Comments on: Bring back differential diplomas

By: Patti

Patti — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:10:24 +0000

I graduated under differential diplomas in NYS and I have to say I thought it was a good thing. Now, as an adult, my only big concern is making sure that those with difficult developmental backgrounds have the opportunity to make up what they lack so they can succeed if they really are able.

My high school had four different diplomas, ranging from vocational (you needed intense guidance counseling in order to get that one because they didn’t want anyone choosing it just because it’s more fun to work on cars than study), to academic, which was a step above the Regents and required certain scores on AP exams (students who couldn’t afford AP exams were sponsored). It wasn’t perfect; a friend of mine dropped from her honors classes to regular Regents classes to boost her GPA so her class ranking would be higher. It was a wise move, since colleges didn’t care what kind of diploma you got but did care what your class ranking was. She was rewarded for doing easier work than she was capable of doing.

Now, as a parent and teacher, I’m struck by how different kids are and yet how we treat them as though they all have the same talents or interests when it comes to schooling. I really don’t konw how to make sure we don’t unfairly track students, but there’s got to be a way. Not everyone is ready to go to college at age 18 but they do need to know how to learn and improve so they can go into whatever field suits their interests and work ethic.

By: Michael E. Lopez

Michael E. Lopez — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:54:46 +0000

Quoth Andrew Bell:

We all have unique gifts, we just must be encouraged to make the best of those that we have.

I disagree. We all have gifts. People with unique gifts tend to make millions of dollars with those gifts.

Excellent tenors are a dime a dozen.
Freddy Mercury had a unique gift.

Excellent basketball players are a couple of hundred thousand dollars a dozen.
Michael Jordan had a unique gift.

Politicians are… well, they’re like armpits.
But Bill Clinton had a unique gift.

By: Remainders: Albany has time to change laws for RttT, says Tisch | GothamSchools

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:44:41 +0000

[...] Joanne Jacobs argues the state should do away with “one size fits all” diploma standards. [...]

By: SuperSub

SuperSub — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:08:31 +0000

Some of the once-vaunted NY Regents exams have had significant curves added to them to ensure that those who proposed Regents-for-all don’t look bad. Some are a good 18-19%.
Not only that, but the high school science exams closely resemble middle school exams with regards to content and difficulty.

By: Tweets that mention Bring back differential diplomas « Joanne Jacobs -- Topsy.com

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:13:17 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by kriley19, JoanneLeeJacobs. JoanneLeeJacobs said: One-size-fits-all diplomas lower graduation rate http://www.joannejacobs.com/2009/12/bring-back-differential-diplomas/ [...]

By: Andrew Bell

Andrew Bell — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:04:15 +0000

When will we admit to ourselves that not all people can achieve the same thing in the same time. Some may never be able to achieve certain goals, despite the best of efforts.

We don’t need a test to set high expectations for every student. We need teachers and principals to do this. But we have to realize that from time to time, our expectations may not be met. This is life.

I’ll never play soccer as well as David Beckham, or cook as well as Jacques Pepin. But David will never cook as well as Jacques either, and I daresay Jacques won’t be playing in any World Cup matches anytime soon. We all have unique gifts, we just must be encouraged to make the best of those that we have.

By: Michael E. Lopez

Michael E. Lopez — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:02:53 +0000

TRACKING BY THE POUND! TRACKING BY THE BUSHEL!

It’s lovely how the word “differential” can show up in programs that both support and undermine the notion of tracking.