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MY PLAN VS. OUR CURRENT USA PLAN AND OTHER PLANS

This webpage is for comparison purposes to showcase that my plan has similarities to other countries from around the world.That I would say is a good thing.

Implementation National Level Regional Level Local Level
Current USA
System
USA has the Department of Education which does do NAEP testing,  but does not really set National Standards Each state winds up coming with curriculum standards and state testing standards For some school districts they can have some control over the curriculum
France
They have a Ministry of National Education that sets the curriculum. They have 31 academies that help administer it. Teachers get to chose teaching method and textbooks
Russia They have a Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation that has 60% control of national standards and does select the textbooks Regions get 30% control of educational standards to accommodate local needs. Schools get the final 10% of control on educational standards.
Germany
They have The Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs which works with each state on education standards. The 16 states inside Germany have a ministry of education that helps coordinate education standards Teachers do get to choose how they teach, but have to select a textbook from a list.
Netherlands
They have a Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science that sets some educational standards They have twelve provincial councils which does not really set education standards The local level is where curriculum for the schools is set.
Singapore
They have a national Ministry of Education which does have authority over the curriculum Do not really have a regional level Teachers and principals can decide on what the curriculum should be
Brazil They have the Federal Ministry of Education which creates 75% of the national curriculum They have governing units that helps make education available to all students Individual schools get to set the other 25%
Japan
They have the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology which sets curriculum They have control over specific educational programs.
My Plan The Federal Government along with the Department of Education will come up with the educational standard States will help enforce the standard School districts will get to make choices from the federal standard.

If you at my plan it looks most closely to the one France has.

School Year Length
Current USA System Usually at 180 schools days, but some schools do have longer school years or even shorter ones
France
180 days
Russia
Around 175 days
Germany
188 days or 208 days depending on the school you go to.
Netherlands
The minimum is 200 days, but can be longer
Singapore
200 days
Brazil
200 days
Japan
Around 195 days
My plan
200 days for K-8 and 180 days for high school students

When it comes to the amount a years a student spends in the education system all countries are in the 12-15 year area with the non
compulsory years thrown in. If you went with my plan you are in the same area.

Tested Grade Levels
Current USA System
Grades 4, 8, and 12 at the national level. States test at various grade level every single year.
France
Grade 3, 5, 9, and 12
Russia
Grades 9 and 11
Germany
Grade 3, 8, 9, and 12
Netherlands
Grade 5, 8, 11, and 12
Singapore
Grades 6, 11, and 12
Brazil
4, 8, and 11
Japan
Grades 6 and 9
My Plan
Same as the current USA system

I say what the current USA system does for testing is fine with me and does not need any changing so I use it for my plan. When you get into countries like Germany and Singapore certain tests a student will take determines what type of school they would get into.

My plan vs. the No Child Left Behind plan

I am giving this plan that was passed during the George W. Bush presidency a separate section on this webpage to make it easer to compare
and contrast

OUTLINE

  • My educational system includes a must have national set standard
  • All students will take college level classes under my eucational system
  • I think people with only 2-year degrees can teach
  • A change in proficiency levels are in order
  • Testing will start earlier under my educational system

PARAGRAPH

The No child left behind education proposal is the president George W. Bush idea for fixing the USA educational system. I am going to go over some of the differences of where we big time.

His plan calls for states to come up with its own set standard for graduation and for what a student should learn which is a no-no. One national set standard is the best way to go. My idea for a set standard will have all students taking college level classes in high school. The leave no child behind educational proposal only wants an increased availability of the classes.

His idea of what a qualified teacher is different from mine. In his proposal he wants all teachers have a 4-year college degree. He does want state certification of all teachers and demonstrated knowledge of the subject he or she is going to teach. It has to be all completed by the end of 2005-2006 school year. I will say it will never happen. The state of Alaska is a location and population nightmare that I think will make it very tough to pull off. Economic and population problems could cause California to not meet these goals as well.

What I want in a teacher is discussed in detail in detail on the School Teacher web page on my site. I will say some points from that page right here though. I do strongly feel that 2-year degree grads can teach and teach well. I want the Teach For America fully expanded for all school districts. Those two points 100% go against what Bush wanted.

Bush wants 99% of students to be at proficient levels by the 2013-2014 school year. It is an idea that will be to tough to accomplish. Around 55 million students are in the k-12 grade level with 6.5 million of them being called special ed students. Only 1% of 55 million is only 550 thousand, which I think is cutting it too close. Dropping the number down to like 95% will be better for all school districts and teachers. You can’t be too perfect.

We both agree that testing students in grades three through eight is a good thing, but I do test for all subjects starting in the sixth grade. I also go one step further and test to see how a students mind is wired in the first grade.

MORE ON MY PLAN VS. THE CURRENT USA PLAN

This part of the webpage discusses more differences between my plan and the current USA education system not discussed above.

OUTLINE

  • My educational system is fresh and brand new
  • No SAT/ACT tests for students
  • One set standard to graduate for all students
  • A change in AP classes
  • My educational system has an increased school year for all 1st through 8th graders, but the same amount of grade levels.
  • Quality of high school grads are poor.

PARAGRAPH

My system is fresh and brand new, it gets away from the 20th century system that we have today. The 20th century system we still use today creates graduates that do not have the skills and education to move onto a great job unless they graduated from a vocational/technical school where they take classes like plumbing, carpentry, etc… These high school grads were great in the 50’S and 60’S where they could move right from the high school to a job that would pay them enough money so they could have a proper retirement, now with the change of a job market that happened in the late 70’S this is harder and harder to come by anymore and we must change fix it.

The plan that I have created creates one set standard all states much follow. Different graduating standards for each state are no good under the current system so my plan addresses that problem. A version of national set standards is being discussed by a group of people now which is a start.

My plan sets a new school year length for people in the in the kindergarten on through eight grade, a 200 day school year. This imo will help create the quality worker we need and to help make sure students survive under my plan.

We rely on SAT/ACT scores in order to tell us what college we can go to. This imo never worked. I replace the SAT/ACT score with college level math and writing classes that make sure if you are ready to go onto college. I care more about the grades you get in these classes a student takes in high school than those stupid SAT/ACT tests.

AP classes are a good thing, but not many students graduate from high school with both a high school diploma and a college degree at the same time. My plan gives all students if they want to a chance to graduate with a 2-year college degree along with a high school diploma.

The current educational system does not create quality high school grads and that is because of the poor curriculum standards and because of SAT/ACT testing that goes on. Only making big changes in what a students needs to learn, how they graduate, and how they get into college will we get rid of this problem.