Preview

Students Should Not Be Allowed In High School

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
459 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Students Should Not Be Allowed In High School
I realized there was something wrong with me when I noticed myself scrutinizing the extracurricular activities of my daughter’s friends, and wondering how they’d look on a college résumé. How would Model U.N. stack up against Mandarin? Would playing a violin or a lute stand out more? What about foreign service trips vs. summer “nerd camp” vs. Indian cooking classes? Archery, fencing, or diving—which would be more likely to catch the admissions officer’s eye?

We were talking about a bunch of seventh-graders.

I’d been infected with the pandemic afflicting many American parents (and many non-Americans as well): the obsession with getting our kids into the “right” colleges. It hits different parents at different times—in certain upscale enclaves, it’s received wisdom that your child’s university fate is sealed by what preschool she gets into—but it’s spreading. And the sickness is nourished by the annual release of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges rankings. (This year’s just came out Wednesday—spoiler alert: Princeton, Harvard, and Yale are the top three.) …show more content…
Whether U.S. News’s data tell us anything useful at all about the relative merits of these schools, they certainly don’t tell us which ones would help our own children thrive. Yet in today’s data-driven world, a number—however it’s determined—can overshadow what our own eyes and instincts tell
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Summary Of JHS 145 And New Millennium
    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Summary Of JHS 145 And New Millennium

    What is the distance between progress and failure? At 1000 Teller Avenue in the South Bronx, it is two flights of stairs and a few points on the annual state exams-- the gap between the New Millennium Business Academy Middle School, on the second floor, and Junior High School 145 Arturo Toscanini, on the fourth. This article relates to Eisner’s Questionable Assumptions paper because JHS 145 and New Millennium are graded by how well their students are performing. The two school were at one point in time one school but it was thought that apart they would have better results. JHS 145 and New Millennium also have competitive natures towards each other because they share a building and New Millennium is slowly taking over the shared space. Even though the separation was meant to make the schools stronger and give them higher test rates it has actually barely improved. Both school have improved but JHS 145 is not improving at the rate they need to and so the school is not getting the enrollment sizes that the school strives for. In the case of Eisner’s assumption that the best way to identify schools that work well is to examine their students’ test scores, JHS 145 measures their students success on test…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Public High School Graduation Rates: Newark City and the State of New Jersey Essay Example
    • 2909 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Public High School Graduation Rates: Newark City and the State of New Jersey Essay Example

    Public high school graduation rates can be used as a tool to measure the effectiveness of a particular education program. However, choosing a formula that accurately reflects the strength and weaknesses of a high school has proven to be quite difficult and even controversial. In 2010, the Newark Public School district reported a 55 percent graduation rate among Newark City high schools (Newark Public Schools, pg 4). However, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie challenges the NPS’s findings. Christie argues that, “The Newark City graduation rate is 29 percent”(Christie 4.29). Both claims, stemming from low Newark City graduation rates, seem to conflict with the 94.7 percent graduation rate reported by the State of New Jersey in 2010 (NJPS: Fact Sheet).These inconsistencies indicate that the different ways of interpreting graduation rates may be exploited to reflect the interests of a person or group. Because of this, it is important to analyze and interpret the graduation rates reported to ensure that the claims are an accurate representation of the data.…

    • 2909 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Summary Of Education Failing By Diane Ravitch
    • 1426 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Summary Of Education Failing By Diane Ravitch

    With longitudinal data and research to support her position, Ravitch decimates the false claims with precision and purpose. She makes a compelling argument that our schools are not failing and that the “crisis” is manufactured to promote the agenda of the corporate reformers and privatization movement. Test scores are at their highest point ever and the achievement gaps are closing. The high school dropout rates are at their lowest and graduation rates at their highest. She tackles the opponents claim that poverty is just an excuse for poor performance and provides compelling research that unequivocally demonstrates the high correlation between poverty and low academic achievement.…

    • 1426 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    America Is Failing It's Schools Summary
    • 236 Words
    • 1 Page

    America Is Failing It's Schools Summary

    In an article published by Inequality.org entitled “How America Is Failing It’s Schools” (23 June, 2015), Salvatore Babones argues that “the real crisis in American education is not the schools system,” but rather inequality. He argues this point by providing statistics that prove that highly-concentrated impoverished communities result in lower test scores that, consequently, make America trudge behind international standards; by blaming the public for denouncing the schools that helplessly educate poor children without many resources; and by reaffirming that failing schools are not the result of parents, teachers, or the students themselves, but of inequality. Babones’s purpose is to address and hopefully better America’s equality, eventually…

    • 236 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Our Kids By Robert Putnam
    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Our Kids By Robert Putnam

    Throughout America’s communities today, the quality of schooling varies from school to school. In the book Our Kids the author, Robert Putnam, believes that the increased gap between the wealthy and poor is what causes the differences in school quality and opportunities for the students (Putnam, 2015). Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing two of today’s youth, Josh and Erin. Their names have been changed for the sake of anonymity. Josh is a 17-year-old student at Shawnee Mission East High School, in Prairie Village, Kansas.…

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Eda 577 Action Inquiry
    • 2005 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Eda 577 Action Inquiry

    To any prospective parent, a school needs to present all the facts about itself, so as the parent may make the choice that is best for their child. Thirty years ago, when I was in school. There was no concern about scores, diversity, etc. You just went to your local elementary, middle and high school. Today parents are much more informed and curious about where their child is going to go. To some parents, it is quite important to have their children attend a culturally diverse school. “There is a richness that comes from students working side by side with others who are not of the same cookie-cutter mold,” notes Jean Snell. (Great Schools Staff, 2009, P.123) This is why it is so important for a school to annually update their school profile. Davidson Middle School is doing this on an annual basis, offering prospective parents all the facts to make an informed decision. The school profile can also be used by staff to see the changes that occur from year to year and take this information to improve in the areas that it is needed in(Educational Testing Service, 2008).…

    • 2005 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gud Looking Guys
    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Gud Looking Guys

    * Studies have shown that children involved in extracurricular activities achieve better grades than those who are not, and these activities often teach them lifelong skills and build character. Extracurricular activities are also important for those who plan to attend college. Colleges often look at the…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Do We Need Vouchers And Charter Schools?
    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Why Do We Need Vouchers And Charter Schools?

    Advocates for school choice emphasize that under current public school systems, parents with higher income means already utilize school choice by moving to neighborhoods with better, safer schools from spots that have failing or unsafe school systems. This group of parents argument is the school choice initiative will give any parents the freedom, despite their income level, to choose a school that offers the best or safest education (Chub and Moe). This would force schools to compete for parents and students by providing higher academic results and better safety. Schools that couldn’t measure up to the parent’s standards or that of a successful school would eventually fail and even face closing. Reformist concerned with the school choice movement can be appreciated for their efforts in looking to improve public education, but proposed changes have the potential to severely harm public education in the…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Kids Should Not Be Allowed In High School
    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Why Kids Should Not Be Allowed In High School

    Earning a trophy for just participating? Sound familiar. Have you ever gotten a trophy on some team and the kind that just played in the sand get the same one.…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Americans Should Not Be Allowed In School
    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Americans Should Not Be Allowed In School

    All around the United States, there are students receiving these “Participation trophies” for just showing up at an event. Is this right or wrong? These schools, as well with many other youth associations, are rewarding children trophies. There are many statistics that show both sides of this argument. People are starting to take things too far with the whole “reward everyone” and leaving no children or adults out of an event. It’s getting ridiculous. So the question being asked here is “Should kids get a trophy for participation?” and here is my answer.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    High School Graduates Should Not Go To College
    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages

    High School Graduates Should Not Go To College

    “If you don’t go to college, you won’t be successful.” This may not be what someone may say to you when you tell them that you’re not going to college, but it’s what it feels like. No matter how expected high school graduates are to enter college, there are growing opportunities outside of university walls that await them. High school graduates should not be pushed to go to college, no matter the circumstance.…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Homeless People Should Be Allowed In High School
    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Homeless People Should Be Allowed In High School

    A policy such as this denies kids their fundamental rights as a student, and I view it as an equality problem. Depriving kids who do not have a B average or above of the opportunity to participate in after-school activities creates a caste system that would stigmatize students who do not make the mark. If this policy were in place now, I myself would not be able to participate in any activities, clubs, or sports due to my grade average. Those activities are the places students make friends and find a safe fun environment to socialize and express themselves in the stressful pressure of a high school day. Speaking from experience, without something to look forward to during or at the end of a six-hour school day of tedious lectures and clocks ticking at the pace of molasses, removing these activities would decrease the students’ desire to want to learn or even be in a school setting. This could then backlash and drive the cycle of bad grades.…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Why Is Standardized Testing Wrong
    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Why Is Standardized Testing Wrong

    Author Alfie Kohn explains that, “Research has repeatedly found that the amount of poverty in the communities where schools are located, along with other variables having nothing to do with what happens in the classrooms, accounts for the great majority difference in tests scores from one area to the next”(7). A factor such as resources available to the school as well as the level of affluence of the community in which the school is located contributes to these students setbacks. Test results show primarily socioeconomic status and available resources. In other words they tell us how the students’ houses are. One educator suggested that a way to save time and money would just be by asking a single question: “How much does your mom make?...OK, you’re on the bottom” (Kohn 7). Though that statement is slightly exaggerated, it does have some truth to it. Students, teachers, and schools should not be punished because of test scores especially considering all the socioeconomic factors included. Statistics and facts show that schools in better communities have more successful students while students who attend schools in more urban, low income areas are less successful when compared to students living in better economic communities. This is not the fault of the children therefore they should not be held accountable or punished by not receiving money and grants just because tests scores…

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Standardized Testing Argument
    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Standardized Testing Argument

    The chief problem with U.S. schools apparently isn’t high dropout rates or underqualified teachers but standardized testing. This is the only conclusion that can be drawn from the push by parents and teachers in Buffalo, Philadelphia, Seattle and elsewhere to help students opt out of taking standardized tests.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    SAT Persuasive Essay
    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages

    SAT Persuasive Essay

    This has been argued as a mistreatment of SAT scores. The high ranking colleges attract more funds from donors and many new applicants. These colleges are like businesses and students with high SAT scores are their products. This clandestine industry affects high schools students who’s scores are not good enough for these colleges to contend with. Students that are highly motivated to work and most likely to graduate college are often turned down because money and reputation are more important to colleges.…

    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics