I Agree

Today was the annual Founders Day Celebration at Sarah's school. I volunteered at the school which was very hot but nice. While at school, the word got out that we were not going back to the school next year. I continue to be surprised by the reaction. So many parents agree with me that the education is not so great.  Why didn't I know this sooner? Parents agree that it is ridiculous that they have to pay for tuition as well as tutors for their kids. They know many of the teachers aren't good and the curriculum is not always challenging.  What the hell!!  They weren't surprised that the principal didn't take my concerns seriously.  I am honestly surprised at the reaction I am getting. It is a lot of I understand..we will miss you but we see your point. Many people are facing the same concerns that I have but feel it is the best option. If I wasn't able to home school, I would feel it is the best option too. It is pretty sad that we have to settle for not great education because there aren't many other choices. What really does it mean to have a great school district when the whole system is mediocre? Great means better that crappy but not necessarily good.


When Sarah took the ITBS test last fall, we got her results which were all over the board.  It was interesting to me that you only receive a percentile not a percentage. You can get a percentage if you ask but it is not in the file or sent home. So... the mean is 50% of course. Sarah may score in the 80th percentile but have actually only scored 70% on the test. It could happen in the reverse but that is less likely on this test. So in some categories I thought she did well, but realized she just did better than some other kids who couldn't pass the test either. Is this really the standard?  If she takes the test and completely misses  a section like capitalization..then what? Do we go back a help her learn that category? We all know the answer. Because the parent never receives the individual scores we never know where the problem is.  We just get a general language arts or math score. They do have the breakdown though if you ask for it. Why wouldn't a parent be given that information?