[Vision2020] High School Survey

[Art Deco]

Ron,

Thank you for posting this.

For the sake of possibly starting a meaningful discussion consider:

Schools from kindergarten onward should teach and urge the practice of the 6 R's.

In addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic there are other 3 R's which in the real world are perhaps just as important, briefly:

1.    Reasoning:  Critical thinking.

2.    Resourcefulness:  Problem analysis and solving of all kinds of problems and the inculcation of
       using these skills habitually.

3.    Relating:    Non-manipulative skills needed to get along successfully with others.


Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
deco at moscow.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Force" <rforce at moscow.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 5:12 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] High School Survey


> Press Release
> 
> April 19, 2005
> 
> Governors Seek Input from 10,000 High School Students
> NGA Launches Online ''Rate Your Future'' Survey in Ongoing Effort to
> Redesign America's High Schools
> 
> WASHINGTON-- By the end of this school year, the National Governors
> Association (NGA) hopes to survey more than 10,000 high school students on
> their expectations and frustrations about America's high schools and how the
> work they do affects their futures.
> 
> Part of NGA Chairman Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's yearlong "Redesigning the
> American High School" initiative, the survey is an opportunity to bring the
> student voice into the education reform debate. Students stand to benefit
> the most from this reform movement and NGA strongly believes their input
> should frame the discussion so every high school student can graduate
> prepared for college or a high-skilled job.
> 
> Launched in February, the survey, which is available at
> www.rateyourfuture.org, will help governors gain valuable insight into
> today's high school experience. Governors want to hear if students think
> high school is relevant to their own futures. This survey is about getting
> all students -- the overachievers, underachievers and everyone in between --
> involved in this dialogue.
> 
> "The voice of the students has been missing in this conversation about high
> school reform that has been going on among the experts and policymakers,"
> Gov. Warner said. "The Class of 2005 may have the best ideas we need. If the
> students we are trying to help don't see the value of redesigning high
> school, we are wasting our time."
> 
> This month, NGA received preliminary results from the "Rate Your Future"
> survey's first 1,200 student respondents. The initial findings are telling.
> Even though America's high school students say they are adequately prepared
> in basic reading, math and science skills, statistics show they are
> alarmingly unprepared to handle the demands of college and work in the 21st
> century. Moreover, more than a third of them say their high schools are not
> properly preparing them in many areas critical to their future success.
> 
> For example, about one third of students don't feel their schools are
> adequately preparing them to think critically, analyze problems and
> communicate effectively. Moreover, 43 percent don't believe they are gaining
> practical and essential life skills while in high school.
> 
> The results reveal students fail to understand that mastering an
> academically rigorous high school curriculum, especially during senior year,
> will not only help them excel in college, it also will help them graduate
> from college on time and make them a more attractive candidate in today's
> increasingly competitive job market. Other major initial findings of the
> study include:
> 
>    * Students strongly sense high school is not adequately preparing them
> for their future, and a third -- including those most at risk of dropping
> out -- feel overlooked by their high school.
>    * Students recognize the importance of senior year, but 49 percent want
> it to be significantly more meaningful. They say high schools are lacking
> the practical programs and skills that could help them better prepare for
> college or a job. Meanwhile 29 percent characterized senior year as a "waste
> of time."
>    * A large majority, 59 percent, would work harder during senior year if
> their school offered more demanding and interesting courses.
>    * One-third rate their schools as doing a "fair" or "poor" job of
> "giving them the skills to succeed."
>    * Three in five students (60 percent) rate their high schools either
> "fair" or "poor" in preparing them for a career or trade. Likewise, 57
> percent believe their school does a "fair" or "poor" job of preparing them
> for the future by providing them with tools to learn a trade or skill.
>    * About one-third of students say their high schools are doing a "fair"
> or "poor" job in preparing them for college. Only a quarter say their
> schools do an "excellent" job.
>    * Three in 10 students say their high school does a "fair" or "poor" job
> challenging them academically and nearly 70 percent say teachers have high
> expectations for only "certain students."
> 
> NGA will release the survey's final results shortly before the nation's
> governors gather in Des Moines this summer for the 97th NGA Annual Meeting.
> 
> ###
> 
> Printed from the NGA web site.
> 
> 
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