9486 in the collection  

Task for class of 2010: Decipher project rules

Ohanian Comment: I've
long worried that projects are like most
everything else about schools--ways to
advantage the advantage and disadvantage the
rest. I have evidence locally that although the
project requirement sounds good on paper, it
ends up being a burden for students who are
already vulnerable, a burden neither they nor
their parents can decipher.


By Lynn Bonner

The idea was to ensure that students leave high
school with a better grasp of real life. And
starting with the class of 2010, the idea will
be a requirement. Every graduate must have
completed a long-term project involving the
world outside of school.

But now it seems the idea itself may need some
remedial help. School districts find the rules
fraught with practical problems.

For instance, a key to the project is finding
an outside mentor in a student's chosen
subject. But school districts say finding such
volunteers is proving difficult, especially in
rural areas.

Parents and educators say the graduation
project mandate is so vague that school
districts are applying widely varying
interpretations and requirements.

Some schools will grade parts of the project,
though the state prefers a pass/fail system.
Students are on different timetables for
starting their work, depending on where they go
to school. Some juniors have begun working on
their projects, while others are just learning
what's required.

And some parents and school administrators
worry that requiring students to complete an
ambitious project before they graduate will
push up the 30 percent dropout rate.

"It's going to create a barrier for a lot of
kids who really don't need those kinds of
barriers in their lives," said Michael Gruver,
the parent of a Charlotte high school junior.

Gruver, who works for a distribution company,
said he was astonished at the complicated
instruction manual his daughter brought home
from Myers Park High School.

The skills that the graduation project is
supposed to develop would not be needed in
anyone he'd look to hire, Gruver said. The
state would do better by struggling students to
reinforce reading and math.

"There are many things that would help them,"
he said. "A project like this is not one of
them."

Fears that the new requirement will keep
students from graduating are unfounded, said
Bryar T. Cougle, the project coordinator for
the state Department of Public Instruction.
Students who fail the first time will have a
chance to revise their work until they pass, he
said. Questions about the project are expected
in the first year, he said, as districts figure
out how to manage it.

"Different schools are transitioning from what
they do now to new ways," Cougle said.

School administrators said the requirements are
broad because districts should adapt the
program to make it fit for them.

At Wake County parent meetings, some say they
still aren't sure what's required, said Sarah
Martin, Wake County PTA Council president.

Parents seek help

"The parents that we've heard from are just
looking for guidance," she said. Some schools
have kept parents informed about the
requirements and what they'll need to do to
help their children complete the project, she
said. Other schools have been slow to get the
information out.

"It would be nice if the state put out some
more concrete guidelines," she said.

State officials see the project as a way for
students to learn about planning and research.
At the end, students will have to describe
their project to a small group of adults who
will evaluate the presentations.

The State Board of Education decided to make
the projects a graduation requirement in part
because employers want to hire people who can
solve problems and express ideas to their
bosses.

"The graduation project is a more comprehensive
assessment that shows you not just what
students know, but what they're able to do with
what they know," said Patricia Willoughby, a
state school board member and executive
director of the North Carolina Business
Committee for Education, a nonprofit run out of
the governor's office.





— Lynn Bonner
News & Observer
2008-11-30
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/education/story/1314719.html

---

INDEX OF OUTRAGES

Pages: 380   
[1] 2 3 4 5 6  Next >>    Last >>