Recently I asked my research assistant Katherine Hill to watch the new documentary on charter schools called “Most Likely to Succeed” and to write a short description of it.  Here is her review.

Review of "Most Likely to Succeed," by Katherine Hill

It is often said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  About a century and a half ago, Americans established schools based on the Prussian model of adopted courses, subjects, and age groups. It is the 21^st century, and little has changed. Students still remain in school for 180 days a year, educators still teach in the age-old socially constructed model of a classroom, and average NAEP test reading scores are at the same level they were 40 years ago. In the new documentary film, “Most Likely to Succeed,” played at the recent Seattle International Film Festival, producer Greg Whiteley and executive producer Ted Dintersmith raise the question: How can we equip our children for an ever-evolving competitive global economy without allowing our schools to evolve as well?

The film follows the innovative teaching styles used in a San Diego public charter school, High Tech High, where teachers have the freedom to teach what they want, without the barrier of state-mandated parameters. Instead of the traditional concept of grades, students are assessed based on a public display of group projects at an exhibition. Whiteley and his team followed two ninth grade classes for a full year, and the film crew was given access to the school’s most inner workings. The film inspires a fresh outlook on the mission of education by including perspectives from enthusiastic students, teachers and sometimes-skeptical parents.

Unlike the limitations of a letter grade on a report card, teachers at High Tech High measure success in ways that are impossible to standardize. One of the most notable student achievements highlighted in the film comes from a timid and shy student, Samantha, who discovers her leadership potential when she directs her class’s play, a project for the exhibition. Producer Whiteley carefully exposes Samantha’s transformation into a confident, young woman, and in doing so, wins the audience’s adoration. 

Though Samantha’s mother expresses concerns about the school’s disregard for traditional textbook learning, she confesses that her reasons for sending Samantha to High Tech High stem from observations of college graduates who, after failing to find employment, ultimately return to work for mom and dad. It was this pattern of college degrees becoming seemingly obsolete that compelled Samantha’s mother to take a leap of faith and enroll her daughter in High Tech High.

Whiteley’s use of quip-laden voiceover, stock footage and informative graphics help explain his point that schools like High Tech High could be equipping our graduates with skills that are more relevant in today’s economy, such as creativity, communication, and collaboration. In an age when artificial intelligence is replacing white-collar jobs, perhaps these unorthodox methods of structuring school are not only effective, but entirely necessary, to prepare students to succeed in the workforce of the future.