Randolph, Kelli, and Dylinda Wilson-Younger. "Is No
Child Left Behind Effective For All Students?" Parents Don't Think
So." Online Submission (2012): ERIC. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
In this article, the authors
describe the pros and cons to the No Child Left Behind Act implemented by the
Bush Administration in 2001. I plan on using the information to show government
intervention in education in America, and then compare it to Finland. The first
fact the article gives is how the “NCLB requires any schools receiving any
types of federal funding to administer some type of standardized test to their
students every year” (Randolph 1). The purpose of this is to measure the
success of the students and the school as a whole, and to make sure the schools
are staying on task by meeting the requirements set by the state. The hope of
this program was is to have all students scoring proficiently by the 2013 –
2014 year. How close are we to reaching this goal? Have we made any progress at
all with this program? If the schools don’t meet the AYP (adequate yearly
progress) two years in a row they are labeled “in need of improvement.” When
this happens they are provided technical assistance, parents may choose to send
their students to a new school and the school must come up with a plan for
improvement over the next two years. If it declines for three years, the school
must provide free tutoring and education services to the students. How hard are
these goals, and how do they vary from state to state? How often does a school
need this?
“The NCLB has been praised, but mostly criticized. Many
parents have praised the NCLB, because it allowed them to get their children
out of failing schools and move them to better ones” (Randolph 2). The NCLB Act has also provided resources such
as computers to the classroom and improved test scores in multiple schools.
What is the technology in the classrooms like in Finland? The bad parts of the
NCLB Act include schools arguing that the goals set forth by the states are
unattainable and the proper funding is not available either. “In an effort to
improve test scores, many states have cut out their arts programs and in some
cases have cut “nonessential” subjects such as social studies, foreign
language, health, and science” (Randolph 3). How many of these classes does
Finland provide? “President Obama along with the Secretary of Education also
initiated “Race to the Top” as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act” (Randolph 4). The article did not talk much about this, but it could be
something I can use in my paper as a future outlook in America.
This source is credible because of the authors and the
nature of the statistics given. A PHD wrote it with the help of a colleague. It
was published in 2012, which makes it very relevant. It showed both sides of
the argument very well and did not favor one side. At the end it has a works
cited page. The page includes government documents and other published
articles.
I plan on using this article to show how the U.S. system
has been in the past decade and before. I can use this in the government
intervention section of my final research paper. It has been revised since it
was implemented with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by the Obama
administration. I will need to find an article or two about the new Act in
place.
Sahlberg, Pasi. "Lessons From Finland: Where The
Country's Education System Rose To The Top In Just A Couple Decades."
Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed For Quick Review 77.3 (2011):
18-24. ERIC. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
This article from the Education Digest is about the
Finnish educational system. It gives most of the success to the teachers and
the process they have to go through to be teachers, but there are other factors
mentioned as well. “Today, three of five young Finns enroll in and 50% complete
state-funded higher education after upper secondary school” (Pasi 1). How does
this compare to the U.S.? One interesting thing stated throughout the article
was how the Finnish system does not employ external standardized testing to
drive the performance of schools or to inspect the schools and teachers. This
is the opposite of how the American system works. The Finns devote lots of
attention to personalized learning and creativity. “The progress of each
student is judged more against his or her individual development and abilities
are seen as a responsibility of the school, not external assessors” (Pasi 8).
This is also the opposite of America. The Finland system uses personal judgment
rather than statistical indicators.
“Teaching is consistently the most admired profession in
opinion polls of high school graduates” (Pasi 2). Teaching is a hard profession
to pursue though, suggests the article; “5,000 prospective teachers are
selected from about 20,000 applicants” (Pasi 2). After the selection process,
the hard part still has yet to come. “All teachers in Finnish primary, middle
and high schools must hold a masters degree; preschool and kindergarten
teachers must hold a bachelor’s degree” (Pasi 3). These are very high
expectations to hold, and are not matched by most American teachers. It takes
five to seven years for a teacher to complete their master’s degree. Once the
teacher obtains their degree and position, it is usually a lifetime job; “an
official estimate suggests that only 10% - 15% of teachers leave the profession
during the course of their career” (Pasi 6). How does this compare to the U.S.
expectancy of a teacher’s time in their position?
The credibility of this source is very good. It is from a
known magazine called the Education Digest. It is from a series called the
Essential Readings Condensed for Review. The study was done well with many
facts about teachers and how they get to the positions they are at. It does not
show preference, only facts.
I plan on using this in my paper as one of my main
sources. I will use it in the section where I write about teachers in the
various educational systems. There is an abundance of quotes in this paper to
incorporate into the final research paper.
This article compares the
differences between Finland and other European countries. It gives a better
understanding of the Finnish system from beginning to end in respect to
economic, social and educational boundaries. In Finland, 57% for primary and
secondary education is from the government while 43% is from municipalities.
What is the rate in America? In Finland students enter compulsory education at
the age of seven. When they enter compulsory education the goal is to “teach
children to carry a sense of responsibility, independence, creativity, peaceful
relations with people and be compatible relationship with Finnish society, and
to set a good relationship between school and parents” (Asiye Toker 6). Another
interesting fact pointed out about Finland is how close enrolment in private
school is to public school. It is about 60% enrolment for public school and 40%
for private school according to the graph on page 7. How similar are private
and public schools in Finland? “Once
graduating the students will have a chance for registering to any school they
want. Passing a skill exam is necessary for some vocational schools entrance”
(Asiye Toker 8).
The
starting and completing age for Finland is 16 and 19 for upper secondary
education according to the graph on page 8. This is older than the U.S. system.
“While universities highlight scientific research and instruction, technical
schools emphasize “practice” in their strategic plans in Finland” (Asiye Toker
10). This seems similar to the U.S. The main focus of the Finnish university
system is to provide conditions for free and autonomous studying. How hard are
these schools to get into though? What is the application process like for
universities in Finland? How much is tuition for the universities in Finland?
David
Publishing published it in 2013, which makes it very current and credible. The
graphs are done well and do not show preference to any of the countries. At the
bottom of the page, it says it was presented at an Education and Society
conference in Istanbul. Over all a very well written comparative essay.
I plan on using this in my paper
purely for facts. The facts used in this comparative essay are very valuable
when I look only at Finland. I will use this essay mainly in the beginning when
I write about the basics about the two systems.
Finland:
Higher Education. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, 1995. Print.
This
book explains in depth, the structure of the Finnish educational system from
start to end. It explains the history in the first chapter and then goes into
the actual structure in the second. The chapters after that are in depth
explanations of each part of Finnish education. Along with text, the book has
graphs with demographics and time to show how far the country has come with its
various reforms. The book shows the positives and negatives of the various
reforms and other actions in the history until today.
The
source is credible because of the lengths it’s gone to provide the information
given. The book was written by OECD for the series Reviews of National Policies for Education. Each graph is given by
the Finnish Ministry of Education, and is sourced at the bottom of each graph
(which is just about every other page). The book shows no prejudice throughout
the book. It only gives facts about the history and the reforms given
throughout the history that made it rise to the top. The only part, which is
not credible, is when the book was written. It was written in 1995, and a lot
of things have changed since then. It still gives a good view of the system
though.
I
plan on using this book as one of my main sources because of the abundance of
information given and the quality of the information. The book is well written
and easy to read and skim through for the valuable information. I will use this
book for just about every aspect of my paper. It has things about teachers,
about budget, about government, pretty much anything I need to know about the
Finnish education system in in the book.
“The
traditional long-term objectives of Finnish education policy are to raise the
general standard of education and to provide educational equality.” (29)
“According
to the plan proposed by the government in summer 1993, the education system
should be developed in the direction of greater clarity and international
compatibility.” (32)
“Both
comprehensive and upper secondary school have a broadly based system of
counseling that underpins the development of the pupil, and provides guidance
in studying, career planning and choice of further studies.” (30)
"Race to the Top." The
White House. The White House, 31 Mar. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. Web.
The web article is a brief
explanation about the “Race to the Top” program implemented in the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act created by the Obama administration in 2009 in
response to the No Child Left Behind Act created in the previous presidency by
the Bush administration. The program is mainly about budgets and testing more
than anything. It plans to give $4
billion to 19 states in funding. It will try to turn around the
lowest-performing schools.
This is a reliable source
because it comes from a government website. It could be determined that the
source is biased because it came from the White House and it is describing
policies made by the White House. The article is mostly facts so it doesn’t
really need to be biased in the first place.
To get a better understanding of
the program I think I will need another source about it. I will use this to
show what we are doing now and in the future and compare it to how Finland is
reforming today and their outlooks for the future. I can use this for my
section about government interference within education. I can also use this in
my section about budget and testing too.
“This initiative offers bold
incentives to the states willing to spur systemic reform to improve teaching
and learning in American’s school.”
“Race to the Top has helped
drive the states nationwide to pursue higher standards, improve teacher
effectives, use data effectively in the classroom, and adopt new strategies to
help struggling schools.”
“Obama’s
Race to the Top initiative has dedicated over $4 billion to 19 states that have
created robust plans that address the four key areas of K-12 education reform.”
