Fresno Famous

There was once a day when graduation from every stage of school was a big deal. Today we pass on many students who haven't kept up to the metric. It doesn't matter which area/s they are bad at. Institutions care about one thing, money. Students are required to be in school and schools make money off of those seats. The system needs to be completely redesigned from the ground up.

"When more than 1 million students a year drop out of high school, it's more than a problem, it's a catastrophe," said former Secretary of State Colin Powell ("Foxnews.com"). Graduation rates for high school students dropped to 70% in 2008, down from 85% in 2004. That means that 30% of people in 2008 did not graduate on time. This is a huge problem that will only get worse as time goes on. It's even more of a catastrophe when you realize that the population of students has grown. That 30% in 2008 is a much larger number than it would have been a few years earlier.

So... It's a problem, what can we do?

In high school, students must pass several classes and tests to graduate. These standardized tests are a step in the right direction but critics complain that they only result in teachers catering to the test rather than true teaching. I somewhat agree but also see the benefit of standardizing. Teachers need to be free to teach and students must learn the required information. This appears as a paradox if you see it from a linear perspective. Currently, we push, pull and drag students through a linear progression of school. Variance comes once we are in college but that variance is limited to classes. That variance is also a major issue for anyone trying to transfer units from one institution to the next. Not all institutions agree on where a class may fall. Some see literature as English while others see it as humanities. However, despite this class variance, we still progress in a single direction; towards the Units needed to graduate college.

Now contrast the current system with tech certifications. A tech must prove via testing that he/she holds the adequate knowledge at every step of the way. The more certifications a tech has, the more valuable they become. The tech can also pick and choose which certifications they wish to pursue first and fill in the gaps as they go. Now think about it. This makes perfect sense. Skill sets are broken down and then tested out at each stage of development.

I propose we break down every single aspect of learning into skill trees. For example... English is an important subject and can be broken down into sectionalized stages of learning development.

English 1 - Certifies knowledge of basic sentence structure. Subject + predicate = sentence. Subject + verb = sentence. Can demonstrate basic sentences.

English 2-Demonstration of basic paragraph structure. Can formulate multiple sentences to make a basic statement.

English 3- Understanding of complex sentences, compound sentences and compound-complex sentences. Can cite and demonstrate at least 6 different sentence construction patterns. Can create multi-paragraph stories or statements up to 700 words.

English MLA1-Introduction to MLA format. Can write full 1500 word papers utilizing resources and references in MLA format.

English MLA2-Advanced MLA format. Can write 5000-10000 word papers utilizing multiple sources and full reference citation.

English MLA3-Master of MLA format. Possesses enough knowledge to teach MLA format to others.

English APA1-Intro to APA. Can write full 1500 word papers utilizing resources and references in APA format.

English APA2-Advanced APA format. Can write 5000-10000 word papers utilizing multiple sources and full reference citation.

English APA3-Master of APA format. Possesses enough knowledge to teach APA format to others.

English CHI1- Intro to CHI. Can write full 1500 word papers utilizing resources and references in CHI format.

English CHI2-Advanced CHI format. Can write 5000-10000 word papers utilizing multiple sources and full reference citation.

English CHI3-Master of CHI format. Possesses enough knowledge to teach CHI format to others.

Vocabulary 1- Certifies knowledge of basic vocabulary. Possessive, past, present and relation to basic sentence structure. Can utilize common words. Pronunciation, spelling and usage.

Vocabulary 2- Can utilize a dictionary and thesaurus to create unique sentences using advanced word usage. Pronunciation, spelling and usage. Can teach Vocabulary 1.

Vocabulary 3-Knowledge of rare but profound word usage. Certifies understanding of exemplarily words. Pronunciation, spelling and usage. Can Teach Vocabulary 2.

Vocabulary 4-Master of Vocabulary. Can utilize profound word usage without aid. Can teach all certification levels of vocabulary.

If this system were used, we would still have need for schools. Schools would be the source of learning but would not be required. This has several changes/differences. Lets examine a few of them in a brief passing.

• Affects on the student- Students would be free to attend or not attend not only school but what type of school. Their education level would not be determined by the grade they were in but rather by the certifications they obtained. This environment would exponentially increase the productivity of students who attend based on the willingness and eagerness to learn. Teachers would not have to deal with students, for the most part, who did not wish to be there. You could theoretically have two 6th grade students attending the same class but due to outside sources, possibly parental influence, one student is certified higher in math and the other is certified higher in English. Students would be able to advance at their own pace. You may find an 8th grader who takes no certifications but is very bright; when the student tests out before 9th grade and obtains a level 4 English certification. Those who choose not to attend school but enjoy hands on or self-learning could potentially either keep pace or surpass students who attend school. These students would be free to experience life at it's fullest, should they choose; learning would no doubt be harder without self-discipline. These are just some of the affects this system would have. I'm sure we could come up with many more scenarios but I think you get the point.
• Affects on Teachers- Teachers could assess and encourage students based on their evaluation of skill level. If a student in 3rd grade could read/comprehend Reading 4 certification but was only certified at Reading 1, could arrange a series of tests to get the student certified to Reading 4. Teachers could grade according to certification level. Instead of grading a paper in the standard A, B, C fashion, papers would be graded as their appropriate skill level. Students would know approximately where they should be in the certification system based on papers they turned in. The teachers’ feedback would clue students in to their own evaluated level. Teachers may grade one paper at an English 4 but the next at English 2. The Student would know that they were capable of obtaining an English 4 certification but were not consistent enough to achieve it. Teachers would be free to teach without reference to a particular standard or structure. Instead, English teachers for example, could teach English in various ways in an attempt to encourage students to learn. Teachers could be looked at to teach as broad or narrow a subject as they see fit. Curriculums might still be standardized to a degree. Think of Mrs. Rose as not just an English teacher but also a Vocabulary and Literature teacher. Mrs. Snow, on the other hand, would be a Literature and Poetry teacher only. Snow would focus only on the aspects of reading and comprehending poetry while encouraging the reading/comprehension of Literature from the poetry aspect. Students of Mrs. Rose might learn a broad spectrum while students of Mrs. Snow would be focused. Both strategies have their benefits and can be paralleled in our current school system. The overall teaching experience would simply become better.
• Affects on Schools/Districts/Institutions (SDI)- SDI’s would be able to set curriculum based on their optimism and evaluation of their own programs. Prestigious Institutions would likely remain prestigious as generally they are considered to have some of the best minds/teachers. The main difference is that the classes/subjects a student takes would not determine their knowledge skill set. Although they may obtain a degree that degree only certifies that the student went through a program and not that the student actually possesses the knowledge. SDI's would no longer have any reason to hold students back. As teachers would be grading based on Knowledge Skill set, the students would tied to their Knowledge skill set. Class requirements could be based on knowledge skill set rather than previous courses taken. What this does is alleviate the issues of one SDI considering English 1b humanities while another categorizes it as English composition. The old system would be irrelevant. No matter what classes or courses a student may or may not have taken, their Knowledge skill set would tell that they were either Qualified or not. Teachers would no longer have to wonder why a particular student is in their English 4 level class when their papers are only written at an English 2 level. SDI's would be both private and public. The federal government would equally fund public SDI’s. Private SDI's would be privately funded with zero government assistance. Both private and public SDI's would be able to set their own curriculums, however, they would also both be in relation to a nationalized standard of the Knowledge Skill set. Some SDI's would focus on particular trade skills. Other SDI's would be for general knowledge. You can see a similar parallel in trade schools today. Graduation of any SDI would not guarantee anyone had obtained any knowledge. Moving from one class to another would also not guarantee gain of knowledge or skill. A teacher might see the same student class after class; not because they were failing but because they were learning at their own pace and enjoyed the lessons of the instructor. Classes may be offered in no particular order aside from any Knowledge Skill set requirements to comprehend the class level. SDI's may take on and wave the Knowledge or Skill set requirements of a student based on their own evaluation. This would again, be at their discretion and have no bearing on the end result of knowledge skill set acquisition. An SDI might simply feel a particular individual was more advanced than their skill set but simply had not tested out. Again this is a general overview and if fully realized would be likely several chapters long.
• Pressures are the norm- It is important to recognize and accept that similar pressures of the current system would still exist. Not obtaining a certification would prevent some students from some SDI's; the parallel in today's system being grades and ACT or SAT scores. Parents would still pressures students to follow a particular path for every reason thinkable. SDI's would still pressure teachers to push students to achieve more. This new system would not alleviate the human intervention portion of today’s education and would be just as much of a problem as in today's system. We must not only change our system but the mentality behind achieving knowledge. After attending many different colleges, I have realized one important lesson that is overlooked and rarely taught. Life long Learning. Parents, Teachers, SDI's and students alike need to realize that we need to never stop. Success, no matter what level our skill set is currently can be achieved with dedication. Pressures will always be there to achieve more.

Something as got to change or we will fall further and further behind. Education must be a priority but if it is to be a priority, we must be able to recognize acheivements. There is currently too much disparity between SDI's to say exactly what a potential employee knows. Switching to a nationally standarized Knowledge Skillset system will not only provide accurate information on knowlege but will also certify that employee's will potentially not require as much on the job training.

This idea is much bigger than a single blog. Someday I will put it all down in a book.