January 3, 2014
Professional Development Day!
• Book Study: “The Smartest
Kids in the World and how they
got that way.”
• Author: Amanda Ripley
• Simon & Schuster, 2013
The Smartest Kids in the World
Our Essential Question is this:
What are some facts, ideas, or
experiences that might make a
difference in the education of
kids in the U.S., Georgia, or
Lamar County?
The Smartest Kids in the World
3 American High School Students
Spent a Year in other Countries.
– South Korea
– Finland
– Poland
This is a synopsis of their
experiences while mixing in
research by the author.
The Smartest Kids in the World
What is PISA?
-Program for International Student Assessment
- Requires application of information
- Math formulas are given; students must apply
them
- In essence, there are no bubbles, “one must
actually think”
The Smartest Kids in the World
516
514
512
510
508
506
504
1998
1999
The Smartest Kids in the World
Sample -- Math
Check out this graph. A reporter
said that it was a huge increase.
Do you consider the reporter’s
statement to be a reasonable
interpretation? Give an explanation
to support your answer.
The Smartest Kids in the World
516
514
512
510
508
506
504
1998
1999
The Smartest Kids in the World
Sample -- Reading
A “Get your flu shot” sign was displayed on the
test. Below it were these questions:
Fiona wanted the style of this information sheet
to be friendly and encouraging. Do you think she
succeeded? Explain your answer by referring in
detail to the layout, style of writing, pictures or
other graphs.
The Smartest Kids in the World
Results of the Math Question
Full credit was given for any version of
10 different possible answers, as long
as the answer basically was “no”. (The
graph didn’t start at 0.) Only about 1/3
of students got this right in U.S.
The Smartest Kids in the World
Results of the Reading Question
The only way to get full credit was to defend
your opinion by citing at least one specific
feature of the flyer and evaluating it in detail.
Using the same words that were on the test or
using words that are too vague, like
“interesting”, “easy to read”, and “clear” were
considered vague. Only 40% of teens got it right.
South Korea
- Facilities are rather plain and unadorned
- The school day begins at about 8:00
- Uniforms
- First period in the day, students sleep and talk
- They even have pillows!
- Lunch is their free time
- School ends at 4:10 – BUT….
South Korea
-
At 4:30 REAL school began – Test Prep
2 hours and then dinner
Continue on until 9:00
Then begins the Hagwons or private tutoring
academies
- These last until 11:00
- The purpose of their education is to pass the
College Entrance Exam in the top 2%
South Korea
- Most tests are graded on a curve
- Only 4% could get the top score, no matter
how hard they worked
- All grades are posted or read aloud, including
the worst scores
- The top 28 kids in the grade are the class
heroes and martyrs. “Because they have the
most to lose, they worked the hardest of all.”
Smartest Kids in the World
• Small Group Discussion
– What are some positive things we can borrow
from the South Koreans when it comes to
education?
– Is there anything that should be dropped from
their educational system?
– Where has Korea put the emphasis on educational
reform?
Finland
How to become a teacher in Finland
- There are only 8 universities in Finland that
provide teacher-training
- These are elite colleges
- To get accepted, one must apply, submit test
scores, then sit for a special exam in your
subject area
- Only 20% of applicants are usually accepted
Finland
-
How to become a teacher in Finland (cont’d)
When Finland began its march to educational
improvements, teacher training took place at
colleges on par with Georgetown or Berkeley
Today, they are on par with MIT
All Finnish teachers are required to have an
MA
For 1 full year, they train in a great school with
3 teacher mentors
Finland
-
-
How to become a teacher in Finland (cont’d)
6 years of total preparation before entering
the work force
Every teacher-to-be must do original research
on education related to his/her subject
Only the top third of a graduating class would
be considered as potential teachers
The harder it is to become a teacher makes it
more attractive
Finland
-
-
Other Facts about Education in Finland
Students had lots of free time, especially after
school
School day ends at 3:45
Parents are not involved with school much
Facilities are not new
Finnish exams are often essay, requiring 3 or 4
pages per response
Finland
-
-
-
Other Facts about Education in Finland
Exit exam is 50 hours over 3 weeks
Over 50% of kids receive Special Education by the
time they are 17
Random students tested for one hour in third
grade to see if students are on target
Teaching is a highly paid and highly respected
profession
Teachers taught to think: All my students are the
same
The Smartest Kids in the World
• Small Group Discussion
– What are the differences between Finland’s
teacher preparation programs and ours?
– Where has Finland decided to put the emphasis
on educational reform?
– What do you think of their perspective of Special
Education and Differentiated Instruction?
– What are some positives/negatives from the
information presented?
Poland
• Four-pronged approach for improvement
– First: Core Curriculum with rigor, requiring many
teachers to return to school for more education
– Second: Accountability with tests at the end of
elementary, junior high, and high school
• All students over the entire country
• Non-punitive
• All students took college entrance exams – and they are
graded by colleges
Poland
• Four-pronged approach (cont’d)
– Third: Raise the expectations for what kids could
accomplish
• All students stayed on the same track until age 16, or
sophomore year of high school
• Peer effects are incredibly influential
Poland
• Four-pronged approach (cont’d)
– Fourth: Autonomy for the teachers
•
•
•
•
•
•
Allowed to choose their own textbooks
Allowed to choose their curriculum
Allowed to choose their own Professional Development
They earned bonuses based on how much PD they did
Principal had full autonomy for hiring and firing
Local authorities had full control over $
Poland
-
Some Facts about Polish Education
Fastest growth in PISA scores
Way ahead of the U.S.
Vocational students lost their drive when tracked
to that option – test scores lower
Average cost per student is $4,800 – ours is
$11,000+
People bought in that education was important!
The Smartest Kids in the World
• Small Group Discussion
– All that happened in Poland took place in a very
short period of time – a lot in one year! How
would a fast-paced change affect us – even if it
were 100% correct?
– Does anything stand out as different or unusual to
you based on the Polish educational information?
– What was the emphasis of the reforms in Poland?
The Smartest Kids in the World
A Whirlwind of Facts and Figures from
around the World
- Parents who volunteered in their kids’ extracurricular activities had children who performed
worse in reading than parents who did not
volunteer even after controlling for other factors
like socioeconomics. Only 2 places in the world
where parental volunteering had any impact.
Facts from around the World
• Retention is among highest in the U.S. = 11%
• In most successful countries in the world the
poorest systems get more money
• Kids know that RIGOR is HARD!
• In Australia, 15-year olds with aspirations
were predictably successful in school and out
(A great toxin to our schools is low aspirations)
• In every country – Parents try to get kids in
best schools
Facts from around the World
• In U.S., Private and Charter Schools = 16% of our
population. However, they do not add value to
education and certainly no more than their socioeconomic status would suggest
• Andrew Kim from Japan makes over $4 million a
year with online Hagwon class in English
– Parents pay extra and are considered failures if not
engaged in the classes with the teachers
– 10% of teachers fired after first year
– Students stay until 10 or even midnight!
Facts from around the World
• Best predictor of success of 8th graders in U.S.
was not IQ – it was self-discipline
• Character is more malleable than Intellect
• In other countries, it seemed to take a crisis in
them before the right steps in education were
taken, especially when it comes to rigor
• World view of our schools: Sports instills
leadership and persistence in a few while draining
focus and resources from academics for
everyone.
Facts from around the World
• In leading countries, people think that learning is
so important that only the most educated, high
achieving citizens should be allowed to teach
• There is more technology in U.S. Schools than
most of the world
• 92% of international students and 70% of
American students say that our education is
easier. 67% of former say ours is “much easier”
Parenting around the World
• Parents reading to their kids yields
tremendous impact
• When reading, asking questions helped more
• As kids get older, parents who discussed
movies, books, and current affairs had teens
that performed better
• Parents had conversations with kids about
things bigger than themselves
Parenting around the World
• Asian parents teach math before reading
• Modeling reading in the home improves
scores
• Praise that is vague is counterproductive
• Just asking about a child’s school day can have
the same effect on PISA scores as hours of
private tutoring
The Best Style of Parenting =
Authoritative
• A mix of Authoritarian and Permissive
– Warm and Responsive
– Close, but as the kids got older, gave more freedom to
explore and to fail and make choices
– Clear, bright limits, and rules they did not negotiate
– Children with these parents had higher academic
achievement levels, fewer symptoms of depression,
less aggression, disobedience, anti-social behaviors.
– They are more resilient
The Smartest Kids in the World
Post-Test Answers
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–
–
–
–
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1. Finland 2. Canada 3. Belgium 4.Poland (X) 5. Korea
2. c, d, e, & i
3. 4%
4. 50%
5. Finland
6. Education leads to money and money leads to
happiness