Free Online University Receives Accreditation #4

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On Thursday February 13th, the University of the People, a online university that requires no tuition received accreditation. The University was built to reach out to "undeserved students" all around the globe. It is expected to have over 5,000 students by 2016. Students enrolled are from all over. 700 students from 142 countries are enrolled in the university already. The idea for such a program came from the mind of Shai Reshef, whose mission is to make higher education available to all. There is no tuition, only a application fee that ranges from 0-50 dollars. Scholarships are also offered for those who may not be able to afford that fee. 

I think that this is a really beneficial program. In today's world it seems that the only way to be successful is to have a higher education degree. Unfortunately many universities and colleges are extremely expensive and people in developing areas cannot afford this education. This non-for-profit university is a chance for those people to have a fighting chance. I also think that is good that large organizations like Microsoft are showing support fro the University. Hopefully the University of the People will set an example and lead to more programs like this to become available around the world. 

A Call to Ignore Exam Results When Evaluating Educators (3) article

In New York, a year after the state department introduced a new standardized test that resulted in passing grades to drop, Politicians called on the legislature to stop using those grades as a reflection of teacher performance. In other words, they don't want the results of the student's standardized test to be a benchmark for teachers. The current law is that the student's grade on these tests counts for 20% of their teacher's evaluation. If a teacher receives a low mark two years in a row it is called "ineffective." Which means they at risk of losing their jobs. Since these tests are only a year old, the legislatures think that teacher evaluations shouldn't be connected to the test scores for at least two years.  

The subject of standardized tests being linked with teacher evaluation has been highlighted a lot in the past few years. I think that the reasoning behind the standardized test has moved from research and student evaluation and onto analyzing teachers. This definitely has negative effects. Performance will probably drop because students just dont care anymore. With that being said, if these scores and being compared with teacher performance, the teachers are at a disadvantage. I don't think it is fair that teachers are at risk of losing their jobs just because students dont preform well on a state exam. Especially since the test is new to the students so they may not do as well as they did on the older one. If anything, waiting a couple of years to evaluate teachers based on test scores is the best idea.  

Finland Might Be on to Something (2)

In this video a reporter discusses the unique education the country of Finland has. To start, Finland stresses the importance of equal opportunity. There is no private schools allowed. Every child goes to a public school. There are no standardized tests. The only somewhat standardized is the National Matriculation Exam. Every student takes it at the end of secondary school, which is basically American high school. Finland schools took the focus away from being the best and pressuring students to score high on tests and is now focusing more on developing the individual to the best of their abilities. Also, children are not allowed to attend school until the age of 7. Allowing children to be "kids." This form of education seems to be working because in a worldwide survey test Finland students scored number 1 in the world. 

I found that this was very interesting. It almost makes me want to move to Finland! It seems as though Americans have always been so focused on being the best that we are losing the sight of the real importance education is. Finland seems to be doing this exact opposite. They are not worried about being in competition with other countries. They want their students to develop their minds and find out what they are good at and passionate about. Unlike the United States, where it seems like all we care about is training students to get a high score on a standardized test. I also think that it is unique that Finland does not allow private schools. It gives everyone a fair and equal chance to receive an education. I think that this is much needed in the US. Here, people who have a lower SES aren't able to obtain the high quality education that is available to wealthier people. Finland must be doing something right by focusing on the real meaning of education. I hope one day the US can do the same.