Bilingual Education Quick Overview
Adult Education Explained
What is Adult Education?
Adult education refers to the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education, in most jurisdictions, is delivered in the work environment, through an extension of an academic institution or school of continuing education. In addition to the workplace, other environments which promote or offer adult education are community colleges, folk high schools and lifelong learning centers.
The practice of Adult Education is typically referred to as a “Training and Development” medium and is often associated with professional or work-related development. Adult education is held separate from vocational education, which predominantly focuses on the teaching of a workplace-based skill, as a result of the more general implications.
In addition, adult education is also held in contrast from non-formal adult education, which includes learning skills or the delivery of resources to improve or augment personal development.
Characteristics of Adult Education:
Adult education programs can take the form of numerous classroom or educational settings. For instance, adult education programs may provide one to one tutoring and small group sessions for individuals who possess 6th grade or below educational levels. Public libraries, various school systems and some non-profit organizations are the typical institutions that provide these environments throughout the country.
These programs, including various educational centers and community colleges, will receive grants from Welfare and Unemployment departments to deliver their training to those individuals who are recipients of welfare and unemployment.
These adult education providers help these individuals gain life and work skills in order to facilitate their return to working society. In addition to those individuals receiving government assistance, adult education programs are also made available to ex-offenders for the purpose of expediting their assimilation into society.
How does an Adult Education program differ from other types of Educational Institutions?
The process of educating adults will differ from educating children in a number of ways. Arguably the most important difference is that adults already possess an accumulated level of knowledge, both in the form of institutionalized educational programs and the knowledge they have gathered from their respective work experience.
In addition to the presence of an already established foundation of knowledge, another difference between adult education programs and child-based educational systems is that the majority of adult education is voluntarily. As a result of this characteristic, the majority of students who participate in adult education programs are self-motivated.
Adults, participating in adult education programs, will typically apply their knowledge in a practical fashion to learn in an effective fashion. Adults participating in these programs utilize a reasonable expectation that the knowledge gained will help them further their societal-based and employment goals.
The typical stereotype attached to adult education programs, specifically in the United States, is that of the high-school dropout who opts to return to school in order to complete general education requirements. Although this is a common form of adult education, is not to be taken for the singular form of adult education.
A fast-growing sector of adult education is English for Speakers of Other Languages; these courses are vital in assisting immigrants with only the acquisition of the English language, but also the acclimation process to the general culture of the United States. If you feel you are not learning the skills you sought out to contact an education lawyer to consult your case.
Continuing Education Facts
Functions of Department of Education
What is the Department of Education?
The United States Department of Education, also known as the ED, is a governmental organization and Cabinet-level department of the United States Federal Government.
The United States Department of Education, which was created by the Department of Education Organization Act and was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on October 17, 1979—the United States Department of Education began to officially operate on May 16, 1980.
The Department of Education Organization Act officially divided the Department of Health, Education and Welfare into more segmented departments, including the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. When the modification was finalized, the Department of Education is administered by the United States Secretary of Education. Although the Department of Education is a full-functioning and funded governmental organization, it remains the smallest Cabinet-level department, with roughly 5,000 employees.
Functions of the Department of Education:
The most notable functions of the Department of Education, according to the organization’s mission statement, is to “establish policy for, administer and coordinate most federal assistance to education, collect raw data on schools in the United States and to enforce federal educational laws regarding privacy and civil rights.” The Department of Education, as a government body of the Federal Government, is not permitted nor attempts to, establish schools or colleges throughout the country.
Unlike the educational systems of other nations, education in the United States of America is decentralized (the school systems are funded and run on a local level). The federal government and its coordinating Department of Education, in the United States, is not primarily involved in determining educational standards or curricula—although this role has been augmented through the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Following the passing of this legislation, the function of providing a curricula and establishing educational standards has been left to state and local school districts; if a local school system decides it needs aid in developing a curricula or funding, the federal government and more specifically the Department of Education, will act as an intermediary to bolster the school’s effectiveness. In general, however, the quality and effectiveness of an educational institution and their coordinating degrees is primarily maintained through an informal private process known as accreditation.
This process is implemented and maintained by the local school district itself; in accreditation, the Department of Education has no direct public jurisdictional control. In general, as a government body, the Department of Education aims to promote student achievement and the preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. If you need legal advice and assistance, contact an education lawyer.
Distance Education Council Explained
What are The Focuses of Environmental Education
What is Environmental Education?
Environmental education is an organized effort to teach about how natural ecosystems or environments function and more specifically, how human beings can manage their behavior in order to promote healthy and stable living. Environmental education, as a term, is typically used to imply educational efforts within a school system, from primary to post-secondary, in order to teach humans about the environment and particularly, how our actions affect the ecosystem.
In a broader sense, however, environmental education is sometimes used to include all efforts to educate the public and other audiences through the use of non-traditional educational mediums, such as the delivery of print materials, media campaigns and websites.
Environmental education is a teaching/learning process that aims at increasing an individual’s knowledge and awareness concerning the environment and associated challenges. Environmental education aims to develop necessary skills and expertise to address environment-related challenges, through the obtainment of attitudes and commitments to produce informed decisions and take responsible action.
The Focus of Environmental Education:
Environmental education focuses on the following subjects:
Environmental education aims to boost awareness and sensitivity concerning the environment and changes to the environment.
Environmental education aims to increase knowledge and understanding concerning the environment and its challenges
Environmental education aims to bolster our attitude concerning the environment; the teaching platform aims to maintain environmental quality
Environmental education offers skills to help mitigate environmental problems collaborating with education lawyer.
The field of study provides participation organizations to exercise existing knowledge and environmental related programs.
Environmental Education in the United States:
In the 1980s, several non-governmental organizations that previously focused on environmental education, continued to evolve and grow; the number of teachers implementing environmental education in their respective classrooms greatly increased throughout the subsequent decades. As the field became more popular in a localized sense, environmental education gained stronger political backing.
The field bolstered its effectiveness when the United States Congress passed the National Environmental Education Act of 1990, which positioned the Office of Environmental Education in the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency and allowed the EPA to create and subsequently provide several environmental education initiatives at the federal level.
In the school system, environmental education is considered an additional or elective subject in the traditional K-12 curriculum. At the elementary school level, the field can the form of science enrichment subjects, community service projects, natural history field trips and loose participation in science schools.
Public schools have the ability to integrate the subject matter into their respective curricula through the aid of sufficient funding from environmental education policies. By utilizing this approach, a school will effectively place environmental education into the core subjects; as a non-elective, environmental education will not take time or resources away from other important subjects, such as music or art.
In a secondary setting, environmental education can take the form of a focused subject within the sciences or as a part of elective student clubs. At the undergraduate or graduate level, the subject can be considered its own specified field within education, environmental science and policy, ecology or environmental studies.
No Child Left Behind Act: Text
IDEA
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT TEXT
Overview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal statute that provides federal funds to assist states in the providing for the education of children with disabilities. It has its origins in the codification of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 and was revised in 1990 and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Act.
Who does the Individuals with Disabilities Act apply to?
The Individuals with Disabilities Act applies to children between the ages of 3 and 21 who demonstrate any one of the following physical or mental disabilities:
• Autism
• Deaf-Blindness
• Deafness
• Developmental delay
• Emotional disturbance
• Hearing impairment
• Intellectual Disability
• Multiple disorders
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other health impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech or language impairment
• Traumatic brain injury
• Visual impairment, including blindness
The specifics about what is entailed in each definition are outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Act. The law states that the federal government must make a free appropriate public education available to "any individual child with a disability who needs special education and related services, even if the child has not failed or been retained in a course or grade, and is advancing from grade to grade."
What does the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provide?
The major provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Act provide that:
• States and school districts must offer free appropriate public education to all children with disabilities, categorized above. Those states and school districts must identify, locate and evaluate all children with disabilities to determine whether the child is eligible to receive free public education.
• Each child receiving free public education through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act must be evaluated and must have an Individual Education Program designated for them. This program will address each student's special needs and must include the parents in outlining and implementing that child's specific education program.
• To the extent available students subject to the Act should be placed in classrooms and educated with children who are not disabled. The states and school districts shall also provide procedural safeguards to the students and their parents including due process, the right to appeal to a federal district court and the right to receive attorney's fees.
The individual education programs for each student include: transportation; speech pathology and audiology services; psychological services; physical and occupational therapy; music therapy; recreation; counseling services; and medical services. These should all be tailored to meet the needs of each individual student who falls under the Act.
Reasons for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was enacted in 1975 due to overwhelming evidence that children with physical or mental disabilities in public schools were being ignored in the classroom. Studies found that public schools in the United States educated only 1 out of 5 children with disabilities. At that time, many states had laws that explicitly excluded children with certain types of disabilities from attending public school, including children who were blind, deaf, and children labeled "emotionally disturbed" or "mentally retarded." By 1975 over 1 million children with categorized disabilities were excluded from education in the public school system. Another 3 and a half million children were "warehoused" in living situations that did nothing more than attend to their immediate needs.
Discipline
In providing federal funds to education the federal government instituted guidelines that require local school districts to comply with certain guidelines when disciplining students with disabilities. Students with disabilities can be prone to causing disturbances in the classroom much more frequently than those of able-bodied students. The question addressed by the Individuals with Disabilities Act is when should the student with a disability be disciplined and how.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act a student who is disruptive in class must be evaluated on why he/she reacted in such a way. The teacher of the student, with the participation of the parents, is required to analyze the disruption and look at whether that specific disruption was in line with the individual's disability. According to the Act a child who is removed from a classroom more than 10 cumulative school days due to his/her behavior the child is required to seek outside services. If the student's parents do not agree to the alternate placement of a student then the student may be unilaterally moved to an alternate placement for up to 45 days at a time if the student has brought a weapon to school or to a school function or knowingly possessed or used illegal drugs or sold or solicited controlled substances at school.
If the student is deemed to be a threat to other students then the 45 day removal period may be extended. This is done by an evaluation by an impartial hearing to determine whether there should be an extension. The extension may last for another 45 days if approved.
If a child is suspended for more than 10 consecutive days the IEP team must convene to discuss the education of the student outside the classroom setting. A school district is not prohibited from suspending a student for another 10 consecutive days but only if educational services are provided for the student. If it is determined that the infractions that led to the suspension are not due to the disability of the child then the child may be suspended for a longer period of time in line with an equal suspension that would be given to a non-disabled student.
How are these protections enforced?
The Individuals with Disabilities Act does provide safeguards to insure that the rights of a student with disabilities are protected from arbitrary suspensions and discipline from a school district. The IDEA guarantees a number of safeguards to the parents of students with disabilities which include: the right to be informed of the procedural safeguards; right to see his/her child's education records; the right to be a member of the IEP team; to participate in their child's education; to file complaints with the state education agency; and the right to request independent mediation involving aspects of their child's education.
Controversy
There are many arguments involved with the IDEA. Complaints from teachers and school administrators include the failure of the government to provide appropriate funding and that the time spent by teachers to take part in IEPs are time that can be spent developing teaching methods and that non-disabled students pay the price for the increased attention that disabled students are allotted under the law.
Taxpayers often criticize the Act because it provides a free public education to all students with disabilities and there is no limit to the extent of the disability. The argument is that even students who have little to no cognitive abilities qualify for free government paid education as well as expensive medical treatments associated with that education
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and "No Child Left Behind"
In 2004 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was amended to align itself with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The amended act provisions have come under fire because they require that children with disabilities achieve certain goals in the classroom. Many complain that the disabilities themselves prevent any continuous forward progress in education.
GPA Calculators
Guide to GPA Calculators
A GPA calculator is used to determine a students grade point average over a specified time. Grad point averages are used to determine a student's academic performance compared to other students in the same class or institution.
GPA calculators can come in several different forms, as there are various methods for calculating grade point average. Most schools calculate grade point average on a 4.0 scale, where a 4.0 is the highest grade point average that can be achieved. However, many other forms of grade point averages are used, including a 5.0 scale, a letter grade (A, B, C, D and F), or a total points grade point average (where all classes are added into a totaled score).
A students grade point average is weighted by the number of credit hours each class. High schools will often weight classes equally, as each class is generally given the same amount of time. Higher education classes generally break down classes by the total amount of class time per week. These classes can range anywhere between 1 hour classes to 6 hours classes per week. The more credit hours a class has, the more weighted it will be towards the student's grade point average.
High schools may use higher weighted classes for students taking advanced classes that are harder than standard classes. These classes allow a student to have a higher grade value for the grade they receive. For example, an A in a standard class may be value as a 4.0, where in an advanced placement class it can be wroth 5.25.
Instructions
1. First enter the total amount of credits previously earned. This will allow the GPA calculator to determine your exact GPA including the newly entered grades. You can also use this feature to determine what your GPA will be if you get certain grades in future classes.
2. Next, enter the number of credits you are taking in the current grading period. The number of credits you enter will be used by the GPA calculator to determine what your grade point average is across those classes.
3. You will next need to enter a grade for each class. You may use a letter scale, in which you provide an A, B, C, D, or F grade for each class. You may also enter grades in between these letter grades. These would include examples of A+ or A- grades. Such grades will be used on a scale to determine your grade point average. You may also enter each classes grade on a numerical scale. Numerical scales can be in the standard GPA format (0.0 – 4.0) or can use an alternate scaling method.
4. Once you enter all of your grade information, you must submit your results on the GPA calculator, which will give you your grade period average as well as your cumulative GPA. Once completed, your final GPA will be determined by the GPA calculator.
Notes:
1. In order for the GPA calculator to work, you must know and understand how your school calculates their grade point average and what the scaling method is. Contact you school's academic advising office if you are unsure of the exact method for determining grades. It will be helpful to look at previous grades to determine what scale the school uses. Of course, you cannot do this if this is your first marking period, so contact the school for more information.
2. The GPA calculator can be used to determine future grades. By entering different grades, you can see exactly how high or how low your GPA may drop if you receive certain grades in future classes or semesters. This can be a valuable tool for setting goals of what grades you must obtain in order to reach certain grade point average levels.
3. In order to manually calculate your current GPA on a 4.0 scale, take your total credit hour points and divide by the number of GPA hours you have taken over that same grading period. In order to determine quality points, you can use the chart below. For each grade received, enter the quality points multiplied by the GPA hours for each class. Add all of these together and divide by the number of classes taken, which will leave you with your grade point average.
Final Grade Quality Points Credit Hours
A 4.00 x Number of Hours
A- 3.67 x Number of Hours
B+ 3.33 x Number of Hours
B 3.00 x Number of Hours
B- 2.67 x Number of Hours
C+ 2.33 x Number of Hours
C 2.00 x Number of Hours
C- 1.67 x Number of Hours
D 1.00 x Number of Hours
F 0.00 x Number of Hours
4. Sometimes a student may receive an incomplete or withdrawn grade for a class. You must check with your school's policy for grading, but these grades will typically not affect your grade point average. While not included on your grade point average, they will usually be included on your final transcript or noted under your GPA in some form. The same may go for audited classes, usually given a grade of “X”, which indicates a student went to the class but was not graded.
5. Many times, schools will give awards or special designations for achieving certain grade point average levels. Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude, and Magna Cum Laude are special honor designations given by most schools to indicate if a student achieved a certain grade point average. Check with your school to determine at what grade these designations are given. They are often different from school to school. Some schools may give these designations to those students in certain GPA percentiles or base it on a specific grade point average number.
Curves and Rank Based Grading
Grading on a curve and rank based grading is a system of academic grading used to understand the performance of a student within a defined group. Curves can either be set outside of a ranking system or directly use a ranking system.
A rank based grading curve assigns grades according to a pre-determined percentage of how many students can get certain grades. Below is an example of pure rank-based curving which uses a classic bell curve style. Note that most students in the class will receive the average grade of a C while few students will receive an A or an F.
Grade Awarded percentage of students
who will receive this grade
A top 5%
B next 26%
C middle 38%
D next 26%
F bottom 5%
A popular model of curve and rank based grading allows the grader to use a normal distribution of grades to track education performance. The top grade, usually an A, is given for academic performance that beats the mean score by a specified amount, usually +1.5 standard deviation. Under this grading scheme, a B would be awarded for an academic performance of between +.5 and +1.5, while an average score would receive a C.
GPA calculators can be used in a variety of ways to determine grades using countless methods, so always check with your school to see if they are using a curve or rank based grading before using any grade point average calculator.
While by definition most students in a curved grading system will receive an average grade, the grading can be harsh as it requires the failure of a certain amount of students, no matter whether they have adequately mastered the class or not.
Curved grading is popular with some schools who wish to eliminate inflated grades, in which students are passed through classes regardless of how well they learn or understand the material. The curved grading system also has proven to push students to perform at higher levels, often for fear of failure by becoming behind. Competition can often become increased in these classes, as students must outperform their peers in order to achieve good grades.
Grade Scales Using Percentages
Some schools still use an outdated formed of calculating grades based on a 100% scale. In this scale, students need to achieve a certain percentage in order to achieve their grades. The percentage is typically calculated from the percentage of answers correct on tests and quizzes throughout the grading period.
Most schools on a 100% scale will usually assign a letter grade according to what percentage the student falls in.
An A is typically between 90% and 100%.
A B is typically between 80% and 90%.
A C is typically between a 70% – 80%
A D is typically between a 65% – 70%
A failing grade is typically any grade below the 65% mark.
While these percentages put the grade in a numerical form, in order to use it with a GPA calculator, a grade point average in the traditional 4.0 scale must be converted from the 100% scale. To do this, you must take the letter grade given for each class and multiply it by the weighted score for each grade. For example, an A is typically given a GPA value of 4.0. Multiply this by the credit hours for the class. Add this number and divide by the total number of credit hours taken over the grading period.
If you are unsure what grading method your school is going to use in order to put into the gpa calculator, you should immediately speak with your teacher or the school's academic department, who will help guide you through the process. Many school's websites now offer help and information regarding the details of their grading structures. Knowing a school's grading structure can go a long way in helping you achieve good grades in school.
General Formulas
GPA calculators use the following formulas to determine how to calculate a grade point average on either the 4.0 scale or the 5.0 scale.
How To Calculate GPA On A 4.0 GPA Scale
A = 4 points
A- = 3.75 points
B+ = 3.25 points
B = 3 points
B- = 2.75 points
C+ = 2.5 points
C = 2 points
D = 1 point
WF/F = 0 points
P/NP are not included in a student’s GPA.
I(Incomplete) and W(Withdrawals) do not have an impact on GPA.
How To Calculate GPA On A 5.0 GPA Scale
A = 5 points
B = 4 points
C = 3 points
D = 2 point
F = 1 points
P/NP are not included in a student’s GPA.
