Never, ever take a kids survey on face value!
According to a recent survey millions of children are complaining that school is too easy.
My students often boast about the lesson content being very easy. Then I assess them. It often turns out it wasn’t as easy as they first thought.
Why on earth would we believe a kids survey that claims school is too easy when it isn’t backed up by assessment results?
Millions of kids simply don’t find school very challenging, a new analysis of federal survey data suggests. The report could spark a debate about whether new academic standards being piloted nationwide might make a difference.
The findings, out today from the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank that champions “progressive ideas,” analyze three years of questionnaires from the Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress, a national test given each year.
Among the findings:
•37% of fourth-graders say their math work is “often” or “always” too easy;
•57% of eighth-graders say their history work is “often” or “always” too easy;
•39% of 12th-graders say they rarely write about what they read in class.
If I was from the Center of American Progress I would be embarrassed to admit to spending so long on a survey that is clearly misleading. Talk about a waste of three years!
Rule 1: Never ask students whether class work is easy when you can get a better picture by gauging their assessment results (I’m not referring to standardised tests).
Rule 2: Never ask students whether their homework was easy. Instead, ask their parents as they are the ones that do it.
Rule 3: If you are trying to make education more “progressive”, don’t waste three years on a survey.
Click here for a more in-depth analysis of this survey.
Tags: academic standards being piloted nationwide, Adults, Center for American Progress, Education, Engaging Students, History is too easy survey, kids, Maths is too easy, News, progressive ideas, questionnaires from the Department of Education's National Assessment of Educational Progress, Students not being challenged, survey kids don't find school very challenging, Survey results kids find school too easy
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