User talk:Rmill39/KentuckyEducationReform

“Education Reform in Kentucky”

Education reform has been a topic for Kentucky government officials and citizens for quite some time. The largest piece of reform legislation was passed in 1990, and was known as the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). This act sought six basic initiatives, some of the most important being a focus on core subjects, community service, and self-sufficiency. Kentucky education has seen improvements in terms of equalizing funding among various schools, but still has a long way to go in becoming nationally competitive in its educational outcomes and standardized test scores.1 One viable reform option that has gotten little attention is the possibility of voluntary charter schools, especially in areas of poor public school opportunities. The U.S. Department of Education defines charter schools as “tuition-free public schools freed from regulation in exchange for greater accountability.”2  Those who support the idea of voluntary charter schools hold that these schools will provide greater educational choices and help to create a more competitive educational market that encourages all schools to improve (U.S. Department of Education). Voluntary charter schools certainly provide one aspect to bettering the educational system in Kentucky. But another important thing to consider is how to improve all of the schools in Kentucky, not just charter ones. One of the ways that absolutely every school in Kentucky can better its educational standards is with the greater inclusion of advanced placement classes. AP classes are those with a higher degree of difficulty that seek to prepare high school students for post-secondary education. One college admissions website says that some of the reasons AP classes are important are because they impress college admissions offices, help better prepare students for college-level curriculum, and help students to make better decisions after high school.3  If more schools were to include AP options in their programs, Kentucky students would be more ready for post-secondary education, and become more successful members of society.

Another form of education reform that may require legislative acts is the granting of greater authority to superintendents. Local school system administrators need to be able to more closely monitor who is hired as school principals, as well as how funds are spent. One 2011 Kentucky Gubernatorial candidate, David Williams, believes that local administrators should have greater “input on how to use the funds they are provided to ensure children are getting the best possible education.”4  If Kentucky can give greater power to local school system authorities, we can see educational improvement from the local level up.

1. Hoyt, William H. An Evaluation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act. http://cber.uky.edu/Downloads/kentucky_education_reform_act.htm. 2. Challenge and Opportunity: The Impact of Charter Schools on School Districts. US Department of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/choice/summary.html. 3. Grove, Allen. AP Classes – Why They Matter. College Admissions. http://collegeapps.about.com/od/apadvancedplacement/tp/ap-classes.htm. 4. Senator David Williams on Education & Such. Updated: 12/9/2010. http://pageonekentucky.com/2010/12/09/senator-david-williams-on-education-such/.

Rmill39 (talk) 15:59, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

=Wikipedia article peer review=

Your article is well developed and precise, with interesting details. Is your article supposed to be a new entry in an existing article? Are you planning to contribute to the article on educational reform? In any case, I would suggest you to organize it according to a plan with headings and sub headings to facilitate the reading. And the references are not quite obvious in this formate. Maybe you could find an official study that affirm that "If more schools were to include AP options in their programs, Kentucky students would be more ready for post-secondary education, and become more successful members of society." in order to justify this sentence. The last sentence of the article should also be confirmed by a reference or citation. The sources you have seem very relevant. Maybe you should expand them in order to get a solid support for your article.

DCamille (talk) 00:48, 31 March 2011 (UTC)DCamille

Wikipedia Article Peer Review
I think the article is interesting, but I would like to know if there are any who oppose the establishment of charter schools as a means for achieveing education reform. Perhaps it would be a good idea to more clearly define some of the controversy surrounding potential education reform measures. If there is no controversey, it might be a good idea to indicate that in your article. You might also include some quotes from relevant authorities on the subject to lend support to the idea that charter schools are beneficial for education reform. The same can be said regarding AP classes. --John rb11 (talk) 14:02, 31 March 2011 (UTC)