In chapter’s 3 and 4 Meier gives his opinion on why larger school are not always better then the smaller ones. Although bigger school do tend to have more things to offer the students, in a smaller setting students do not have the ability to band together as much and the classes are much more together and in sync. I do agree with this because for high school I went to a small school where my senior class was only about 135 students. It was a much more personal feeling that was offered and everyone knew who everyone was. It was a lot easier to communicate to teachers even if it wasn’t your own because it was to get a hold of a teacher in the same subject. Even though it was a smaller school it was more geared toward a college preparatory so to me that was a specialization and I feel like I came out very well prepared for college.
Another thing that was discussed was how the yearly progress is measured mainly on the results of the standardized testing. This system of measuring on these tests is very isolating because if a school refuses to use this format they risk the possibility of being closed. Also if they want to receive the federal funds that the other schools are receiving they have to follow the format. Again just like I mentioned in chapter 15 about the standardized testing, it is unfair to make an assessment based on a test. Each student and school is unique in their own ways and some students have different strengths. Some students are good test takers while others might be better at writing papers or participation/ in class work. If schools are graded on how well their students do on these tests, then the schools put a much great stress on these tests because they know their funding depends on it. Students should be assessed on an individual basis. The teachers know their students best and know which students put their best foot forward everyday. Just because a student might have a bad day and do poorly on a test or just may not be a good test taker, it should not be the only factor in labeling that student. But I think this comes out of the laziness of the education system. It is much easier to grade a set test then for a teacher to make 25-35 in depth individual assessments on their class. But this isn’t just about the teachers and the schools, it is primarily about the students and their success so they can lead a good life.
