June-July Camps

stargazer0105 · Post by **stargazer0105** » Sun May 18, 2003 9:26 pm

We have a ton of mixed classes too, but the two days before finals are usually spent reviewing, so the seniors usually take their finals those two days. IN has standards too. Every so many years the teachers have to prepare an overview of their curriculum and submit it, and there are constantly people popping in to sit in on classes. IN also has a standardized test you have to pass before you can graduate. It's called ISTEP (don't ask me what it stands for). You start taking it your sophmore year and if you don't pass, you just keep taking it. I hated it b/c it lasted for like 3 days, but it was easier than what we were doing in class.

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Sun May 18, 2003 9:44 pm

Well the bad thing with the SOL test here in VA is that they dictate everything that the teachers have to teach. And the space museum where i work had to adopt all of its education programs to fit with the SOL's.

spacecampaddict28 · Post by **spacecampaddict28** » Sun May 18, 2003 10:45 pm

We have to take ERB's which are standardized tests and thats how we are compared to other private schools and to the general populus of kids in the US. It is also used to see if the school is teaching well and if we are learning anything.

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Sun May 18, 2003 11:55 pm

Well when i went to a private elementary school we had standardised testing every year too but they were called SAT's although obviously not the SAT's you take in high school same general idea as the test you mentioned.

spacecampaddict28 · Post by **spacecampaddict28** » Mon May 19, 2003 12:04 am

Yeah i have had to take those types of tests through this year...but next year its the SATs

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Mon May 19, 2003 12:33 am

I'm glad to be done with standardised testing. Although college tests can be hard enough sometimes.

stargazer0105 · Post by **stargazer0105** » Mon May 19, 2003 9:09 am

We took the SAT's in elementary school too. It wasn't the high school one either, but it was the Stanford Achievement test.

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Mon May 19, 2003 2:56 pm

Yep that sounds like what we took. Ofcourse its been so long but that sounds right anyway.

spacecampaddict28 · Post by **spacecampaddict28** » Sun May 25, 2003 12:31 am

We took tests in Elementary School that would gauge how well our education program was working, and if kids scored above a certain level, there would be more money donated to the program. It seems as though they should have been giving the weaker programs more money to become stronger, but it makes total sense to give money to an already strong program as an incentive.

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Sun May 25, 2003 12:10 pm

I also remember going from private to publ;ic school i had to take a test to see where i compared to other students starting 6th grade in public school to see what classes i would be in.

Benji · Post by **Benji** » Tue May 27, 2003 12:05 am

They base our funding on number of student absences and the change in test scores from one grade to another. The problem with this is that I went to a school that had the top grades in the county. There was no more room for improvement, so we lost funding.

spacecampaddict28 · Post by **spacecampaddict28** » Tue May 27, 2003 6:19 am

Wow, that stinks. I would think that you should still get funding if you got good grades and stuff as an incentive to keep whatever program you have (which apparently is working) going.

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Tue May 27, 2003 8:49 am

Thats stinks to lose funding because of lower grades but its not too uncommon. Unfortunately it makes some schools even worse then they already are.

Benji · Post by **Benji** » Tue May 27, 2003 12:02 pm

spacecampaddict28 wrote:Wow, that stinks. I would think that you should still get funding if you got good grades and stuff as an incentive to keep whatever program you have (which apparently is working) going.

That's what you get in Florida, loose chads and a crappy educational system.

I make fun of the whole voting thing, but I really shouldn't. I think it was all Al Gore's fault, so I'm never voting for him.

spacecampaddict28 · Post by **spacecampaddict28** » Tue May 27, 2003 12:26 pm

I think this is the same arugment we got in in the bottom of the Hab whiule playing Apples to Apples....it was something about you and your lack of ability to count votes. Then the other kid said bush was god and I got in an argument with him, and you semi-agreed with him or something. I don't really remember all of the details.

Benji · Post by **Benji** » Tue May 27, 2003 12:33 pm

I don't either, but I do remember it happening. Our country's voting system is really messed up. The way we do it is not the best way to elect somebody. The system I'd like to see would be approval voting, you vote for as many people as you want. That way, you could vote for a Green Party member, but also have some impact on the real candidates.

spacecampaddict28 · Post by **spacecampaddict28** » Tue May 27, 2003 3:17 pm

Yeah, I don't really agree with the system either. Nevermind that the electoral college can vote against the people's votes. They rarely do, but the reality is that they can. Very few times has the person in office actually won the popular vote, but they win the electoral thingy instead.

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Wed May 28, 2003 12:06 am

Well unfortunately the electoral college was a good idea at one time when the majority of the population had no education to speak of. Our founding fathers believed we werent educated enough to make the final decision of who ran the country and that educated people woulkd make the best decision for the country. Well times have changed but unfortunately the system hasn't. Besides that this country has become a two party system and alot of people are under the impression it has always been that way. Some even think the constitutuion says that only a canidate from the two pain politial parties can be elected. The founding fathers never really envisioned political parties as we know them today. They expected anyone who was qualified to beable to run and have the possibility of being elected. But now weve made it so unless your republican or democrat you have no chance. And the sad thing is everyone accepts that when there are often times better canodates running from other parties but have no chance of winning.

spacecampaddict28 · Post by **spacecampaddict28** » Wed May 28, 2003 6:03 am

Thats quite true actually.

stargazer0105 · Post by **stargazer0105** » Wed May 28, 2003 10:58 am

George Washington said there were two things our country should never get involved in, political parties and foreign affairs. Look at us now.