The essential idea that 100 percent of students should be proficient summons up the notion of all of the children being above average in Lake Wobegon. The reduction in standards is statistically necessary. Furthermore, as I said back in 2003 small differences in small populations are often used to calculate whether an entire school district meets the criteria. This is statistical malpractice. Whether the new standards solve these problems is in doubt, but the need was there.
Who Would Have Expected No Child Left Behind standards in the state to be reduced?
By ArchPundit
If the standards are low enough, it should be possible to find a set of qualifications that can be passed by 100% of participants (e.g. counting to ten). Graduated standards certainly make more sense though, as they will help characterize the overall quality of education. Such standards could also be used to track progress of scholastic programs over time. The 100% standard gives as much value as it measures – trivial.
Another important issue is that schools are now motivated to “teach to the test” rather than to approach learning more holistically or generally. Teaching and testing programs should be consciously constructed to penalize districts which take such a myopic approach.
© 2007 Mark Robert Gates
Actually the real problem being obscured in all this useless argument is, why are there kids getting through classes in our American schools, who cannot read?
When I was a student in public school, I gradutated high school in 1977, I do not recall any students, in any of my classes, who could not read. And, I do not recall anyone getting through a class without learning to read, if that was the requirement of the class. We all thought then, people who were illiterate, were the one’s who did not attend school, at all.
How do kids in American public schools get through a class unable to read? Teachers are failing students.
They are not knowledgable about whether or not they have, or are even succeeding, even with tests. Probably like you said, becasue they do not teach learning, they just put something out there, and test later to see if its grasped, without knowing if its actually being learned.
I have sopken online to a tutor, who claims the massive need for tutoring, in American public schools, is due to the teachers inability to successfully teach.
Respectfully,
Mark Robert Gates
http://www.benevolentlybeloved.com/
please my blogs:
http://www.lokieponaphoenix.blogspot.com/
http://www.democraticpartyidealog.blogspot.com/
http://www.wellnessempowered.blogspot.com/
Everyone in Illinois should expect 100% proficency in basic skills: reading, writng, math… plus familiarity with fundamentals of government and history. it’s a catastrophe for our State if we don’t.
As a father of an 8 year old who was woefully left ahead in a public school, there are all kinds of problems with No Child Left Behind. In first grade our son was painfully bored, hated schoo, and was becoming a behaviour problem because he was far enough ahead that he got done while the teacher was busy making sure none of the others were left behind. Whoever expects a 6 year old kid to sit still and be quiet for 15 minutes every hour is nuts!
Sure, every child needs the basic skills, but they won’t all be rocket scientists… who would serve us at McDonald’s otherwise?
In the end, we opted to pull our son out and homeschool. It has been a wonderful change and his love for learning has returned.