This is why I decided to homeschool my gifted oldest daughter
My point is, there's a big difference between saying all students have to meet a minimum standard and saying that all students must perform at the same level.
In principle, yes. In practice, no
One thing I noticed in my daughters school, before I took her out, was the practice of having the smarter kids helping tutor the slower kids. I could see where this was going.
In a system where the game is to have certain subgroups meet minimum standards, the irresistible temptation will be to have the more capable students drafted as unpaid labor to help the less capable ones. Teachers' attentions will be focused on the process of the less-capable subgroups. The net effect will be to rob the more capable ones of any education beyond what's needed to meet the minimum proficiency standard.
In a school-system with finite resources, giving more resources to A must come at the cost of taking resources away from B.
Being sure that certain subgroups "get it", and the elimination of tracking in school systems these days (it was phased out of my school district 8 years ago) means that the class must not progress through material at any rate faster than what can be absorbed by the slowest students. This means that the fastest students will not be challenged in the course room.
The rebellion is starting. Time magazine has an article about Virginia seeking to leave the program. Utah wants to also. At least twenty states are in rebellion.
If middle-class parents feel that their kids' needs are not being met by the public school system, they will abandon the public school system, and watch it crash and burn
Oh, big new education practice. Highly recommended in education schools, as are group work and projects.
Meanwhile, research shows that the tried & true method of lecture & explanation, then practice, is the best way of imparting information. Odd that it's not the method the ed schools or the administrators recommend.
Being sure that certain subgroups "get it", and the elimination of tracking in school systems these days (it was phased out of my school district 8 years ago) means that the class must not progress through material at any rate faster than what can be absorbed by the slowest students. This means that the fastest students will not be challenged in the course room.
They had to eliminate tracking here years ago because the courts decided it was de facto segregation - there were more minorities in the lower classes. If it could be used, and if it were used correctly, it might be part of the answer - give the slower kids the extra help & remedial services they need.
One of my children was gifted & not being challenged at all - and was becoming a behavior problem from sheer boredom. I had to push for gifted services for him. Parochial school would have been a nice option, had there been any nearby.