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Voices in Urban Education
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Toward Proficiency
VUE Number 14, Winter 2007
| VUE Home | Archives | Order Print Copy |
EXCERPT:
Beyond the Classroom: Collective Responsibility for Developing Proficiency in Urban Youth
By Rhonda Lauer
Rhonda H. Lauer is chief executive officer of Foundations Inc.
> Author's biography
Proficiency includes more than academic abilities, and achieving it will require support from out-of-school institutions
as well as schools.
Most states define proficiency in specific terms. In Pennsylvania, for instance, students perform at a proficient level if their standardized-test scores reflect satisfactory academic performance. They cannot earn high school diplomas without demonstrating proficiency in reading and mathematics, either through their state test scores or in other ways determined by their school districts.
But shouldn't proficiency entail more than meeting explicitly defined reading and mathematics standards?
Achieving proficiency in basic academic skills must still be a goal for all students, particularly for urban, lower-income students who face significant challenges: unsafe schools, low performance expectations, and limited resources. A first step in reviving these schools must be to remove such obstacles to learning.
At the same time, we must realize that academic proficiency is only one element in a set of skills young people require to become self-sufficient adults. Our definition of proficiency should be more expansive, implying a level of skill and knowledge beyond specific content areas; it must encompass practical "life skills" such as teamwork, creative thinking, professionalism, self-advocacy, and readiness for work or college.
When discussing proficiency, we also need to look outside the context of school and redefine the learning day. Children encounter many critical transitions in their lives, from birth into adulthood; to advance, they must acquire certain skills, knowledge, and behaviors. And yet, they spend just 20 percent of their waking hours in school (Corporate Voices for Working Families 2004). Clearly, learning cannot be an activity that occurs only inside a school building. After school, weekends, at home, with parents, in the community – these are all times and places for children to learn and grow.
This article addresses some of the challenges to building academic proficiency in urban youth and presents workable solutions. It also proposes a broader definition of proficiency, one that encompasses essential life skills as well as basic reading and mathematics skills. And finally, it provides examples of initiatives that move beyond the classroom and rely on long-term commitments and strategic partnerships to help children develop proficiency at every stage of life.
Archives
Toward Proficiency
VUE Number 14, Winter 2007
| VUE Home | Archives | Order Print Copy |
EXCERPT:
Beyond the Classroom: Collective Responsibility for Developing Proficiency in Urban Youth
By Rhonda Lauer
Rhonda H. Lauer is chief executive officer of Foundations Inc.
> Author's biography
Proficiency includes more than academic abilities, and achieving it will require support from out-of-school institutions
as well as schools.
Most states define proficiency in specific terms. In Pennsylvania, for instance, students perform at a proficient level if their standardized-test scores reflect satisfactory academic performance. They cannot earn high school diplomas without demonstrating proficiency in reading and mathematics, either through their state test scores or in other ways determined by their school districts.
But shouldn't proficiency entail more than meeting explicitly defined reading and mathematics standards?
Achieving proficiency in basic academic skills must still be a goal for all students, particularly for urban, lower-income students who face significant challenges: unsafe schools, low performance expectations, and limited resources. A first step in reviving these schools must be to remove such obstacles to learning.
At the same time, we must realize that academic proficiency is only one element in a set of skills young people require to become self-sufficient adults. Our definition of proficiency should be more expansive, implying a level of skill and knowledge beyond specific content areas; it must encompass practical "life skills" such as teamwork, creative thinking, professionalism, self-advocacy, and readiness for work or college.
When discussing proficiency, we also need to look outside the context of school and redefine the learning day. Children encounter many critical transitions in their lives, from birth into adulthood; to advance, they must acquire certain skills, knowledge, and behaviors. And yet, they spend just 20 percent of their waking hours in school (Corporate Voices for Working Families 2004). Clearly, learning cannot be an activity that occurs only inside a school building. After school, weekends, at home, with parents, in the community – these are all times and places for children to learn and grow.
This article addresses some of the challenges to building academic proficiency in urban youth and presents workable solutions. It also proposes a broader definition of proficiency, one that encompasses essential life skills as well as basic reading and mathematics skills. And finally, it provides examples of initiatives that move beyond the classroom and rely on long-term commitments and strategic partnerships to help children develop proficiency at every stage of life.
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