Friday, January 27, 2012

Early start & honors classes needed for CSU and UC entrance - Guest Mom

In many states, the state funded University systems are highly competitive and a great venue for those who would rather not pay high private tuition.  While many parents think that graduating from high school is enough to be eligible to apply to these state schools, that is not the experience of many moms. In Race to No Where a Berkeley University admissions person explains she agrees the stress kids are under to be president of multiple clubs, perform outstanding in athletics, and have good character in volunteer work is tremendous.  In the next breath she explains that in order to apply to University of California Berkley the students need incredible extra-curriculars as well as above a 4.0.


How do you get above a 4.0?  You need to start early.  Perhaps 7th grade.  And in high school take the correct honors and advance placement (AP) classes.




GUEST MOM:


I am a surviving veteran of this process and now have a daughter in her sophomore year at a CSU (California State University). I can tell you that she is a happy camper both socially and academically.  I couldn't be happier that she is where she is at in school and I couldn't be happier than where she is at as a person.

We did private school from K-12 as we felt that when she started K that private would keep her safe and get her off to a great start and from there we would readjust. For many reasons we stayed at the school (but that's another story).  We learned by freshman year at high school that your child did need to be 'on-track' early.  If you don't get situated to take the Honors and/or AP classes you can't get the 5.0s needed to get your GPA up. The requirements for UCs (University of California) in 2010 were out of this world.  They state 3.0 but the reality is closer to 4.0, oh and did I forget to mention that your child must walk on water in the extra-curricular arena?  We attempted to petition UCSB and were told that the waiting list of students had GPAs over 4.0 and not to bother. 

Our experience was 2 years ago and the UC/CSU schools have had to cut costs and I'm sure that that means fewer students from California and more from out of state where fees are quite a bit higher.  Then there is the problem of fewer classes so it is very typical to have to go more than 4 years to graduate.  This means more costs for the end goal of a diploma and it also means more students eating up slots.

The stress that kids are under to over-achieve in school is absolutely crazy.  It no longer surprises me to hear about parents appealing to the teachers to give their child the A+ rather than the A they had received or all the organized cheating or the abundant use of drugs to stay alert. Kids aren't allowed to be kids any longer and it is truly sad. There is no doubt that going to a designer named school does help one get a job at graduation but the costs (mentally, physically & financially) of getting into some of these schools for the typical kid are out of this world. 

I think as parents it is really important to think about what is right for your child and that many years down the road that they will be thriving but also thankful for your guidance.
Linda

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Why Massachusetts students can compete internationally

In my previous blog, the study cited states that although Massachusetts is #1 in math and science education in the USA, even their students will struggle to compete with countries such as China or Finland.


If you want your student to be as competitive as the Massachusetts students, try the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) study games on JogNog for free.  http://www.jognog.com/  In the store search on MCAS for study games grades 3-12.  http://www.jognog.com/press/mcas.html

Here is a recent article by the former Secretary of Education and Dean at Stanford as to why Massachusetts might be able to compete internationally.  Original site at Silicon Valley Educational Foundation cited below.


By Marshall (Mike) Smith
Read the entire article in the link below:


http://toped.svefoundation.org/2011/03/09/consistent-leadership-steady-improvement-the-massachusetts-way/
'The central idea here is that Massachusetts represents a proof point that suggests that other states do not need a radical makeover to become internationally competitive.'
Marshall (Mike) Smith has been the Education program director for the Hewlett Foundation, the Dean and Professor of the School of Education at Stanford, a Professor and Director of a research center at University of Wisconsin at Madison, and an Associate Professor at Harvard. In between universities he served in high-level policy positions in the Carter, Clinton, and Obama administrations.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Where does your state rank in education?

Recently there have been additional state rankings of education.  As far as math and science education Massachusetts ranks #1.  California ranks below average but misses the far below average category.  Massachusetts uses the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) to evaluate students at each grade level.  Go to http://www.JogNog.com to find grade level MCAS study games for FREE to see how your student stacks up against Massachusetts.  Once registered type in MCAS in the search field for study games grade 3-12.

 "According to a statement last week, Cottle said that although the SERI scores do not compare states to schools' performances in other countries, even the American leader -- Massachusetts -- would struggle to compete with countries like China or Singapore.  For years, the U.S. has lagged behind other countries in math and science. A 2009 study showed that American students ranked 25th among 34 countries, behind nations like China, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Finland."  Source note below


Status                     Rank      State      SERI





Well Above Average1Massachusetts4.82

2Minnesota4.06

3New Jersey4.04

4New Hampshire4.01

5New York3.94
Above Average6Virginia3.73

7Maryland3.57

8Connecticut3.28

9Indiana3.28

10Maine3.24
Average11Florida3.13

12Illinois3.08

13South Dakota3.08

14Wisconsin3.06

15Colorado3.04

16Kansas3.00

17Kentucky3.00

18Vermont2.93

19Georgia2.88

20Washington2.86

21Utah2.85

22Pennsylvania2.80

23Tennessee2.67

24Ohio2.64

25Delaware2.60

26Michigan2.60

27Oregon2.58

28Wyoming2.58

29Montana2.53
Below Average30Idaho2.47

31Texas2.45

32North Dakota2.40

33Missouri2.39

34California2.38

35Rhode Island2.38

36North Carolina2.34

37Hawaii2.29

38Iowa2.25

39Alaska2.20

40South Carolina2.20

41Arkansas2.14
Far Below Average42Oklahoma2.01

43Nebraska1.97

44Nevada1.93

45Arizona1.91

46New Mexico1.72

47Alabama1.60

48Louisiana1.59

49West Virginia1.58

50Mississippi1.11
National Average----2.82





http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/state-education-rankings-_n_894528.html