From the day a child is born, parents are faced with the decision of how they are going to raise their child. Are they going to be demanding and set high expectations for their child or are they going to sit back and let their child find their way?
Author: Katharine Dougherty
When most children are little they aspire to graduate college, to be the president of the United States, or to be an astronaut. They have certain goals and expectations for their future which they aspire to achieve and which they use as motivation to continue throughout their education. However, research shows that there is a drastic difference between the educational expectations of Latino youth and their white and black counterparts. The disparity in future expectations contributes to the growing achievement gap between students.
Often student achievement is measured by performance on standardized tests. However, these tests, based on a narrowly prescribed curriculum and linked to specific grade levels, disregard diversity and are an unjustified way to judge student or teacher success. Students are unfairly expected to perform at a set of standards that are developed by an outside agency.
It is a well-established fact that teacher quality is the biggest school-level factor related to the success or failure of students and thus, the achievement gap between students. A 2006 study in Los Angeles, CA found that when students were taught by the top 25% of the most effective teachers, the students advanced approximately five percentile points each year compared with their peers. Those taught by teachers in the bottom quartile of effectiveness, lose, on average, five percentile points, compared with their peers. However, having access to quality teachers would not be possible without a skilled and dedicated principal. Continue reading
According to Boston Magazine, Winchester Public Schools are the 14th-ranked best public school system in Massachusetts. With an average student-teacher ratio of 13:1, a $12,801 budget for per-pupil spending, and a 96.9% graduation rate, one would think that Winchester is the perfect place to send your children. However, the success of Winchester Public Schools is not all that accurate or simple.