Currently in the 1995 Education Act, it states that “compulsory school age in Saskatchewan is age seven to 15 years inclusive. Persons in charge of a student (e.g. parent or guardian) must ensure the student’s regular attendance in a provincial school if the student is of compulsory school age (Walk, Chomos, Burgess, 2009, p.4)”. It is important to understand that regular attendance is mandated in the province of Saskatchewan and has pre-determined consequences for failure to comply with this responsibility. Challenges in dealing with student attendance are in direct relation to a priority of publicly funded schools and needs to be addressed in a manner that with a high level of importance. Through statistics, research and studies this paper will look at the rationale of a specific attendance challenges, relation to student outcomes, stakeholder interests, ethical and legal issues and finally strategies to improve the situation.
Rationale
With the media and communities having an increased interest in large scale assessment and quantitative comparison of schools and divisions, schools are being deemed successes or failures based on a select number of variables. This is also being applied to unique diversity situations found in our province. One of the major variables is student attendance. It may seem irrelevant that attendance be used in making comparisons as it is required by law but the effects of low attendance rates is vast. It not only impacts individual student learning but also the school as a community. Direct relations are being made from low attendance rates to a school providing a lower quality of education. However this paper will focus not on the comparisons of schools regarding attendance rate but at the basic...
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In the 1990’s the school choice movement gained momentum through John E. Chubb and Terry M. Moe’s bold assumption that “school choice would make it possible to break the iron grip of the adult interest group, unleash the positive power of competition, and achieve academic excellence” (Ravitch 118). Many advocates for school choice share a similar belief in the positive effect school choice and competition create in schools. When comparing the statistics to this notion, however, one finds an opposite conclusion than the one proposed. The school choice approach and the importance of competition in schools generates a stress on both charter schools and district schools to feature high-achieving students and dismiss
For some students it is difficult to get a good education. These students live in a poor community and are required to go to schools that have a low graduation rate. These schools have a certain reputation such that other students refer to it as the “ghetto school”, “where the pregnant girls go”, and the “dropout factory”. This
Education is fundamental in today’s society. It has become a sought after medium for attaining success. Many careers have set specific educational requirements for a person to even be considered for employment. The education that one receives can be achieved through different types of institutes. Many parents face the conundrum of sending their children to the right institution that will aid in their child’s future success. The choices seem to be in abundance but many people find themselves limited to a short list of obtainable institutions. The parents have a great deal of things that need to be thought through. This may require factors that have to be considered. Some of the factors include the following: curriculum, class sizes, cost and school’s quality but these are some questions that stand out. Does the type of school really help performance? Are there factors that hinder one type of institution from thriving? These decisions are crucial and, for the most part, will determine the type of institution the child will receive his or hers knowledge from.
The gap between the nation’s best and worst public schools continues to grow. Our country is based on freedom and equality for all, yet in practice and in the spectrum of education this is rarely the case. We do not even have to step further than our own city and its public school system, which many media outlets have labeled “dysfunctional” and “in shambles.” At the same time, Montgomery County, located just northwest of the District in suburban Maryland, stands as one of the top school systems in the country. Within each of these systems, there are schools that excel and there are schools that consistently measure below average. Money alone can not erase this gap. While increased spending may help, the real problem is often rooted in the complex issues of social, cultural, and economic differences. When combined with factors involving the school itself and the institution that supports it, we arrive at what has been widely known as the divide between the suburban and urban schools. Can anything actually be done to reverse this apparent trend of inequality or are the outside factors too powerful to change?
From the information collected it is apparent that racial divisions are still present within our society and have serious negative effects. While schools have become “desegregated” since the Brown v Board of education decision, the data shows there are still racial divides within the community and public education. Barrington is a white upper class city that remains dominantly white while Providence is a racially diverse lower-class city with a working class population. Over the years the racial makeup has stayed relatively the same. This lack of residential integration can also explain the education gap between whites and racial-ethnic minorities. Barrington is able to offer a higher quality education because the population of the city has a larger average income, which means there is a larger taxable bases for the school to collect funds from. Meanwhile, Hope High School is located in a lower class city where school funding is much more limited, meaning they don’t have the necessary funds to provide a high quality education. The minority groups end up receiving a worse education than the white majority. The solution to this problem
Education is an integral part of society, school helps children learn social norms as well as teach them how to be successful adults. The school systems in United States, however are failing their students. In the world as a whole, the United States is quickly falling behind other countries in important math and reading scores. The United States ranked thirtieth in math on a global scale and twentieth in literacy. This is even more true in more urban, lower socio-economic areas in the United States. These schools have lower test scores and high dropout rates. In Trenton Central High School West, there was an 83% proficiency in literacy and only 49% of the students were proficient in math. Many of these students come from minority backgrounds and are often from low income families. There are many issues surrounding these urban schools. There is a severe lack of proper funding in these districts, and much of the money they do receive is sanctioned for non-crucial things. Schools also need a certain level of individualization with their students, and in many urban classes, this simply does not happen. While there are many factors affecting the low performance of urban schools, the lack of proper funding and distribution of funds, the cultural divide between teachers and students in urban districts, along with the lack of individualization in urban classrooms are crucial reasons to explain the poor performance in these districts. Through a process of teacher lead budget committees and further teacher education, urban schools can be transformed and be better equipped to prepare their students for the global stage.
Everyday students attend school, but not every single student attends the same type of school nor do they receive the same type of education. This thought may be very concerning to some, but for others, this is all too much a reality. For example, some may ask how is it possible that students in public schools that are located within the same state somehow receive a different education; the answer is simple. The concept of quality is a factor that can hinder or facilitate anything, especially ones education. The difference between a public school education in a particular town compared to another is its demographic. Some students are fortunate enough to be afforded the opportunity to attend school systems that perform well, while others do not have the privilege to do the same. Something as simple as a couple of miles can be the difference, the difference that makes some feel entitled to certain things such as higher education while others can only hope to appreciate a secondary or trade school education. Therefore, education is not a right rather a privilege, and the level of quality is contingent upon the environment wherein the learning takes place. The immense importance of environment is self-evident in examples
Achievement gaps in schools across America impinge on racial-ethnic and socioeconomic status groups. For generations school systems focus on improving the achievement gaps for low-income and minority students. Statistics have provided evidenced that the school systems made enormous progress between 1970 and 1988, but came to a halt thereafter. Presently in the 20th century the gap has widened and the need for improvement is challenging for the school administr...
Public schools today face several issues that affect the standard of education our children are receiving. They face issues such as teachers with limited experience. Budget cuts, dilapidated facilities, not enough teachers, and school violence, lack of parent participation, and
Ravitch, Diane. Viteritti, Joseph.A new vision for city schools. Public Interest. (122): 3- 16. 1996 Winter
“If it’s a school day, during school hours, one-fifth of the total American population consists of public school students K through 12. One in five Americans. And if you count teachers and administrators you are probably going to get pretty close to one-quarter of the population of the county at nay given time on a weekday sitting in a public school building.” – (School, the story of American public education)
While studying or even registering for a class presents a challenge to some college students, the greatest obstacle remains, going to class. Attending college is supposed to signify a new found freedom to make many important choices regarding education without high school mandatory attendance policies. However, students everywhere are coming to the staggering realization that college is not too different from high school. Teachers still take class roll and students are still expected to be at every class on time. What next, hall monitors in the hall? The time has come for action to be taken. Colleges must abolish mandatory student attendance policies for several reasons to be further discussed.
Leonard Sax notes an important distinction when describing quality schools. In an interview with Blah blah balh, he recites the positive effects of a single-sex school on the success of men and women. However, he admits the reality that various qualities of a school cannot determine the academic achievement of its students. As a simple example, he prefers sending a child to a good co-ed school than to a bad single-sex school. As his point demonstrates, and many other education reformers agree, modifying one aspect of a school will not yield results elsewhere. Consequently, there are solutions for any circumstances, but there is no single solution that ensures success.