If you could change one thing about school...

[GoktimusPrime]

The curriculum is dictated by politicians. They should have no say.

↑This just so much.

[jazzcomp]

Clear syllabus and reference books for the parents and even the grading system for any subject.

Never tell parents that C(average) is ok/acceptable.

[i_amtrunks]

Clear syllabus and reference books for the parents and even the grading system for any subject.

Never tell parents that C(average) is ok/acceptable.

Grading system would be impossible to implement, sadly the disparity between schools and even cohorts is too high.

As for the average, not everyone can be above average... there is nothing wrong for many students to be at grade level in most subjects. For some kids being average in just one learning area is amazing.

[SharkyMcShark]

When I was in year 12 (2007, public school) they made literally every student in the cohort (started with 140 students in the year) apply to TAFE "just in case".

TAFE is an incredibly important tertiary institute and should not be seen as a "just in case" option.

Additionally, choking up their admin with shit tons of applications for students who had no intent of ever going to TAFE ever doesn't strike me as a particularly good use of the time of literally anyone involved in the process.

I'm not sure if that's a standard procedure across the board still, but I found it incredibly annoying.

[GoktimusPrime]

Syllabi can be viewed or downloaded online.

Never tell parents that C(average) is ok/acceptable.

As for the average, not everyone can be above average... there is nothing wrong for many students to be at grade level in most subjects. For some kids being average in just one learning area is amazing.

I completely agree with i_amtrunks here.

I don't tell parents that any grade is okay or not. Rather I look at whether or not they are achieving to the best of their ability, and if not what areas of improvement there are.

And studies have shown that focusing on student improvement (growth) matters more than focusing on student performance (results). A student who achieves straight A's because they're finding the work too easy and they already know everything is a student who isn't learning anything. This year we've started implementing a new syllabus for Languages in junior high school where we must cater for three different types of language learners:
Type 1: students have not studied the target language (TL) before high school and do not use the TL outside of school (e.g. home language)
Type 2: not the students' home language but they have studied the TL extensively before commencing high school (e.g. in primary school)
Type 3: TL is the student's home language or possibly even native language
Before this year we weren't allowed to separate these types of students at the junior level. Type 1s are the most prevalent so often Type 2 and Type 3 students would be underchallenged (or even just bored in class) and they would ace tests without trying. I used to give the Types 2s and 3s bonus work because they would finish the regular work so quickly, but all assessment tasks and exams had to be the same which was unfair to the Type 1s. Now things are different. For example, my Year 9 class have an assignment that's due next term and I have 3 different variations of this assignment because I have all three learner types in this one class. The task revolves around the same concept and learning goals, but they have been modified for each group.

Also, you know that if every student were to perform above average then that new standard would become the new average, right? I mean, mathematically speaking that's literally what "average" means.
e.g. the average Transformers collection is about 100 figures. If a new poll revealed the average collection size to be around 1000 figures then that would become the new average. If (hypothetically speaking) most collectors had 5000 toys then that would be the new average and suddenly my collection becomes very much below average... yet I haven't "achieved" any better or worse than before. This is why exam marks are moderated and scaled.

When I was in year 12 (2007, public school) they made literally every student in the cohort (started with 140 students in the year) apply to TAFE "just in case".

TAFE is an incredibly important tertiary institute and should not be seen as a "just in case" option.

Additionally, choking up their admin with shit tons of applications for students who had no intent of ever going to TAFE ever doesn't strike me as a particularly good use of the time of literally anyone involved in the process.

I'm not sure if that's a standard procedure across the board still, but I found it incredibly annoying.

I've personally never seen this happen but I totally agree with what you say.

[jazzcomp]

Grading system would be impossible to implement, sadly the disparity between schools and even cohorts is too high.

As for the average, not everyone can be above average... there is nothing wrong for many students to be at grade level in most subjects. For some kids being average in just one learning area is amazing.

Simple example:
Major project = 30%
Exams = 40%
Final exams = 30%
====================
65% = C
80% = B
90% = A

This is why parents go for tutoring. The parents want to improve on average grades.

Syllabi can be viewed or downloaded online.

Never heard this on a parent/teacher interview when I ask what is being taught for 2nd half of the year.

I completely agree with i_amtrunks here. I don't tell parents that any grade is okay or not. Rather I look at whether or not they are achieving to the best of their ability, and if not what areas of improvement there are.

And studies have shown that focusing on student improvement (growth) matters more than focusing on student performance (results). A student who achieves straight A's because they're finding the work too easy and they already know everything is a student who isn't learning anything.

An A is still an A. If the student really wants to learn, they can learn outside school. You can also accelerate them if you want.

Also, you know that if every student were to perform above average then that new standard would become the new average, right? This is why exam marks are moderated and scaled.

If the student is average, you can tell that student to try harder and do more.

If your pass rate is 70% and everybody gets 80%, you can't say that 80% is a C/average

For me, moderation and scaling has more to do with how difficult the subject matter or how the class is performing. If 65/100 is the highest, that can be considered an A as well.

[BigTransformerTrev]

No students





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[GoktimusPrime]

This is why parents go for tutoring. The parents want to improve on average grades.

An A is still an A. If the student really wants to learn, they can learn outside school. You can also accelerate them if you want.

. . . . . . I'm going to back away from this thread now . . . . . .

[ZoonMaster5000]

Start time, I’m not a morning person.