As our educators know, students come in all sizes and shapes, and have varied interests and aptitudes. Up through the present, Portage high schools have offered basically three science tracks for students-
Now PPS is threatening to force-fit all students into one of just two tracks-
Many parents are concerned that these semester courses, which will in many cases be the last high school course students see in that subject area (especially if they take an IB-HL course in one area which is a two-year course), will not prepare their children for college science courses in any area except the particular subject they took IB-HL in. Even if they choose to major in their "IB-HL area", the other core sciences are also VERY important in college. For potential scientists, it is evident that this semester-based plan is seriously flawed. In some cases students with semesters on their transcript may not even be accepted to some colleges (click here), and in other cases, students who are accepted will not be able to compete in the sophomore "flunk-out" courses alongside other students who had better preparation in high school (almost all come in with at least two semesters in each area).
What's needed is for PPS to maintain three science tracks, and for all students to make a choice before they enter 9th grade.
This type of choice offers the advantage that those students most at risk of failing the MEAP (resulting in poor AYP grades associated with the No Child Left Behind law) will take semester courses where they'll be exposed to all four disciplines. However, instead of holding other students behind while bringing up the lower quartile, choice will allow other students (those willing to commit to taking at least three full-years in the core subjects) to advance further than they'd be able to in semester survey-type courses. Furthermore, honors-level in these full-year courses will allow those in the upper quartile to learn as much as they're able. Choice can better meet the needs of ALL Portage students than the "one-size-fits-all" semester plan.
One area of overlap between the two pathways (semester and full years) would be if PPS finds it can no longer teach the earth science benchmarks satisfactorily in 8th grade; then the full-year students would need to double up one semester to take earth science in high school. However, the record currently shows that students who take full years of chemistry, biology, and physics do very well in the MEAP, and unless the 8th grade curriculum becomes watered down relative to where it is now, those students should be expected to continue to do well.
It should be pointed out that just like earth science, students could take only a semester of any other type of science as long as that's as much of that type of science as they will take (i.e., that's the terminal course in that discipline). However, if they want more than one semester in that discipline, they should take the full-year course since that's the best way to achieve the needed depth, and that's the track that leads to more advanced courses in that discipline.
There are a number of different ways this type of plan could be fashioned. For one example, read about the Midland Public Schools plan which has been praised by many science advocates in Midland. For another of many suggestions that have been made, click here.
Choice offers the most appropriate courses PPS has to offer to those students who stand to benefit most from them. The innovative new semester courses for those who will only take two years of core science, and full-year courses for those who want more depth than can be covered in semesters, and want to take IB coursework in their junior and senior years. This is the type of school many in our community want to see for PPS students. What type of school does PPS want for its students?
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