Unrealistic as things are now, maybe. But this doesn't make it right. How many people don't have to be assessed at work? I don't know of many groups other than teachers that escape performance assessment.

Have you asked them (perhaps in writing) WHY the online classes don't qualify? Sometimes you can get what you want this way if they can't supply a bona fide reason. This worked for me recently when I asked why my son hadn't passed a small swim test that he'd passed the previous 20 times he'd taken it. I kept asking, very politely, if the tester could tell me exactly what went wrong so I could help him improve. She couldn't provide an answer after I asked 4 times (kept giving a noncommittal answer) and let him take the test again and he passed.

Val

Cathy--I love this! I really need to save this to include in lecture to DS. Adolescence and hormones are no excuse! In truth, that's what I did when I had some poor teachers back in the dark ages.

Dottie,

About testing out--yes, I think that's the case for some courses (already 2 down (English 9 and Alg2 would have been good ones to test out). They may develop a test for Alg 2 testing out (not as simple as it sounds).

[quote=ValHave you asked them (perhaps in writing) WHY the online classes don't qualify? Sometimes you can get what you want this way if they can't supply a bona fide reason.
[/quote]

Yes, I intend to ask whether there's a list of approved providers of online and community college courses and why they won't give credit for the summer institutes with 115 seat hours of classroom instruction (certainly surpassing most college courses) from Duke Univ or Johns Hopkins. The counselor said that since they wouldn't transfer as honors or AP level classes, the credits would dilute his GPA, which people who are interested in valedictorian status would be concerned with. I am not sure if DS cares about this, so I'll have to query him when he gets back. Anyway, the principal took the easy road and said he didn't know anything but I should talk to superintendent so I will keep asking nicely until they give me a satisfactory answer.

It's not that essential for DS13, but it's something I need to investigate and establish for the next 3, who will really need some accommodations or something else.

Does anyone ever feel sly leverage when dealing with public schools because we have kids that can help their NCLB numbers? Or is that just silly?

My best leverage came after learning that "non-routine" legal fees cost the district $175/hour. Don't mess with me baby!

NCLB doesn't help me much for other than DD11, who is an official special education student virtually guaranteed to get at least "proficient". And given that she's one of only about 40-50 in her grade, her score counts as about 2% points in that subgroup! Other than that, their numbers are meaningless unless it's really close (maybe those last few years, if the thing doesn't blow up before then!) If only we were dirt poor....

Wanted to respond to this but I need Dottie ( I mean Cathy) to explain this sentence please, in the context of dealing with a bad teacher. I am lost

So am I....I don't remember saying that at all!

(Edited to say "Ask Cathy", )

I am not an educator so I do not know for sure, but from what I understad NCLB actually does a disservice as far as G/T go.

Our school post as % of kids who are at a proficient level, above proficient or below proficient. So having a kid that scores 100% or close to gives them the credit for only that one kid.
Iowa test are different, as they look at the whole class as a group, so a high scoring kid brings a percentage up.

WTF



Val, I feel ya sister! I blame the elected representatives that write the legislation. But it's kind of a catch 22. Today, being a politician is a thankless job. Who, but an idiot, would dare pursue it.



Cathy, younger kids too. These are the types of skills I see my children benefitting from and the reasons I haven't yanked em yet.



Yes, definately, when stonewalled it is appropriate to allude to litigation. Most people are self-serving and wouldn't want to justify their decision making in a court of law. I know I would give what you wanted if you put something in writing and sent it to me certified mail. It's a good thing you don't have my address. Who knows what you could squeeze out of me.

I expect they like the higher scores but aren't willing to go out of their way for single kids. And of course, if they accelerate them via grade skipping, they may perceive a risk of lower scores on the test at the higher grade level.

My kids go to a private school, but we looked into public schools last October when the private school wasn't working. The principals I contacted weren't interested in a grade skip (one said "Forget it" without even meeting my son). They gave me the "in-class differentiation" line and one told me they might be able to accomodate a one-year acceleration but "if you're talking about algebra in 2nd grade, forget it" (and my son started doing algebra in February of 2nd grade).

We found a new private school that groups by ability. I'll report on it as the year goes by.

Val