AP Classes, Homework, and Standardized Tests, oh my!

There aren't really any of my own thoughts in today's entry; instead, I wanted to post three articles about various (and large and important) controversies in education today.

Exhibit A discusses that AP classes, despite their labels, do not actually prepare kids for college. I would agree, because I have seen this first hand. Students in AP classes often do not have the requisite skills to succeed in those classes, let alone in college. This well-written article discusses additional flaws with the AP testing system.

Exhibit B is a short piece by Alfie Kohn, who argues that homework does more harm than good. I'm a proponent of the flipped classroom, which is not exactly homework, since homework basically serves to reinforce skills students have just learned. So I guess on this subject, Kohn and I agree.

Finally, Exhibit C is yet another example of educators attacking standardized tests. You'd think with all this backlash, the standardized testing movement would go away. Sadly, these policy reformers seem to be stubborn and ignorant of data.

Don't Teach for America

Those of you who know me are aware of my strong opinion against Teach for America. In theory, it's a good idea to send highly qualified college graduates to teach in high-needs areas, but in practice, the program has a myriad of problems -- the recruits, for instance, aren't necessarily education majors and haven't had proper training, and the fact that they only have to sign a two-year contract pretty much guarantees that there will be a lot of turnover in the teaching profession in the areas where good teachers are most needed.

A professor at Fordham University brought up another valid point against TFA in this article.  Mainly, his beef was that his students were rarely chosen, whereas students at Ivy League institutions were overwhelmingly preferred. He states, "[s]omething was really wrong if an organization which wanted to serve low-income communities rejected nearly every applicant from Fordham, students who came from those very communities, and accepted nearly half of the applicants from an Ivy League school where very few of the students, even students of color, come from working-class or poor families." In essence, the Fordham professor is voicing his concern that students from elite backgrounds cannot empathize with the plight of those in poverty. This is definitely a legitimate concern, and yet another reason why education reform in general and TFA is particular, needs drastic changes.