Student Should Come First

Students protest the education bills going through Idaho
Legislature. Image from decmocraticunderground.com

*Update: On March 24, the Idaho senate approved this bill with major changes. Some of the changes include pushing back the date of when online classes would be mandatory and giving school districts more control over spending (thus eliminating the need to fire teachers). For more information, consult this article from the Magic Valley.

 “There can be infinite uses of the computer and of new age technology, but if the teachers themselves are not able to bring it into the classroom, it fails.”

-Nancy Kassebaum

Kassebaum hit the nail on the head with this quote and also unintentionally hit on another big issue in the education world: Technology is a wonderful thing but if schools lose focus on trying to educate their students, all the technology in the world will not keep them afloat.

The legislature in Idaho would do well to remember this as they enter the last round of debate over a three part education reform outlined in the Shoshone News Press on March 8. The third part would fire 770 teachers statewide and fund money for mandatory online classes and technology in schools across the state.  State Superintendent Tom Luna, the author of this bill, is letting the students down by trying to fund the project themselves and believing online classes will benefit all students.

In the youtube video below Luna claimed the education system in Idaho is failing and there is no money to work with. (Warning: this video is long, but very informative. For those only interested in the quote, skip to 3:20-4:23) 

He has a point when technology like the iPad costs about $500 each to fund. But there are a number of different options to help counteract the costs, including applying for grants. Grant programs like E-Rate although time consuming can fund up to ¾ of total cost for the technology. Luna failed the students by not trying for grants at the federal level. In a January article from Technology News Report, he made it clear:

This plan, we’re going to do without federal dollars, without increasing the national debt, without relying on the federal government. 

 I have trouble seeing how not asking for government aid is going to keep 700 teachers in a job especially when considering the second part of Luna’s proposal. Online classes, although beneficial, will not be good for all students and not everyone will take an online course in the future. Online classes are good for students who possess traits like self-motivation and self-learning. Although online enrollment is up in most colleges, it is still not the preferred choice among college students. NDSU had just over 3,700 students taking online courses in the Fall of 2010 according to their website compared to the roughly 14,400 students taking classes at the University. Online courses may be the new wave to the future, but they are not a wave everyone should jump on.

Tom Luna said in the video above (14:40) student achievement is putting an effective teacher in every classroom. I hope the legislature thinks about his words and remembers that it is not the technology or the money that makes the school great, but the staff who run the school and the students who learn from them.

ACT and SAT shouldn't worry about a cheating scandal soon

"Kyoto University president Hiroshi Matsumoto speaks during a press conference following a 19-year-old’s arrested on suspicion of cheating on the university’s entrance exam."
Image and quote from: Japan Times March 4, 2010

On Thursday, police arrested a 19-year old Japanese student in connection with an internet scandal that has rocked their University System. According to The Japan Times, the police believe the lone student uploaded questions from the Kyoto University entrance exam onto one or more cell phones during the February entrance exams. It is not entirely clear what happened, but the school believes the questions were uploaded to a popular website and someone with the “aicezuki” was asking for answers to the questions while the exam was in progress.

 This is a huge story for the learning world and especially for Japan who puts their education system on a pedestal. It made me wonder whether something like this could happen on the SAT’s or ACT’s. Interestingly enough, the possibility of someone cheating on standardized tests for college is astonishingly low due to testing policies. Something the standardized tests should look into is updating their punishment for cheaters who are caught.

With technology becoming a prominent part in the U.S. education system, cell phone use during exams has become a hot button topic.  Both the ACT and SATs did well by prohibiting the use of any technology other than what they specifically say you can use. According to the ACT website, Prohibited technology includes:

any electronic device other than a permitted calculator (examples include timer, cell phone, media player, PDA, headphones, camera).

 In addition to this, the ACT website specifically states one proctor will be looking online to screen for anyone uploading questions online for personal use.

The other thing to keep in mind would be the testing conditions. Both standardized tests do a good job of making sure there is someone at all times monitoring situation.  For example, when I took the ACTs, I went to a room where 50 plus people sat on long tables next to each other. What made cheating discouraging was there were a number of different people walking up and down isles at all times.  

What kind of punishment exists for those who break the rules? Unfortunately not a lot exists for someone who breaks the rules and cheats. Last year Washington Post reporter Valerie Stauss asked the College Board who owned the ACT what would happen to someone who cheated on a standardized test. Aside from taking the student aside, questioning them, and deleting a test score nothing else would be done to the student. I don’t know if such a policy is good for the College Board, however, I do believe the testing center should change their policy in order to set an example for others.

Both the ACT’s and SATs have good policies during the test and should keep those policies in place. They should however take a look at whether they should change their policy about punishing cheaters. The issue in Japan is one that will continue to unfold for awhile. Hopefully the student has learned his lesson and understands cheating is no laughing matter.