'School 101' raises myriad questions

Your series of in-depth articles on public education, costs, test scores, salaries, etc. prompted me to ponder some other questions about education that may need to be considered as well.

Should a year-round school calendar ( 10 weeks of instruction followed by a three-week break ) be more widely implemented in all school districts?

Would this lessen the time needed for extensive instructional review with these shorter vacation breaks? What impact would this have on long-term overall expenditures ? What impact might this have on test scores ?

With the focus on test scores for reading/language arts, mathematics and science ( assuming these are the highest priority areas), do we increase the amount of instructional time devoted to these subjects (therefore decreasing instructional time available for social studies, history, foreign languages, fine arts & applied arts, health, physical education)?

Should the school year be lengthened from the current 180-185 days and gradually increased to some higher number? Two-hundred days? More? What increased costs would result ?

One statistic you highlighted over the past 10 years was the per pupil cost for educating one child in the state increased significantly more than the rate of inflation. Teachers pay is a large portion of this expenditure. Are there new instructional responsibilities, initiatives, mandates. state law requirements that have been added in the past 10 years that add to this cost which was not a factor 10 to 20 years ago? One that comes to mind is technology. Others?

In the final installment of the series, one headline read, "Chapter 10: Only 1 in 5 graduates are college ready."

Based on the data that was used to create this statistic, is this a valid and reliable statistic? What is a reasonable goal to be expected?

Fifty percent? Eighty percent One hundred percent? Is it reasonable to expect all high school graduates be "ready" for a four-year college academic curriculum?

It is one thing to analyze data, create statistics and reach conclusions based on these statistics. Would other "statistics" show a different picture?

The overall impression I received was fairly negative about what's wrong with public education. Maybe some of these questions will prompt a discussion of where to go from here and will in turn prompt more questions.

Cliff Schultz

Palatine