An Education System Worthy of Malaysia #30
Chapter 5: A Look At Other Systems (Cont’d)
Reforms at American Schools
There are many recent attempts at reforming the schools, but Conant’s comprehensive schools remain the staple to this day. In 1983 a committee chaired by David Gardner, later to become president of the prestigious University of California System, produced its landmark report, A Nation At Risk. The Imperative for Educational Reform, in which it laments the declining academic rigor of American high schools that fill their curriculum with soft subjects like consumer math and driver ed. “The educational foundations of our society,” the report notes, “are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people.”
Gardner’s report was commissioned in response to the challenge coming from what was then widely accepted as the rising East, in particular Japan. Gardner’s committee lacked enforcing power; it was merely advisory. As a result nothing much happened.
Since then there have been many other reform movements. Though they have not caught on nationally, nonetheless in their aggregate, they produce far greater changes. These include the voucher system, charter schools, and the movement of returning to the basics, in particular the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES). Vouchers are meant to empower poor children trapped in lousy school districts. With vouchers these students would be free to enroll in any school, public or private. Presently the system works well in some districts (Milwaukee) where the vouchers are restricted to poor families. Elsewhere the voucher system is entangled in protracted lawsuits. California voters rejected the system because they believed it would simply subsidize those currently enrolled in private schools. The California initiative would more likely be palatable if it had been restricted to the poor, as in Milwaukee.
My concern with unrestricted vouchers is that they would perpetuate if not promote self-segregation, with Jewish parents sending their children to Jewish schools, Arab parents to Arabic schools, Serbians to Serb’s. A generation hence and America would be like the Middle East and the Balkans.
CES, unlike the other reform movements, was started by educators and teachers rather than citizen activists or politicians. Theodore Sizer, a longtime teacher and former headmaster of Phillips Academy, a prestigious New England prep school, started the movement to revamp the way schools teach. Instead of the present factory and assembly-like module system, students would be divided into groups and taught by a team of teachers. The idea is to dismantle the artificial boundaries separating the different academic disciplines and have the teachers communicate with each other more. Thus instead of one teacher teaching chemistry and being oblivious of what the others are doing in physics or history, with team teaching every teacher is made aware of each other’s lesson plans, and their teaching would be interrelated and integrated.
A major feature of CES is that for graduation, students must present an exhibition on a topic of their choice for each subject. This is comparable to the student’s portfolio in a fine arts academy. I am familiar with CES as one of my sons attended such a school and I was on the governing board. One of his exhibitions (for chemistry) was on the internal combustion engine in history, which neatly combined elements of mathematics (laws of thermodynamics), history, and social science in addition to chemistry. The unique feature of CES is that it works within the system; there is no need for special legislation or increased funding. CES involves rearranging the present elements. To join CES, the teachers would have to petition for it and then agree to the guidelines. Unlike other reforms that are often forced upon the working professionals, CES is teacher-driven, which explains its remarkable success and acceptance.
Many American high schools work closely with nearby colleges so ambitious students could simultaneously take college courses for credits. Bard College goes further with an innovative program of fully integrating the last two years of school with the first two years of college for highly talented and motivated students.
There is no national or standard exit examination in America. Each teacher assesses the students on his or her own terms. The school district lays down the graduation requirements. Students are continuously assessed throughout the school year rather than in one final examination. Even their homework and other assignments are graded and contribute to this final score. The student’s Grade Point Average (GPA) represents the yearlong assessment and not a snapshot as one would get with a single Malaysian type end-of-year examination.
There are standardized national tests like the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT), Achievement Test (AT), and AP. Many universities use both standardized test scores and GPAs in evaluating students. There is a trend among top-ranked colleges of doing away with SAT.
This sentiment has professional backing. The American Psychological Association in its guidelines for test use specifically prohibits basing any consequential judgment about individuals on a single test score. The reason is the significant margin for error. The solution is to use multiple measures, including test scores, GPAs, teachers’ recommendations as well as reviewing the student’s portfolio. For admission to select music, drama, and design schools, the student’s portfolio is the determining factor.
SAT does serve a purpose; it allows comparisons between schools. It does not say much about the academic rigor (or at least the rigor of its testing) of a school if collectively it’s “A” students score poorly at SAT. SAT and similar tests serve to assess the schools as much as the students.
For the individual student however, the predictive value of such standardized tests is more problematic. There are few students who excel in class but perform poorly in these “filling-in-the-blanks” tests. Texas and California now accept the top 5 percent of graduates from each school into their elite universities regardless of their SAT scores.
Doing away with standardized tests creates its own problems because of the variability of school quality. The less selective California State University (CSU) System does not require SAT; it relies exclusively on GPAs. Consequently half of its freshmen have to take remedial classes in English and mathematics.
Next: American Universities
August 10th, 2006 at 12:17 am
BUAT RENUNGAN SEMUA …..
Buat renungan bersama : Teladan Dari Kisah Hidup Mustafa Kamal Attartuk .
1. Membolehkan perempuan memakai tudung dengan syarat pakai skirt.
2. Membolehkan lelaki memakai seluar panjang dengan syarat pakai tali leher dan topi(sesuai dengan kehendak barat).
3. Menyuruh wanita dan lelaki menari di khalayak ramai. Beliau sendiri pernah menari dengan seorang wanita di satu parti umum yang pertama di Ankara.
4. Beliau pernah menegaskan bahawa “negara tidak akan maju kalau rakyatnya tidak cenderung kepada pakaian moden.”
5. Menggalakkan minum arak secara terbuka.
6. Mengarahkan Al-Quran dicetak dalam bahasa Turki.
7. Menukar azan ke dalam bahasa Turki. Bahasa Turki sendiri diubah dengan membuang unsur-unsur Arab dan Parsi.
8. Mengambil arkitek- arkitek dari luar negara untuk memodenkan Turki. Hakikatnya mereka diarah mengukir patung-patung dan tugu-tugunya di seluruh bandar Turki.
9. Satu ucapan beliau di bandar Belikesir di mana beliau dengan terang-terangannya mengatakan bahawa agama harus dipisahkan dengan urusan harian dan perlu dihapuskan untuk kemajuan.
10.Agama Islam juga di buang sebagai Agama Rasmi negara.
11.Menyerang Islam secara terbuka dan terang-terangan.
12.Menggubal undang-undang perkahwinan berdaftar berdasarkan undang-undang barat.
13.Menukar Masjid Ayasophia kepada muzium, ada sesetengah masjid dijadikan gereja.
14.Menutup masjid serta melarang dari bersembahyang berjemaah.
15.Menghapuskan Kementerian Wakaf dan membiarkan anak-anak yatim dan fakir miskin.
16.Membatalkan undang-undang waris, faraid secara islam.
17.Menghapus penggunaan kalendar Islam dan menukarkan huruf Arab kepada huruf Latin.
18.Mengganggap dirinya tuhan sama seperti firaun. Berlaku peristiwa apabila salah seorang askarnya ditanya “siapa tuhan dan di mana tuhan > tinggal?” oleh kerana takut, askar tersebut menjawab ‘Kamal Atartuk adalah tuhan” beliau tersenyum dan bangga dengan jawapan yang diberikan oleh askar itu.
Kematian Kamal Atartuk Yang Menyeksakan
Di saat kematiannya, Allah telah datangkan beberapa penyakit kepada beliau sehingga beliau rasa terseksa dan tak dapat menanggung seksaan dan azab yang Allah berikan di dunia.
Antaranya ialah :
1. Didatangkan penyakit kulit hingga ke kaki dimana beliau merasa gatal-gatal seluruh badan.
2. Sakit jantung.
3. Penyakit darah tinggi.
4. Panas sepanjang masa, tidak pernah merasa sejuk sehingga terpaksa diarahkan kepada bomba untuk menyiram rumahnya 24 jam. Pembantu-pembantunya juga diarahkan untuk meletak ketulan-ketulan ais di dalam selimut untuk menyejukkan beliau.
Maha suci Allah, buat macam mana pun rasa panas tak hilang-hilang. Oleh kerana tidak tahan dengan kepanasan yang ditanggung, beliau menjerit sehingga seluruh istana mendengar jeritan itu. Oleh kerana tidak tahan mendengar jeritan, mereka-mereka yang bertanggung jawab telah menghantar beliau ke tengah lautan dan diletakkan dalam bot dengan harapan beliau akan merasa sejuk.
Allah itu Maha Besar, panasnya tak jugak hilang! Pada 26 september 1938, beliau pengsan selama
48 jam disebabkan terlalu panas dan sedar selepas itu tetapi beliau hilang ingatan.
Pada 9 November 1938, beliau pengsan sekali lagi selama 36 jam dan akhirnya meninggal dunia.
sewaktu beliau meninggal, tidak seorang pun yang memandi, mengkafan dan menyembahyangkan mayat beliau.
Mayatnya diawetkan selama 9 hari 9 malam, sehingga adik perempuan beliau datang meminta ulama-ulama Turki memandikan, mengkafankan dan menyembahyangkannya. Tidak cukup dari itu,
Allah tunjukkan lagi balasan azab ketika mayatnya di bawa ke tanah perkuburan. Bila mayatnya hendak ditanam, tanah tidak menerimanya (tak dapat nak bayangkan bagaimana tanah tidak menerimanya).
Disebabkan putus asa, mayatnya diawetkan sekali lagi dan dimasukkan ke dalam muzium yang diberi nama EtnaGrafi (kalau tak silap dengar) selama 15 tahun sehingga tahun 1953). Selepas 15 tahun mayatnya hendak ditanam semula, tapi Allah Maha Agung, bumi sekali lagi tak menerimanya. Habis ikhtiar, mayatnya dibawa pula ke satu bukit ditanam dalam satu binaan marmar beratnya 44 tan. Mayatnya ditanam di celah-celah batu marmar. Apa yang menyedihkan, ulama-ulama sezaman dengan Kamal Atartuk telah mengatakan bahawa “jangan kata bumi Turki, seluruh bumi Allah ini tidak menerima Kamal Atartuk!”
Dari Abdullah bin ‘Amr r.a, Rasulullah saw bersabda : “Sampaikanlah pesanku biarpun satu ayat.”
Muhasabahlah diri sendiri (yakni diri saya) sebelum muhasabah diri orang lain. Apa yang baik dan benar itu datangnya dari Allah swt. Apa yang salah dan silap itu adalah dari kelemahan manusia itu sendiri.
August 10th, 2006 at 6:15 am
An enlightening article. The American school system is less exam-oriented than Malaysian system. Having taken the SAT test myself, I would say it is more like an IQ test than SPM exam. I like the more open-ended, less spoon-feeding aspect of the American education. Unfortunately in Malaysia there has been more emphasis on the number of “A” in the exam. It is not unusual to see 10+ A scorers anymore.
August 11th, 2006 at 8:24 am
Atanque
Nice piece but I am confused and have difficulty associating your blog with the piece written by Bakri Musa. I can’t find the relationship. Perhaps your article could be better presented on another forum where Islam is the topic. There is a time and place for everything but certainly this is not the right place.10-4
August 11th, 2006 at 4:45 pm
I sat for SAT about 10 years ago while doing my A Levels. The Maths level was a cross between Form 5 Modern Maths and Add. Maths, so that was not a problem. As for the English part, I was regularly reading the Roget’s Thesaurus line by line to learn new words (actually it was more fun than it sounds). But the killer, I think, was the fact that all 6 papers happened on the same day, one after another. Having underestimated the mental effort this required, I struggled through the last paper and this probably cost me a higher mark. I had better luck with the A levels where the papers were spread out in different modules and over three weeks.
August 11th, 2006 at 6:52 pm
I sat for my LCE a lifetime ago. Guess what??? It is a lot higher than the present SPM.
My SAT/GRE/GMAT scores are higher than those of President Bush.
August 13th, 2006 at 1:29 am
The aggregate for my LCE in 1967 was 16 and I was one of the the best students in one of the districts in Kelantan. If we get that kind of result in 2000’s, I think all animals in the zoo will laugh. In those days people will ask “do you pass the exam or not?”. Nowadays people will ask “how many A’s do you get?”. What a big contrast. It is either the present children are getting smarter or the exams are getting simpler. I hope Malaysian educationists could answer this.
August 13th, 2006 at 2:02 am
Perhaps the size of US justifies the decentralised education system?
How big is Malaysia? Is is it as big as Montana?
August 13th, 2006 at 6:54 am
Ali Woshi,
No wonder the last time I visited the zoo, the animals were all laughing. I thought they were laughing at me.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:30 am
Zebra,
I think they laughed at both of us. Ha! ha! ha!
August 14th, 2006 at 10:22 am
I got an aggregate of 13 and scored 3As for my LCE exams and yeah!!! the monkeys at the zoo were laughing at me too, & so did my daughter (she scored straight-As for her PMR & so did a few dozen of her friends!!! ) … dunno whether the kids nowadays are getting smarter or the exams getting are simpler…
August 14th, 2006 at 3:23 pm
It means the government has been successful in creating geniuses. Geniuses are no longer born.