1) The kids State Standardized test scores were abysmal, but they were given great scores by the school. If they failed tests they were given unrelated “makeup work” to being their grade back.
2) during Covid, everything went online and we could see all the work being given. Our daughter was specifically given topics 2 grades below her actual grade to keep her grade up. Her teachers told her this, and they didn’t assign homework “because of need for school / life balance”. My son’s work was dumbed down as well.
For private school, we see it because we had to help get them back up to par. I have helped my son understand algebra and read Shakespeare, and my younger daughter age appropriate math and English.
Both are now able to take over their own studies, which are far in advance of where the grade equivalent public school is.
Our public schools also have almost no AP courses at all. The private school has only college-prep courses, and the question is only what level - basic to advanced to honors AP.
NJ is pretty highly ranked according to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for reading and math. They have data on grades 4 and 8 for the year 2022 [1]
Grade 4 - Math #10 Reading #5
Grade 8 - Math #7 Reading #1
Wallethub.com said it's #3 overall [2]
US New and World Reports said it's #2 overall for education[3]
In 2019 EducationWeek ranked it #1 [4]
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"they didn’t assign homework “because of need for school / life balance”.
Covid was a stressful time for kids and parents alike. Is school/life balance not a valid concern for teachers especially under unique circumstances? You also mentioned everything was online, not sure if that was part of your criticism but weren't private also doing that?
"For private school, we see it because we had to help get them back up to par. I have helped my son understand algebra and read Shakespeare, and my younger daughter age appropriate math and English."
You could have helped your children in Public school as well right? Isn't it possible that you changing schools also caused you to involve yourself more. That the end result is not so much the private school but an attitude change due to the new school. Similar to how someone moves and it gives them motivation to find a job or get their life together.
You also talk about how your kids are learning the way they did years ago and that your 5th grader (at the comment's time) is learning Latin. However you mentioned that the first year of the private schooling was difficult because of the transition and the amount to overcome (related to your children being behind?)
Isn't it possible that Covid caused a distinct change in your mental state. Think about it, you have your two children home all the time unexpectedly , both with learning disabilities, and you had schools that had to adapt to remote learning quickly. There's stress everywhere. So your children don't score well on standardized tests, it's understandable to be concerned. The school, having trouble implementing a completely new way of learning drops homework and is generous with the grades. Maybe that's not unreasonable considering the situation for schools at the time.
"The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of children and adolescents is multifaceted and substantial. Survey studies regarding child and adolescent mental health amid COVID-19 indicated that anxiety, depression, loneliness, stress, and tension are the most observed symptoms." [5]
Note that school systems in NJ as a rule are not state run, but locally run. Quality varies wildly by district. In fact, real estate prices vary in direct proportion to quality of schools in NJ towns very closely.
We happen to be in a lousy district. Yes, Covid uniformly hurt all schools. But don’t presume to know our kids, our schools, or our context. Our public schools have always had lousy standardized test results, even pre-Covid. Post Covid it is getting worse and worse - a few weeks ago our Superintendent rejoiced that we should all just ignore those scores, because more and more colleges are not requiring SAT or ACT scores for admission. He said this and wrote it in a presentation. A celebration of ignorance. Paid for by my tax dollars.
Edit: I know school quality varies between district but I only knew your state. You also mentioned that it's about money but then complained about your tax dollars being wasted. Wouldn't an increase in spending help your district? What would happen if you spent half of what you paid for private schools on tutors and kept your kids in public?
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Your fixation with standardized tests is unusual for this site. It's a complicated debate but you seem to have a strong opinion about the value of standardized tests
Some colleges don't even require them anymore [1] as you mentioned. The NEA claims they don't properly measure student value [2].
Finally, I know many children of immigrants who literally have burned out because of a singular focus on education by their parents. That's anecdotal of course and I almost stupid mentioning the steretype. However, this may be a real issue even if it's not all[3].
You have focused on these tests often in your comments. Do you have evidence these are a good measure of intelligence or ability related to either to college or the workplace?
Pretend this wasn’t education, but literally any other field.
You want KPIs that you can measure that are based somehow on reality.
The problem with public education in the US is teacher’s unions fiercely fight against any sort of KPI, because they would then be evaluated on actual results. They much prefer to have bullet proof tenured jobs for life with no accountability.
1) The kids State Standardized test scores were abysmal, but they were given great scores by the school. If they failed tests they were given unrelated “makeup work” to being their grade back.
2) during Covid, everything went online and we could see all the work being given. Our daughter was specifically given topics 2 grades below her actual grade to keep her grade up. Her teachers told her this, and they didn’t assign homework “because of need for school / life balance”. My son’s work was dumbed down as well.
For private school, we see it because we had to help get them back up to par. I have helped my son understand algebra and read Shakespeare, and my younger daughter age appropriate math and English.
Both are now able to take over their own studies, which are far in advance of where the grade equivalent public school is.
Our public schools also have almost no AP courses at all. The private school has only college-prep courses, and the question is only what level - basic to advanced to honors AP.