1 Schools: Secondary Education Middle schools, junior highs, high schools Debate –What should schools teach? –How should school be organized? –Content: Basics? Or, a diverse range of classes? –Should early adolescents be separated? –Is tracking appropriate?

2 How are we doing? Change in Educational Achievement over Time United States Trends in Academic achievement –What students know Have not paralleled trends in educational attainment –How many years of schooling students have completed

3 How are we doing? American students fare poorly in international comparisons Despite the fact that spending on education in the U.S. is among the world's highest Results from International tests on Math and Science

4 One-third of U.S. corporations report that they have trouble finding skilled employees How are we doing?

5 How are we doing?: College enrollment

6 How are we doing? 50% of all students who enroll in a 4-year college complete their degree within 6 years

7 How are we doing? High School Dropout National dropout rate has remained around 25 percent since late 1970’s African-American youngsters drop out of high school only slightly more than white youngsters but Hispanic youngsters drop out at more than twice the rate of other youth More than half who don’t graduate on time eventually get their high school diploma or GED

8 How are we doing? Secondary schools are geared almost exclusively toward college-bound youngsters High schools do not prepare graduates at all for the world of work The “Forgotten Half” have a hard time finding (even low-paying) employment

9 How are we doing? Wide variation in levels of educational and occupational success –Many have a high enough level of academic achievement to enter selective colleges and universities –Many of their peers enter adulthood unable even to read a newspaper or understand a bus schedule

10 How do we determine if high schools are effective? -taking the right courses -achieving acceptable scores on entrance exams/placement exams -developed good study skills

11 Students by Grade who Agreed or Strongly Agreed that They have Been Challenged to do Their Best Work

12 Preparing for Class by Grade Hsse,2005 College 2 to 3 hours for every hour in class 50% of first year college students say they spend 10 hours per week Time High School Student Preparing for Class: Percentage of Respondents

13 Time Seniors spent on Assigned Reading

14 Number of Papers More than Five Pages Number of papers

15 The proportion of the 14- to 17-year-old population enrolled in school increased dramatically between 1910 and Today, nearly 95 percent of individuals this age are in school.

16 Secondary Education in America : Origins of Compulsory Education Most important causes were industrialization, urbanization, and immigration Many families could make ends meet without the labor of their adolescents Compulsory secondary education was a means of social control

17 Secondary Education in America: Rise of the Comprehensive High School Secondary education was aimed at the masses with two goals –intellectual training –preparing youth for life in modern society (roles of work and citizenship) Comprehensive high school –General education, college preparation, vocational education

18 School Reform Past and Present: Debating the High School Curriculum 1970s Relevance 1980s Back to Basics Early 1990s Higher-Order Thinking Late 1990s Rigorous Academic Standards: High Technology

19 School Reform Past and Present: Education in the Inner Cities Why has school reform failed in urban schools? –Many students with very grave academic and behavioral problems –Many are afraid of being victimized ; some carry guns or other weapons –Administrative bureaucracies impede reform –Erosion of job opportunities: Little incentive to remain in school

20 School Reform Past and Present: Characteristics of Good Schools Emphasize intellectual activities Have teachers strongly committed to students Constantly monitor themselves to become better Are well integrated into the communities they serve Composed of good classrooms where students are active participants

21 The Social Organization of Schools: School Size and Class Size Schools became larger –To offer a wider range of courses –To offer more services for students However, student performance and interest in school improve –When schools are made less bureaucratic –School are more intimate

22 The Social Organization of Schools: School Size and Class Size In larger schools, students tend to be observers rather than participants School size especially affects participation of students whose grades are not very good Ideal size of a school for adolescents –Between 500 and 1,000 students

23 The Social Organization of Schools: School Size and Class Size Classroom size –Does not affect scholastic achievement during adolescence –Adolescents learn as much in classes of 40 students as in classes of 20 students

24 The Social Organization of Schools: Tracking Separating students, by ability, into different levels of classes within the same school Research has not led to definitive answers about its overall effects (Eccles, 2004)

25 The Social Organization of Schools: Tracking Proponents argue –Ability-grouping allows teachers to design class lessons that are more finely tuned to students’ abilities Critics argue –Students who are placed in the remedial track generally receive a poorer quality education

26 Reasons given for poor achievement in U.S. Teachers aren’t spending enough time on basic instruction (1)Textbooks have become less challenging (2)Parents aren’t encouraging academic pursuits at home (3)Students choose their own classes (4)Grade inflation good grades without hard work

27 The Social Organization of Schools: The Importance of School Climate –The way teachers interact with students –The way classroom time is used –The standards teachers hold for students –The expectations teachers have for their students

28 The Social Organization of Schools: The Importance of School Climate A positive school climate fosters students’ feelings of belonging and strengthens their feelings of academic efficiency Strong feelings of academic deficiency lead to better school performance

29 Achievement The development of –Motives –Capabilities –Interests –Behavior That have to do with performance in evaluative situations

30 The Motive to Achieve Need for achievement –Extent to which an individual strives for success Teens with high need for achievement have authoritative parents who have Set high performance standards Rewarded achievement success Encouraged autonomy and independence

31 The Motive to Achieve Fear of failure –Often manifested by feelings of anxiety –Interferes with successful performance Underachievers –Grades are far lower than expected based on ability Self-handicapping strategies