Silicon Valley Moms Blog

STAR Tests and the Shortened School Year

April showers might bring May flowers, but they also bring STAR tests. My second-grade son is experiencing these for the first time this month, although there has been enough preparation throughout the year that it seems the actual tests are merely a formality.

It occurred to me as he skipped off to take his two-week long test that the instruction for the school year essentially ended in mid-April. After Spring Break, the kids had about a week or two of "usual" second-grade curriculum with homework, and then two weeks of "Practice STAR Tests," inches of stapled paperwork that asked simple questions like "1 + 1" and "What color is the sky?" (Is it a coincidence that my son had major behavioral trouble during the week in which they really hunkered down with these extremely simple questions?)

After STAR, the school puts on "Open House." Of course June then brings school plays, field trips, picnics, and other "wrap-up" activities. So, yes, second grade essentially finishes two months before summer vacation begins.

Sometimes you lose, sometimes you fail. That’s life, kid.

The rise of “No-Fail” grading systems in schools and “Everyone’s a Winner” programs in kids’ sports is strange to me. This morning I spotted the following story in one of my Google Alerts: Are 'No-Fail' Grading Systems Hurting or Helping Students?  It caught my eye because just a few days ago a group of moms and I were discussing this very topic at the park.

My friend Michelle’s son’s little league team gives trophies to all the kids, no matter what.  But does that render a trophy meaningless?  And Michelle's neighbor always ensures that when her kids play games, no one ever loses.  Another mom at the park mentioned that her sister never uses the word “No” with her kids.  Ever.  She and her husband come up with creative ways to avoid ever saying the word, such as providing alternative choices and using distraction.  When I saw the article this morning describing “No-Fail” grading systems, it got me thinking even more on the topic.

I can’t help but wonder, are we raising a generation of kids who are too protected from failure or being told "No"?  Are we doing children and teenagers a disservice by lowering standards and giving too many second chances?

Old Math, New Math : Everyday Math, aka Chicago Math

On Tuesday, April 14, the Elementary Math Materials Adoption Committee will recommend a new math curriculum, Everyday Math (also known as Chicago Math) to the Palo Alto Unified School District Board.  In the post below, I offer an open letter to the PAUSD Board voicing my concerns with Everyday Math stemming from three years of parenting an Everyday Math student before moving to the PAUSD. 

To the PAUSD Board:

Moving to California from New Jersey, I sought to optimize the benefit of the move and, as a parent, that meant finding the best public schools for my children.  I honed in on the districts with the lowest teacher:student ratios, great statistics and positive reviews.  Having narrowed our search down to four towns, I called each district with one question: “What is the name of your elementary math curriculum?”  The answer to that question narrowed my search further; now here we are in Palo Alto.  An educator myself and committed to public education, I have been over the moon about my third-grader’s educational experience here in California.  It has far exceeded my expectations, and my daughter is quite happy in school, too.

The Silicon Valley Pre-School Decision

"I love my teachers and friends," says my daughter while we were driving up to my old elementary school.  "I would like to meet new teachers." she continues.  I was taking her to visit MY Silicon Valley elementary school for an admissions test.  And to clarify, she is three.  Yes, three. 

It starts early. 

I loved this school as a child, and it was an amazing educational experience.  While we drove the thirty minutes up to the school, I was confident we would just keep her at her current preschool next year. However, by the time she had finished her IQ test and I had done my parent interview, I was completely confused and had fallen in love with the school all over again.  Maybe she wouldn't be accepted so I wouldn't need to make a choice.?  Maybe we think she is gifted but we are blinded by parent love.  It's quite possible.

Two hours later I get a call from the lovely admissions director sharing that my daughter is indeed accepted and invited to playgroup.  Hooray!  She is "gifted and talented", whatever that means.  But now we have to make a very real decision about her future.  Do we pass on this opportunity?  Do we spend next year trekking her back and forth to school, looking at me working out of a cafe and finding some place for my littlest one. 

Public Education in California

When I was a kid I started kindergarten in the state of Michigan.   Family circumstances brought us back to California when I was in the middle of 2nd grade.  My newly widowed mother spent all her savings to buy a house in San Carlos because the schools were some of the best in the area.  I remember listening to my mom talk on the phone about how disappointed she was in our new California school.  The day was one hour shorter, there was twice as much recess time, there was no librarian and the music program was pretty sparse.  And yet despite my mom's worries, I think I did just fine in the California public education system.  I had several high quality teachers through the years and I feel like I was well prepared for college.  I went to a private college and, I must say, I noticed the differences in services and facilities right from the start.  

Cut to 2004 when my twin girls were two years old and we were living in San Francisco. I started applying to preschools.  To say the experience was stressful would be an understatement.  There were interviews (for my husband and I as well as our two year olds), outrageous application fees and endless thank you notes... for preschool.  We applied to eight different schools and did not get into any of them.  My number one choice of schools had eight sets of twins apply that year.  It all worked out in the end.  After several phone calls and some begging I managed to get my girls into a fantastic, small in-home preschool that was clear on the other side of town.  

Can a Kid Still be a Kid?

For weeks a friend of mine and I have been trying to coordinate so our kids can have a playdate.  I have to admit, I am just about done trying.  As she said, her child is just too busy.  On Saturdays, it is a rush around from ballet class to swim lessons to soccer and a quick break for lunch.  At 5 years old, she has so many classes that she can't find time to play for more than a quick 15 minutes here or there.  Five years old and no time to play?  Dr. Seuss is rolling over in his grave.  And I wonder are we taking away our kids' chance to be a kid.

Can Schools Close the Achievement Gap?

A few weeks ago the Superintendent of Palo Alto Unified talked to the San Jose Merc about the achievement gap in test scores between minority and other students in the district. He said that the gap cannot be closed by schools alone and that a child's background, including language skills, pre-school education and parenting, plays a large part in how well students do in school. He was very careful to say that one cannot give up on closing the gap, just that our current thinking--putting the lion's share of the onus on the teachers and schools--may not be the best way to tackle the problem. 

While this seems like common sense to me, he was, of course, jumped on by other educators and criticized by parents requiring apologetic meetings and him regretting the feelings he caused by saying what is reality, but not politically correct. What did Jack Nicholson say in A Few Good Men? Apparently, we can't handle the truth either.

The Kindergarten Crazies

Just when I thought I had preschool all figured out, it is time to start over - my twins just turned 5 last week and will be headed to the big K next year. Kindergarten. It is the talk of my preschool class, my playgroup, my table at my twins club's moms holiday dinner last week...and it probably will be the big subject at my parent-teacher conference which is scheduled for tomorrow. Are they ready? Should I separate them or not? And, the main thing at this point, where will they go? Open houses, intra-district transfers, inter-district transfers, lotteries. I *think* my twins are ready.

But am I?

School Choice: A Personal Decision

 It is January and my oldest daughter who started preschool this past fall is finally settled in and happy.  In fact when I dropped her off in the morning, I can hardly get a kiss good bye before she is running off to see her friends and teacher.  I am thrilled she is so happy and equally glad to take a bit of a break before I have to think about elementary school.  Still multiple times in the last week I have been listening to parents around me debate where to send their kids to kindergarten: private school, dual immersion, gifted programs, etc.  Montessori, constructivist, progressive teaching styles?

I have a whole year or at least half a year before I really have to think about this, for the moment I am just thrilled to watch my daughter love school.  As I observe these debates, I am struck by the passion that each parent exhibits.  One parent touts the value of Montessori in helping her child grow at her own pace as well as continue to be challenged.  She loves the positive impact she has seen on her child.  Another parent looks to the public schools for a more diverse population and examines in detail the test scores to determine if the program will work for her child.  Others are focusing on religious teaching and sending their children to Catholic school and would not consider an alternative.  And sometimes the debates get heated as each person is passionate for their own viewpoint.

Talking Education with Jill Biden

I found out yesterday I would be talking today with Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Senator Joe Biden, who may in two weeks be the wife of the Vice President-Elect. Knowing I would have time for perhaps one question only, it was a tough challenge to know what to ask, how to ask it, and how long it should be. The conference call with other women bloggers - mostly moms - was invitation-only through Women for Obama and it also included Danielle Gray, National Deputy Policy Director for the campaign. I was a little nervous in preparing - mostly because it's difficult to know what to ask with so much at stake in this election and so much going on in the world.

Earlier this week, in another capacity as a representative of the Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee (SPAC), I met with the Bring Me a Book Foundation about how SPAC could help out their program participants and related families on the statewide and national level, and the discussion turned toward universal preschool and literacy. I learned some dramatic statistics like that 85% of juvenile delinquents are functionally illiterate. If parents read to their children, they increase their chances of success in reading and literacy, but somehow half of American parents don't read to their children - something so simple that costs so little. By the end of that meeting, I was convinced something needs to be done to get more parents aware of how important it is to read every day to their children, so I decided to ask Dr. Biden about that.

The call began with an introduction by Dana Singiser of the Obama campaign and then Dr. Biden spoke briefly about how she's worked as an educator for many years, teaching them to read and write. She was kind and humble in what she said, reading off a prepared statement, and she said that when she's in the classroom, they don't talk about politics, but "this election is about them."