Free Republic

<p>Mallory Sutika was serious last April when she sat down with a No. 2 pencil to take the social studies MEAP. But around her, it was a different story.</p> <p>Some students slept. Some made designs with their answer sheets. Some didn't show up at all.</p>

Standard & Poors releases data on state's public schools The Associated Press2/3/03 5:27 PM LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- More than half the school districts that spent more per student than the state average had below-passing rates on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program test, according to an analysis of the state's public schools. Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services released a report Monday that analyzed trends in the state's public education system from 1996-97 to 2000-01. It's the second comprehensive report about Michigan's public schools. The division of Standard & Poor's, known for rating businesses, government agencies and even other countries,...

How can a school receive a Blue Ribbon for excellence one year and be slapped with a label of "failing" the next? Moreover, how can Michigan rank dead last in the country with more than 1,500 "failing" schools? New federal labels are misleading parents and others into thinking that a full one-third of the state's public schools aren't adequately serving their children. That's simply not the case. The standards are the newest ingredient in a muddled stew of numbers and labels that do nothing for the quality of schools in Michigan or the students and teachers in them. In fact,...