Waldorf Question - Need Answer ASAP! - Page 2

[canndw]

high school

Originally Posted by AlohaDeb

Overall, it does seem that Montessori students do achieve slightly better than traditionally schooled kids. I've also seen studies about homeschooling, and homeschoolers generally do better than traditionally schooled students as well.

I'd expect this sort of result; I think the key variable is not type of education but rather parental involvement.

A few children from our school have gone off to waldorf high schools (it involves moving away or boarding there, since none are close); the vast majority have gone to public high school or tradition private (Catholic or academic independent). I can speak authoritatively about my ninth grader (but that's an anecdote again); she's found high school easy after waldorf school. I am unaware of students who were completely unprepared for high school coming out of our school, but I certainly wouldn't say that everybody finds high school easy. Children with trouble doing assignments or working carefully at waldorf probably continue to have similar problems in high school.

I am trying to develop a database of admission testing history for our school, which I believe is in the school's interest, rather than trying to track the success of its graduates in follow-on education (which is much harder to do, and involves many more complicating factors).

DAvid

[Rhonwyn]

Aggregate Data

Originally Posted by AlohaDeb

Rhonwyn, do you know if or when the Seattle Waldorf School will release some aggregate info?

Also, I am not sure how a mix of gifted and normal kids makes a difference? Traditional schools and Montessori schools also have a mix of kids, so that shouldn't make a difference in performance.

I am not sure when the data will be released. I have seen data on last year's 8th grade class but I don't remember if other data has been released. I would contact the school at www.seattlewaldorf.org and ask if they have compiled data over the years. The school is compiling the data because the parents have been asking for it and it is data high schools can use for admission.

The reason I mention the mix of student levels, is that there are many private elementary schools which are specifically for gifted children. There are also many private schools that encourage kids to leave if they don't perform well. Lastly, several of the public elementary schools have gifted programs while others do not. Example: School A has a gifted and average students so their test scores are very high while School B does not have a gifted program and their test scores are lower.