They weren’t low enough already??
NJ did the same thing. They have a two tier system of testing for graduation.
The questions on the lower achieving test are pathetically easy and even so there is a struggle to pass.
The problem is you can’t make people equally smart. You can only make people equally dumb and that is what you get when you focus your educational system on the equality of results.
Vo-tech schools and service jobs exist for a reason. The concept of universal college education is ludicrous. Plus, people can be very successful in the trade occupations and not have 4 years of loans to pay back.
As we race to accomodate the lowest common denominator, our competition continues to strive for excellence. You won’t find engineers, doctors and other professionals from India, China, Russia, Indonesia, Japan, Tibet, Nigeria, and even Somalia who got their education by being the worst student in class.
Am I the only one who sees a very bad result coming in a decade or so; from this whoring of our education system?
.
...call it Slavery!
I always thought theat the Final Exams in each subject determined a pass or fail. Instead of “lowering” the standards for the students how about “RAISING” the standards for the teachers.
When you discuss the 69% Vs 70% now you’re getting into the whole PC BS where you can’t have winners and losers. In the game of life you have both and you either cut it or you don’t.
That being said, the way the schools work they will continue to lower the score, 1) to make them look like their doing better, 2) for the whole PC BS “feel good” effect... you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
There should be one standard for all high schools based on Reading (the CONSTITUTION), Writing & Math. All exams should be OPEN BOOK. Life isn’t about what you memorize..
As sad as it sounds, I wish I wouldn't have graduated.
Not taking the blame off of myself. But there were 12+ college-educated teachers at that school that looked at my transcript and said, “he is ready to take on life.” I know I am not the ONLY story like this too. I've been in Germany for 2 years and have a German friend who happens to be a school teacher. Every conversation I have with her about her class leaves me dumbfounded. The young-adults she teaches HAVE to study and to try and are -get ready for this- EXCITED about learning. If we changed our public school systems to the way Western Europe conducts it's schooling there would be 80% of the High School population on the streets in a riot.
I think anyone would agree that there is a definite problem with the public school system. And it seems to me this new trend won't do too much to help. —I hope I'm wrong.
Thanks for reading, FREEPERS!
Fair is a nebulous word. For all groups to pass in equal numbers, the standards are effectively no standards. When there are no standards and no risk of failure, there is also no reason to excel.
100 years from now, urban public education in these United States of America will be viewed as one of the ugly scandals of our history. Colossal and ever-increasing sums of money are spent by totally unaccountable bureaucracies to produce an end product that can only be made remotely palatable by continually re-defining downward the expected results of the cheated students who actually emerge from “the system”. 50 percent urban dropout rates hardly even merit mention in the media. No matter how pathetically poor the results, it is NEVER the fault of the teachers or the educational bureaucracies or the system; responsibility and blame are always foisted off upon others.
What REALLY steams me, is the total silence on the part of public education organizations like the NEA with regard to this embarrassingly sorry state of affairs. They mobilize unlimited amounts of money and manpower to campaign for increased compensation, improved benefits and ever stricter work rules. No expense is spared fighting against even the suggestion of any performance or accountability standards. But I can’t for the life of me remember even a single press release expressing the least concern about the oppresively obvious plight of our urban public education institutions, much less any initiative on their part to improve the quality of the product their members are paid so handsomely to produce.
It’s a total and unambiguous travesty.
In other words 94 is A and 93 is B, so there is little difference and 93 should be an A. The fastest runner in the race won in 9.3 seconds but the next fastest runner came in 9.4 and there is little difference so he should be declared the winner also.
Well this is certainly “progressive”. America, where all the kids are above average.
The goal: All Children Left Behind.
“GOLDSBORO, N.C. - A middle school in North Carolina is selling test scores to students in a bid to raise money.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday that a parent advisory council at Rosewood Middle School in Goldsboro come up with the fundraising plan after last year’s chocolate sale flopped.
The school will sell 20 test points to students for $20.”
“Students can add 10 extra points to each of two tests of their choice. The extra points could take a student from a “B” to an “A” on those tests or from a failing grade to a passing grade.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33854822...ews-weird_news
They are talking about doing this in Mississippi also.