Our alternative high qualifies to apply for a grant in a competition for a great deal of funding for out-of-the-box project-based high-tech learning. Cooperation and cross-curricular work are emphasized. There’s a lot of money out there for this type of thing.
Oddly enough, the schools that qualify are those that have produced not-very-good test scores over three years. Standardized testing results qualify us for a HUGE amount of money to purchase high-tech equipment for projects which are not measured by standardized testing.
Oh, the delicious irony. Far be it from me to turn down any funding, large or small. However, I believe that the concensus is growing that standardized tests are expensive, present huge problems in adminstering (many schools don’t have enough computer labs and glitches cause endless delays and hiccups in the testing process), and don’t necessarily measure a student’s competency, when it all comes out.
I wish that there were funding for all schools to amp up their technology and move into project-based, cross-curricular, cooperative learning. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but I believe we must have relief from the consequences of high-stakes testing to do the experimentation that can make it work.
