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October 15, 2009
CAN STUDENTS RETAKE THEIR TEST THE NEXT WEEK?
By Profesor Martin Danenberg "El Quijote del GED"
PAY PAL NOTICE
Something new in 2010. You can now order the GED program. It is so simple! Click on the word clic above my article (in the white section on the right). By clicking you can go to my website and find "Services" to order the GED program in English or Spanish. See the Pay Pal there. Thank you for taking this important, powerful step in your life. I really hope that a job or higher education awaits you, even induction into the military. Your future is important!
This is not about taking the GED test, but read on. Wow! I woke up in the morning and found out that New York State has not improved on federal tests. This probably means that New York City is doing worse than the rest of the state. My contacts at the UFT have been telling me that the tests were made easier and now there is evidence supporting that, powerful evidence.
I asked Department of Education's Executive Director of School Improvement Sharon Rencher if it has ever occurred to the DOE to permit students in the public schools to be retested a week after not attaining level 3 on the year end exams. I told the people attending the meeting that although it takes months to retest on the GED in NY State, other states permit students to retest the next day (or soon after). Many of the top students in level 2 could pass the test (possibly even without preparation and repeating the school year or going to summer school).
I thank Queen Makkada and all of the people from her school district who attended the meeting. Lots of new people found out about the GED Hotline and how we are trying to empower more parents to help their children through GED Home Study. Given the federal statistics, this proves that after so many claims about how the students are achieving higher scores that something else is needed. See pieces of Diane Ravitchs' article NY'S Testing Mess" below (New York Post October 15, 2009).
The figures come from an independent testing program released by the federal government.
The NAEP is given every other year. National Assessment of Education Progress.
Ravitch said the results were based on "dumbed down tests" and "dubious scoring (in Albany).
Forty percent of our fourth graders are proficient and not 87 percent.
Thirty-four percent of eighth graders are proficient and not 80 percent.
Nineteen percent of black students in the fourth grade are proficient and not 78 percent.
Thirteen percent of the black students in the eighth grade are proficient and not 63 percent.
Twenty-five percent of Hispanics in the fourth grade are proficient and not 82 percent.
Fifteen percent of Hispanics in the eighth grade are proficient and not 69 percent.
Fifty percent of white students in the fourth grade are proficient and not 92 percent.
Sixty-seven percent of Asian students in the fourth grade are proficient and not 96 percent.
Forty-four percent of white students in the eighth grade are proficient and not 89 percent.
Sixty-three percent of the Asians in the eighth grade are proficient and not 92 percent.
Diane Ravitch says, "heads must roll."
Yoav Gonen also reported in the New York Post that reports around the country show that there is a higher dropout rate among students who have been held back for one or more years. It is important to qualify the dropout rate for one year and the dropout rate for two years, etc. to really see what is going on. One would expect a student to drop out after trying two or more times and it should be noted that most students that are socially promoted and graduate would find it difficult to survive in our competitive economy too. So whether or not students drop out or graduate (or even earn the GED), there will still be significant problems in life and the cost to the taxpayer is high.
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
MARTIN N. DANENBERG
7 BLAZER DRIVE
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK 11749
GEDHOTLINE@AOL.COM
631-348-1341
www.ahorre.com/ged
www.ahorre.com
www.geocities.com/gedhotline
www.aspira.org
Profesor Martin Danenberg October 15, 2009 01:23 PM