservice and lessens their chances for success both within our own community and the world beyond Great Valley.
Read Po Bronson’s post from newsweek.com for important information about the SATs and why they might be a more useful tool than you think…
2) Is the Great Valley School District really keeping up with the world?
Click on the link below for a video which will hopefully make you ask this question of our School District.
It is especially thought provoking when you consider that while we were spending millions on turf fields, we were taking 3-4 years to get technology into our classrooms which will probably be obsolete before it is installed.
Take a look.............
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8
